Accounting and Financial Management MSc

Lancaster University

Accounting today is increasingly complex and global in scope. The MSc Accounting and Financial Management programme provides academic training at the frontier of accounting and financial management knowledge. It’s an excellent foundation on which you can build your career in accountancy, investment banking or financial analysis.

During this programme, if you meet minimum performance criteria during your first term, you will have the chance to train for and sit the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) Level 1 professional exam during the programme. Upon successful completion of your master's, you will also automatically secure Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) exemptions from most of the Fundamental level papers depending on your module choices during the second term, and 11 exemptions from the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) CGMA qualification.

The programme balances theory with applied learning, using practical working examples to enhance skills and understanding. You will learn about the principles of financial reporting and the foundation of finance, and have the chance to study modules such as financial statement analysis, advanced management accounting or advanced investment management. To help address the industry’s skills gap and give you a competitive edge in the jobs market, you will also have the opportunity to develop key transferable job market skills such as data analysis, and computer programming (using Python, R, Stata, MATLAB, and SAS); and will receive training in industry-standard data platforms such as Bloomberg and FactSet.

You are encouraged to select your dissertation according to your future career path. Dissertations are managed in streams and you will be invited to presentation sessions by the stream leader. You will then choose from either empirical asset pricing, accounting, CFA level 1, or corporate finance. You will attend lectures and workshops designed to introduce you to the key literature and research methods on which your dissertation topic is based.

Throughout your programme, you will have access to the School’s career support. Advisers will help shape a one-to-one plan to ensure you make the most of your time here.

We keep pace with the ever-changing standards in accountancy, ensuring absolute relevance. We’re proud to produce graduates who have gone on to thrive in large accountancy firms such EY, PwC and other international firms.

Course outline

In the first term, from October to December, you will take four core modules (Quantitative Methods for Finance, Foundations of Finance, Principles of Financial Reporting, and Financial Markets). Each module is split into two parts. The first part takes place over the first three weeks of the term and provides a solid introduction to the topics covered in the second part. In addition, you will have a two-week module on Financial Databases and career sessions spread out through the term.

During your second term from January to March, you will take four assessed modules.

From May to July you work on your Master's dissertation, with guidance from your academic supervisor. During those months, you will attend lectures and computer lab sessions designed to introduce you to the key literature and research methods on which your dissertation topic is based. You will continue to work on your dissertation throughout the remainder of the summer, submitting your dissertation in September, at the end of the Master's programme.

A number of dissertation streams are available including:

• Advanced Topics in Investment Strategies, Mutual Funds and Hedge Funds
• Advanced Topics in Corporate Finance
• Advanced Topics in Accounting
• CFA Dissertation Stream