ACCA Professional Accountancy MSc Accountancy and Finance (Top Up) (Part-Time courses)

Transcription

1 ACCA Professional Accountancy MSc Accountancy and Finance (Top Up) (Part-Time courses)

2 CONTENTS offers the opportunity to prepare for the internationally recognised professional qualification of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA), designed to help reach your career goals. This is delivered on a part-time basis to fit around your work and other commitments. WELCOME 3 Welcome 5 Learning Facilities 4 Department of Accountancy and Finance 5 Learning Facilities 6 ACCA Professional Accountancy 6 ACCA Professional Qualification 8 MSc Accountancy and Finance 8 MSc - Top Accountancy Up and Finance - top up course 11 How to Apply 11 How to Find Us 3 Welcome 10 Student Profile 11 How to Find Us Equal Opportunities UCE promotes equality of opportunity in respect of every aspect of its provision. University policy and practice will seek to provide an environment that is free from discrimination against students, staff and others. The University and its staff will ensure that all prospective students are treated solely on the basis of their merits, abilities and potential. The University will seek to prevent discrimination on the grounds of race, colour, ethnic origin, nationality, religious belief, gender, sexual orientation, disability, age, marital status, family circumstances, citizenship, social and economic status, or any other irrelevant individual differences. For full details of the University s Equal Opportunities Policy please log on to UCE Business School offers a The Department of Accountancy A strong combination of range of professional vocational and Finance has been providing practitioner experience and qualifications and we place a professional accountancy courses academic perspective supports the strong emphasis on our links for more than 25 years and has courses offered at professional with business, the Professions links with many local employers, level by the Department. and the public sector. In addition, some of whom are the sponsors City the Department Business School keeps up-to-date The Department of UCE of Business Accountancy School prizes. I hope I hope this this brochure brochure provides provides Department of with Accountancy ACCA developments and to ensure and Finance has been providing useful useful insight insight into into what what we have we have Finance offers courses the opportunity reflect the needs to ofprofessional accountancy courses to offer. to offer. Please Please do come do come and and prepare for the today's internationally business community. for more than 25 years and has visit visit us to us view to view our our facilities facilities and and recognised professional links with many local employers, talk talk to our to our staff staff and and students. students. qualification of the Association of some of whom are the sponsors We look forward to welcoming you. We look forward to welcoming you. Chartered Certified Accountants of the Business School prizes. (ACCA), designed to help reach your career goals. This is delivered on a part-time basis to fit around your work and other commitments. A strong combination of practitioner experience and academic perspective supports the courses offered at professional level by the Department. The Business School offers a range of professional vocational qualifications and we place a strong emphasis on our links with business, the Professions and the public sector. In addition, the Department keeps up-to-date with ACCA developments to ensure courses reflect the needs of today s business community. Disability Services UCE s Disability Service aims to enable students with disabilities or learning support needs to make the most of their time at university, whether they have a physical, sensory or hidden disability, mental health difficulties or specific learning difficulties. In order to help you plan and prepare for university life, we have a range of services and equipment which can be made available to you. At UCE we think it is important that you feel you can tell us about any disability you may have. We regard disclosure of a disability as a positive step, because once we are aware of your disability we can then try to support your individual needs. Tony Tony Elliott Elliott Head of Accountancy and Finance Head of Accountancy and Finance Department Department If you have not made us aware of your disability or you feel you may have a disability please contact the Disability Service on , or disability@uce.ac.uk Equal Opportunities City University promotes equality of opportunity in respect of every aspect of its provision. University policy and practice will seek to provide an environment that is free from discrimination against students, staff and others. The University and its staff will ensure that all prospective students are treated solely on the basis of their merits, abilities and potential. The University will seek to prevent discrimination on the grounds of race, colour, ethnic origin, nationality, religious belief, gender, sexual orientation, disability, age, marital status, family circumstances, citizenship, social and economic status, or any other irrelevant individual differences. For full details of the University s Equal Opportunities Policy please log on to Disability Services City University s Disability Service aims to enable students with disabilities or learning support needs to make the most of their time at university, whether they have a physical, sensory or hidden disability, mental health difficulties or specific learning difficulties. In order to help you plan and prepare for university life, we have a range of services and equipment which can be made available to you. At City University we think it is important that you feel you can tell us about any disability you may have. We regard disclosure of a disability as a positive step, because once we are aware of your disability we can then try to support your individual needs. If you have not made us aware of your disability or you feel you may have a disability please contact the Disability Service on , or disability@bcu.ac.uk 03

3 Department of Accountancy and Finance LEARNING FACILITIES has been granted Platinum Approval, the highest level awarded by the independent Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA), for its professional accountancy tuition programmes. The University is the only public sector provider in the West Midlands to prepare students for the Association s international accounting qualification, which is highly rated by employers and leads to certified membership of the organisation. In order to receive Platinum Approval from the ACCA, City University had to fulfil several stringent criteria, including students exceeding the worldwide pass rate for examinations. Many of the 250 students currently taking part in the course are already in employment, and are looking for the course to enhance their career prospects. The University s course focuses on the essential skills of accounting, business and finance, combining work-related experience with lectures and workshops. We re delighted to have received this accreditation from the Association; it is an independent acknowledgement of the excellent teaching, facilities and high quality of support which City University offers to students. Tony Elliott, Head of, Accountancy and Finance Department. Along with the provision of high quality teaching, The Business School recognises the importance of students having access to first-class study support outside the classroom. These are just some of the facilities and services available to you as a student that will enable you to get the most from your study programme and time as a student here. Learner Support The Business School runs a dedicated Learner Support Centre which has a team of staff committed to Learner Support. Our mission is to place the Learner Support Centre at the heart of the Business School where it addresses the needs and expectations of students for services that aid their personal development and learning. The aim is to be proactive in developing new initiatives to enhance and develop existing services and learning environments. We work closely with all our academic staff to develop and deliver both individual and group learner support services. These range from encouraging the building of Personal Development Plans through improving Study and Communication Skills to assistance with Literacy and Numeracy. We also offer assistance with research for assignments and projects, access to a wide range of learning materials and other resources to enable you to excel at your studies throughout your time in the Business School. Study Skills tutors are available to work with students to develop and improve essential study skills. They provide academic and practical advice and guidance both to those who wish to enhance existing study skills or who feel they require further learning support. Their role is to facilitate effective learning. A purpose built Learner Support Suite was opened in September 2006 at the Business School offering open plan and private study areas, counselling rooms, presentation rehearsal rooms and much more. The Learner Support Centre runs a series of daily workshops designed to support students in their academic skills with regular topics such as academic report writing, referencing, presentations skills, time management and exam techniques. Individual sessions can also be booked with our learner support staff for more detailed, tailored advice. Staff will give feedback on coursework for the English content and give advice on layout and referencing. Dedicated Presentation Rehearsal Rooms are also available for student use which can be booked in advance. Presentation feedback is available on request. The Learner Support Centre is open throughout the week with late night opening Mon-Thurs until 7.30pm during term time. The Centre offers students access to a range of learning materials and IT facilities such as: Specialist journals Detailed company information Student dissertations Exam papers Video and DVD players Photocopying, binding, laminating, colour printing, presentation and computing facilities Specific Course related software City University Library Facilities The university library is open from 7.15am - 11pm Monday - Thursday, 7.15am - 9pm on Fridays and 10am - 5pm on the weekends. The library houses over 300,000 items including books, journals, databases, video, DVD and other multimedia information sources. Students are able to access information from the library electronically, either on or away from campus, providing you with the flexibility to manage study time outside the classroom around other personal and professional commitments. The Digital Library, is available to students where they can access Exam Papers, Journal Articles, Book Extracts and Student Projects via a password protected system over the Internet. There are also dedicated librarian staff to look after information needs of students specifically from the Business School. Moodle The Virtual Learning Environment (VLE), known as Moodle, is quickly becoming an invaluable part of the learning and teaching experience at City University. This entirely web-based environment supports a huge number of activities, all aimed at improving access to and dissemination of programme information and material. Such activities include free instant messaging between users, discussion forums, video lectures and even testing with instant automated feedback. Moodle is open all day, every day and with around 10,000 users, there are between 3,000 and 4,000 members logging on daily. Catering Daytime and evening catering facilities are available close to the Business School on City North Campus. There are two dining areas on-site during the day; the Quad (open until 5pm Mon - Thur and 4pm on Friday), offering a wide range of snacks, salads and baguettes and Cafe Edge (open until 6pm Mon - Thur and 3.45pm on Friday), offering premium beverages, sandwiches, pizzas and salads. For evening students there is an on-site pub Hare of the Dog with a variety of hot and cold meals being served until 7pm. There is also the student union bar, Bar 42 which serves food until 6pm. There are also vending machines on the ground floor of the Business School (Galton Building) serving hot and cold drinks and snacks. Parking Parking is available for students on City North Campus, adjacent to the Business School. This costs 1 per visit. Computer Networks All Business School students have access to the computer laboratories within the Business School. During student induction at the start of the first Academic Year, you will be issued with your own personal secure computer ID giving you access to use any computers in the faculty and to all appropriate Software, , the Internet and own secure User space. Our students can also make use of the data network and IT facilities of the University, including access to multimedia sources and information, originating internally and externally. Wireless networks are also available in the main library and some of the café 04 05

4 ACCA PROFESSIONAL QUALIFICATION 06 The ACCA (Association of Chartered Certified Accountants) Professional Qualification is a highly regarded qualification, recognised worldwide. Many of those studying to become Chartered Certified Accountants are already in employment and the course is intended to enhance career prospects as well as selfdevelopment. City Business School provides one of the most popular and successful ACCA courses in the country. The course team is highly experienced and exam focused and courses leading to the award of the ACCA qualification have been offered here for over 25 years. In addition to preparing our students for the ACCA professional external exams, students who successfully complete all three papers F1 to F3 at the university will be awarded a useful additional qualification, the City University Certificate in Professional Studies in Accounting Techniques. Our timetables are structured very flexibly so that almost any combination of appropriate subjects can be selected for study. We prepare students for both the December and June examinations. Aims Designed to enhance your career and promotional prospects, this course offers tuition for all parts of the examinations and aims to get you qualified in the shortest possible time. Course overview In order to gain the ACCA professional qualification students are required to pass 14 exams, 9 of which are eligible for exemption. The qualification is made up of the Fundamentals Knowledge Module (Papers F1-F3), the Fundamentals Skills Module (Papers F4-F9) and the Professional Module (Essential Papers P1-P3 and two Option Papers from P4-P7). Students must pass or be exempt from the papers in the Knowledge Module before progression to the Skills Module, and must then complete all or some of the Skills Papers before progression to the Professional level. ACCA specifies the subjects you will study and up-to-date information is available on its website: Fundamentals Level Knowledge Papers (assessed internally) F1 Accountant in Business (AB) F2 Management Accounting (MA) F3 Financial Accounting (FA) Skills F4 F5 F6 F7 F8 F9 Corporate and Business Law (CL) Performance Management (PM) Taxation (TX) Financial Reporting (FR) Audit and Assurance (AA) Financial Management (FM) Professional Level Core Papers P1 Professional Accountant (PA) P2 Corporate Reporting (CR) P3 Business Analysis (BA) Options (two to be completed) P4 Advanced Financial Management (AFM) P5 Advanced Performance Management (APM) P6 Advanced Taxation (ATX) P7 Advanced Audit and Assurance (AAA) Fundamentals Knowledge Module The Fundamentals Knowledge Module i.e. Papers F1, F2 and F3, is delivered over six and a half hours per week in the Autumn term and five and a half hours per week in the Spring/Summer terms. The Fundamentals Knowledge Module introduces students to the core areas of financial and management accounting. A unique feature of our internally assessed Fundamentals Knowledge Module is that students are taught to use and apply Sage Line 50. Students process transactions on main ledgers up to trial balance. A key learning outcome is to link financial accounting theory to practical applications using the Sage software. Fundamentals Skills Module Students who have already passed the AAT or Fundamentals Knowledge Papers would be encouraged to study for Papers F4, F5, F6 and F9. In their subsequent year of study students would be encouraged to study for Papers F7, F8, P1 and P3. This is not withstanding the fact that students joining the course can select any combination of papers for study that is permitted by the ACCA. Our flexible timetable enables students to sit ACCA external examinations for Papers F4, F8 and F9 in December. Examinations for other Papers will normally be in June. Professional Module Under ACCA rules, students are expected to attempt or complete the Essentials Papers i.e. P1, P2 and P3, prior to attempting their choice of two Option Papers from P4, P5, P6 and P7. Students will be prepared for June examinations in each case. Assessment For the Fundamentals Knowledge Module, you will be required to complete coursework and sit examinations set by the University. For all the other parts, you will be assessed by external examinations set by the ACCA. Attendance and Personal Commitment The courses offered by the City Business School are tailored for you and offer the flexibility to accommodate study around work, family and other commitments. The ACCA timetable structure aims to offer subject to normal constraints the following part-time modes of attendance: Full day Part day Afternoon and evening Evening only Students may vary their mode of study on a weekly basis. You can expect to be set theoretical and practical work, as well as reading, which will require an equivalent amount of private study time to that spent in lectures. The time taken to complete the course is dependent on your entry qualifications, but it has been designed so that students with relevant A levels and GCSEs can complete the course in four years. Entry requirements You must be registered with the ACCA. To register, you must be at least 18 years of age and hold the basic minimum qualifications accepted for registration purposes. Normally, these are three GCSEs and two A levels in five separate subjects, including English Language and Mathematics. However, a number of alternative qualifications are acceptable. For further information, contact the ACCA or visit: If you lack the minimum entry qualifications and are at least 21 years of age, you may register under the Mature Student Entry Route (MSER). In this case, you must pass F2 and F3 within 2 years from the date of your first eligible ACCA examination session. Exemptions You must contact the ACCA to determine the individual exemptions to which you may be entitled. Degree Holder If you have a recognised business and/or accounting degree, you may be exempt from some or all of the papers in Fundamentals Papers F1 - F9, if you have previously studied and been assessed in comparable subject matter. A database of degree and other higher education courses and the exemptions that they are likely to give can be found at: (click on Study, Exams and Exemptions) Non-relevant degrees (including those in mathematics and economics) may be eligible for exemption from some of the examinations. There are no exemptions from the Professional Papers. Association of Accounting Technicians (AAT) Partial or full exemption from Fundamentals Knowledge Module is given for completion of the AAT qualification. The extent of the exemption depends on the date that AAT was completed. Certified Accounting Technician (CAT) Completion of Level C of the CAT qualification provides exemption from the Fundamentals Knowledge Module. Other exempting qualifications Other qualifications may give exemptions. Detailed information on registration can be obtained from: ACCA 2 Central Quay 89 Hyde Park Street Glasgow G3 8BW T F E students@accaglobal.com W Further information Visit our website for the latest news and updates: Fees and Timetable See our website for current course fees and timetables. Application and Enrolment Tuition begins in the middle of September and students should be enrolled before the start of the course. Enrolment at City University is normally completed by post or at one of our Enrolment Days (see our website for details). For certain papers students can also enrol and join the course in January, for which they will sit external examinations in June. To register for a course or to request further course specific information, please contact: ACCA Course Administrator T F E business.school@bcu.ac.uk W 07

5 MSc ACCOUNTANCY AND FINANCE - TOP UP This top up course is aimed at students who have already achieved a certain level of professional qualification in Accountancy in the form of any full CCAB (Consultative Committee of Accounting Bodies) Qualification, which includes ACCA, CIMA, CIPFA, ICAEW, ICAS, and ICAI. The course allows you to quickly top up your qualifications to a masters degree in just 1 year on a part-time basis or 6 months on a full-time basis. Aims The Top-up MSc Accountancy and Finance aims to provide you with a more thorough grounding for your future professional career progression by extending your understanding and critical awareness of the major finance theories which underpin and inform a firm s strategic financial decisions, and on which modern Investment Analysis and Fund management are based. The course will also provide you with the opportunity to apply the knowledge and skills you have gained throughout your professional and postgraduate studies to a substantial piece of research on an accounting or finance related topic. Course Overview On successful completion of the course, you will develop a more critical knowledge and understanding of the empirical evidence relating to core financial theories and gain additional practical and transferable skills and competences. This should enable you to operate effectively and confidently in middle/senior management roles of the accounting and finance profession across different industry sectors. The Programme is divided into two, but integrated, stages namely, bridging study and the masters stage. Bridging Study This stage consists of credit given for a fully completed CCAB qualification and the core module of Modern Theory of Finance taken from the full version of the MSc. Modern Theory of Finance This module is a bridge between MSc Research and the professional CCAB qualifications to ensure full attainment of the skill set required of Postgraduate level study that are omitted through CCAB examination only assessment. The module covers the financial management theories which inform and influence corporate financial decisions at a more strategic level, as well as the key asset pricing models on which modern investment analysis and portfolio management are based. There is a particular emphasis on critical awareness and understanding of the empirical literature relating to the theories. Masters Stage, leading to the award of MSc Accountancy and Finance This stage consists of two modules, namely, Research Skills in Accounting and Finance, and the Dissertation. Research Skills in Accounting and Finance The aim of this module is to prepare you for the dissertation by acquainting you with the requirements of the dissertation, and by providing you with a critical understanding of modern research methods employed to research topics in accounting and finance. You will learn how to develop and implement your individual research methodology, techniques for analysing quantitative data, how to conduct literature search and review on and off-campus, and other issues regarding undertaking and writing up an academic dissertation. You will also be required to accomplish a substantial critical review of relevant literature pertaining to your own research topic. This module must be successfully completed before you can start writing up your dissertation. Dissertation The dissertation represents the final transition from a largely tutor-led approach to student-centred learning as the topic is chosen, investigated and published by you, albeit with the advice of your supervisor. It enables you to select a topic for an in-depth research, which usually will combine theory and practice. To qualify for the award of MSc Accountancy and Finance, you must successfully complete all required assessments for the Modern Theory of Finance module, the Research Skills module and the Dissertation. Attendance and Personal Commitment The Top-up MSc is designed to be complete in 12 months on a part-time basis starting in April (or can be taken on a full time basis over six months starting in September). The part-time version of the programme will be delivered by an intensive 10-days study block in mid-april, followed by online support, and flexible dissertation supervision. The study block may include evening and weekend classes, and would be devoted to the Modern Theory of Finance and Research Skills modules, and the Dissertation workshop sessions. You would be expected to have selected your project topics and agreed the detailed outline of the project before dispersing to your respective destinations. To support you once you have dispersed, you will be encouraged to form yourselves into self-help study groups. You can then maintain contact with your peers on a regular basis by telephone, s and on-line. This arrangement has been very successful on other similar courses and has been cited by course participants as a key learning support device. Entry Requirements Any full CCAB (Consultative Committee of Accounting Bodies) Qualification, which includes ACCA, CIMA, CIPFA, ICAEW, ICAS, and ICAI. Further information and how to apply Visit our website for full details of this course at where you can also apply on-line, download or request an application form and find out more information about City Business School. Alternatively contact us on the details below. Galton Building T: F: E: business.school@bcu.ac.uk W:

6 HOW TO APPLY HOW TO FIND US You can apply on-line at Department of Accountancy T F By road from City Centre Take the A34 towards Birchfield, and Walsall (signposted). After approximately 2.5 miles, passing through traffic lights and an underpass, keep in the left hand lane and filter off the dual carriageway signposted to One-Stop Shopping Centre. Turn right at the traffic island (along Aston Lane) to the first set of traffic lights. Turn left onto Wellhead Lane, over the humpbacked bridge to UCE main entrance and car parks. 8 8 M5 1 HOW TO FIND US A By road from City Centre Take the A34 towards Birchfield, and Walsall (signposted). After approximately 2.5 miles, passing through traffic lights and an underpass, keep in the left hand lane and filter off the dual carriageway signposted to One-Stop Shopping Centre. Turn right at the traffic island (along Aston Lane) to the first set of traffic lights. Turn left onto Wellhead Lane, over the hump backed bridge to City University main entrance and car parks. OVER 50% OF OUR STUDENTS ARE SPONSORED BY THEIR EMPLOYERS Terms and Conditions This information is intended as a general guide to the Business School s courses and facilities and forms no part of any contract between you and the University. Although reasonable steps are taken to provide the courses as described, the University cannot guarantee the provision of any course or facility. Any course may be altered or withdrawn owing to circumstances 18 beyond the University s control. It is strongly recommended that prospective students contact the Business School to obtain the most up-to-date course information. For full terms and conditions please log on to

7 Top Up Courses City North Campus Galton Building T +44 (0) F +44 (0) E business.school@bcu.ac.uk W