What you are signing up for
Half of this programme is accounting and half is business, and that split is what makes it useful. Principles of Financial Accounting (20 credits) and Management Accounting (20 credits) take you from the first double-entry to a set of management accounts you could defend in a meeting. Around them sit Business and the Economic Environment, Quantitative Methods in a Business Context and Leading and Managing Teams, each also 20 credits, so the figures are always attached to an organisation and the people running it.
The assignment briefs are practical rather than theoretical. You will prepare statements from trial balances, build a budget and then explain to an imagined board why the variances happened. Academic Writing and Research Skills opens the year because the accounting units ask you to explain your workings in prose, not just show them. It is worth saying at the outset that this is not an AAT or ACCA qualification and no exemptions come attached to it; what it offers is a graded academic foundation with the same 120 credits as a first year of an accounting degree.
The six units
- Academic Writing and Research Skills20 credits
- Business and the Economic Environment20 credits
- Principles of Financial Accounting20 credits
- Quantitative Methods in a Business Context20 credits
- Management Accounting20 credits
- Leading and Managing Teams20 credits
Unit titles and credit values are taken from the OTHM qualification specification. The order in which LSPM teaches them is set by LSPM and confirmed at enrolment.
LSPM sets the teaching order for each intake and confirms it at enrolment. The natural sequence, and the one learners have described to us, puts the two accounting units back to back in the middle of the year, after the economic environment and quantitative methods units have supplied the vocabulary, with Leading and Managing Teams closing the programme.
Entry requirements
OTHM sets the entry requirements for this qualification and LSPM, as the approved centre, applies them when it assesses your application. As published by the awarding body:
- Relevant Level 3 Diploma qualification or equivalent qualification
- GCE Advanced level in 2 subjects or equivalent qualification
- Mature learners (over 21) with relevant management experience (learners must check with the delivery centre regarding this experience prior to registering for the programme)
- English requirements: If a learner is not from a majority English-speaking country, they must provide evidence of English language competency. For more information visit English Language Expectations page.
You do not need to have studied accounting before. A Level 3 in business, two A levels, or a few years handling budgets or invoices at work are all sensible starting points; GCSE-standard maths is enough for the quantitative unit.
How you are assessed
One written assignment per unit, with the accounting units built around worked figures and a short commentary. There are no timed exams. Ask LSPM whether tutors comment on a draft before the final submission; on this programme it matters, because the commentary is where marks are won.
Where it leads, stated carefully
Level 5 Diploma in Accounting and Business with OTHM, which covers the second year of an equivalent degree.
Direct application to a university for year-two entry to an accounting or business degree, decided by the university.
Accounts assistant, finance administrator or junior analyst roles, particularly in firms that value someone who understands the business as well as the ledger.
We do not name partner universities on this page. If and when LSPM shows us a written progression agreement for this diploma, it will be listed here with the date it was signed.
Who it suits
Likely to get a lot from it
- Office staff who already handle invoices, payroll or petty cash and want to understand the accounts they feed into.
- Small business owners who have relied on an accountant and want to read their own figures.
- Anyone weighing an accounting degree who wants a year at the same level before committing to three.
Better served by something else
- People who want a professional accounting body qualification; this diploma does not confer AAT, ACCA or CIMA status or exemptions.
- Learners who dislike writing; every unit, including the numerical ones, is assessed through written reports.
- Anyone who needs a purely technical bookkeeping course; half the credits here are general business.
Asked about this programme
How much maths is involved?
Quantitative Methods in a Business Context and the two accounting units use arithmetic, percentages, simple statistics and spreadsheets. Confident GCSE maths is sufficient; nobody needs calculus.
Does this give me exemptions from ACCA or AAT exams?
No. Professional bodies set their own exemption rules and none is attached to this diploma. Some learners use it as a stepping stone to those routes, but that is a separate application.
What is the difference between this and the Qualifi Accounting and Finance diploma?
The OTHM version keeps three general business units alongside the accounting, and every unit is 20 credits. The Qualifi diploma is more concentrated on accounting method and finishes with a leadership unit written for accountants.
Read before you decide
Programme brochure
Brochure slot: PDF to be supplied by LSPM, with its fees, dates and tutor profiles for this programme. Ask us for it by email in the meantime and we will obtain the current version from LSPM.
Official specification
OTHM Level 4 Diploma in Accounting and Business specification, published by the awarding body. The authoritative source for units, learning outcomes and assessment criteria. Also listed on the Ofqual register under 610/0792/4.