Accounting and Business Finance | University of Bedfordshire

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Why choose the Graduate School of Business

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The Business School is one of only a few UK Schools holding the Small Business Charter accreditation, which recognises our work with small/medium enterprises.

Our business and management courses rank 4th overall in their subject field in the Postgraduate Taught Experience Survey 2024, with top 3 rankings for teaching, engagement, learning community and course organisation.

Real-world challenges through authentic assessments, industry collaboration and your choice of Master’s final dissertation.

About the course

This course blends accounting and business finance theory to solve operational problems faced by managers. It provides you with a comprehensive knowledge of the key areas, preparing you for a career in management where an accounting and finance focus is required. You benefit from invaluable opportunities for collaboration and growth with leading organisations in the field, and your studies bring theory and practice together, applying both to situations where vital financial decisions are made.

For further course information, contact Mohamed Saeudy at mohamed.saeudy@beds.ac.uk

Facilities and specialist equipment

Cutting-edge business suite with £500K of industry-standard technology, uniquely tailored to essential management, finance and data practices
Up-to-date financial databases and statistical software such as FAME; Reuters Eikon; Stata; and SPSS
Access to international learning resources and immersive simulations from Harvard Business Publishing
Reuters trading room supplying worldwide ‘stock-market’ data for a realistic investment experience
Business pods, boardroom areas and IT suites designed to simulate a professional office environment

Industry links

Benefit from our links with accountancy’s ‘big four’: Ernst & Young; KPMG; PwC; and Deloitte as well as professional bodies such as the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales, who invite students to their networking events and visit the University as conference speakers.

Your student experience

Learn from our highly qualified academics, whose active industry involvement directly shapes the course and ensures you stay on top of the latest developments in the field.

Our practice-led curriculum makes use of case studies, simulations and industry collaborations, preparing you for the world of work.

Learn to analyse and interpret complex data with hands-on tasks grounded in real-world statistics.

Get involved in real-life accounting and business problems with the University’s Research and Innovation Service (RIS), where you can assist businesses, from start-ups to established corporations, to up-skill and innovate.

Develop key vocational skills, from critical evaluation and advanced problem solving to independent learning and strategic leadership.

Enrich your student experience with industry masterclasses and our Global Guest Speaker series, featuring high-profile academics, industry experts and business leaders.

Take part in field trips to major financial locations including the Bank of England.

Our annual conference provides further avenues for work experience, contact building and specialist skill acquisition.

Shape the course to your interests and career ambitions with your choice of Master’s capstone dissertation; professional placement; internship; or live project.

Course Leader - Dr Mohamed Saeudy

I am the PG Portfolio Leader for Accounting, Finance, Economics and HRM, Faculty PRME Lead, and Research Leader of the Centre for Contemporary Accounting, Finance and Economics Research (Res CAFE) at the University of Bedfordshire. I am interested in contemporary research in Corporate Governance and Sustainability Accounting. My research interest centres on how accounting practices may help business institutions to be more sustainable. My work has focused on developing organisational lenses to understand accounting for sustainable development practices in different organisational settings e.g. small and medium size businesses and higher education institutions.

Find out more about Dr Mohamed Saeudy

What will you study?

Studying our Accounting and Business Finance MSc course will equip you with the comprehensive knowledge and skills you need around key areas of accounting, business finance and management. Our unit in Financial Reporting and Performance Management will provide you with the skills to read and interpret published financial statements where you will also engage in ‘Financial Information Analysis’. Here, you will learn to identify and extract critical information within annual corporate reports while considering how it is impacted by regulations, concepts and standards, and how this affects its usefulness in decision-making.

You will explore this further in our Financial Markets and Investments unit, that will provide you with knowledge of global financial markets, the importance of liquidity, the distinction between exchange versus OTC markets, primary and secondary markets and the role of intermediaries in their various forms. This relates to our unit in Advanced Management Accounting, where you will be equipped with the key tools and techniques used to make decisions, maximise revenue and minimise cost in management. You will combine management accounting and financial planning to make effective management decisions and drive successful businesses.

Furthermore, you will develop a critical and informed understanding of business environments and the business opportunities within them in our Strategy unit. Here, you will be introduced to a range of tools and concepts for strategic analysis and business modelling that will allow you to assess the strategic position of business organisations, formulate strategies, evaluate options and implement strategic decisions. Finally, you will complete our Capstone unit that will allow you to bring theory and practice together and research a topic of your interest that is relevant to your field of study. To help you with this, you will be introduced to the processes and techniques of research methods while working with a research supervisor to develop your ideas.

How will you be assessed?

The assessment strategy for this course is designed in a way that will contribute to student development and will help them achieve their goals and enhance their employability. An essential element of this process is that feedback will be provided in due time so it is integrated in the learning process. When group work is required the marks given will be individual following the University of Bedfordshire's regulatory scheme.

The different kinds of assessment are listed below and in some cases they will be used in combination making sure however that there are no hidden tasks. In addition to the assessment strategies followed in each Unit student knowledge and skills will be also formatively assessed through problem solving sessions or case study discussions in order to ensure that development of their comprehension of the underlying concepts is appropriate to the level of studies and continuously supports the overall student achievement. A full list of how each Unit will be assessed is presented in the previous section. Please refer to the relevant section of this form regarding Academic Integrity.

The intensive character of this Course's delivery as it is outlined in its Teaching and Learning philosophy is consistent with the needs of today's world for graduates who accumulate knowledge fast and are able to express the outcome of this process in a way that is meaningful and comprehensive. After induction a week of intensive direct contact time followed by students own contribution through individual learning will take them to the first assessment point. The process will repeat and at the end of the six-week block the final assessment will be due. This will be a demanding but very rewarding experience. As mentioned above the MSc Accounting and Business Finance is designed to develop a number of transferable skills which along with the knowledge and understanding of the relevant theories and concepts will provide our graduates with all those abilities required for a successful career. The different methods used to assess student performance are designed to evaluate the following: Research and literature review skills data handling application numeracy computer literacy ability to contextualize and evaluate presentation skills and professionalism and collaboration. The Course's Assessment Strategy includes: Written Examination or Class Test: Questions in these exams always promote critical thinking and help gradually develop student ability to apply analyse synthesize and evaluate. Individual Written Report or Essays: The ability to perform literature informed research to review and evaluate the relevant sources and to use an appropriate methodology in order to analyze and evaluate the relevant concepts is being assessed.

At the same time student academic integrity is developed. Case Study Examination: Students will apply their knowledge in the context of specific cases. Oral Presentation: A number of transferable skills will be developed Reflective Report: Own work and that of peers will be evaluated Dissertation / Professional Placement / Internship / Live Project: Regardless of which masters capstone experience students opt for they will have to produce an individual independent piece of work. They will be asked to identify the research question or problem under investigation review the relevant literature develop a sound methodology in order to explore the problem proceed with the analysis discuss their findings and make recommendations. It is the capstone of this course and builds on the knowledge and skills acquired in all Units. It will be one of the most challenging but yet enjoyable and rewarding experiences they will encounter.

Careers

As a graduate of this course you will have the skills to find career opportunities across a variety of business areas including assurance and audit; financial accounting; taxation; corporate finance; corporate insolvency and recovery. You will be able to work as a financial analyst; finance manager; corporate treasurer; credit controller to mention just a few of the potential roles.

The course is also an appropriate foundation for further academic study at either MPhil or PhD level.

Entry Requirements

2.2 honours degree or equivalent in a related subject area

Entry Requirements

2.2 honours degree or equivalent in a related subject area

Entry Requirements

2.2 honours degree or equivalent in a related subject area

Entry Requirements

2.2 honours degree or equivalent in a related subject area

Entry Requirements

2.2 honours degree or equivalent in a related subject area

Entry Requirements

2.2 honours degree or equivalent in a related subject area

Fees for this course

UK

The full-time standard fee for a taught Master's degree for the Academic Year 2025/26 is £10,000 per year. You can apply for a loan from the Government to help pay for your tuition fees and living costs. Visit www.gov.uk/postgraduate-loan

Alternatively if you have any questions around fees and funding, please email admission@beds.ac.uk