Accounting and Finance MSc

If you have a degree in any discipline and would like to significantly enhance your career prospects in the wider business practice of accounting and financial management, our Accounting and Finance MSc course is ideal. It offers a rigorous and challenging programme of study that will provide you with a well-integrated knowledge of financial accounting, finance and investment, and management accounting, together with the ability to relate this to the wider issues of management and corporate strategy.

What will you study?

You will develop your understanding of the purpose and nature of financial accounting and reporting. You will look at the integration of theoretical and conceptual issues within the operational and practical activities of management accounting.

You will also look at the political, economic, social, technological, legal and environmental factors that influence an organisation's social responsibilities and how they integrate with a company's strategic decision-making processes. In addition you will examine the core theories of finance and investment and how they can be used in practical decision-making contexts.

Kingston Business School works closely with the business world's principal professional bodies in order to harmonise its education provision with the needs of today's business practitioners. You will learn how to turn theory into practice and gain a qualification that has real value in the real world. Find out more...

"From my first phone call to arrange an interview with my present employer, it quickly became apparent that without my Accounting and Finance MA it was very unlikely that such a large investment bank would respond to my application. When the interview came, I elaborated on the knowledge gained at Kingston – my interviewers were particularly impressed with the diversity this qualification contained." Matthew Spencer, UBS Warburg

"The Accounting and Finance MA at Kingston Business School really did change my life! Three weeks after I circulated my CV, I found my dream job. I found the course content challenging, but confidence building – and we managed to have a lot of fun too!" Helen Metcalf, FBM Consulting

Find out more...

Please note that this is an indicative list of modules and is not intended as a definitive list. Those listed here may also be a mixture of core and optional modules.

Core modules

• Financial Accounting

• Financial Accounting

  This module introduces you to financial accounting in a business context. It provides you with a mix of practical 'know how' and deeper theoretical underpinning. The module covers:

  • the principles for constructing the key financial statements;
  • how to produce financial statements from transaction records using double entry principles;
  • how to conduct an appraisal of the financial statements of entities; and
  • company financial statements and their regulation.

  The module uses an active-learning approach in the lectures with informal feedback through discussion and practice questions.

  
   
• Financial Management

• Financial Management

  This module covers how organisations arrange their external financing and manage their internal resources. It looks at:

  • sources of capital and theories of how capital structures behave in response to changes in the choices of capital sources;
  • methods and costs of protecting the firm's capital and operational cash flows against currency, interest and maturity risk;
  • treasury and working capital management; and 
  • the firm's choice in of growth through acquisition or or reduction through spin-off, demerger or reconstruction will be studied.
  
   
• Management Accounting

• Management Accounting

  This module will enable you to understand and prepare management information to support the decision making in an organisation. It covers:

  • how to calculate the costs associated with the production of products and provision of services, and determine their price;
  • budgeting approaches and how budgets are produced; and
  • effective performance management systems, including performance measures, to assist management decision making.
  
   
• Finance and Investment

• Finance and Investment

  This module enables you appreciate the theoretical developments and concepts in the area of corporate finance and investments. It includes:

  • the modern corporate finance theories and their applications;
  • the decision making process in respect to major corporate decisions and their implications for corporate stakeholders and investors;
  • risk and returns, portfolio theory and portfolio performance measurement and evaluation;
  • the valuation methods of securities traded in the financial markets;
  • security trading in the financial markets; and
  • issues related to agency theory, agency problems and corporate governance.
  
   
• Financial Reporting

• Financial Reporting

  Financial reporting is the communication of quantitative and narrative company information to interested parties within society.

  This module follows the Financial Accounting module, developing your technical knowledge and your application skills of international financial reporting standards (IASs and IFRSs). It will also equip you with a critical appreciation of the dynamic environment within which financial reporting is practised.

  
   
• Corporate Strategy

• Corporate Strategy

  This module will develop your understanding of key concepts in strategy, strategic planning and strategic management and looks at how to apply these concepts in the analysis of organisations. You will also study the interplay between corporate strategy and financing, and develop insight into the more complex aspects and current issues in the field of strategy.

  
   
• Research Methods and Dissertation

• Research Methods and Dissertation

  Initially this module will equip you with the skills and knowledge needed to successfully complete a research project.

  You will then investigate a specific business problem via a substantial piece of independent work, which demonstrates your proficiency in:

  • the design of a research project;
  • the application of appropriate methods;
  • the collection and analysis of data; and
  • the presentation of results.
  
   

Option modules (choose two)

• Auditing and Control

• Auditing and Control

  This module introduces you to the concept of auditing. It will cover both theoretical frameworks as well as practical processes and techniques. It also looks at current regulation, legislation, corporate governance and ethics.

  
   
• Comparative International Accounting
• International Money and Finance

• International Money and Finance

  Many companies engage in international collaborations, set up overseas operations and subsidiaries, or export their products to overseas markets. As a student of finance, you should:

  • have an appreciation of the international dimension of corporate activities; and
  • be aware of the specific risks and challenges involved in the globalisation of the economic environment.

  This module will cover:

  • the goals, motives and risks that multi-national corporations are facing;
  • the role and functions of international financial markets; and
  • the tools that can be employed to assess and control for risk in these markets.
  
   
• International Financial Markets

• International Financial Markets

  This module analyses the operation, growth, development and economic significance of the main international financial markets. It also studies the most important financial institutions that operate in these key markets including the central banks and the large investment banks.

  
   
• Taxation

• Taxation

  This module looks at the general objectives of tax assessment and the types of tax that apply in the UK. At the end of the module you will be able to:

  • assess the tax liability of both individuals and businesses; and
  • appreciate the implications of tax policies on business decision making.

  The module also covers ethical considerations and the administration of taxation.

  
   
• Corporate Governance & Company Secretarial Practice
• Accounting, Environmental Issues and Sustainability
• Principles of Business Law

• Principles of Business Law

  The aim of this module is to provide a general understanding of the principal areas of English law that you may encounter in business or professional practice. The focus of the module is therefore:

  • the legal environment in which businesses operate; and
  • how legal issues affect the practices of business organisations.

  You will develop knowledge and understanding of business transactions in a legal context and acquire appropriate skills in conducting further research in the area of business law.

  
   

This course is taught by staff from Kingston Business School.

Find out more.

The Faculty of Business and Law runs a number of postgraduate and post-experience open days. Visit us to find out how we can help you achieve your career ambitions.

Find out more...

Read what some of our current and recent students think about the course.

Find out more...