Master of Science in Strategic Accounting Principles

Course Description

The overall Master of Science in Strategic Accounting Principles is a Level 7 qualification of 104 ECTS that addresses the content that is typically studied for the ACCA Strategic Professional examinations: Strategic Business Leader, Strategic Business Reporting, Advanced Financial Management and Advanced Audit and Assurance and therefore students, should they so wish, will have the opportunity to sit independently for these ACCA examinations.

This programme equips the students with relevant accounting techniques for them to develop into strategic thinkers evaluating all available information at hand, whilst making the right decisions in the most ethical manner. The Strategic Business Leader module tackles leadership and professional skills by understanding the business thoroughly and ensuring good people management whilst the Strategic Business Reporting module is centered around the interpretation of financial reporting through the application of accounting principles.

These latter two modules directly feed into the Advanced Financial Management module intended towards techniques employed in making short-and-long-term decisions. The Advanced Audit and Assurance module is designed towards understanding the role of the auditor hence the student would have the opportunity to not only delve into auditing through our Master’s programme but to also be in a position to address audit queries should the graduate eventually prefers to build one’s career in accounting rather than auditing.

Overall programme objectives:

• Provide students with important accounting techniques.
• Equip students with the relevant knowledge and skills for them to make ethically sound decisions in the accounting industry.
• Develop critical thinking skills amongst students.
• Equip students with relevant research skills in preparation for the dissertation.

The Structure:

Year of Study 1- 32 ECTS: 

• Strategic Business Leader 16 ECTS ·
• Strategic Business Reporting 16 ECTS
• Exiting the course at the end of the first year, after successfully passing all the modules to a total of 32 ECTS entitles the student to a Postgraduate Certificate in Strategic Accounting Principles at Level 7.

Year of Study 2 – 42 ECTS:

• Advanced Financial Management 16 ECTS
• Advanced Audit and Assurance 16 ECTS
• Research Methods 10 ECTS
• After successfully passing the Advanced Financial Management and the Advanced Audit and Assurance modules to a total of 64 ECTS entitles the student to a Postgraduate Diploma in Strategic Accounting Principles at Level 7.

An additional 6 months are given for the dissertation workload and submission. The dissertation comprises of 30 ECTS. Upon successfully passing all the modules to a total of 104 ECTS, the student is awarded a Master of Science (M.Sc.) in Strategic Accounting Principles at Level 7.

Entry Requirements

Candidates who apply for this course will hold a:

• Level 6 Degree related to one of the following areas: Finance and/or Accounting. 

 OR 

• Level 6 degree not related to Finance and/or Accounting and a minimum of two years relevant experience (subject to interview by admissions board) 

OR  

• Level 5 Diploma or Higher Diploma related to Finance and/or Accounting and 4 years’ work experience preferably in a position related to the subject area of this programme (subject to interview by admissions board). 

In the case of mature students who do not possess all the formal required academic qualifications, then the RPL process could be applied such that if evidence of equivalent learning is found then the applicant could still be accepted in the course. Such RPL process will subject applicants to an interview held with a board of experts within the field, chosen specifically by IDEA Academy, so as to verify their experiences and prior learning.

IDEA Academy will accept in transfer up to two of the ACCA Strategic Professional examinations completed by prospective students, these being one or maximum two of the following:

• Strategic Business Leader
• Strategic Business Reporting
• Advanced Financial Management
• Advanced Audit and Assurance

Students whose first language is not English will be required to demonstrate English language capability at IELTS level 6.0 or equivalent.

Target Audience

• Individuals seeking to advance their academic and professional knowledge in Accounting. 
• Individuals who already have a good foundation in accountancy and would like to take their studies a step further by embarking onto professional modules intended to broaden their knowledge for them to work independently and become certified public accountants and registered auditors. 
• Individuals wanting to pursue a wide range of accounting, consulting, financial, and managerial career paths with the intention of leading a team of individuals and helping their junior staff progress as well as assisting their employers in making the right decisions. 
• Individuals wanting to enhance their ability to interpret, assess, and communicate financial related data in a way that ensures proactivity and, to a certain extent, devise strategies for the business.

Career Paths

The programme prepares for positions such as and not limited to:

• Business Strategy Role 
• Chief Financial Officer 
• Income Tax Specialist 
• VAT Specialist 
• Senior Managerial Role 

Modules

You are required to complete all 6 compulsory modules (104 ECTS) to fulfil to the requirements of this Master of Science

How you’ll be assessed

The course comprises:

• Evening classes for part-time courses.
• Classes held throughout the day for full-time courses.
• Guided learning, presentations, comprising synchronous online discussions, tutorials and/or videos.
• Self-study hours comprising research, reading and assignment work.

Assessment

Assessment is carried out via two mandatory components:

• Modular Assessment
• Dissertation Assessment

The programme includes different forms of assessment which allow for and promote students’ critical engagement. The formative and summative assessment tasks may include an in-class assignment and/or a home-based written assignment using diverse assessment tools which may take the form of online and in-class discussions, examinations, case studies, reports, proposals, essays, and presentations, etc., as applicable to the diverse modules. 

Dissertation Assessment

Assessment of dissertations is primarily based on:

• Depth of critical understanding of the theoretical framework;
• Application of appropriate research tools;
• Critical approach to analysis, interpretation and evaluation of research findings;
• Depth and level of argumentation build-up;
• Original contribution to the generation of new knowledge/hypothesis/models;
• Scholarly presentation meeting academic standards