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(Archived) NUS BBA (ACC) – Curriculum AY2019/2020 and AY2020/2021

Unless otherwise stated, the courses listed on this page are for Business Students only and the information provided on this page is SUBJECT TO CHANGES.
PROGRAMME REQUIREMENTS FOR THE BACHELOR OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION (ACCOUNTANCY) (BBA[ACC]) FOR STUDENTS WHO MATRICULATE IN ACADEMIC YEAR 2019/2020 AND ACADEMIC YEAR 2020/2021:

Students are enrolled directly into an honours programme and are required to complete 160 Units to graduate.

The degree requirements for the BBA (ACC) programme are listed in the table. For further elaborations on each component, please refer to the drop-down accordions after.

BBA (ACC) DIRECT HONOURS PROGRAMME REQUIREMENTS

BBA (ACC) Honours Degree Requirements (Total 160 Units)
University Level Requirements (5 courses worth 20 Units)
  • General Education Courses
Programme Requirements (108 Units)
  • Core Courses (11 courses worth 40 Units)
  • ACC Specialisation Courses (11 courses worth 44 Units)
  • Internship Course (4 Units)
  • Honours Programme Courses (worth 20 Units)
Unrestricted Elective Requirements (32 Units)
Non-Credit, Graduating Requirements

1. Academic Orientation Courses:

  • BPM1701 Calculus & Statistics
  • BPM1702 Microsoft Excel and PowerPoint for Business

2. Intensive 1st-year primer course:

  • BPM1705 Understanding How Business Works

3. Career Preparation:

  • Career Creation Starter Courses
  1. STR1000 Career Creation Starter Workshops
  2. STR2000 Career Creation Starter Clinics
•  Global Immersion and Study
Note 1: Students may graduate with the BBA (ACC) general degree upon completion of 120 Units, comprising the general education courses (20 Units), core courses (40 Units), compulsory accounting courses (44 Units), internship course (4 Units) and unrestricted elective courses (12 Units).
Note 2: Students may read up to a maximum of 60 Units of level-1000 courses. Any level-1000 course taken in excess of the 60 Units will not count towards the fulfilment of the degree requirements. For polytechnic graduates, 20 Units of advanced placement credits (exemptions) awarded under Unrestricted Electives from work completed at the polytechnic level, will NOT be counted against the 60 Units limit.
Note 3: A course may be worth 1, 2, 3 or 4 Units. Core, specialisation and elective courses are worth four Units each unless otherwise stated. Additional elective courses of one, two or three Units may be introduced as and when necessary.

To fulfil the requirements of the BBA (ACC)/BBA (ACC Hons) programme as well as to satisfy all the coursework requirements for the professional Accountant qualification, the 120/160 Units read by the respective students will consist of the courses listed in the following accordions.

The University Level Requirement (ULR) is a graduation requirement which comprises General Education aimed to connect disciplinary knowledge and perspectives with the skills needed for lifelong learning beyond the university.

Students are required to read and pass five General Education (GE) courses, one from each pillar:

    1. Human Cultures
    2. Asking Questions
    3. Quantitative Reasoning
    4. Singapore Studies
    5. Thinking and Expression

Please click here to view the course trailers.

Students are strongly encouraged to complete the GE courses within the first two years of their candidature.

The NUS BBA (ACC) programme features a streamlined core with 11 foundation courses. Individually, the courses contribute to either the Analytical, Functional or Leadership component of the student’s core curriculum. Collectively, they provide the NUS Accountancy student a comprehensive strong business foundation to complement their professional training in accountancy. The courses are listed in the table below.

  Course Code   Course Title
  Analytical Core
   DAO1704    Decision Analytics using Spreadsheets and AI
   DAO2702    Programming for Business Analytics and AI
   BSP1707    Managerial Economics: Exposure (2 Units)
   BSP2701    Global Economy (2 Units)
  Functional Core
   ACC1701    Accounting for Decision Makers
   BSP1702    Legal Environment of Business
   MKT1705    Principles of Marketing
   MNO1706    Organisational Behaviour
   FIN2704    Finance
   DAO2703    Operations and Technology Management
  Leadership Core
   MNO2706*    Business Communication for Leaders (ACC)
*BAC students who have yet to complete MNO2706 should register for ES2002 Business Communication for Leaders
Accountancy students need to fulfil 11 compulsory accountancy courses.

List of Accountancy elective courses:

Course Code Course Title
   ACC2706    Managerial Accounting
   ACC2707    Corporate Accounting & Reporting I
   ACC2708    Corporate Accounting & Reporting II
   ACC2709*    Accounting Information Systems
   ACC3701*    Assurance and Attestation
   ACC3702    Corporate and Securities Law
   ACC3703    Taxation
   ACC3704    Advanced Corporate Accounting and Reporting
   ACC3705    Valuation
   ACC3706   Governance, Risk Management and Sustainability (previous course title Corporate Governance and Risk Management)
   ACC3707    Integrated Perspectives in Accounting and Business
*BAC students who fail to complete both ACC2709 & ACC3701 by AY2025/26, Semester 1 will have to read the new set of courses, ACC2727 Business Processes, Systems & Assurance-Foundation and ACC3727 Business Processes, Systems & Assurance – Advanced

In addition to the above, the following accounting elective courses listed in the table may be offered. Do note that this list is not exhaustive. Unrestricted electives do not need to be from accounting.

List of Accountancy elective courses:

   Course Code   Course Title
   ACC2711** Sustainability Metrics and Performance Analysis (this course can only be counted as an UE)
   ACC2712 Financial Accounting
   ACC3711 Managerial Planning and Control
   ACC3713 Accounting Theory
   ACC3714 Accounting for Entrepreneurs: From Startup to Exit
   ACC3715*** Accounting Analytics and AI
   ACC3717 Carbon Accounting and Management
   ACC4711 Advanced Taxation
   ACC4712 Forensic Accounting
   ACC4713 Banking Institutions: Managing Risks in a Digital World (previous course title: Financial Institution Audit and Compliance)
   ACC4714* Advanced and Sustainability Assurance (previous course title: Advanced Assurance and Attestation) *Last offered in AY2022/23, Semester 2
   ACC4715 Accounting Theory
   ACC4751 Advanced Independent Study in Accounting
   ACC4761 Seminars in Accounting
   ACC4761A Seminars in Accounting: Internal Audit
   ACC4761C* Seminars in Accounting: Advanced Accounting Theory *This course has been discontinued
   ACC4761D* Seminars in Accounting: Risk Management Technology *This course has been discontinued
   ACC4761E* Seminars in Accounting: Public Sector Audit *This course has been discontinued
   ACC4761F* Seminars in Accounting: Advanced Corporate Governance *This course has been discontinued
   ACC4761G* Seminars in Accounting: Advanced Risk Management *This course has been discontinued
   ACC4761H* Seminars in Accounting: Accounting & Business Analysis for Banks *Last offered in AY2023/24, Semester 1
**Available from Semester 2, AY2023/24 ***Available from Semester 1, AY2024/25

BBA (ACC) and BBA (ACC Hons) students must also complete an accounting or finance-related internship worth 4 Units. In so far as a student reads an internship worth 8 Units or more, 4 Units of that would be mapped to the compulsory internship course and the remaining Units would be used to fulfill the Unrestricted Electives requirements.

All students are automatically accepted into the Honours programme with the option to withdraw and complete with a basic degree if they wish to. The curriculum also features a dual-track Honours Programme. Students may choose from 1 of the 2 Honours options offered based on their academic inclinations and aspirations.

    1. Research Option: Dissertation (12 Units) in the area of specialisation, and 2 advanced Independent Study Courses not related to dissertation research area (8 Units), or a Field Service Project (8 Units).
    2. Coursework Option: Three level-4000 business courses worth 12 Units, out of which 8 Units are in the area of specialisation, and a Field Service Project (8 Units).

For more information on Honours Dissertation and Field Service Project, please click on the links below:

Students may take any courses to fulfil their Unrestricted Elective Courses requirement. That is, they may take courses offered by the School of Business and/or courses offered outside the School to fulfil this requirement. Students are highly encouraged to pursue a second specialisation, or a minor with the Unrestricted Elective Courses.

Please refer here for more details under the specialisations tab, as similar requirements apply.

The inclusion of non-compulsory Independent Study Courses (ISCs) provides students the opportunity to pursue an in-depth study of a Business topic/issue and/or an area of specialisation independently, under the close supervision and guidance of an instructor.

Here are the lists of ISMs available:

BIS3751 Independent Study Course in Business (4 Units)

The Independent Study Course in Business provides the opportunity for student to pursue an in-depth study of a Business topic or issue independently, but under the close supervision and guidance of an instructor. Through such a learning experience, not only will the student gain an in-depth knowledge of the topic of interest, the skills acquired through such a process of independent knowledge acquisition will be invaluable for a career in the Business world. The personalised interaction with the instructor will also facilitate mentorship.

Independent Study Course in an Area of Specialisation (4 Units)

Independent Study Courses (ISMs) in an area of specialisation are for students with the requisite background to work closely with an instructor on a well-defined project in the respective specialisation areas. Students will be exposed to individual-based research and report-writing while tackling a business issue under the guidance of the instructor.

Course codes and titles:

  1. BSE3751 – Independent Study in Business Economics
  2. BSN3751 – Independent Study in Innovation & Entrepreneurship
  3. DBA3751 – Independent Study in Business Analytics
  4. DOS3751 – Independent Study in Operations & Supply Chain Management
  5. FIN3751 – Independent Study in Finance
  6. MNO3751 – Independent Study in Leadership & Human Capital Management
  7. MKT3751 – Independent Study in Marketing

Please note that students are allowed to read up to a maximum of 8 Units of ISM/Advanced ISMs, where only 4 Units can be used to count towards a specialisation.

Advanced Independent Study Course in an Area of Specialisation (4 Units)

Advanced Independent Study Courses (ISCs) in an area of specialisation are for senior students who are in the BBA and BBA(ACC) honours programmes with the requisite background to work closely with an instructor on a well-defined project in the respective specialisation areas. The courses may also be made available to students who are eligible for admission into the honours programmes but choose to pursue the non-honours course of study. Students will hone their research and report-writing skills while tackling a business issue under the guidance of the instructor.

Course codes and titles:

  1. BSE4751 – Advanced Independent Study in Business Economics
  2. BSN4751 – Advanced Independent Study in Innovation & Entrepreneurship
  3. DBA4751 – Advanced Independent Study in Business Analytics
  4. DOS4751 – Advanced Independent Study in Operations & Supply Chain Management
  5. FIN4751 – Advanced Independent Study in Finance
  6. MNO4751 – Advanced Independent Study in Leadership & Human Capital Management
  7. MKT4751 – Advanced Independent Study in Marketing

Please note that students are allowed to read up to a maximum of 8 Units of ISM/Advanced ISMs, where only 4 Units can be used to count towards a specialisation.

Deadline for submission of ISM Application Form for approval by Assistant Dean (Undergrad Academic) is latest by 2nd week either Sem 1 or Sem 2 of the academic year. Deadline for submission of project report to the supervisor for grading is the Monday of the Reading Week.

Please download the form here.

If you have further enquiries about the ISMs, please contact Mr Tan Long Hwee Kelvin (kelz@nus.edu.sg).

Please refer here for more details under the Non-Credit, Graduating Requirements tab, as similar requirements apply.

For more information on Advanced Placement Credits (APC), please click here.

All BBA and BBA(ACC) students from 2017 intake cohort onwards are enrolled into the honours programme with the option to withdraw from honours and complete a basic degree if they wish to. To pursue the honours programme, students are required to have obtained a minimum GPA score of 3.20 upon completion of 100 Units or more. It is assumed that all eligible students will continue with the honours programme unless they opt to graduate without honours by “Applying For Graduation” at the beginning of their graduating semester, subject to meeting graduation requirements of the non-honours programme. Students’ progress in their course of studies are reflected in their course codes (i.e. BBA1/BAC1, BBA2/BAC2, BBA3/BAC3 and BBAH/BACH). The criteria for the promotion of a student’s course code from 2017 intake cohort onwards are different from pre-2017 intake cohorts.

The criteria for 2017 intake cohort onwards are as follows:

  • BBA1 or BAC1: Students who have completed less than 40 Units worth of courses.
  • BBA2 or BAC2: Students who have completed at least 40 Units but less than 80 Units worth of courses.
  • BBA3 or BAC3: Students who have completed at least 80 Units but less than 100 Units worth of courses; OR Students who have completed more than 100 Units worth of courses but are not eligible for (or choose not to pursue) the honours programme.
  • BBAH or BACH: Students who have completed at least 100 Units worth of courses and are eligible for the honours programme.