Future Students

Accounting

Two accounting majors are offered in the Bachelor of Commerce and as second majors in the Bachelor of Economics.

Studying Accounting can lead to careers in the business world either in government departments or private enterprise in areas that are essential for the functioning of those organisations.

Accounting can be studied as a major in the Bachelor of Commerce and associated combined degrees. Accounting can also be studied as a second major in the Bachelor of Economics.

In the first academic year of the Bachelor of Commerce, leading to major(s) in Accounting and/or Finance you will study eight Level 1 units, of which four are compulsory.

If you wish to join a professional accounting body when you graduate, such as CPA Australia or the Institute of Chartered Accountants, you will need to use two of your elective units to study units required by those professional bodies.

You might like to complete an Accounting and Finance double major, with the unit sequence to fulfil the requirements of the professional bodies as Finance is very complementary to Accounting. You might like to also add a Business Law minor to further enhance your commercial skills

The two accounting majors are:

Financial Accounting
The ability to prepare and interpret accounting information is beneficial for effective decision making in almost all fields of business. Consequently, the major in accounting aims to provide training in the technical aspects of the preparation of accounting data; developing skills in using accounting information for problem solving and decision making, and developing awareness in related professional disciplines such as taxation, auditing and management services.

In this major you would explore the preparation, interpretation and regulation of general purpose financial reports for use by those external to business (financial reporting); the use of accounting data for internal management decision making (management accounting), and other subjects relevant to public accounting practice such as taxation, auditing and commercial law.

Level 1 Core Units
ACCT1101 Financial Accounting
ECON1101 Microeconomics: Prices & Markets
STAT1520 Economic & Business Statistics

Additional Level 1 Prerequisite Unit
ACCT1112 Management Accounting

Managerial Accounting
Accounting graduates who plan to work in the public sector, non-profit organisations and in small or large firms as cost accountants, management accountants, management consultants, or auditors must be broadly trained. These graduates need a sound foundation not only in cost and management accounting, performance indicator development and performance auditing, but also in related discipline (for example, organisational behaviour, marketing, economics, information management, and e-commerce).

Therefore, the Managerial Accounting major is designed to equip you with as broad a range of skills as possible. Breadth of study is encouraged within this major and it has been designed to be taken in conjunction with another major, including accounting, corporate finance, e-commerce, economics, information management, management and marketing.

Level 1 Core Units
ACCT1101 Financial Accounting
ECON1101 Microeconomics: Prices & Markets
STAT1520 Economic & Business Statistics

Additional Level 1 Prerequisite Unit
ACCT1112 Management Accounting

Business Law Minor
There is no Law major available to students within the Business School. However, a comprehensive Business Law minor is available which complements the other majors, and offers excellent commercial skills

Business Law Minor
There is no Law major available to students within the Business School. However, a comprehensive Business Law minor is available which complements the other majors, and offers excellent commercial skills

Career opportunities

Skills in using and understanding accounting information are necessary in such a wide variety of business contexts that the successful completion of the accounting major offers an almost limitless variety of career paths.

These include public accounting practice, public sector accounting /auditing, management consulting, academe, company secretarial and managerial positions. Recent employers have been Ernst and Young, PriceWaterhouseCoopers, Bankwest and Sandalford Wines.

Graduates with a Finance major can expect to work as financial consultants, merchant bankers, credit managers, financial analysts and fund managers. Recent employers include ANZ Bank, Australian Taxation Office, Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, Ernst & Young, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Norwich Union Financial Services and the Department of Premier and Cabinet.

A double major, or double major plus minor, offers prospective employers a range of skills that they can develop. It offers a range of options of career choice if you know the area in which you want to work, but are unsure of the final direction that will best suit you.

Explore the rules for this course, as well as get details of the kind of units you will study, by visiting the University Undergraduate Handbook entry for this course, here.