3 good reasons to study Accounting and Finance at Salford:

  • Equip yourself for a career in the rapidly expanding accounting and finance industry
  • Learn in an internationally-orientated environment with access to a global network of like-minded professionals
  • A programme that equips you with the necessary theory and skills to work successfully in professional accountancy services and corporate sector

The aim of this course is to provide you with the advanced level skills and knowledge required by personnel in the accounting, finance, and corporate financial industry sectors. On completion of the course you will be able to take advantage of opportunities in either managerial or consulting roles in the corporate sector and finance industries. You will be equipped with the advanced level skills and understanding necessary to effectively and efficiently perform tasks relevant to the corporations or organisations involved with accounting and finance. You will be able to work effectively in teams and independently, to evaluate critically, think creatively and communicate effectively with respect to issues in different areas of accounting and finance; and to recognise good practice in the analysis, planning and management of accounting policies and corporate financial strategies. You also develop an advanced level of understanding of research methods and their application to a wide range of accounting reporting, accounting policies and corporate financial decisions.


Duration

MSc (Minimum 12 months, maximum three years)


Course Details

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Contemporary Issues in Accounting

Develop an in-depth understanding of financial and management accounting techniques to enable you to evaluate performance of profit making and not-for-profit organisations. You will gain the ability to apply relevant knowledge, skills and techniques to evaluate the performance of an organisation and its strategic development. You will also learn to critically analyse the professional and ethical duties of accountants and finance managers and critically evaluate methods of benchmarking performance in line with business objectives.


Indicative Syllabus Outline
  • Professional behaviour of accountants  and compliance with accounting standards
  • Ethical requirements of financial reporting and the consequences of unethical behaviour
  • Corporate governance regimes
  • Analysis and interpretation of financial statements
  • Environmental and social financial reporting
  • Global management accounting techniques and approaches for a variety of management challenges within a rapidly changing business environment
  • Various forms of organisational structure and transfer pricing techniques
  • Management control systems 
  • Quantitative methods and risk assessment in management accounting   

International Financial Management

Examine the impact of such factors as exchange rates, inflation rates and interest rates on the management of firms in an international/global context. You will be able to devise and evaluate a risk management strategy for the uncertain world of international financial markets using financial instruments such as swaps, options and futures. Emphasis is placed on factors that differentiate multinationals from domestic financial management. This module also offers the opportunity to develop practical analytical and presentational skills by applying theory and concepts to international financial databases.


Indicative Syllabus Outline

The International Perspective

  • Globalization and the multinational firm
  • International monetary system
  • Balance of payments
  • The market for foreign exchange
  • International parity relationships
International Financial Markets


  • The derivative market and hedging strategies
  • Foreign direct investment
  • International capital budgeting
  • International portfolio investment and diversification
Financial Management and the Multinational Firm


  • Multinational treasury management
  • Current topics


Risk, Regulation and Compliance

Learn to employ critical reflection and thinking regarding domestic and international regulatory frameworks for financial and non financial companies. You will also develop an understanding of the economics of regulation and the problems of compliance.

Corporate Financial Strategies

Evaluate the principle issues facing professionals in today’s competitive environment, and apply financial theories and techniques in corporate finance to evaluate the link between financial decisions and their impact on enhancing a firm’s value. You will also develop knowledge and ability to value financial securities, to evaluate, analyse and construct corporate projects, and to propose more relevant approaches to valuation analysis relating to both developed and emerging markets.


Indicative Syllabus Outline
  • Corporate governance
  • Professional standards and practice
  • Ethical practices
  • Dividend policy
  • Capital investment decisions
  • Business and financial risk
  • Capital structure decisions
  • Working capital management
  • Mergers and acquisitions
  • Corporate restructuring
  • Probability distributions and descriptive statistics
  • Sample and estimation
  • Hypothesis testing
  • Correlation and regression
  • Time-series analysis
  • Introduction to simulation analysis  

Business Innovation Project

Dissertation: a conventional dissertation of 12,000 to 15,000 words, consisting of research question, aims and objectives, rationale for undertaking the study, literature review, research methodology, analysis of findings, conclusions and recommendations