Accountancy and finance : Further study

A 2011 HESA survey of 2010 graduates indicates that six months after graduation around 9% of accountancy and finance graduates had entered further study.

A more significant proportion of accountancy and finance graduates (almost 20%) went into further study at the same time as working. This may be due to the fact that these graduates often go into posts which require further professional accountancy qualifications, such as:

• the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) qualification;
• the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA)  certificate;
• the Association of Accounting Technicians (AAT)  qualification.

Accountancy graduates may have exemption from some of these examinations, depending on the modules and credits they have achieved in their degrees.

Some postgraduate courses train you to work in a more specialised area of the financial industry, for example, the MSc in Actuarial Science. It is also possible to study for a PhD in specific areas of finance, such as banking or trade statistics.

These trends show only what previous graduates in your subject did immediately upon graduating. Over the course of their career - the first few years in particular - many others will opt for some form of further study, either part time or full time. If further study interests you, start by thinking about postgrad study and search courses and research to identify your options.

Look at funding my further study for details relating to finance and the application process.