International Accounting and Finance (MSc)

Who is it for?

If you are an ambitious, curious and hard-working graduate, driven to excel and succeed in the area of finance or accounting, this is the right course for you. This is a highly practical course so you’ll need to possess sound quantitative skills.  This is a course for graduates that are keen to acquire both the leading techniques in finance and analytical understanding of accounting in measuring economic activities in a business.

You will be able to tailor your course with elective modules to pursue selected fields in depth and address your individual career choice. You can choose modules that will enable you to focus at greater depth on finance, or that will provide you with knowledge you will need to prepare for professional accounting qualifications.

Objectives

This is a one-year, full-time, expertly structured programme that will provide you with the real world finance and accounting expertise that leads to a wide range of rewarding international roles.

The emphasis of the course is to enable you to critically assess the implications of financial figures for a multitude of finance related topics. During the course you will develop a deep understanding of the use of finance and accounting tools in the context of global capital markets.

The course is designed to equip you with skills for using both finance theory and analysis together with accounting numbers in investment decisions and corporate assessment. For example, you will learn how to think in financial terms and develop the methods that will help you weigh financial risks when valuing underlying real assets, evaluating a strategy, and drawing conclusion about the business using financial figures, you will acquire analytical skills for making informed assessments on key financial decision, you will develop deep understanding of the fundamental issues behind international capital flows, their accounting treatment and bearings on business decisions.

This is a demanding and highly rewarding course and after leaving it you will be well-prepared for a broad range of financial careers. MSc IAF graduates find careers in investment and corporate banks, accountancy and audit firms, ratings firms, private equity, financial data providers, venture capital, and finance departments in major corporations.

Structure

What will I learn

• Acquire a comprehensive grasp of the principles and applications of finance and accounting
• Develop your range of technical and conceptual skills
• Gain broad experience of quantitative techniques
• Develop your understanding of a wide range of financial issues across all industry sectors
• Network with your peers and senior accounting and finance industry professionals in the City of London
• Gain a highly valuable international, multicultural perspective
• Acquire a flexible qualification suitable for a wide range of roles in accounting and global finance.

Assessment

We review all our courses regularly to keep them up-to-date on issues of both theory and practice.

To satisfy the requirements of the degree course students must complete:

• eight core courses (15 credits each)

and either

• five electives (10 credits each)
• three electives (10 credits each) and an Applied Research Project (20 credits)
• one elective (10 credits) and a Business Research Project (40 credits)
• one super elective on IFRS (30 credits) and two electives (10 credits each)
• one super elective on IFRS (30 credits) and an Applied Research Project (20 credits)

Assessment of modules on the MSc in International Accounting & Finance, in most cases, is by means of coursework and unseen examination. Coursework may consist of standard essays, individual and group presentations, group reports, classwork, unseen tests and problem sets. Please note that any group work may include an element of peer assessment.

Induction Weeks

The MSc in International Accounting & Finance course starts with two compulsory induction weeks, focused on:

• an introduction to careers in finance and the opportunity to speak to representatives from over 75 companies during a number of different industry specific fairs.
• a refresher course of basic financial mathematics, statistics, computing and electronic databases.

Career pathways

As Cass is located close to the City of London, you will be perfectly placed to exploit the opportunities created by the degree. Our dedicated careers team will work with you to identify and achieve your career goals by providing you one-to-one support, as well as regular skills workshops and employer and alumni networking opportunities.

Our graduates embark on fulfilling careers in finance and accounting across the finance, professional services, and corporate world at companies including Ernst & Young, Pricewaterhouse Coopers, and KPMG.

Visit the International Accounting and Finance (MSc) page on the Cass Business School website for more details!