Accounting and finance data informs business decision-making every day so it is vital for organisations to employ accounting and finance professionals who understand how to meet business objectives.

Our MAcc Accounting and Finance offers you an integrated Bachelors and Masters degree, allowing you to progress seamlessly from your undergraduate to postgraduate studies within a single course.

We not only teach you how financial information underpins leadership, strategy and planning, but how financial decisions can impact society and the economy. We develop your understanding of governance and ethics, so you can take actions for the good of organisations and the wider world. You further your understanding of advanced accounting and corporate finance and can tailor your studies to your professional ambitions by choosing from a range of optional modules.

You explore areas such as:

the preparation of financial statements and budgets

accounting standards and corporate governance

financial theory

portfolio management

options and futures markets

risk management

MAcc Accounting and Finance includes an introductory first year to familiarise you with wider business topics, such as management and marketing.

In your third year, you have the opportunity to put your knowledge into practice by completing an in-depth, independent research project or dissertation. This will give you the chance to further develop vital employability skills in areas of research, time management and critical thinking. You will further supplement this with the development of your own research portfolio in your final year.

Essex is one of just three UK universities to have received Q-Step Affiliate status, including for our MAcc Accounting and Finance course, to support the way we develop the quantitative skills of our graduates.

This means we can provide work placement bursaries to develop your skills in evaluating numerical information, analysing data and designing research. We also offer the opportunity to follow a specialised degree path, where you graduate with enhanced quantitative skills. These are evidenced on your degree transcript, to help give you the competitive edge in the graduate job market.

Study abroad

The five-year version of this course enables you to study abroad during your third year. In all other areas, this version of the course remains identical to the standard four-year variant.

You can study abroad with one of our exchange partners in the United States, Europe, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Latin America, the Middle East, Hong Kong and Japan. In doing so, you experience other cultures and languages, meet new people, and gain intercultural skills that are sought-after by employers.

Placement year

Alternatively, you may decide to take on a placement year to gain relevant work experience within an organisation. A placement year can give you a competitive edge in the graduate job market and provide you with key contacts within the industry.

The Placements Team can offer bespoke support throughout the process of researching, applying and interviewing for placements. However, it is your responsibility to apply, prepare for and secure your own role. We also offer a number of other employability opportunities during your studies. Our students have gained placements with organisations such as BMW, Samsung and Cummins.