Bachelor of Accounting and Finance
Department of Accounting and Finance
Prepares students for professional careers in accounting, auditing, taxation and financial management, combining a rigorous grounding in international accounting and auditing standards with structured workplace practice and a strong ethical framework.
Degree Awarded
Bachelor of Accounting and Finance
Duration
5 Years (10 Semesters)
Total Credit Hours
204 Credit Hours
Total Courses
72 Courses
Language of Instruction
English
Campus Location
Mogadishu, Somalia
Overview
Demand for qualified accountants in Somalia substantially exceeds supply, and the country's financial accountability depends on a supply of professionals able to prepare, audit and interpret financial information to international standards. The Bachelor of Accounting and Finance provides a strong foundation in financial, cost and management accounting, auditing and taxation, while building applied competence through structured workplace practice in every year of the degree phase, aligned with the syllabuses of recognised professional bodies so that graduates are positioned to pursue ACCA or CPA qualification.
Background and Rationale
Growth in commercial banking, telecommunications, remittance services and donor-funded programming has raised expectations of financial reporting and audit quality, while the introduction of formal taxation has created demand for tax competence. Employers consistently report that graduates arrive with theoretical knowledge but without the software, documentation and audit-file skills the work requires. A dedicated strand examines Islamic accounting and finance, zakat accounting, and the Shari'ah treatment of financial transactions, reflecting the overwhelmingly Shari'ah-compliant character of the Somali market, and further courses examine forensic accounting, accounting for government and not-for-profit organisations, and accounting for petroleum and natural resources.
Vision & Mission
To be the premier department for accounting and finance education in Somalia, recognised for producing professionally qualified, ethically grounded accountants who strengthen financial accountability across the public and private sectors.
The Bachelor of Accounting and Finance programme prepares students for professional careers in accounting, auditing, taxation and financial management. It combines a rigorous grounding in international accounting and auditing standards with structured workplace practice, professional software competence and a strong ethical framework, aligns its curriculum with recognised professional qualifications, and generates applied research supporting transparency and sound financial governance in Somalia.
Objectives & Learning Outcomes
- 1Provide Rigorous Technical Grounding — provide a rigorous grounding in financial, cost and management accounting based on international standards.
- 2Develop Audit and Assurance Competence — develop audit and assurance competence, including planning, evidence gathering and internal control evaluation.
- 3Build Software Fluency — build practical fluency in accounting software, ERP systems and spreadsheet modelling.
- 4Establish Islamic Accounting Competence — establish competence in the accounting and Shari'ah treatment of Islamic financial transactions and zakat.
- 5Align with Professional Qualifications — align the curriculum with recognised professional qualifications to shorten the route to chartered status.
- 6Instil Professional Scepticism — instil professional scepticism, integrity and adherence to the ethical code of the profession.
- 1Prepare and interpret financial statements for business, government and not-for-profit entities in accordance with applicable accounting standards.
- 2Apply cost, managerial and taxation principles to support planning, control and decision-making within organisations.
- 3Analyse financial performance and position using ratio, trend and valuation techniques, and communicate the results.
- 4Plan and execute audit and internal-control procedures, and evaluate the sufficiency and appropriateness of audit evidence.
- 5Use accounting software, ERP systems and spreadsheet modelling to process transactions and produce reliable reports.
- 6Evaluate the accounting and Shari'ah treatment of Islamic financial transactions and zakat obligations.
- 7Conduct a supervised research investigation into an accounting or finance problem and report the findings to an academic standard.
- 8Demonstrate professional scepticism, integrity and adherence to the ethical code of the accounting profession.
Programme Duration
- Total duration: five (5) academic years, comprising ten (10) semesters, each sixteen (16) teaching weeks in length.
- Programme phases: Foundation Year (Semesters I–II, 44 credit hours) followed by the Degree Phase (Semesters III–X, 160 credit hours). A student must pass all 44 Foundation Year credit hours before registering for any Semester V course.
- Course load: minimum full-time load of 15 credit hours; a normal load of 18–21 credit hours; a maximum of 22 credit hours in the Foundation Year or 21 credit hours in the Degree Phase.
- Academic load: 72 courses and 204 credit hours in total, distributed across the ten semesters as prescribed in the Study Plan.
- Credit-hour equivalence: one (1) credit hour equals sixteen (16) contact hours of instruction per semester, together with the independent study needed to meet the course's learning outcomes.
Admission & Graduation Requirements
Entry Criteria
- Somali Secondary School Certificate or a recognised equivalent, with a minimum aggregate of 60%.
- Satisfactory performance on the English and mathematics placement tests, sat by all admitted students before Semester I registration.
Required Documents
- Original secondary school certificate and one certified copy.
- Four passport-size photographs, white background.
- Letter of good conduct from the applicant's secondary school.
- Transfer applicants may apply for credit transfer of up to 50% of the Foundation Year, assessed course by course against SIU learning outcomes.
- Complete all 72 required courses, totalling 204 credit hours, across ten semesters.
- Achieve a minimum grade of D (50%) in every course.
- Achieve a cumulative CGPA of at least 2.00 on a 4.00 scale.
- Complete all prescribed Skills, Professional Practice and Internship requirements, with a satisfactory supervisor report for each.
- Successfully complete and defend Graduation Project I and II.
- Pass the comprehensive exit examination assessing programme-level mastery of knowledge, skills and professional values.
- Clear all financial and library obligations.
Career Opportunities
Accountant — preparing and interpreting financial statements for businesses and organisations.
Auditor — in public accounting firms, internal audit functions, and regulatory bodies.
Tax Practitioner — advising on and preparing tax computations and compliance.
Financial Analyst — analysing financial performance and investment decisions.
Management Accountant — supporting budgeting, costing and performance management.
Forensic Accountant — investigating fraud and financial irregularities.
Public-Sector or NGO Accountant — managing fund accounting and donor compliance.
Entrepreneur — founding and managing an accounting or advisory practice.
Delivery & Assessment
- Lectures for core concept delivery across all taught courses.
- Tutorials and problem classes for quantitative and technical courses.
- Seminars and discussion forums for theory, policy and ethics courses.
- Computer laboratory sessions for software, modelling and data-analysis courses.
- Case study analysis in applied and specialisation courses.
- Group projects and presentations, assessed within coursework.
- Industry visits, at least one per academic year.
- Practitioner-delivered sessions in specialisation courses.
- Supervised professional internships.
- Supervised research for the Graduation Project.
| Assessment Component | Weighting |
|---|---|
| Coursework (quizzes, assignments, reports, presentations, group projects, practical exercises) | 40% |
| Midterm Examination | 20% |
| Final Examination | 40% |
| Total | 100% |
Practical Training
The Bachelor of Accounting and Finance programme places significant emphasis on hands-on, supervised practical training that complements classroom instruction throughout the five years of study.
- Progressive Accounting Skills Strand — a dedicated Skills course runs in most semesters of the degree phase, progressing from bookkeeping and data-entry skills through applied Excel and accounts receivable/payable practice to employability preparation.
- Cash Office Practice — Internship I — supervised practice in cash-handling and reconciliation procedures in a business or simulated setting.
- ERP & Accounting Software Practice — Internship II — supervised practice processing transactions in an ERP or accounting-software environment.
- Internal Audit Practice — Internship III — a further supervised professional placement applying audit and assurance skills developed across the programme.
- Industry Visits — at least one organised industry or institutional visit per academic year.
- Graduation Project I and II — the capstone research project in Year 5 requires each student to design, conduct and defend an original piece of accounting or finance research.
Faculty and Learning Facilities
- Classrooms — equipped with projection and presentation facilities.
- Computer Laboratory — specialised accounting, ERP and statistical-analysis software, with high-speed connectivity.
- Library — a print collection in accounting, finance and economics, with access to online databases, journals and IFRS/ISA standards.
- Learning Management System — SIU Online and the student portal for materials, submission and communication.
- Academic Staff — qualified lecturers with relevant postgraduate qualifications, and practitioner lecturers for specialisation courses.
- Student Support — academic advising, careers guidance, and internship placement services.
- Community Engagement — facilities for workshops, seminars, employer events, and outreach.
Contact Information
Faculty of Business and Economics, Somali International University (SIU)