MSc Accounting & Financial Management

This module will lay down the foundations of finance theory.

You will:

• Learn the characteristics of different classes of financial assets, their uses for both firms and investors, and the mechanics of the markets on which these assets trade
• Develop an understanding of the fundamental trade-off between risk and return, and develop the tools to quantify and operationalise this trade-off
• Understand the key decisions involved in “corporate financial management”, and develop an understanding of the objectives and constraints that drive these decisions
• Develop the conceptual understanding and practical tools required to make optimal investment decisions in the presence of uncertainty (“risk”)
• Gain structured opportunities to practise the acquired skills and knowledge using “real world” data and case studies.

This module will build on the Foundations of Financial Management, as you gain confidence and competence in the area.

This module will:

• Extend the range of financial instruments introduced in the “foundations” module to include more complex structures (e.g. derivatives), and explore their “use cases”
• Develop a general framework for the valuation of contingent claims by “replication”, and explore the complexities of operationalising this framework
• Extend the ideas of “factor pricing” (CAPM) from the “foundations” module to include multiple factors, ultimately leading to “arbitrage pricing theory”
• Extend the understanding of the factors that drive corporate financial decision making to include more complex frictions and structures
• Explore different corporate governance structures, both from the angle of efficiency of decision-making as well as considerations of ethics and social responsibility
• Provide you with structured opportunities to practise.

This course will equip you with essential data analytics skills for financial projects, combining fundamental accounting research methods with practical programming techniques.

You will learn to leverage statistical packages and programming languages such as R and Stata to analyse and interpret financial data effectively. The module covers a range of applications, from running regressions (using Stata) to performing basic textual analysis (using R) on financial documents. By the end of the module, you will be able to use tools to understand big data. 

This module will provide a comprehensive, practical learning experience that allows you to apply your accounting and financial management knowledge whilst also utilising key employability skills.

The intensive, two-week structure enables deep engagement and encourages active learning and reflection.

This module will provide you with a comprehensive understanding of the role of corporate governance in aligning the interests of managers, shareholders, and other stakeholders.

You'll explore various governance mechanisms, including the role of the board, executive compensation, and institutional shareholders, while considering the importance of stakeholder engagement strategies. You will examine the influence of the corporate information environment, particularly financial reporting, on the effectiveness of governance mechanisms. You'll gain a nuanced understanding of how governance structures are influenced by the broader business environment and stakeholder expectations.

This multi-term module will equip you with the essential employability skills and practical knowledge required to navigate the competitive job market in your field.

Through a combination of workshops, networking events, and guest speakers, you'll develop a strong professional profile, gain industry insights, and build valuable connections to enhance your career prospects in accounting and financial management. This module will help you in preparation to develop employability skills which will be used in your own personal and professional development within a role in the accounting and finance sector.

This module provides an in-depth analysis of the major techniques and processes involved in modern management accounting.

You'll focus on both tools and techniques which are well established and used by management accountants in organisations to aid planning, decision making and control. We'll also look at how management accounting has changed to respond to dynamic changes in the business environment.

The last two decades witnessed a substantial increase in the attention paid, both among practitioner and academics to the environmental, social and governance (ESG) dimensions of organisational activities. This trend has been reflected in an increased importance assigned to assessing, quantifying and monetizing the ESG-related factor on the overall financial performance of organisations, but also in an exponential growth in investment strategies that embed ESG measures into investment appraisal and decision-making. In spite of this recent trend, there is still a significant gap between the ubiquity and standardisation of tools used in financial measurement and reporting and between similar functions in the ESG space.

This course aims to address part of this gap in our practical and academic knowledge by examining on the challenges related to measuring and monetising social impacts of organisations. In doing so, the course will examine relevant theoretical approaches and use these to build relevant skills. However, this knowledge will then be applied to a real-life situation. This course adopts a hands-on approach – the course’s final assignment will ask develop an investment vehicle, a social impact bond, that uses social impact evaluation and monetisation to fund financial investment with a positive social impact.