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Accounting (Professional)

The Professional Accounting program meets the requirements for professional accounting accreditation with the Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand and CPA Australia.

Options for studying Professional Accounting

Professional Accounting is only available as a Table A program option in the Bachelor of Commerce, the Bachelor of Commerce and Bachelor of Advanced Studies and the combined Engineering and Commerce program.

The Professional Accounting program is not available to students enrolled in the combined Bachelor of Commerce and Bachelor of Laws degree. Students who wish to meet professional accreditation requirements for accounting in this degree should refer to the information listed in the Professional Accreditations section under the Commerce and Laws degree information in this handbook.

Please note. Students cannot complete the Professional Accounting program in combination with a major or minor in Accounting.

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Pathway through the Professional Accounting program

The requirements for the Professional Accounting program are spread out over three years of the degree (four years if students are completing a combined Bachelor of Advanced Studies degree).

To achieve the Professional Accounting program, students must complete 72 credit points comprising:

  • 24 credit points of 1000-level core units of study;
  • 24 credit points of 2000-level core units of study; and
  • 24 credit points of 3000-level core units of study.

A sample pathway for this program is listed below.

Note: All units listed are worth 6 credit points unless otherwise indicated.

Please Note: This sample progression is meant as an example only. Depending on unit prerequisites, students may be able to complete these units in a different sequence to that displayed in this table.

Year Session Units of study
First Semester 1 Core: BUSS1020 Quantitative Business Analysis* Core: BUSS1030 Accounting, Business and Society*
Semester 2 Core: ACCT1006 Accounting and Financial Management Core: BUSS1040 Economics for Business Decision Making
Second Semester 1 Core: ACCT2011 Financial Accounting A Core: CLAW2214 Business Law ^
Semester 2 Core: ACCT2019 Management Accounting Core: FINC2011 Corporate Finance I
Third Semester 1 Core: ACCT3011 Financial Accounting B Core: INFS3110 Information Systems for Accountants
Semester 2 Core: ACCT3600 Accounting and Auditing in Practice ** Core: CLAW3201 Australian Taxation System

* These units are also degree core for the Bachelor of Commerce and related combined degrees.

^ Students who wish to combine a Business Law major or minor with the Professional Accounting program must complete CLAW1001 and CLAW1003, which will satisfy the requirements of the Professional Accounting Program unit CLAW2214.

** Capstone unit for the program – completed in the final semester of study for that program. This unit of study must be completed at the University of Sydney Business School.

Note. Students who transfer into the Bachelor of Commerce or Bachelor of Commerce and Bachelor of Advanced Studies who have completed a prohibition for one of the specific accredited units of study, such as BUSS1020, will need to contact the relevant accrediting body to determine if the unit completed can be credited towards accreidation. Please refer to the Accreditation page for further details and links to professional accreditation bodies.

For details of the core and selective units of study required for the Professional Accounting program please refer to the Accounting (Professional) section of the unit of study table, Table A, in this handbook.


Students can also refer to the University's Current Students website for progression examples for specific major/minor combinations for their degree.

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Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of the Professional Accounting program students will be able to:

No. Program Learning Outcome
1 Use accounting systems and processes to produce business entity reports.
 2 Appropriately apply accounting and regulatory requirements to produce accounting reports and financial statements.
 3 Use budgets, costing and cost control, business planning, internal control, and performance management to inform management decision-making.
 4 Apply contemporary audit practice within regulatory requirements in order to validate published financial reports and to inform shareholders and stakeholders.
 5 Provide accurate technical tax advice to clients and produce the required written documentation.
 6 Analyse, interpret and integrate commercial, economic and business information to develop novel solutions and responses to business problems and challenges.
 7 Identify the risks and implications of misstatement, both financial and non-financial facing, in business evaluation.
 8 Communicate persuasively both orally and in written business reports and audit procedures.
 9 Collaborate effectively with diverse groups in a professional business manner as team members and leaders and in interactions with clients.
 10 Apply ethical decision-making criteria and sustainability considerations as part of management accounting expertise in a broad business context.
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