Unit information: Accounting / Finance Professional Placement Year in 2017/18

Unit name	Accounting / Finance Professional Placement Year
Unit code	EFIM30032
Credit points	120
Level of study	H/6
Teaching block(s)	Teaching Block 4 (weeks 1-24)
Unit director	Mrs. Sam Bell
Open unit status	Not open
Pre-requisites	Overall 50% average in year 1 units; plus 55% average across EFIM10005 Fundamentals of Accounting and Finance 1 and EFIM10006 Fundamentals of Accounting and Finance 2
Co-requisites	None
School/department	School of Accounting and Finance - Business School
Faculty	Faculty of Social Sciences and Law

Description including Unit Aims

This unit comprises a year spent in a professional placement, involving work with an organisation which is an authorised trainer with the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales, having demonstrated that it provides a suitable training environment (within, for example, accounting, IT, insolvency, tax or audit) for students who might wish to complete a part of a professional accounting qualification.

The aim of this unit is to provide students with additional knowledge, understanding and skills derived from spending a period in a financial environment within a commercial, governmental or not-for-profit organisation.

The unit aims to enhance students' understanding of the areas of Accounting and Finance which they have already encountered in years 1 and 2 of their degree, as well as providing them with a practical understanding of areas which they may critique in final-year units (for example, they may choose a role in an auditing department then go on to study our final year unit in Auditing).

In addition, the placement will support personal development in terms of time management, individual responsibility within team-working, an understanding of organisational pressures and entrepreneurial skills.

Intended Learning Outcomes

Students will:

• gain work experience which would contribute to the ICAEW Chartered Accountant qualification;
• gain knowledge of the industry which will help in final year units;
• be able to address new and unfamiliar problems in accounting and finance;
• be able to work within a team to solve a problem

Students will demonstrate knowledge and understanding of:

• the value of teamwork;
• improved time management; and
• the importance of good communication

in the workplace.

Teaching Information

The unit will run throughout the academic year with students embedded in the organisation for the duration. Students will maintain contact with the School of Economics, Finance and Management through an academic member of staff but work full-time (35+ hours per week) at a professional placement under the management of an Authorised (by the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales) Training Person.

Assessment Information

Formative assessment: Through workplace reports prepared by the authorised training person at the organisation offering the placement.

The formative assessment will ensure students demonstrate their knowledge and understanding of teamwork, time management and good communication, as well as working with teams to solve problems.

Summative assessment: a 5,000 word essay to be completed towards the end of the placement that would link the placement organisation to academic studies, plus a reflective learning journal. The reflective learning journal will be marked as pass/fail, while the mark for the essay will serve as the overall mark for the unit.

Both the summative essay and the learning journal assess the intended learning outcomes of the unit.

Reading and References

Provided by partners involved, for example Study Manuals of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales