Accounting and Financial Management

Course Overview

Accredited by the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) and the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA), this course delivers a rigorous examination of core accounting and financial management theories combined with a wide-range of practical applications. You will also be able to undertake a consultancy project, placement option, entrepreneurship pathway or dissertation as part of your studies.

Sam Lazenby, MSc Accounting and Financial Management graduate

"The support received from all of the lecturers was excellent, and it was really beneficial to have approachable and helpful people I could turn to if I needed a bit more help."

Overview

The MSc in Accounting and Financial Management delivers a rigorous examination of core accounting and financial management theories combined with a wide-range of practical applications. You will to work confidently with both numerical quantitative and qualitative accounting and financial management issues and case studies, utilising professional data sources such as the Bloomberg Professional Services Platform and DataStream.

This programme is professionally accredited by both the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) and the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA). We also provide you with a Bloomberg Training Couse allowing you to complete the Bloomberg Market Concept Course.

At its core the MSc in Accounting and Financial Management aims to provide a solid foundation to develop the theoretical and technical skills in a number of subjects including contemporary areas such as multinational management accounting, corporate governance and sustainability, performance management, international financial reporting, financial management, contemporary issues in accounting practices, and strategy and globalisation and information management. The programme builds a rigorous understanding of the international business environment and future challenges with relevant real world accounting and financial management problems and their efficient solutions.

Examples of where alumni from the course are now include working as finance officer at Campus Group in Birmingham, a Graduate Audit Associate with Grant Thornton in Manchester, as PhD students, or working on their ACCA/CIMA Exams.

Teaching facilities

Keele Business School is renowned for exceptional student satisfaction across our undergraduate and postgraduate programmes. Through our research led curriculum and passion for teaching we produce graduates that are intellectually curious about the application of knowledge. This enables our graduates to be highly employable and have successful careers within their chosen professions.

We are located in a new multi-million pound facility that houses both the Business School and state-of-the-art facilities for business collaboration and incubation in a Smart Innovation Hub - find out more.

Course structure

Assessment

We use mixed assessment methods to test students’ attainment of learning the outcomes of our MSc programme. This includes, 2-hour unseen exam, individual/group assignment/coursework, individual/group presentation, computer-based tests, and dissertation, consultancy project, work placement report or entrepreneurship portfolio. These different types of assessments test students ability to frame a business problem, critically assess relevant literature, use different methodologies, present results in a coherent and logical manner, and to develop and enhance their communication and decision-making skills to solve management and business problems and to gain work experience from the real business life.

Taught Modules

We expect to offer the same modules as found below. However, in the future but this may change due to staff availability. If the modules change we will inform you during the admissions process.

Module structure

There are nine taught modules and a research dissertation, a consultancy project, an entrepreneurship pathway or placement pathway.

One module will be non-credit bearing and run through semester 1-2, while the other eight modules will be taught in Semesters 1 and 2 and are worth 15 credits each. The dissertation project or applied company research which students are expected to complete during the 12-weeks summer period is worth 60 credits.

Besides the non-credit bearing module, all students must take four compulsory core modules in Semester 1 followed by a further four core modules in Semester 2, a dissertation or applied company research undertaken between June and September completes the Programme.

Non-credit bearing module
1. MAN-40084: Introduction to Research (Semester 1-2)

Credit bearing Modules (8 modules are worth 15 credits each):
Semester 1:
1. ACC-40003: Accounting for Decision Making
2. ACC-40005: International Corporate Governance and Sustainability
3. ACC-40006: Performance Management
4. MAN-40114: International Business Context

Semester 2:
1. ACC-40001: International Financial Reporting
2. ACC-40002: Multinational Accounting and Control
3. ACC-40004: Contemporary Issues in Accounting
4. HRM-40040: Research Methods (compulsory for students who wish to undertake a Dissertation) or
5. MAN-40058: Creativity and Personal Development (compulsory for students who wish to undertake the Consultancy project, placement pathway or Entrepreneurship pathway)

Semester 3 (summer period):
1. MAN-40076: Dissertation Accounting (60 credits) or
2. MAN-40085: Consultancy Project (60 credits) or
3. MAN-40108: Entrepreneurship pathway (60 credits) - (UK/EU students only) or
4. MAN-40196: Placement pathway (60 credits)*

*Students who require a Visa to study in the UK may be able to add in a work placement of up to 1 year depending upon the programme. The ability to add a work placement is dependent upon the UK Immigration rules at the time of the request. It may be that for some programmes students will not have the option to request a placement period to be added to their programme before they arrive in the UK and would need to apply for a new Visa. There is no guarantee that a placement will be provided and that students who have a Visa are subject to a number of restrictions on the type of work, including placements they can undertake

Dissertation

The dissertation is a formal written academic project of between 15,000 and 20,000 words. It requires independent thought and action and encourages the integration of course material with areas of individual expertise and interest. The context, data, analysis and conclusions of the study are to be presented for assessment in a dissertation. Completion of the dissertation is supported by an academic supervisor.

Consultancy Project

The Consultancy Project* is currently offered to students on our full time postgraduate programmes. The project provides you with the opportunity to act as a consultant and to complete a ‘real project’ within a host organisation or company. By completing the project you will enhance your CV and future employability whilst gaining exposure to the practicalities of working in a commercial environment. You will be supervised by a Keele Business School academic and the project is assessed and counts towards your degree. Projects take place for 8 to 10 weeks, usually from late June.

Previous students have worked on projects including;

Putting together a business plan to enable the organisation to enter into a new market place.
Carrying out a feasibility study looking at market assessment, key risks and opportunities and required resources for a new venture.
Conducting market research and putting together a marketing strategy for the company to increase its market share and then to devise and distribute the resulting marketing materials.
Reviewing the company’s use of existing IT systems and recommending improvements in the management of work flow, management reporting and effective use of existing software.
Working on a procurement strategy and helping the company to make decisions regarding supply processes and infrastructure investment.

* Previously known as the Applied Company Research Project.

Entrepreneurship pathway (UK/EU students only)

The aim of this pathway is to allow you time and space to develop your own business idea. You will have access to facilities and expertise for a period of 6-12 months. During this time, you will be required to complete a portfolio of evidence, presentation to an external stakeholder and a reflective piece which will constitute the module’s summative assessment.

Placement pathway

With the support of the School’s Placement Officer, you will find and secure a placement which can last between 6-12 months. The placement should be a paid work placement at a suitable level for Master’s study. During your time on the placement you will be required to complete an extended project on behalf of the organisation. The project report, presentation and a reflective piece and an organisation assessment will constitute the module’s summative assessment*.