Course details

Summary

Taxation is much more than interpreting and applying legislation. Societies need taxation in order to redistribute wealth, to provide for expenditure on public goods and services, as well as serve as a tool to influence behaviour.

Taxation is a core area within the broader fields of accounting and law, drawing together concepts from these disciplines, with those from economics. More recently, knowledge and theories in a number of other disciplines, such as psychology and sociology, have been applied to assist with a greater understanding of the impact of taxation on society.

Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand recognise the importance of studies in taxation, with courses containing taxation content included in their ‘core' and ‘accounting and/or business related' academic requirements. Studying taxation will equip you with the skills and knowledge to become a taxation specialist within the accounting profession, a commercial professional or a chartered accountant.

A Bachelor of Commerce (BCom) majoring in Taxation and Accounting is a pathway to external qualifications and membership of CPA Australia, Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand, the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA), and other professional accounting bodies internationally.

Taxation courses are taught by staff at UC who have been formally recognised as excellent teachers, and guest lecturers from leading professionals are incorporated to enable a wider appreciation of tax issues faced in practice.

The courses provide a balance of legal, accounting and practical perspectives that provide a thorough preparation for a professional career. Students are introduced to academic and practice-informed research into current tax issues by the third year.

Recommended preparation

While some previous study of accounting is useful preparation, it is not essential to have studied accounting at secondary school.

Competence in spoken and written English communication is essential for both taxation and accountancy studies.

With the growing importance and use in accountancy of mathematical methods and statistical tools, a background in mathematics and statistics is strongly recommended for Taxation and Accounting majors.

Students with very good Year 13 results in accounting may be offered direct entry to 200-level Accounting courses at the discretion of the Head of Department of Accounting and Information Systems.

Qualification structure and duration

The three year BCom degree requires a minimum total of 360 points:

at least 255 points of Commerce courses (up to 60 points of Mathematics and/or Statistics at 100 or 200-level may be included in the 255 points)

the remaining 105 points can be from commerce courses or courses from other degrees.

A minimum of 225 points must be from courses above 100-level, with at least 90 points at 300-level.

Double Degrees

It is possible to combine a commerce degree with other degrees; a Bachelor of Commerce and a Bachelor of Laws is a highly marketable combination. The Bachelor of Commerce also combines well with the Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Science, Bachelor of Forestry Science and Bachelor of Engineering with Honours.

Career opportunities

As a specialist in Taxation and Accounting you will be able to enter a variety of organisations. For example, as a taxation specialist or accountant in chartered accounting firms, accountancy practices, government organisations (including Inland Revenue and the Treasury), business and commercial enterprises, non-profit organisations, banking and financial services, management consultancies, education organisations, law firms and obtain interesting, well-paid work around the world.

Entry criteria

Admission to UC with University Entrance, or equivalent, is required to enrol for a Bachelor's degree. Applicants must have completed New Zealand University Entrance through NCEA; or Cambridge International Examinations (CIE); or International Baccalaureate Diploma (IB) or any other equivalent overseas qualification.

Other English language requirements: TOEFL PBT with a minimum score of 550 and TWE with a minimum score of 4.5; CCEL EAP Level 2 with a minimum C+ grade; CAE or CPE minimum score of 169 with at least 162 in reading, writing, listening and speaking; Pearson Test of English (Academic) - PTE with an overall score of 57 and no PTE communicative skills score below 50.