MSc. Applied Accounting from Oxford Brookes University
The MSc. Applied Accounting is a cost effective, part – time, distance learning master’s degree. It has been developed for qualified accountants and ACCA students who wish to enhance their professional qualification with business research skills.
Your Advanced Accounting and Finance project provides you with an opportunity to apply your business research skills to a real world accounting or finance related problem. This can be an area of interest to your organisation. Your research will be supervised by a member of the accounting, finance and economics academic team.
Graduates of this master’s course will gain technical and transferable skills which apply across the globe.
Available start dates
January 2020 / September 2020 / January 2021 / September 2021
Teaching location
Distance learning
Course length
- Part time: 12 months
For full application details, please see the ‘How to apply / Entry requirements’ section.
Why choose this course?
- Study online – You can study from wherever you are in the world giving you the flexibility of learning in your own time. You can determine when and where to study to fit the master’s degree in with your other work and home commitments. Oxford Brookes is well known for online learning with our Global MBA being ranked in the top ten QS Distance Online MBAs.
- Affordable master’s – You benefit from an affordable master’s programme from an internationally recognised university. You will undertake an Advanced Accounting and Finance project to develop knowledge and expertise in accounting. During this project you can focus on a specific challenge or area of interest for your organisation.
- Professional qualifications– This master’s course is designed for professional accountants and ACCA students. You will gain admission with credit for your professional qualifications.
- Employability– This course helps you develop both academically and professionally. It offers an opportunity to create global business links with fellow students, teaching staff and professionals. There are online resources to support careers and employment including a job search site which has resources such as online tutorials, bitesize videos, an interview simulator, and links to useful websites.
- International approach– As a distance learning programme you will have the opportunity to work with students from around the world. You will gain technical and transferable skills which apply across the globe.
- Teaching and learning– We have a track record of excellence in teaching, learning and research and our Business School received the top award from the Higher Education Funding council for England to become a Centre of Excellence in Teaching and Learning.
How it works?
The MSc. in Applied Accounting is a one year online master’s degree specifically developed for professional accountants.
Admission with credit: 120 credits
To gain admission with credit students must have completed at least three ACCA Strategic Professional Papers, or have successfully completed all the professional papers required for membership of one of the UK accountancy bodies.
Research Methods: 10 credits
The aim of the Research Methods module is to develop your knowledge of a range of research approaches, methods and techniques appropriate for the field of accounting and finance. It also develops your skills in critically evaluating research carried out and reported by others. You are introduced to research methodologies, and how research is written, disseminated and evaluated. You will explore and critique current research in accounting and finance, and develop a critical literature review. The Research Methods module prepares you to successfully complete the high quality, rigorous and systematic accounting and finance research required for the Advanced Accounting and Finance Project.
Advanced Accounting and Finance Project: 50 credits
This module provides you with the opportunity to undertake a self-managed process of systematic enquiry. This enquiry may focus on academic research within the domain of accountancy or finance forming a traditional dissertation or it may equally focus on a particular organisational challenge or opportunity and take the form of an accounting or finance project. In all cases it will include and report on the outcomes of a significant research activity. You have the opportunity to explore an area of interest in greater depth, whether it is theoretical or operational accountancy and finance. The module will enable you to practice many of the concepts studied in the ACCA Professional Level Papers and in the Research Methods module. Learning will largely be self-directed, but you will receive guidance in the form of a series of structured one-to-one interventions from your nominated supervisor.
Teaching and learning
The teaching and learning for this master’s degree is delivered online using Adobe Connect or other technologies.
Students studying the Research Methods can:
- participate in online workshops focused on research methods and methodology, drawing on examples of research projects
- practice the skills of data collection and analysis, for example, by participating in or observing interviews and by analysing qualitative and quantitative sources or image-based or verbal data
- discuss their research ideas with their supervisor
- gain feedback on their draft project proposal from their supervisor who will support them in developing their academic writing skills
- present their project proposal to their supervisor using an appropriate form of technology, such as Adobe Connect.
Students completing the Advanced Accounting and Finance Project are expected to carry out rigorous research and apply concepts, models and techniques. Much of the learning is done under the one-to-one guidance of a nominated supervisor. Milestones will be set using a number of online meetings with them.
Approach to assessment
Assessment is a fundamental and integral part of course design and one that is intended to shape and assess learning. Assessment has been designed at programme level in order to ensure that the assessment shapes learning in a coherent and holistic fashion, consistent with the aims of the course. Assessment has been developed with reference to the Brookes Assessment Compact.
There are two modules in which both formative and summative assessment takes place:
- Research Methods
- Advanced Accounting and Finance Project
Research Methods
There are four elements of assessment within this module:
- Several sets of directed reading, with students then answering linked sets of multiple choice questions (20% weighting). This is designed to develop and assess technical research skills.
- Submission of a 500-word draft Advanced Accounting and Finance Project proposal. This has a pass/refer assessment.
- Submission of a 2,000-word final Advanced Accounting and Finance Project proposal (80% weighting).
- Online viva presentation of 10 minutes made by the student of the final submitted project proposal to their supervisor. This has a pass/refer assessment.
Feedback on the draft proposal and final proposal will be on elements such as the academic content, use of research methodology, criticality, referencing and presentation style.
Advanced Accounting and Finance Project
Students will write a 15,000-word Project Report (80% weighting). The Project Report will be based on the approved project proposal (developed as the assessment within the Research Methods module) and students are expected to consider academic and management implications arising from their research. Students will progress their report under guided supervision and each student will be allocated a supervisor who will provide guidance and feedback on the project through a number of online meetings.
Students will present their final Project Report to their supervisor via Adobe Connect (10 minutes) and undergo a 20-minute viva examination of their report (20% weighting).
Attendance pattern
This is an online course.
Programme changes
On rare occasions we may need to make changes to our course programmes after they have been published on the website. For more information, please visit our Changes to programmes page.
Fees / Funding
Tuition fees
Home/EU – distance learning fee: 2019/20: £2,800 (Sep 19 & Jan 20 entry)
International – distance learning fee: 2019/20: £2,800 (Sep 19 & Jan 20 entry)
Home/EU – distance learning fee: 2020/21: £2,860 (Sep 20 & Jan 21 entry)
International – distance learning fee: 2020/21: £2,860 (Sep 20 & Jan 21 entry)
Please be aware that some courses will involve some additional costs that are not covered by your fees. Specific additional costs for this course, if any, are detailed in the ‘This course in detail’ window above.
Questions about fees?
Contact Student Finance on:
+44 (0)1865 483088
finance-fees@brookes.ac.uk
Funding and scholarships
For general sources of financial support, see:
- Funding for Postgraduate students from the UK and EU
- Funding for Postgraduate students from outside the EU
How to apply / Entry requirements
Entry requirements
The MSc. in Applied Accounting is for students who have passed at least three ACCA Professional Level Papers or have successfully completed:
- Institute Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW)
- Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA)
- Institute of Chartered Accountants in Scotland (ICAS)
- Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA)
- Chartered Accountants Ireland
Students may be granted a conditional offer for the course if they are awaiting results from their professional paper examinations, subject to the admission requirements of the programme.
This course attracts students from a wide range of backgrounds and nationalities. Applications are welcome from those in work and seeking continuing professional development.
Entry will also be subject to two satisfactory references (one of these must be an academic reference).
Please also see the university’s general entry requirements.
How to apply
Please contact Business School enquirers if you need help with your application or require any further information.
Terms and Conditions of Enrollment
When you accept our offer, you agree to the Terms and Conditions of Enrollment. You should therefore read those conditions before accepting the offer.
How this course helps you develop
Employability – This course helps you develop both academically and professionally. It offers an opportunity to create global business links with fellow students, teaching staff and professionals. On the practical side, there are online resources to support careers and employment including a job search site which has resources such as online tutorials, bitesize videos, an interview simulator, and links to useful websites.
Learn while you develop your career – You study online from wherever you are in the world which means that you have the flexibility of learning in your own time. You can determine when and where to study to fit the master’s degree in with your other work and home commitments. Oxford Brookes is well known for online learning with our MBA being ranked 5th globally in the QS Distance Online MBA rankings 2016.
Enhancing you professional skills – This master’s course is designed for ACCA students, associates and members and enables them to gain admission with credit for Professional level papers. You will undertake an Advanced Accounting and Finance project which enables you to develop knowledge and expertise in accounting.
Careers – Studying for a master’s gives you career choices including:
- Career progression through enhanced academic qualifications
- Setting up a business. A number of students may use their skills, knowledge and understanding to develop their family business
- Acceptance onto a postgraduate doctoral level course in a related area.
Our students are attractive to employers both in the UK and internationally and have gone to work in prestigious organisations such as Apple (on the Leadership Programme), Proctor & Gamble, IBM, Cancer Research and Wolseley Group. Others have joined accounting practices such as KPMG, PwC and Deloitte.
Support
How Brookes supports postgraduate students
As an enrolled student of Oxford Brookes University you are entitled to receive all the services available to on-campus students, some services such as Subject Support Coordinators are available via email, phone or online, however some of these services are only available on campus.
Induction
A compulsory induction programme before teaching begins in the first semester allows you to meet fellow students online and to explore and understand the functionality of the Virtual Learning Environment. It also introduces the philosophy of the programme, the rationale for its design and delivery, and provides insight into what is expected of students.
Programme and module handbooks
Online handbooks are provided for both the programme and for each module. The module handbook provides:
- Contact details of the Programme Lead, Programme Administrator, Module Leader and tutors
- Specific content and learning outcomes
- Topics and activities
- Recommended and required reading
- Coursework assessment including the task, learning outcomes, assessment criteria and deadlines.
Supporting your learning
From academic advisers and support co-ordinators to specialist subject librarians and other learning support staff, we want to ensure that you get the best out of your studies.
Research
Research areas and clusters
Related to this subject there are these areas of research: Critical Perspectives on Accounting, Social Responsibility and Governance, and Applied Economics, Finance and Development. The Accounting cluster focuses on how accountability and responsibility is achieved, explored from a range of perspectives and methodological approaches. The Economics cluster comprises applied macro- and microeconomics as well as finance, environmental sustainability and development.
Research clusters
- Critical Perspectives on Accounting, Social Responsibility and Governance
Our (VM) Services
We are offering mentoring services to students in obtaining MSc. Applied Accounting from Oxford Brookes University. Our tutors have extensive mentoring experience and have an excellent understanding of the requirements prescribed by the Oxford Brookes University; these are skills that will ultimately help our students in obtaining this degree.
Our suggestion to our future students is to first contact with our designated tutor/mentor and understand the overall process and they will explain each aspect of this program. After the initial meet with a tutor/mentor, the student is in a position where he/she can decide to go ahead with an assessment of our service and move forward after receiving of the first payment.
We support our students in the following manners:
- Complete guidance through the entire process of obtaining MSc. Applied Accounting degree.
- Guiding students in all general and specific aspects of this program.
- Guiding students about course works, final project and explain overall expectation of examiner.
- Review entire work of students both for course works and final project multiple times and give feedback for better improvement.
- Provide professional advice in avoiding any hassle through the entire process.
Mentoring Fee
Our mentoring fees vary for this specific program, as they are based on the following factors:
- Level of assistance throughout the entire process from the designated mentor/tutor required by the student;
- Number of Skype meetings between student and tutor/mentor;
- Number of reviews of student’s work; and
- Overall timelines of entire activity
We always advise the student to first meet with the designated tutor/mentor and understand the entire process. The student needs to explain to the mentor/tutor their requests, after this, we can quote our fee.
Consult us for Mentoring fee and Registration.
Registration From_MSc. Applied Accounting (OBU)