Section Title
advanced search

Career

Area of study


Hide this form

Recommended Study Sequence

Click unit name to reveal description:

Accreditation

Students having completed the core units and the accounting stream units will have met the educational requirements for registration with the Taxation Agentsā€˜ Board. Depending upon the electives and alternates chosen, this degree satisfies the accreditation requirements of Financial Planning Association and ASIC, CPA Australia, The Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia (ICAA), for entry into their CPA and CA programs respectively. In order to meet entry requirements to the CFP professional educational programs offered by the Financial Planning Association students will need to complete units in the financial planning stream.

Admission

UAI or mature-age entry through the Universities Admissions Centre (UAC).

HSC Mathematics and English

International applicants should contact UWS International for details on admission. Contact information for the International Office is available via the UWS website

Qualification for this award requires the successful completion of 240 credit points including the units listed in the recommended sequence below.

Students must have no more than 100 credit points of Level 1 units and no fewer than 60 credit points of Level 3 units.

Electives within the sequence may be used towards obtaining an approved major or sub-major offered by UWS. Students requiring professional accreditation must complete units in the relevant streams as well and are advised to use their electives to do so.

Recommended Sequence

Full time

Year 1

Autumn session

Accounting Information for Managers

For information on this unit please contact the Unit Coordinators: Sharon Taylor (Blacktown and Campbelltown Campuses) and Jean McCartney (Parramatta Campus). This unit provides exposure to financial and management accounting information from a user viewpoint. The unit aims to provide breadth of awareness and knowledge in relevant fields of accounting essential to decision making for managers.

Introduction to Business Law

This is an introductory law unit designed to introduce the fundamentals of law in a commercial context. The unit introduces students to the basic principles of law and the legal system as well as examining some of the major areas of law that impact on commercial dealings. This unit examines the structure of the legal system, the way law is made, legal reasoning and problem solving. The main areas of law covered include contracts, torts and agency.

Principles of Economics

This unit is an introduction to economic concepts and contemporary economic issues. It introduces students to basic concepts such as markets and their operation, the behaviour of firms, the efficiency and potential failings of free markets, the role of government, key macroeconomic variables and problems such as unemployment. It illuminates these concepts via application to contemporary economic issues and debates over different theoretical perspectives. This unit also exposes students to recent developments in economics via presentations by specialist guest lecturers.

Quantitative Techniques

This unit provides students with a range of basic skills in mathematics and statistics, which are useful in business and the finance industry. After reviewing basic methods of algebra, functions and their uses are discussed. The mathematics of finance are covered in some depth, including interest, present and future values, annuities, periodic payment, depreciation bonds and debentures. The uses and abuses of statistics are discussed by looking at ways of presenting data, both in tables and pictorially. Finally probability,decision making and index numbers are introduced.

Spring session

Financial Accounting Applications

This unit gives students the practical skills necessary to analyse the accounting transactions of an entity and then be able to measure and record these transactions in a systematic manner for the preparation of accounting reports to external users.

Management Accounting Fundamentals

This unit provides an introduction to management accounting in an e-commerce environment. The interrelations of management accounting to other functional areas, to suppliers, to customers, and to other sources of external information relevant to planning and control are examined. Topics include the development and logic of routine and non-routine analysis performed to support management decision making.

Law of Business Organisations

Topics in this unit include: partnership, trusts, corporation law and constitution of companies, membership and share capital, corporate officers, meetings, accounts and reports, arrangements and reconstruction, receivers and winding up, share acquisition and takeovers, key offences.

Financial Advisory Relationships

In this unit students will develop an array of essential skills required by professional financial advisers. Skills addressed include creation of the client adviser relationship, interpersonal skills and approaches to dealing with the broad needs of clients, psychological aspects of client behaviour, communication and the creation of trust in the business environment, team building, professional writing skills, time management, counselling and assessment of client financial literacy and the promotion of professional services. Overriding all these skills is an appreciation of managing ethics in the workplace.

Year 2

Autumn session

Law of Commercial Obligations

This unit deals with legal issues concerning controls over and enforcement of various kinds of legal obligations in business. Topics covered include: sale of goods, consumer protection, manufacturers' liability, insurance, negotiable instruments and banking, property trusts, securities and insolvency.

Taxation Law

Topics in this unit include: constitutional basis of taxation; income tax assessment; concept of income tax; allowable deductions; other federal and state taxes; taxation of business associations (partnerships, companies, trusts and primary producers); taxation accounting, administration and practice; taxation planning and avoidance.

Corporate Financial Management

This unit introduces the fundamental concepts of finance theory and the tools of financial decision making in the context of the Australian institutional environment. These concepts relate primarily to the time value of money, risk and return, capital budgeting and capital structure. The unit's purpose is to develop an understanding of the basic practices of financial management from the perspective of a firm (both large and small). Students examine the investment, financing and dividend decisions of corporations.

Intermediate Financial Accounting

This unit extends the knowledge and understanding of financial accounting through the application of problem solving to selected entities drawing upon accounting theory and critical analysis.

Spring session

Managing Professionals

Based on the understanding of the nature of professional work and its essentially collaborative nature, this unit examines the types of organisational structures in which professionals work and identifies the leadership and interpersonal skills needed to mould people engaged on professional work into a co-operative, self directed workforce. It recognizes the importance of encouraging effectiveness and ethics in professional roles and proposes the concept of a 'community of practice' as a means for sharing essential knowledge and developing stragetic agendas.

And three electives

Year 3

Autumn session

State Taxes and GST

This unit examines the Commonwealth statutory regime to the Goods and Services Tax and the NSW statutory regimes relating to Payroll Tax, Land Tax and Stamp Duty. It provides the framework to critically assess proposals for reform of these taxes.

And one of the following units:

Advanced Accounting

This unit addresses the advanced aspects of accounting with particular emphasis on accounting philosophies and theories, and selected accounting standards and applications.

Financial Services Law

This unit focuses on regulatory issues relating to financial services. It covers issues such as financial services reform, retail versus wholesale clients, FSRA, Australian Financial Services Licence, conduct and obligations, institutional issues, impact on investments, statutory regulation of financial markets, ASIC's power, liability and enforcement.

Students wishing to follow the Financial Planning Stream must choose Financial Services Law, unit code 200271 .

And two electives

Spring session

Financial Planning

The unit endeavours to provide students with an understanding of the complex process and contextualisation of the Australian Financial Planning Industry. This unit aims to introduce students to the principles of personal financial planning and the provision of personal financial advice including the preparation of a Statement of Advice (SOA). Topics covered include the current Australian regulatory environment, strategies for the accumulation of wealth and risk protection, retirement planning, estate planning, taxation consequences, debt and credit management and home ownership. This unit meets ASIC requirements (PS146) in relation to both knowledge and skills.

Advanced Taxation Law

This is an advanced level study of selected aspects of income tax and capital gains. It includes an examination of other taxes, including sales tax, stamp duty, payroll tax, death duty and estate duty.

And two electives

Part-time

Year 1

Autumn session

Accounting Information for Managers

For information on this unit please contact the Unit Coordinators: Sharon Taylor (Blacktown and Campbelltown Campuses) and Jean McCartney (Parramatta Campus). This unit provides exposure to financial and management accounting information from a user viewpoint. The unit aims to provide breadth of awareness and knowledge in relevant fields of accounting essential to decision making for managers.

Introduction to Business Law

This is an introductory law unit designed to introduce the fundamentals of law in a commercial context. The unit introduces students to the basic principles of law and the legal system as well as examining some of the major areas of law that impact on commercial dealings. This unit examines the structure of the legal system, the way law is made, legal reasoning and problem solving. The main areas of law covered include contracts, torts and agency.

Spring session

Financial Accounting Applications

This unit gives students the practical skills necessary to analyse the accounting transactions of an entity and then be able to measure and record these transactions in a systematic manner for the preparation of accounting reports to external users.

Management Accounting Fundamentals

This unit provides an introduction to management accounting in an e-commerce environment. The interrelations of management accounting to other functional areas, to suppliers, to customers, and to other sources of external information relevant to planning and control are examined. Topics include the development and logic of routine and non-routine analysis performed to support management decision making.

Year 2

Autumn session

Principles of Economics

This unit is an introduction to economic concepts and contemporary economic issues. It introduces students to basic concepts such as markets and their operation, the behaviour of firms, the efficiency and potential failings of free markets, the role of government, key macroeconomic variables and problems such as unemployment. It illuminates these concepts via application to contemporary economic issues and debates over different theoretical perspectives. This unit also exposes students to recent developments in economics via presentations by specialist guest lecturers.

Quantitative Techniques

This unit provides students with a range of basic skills in mathematics and statistics, which are useful in business and the finance industry. After reviewing basic methods of algebra, functions and their uses are discussed. The mathematics of finance are covered in some depth, including interest, present and future values, annuities, periodic payment, depreciation bonds and debentures. The uses and abuses of statistics are discussed by looking at ways of presenting data, both in tables and pictorially. Finally probability,decision making and index numbers are introduced.

Spring session

Law of Business Organisations

Topics in this unit include: partnership, trusts, corporation law and constitution of companies, membership and share capital, corporate officers, meetings, accounts and reports, arrangements and reconstruction, receivers and winding up, share acquisition and takeovers, key offences.

Financial Advisory Relationships

In this unit students will develop an array of essential skills required by professional financial advisers. Skills addressed include creation of the client adviser relationship, interpersonal skills and approaches to dealing with the broad needs of clients, psychological aspects of client behaviour, communication and the creation of trust in the business environment, team building, professional writing skills, time management, counselling and assessment of client financial literacy and the promotion of professional services. Overriding all these skills is an appreciation of managing ethics in the workplace.

Year 3

Autumn session

Law of Commercial Obligations

This unit deals with legal issues concerning controls over and enforcement of various kinds of legal obligations in business. Topics covered include: sale of goods, consumer protection, manufacturers' liability, insurance, negotiable instruments and banking, property trusts, securities and insolvency.

Corporate Financial Management

This unit introduces the fundamental concepts of finance theory and the tools of financial decision making in the context of the Australian institutional environment. These concepts relate primarily to the time value of money, risk and return, capital budgeting and capital structure. The unit's purpose is to develop an understanding of the basic practices of financial management from the perspective of a firm (both large and small). Students examine the investment, financing and dividend decisions of corporations.

Spring session

Managing Professionals

Based on the understanding of the nature of professional work and its essentially collaborative nature, this unit examines the types of organisational structures in which professionals work and identifies the leadership and interpersonal skills needed to mould people engaged on professional work into a co-operative, self directed workforce. It recognizes the importance of encouraging effectiveness and ethics in professional roles and proposes the concept of a 'community of practice' as a means for sharing essential knowledge and developing stragetic agendas.

And one elective

Year 4

Autumn session

Taxation Law

Topics in this unit include: constitutional basis of taxation; income tax assessment; concept of income tax; allowable deductions; other federal and state taxes; taxation of business associations (partnerships, companies, trusts and primary producers); taxation accounting, administration and practice; taxation planning and avoidance.

Intermediate Financial Accounting

This unit extends the knowledge and understanding of financial accounting through the application of problem solving to selected entities drawing upon accounting theory and critical analysis.

Spring session

Two electives

Year 5

Autumn session

State Taxes and GST

This unit examines the Commonwealth statutory regime to the Goods and Services Tax and the NSW statutory regimes relating to Payroll Tax, Land Tax and Stamp Duty. It provides the framework to critically assess proposals for reform of these taxes.

Choose one of

Advanced Accounting

This unit addresses the advanced aspects of accounting with particular emphasis on accounting philosophies and theories, and selected accounting standards and applications.

Financial Services Law

This unit focuses on regulatory issues relating to financial services. It covers issues such as financial services reform, retail versus wholesale clients, FSRA, Australian Financial Services Licence, conduct and obligations, institutional issues, impact on investments, statutory regulation of financial markets, ASIC's power, liability and enforcement.

Students wishing to follow the Financial Planning Stream must choose Financial Services Law, unit code 200271.

Spring session

Financial Planning

The unit endeavours to provide students with an understanding of the complex process and contextualisation of the Australian Financial Planning Industry. This unit aims to introduce students to the principles of personal financial planning and the provision of personal financial advice including the preparation of a Statement of Advice (SOA). Topics covered include the current Australian regulatory environment, strategies for the accumulation of wealth and risk protection, retirement planning, estate planning, taxation consequences, debt and credit management and home ownership. This unit meets ASIC requirements (PS146) in relation to both knowledge and skills.

Advanced Taxation Law

This is an advanced level study of selected aspects of income tax and capital gains. It includes an examination of other taxes, including sales tax, stamp duty, payroll tax, death duty and estate duty.

Year 6

Autumn session

Two electives

Spring session

Two electives

In addition to the core units previously listed, students choosing to complete the Accounting Stream or Financial Planning Stream, or streams, must include the specific units listed here under for each stream. (It should be noted the tax units required for recognition as a Tax Agent are included in the core units).

Accounting Stream

Corporate Accounting Systems

This unit builds on the fundamental knowledge of accounting procedures gained in Intermediate Financial Accounting. It involves the comprehensive study of aspects of corporate accounting and reporting which are regulated by legislation, accounting standards, Australian Securities and Investment Commission and Stock Exchange requirements. This unit is designed to provide students with grounding in the regulation and practice of corporate reporting in Australia. The major orientation is towards the theoretical and practical aspects or corporate reporting, whilst at the same time exploring the reasons for regulatory disclosures.

Systems Design and Audit

This unit examines the development and operation of information systems and the subsequent audit of financial information produced by these systems.

Advanced Accounting

This unit addresses the advanced aspects of accounting with particular emphasis on accounting philosophies and theories, and selected accounting standards and applications.

And five electives

Financial Planning Stream

Personal Asset Management

This unit provides students with necessary knowledge and skills to construct and manage a portfolio of personal assets. Emphasis is placed on how the individual, rather than the firm, approaches financing and investing decisions. The unit will consider the theories of portfolio construction, concepts of investment risk, return and diversification, matching asset allocation based on client's individual risk profile, design and management of a personal investment portfolio and the law as it relates to investments.

Insurance Advising - Theory and Practice

This unit provides a substantial grounding in the theories and practices of insurance and risk management so as to enable the student to make knowledgeable risk management decisions. Topics covered include introduction to risk and the risk management process, risk management techniques, property and liability exposures, risk management for home owners, business liability and insurance, health insurance, life insurance, loss of income exposures, annuities and employee benefits, insurance industry, government regulation of insurance, and implementing risk management decisions.

Retirement Planning

This unit replaced by 200569 Retirement Planning in 2008. This unit aims to provide a study of the laws which impact on advice and decisions relating to retirement planning, with a focus on identifying practical and strategic planning opportunities and outcomes. It forms part of the elective stream of a sub-major in financial planning. Some issues considered in this unit also have an impact in respect to investments, insurance and risk management, superannuation and taxation consequences.

Estate and Succession Planning

This unit replaced by 200624 - Estate and Succession Planning in 2008. The unit aims to provide a detailed study of laws which impact on estate and succession planning, with a focus on identifying practical and strategic planning opportunities and outcomes. The unit forms part of the elective stream of a sub-major in financial planning. Some issues considered in this unit also have an impact in respect to investments, insurance and risk management, superannuation and taxation consequences.

And four electives

Bachelor of Financial Advising


After recent high-profile, multi-million dollar fraud and incompetency scandals, strict new regulatory guidelines now govern the finance industry, both locally and internationally. These guidelines have resulted in a dramatic increase in the demand for qualified, accredited financial advisers; the Financial Advising industry is now one of the fastest growing sectors of the service economy.

The University of Western Sydney's Financial Advising degree is an innovative multi-disciplined program which addresses the day-to-day issues encountered in accounting public practice in both small and medium sized accounting firms, and also in financial services firms. These issues require an in-depth understanding of taxation, financial planning, superannuation and accounting, and the inter-relationships and impact these disciplines have on giving overall financial advice. The new regulatory framework administered by the Australian Security and Investment Commission (ASIC) now requires expertise in all of these areas to ensure that consumers receive integrated and holistic financial advice.

Unique in Australia, the Financial Advising degree gives you in-depth knowledge of the legislation, policies, personal attributes and principles of providing financial advice to businesses and individuals. It provides a pathway to a range of careers in providing financial advice with special emphasis on the development of the technical and personal skills (such as communication and problem solving skills) necessary to provide sound financial advice to all members of the community.

Course Details

UAC Code Campus UAI 2007
702325 Parramatta 65.05

Duration

3 years full-time or equivalent part-time.

Note: 'part-time' refers to study load, not to timetabling of evening classes.

Practical Experience

While there is no formal requirement for students to complete work experience as part of this degree, all students are encouraged to independently gain work experience in order to enhance their practical skills. Work experience serves as a valuable stepping-stone to future employment opportunities.

Professional Recognition

This program is designed to satisfy the accreditation standards of CPA Australia, The Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia and The Financial Planning Association of Australia for entry into their professional education programs.

A Career in Financial Advising

The Bachelor of Financial Advising is suited to those students seeking a career path directed towards public accounting and financial planning practices which emphasise expertise in the areas of superannuation, taxation, personal financial planning and overall integrated financial advice. As a graduate, you may pursue an exciting career such as:

  • client investment adviser
  • financial advisory officer
  • retirement planning adviser
  • investment adviser
  • tax or investment consultant
  • accountant
  • tax accountant
  • financial planning professional

Positions can be found in private practice, as well as in local, state and federal government departments, large and small financial institutions, and a large range of businesses.

Assumed Knowledge

Mathematics and any two units of English.

Electives

  • Corporate Accounting Systems
  • Systems Design and Audit
  • Advanced Accounting OR Financial Services Law
  • Self Managed Superannuation Funds
  • Financial Services Marketing
  • Insurance Advising Theory and Practice
  • Personal Asset Management
  • Retirement Planning
  • Estate Planning

Application Information

To lodge an application for the course of your choice check the Application Information.

Pathway Information

If you have completed previous tertiary studies (Community College, Private College or TAFE) you may be eligible for recognition of prior learning. For information on pathway programs, please refer to VET/UWS Pathways

Do you need more information?

Request a course and application information pack:
Course Enquiry Form
International Course Enquiry Form

For further assistance contact us.