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Accounting Schools and Programs in Spain

38 schools in Spain teach Accounting.

  • ADEIT - Fundación Universidad - Empresa de la Universitat de València

    Higher education centre Valencia, Spain

    Fundación ADEIT is a foundation linked to the Universitat de València (UV) that connects the university with the business world. It is based at Plaza de la Virgen de la Paz 3 in Valencia, with a second venue, Espai Vives, on Avenida Blasco Ibáñez. The foundation is governed…

  • Tips Academy

    Alcorcón, Spain

    Tips Academy is a tutoring and school-support academy in Alcorcón, in the Madrid region, at Calle Porto Lagos 1. It provides school support for students at all levels, from primary school, ESO and Bachillerato to access courses for vocational training and university entrance…

Accounting

As part of the Department of Business and Economics, Saint Louis University-Madrid offers an accounting major, this accounting major requires 21 credits of coursework as well as “ACCT 2200: Financial Accounting” and “ACCT 2220: Accounting for Decision Making.” Offered at the Richard A. Chaifetz School of Business, this accounting program provides students with a strong foundation in both professional and technical accounting. The program covers communication, problem-solving and analytical skills. Saint Louis University’s graduates have a long history of success on the CPA exam and can pursue many careers, including auditor, budget analyst, risk management consultant, financial planner or forensic accountant. In a recent survey of SLU accounting graduates, 100% of them stated they were in a graduate program or employment.
Level: Undergraduate Bachelors  
Language of instruction: English  
Location: Madrid

Accounting

Bircham University’s Accounting program offers an understanding of the essential accounting topics. The program demonstrates the reasoning procedure that accountants use to understand the effects of financial dealings upon the income and fiscal position of a corporation or business. Students will learn about working capital, portfolios, fixed assets and depreciation, dividends and reserves and long-term debt; the income statement, the balance sheet and the accounting cycle; cash flow; as well as this it covers cost standards, basic cost accounting, consolidated statements and internal management accounting. Subjects covered on this course include: Cost & Managerial Accounting, Creating & Managing Value, Cash Flow Management, Accounting Management, Business Finance, Governmental & Non-Profit Accounting, Financial Performance Evaluation, Financial Accounting & Analysis, Financial Management and International Finance & Taxation. Subjects account for 3 academic credits each. The Accounting course is available at Specialist, Expert, Bachelor's, Master's & Ph.D. (Doctoral) Degree programs levels.
Level: Undergraduate Bachelors  
Language of instruction: English  
Location: Villanueva de la Cañada

Accounting Studies in Spain

Accounting records, measures and reports a company's economic activity: bookkeeping, financial statements, cost accounting, tax and auditing. In Spain every company keeps its accounts under the Plan General de Contabilidad; Royal Decree 1514/2007 states that "El Plan General de Contabilidad será de aplicación obligatoria para todas las empresas". Accounting can be studied at university, as a master's degree that leads towards the auditing profession, in vocational training (FP) and in shorter professional courses.

How accounting studies are organised in Spain

  • Bachelor's degree (grado): Royal Decree 822/2021 sets "Grados de 240 créditos, Másteres de 60, 90 y 120 créditos", so a bachelor's degree takes four years. The specific degree is usually called Grado en Finanzas y Contabilidad or Grado en Contabilidad y Finanzas; a search for "contabilidad" in the ministry's Registro de Universidades, Centros y Títulos (RUCT) returns 29 bachelor's degree records, current and older.
  • Master's degree: the RUCT lists 41 official master's degree records containing "contabilidad", many of them combined with auditing (Máster Universitario en Auditoría de Cuentas, en Contabilidad y Auditoría and similar names).
  • Vocational training (FP): the higher-level cycle Técnico Superior en Administración y Finanzas (2,000 hours) includes the module Contabilidad y fiscalidad and trains students to "realizar la gestión contable y fiscal de la empresa". The intermediate cycle Técnico en Gestión Administrativa (2,000 hours) is an earlier step.
  • Courses and school-own programmes: training centres and business schools offer practical accounting, tax and financial management courses and their own master's programmes, which are not official degrees.

Where to study accounting in Spain

Barcelona and Madrid have the most schools on this page, followed by Granada and Zaragoza, with further options in Andalusia, Extremadura and Asturias. Examples of public universities with an official bachelor's degree in the subject, according to the RUCT:

  • Universidad de Sevilla, where the Grado en Finanzas y Contabilidad belongs to the Facultad de Turismo y Finanzas and offers 400 places for 2026-27
  • Universidad de Granada, Universidad de Jaén, Universidad de Almería, Universidad de Cádiz and Universidad de Huelva, in Andalusia
  • Universidad de Zaragoza and Universidad de Extremadura
  • Universidad de Oviedo, with a Grado en Contabilidad y Finanzas

At master's level the RUCT lists, among others, the Máster Universitario en Auditoría de Cuentas y Contabilidad Superior of the Universidad Pontificia Comillas, a joint master's of the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid and the Universidad de Alcalá on accounting, auditing and capital markets, and master's degrees in auditing at the universities of Alcalá, Almería, Granada, Sevilla, Cádiz and Zaragoza. For shorter training, the CEF - Centro de Estudios Financieros runs a Curso de Contabilidad Práctica online and in Barcelona, Madrid and Valencia.

Admission and language

Students who finished secondary school outside Spain usually apply for a bachelor's degree through UNEDasiss, the UNED service that "evalúa los expedientes académicos de los estudiantes internacionales y les realiza las pruebas necesarias para acceder a estudios de grado en las universidades españolas", and then apply to each university. For the FP cycle, the usual entry requirement is the Bachiller (Spanish upper-secondary certificate) or equivalent; foreign school qualifications go through the ministry's "Homologación y convalidación de títulos y estudios extranjeros no universitarios".

Most official programmes are taught in Spanish (in Catalonia also in Catalan), and Spanish accounting and tax rules are taught in Spanish terms, so a good level of Spanish is important. Some universities also set a foreign-language requirement for graduation: at the Universidad de Sevilla, students must prove a level "equivalente al nivel B1 del MCERL" before the degree is issued.

Recognition and the auditing profession

Official bachelor's and master's degrees are part of the European Higher Education Area and use ECTS credits. If you hold a foreign degree, the ministry distinguishes between homologation, which "habilita para el ejercicio de una profesión regulada en España", and the declaration of equivalence, which "certifica el nivel académico de la titulación (grado o máster)".

Statutory auditing is a regulated activity in Spain. To enter the Registro Oficial de Auditores de Cuentas (ROAC), candidates need theoretical training in programmes approved by the Instituto de Contabilidad y Auditoría de Cuentas (ICAC), practical experience (the "requisito de formación práctica exigido para acceder al Registro Oficial de Auditores de Cuentas") and a professional aptitude exam. The 2026 exam was called by Orden ECM/579/2026, de 1 de junio. Graduates of some degrees, such as the Grado en Finanzas y Contabilidad of the universities of Sevilla, Jaén and Extremadura, receive a partial exemption ("dispensa genérica parcial"), and approved master's degrees can exempt students from the theoretical programme and the first phase of the exam.

Careers

Accounting graduates work in finance and accounting departments, audit firms, tax and accounting advisory offices (asesorías and gestorías), banks and the public sector, or as self-employed advisers. TodoFP lists roles such as "administrativa / administrativo contable" for graduates of the Administración y Finanzas cycle.

Frequently asked questions

How long does an accounting degree take in Spain?

A bachelor's degree such as the Grado en Finanzas y Contabilidad has 240 ECTS credits over four years. An official master's degree adds 60 to 120 credits, and the FP cycle in Administración y Finanzas takes 2,000 hours.

Do I need a master's degree to become an auditor in Spain?

Not strictly, but it helps. Access to the ROAC requires approved theoretical training, practical experience and the ICAC exam; an approved master's degree can exempt you from the theoretical programme and the first phase of the exam.

Is a foreign accounting degree recognised in Spain?

You can apply for a declaration of equivalence, which certifies the academic level of a bachelor's or master's degree. Homologation is only needed for regulated professions.