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The Finance and Accounting Masters programme includes topics such as the theory of finance, company valuation, the assessment of corporate risk, international accounting standards, corporate governance and financial statement analysis.
Although designed for students interested in a career in business and consulting, accountancy firms, financial institutions and government, this MSc in Finance and Accounting also provides a thorough preparation for academic research in finance and accounting. It is also appropriate for those with professional qualifications in accounting who wish to obtain a deeper understanding of financial accountancy.
Aims
The aim of the Masters course in Finance and Accounting is to produce graduates who have a sound knowledge of both accounting standards and corporate governance, as well as their role in the operation of financial markets. It is designed to provide a solid platform of specific subject knowledge alongside a set of highly valuable and transferable employability skills for a successful career in the financial sector.
The full-time course is designed with four equally weighted modules in each of the first two terms, with three being compulsory and one an option from a list. The dissertation carries one third of the marks for the course and is undertaken after the courses are complete. The part-time option is designed with two modules in each of four terms. The compulsory modules give an excellent coverage of core material in finance designed in a way to be applicable to accounting. The Finance and Accounting programme includes topics such as the theory of finance, company valuation, the assessment of corporate risk, international accounting standards, corporate governance and financial statement analysis.
All students will also be offered research training to prepare them for undertaking independent research and preparing a dissertation in an accounting and/or finance related topic.
All students take a one-week introductory course in mathematics and statistics.
Taught modules are subject to change.
Compulsory Modules
Essentials of Mathematics and Statistics: The aim of this module is to ensure that students have a systematic comprehension of the required minimum knowledge of mathematics and statistics to successfully meet the learning outcomes at postgraduate level. It covers all the preparatory technical material needed to undertake the MSc in Finance and Accounting, and feeds into all assessed modules.
Financial Theory: This module is designed to provide students with a thorough knowledge of financial theory through the study of the interaction between firms, individuals and the macro-economy. It provides an opportunity for students to develop an understanding of capital markets through the study of portfolio theory, equilibrium asset pricing models and efficient market theory.
Financial Reporting in Capital Markets: The main aims of this module include developing a framework for understanding and mapping between underlying economic events in the capital market and the information provided by financial statements; developing knowledge and the concept of how the mapping between financial statements and economic events affects the position and activities of firms in capital markets; and developing critical thinking of on-going controversies and debates related to financial reporting.
Quantitative Methods for Finance and Economics: The module is fundamental to the empirical content of most of the other modules that comprise the Masters in Finance and Accounting. It also provides the necessary tools for the dissertation to be undertaken by Masters students in the summer term. The aim of the module is to enable students: to conduct their own empirical investigations of a range of financial and accounting relationships; to impart the knowledge necessary to understand empirical analysis in academic related journals; and to provide a basic foundation in the theory and practice of econometric modelling as applied in finance and economics.
International Accounting Standards and Policy: The main aims of this module are to illustrate the key aspects of international financial reporting standards which are important to investors. The module introduces students to financial statement analysis and research on accounting information in financial markets.
Company Valuation: The main aims of this module are to discuss the fundamental approach of company valuation and to apply the fundamental analysis to different contexts, such as security valuation and credit risk. The module also examines the limitations of corporate financial statements in the context of company valuation.
Investment Valuation Models: Students will have the opportunity to analyse how financial market information (corporate-, country-specific and global information) can be used to estimate the value of different investments. The module covers a range of different models that are available to an analyst performing investment valuation, while presenting the common elements in these models. The module also provides a framework that can be used to select the right model for any valuation scenario.
Dissertation: A 60-credit dissertation is mandatory for all students who graduate with an MSc degree. Students are invited to select a research question which they investigate under supervision by an academic. Data support is provided by the Department, including Bloomberg and Bankscope. Dissertations raise the employability of students by allowing them to choose research questions that are specific to their job market requirements. Recent examples of dissertations by students taking this course include:
* Volatility spill-over effects from developed to emerging markets;
* The interrelationship between banking and currency crises.
Optional Modules
Banking: The module aims to explore the nature of banking as well as links between financial intermediaries, risks and the broader economy. As a starting point we will use economic theories to justify the existence of banks and why they can perform certain roles better than other intermediaries. We then focus on the different risks associated with banking whilst these are inevitable outcomes of banking activity their active management at a micro and macro level can reduce financial fragilities. In regards to the latter, the last part of the course focuses on bank regulators objectives and how these are accommodated in research and policy framework such as Basel III.
International Finance: Students will have the opportunity to analyse the international financial system. In particular, this module considers the operation of foreign exchange markets, including forward, futures and option markets. Special attention is paid to the use of currency derivatives for hedging and pricing decisions, discussing issues of foreign exchange risk management and international capital budgeting. In addition, the use of such instruments in speculation is assessed, relating them to key equilibrium notions. The main theories of exchange rate determination are analysed, discussing arguments in favour of fixed exchange rates/target zones and under which conditions these result in speculative attacks and/or currency crises.
Derivative Securities: The module enumerates and describes the various securities and financial markets in a clear and concise manner that accurately blends theory and practice. This module describes the financial derivative securities that are used in modern finance, and outlines the principles behind their valuation. Students are introduced to options, futures, swaps, bonds and the yield curve. This is followed by option pricing techniques, notably the continuous time no arbitrage pricing theory of Black and Scholes, and the lattice approach of Cox, Ross and Rubinstein, applied to options on stocks.
Business Finance Workshop: This exciting module provides training in the following areas:
* Characteristics of financial data and accounting information
* Model building methodology applied to accounting data and financial market information
* Main estimation techniques and theories of finance as they are applied in practice
* Methods used to diagnostically evaluate statistical models as applied in practice.
It also equips students with the ability to:
* Interpret and analyse financial methods and data
* Determine the appropriateness of method and theory applied to different data types and practical settings
* Select inferential procedures to appropriately assess financial problems
* Predict financial behaviour and assess models in a practical environment
* Evaluate empirical research in accounting and finance
* Value financial assets
* Demonstrate generic and transferable skills.
Bank Regulation and Macro-Prudential Policy: The module covers the following topics: Banks, capital and liquidity in an unregulated system, the rationale for bank regulation and the role of market failure, financial crises and their economic and fiscal consequences, direct regulation through capital, liquidity and balance sheet controls, macro-prudential regulation, product regulation in financial systems, and bank regulation in emerging market countries.
Global Financial Markets: Development finance, one of the key areas of economics, has attracted interests of academics and practitioners alike. Only in the last five years the financial sector has gone through a number of remarkable structural changes as a result of the increasing financial integration worldwide. The general trend towards greater global financial integration has been bolstered by the increasing harmonisation of the regulatory framework and the increasing integration of the underlying financial infrastructure. The above mentioned financial developments create the need for economists, managers, traders and analysts to make rapid and often far-reaching decisions about their short term operations and long term strategies. The aim of this module is to provide a good grasp of both the key areas of development finance (the finance-growth relationship) and selected aspects of the applied economics of the modern financial institutions. The topics covered include financial development and economic growth. Special attention will be given to the topics of financial crisis and the need and role of regulation.
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