Bachelor of Business (Accounting)

The Bachelor of Business (Accounting) at the Sydney Institute of Higher Education is a three-year degree for people who want to work in accounting, finance or business more broadly. You study the core of accounting: financial accounting, management accounting, auditing, taxation and business law, alongside the business subjects that make an accountant useful in an organisation, economics, statistics, finance, marketing and management. By the end you should be able to prepare and read a set of financial statements, work out a company's tax position, and explain what the numbers mean to someone who has to make a decision.

How the degree is structured

Australian bachelor degrees are made up of units of study, each worth a set number of credit points. A full-time load is usually four units a semester, and you need to pass a set number of credit points to graduate, the exact figure is in the course rules on the official page. The academic year runs in semesters or trimesters, so you can often choose when to start. The degree is three years full time, and many students take longer by studying part time or reducing their load in a given semester. Some students add an honours year at the end, which is a fourth year built around a research thesis rather than coursework.

What you actually do

Most of your time goes into tutorials and workshops where you work through problems, not just lectures. You will prepare journal entries, build budgets, analyse a company's annual report, and argue a tax treatment with the class. Work-integrated learning is part of how accounting is taught in Australia, placements, industry projects and internships with accounting firms, businesses and government give you real files to work on before you graduate. The course is registered on CRICOS as 102736M, so international students can enrol on a Student visa. If you hold that visa, you can work up to 48 hours a fortnight while your course is in session, and unlimited hours during scheduled course breaks. After you finish, the Temporary Graduate visa (subclass 485) post-study work stream lets eligible graduates stay and work in Australia for a period set by the Department of Home Affairs.

Who it suits

This degree suits school leavers who are comfortable with numbers and want a professional qualification with clear job paths, and also people already working in an office who want to formalise their skills. If you are aiming to become a CPA or a Chartered Accountant, check the professional accreditation of the course with the accounting bodies and with the Sydney Institute of Higher Education before you enrol, accreditation is what determines which subjects count towards your professional membership. English requirements for international applicants are set out on the official page; an IELTS Academic overall of 6.0–6.5 is the common undergraduate standard, and the Department of Home Affairs sets its own separate English threshold for the Student visa. Tuition is published on the CRICOS register. Confirm the current structure, unit list, fees and entry requirements on the official page before you apply.

• Graduate accountant, public practice firms, from the big firms to suburban practices, doing audit, tax and business services work.
• Assistant accountant or financial accountant, in-house finance teams in retail, manufacturing, construction, health and not-for-profit organisations.
• Tax accountant, preparing returns and advising clients, often at a firm that specialises in tax.
• Auditor, testing financial records and controls at accounting firms, government agencies and the Australian National Audit Office.
• Management accountant, budgeting, costing and performance reporting inside a company.
• Payroll or accounts officer, running payroll, accounts payable and receivable, and reconciliations.
• Financial analyst, banks, insurance companies, superannuation funds and investment firms.
• Graduate roles in the Australian Public Service, Treasury, the Australian Taxation Office, the Department of Finance and other agencies that hire accounting graduates.