Course overview

Our MSc Professional Accounting course focuses not just upon technical issues of accounting, but also upon the ways in which the current managerial paradigms might most effectively be re-thought and new patterns of thinking implemented.

• Study a curriculum which is aligned to major accounting bodies, such as ACCA and CIMA.
• Utilise industry-standard accounting software in your learning experience.
• Gain an understanding of the importance of accountancy and the accounting profession in an international context.
• Apply to study our MSc Professional Accounting with Extended Professional Practice, an 18-month option aimed at individuals looking to attain a deeper understanding of business in a very practical way2.

Accreditation, professional recognition and exemptions

This course has been accredited1 and recognised by the following bodies:

Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA)

This course is currently accredited by ACCA for the 2023/24 intake. On successful completion of the course, students will be eligible for exemption from all but the professional level papers of the ACCA. Students will need to register with the ACCA and apply for the relevant exemptions. ACCA charge fees separately for registration and student membership. To find out more, please visit the ACCA website.

Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA)

This course is currently accredited by CIMA for the 2023/24 intake. Successful completion of the course entitles students to exemptions from 11 papers of CIMA. CIMA does not charge for exemption applications. CIMA charge fees separately for registration and student membership. Please see the CIMA website for more details.

What you'll study

Your main study themes are:

• Technology
  You'll develop your knowledge around how technology underpins and supports the work of an accountant, using industry-standard applications throughout your studies for research, analysis, planning and presenting.
• Decision-making
  You'll aim to develop a deep appreciation of how the accounting role gathers and analyses information to help you make well-informed decisions, within the financial realm and in support of other functions within the business.
• Internationalisation
  All aspects of this course are taught with a global perspective, covering essential topics such as international accounting standards. It also focuses on global issues with the aim to strengthen your skills in cross-cultural working.
• Professionalism
  The course aims to help you develop a deep appreciation of professional ethics and the standards of behaviour expected among members of the accounting profession and business leaders.

Careers and opportunities

Our MSc Professional Accounting and MSc Professional Accounting with Extended Professional Practice courses aim to equip graduates with a set of highly employable behaviours, attitudes and competencies (technical skills: quantitative, analytical, regulatory and soft skills: problem-solving, creativity, communication, team-working, agile) which are in high demand among employers and are indispensable qualities within the financial industry in the UK and worldwide.

On successful completion of this course, you would be able to:

• Critically evaluate appropriate management and financial accounting techniques to produce information useful to managers for planning, controlling and for making economic decisions, showing critical awareness of the limitations of these techniques.
• Critically evaluate the contextual forces on the accounting profession, such as legal, tax, audit and regulatory systems; ethical, economic, environmental, social and technological changes; international developments and corporate governance.
• Discuss, analyse and evaluate the uses and limitations of a range of research methods/techniques, both qualitative and quantitative, and understand their strengths and weaknesses for providing information and evaluating options in an organisational environment.
• Use the relevant accounting software and information technologies for application in business and management within an international knowledge-based economy.
• Examine and articulate the knowledge of several of the major contexts within which accounting operates (both outside and within organisations), based on a critical evaluation of related theoretical and conceptual frameworks and of empirical evidence as to its effects.
• Communicate knowledge and understanding of, and appropriate ability to use and critically evaluate, current and major alternative technical languages and practices of accounting, together with appropriate ability to apply them.
• Work collaboratively to apply cross-cultural perspective on the operational and strategic position of organisations and critically examine policies and strategies that managers may adopt to help organisations adapt in increasingly complex internal and external environments in a global context.

Typical career routes for graduates from this course could include (but not limited to): Chief Financial Officer, Financial Accountant, Chief Executive Officer, Management Accountant, Investment and Credit Analysts, Risk Management, Financial Analysts, Corporate Financiers, working for international financial and government institutions and academia, including further PhD study.