BSc (Hons) Business and Finance with Foundation Year

This module provides a transition into your university programme, introducing necessary skills for success in your university studies and knowledge and understanding that will be developed in later modules of your course, and also aims to encourage you at an early stage to take control of your own personal development - both your skills and your future career. Professional people undertake Continuous Professional [Personal] Development (CPD) where they reflect regularly on their strengths and weaknesses and look for opportunities to address their weaker areas and also develop their strengths. This module provides an opportunity to analyse your individual strengths and weaknesses and encourage you to take independent responsibility for your own learning. Also, some key areas of knowledge will be developed, particularly numeracy, Excel spreadsheets and Ethics - all of these areas are vital for accounting and finance and will form vital foundational knowledge for your future studies and to equip you for your future career. The module can be divided into the following themes: - Theme 1: Essential knowledge - maths, Excel Theme 2: Personal development - skills analysis, future career planning, ethical awareness

This module aims to provide students with an introduction to the data handling techniques and methods of statistical analysis using the appropriate software for data collection and analysis. It will enable students to select and apply key quantitative tools to investigating issues in finance area.

This module will explore what it takes for a business to be innovative; as you will be introduced to various theoretical views and opinions in the areas of creativity, innovation and enterprise. Those who study this module will be challenged to consider where, how and why ideas are generated; how ideas are implemented; and who and what type of people/teams develop new ideas.

This module will introduce students to responsible business practices with an emphasis on professional, moral and personal responsibility. This module will encourage the development of personal and professional development skills and self-reflection as a personal development tool.

This module explores the customer journey from prospect or enquiry to loyal customer or advocate. In this module, students will learn about the marketing strategies and tactics involved in attracting new customers and keeping them. Research suggests it can cost between 5 and 10 times as much to acquire a new customer as it does to retain an existing customer, with the commonly quoted average being 7 times more expensive to acquire a new customer. So why do so many companies spend more time chasing new customers than keeping existing ones? This is the paradox of customer retention and acquisition. This module will enable students to understand the role of customer acquisition and retention in designing contemporary marketing strategies for organisations. Students will gain practical experience of planning marketing campaigns designed to attract, win and retain customers.

This module focuses on various aspects of financial institutions (Central Banks, Traditional Banks, Non-Banking Financial Institutions, Fund and Wealth Management) and markets (Derivatives, Equity and Debt) that form the basis of contemporary financial and monetary systems. The UK as well as international financial markets and their financial systems will be considered with reference to current financial news and affairs. This module will also explore the main theories and concepts of financial markets and provide a sound basis for students progressing to the study of finance at a higher level.

This module aims to provide students with an introduction to the principles of financial economics. This will provide students with the primary theoretical and conceptual frameworks of finance to enable students to study finance at a higher level.

The aim of this module is to develop students’ understanding of management and leadership principles, and to explore the influence various leadership and management approaches have on key Human Resource Management functions, including Change Management. Through the study of emerging leadership concepts, such as super-leadership, students will develop an appreciation for the development of self as a method to support others in their development. Reflective practice underpins the module to support students in assessing their own approach to learning and development.

Small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs), no matter how they are defined, make a significant contribution to employment and turnover in different economies. They are also agents of industrial change and innovation and a major source of economic growth. Irrespective of the critical contribution, SMEs are often restrained by the limited financial resources. The dearth of finance creates the barrier and hampers their growth. The module aims to explore approaches small firms can follow to secure finance, where different options of financial support will be investigated including: bank finance, trade credit, venture capital, angel finance, as well as factoring, leasing, and loan guarantee scheme. Agency theory, pecking order logic, and institutional perspective will be introduced as the theoretical underpinning. This is parallel to the debate on finance issues in firms led by women or ethnic minority entrepreneurs and microfinance institutions. Beyond these, government initiatives and policy agenda are also showcased, whilst the impact of institutional intervention is evaluated.   

This module locates management accounting within the wider organisational context. It requires evaluation of the role of management accounting within corporate governance and the strategic decision making processes of an organisation. It requires an evaluation of the role of management accounting within management control systems. It will show how the use of a range of strategic management accounting techniques can enhance the operational and strategic processes within organisations.

The ability to effectively communicate with all internal and external stakeholders is key for business leaders. The business environment is in constant flux and it is important to be able to navigate this space, whilst building relationships and networks. This module will explore key communication and human resources theories and provide students with the tools to assess and develop their own communication skills.

The Professional Project capstone module is an independent study unit. Students will be able to draw together learning form their previous subjects, focusing on their key strengths, in the production of a business artefact. Alongside the artefact students will develop a written critical reflection, which is designed elucidate their rational for choice of artefact and reflect on the process of its production and dissemination.