Programme Overview
Designed in collaboration with the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA), this programme will prepare you for a successful career in finance by enhancing the skills you need to succeed at management and strategic level within any organisation.
Financial experts with the knowledge and critical decision-making skills to add value to organisations are in high demand. Top-level financial skills combined with leadership ability, business, technical and people skills are often a prerequisite for boardroom positions.
On joining this programme, you will:
- Develop a thorough and contemporary knowledge of the accounting and financial processes of an organisation and the ability to forward plan and effectively manage risk.
- Gain knowledge of environmental challenges and trends, the opportunities and constraints these create, and how they impact on organisational decision-making and resource allocation.
- Build on key skills associated with employment in high-performance organisations.
- Work towards a Management Accountant qualification while completing your master’s degree.
- Receive significant study support from CIMA. Your programme fees will include CIMA registration, your first year’s CIMA subscription fees, an attempt at the CIMA Management Case Study Exam, and access to CIMAstudy.com and CIMAconnect online.
This Accounting and Finance MSc is one of the few programmes in the UK to provide an accelerated route to becoming a chartered accountant, whilst delivering insight into how to master all of the qualities and skills mentioned above.
How the Course Works
Learning and Assessment
Guest lectures are a significant feature of the programme. Topical, international case-based and research material will be used to encourage learner autonomy, empowerment, the development of higher order thinking skills and cooperative group activities, such as team presentations. At the start of modules, you’ll be given more directed tutor support and will be encouraged to provide peer support and constructive feedback.
Traditional lectures, seminars and tutorials will also feature throughout the programme.
Those that would prefer to work can study part-time and complete the qualification in two years.
Accreditation
This is a one-year Masters degree programme for which on successful completion you'll receive a Masters degree in Accounting and Finance. It allows you to receive significant exemptions from CIMA professional examinations, resulting in a fast-tracked route to the Strategic Level of the CIMA Qualification Framework.
To explain further, with our Masters degree you would then take the Management Level Case Study exam which would award the CIMA Advanced Diploma in Management Accounting and, 11 exemptions (out of 15) from 15 CIMA qualification exams.
You are then part CIMA qualified and free to sit the remaining Strategic Case Study exams.
In summary, if you are an international student, you will typically complete a qualification in one year that would take 3-4 years in your home country. The ability to leapfrog contemporaries and save on study and living costs are compelling reasons to choose this programme.
On Graduating from the Programme, You Will Know How To:
- Critically understand the underlying principles and theories of financial reporting and analysis in the international context and demonstrate extensive knowledge with the recent development of international accounting and reporting standards and practices
- Assess current developments in strategic financial accounting, management accounting and social, environmental and sustainability accounting in theoretical, practical and historical contexts
- Critically understand the principles and underlying theories of corporate finance and equity investments
- Apply appropriate strategic management accounting techniques for strategic planning, control and performance management and analyse a business project and identify where improvements could have been made
- Identify, conceptualise and define a research question(s) and justify its relevance to practice and its significance as a potential contribution to existing knowledge
- Critically evaluate a range of complex scenarios and generate evidence-based solutions using contemporary research methods/methodologies in the context of relevant accounting and finance theories and sound organisational management principles, especially in the area of financial and management accounting
- Interpret, assess and communicate knowledge and information effectively using a range of analytical tools for presenting, communicating and assessing financial and accounting strategies with academic, professional or practical contexts, both as an individual and as part of a team
Assessment
'Live' business problems with a wide range of organisations across different market sectors will be used as assessments in several of the modules and you’ll be required to provide recommendations.
You’ll also be assessed using a variety of other methods, including report and essay writing and closed book examinations.
Career Opportunities
In the current financial climate there has been an
increase in demand for accountants with a detailed
knowledge of the environment in which a business
operates and the ability to forward plan and effectively
manage risk.Your qualification will be the gold standard
of financial expertise and recognised globally. Should
you wish to work overseas, within the UK or locally, you
will be highly sought after by employers in the public,
private and third sectors.
The knowledge, understanding and skills developed on the
programme will enable you to understand key issues, which
relate to strategic decision-making within business and provide
essential input for the success to global organisations.
We provide a range of support services for career development.
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