MSc International Accounting & Finance

Designed for graduates looking for a career change, this course will help you develop a sought-after skillset ensuring you can manage modern international corporations financial reporting, qualifying you to make a real difference in businesses.

Delivery:
Full time according to Funding Council definitions, Full-time with placement

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Why study MSc International Accounting & Finance?

Learn from an expanding team of dynamic educators and researchers from around the world
You will be exposed to how organisations report their financial data as well as learning how to analyse data and draw conclusions from it
Enhance your career chances to enter a range of careers such as Financial Analyst, Investment Advisor, Financial Consultant or Finance Manager
Undertake a significant piece of self-managed research in an area that interests you in relation to your course
Study alongside a diverse portfolio of international students
Enhance your employability with an optional 30-week placement overseas or in the UK, with Bournemouth being home to many large financial companies such as J.P.Morgan and Barclay.

Find out more about the content of this course.

Course accreditation

This course is delivered by the AACSB-accredited Business School, an accreditation attained by fewer than 5% of business schools worldwide. It recognises our focus on excellence in all areas.

Discover more about the BU Business School and explore our campus

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Next start date:

September 2022, January 2023, September 2023

Location:

Bournemouth University, Lansdowne Campus (with additional activities on Talbot Campus)

Duration:

September: 1 year full-time; 2 years with optional 30-week work placement. January: 16 months full-time; 2 years with optional 30-week work placement

Accreditations:

The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB)

Required subjects:

All subjects considered

Entry requirements:

A Bachelors Honours degree with 2:2 in any subject, or equivalent

International entry requirements:

If English is not your first language you'll need IELTS (Academic) 6.0 with a minimum of 5.5 in each component. For more information see our full entry requirements.

Course details

Core units

Financial Reporting & Analysis: Learn the main principles and techniques involved in the production and operation of financial statements and the analysis of corporate financial reporting.
International Corporate Finance: The aims of this unit are to address the importance of the corporate finance function in an internationally diverse corporation and to offer a framework for assisting corporate decision makers in a complex, dynamic and inherently uncertain external environment.
Statistics & Data Modelling: This unit aims to develop your knowledge of the statistical processes, techniques, and ideas used in the collection, presentation, analysis, and interpretation of the data that are common in finance, economics, and business. Using a practical approach, you will be able to understand, interpret, and communicate quantitative results and show how quantitative methods may be used to provide reliable management information. This unit also prepares you for the development of further data analytical skills.
Corporate Governance & Ethics: This unit covers the objectives, principles and methods of corporate governance practice in different economic environments, providing a range of frameworks for analysing complex ethical problems. You'll learn how to aid managerial decision-making, particularly for risk management.
International Investment Management: This unit is designed to explore some of the wider issues in the global investment marketplace, providing an understanding of key theoretical concepts and how to apply this knowledge to the analysis of practical real estate problems.
Research Project: The research project provides Master’s level students with an opportunity to undertake a significant piece of self-managed research in an area that interests you and is relevant to the course.

Option units

Choose one

Corporate Social Responsibility & Environmental Accounting: This unit will equip you with the ability to account and report on environmental matters and critically appraise the usefulness of such information.
Portfolio Construction & Theory: This unit aims to provide you with the necessary theoretical background for the application of portfolio selection and how to apply modern portfolio theory to investment management, covering specific issues such as ethical investment strategies.
International Taxation: This unit will provide knowledge of the business opportunities and business risk entailed in cross-border trading and of the measures commonly taken by countries to protect their jurisdiction to tax.

Optional work placement

The placement is intended to foster personal and professional development, and to help you to make a connection between academic learning and the working world.

You should consider how a range of management theories can be used, and if management in industry could be improved. The transferable skills developed will improve your performance in your future career, both as employee and manager.

You will complete semester one and two of your programme as well as completing your final disseration at BU, before you undertake the 30 weeks of work experience.

Programme specification

Programme specifications provide definitive records of the University's taught degrees in line with Quality Assurance Agency requirements. Every taught course leading to a BU Award has a programme specification which describes its aims, structure, content and learning outcomes, plus the teaching, learning and assessment methods used.

Whilst every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of the programme specification, the information is liable to change to take advantage of exciting new approaches to teaching and learning as well as developments in industry. If you have been unable to locate the programme specification for the course you are interested in, it will be available as soon as the latest version is ready. Alternatively please contact us for assistance.

Download the programme specification (pdf 142kb)

Your application

What we’re looking for

For International Accounting & Finance we are looking for applicants who:

Have excellent analytical and decision-making skills
Show an enthusiasm for the subject area
Demonstrate effective communication skills.

Students will typically have an interest in international and multi-cultural world economy. We encourage applications from those who are committed to their studies and are capable of working well in teams.

Selection methods

How and when to apply

There is no application deadline for this course. However, if you will need a visa to come to the UK to study, think carefully about the length of time it will take for your visa application to be processed and make sure your visa will be ready in time for the beginning of your course.

December and January is one of our busiest application periods and therefore it may take us a little longer to process incoming applications. For courses with a January start date, we recommend submitting your application as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.

Click the green ‘Apply now’ button to submit your application free of charge online through myHub, our application portal. You will create your own myHub account so that you can track the progress of your application. Don’t forget to save your application as you go; you can return to it at as many times as you want before you submit it. For more information visit our How to apply section.

Placements

An exciting and valuable part of your studies with us is the opportunity to gain valuable experience through full-time paid industrial placements, for a minimum of 30 weeks. You will have the option to start your placement when the taught units of the course are finished, and after the dissertation.

Find out more about placements for postgraduate students

What support is available?

We provide a lot of support for you to help you find work, including a block of seminars, covering topics such as writing a CV and a covering letter, completing an application form, performing well in interviews, and we also provide language support to assist you with the written elements of your applications.

However, it is ultimately your responsibility to find work. The university does not guarantee that you will find a place. As you all probably know, it is hard work finding a job, and for this reason, many students change their mind once they are here, and choose a taught unit instead of doing the placement.

During your time on placement you will be supported by a unit tutor and a placement development advisor who will visit you on placement and keep in touch by phone and email.

International students

If you choose to do a placement as part of your course:

If you have previously studied in the UK, we will consider any study limit that may apply. We will issue your CAS according to the length of time you are entitled to under UKVI regulations (if you do not have enough time left for a work placement year, we will issue your CAS to cover your course dates only).

If you decide after you have enrolled on your course that you do not want to do a placement, this will be reported to the UKVI when you have successfully completed your course.

If you choose not to do a placement as part of your course:

We will note this on your CAS and your visa will only be granted long enough to cover your taught course, excluding placement.

If you change your mind while you are here and decide you want to do a placement, you will need to leave the UK to make a new Tier 4 visa application for the additional year of study. You would need to pay for your return travel back to your home country, as well as the cost of a new Tier 4 student visa application.

Entry requirements

General entry requirements

The normal requirements for embarking upon a postgraduate taught degree are:

A Bachelors Honours degree with 2:2 in any subject, or equivalent.

If you lack the formal academic qualifications needed to enter a postgraduate or post-experience degree, there are several alternative routes to follow – some based on experience. Contact the Future Students Enquiry Team for more information.

International entry requirements

You can find details of the international qualifications we accept, and what level of study they apply to, on our entry requirements for non-UK students' page.

Please see below some examples of the qualifications for entry:

India: Bachelor’s degree (4 years) from a recognised HE institution with a minimum overall result of 55%
Nigeria: Bachelor's degree from a recognised institution with a minimum classification of 2:2
Thailand: Thai Bachelor's (Honours) degree from a recognised higher education institution with a minimum GPA of 2.5/4.0
Turkey: Bachelor’s degree (Lisans Diplomasi - four years) with a minimum overall GPA of 2.3/4.0
Vietnam: Bachelor's degree/Bang tot nghiep dai hoc with an average score of 6.5/10, or a Master’s degree/Thac si.

All applications will be subject to a minimum grade and your degree may need to be in a relevant subject area.

English language requirements

If English is not your first language, you will need to provide evidence that you understand English to a satisfactory level. English language requirements for this course are normally:

IELTS (Academic) 6.0 with minimum 5.5 in each component, or equivalent.

View further information about our English language requirements.

Bournemouth University International College offers a number of pre-sessional English and preparatory programmes to prepare international students for postgraduate study at BU. Admission to the degree is guaranteed on successful completion of your course to the required level.

Careers

Example job roles

After completion of this course typical job roles can include:

Financial Analyst
Investment Advisor
Financial Consultant
Finance Manager.

Industries worked in?

Accounting
Finance advice
Banking
Investment
Multi-national corporations

As you progress through the course you will gain a better idea of the areas in which you want to specialise in your career. The skills you learn should stand you in good stead for your continuing professional development too – giving you more control over your future career direction.

Further study

Costs and fees

You can find full information about the deposits required and how to pay your fees in our postgraduate fees and funding section, including details of the Postgraduate Loan (subject to fee status).

All fees are quoted in pounds sterling and are per annum. Fees quoted are for tuition only unless stated otherwise. Your tuition fees will be the same for each year of your course.

Find out more about living expenses for postgraduate students

No hidden extras

What's included in your tuition fee?

Your tuition fee covers expenses associated with your course including tuition materials, access to facilities, mandatory field trips and the following:

Support for finding placements (UK or abroad) and fieldwork, and non-financial support whilst on placement if this is part of your course of study.
A range of student services – advisors, help desks, counsellors, placement support and careers service.
Access to Brightspace, our virtual learning environment, which offers a responsive and personalised learning experience with powerful learning analytics capabilities, integrated social media and advanced video features.
The Library – access to a wide range of electronic resources (databases, e-journals and e-books), print and multimedia collections, subject librarians and study spaces.
IT labs (some open 24/7), wireless network, AV equipment to borrow.
Disability and additional learning support.
The BU Language Centre to help you develop/improve foreign or English language skills.
24 hours a day, 365 days a year security team.

Costs of living and other expenses you need to consider

Additional costs

We are committed to offering you value for money and ensuring there are no hidden costs while you are studying with us, therefore we have listed below any additional costs you may incur that are not covered by your tuition fee:

Laptops, tablets and mobile devices and any software used on personal devices. Access to a personal computer is strongly recommended for your study. If you are experiencing financial difficulty, visit our website for information regarding hardship funds.
Textbooks, general stationery and other supplies. Our award-winning library is stocked with a large range of textbooks and online resources, free of charge. The Students’ Union shops stock a wide range of stationery supplies on both campuses.
Accommodation and living costs.
Travel costs, for optional field trips, outdoor wear and footwear for mandatory and optional field trips (if applicable).
Travel costs to and from your placement (both in the UK and overseas) if this is part of your course of study. Placement year funding information can be found on our website.
Clothing or equipment costs required for your placement if this is part of your course of study.
SportBU membership.

While all aspects of the programme, including required field trips, are included in the fee, additional, optional or extra curricula activities may be available for which a student contribution is required.

Repeat units

Financial help available from BU

Deposits

International (not Rep. of Ireland) students need to pay a non-refundable £3,000 deposit to secure their place on a postgraduate course. You will need to pay your deposit by the date stated in your offer letter. The remainder of your fee will be payable on registration/enrolment. There are two exceptions to the non-refundable rule on the deposit.

You fail to meet the academic or English requirements of your offer
You are refused a visa to enter the UK, provided the reason for the refusal is not a fraudulent application.

Our staff

On this course you will be taught by staff with relevant expertise and knowledge appropriate to the content of the unit. This could include senior academic staff, qualified professional practitioners and research students, many of whom are actively engaged in research and/or professional practice which is integrated into the teaching of this course. Please note that teaching staff can change.

Dr Anna Hillingdon – Associate Professor & Programme Leader

Anna is currently working in the department of Economics, Finance and Accounting at Bournemouth University. She teaches quantitative finance (e.g Risk Management, Derivatives, Statistics...). She has led a project for the UNWTO on crisis management, worked as a researcher for NATO on hybrid threats, as a consultant with the World Bank in Washington on reducing fragility and strengthening resilience post conflict and presented oral evidence to the Parliamentary Committee on hybrid threats.Anna has given numerous interviews for various media outlets throughout the world, and currently reading for a PhD, this time in Economics, with the SOAS University of London.

View Dr Anna Hillingdon's staff profile

Dr Mehdi Chowdhury - Deputy Head of Department

Dr Mehdi Chowdhury is a Senior Lecturer in Economics at the Department of Accounting, Finance and Economics. He joined the School in September 2011 after obtaining his PhD from the School of Economics of the University of Nottingham. He received a Masters Degrees in Economics from Ritsumeikan University, Kyoto, Japan and the University of Dhaka, Bangladesh. He also worked as a Teaching Assistant in Economics at the Department of Economics of the University of Bristol from 2009-2011.

View Dr Mehdi Chowdhury

Dr Nikolaos Papanikolaou – Senior Lecturer in Accounting & Finance

Nikolaos’s research interests lie at the intersection of economics and finance. Nikolaos has established a concrete portfolio of teaching across undergraduate and postgraduate programmes and has been awarded twice for his exceptional teaching performance. Alongside with his academic activity, Nikolaos has worked as a consultant, credit officer, and financial advisor in the financial services industry.

View Dr Nikolaos Papanikolaou's staff profile

Dr Marta Disegna – Senior Lecturer in Statistics & Econometrics

Marta specialises in the statistical and econometric analysis of the consumer behaviour with particular focus on the tourism, environment, and food sectors. In particular, she has extensively studied and adopted non-overlapping and fuzzy algorithms for market segmentation, censored regression models for the analysis of expenditure behaviour and willingness to pay or donate.

View Dr Marta Disegna's staff profile

Dr Suranjita Mukherjee - Deputy Head of Department

Suranjita is a Senior Lecturer in the area of Accounting and Finance and has 12 years of university teaching experience at both the undergraduate and postgraduate level. As an experienced academic she is passionate about using new technology and inventive teaching techniques like Panopto, Padlet, podcasts and use of innovative assessments to emphasise conceptual understanding of the subject matter. She has extensive experience in curriculum planning with proficiency in programme development of a specialist undergraduate and a specialist integrated master’s degree in accounting and finance. Her ongoing research interest is in corporate governance, corporate finance and Tax.

View Dr Suranjita Mukherjee’s staff profile

Dr Ishmael Tingbani – Lecturer in Management Accounting

Ishmael joined BU in 2014 prior to the completion of his PhD program at Bournemouth University. He has had over 10 years’ banking and consultancy experience in the banking sector, specialising in credit risk and stress test analysis regarding counterparty credit OTC exposures; utilising value at risk (VaR) methodologies for various assets classes. Dr Tingbani is a Chartered Banker (ACIB). He holds a Bachelor of Social Science (Economics and Sociology), MBA Banking & Finance, Chartered Banker MBA and a Doctorate of Philosophy (PhD) in Finance from Bournemouth University.

Ishmael’s teaching interests cut across Accounting Finance and Economics, having taught modules such as International Investment Management, Advanced Management Accounting, Venture Capital and Growth Finance, Money Banking and Financial Services, Quantitative Economic Application to undergraduate and postgraduate accounting finance and economics students.

View Dr Ishmael Tingbani’s staff profile

Spencer Barnett – Lecturer in Accounting

Spencer graduated from Bournemouth University in 2003 with a first class honours degree in Accounting & Finance and has subsequently qualified as a chartered accountant. Prior to starting at BU in 2000, he was an equity analyst and arbitrageur at a major European investment bank.

Spencer's research interests lie within the field of equity arbitrage, particularly surrounding mergers and acquisitions.

View Spencer Barnett's staff profile

Dr Phyllis Alexander - Principal Academic

Dr Hany Elbardan - Principal Academic in Accounting & Finance

Dr Hany Elbardan has a PhD in accounting (Brunel University), MSc and BSc (Hons) in accounting (Alexandria University). His research interests include accounting, accounting information systems, ERP systems, internal and external auditing, internal control, risk management, managerial accounting and Corporate Governance.

He has published his research in refereed international journals such as Information Systems Management, Journal of Enterprise Information Management and Journal of applied Accounting research. He has presented most of his research papers at international and regional conferences such as Accounting and finance association of Australia and New Zealand, British Accounting and Finance Association, Americas Conference on Information Systems. Dr Elbardan is a member of the editorial board of the International Journal of Management Science and Business Administration, Journal of Organizational Studies and Innovation and Organisational Studies and Innovation Review.

View Dr Hany Elbardan's staff profile

Dr Dermot McCarthy – Principal Academic

Dermot’s research interests are cross-disciplinary, encapsulating areas of economics and employee relations. More specifically, his research focuses on public-sector economics, theory of the firm, public-sector industrial relations, employee share-ownership, and employee psychology.

Dermot has published a number of papers relating to the impact of privatisation and employee share-ownership on employee attitudes and commitment in the workplace.

View Dr Dermot McCarthy’s staff profile

Course changes

Changes for 2022 entry

Date	Changes to this course
15/12/2021	Where the change was made: Course details Change: International investment management unit has been changed from an option unit to a core unit.

Date	Changes to this course
29/04/2022	Where the change was made: Course details Change: Core unit title change: Business & Finance Analytics is now Statistics & Data Modelling.

Changes for 2021

Date	Changes to this course
17/05/2021	Where the change was made: Course details Change: Programme restructure, completion of dissertation before optional placement year.

Changes for 2019

Date	Changes to this course
25/04/2019	Where the change was made: course overview and course content Change: Following a course review the course overview and unit content has been revised and updated for September 2019 onwards as well as the addition of an optional 30-week work placement. The previous content can be found in the programme specification.

Statistics shown throughout this page are taken from Unistats and BU institutional data unless otherwise stated.