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How can organisations ensure fair and accurate accounting? How has finance changed in the wake of the global economic crisis?
Our MSc Accounting and Finance is taught at Essex Business School. You join one of the UK’s largest and most respected finance groups and experience a Masters education that combines theory with practice. You further your understanding of advanced accounting and corporate finance and can tailor your studies to your professional ambitions by choosing from a range of optional modules.
You cover topics including:
recent developments in theoretical approaches to accounting and corporate finance
quantitative and qualitative approaches to empirical research
financial reporting
portfolio management
Our world-renowned academics are at the cutting-edge of their fields. They embed the latest thinking into your course to ensure you stay up-to-date with the current developments and major issues in accounting and financial reporting.
Whether you’re thinking about continuing your studies to PhD level or targeting a senior role in the world of accounting or finance, this is the course to advance your career.
Our MSc Accounting and Finance is also available to study part-time and you may be eligible for University of Essex scholarships and discounts.
Professional accreditation
Accredited by the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) for the purpose of exemptions from some professional examinations.
This means that you are able to gain a professional qualification more quickly by taking fewer exams when you graduate, giving your career a head start.
Why we're great.
Essex Business School is home to one of the largest and most-respected finance groups in the UK
We are at the forefront of accounting and finance research – be at the cutting-edge of the discipline
Tailor your Masters to your career goals with our wide range of modules
Our expert staff
Our expert academics and practitioners seek to shape the direction of debate and research in the fields of accounting and finance, addressing issues currently faced by commercial businesses, public sector bodies and not-for-profit organisations. Their work has been cited in the national press and we’re home to internationally regarded figures, such as Emeritus Professor Prem Sikka, who is campaigning for an end to corporation tax avoidance.
Essex Business School has four accounting and finance research centres, producing work with real-world impact:
We’re recognised for being at the forefront of research in:
business ethics
corporate social responsibility
organisation studies
leadership and strategy
finance and banking
risk management
international management
Specialist facilities
We’re proud to have the UK’s first zero carbon business school building, which reflects our commitment to ethical and sustainable business. You will be able to:
practise analysing financial data in our virtual trading floor, complete with Bloomberg Financial Market Labs
prepare for your lectures in our lush winter garden
experience our Eden-style dome, which gives the building its own micro-climate
learn in light and spacious lecture theatres
utilise our study pods and innovation booths for group working
network with visiting businesses
relax in Bonds café, adjacent to our sun terrace
Your future
We develop your business skills so you can use creativity, innovation and ethical awareness to solve the challenges that the international business world continues to present. 93% of our Essex Business School students are in employment or further study (Graduate Outcomes 2020).
Our recent graduates have progressed to roles in financial analysis, management, public administration and accountancy in high-profile organisations and exciting SMEs across the world, such as:
The Government of Pakistan
Brit College
Dytex Cotfabr
Capital Markets Intelligence, a financial publisher
Credit Data Research, a provider of small business finance
We’re also proud of our student entrepreneurs, including international business incubator 0100Ventures and entrepreneurship website SlovakSTARTUP.
Working alongside the University’s Careers Services, we’ll help you find out about employability opportunities, such as work experience, internships, placements, and voluntary opportunities. There is also access to employer talks on campus.
Entry requirements
UK entry requirements
A 2:2 degree in any discipline.Your degree must include either:
One module in Financial Accounting and one module in Management Accounting in the final two years of study.
OR
Four accounting modules one of which must be in either Financial Accounting or Management Accounting.
International & EU entry requirements
We accept a wide range of qualifications from applicants studying in the EU and other countries. Get in touch with any questions you may have about the qualifications we accept. Remember to tell us about the qualifications you have already completed or are currently taking.
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English language requirements
If English is not your first language, we require IELTS 6.5 overall with a minimum component score of 5.5
Additional Notes
The University uses academic selection criteria to determine an applicant’s ability to successfully complete a course at the University of Essex. Where appropriate, we may ask for specific information relating to previous modules studied or work experience.
Structure
Example structure
Most of our courses combine compulsory and optional modules, giving you freedom to pursue your own interests. All of the modules listed below provide an example of what is on offer from the current academic year. Our Programme Specification provides further details of the course structure for the current academic year.
Our research-led teaching is continually evolving to address the latest challenges and breakthroughs in the field, therefore to ensure your course is as relevant and up-to-date as possible your core module structure may be subject to change.
The example structure below is representative of this course if taken full-time. If you choose to study part-time, the modules will be split across 2 years.
Teaching and learning disclaimer
Following the impact of the pandemic, we made changes to our teaching and assessment to ensure our current students could continue with their studies uninterrupted and safely. These changes included courses being taught through blended delivery, normally including some face-to-face teaching, online provision, or a combination of both across the year.
The teaching and assessment methods listed show what is currently planned for 2021 entry; changes may be necessary if, by the beginning of this course, we need to adapt the way we’re delivering them due to the external environment, and to allow you to continue to receive the best education possible safely and seamlessly.
Demonstrate a critical understanding of major current issues in financial accounting and reporting. You develop an awareness of financial reporting theory, the problematic nature of accounting measurements and disclosures, corporate disclosure regulation, the implications of market efficiency for financial reporting, and the potential role of accounting information in social reporting and collective bargaining.
This module covers topics in mathematics that are required in Masters-level finance courses at the University of Essex. You focus on the basics of linear algebra, differential calculus including optimisation and dynamics.
Understand the process of portfolio management. You cover the main concepts such as efficient diversification, managing risk exposures, and the valuation of financial assets that are at the core of managing investment portfolios, and pay special attention to the practicalities of the implementation of these concepts.
Analyse the changing practices and theorization of management accounting and control in emerging and less-developed countries in the context of environmental change, institutional and socio-economic factors. You examine traditional management control systems in the context of different cultural, political, and socio-economic contexts.
Behavioural finance rejects crucial tenets of mainstream finance such as the Efficient Market Hypothesis (EMH) on the basis that agents are less than fully rational, and that arbitrage fails to eliminate mispricing. Instead it identifies market anomalies or regularities such as holiday effects that are at odds with the EMH. You learn to use ideas from cognitive psychology, such as overconfidence, and aspects of imperfect arbitrage to explain these.
Your dissertation is the culmination of your Masters programme, where you apply the knowledge gained on your course to produce an extended independent piece of work. You generate an original idea, analyse literature and current knowledge and produce a coherent argument that shows your ability to relate theory to practice. Your dissertation will help you develop vital skills for the workplace, as well as the ability to analyse real problems through an academic lens. You are assigned a supervisor for the duration of your project.
Tailor the content of your course to more closely fit your interests and aspirations
Courses focus on practical applications and links with industry
We run an open seminar series, which our Masters students are welcome to attend
learn in an international environment; our Masters students join us from more than 40 countries
Assessment
Regular assessment is by coursework, presentations, case studies, group work, tests and examinations
Dissertation
You submit a 15,000 word dissertation.
Fees and funding
Home/UK fee
£12,410
International fee
£19,380
EU students commencing their course in the 2021-22 academic year will be liable for the International fee.
Fees will increase for each academic year of study.
What's next
Open Days
We hold Open Days for all our applicants throughout the year. Our Colchester Campus events are a great way to find out more about studying at Essex, and give you the chance to:
tour our campus and accommodation
find out answers to your questions about our courses, student finance, graduate employability, student support and more
meet our students and staff
If the dates of our organised events aren’t suitable for you, feel free to get in touch by emailing tours@essex.ac.uk and we’ll arrange an individual campus tour for you.
We aim to respond to applications within two weeks. If we are able to offer you a place, you will be contacted via email.
For information on our deadline to apply for this course, please see our ‘how to apply’ information.
Visit Colchester Campus
Home to 15,000 students from more than 130 countries, our Colchester Campus is the largest of our three sites, making us one of the most internationally diverse campuses on the planet - we like to think of ourselves as the world in one place.
The Campus is set within 200 acres of beautiful parkland, located two miles from the historic town centre of Colchester – England's oldest recorded town. Our Colchester Campus is also easily reached from London and Stansted Airport in under one hour.
If you live too far away to come to Essex (or have a busy lifestyle), no problem. Our 360 degree virtual tour allows you to explore the Colchester Campus from the comfort of your home. Check out our accommodation options, facilities and social spaces.
Exhibitions
Our staff travel the world to speak to people about the courses on offer at Essex. Take a look at our list of exhibition dates to see if we’ll be near you in the future.
At Essex we pride ourselves on being a welcoming and inclusive student community. We offer a wide range of support to individuals and groups of student members who may have specific requirements, interests or responsibilities.
The University makes every effort to ensure that this information on its programme specification is accurate and up-to-date. Exceptionally it can be necessary to make changes, for example to courses, facilities or fees. Examples of such reasons might include, but are not limited to: strikes, other industrial action, staff illness, severe weather, fire, civil commotion, riot, invasion, terrorist attack or threat of terrorist attack (whether declared or not), natural disaster, restrictions imposed by government or public authorities, epidemic or pandemic disease, failure of public utilities or transport systems or the withdrawal/reduction of funding. Changes to courses may for example consist of variations to the content and method of delivery of programmes, courses and other services, to discontinue programmes, courses and other services and to merge or combine programmes or courses. The University will endeavour to keep such changes to a minimum, and will also keep students informed appropriately by updating our programme specifications.
The full Procedures, Rules and Regulations of the University governing how it operates are set out in the Charter, Statutes and
Ordinances and in the University Regulations, Policy and Procedures.
Ask us a question
Want to quiz us about your course? Got a question that just needs answering? Get in touch and we’ll do our best to email you back shortly.
