Level: Undergraduate
Delivery type: Full Time
Degree qualification: MA
Mode of delivery: On-Campus
Duration: 3-4 years
Location: Edinburgh
Start date: September
Our MA (Hons) Professional Accountancy programme at Heriot-Watt University will prepare you for a career in professional accountancy, business and beyond. This programme is a first, having been uniquely designed in partnership with ICAS to offer the maximum 11 ICAS exemptions, providing one of the fastest routes to Chartered Accountant status upon graduation.
Whilst studying our MA (Hons) Professional Accountancy programme, you’ll develop a broad understanding of the context in which modern accounting operates, as well as developing accounting expertise in several areas including preparing and analysing financial statements, advanced auditing and assurance, data analytics, tax law and more.
In addition to these key accounting skills, you’ll expand your overall skillset through a combination of individual projects, group work, written reports, presentations, and examinations. Equip yourself not only with advanced technical knowledge but also the ethical grounding, strategic thinking, soft skills and leadership skills demanded by top employers worldwide.
This programme is specifically tailored to meet the evolving demands of the global financial industry. Each course included in the programme will equip you with highly employable expertise and skills in Accountancy, from introduction to accounting and finance, the economy, discovering business and principles of accounting. You’ll benefit from the industry relevance of the programme, which will set you up for life after graduation.
Your student experience
Our Expertise: Our MA Accountancy programme is taught with a clear industry focus by experienced professionals and respected academics. They are accredited by professional bodies and will introduce you to professional-standard software in our state-of-the-art Bloomberg Trading Room.
Your learning environment: Our MA (Hons) Professional Accountancy degree allows you to enhance your employability in the area of finance through use of our state-of-the-art Bloomberg Trading Room. This professional-standard facility provides access to live financial data from global markets and organisations. Integrating the use of Bloomberg Terminals into our teaching will allow you to develop professionally relevant skills in data analysis, financial reporting, financial risk management, and financial modelling.
The programme is taught through a combination of lectures, tutorials, lab work and group work allowing you to get to know and build relationships with your peers, the teaching staff and academics. You’ll also have the opportunity to gain first hand insights into accountancy practice through guest lectures. You’ll be assessed by independent essays, multiple-choice tests, written exams, presentations, individual projects, group work and your dissertation.
Outside of the classroom, you can join Heriot-Watt’s Accounting and Finance Society which holds regular social events, provides networking opportunities and insights into accounting career opportunities by working closely with the support of the academic tutors.
Customise your learning: Throughout your studies, you’ll learn from core courses on the syllabus. You will benefit from the ability to transition between accountancy programmes during your early study years, ensuring your education aligns precisely with your career goals and interests.
In your fourth year, there are five new courses developed in conjunction with ICAS to ensure your learning matches the requirement of professional exams and covers mandatory areas required for industry.
In year four, you’ll explore in-depth your chosen area of accountancy through a dissertation or company-based project. This allows you to demonstrate your mastery of the subject area by identifying and undertaking an appropriate area of research, and presenting your results effectively by written and verbal means, or gaining experience in an applied industry context.
Our Professional Accountancy programme also offers you the opportunity to travel to Dubai or Malaysia campuses with our GoGlobal programme to experience studying in a different environment and culture. You can travel for one semester or one academic year, continuing your studies with no disruption due to the programme being delivered simultaneously at our Dubai and Malaysia campuses. This also opens up the potential for global career opportunities upon graduation.
Accreditation: This programme is the first of its kind, built in collaboration with ICAS, the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland. Teaching benefits from the industry aligned and applied nature of content, ensuring all content aligns with real-world, professional practice. This ensures students are ideally positioned to pursue Chartered Accountant status upon graduation.
Students who join ICAS as graduates of this programme will be exempt from all of the Knowledge and Skills levels of the CA qualification, meaning they will only have to sit the remaining two Integration level assessments to achieve Chartered Accountant status.
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