Earning potential is just one of the benefits of being an accountant. In addition, an accounting qualification can open doors worldwide in any industry.
This specialised 'conversion' programme is designed to enhance employment prospects. It assumes little or no business knowledge at undergraduate level and helps graduates from any discipline break into this highly skilled profession, gaining the key business skills to advance a career in the finance sector in a single year.
A career in accounting or financial services requires an in-depth understanding of both the theory and practical knowledge of accounting and finance. This programme offers students the opportunity to master a wide range of financial tools and acquire a solid foundation of key accounting and finance topics. You do not need to have studied accounting or finance before in order to develop the necessary skills for management roles in these areas.
Led by renowned Academics and top practitioners, you will gain access to the latest finance research, software and techniques. Our strong links with financial institutions, recruiters and practitioners ensure a focus on tangible, marketable employability skills, relevant to the real financial world.
We will provide you with industry certifications from one of the most prestigious accounting bodies in the world, the Institute of Chartered Accountants of England and Wales (ICAEW). Our Professional Accounting module comes complete with the International Reporting Standards Certificate, IFRS used by the majority of countries around the world.
You will have access to top notch facilities, including the UK’s First University Trading Room. This virtual trading room gives you access to the same professional tool used by major international financial services companies. You can earn the Datastream certificates to demonstrate your ability to handle professional investing tools.
The information below applies to the 1 year full time on campus learning MScEcon programme which runs in September.
This course develops a mathematical and statistical ‘toolbox’ for PGT students in the Business School. These tools will useful in understanding and implementing research in business- and economics-related fields both during a student’s academic career as well as after graduation. The first part of the course covers basic mathematical models common across these fields. The second part of the course develops standard data analysis methods, including multivariate regression. The final part of the course examines shortcomings in the standard model and describes ways of overcoming those shortcomings.
This course introduces students to basic financial concepts before moving on to introduce students to a number of areas of corporate finance including investment appraisal decisions, examining capital structure theory, the financing decisions of the firm, and corporate restructuring. The main aim of the course is to equip students with good analytical skills in order to understand the implications of corporate financing decisions by understanding why companies behave the way they do with respect to financing choices and how this interacts with the real world financial markets, and to enable students to understand the theoretical underpinnings of corporate finance theory.
Students will gain an understanding of what financial information is for and how it is controlled by government, the stock exchanges and other institutions. Students will explore financial accounting assumptions and conventions. They will develop their technical knowledge and skills to enable them to record business transactions and prepare financial statements. Finally, students will be introduced to financial statement analysis and the calculation of key metrics. This will allow them to explore how accounting information is used by stock market participants and the impact on users of current developments and issues in accounting practice, governance and standards.
The course will cover the main elements of Microeconomic Theory together with how this underpins the macro economy, covering consumer theory, how consumers choose under constraint of a budget, to generate demands. How this theory can be used to consider the welfare effects of price changes will be considered. The problem of production will be examined to understand the supply, and the demand and supply side will be drawn together to consider market structure. How the theory can be used to identify market supplies and demands from empirical data will be examined.
This course examines theories and issues relevant to portfolio analysis. Themes include: risk and return; investment motives; the application of modern portfolio theory (including the Capital Asset Pricing Model); information and market efficiency; portfolio analysis and asset pricing; bonds and equities; real estate and derivative markets.
Like football, this course is a game of two halves. The first half is financial analysis and builds your ability to analyse companies and think about the implications of financial performance for investors. We will be using Datastream and the ThomsonReuters Eikon system. In the second half we will think about the setting of international accounting standards – the system and the principles behind the IFRS’s.
This course introduces management accounting and the difference between this strand of accounting and that studied in the BU5031 module. It develops in students the ability to apply complex problem-solving techniques in the planning, control and decision-making process. It shows how quantitative methods and analytical techniques can be applied in management accounting solutions to management problems. The course seeks to develop in students an understanding the organisational context as well as the nature of management accounting information. The focus is to enhance students’ problem-solving and communication skills, and develop their ability to select and apply appropriate techniques in specific contexts.
Plus one of the following:
This widely recognised certificate-level learning and assessment programme will give you the guidance and knowledge to fully understand and apply IFRSs. The ICAEW programme is self-taught using on-line and manual materials, supplied by BPP, but supported by regular contact with University of Aberdeen staff to address any specific problem areas. By the end of the course students should be able to understand and apply IFRSs principles, concepts and knowledge in a commercial setting.
If you do not wish to undertake the IFRS certificate, then you will be choosing this course. This is designed for those seeking a more theoretical rather than professional edge to their MSc. You will be teamed with a member of faculty to develop a literature review of a mutually agreed area of accounting research.
The capstone of your programme. A significant individual piece of work showing your ability to think, research, organise and analyse. You will work with a member of faculty to develop a proposal that you will then turn into 10,000 words of reality!
We will endeavour to make all course options available; however, these may be subject to timetabling and other constraints. Please see our InfoHub pages for further information.
The programme assesses the competency and skills that you will need in the financial world in a number of ways. You will give individual and group presentations, prepare reports, sit traditional exams, write academic essays and complete the Dissertation over the summer period.
This programme is open to graduates from any discipline and does not require business or management study to be completed at undergraduate level.
Our minimum entry requirement for this programme is a degree at 2:2 (lower second class) UK Honours level (or a degree from a non-UK institution which is judged by the University to be of equivalent worth).
All students entering the University must provide evidence that they can use English well enough to study effectively at the University of Aberdeen.
Details of our English language entry requirements can be found on our English Language Requirements webpages. This programme requires that you meet the Business School Postgraduate Standard level of English proficiency.
If you have not achieved the required scores, the University of Aberdeen offers pre-sessional English courses. Further details are available on our Language Centre website.
Nationals of some English-speaking countries or those who hold degrees from some English-speaking countries may be exempt from this requirement. Details of countries recognised as English-speaking can be found on our English Language Requirements webpages.
You will be required to supply the following documentation with your application as proof you meet the entry requirements of this degree programme.
You will be classified as one of the fee categories below.
| Fee category | Cost |
|---|---|
| Home / EU / RUK Students | £7,400 |
| Tuition Fee for 2017/18 Academic Year | |
| International Students | £16,100 |
| Tuition Fee for 2017/18 Academic Year |
Further Information about tuition fees and the cost of living in Aberdeen
View all funding options in our Funding Database.
Having a recognised accountancy qualification opens many career doors –did you know, a higher percentage of company board members have an accountancy qualification than any other kind of postgraduate qualification?
The MSc (ECON) in Accounting and Finance here, at the University of Aberdeen, has been created to thoroughly prepare you for a successful career across a variety of potential accountancy and financial related roles and industries. Whether that’s training to become an auditor, working for an accountancy firm or in an accountancy department within a large company, the knowledge and financial skills you willl gain will enhance your potential.
Employers and graduates increasingly ask Universities to concentrate on the graduate attributes which make job applicants employable. In short, to focus on the real need of business. This programme is designed to deliver that.
Not only do our Accounting and Finance postgraduates leave with the underlying business knowledge essential to successful business, they have developed and thus can offer potential employers the crucial characteristics and skills - strong communication and interpersonal skills, quantitative knowledge and technical skills - sought after in today's globally competitive business environment.
Our Academics come from the commercial world as well as Academia and we are constantly engaging with industry. Our business connections mean we provide opportunities to network with, present to, brainstorm with and do work for industry, including;
Industry certification from one of the most prestigious accounting bodies in the world, the Institute of Chartered Accountants of England and Wales (ICAEW). This Master's comes complete with a professional module, the International Financial Reporting Standards Certificate. IFRS is used by the majority of countries around the world.
“Accounting students with IFRS education, experience or knowledge should highlight it at the top of their CV. It shows you as current on trends and standards.”
Recognition from the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) allows students exemption from the first four modules in the ACCA syllabus.
MSc Accounting & Finance was very intensive, and furnished me with the knowledge I was seeking. The programme allowed me to participate in business related competitions, and on graduation I was recruited to one of the Big 4 audit firms.
You will be taught by a range of experts including professors, lecturers, teaching fellows and postgraduate tutors. Staff changes will occur from time to time; please see our InfoHub pages for further information.
Earn top accounting credentials from the ICAEW before you graduate
The University’s award winning Sir Duncan Rice Library is listed in the “Top 20 spellbinding University libraries in the World”. It contains over a million volumes, more than 300,000 e-books and 21,000 journals.
Find out moreThis the University’s virtual learning environment. This is where you will find learning materials and resources associated with your courses and where you will be notified of any announcements about your courses or the University.
This event celebrates students’ academic success across a range of disciplines and provides an opportunity for students to meet industry professionals.
