MSc Accountancy and Financial Management

Aimed at professionals working in the business, accountancy and finance sectors, our MSc in Accountancy and Financial Management focuses on the principles and practice of these key areas, as well as covering wider management issues. Our highly qualified and experienced team are dedicated to helping you achieve your career goals.

Accountancy and Financial Management

Key information

Award:

MSc

Mode of Study:

Part-time

Duration:

36 months

Location:

University of Bolton

Start date:

04/09/2023

Course Details

Aligned to the ACCA Strategic Professional Level programme, the MSc in Accountancy and Financial Management at the University of Bolton is designed to support your career development in business, accounting and financial management roles. It offers the finance, accountancy and broader management knowledge that can be central to success in many private and public sector industries.

Our dedicated, highly qualified and experienced team will lead you in an exploration of the principles and practice of financial management and accounting, the context in which they operate, and how they are managed. We’ll support you to learn the applied skills involved in financial reporting and financial management, as well as wider management issues such as corporate and social responsibility, business ethics, risk and business strategy, financial performance, and taxation/auditing.

You’ll be encouraged to explore research methods, giving you the chance to gain an understanding of a range of research tools and analytical techniques. This knowledge will be of value when you undertake your master’s dissertation – carrying out a substantial piece of research on an accountancy or financial management issue will enhance your critical and investigative skills, and could benefit your professional practice, too.

Highlights
  • You’ll have the opportunity to focus on the global competitive environment, with topics including performance management, ethics, social responsibility, and strategic management accounting.
  • Students with a good honours degree in business or accountancy can enrol in optional modules that could enhance their employment prospects.
  • You’ll be encouraged to develop a critical awareness of the principles and techniques needed for effective financial decision making.
  • Your studies will provide you with the opportunity to evaluate existing empirical research, evaluate and apply theoretical concepts, and think critically and creatively.
Key Features
  • Our small class sizes – up to a maximum of around 20 students – give you the chance to benefit from direct and personal guidance from our experienced teaching staff.
  • By learning from case studies, and being encouraged to use mathematical and statistical techniques to solve business and accountancy problems, you could benefit in professional situations.
  • All our tutors have a masters, PhD or professional accountancy qualifications, as well as considerable teaching and professional experience.

  • Normally, you’ll have at least an upper second class (2.1) honours degree (or equivalent) in accounting or accountancy.
  • Alternatively, you’ll have at least an upper second class (2.1) honours degree (or equivalent) in business management. If this is the case, we’ll counsel you towards taking the Advanced Financial Management and Advanced Financial Performance option modules.
  • We'll also consider applications where appropriate work experience can be demonstrated in lieu of, or in addition to, the published academic qualifications in line with the University’s Recognition of Prior Experiential Learning (RPEL) procedures.
  • If English isn’t your first language, you’ll also need IELTS 6.0 with no less than 5.5 in any band (or equivalent). We also accept a range of other English language qualifications – please visit our English Language Requirements web page for more details.

Where changes are made to material information contained in this course description or a decision is taken to suspend a course between the offer of admissions and enrolment, we will inform applicants at the earliest possible opportunity and will outline the various options available to the applicant.


The MSc Accountancy and Financial Management course is designed for professionals working in the business, accountancy and finance sectors. The programme is designed to enable you to develop your understanding of the principles and practice of financial management and accounting, the context in which they operate and how they are managed. It offers you the opportunity to learn the applied skills involved in financial reporting and financial management, as well as wider management issues such as corporate and social responsibility, risk and business strategy, financial performance and taxation/auditing.

What can I do with this qualification?

Successful completion of this MSc will provide you with the skills needed for roles in financial analysis, investment banking, management, public administration and accountancy, and will be useful if you want to pursue a career in industry, commerce or with professional services organisations.

Alternative career options

Graduates can use the qualification as a stepping-stone into a range of other careers. For some of these roles, relevant experience and/or postgraduate study may be required. They include:

  • Corporate finance
  • Computing
  • Training and education
  • Auditing
  • Retail
  • Financial consultancy
  • Purchasing
  • Tax and pensions
  • Law
  • Transport and logistics
  • Stocks and shares
  • Charity work
  • Loss adjusting
  • Advertising, marketing and PR
  • Insurance
  • Statistics and market research
  • Credit and investment analysis
  • Claims inspection

Course fees

Important note regarding tuition fees for the 2022-2023 academic year: EU nationals who meet residency requirements (have settled or pre-settled status) may be eligible for 'Home' fee status. If you do not meet these residency requirements, overseas fees will apply. Irish citizens living in the UK or Ireland will be eligible for 'Home' fee status under the Common Travel Area arrangement. Please read the student finance for EU students web page on www.gov.uk for information.

The fees for a student's course of study will be set for the normal duration of that course subject only to inflationary increases – measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI) recorded in March each year to take effect for subsequent start dates.

Bursaries

Click here for more information on our Master's Bursaries.


For details of how to apply for this course, please choose your status from the options below:

You may apply directly to the University using the University's online application form. Please select your chosen start date from the list below:

You should have to hand:

  • Details of the educational establishments you attended and dates

  • Your certificates for the qualifications you are using to gain entry to the course – you will need to enter the completion date and upload copies

  • Details of any employment history including name, address, dates and role

  • Personal statement – this can be either input into the relevant field or uploaded separately

  • Details including e-mail addresses of two referees, at least one of which should be someone who can provide an academic reference

Please make sure any documents you wish to upload in support of your application are in pdf or jpeg format. Personal statements may be word documents.

Please ensure your data is correct at each stage of the application before you proceed to the next page. If you use the back button at any time during the application, you should check the validity of the data you have already input.

If you experience difficulties during the application process, contact the Admissions Team on 01204 903394 or admissions@bolton.ac.uk

International applications are not possible for this course

As an international student you are not allowed to study this course because of the restrictions on your visa.

We offer a wide range of full-time courses in lots of different subjects, many of our courses start in September and January. If you would like to see what courses are available please visit our Course Search.


While the bulk of your master’s degree will consist of guided independent study, you’ll also be expected to attend lectures, seminars and tutorials to give you the best possible chance to learn, understand and assess the theories and concepts being discussed.

You’ll be expected to submit regular work for assessment which, while not counting towards your final grade, will help you to understand your strengths and weaknesses. You’ll also submit formal written coursework and undertake written exams to demonstrate that you have met the learning outcomes and achieve the award of MSc Accountancy and Financial Management.

Modules

The modules listed below may be a mixture of compulsory and optional. You may not have the opportunity to study all the modules shown as part of the course.

  • Advanced Financial Management
  • Advanced Performance Management
  • Advanced Taxation
  • Advanced Audit and Assurance
  • Dissertation
  • Research Methods For Accountants
  • Strategic Business Leader
  • Strategic Business Reporting
Assessment methods
LevelAssesment method
Level oneCoursework 42%, Written exams 58%
Learning activities
LevelLearning activity
Level oneGuided independent study 66%, Scheduled learning and teaching activities 34%

Disclaimer

The university will use all reasonable endeavours to deliver your course as described in its published material and the programme specification for the academic year in which you begin your course. The university considers changes to courses very carefully and the university will minimise any changes. Please be aware that our courses are subject to review on an ongoing basis and changes may be necessary due to legitimate staffing, financial, regulatory and academic reasons. The content of course modules and mode of associated assessments may be updated on an annual basis. This is to ensure that all modules are up-to-date and responsive to employment and sector needs. The published course material and the programme specification contain indicative ‘optional modules’ that may be subject to change due to circumstances outside of our control. For this reason, we cannot guarantee to run any specific optional module.

The academic staff detailed above teach across a range of courses in this subject area and may not teach on this course specifically.

Programme Contacts

Aamir Hussain
Programme Leader

A.Hussain4@bolton.ac.uk

Carl Bridge
Senior Lecturer

C.Bridge@bolton.ac.uk

+44 (0)1204 903019

Enquiry Team
University of Bolton

enquiries@bolton.ac.uk

+44 (0)1204 903903

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