Accounting and Business Intelligence MSc

Please be aware that we have limited places available and are unable to make any more offers to visa requiring students for entry in January 2023. Interested students should instead apply for entry from September 2023 onwards.

We typically receive a high number of applications for this course and therefore advise that you apply by our advisory application deadline of 31^st March 2023. This deadline applies to both our September and January entry points during the 2023/24 application cycle. We will assess any applications we receive after this deadline, subject to vacancies being available on the course.

Due to the high volume of applications we receive there may be a short delay in the time it takes to make a decision on your application. However, please be assured that we fully assess and review all applications we receive in a fair, transparent and consistent way in line with our Admissions Policy. If you need any more details on our application process please refer to this webpage.

Recent disruptive technological innovations such as Big Data Analytics, Blockchain Automation, and Business Financial Technology, lead to profound changes within the modern business environment. Consequently, accounting and business finance professionals are challenged to develop new hybrid skillsets and attributes that will enable them to thrive within the sphere of the emerging 5^th industrial revolution. The MSc Accounting and Business Intelligence is designed for students who have an academic background in accounting, business analytics, and financial management. The structure of the programme makes it particularly relevant to the needs of accounting graduates and newly qualified accounting professionals who aim to pursue careers within the new hybrid accounting specialisms and who aim to operate within the new and increasingly popular business models that are a by-product of modern, fast-paced technological innovations.

Completing this course successfully will help you develop the attributes required to progress faster through the business hierarchy and will allow you to secure highly sought-after positions such as Chief Financial and Technology Officer, Chief Financial Information Officer, Forensic Accountant, and International Tax Consultant, in addition to the more mainstream career pathways in accounting and auditing. The combination of the above attributes will also help you develop the necessary aptitude that leads to a successful pursuit of further studies at PhD level.

In addition to an intellectually challenging and robust learning experience, this programme will also provide you with the opportunity to apply classroom-learned theory and concepts at the workplace through an optional placement, subject to you being able to secure a suitable role within an organisation.

This course is accredited by AACSB and the Chartered Institute of Taxation.

The Accounting and Business Intelligence MSc consists of six compulsory and six optional modules (of which, you would select two), a dissertation, and an option to undertake placement. The six compulsory modules foster the development of a set of specialist post-graduate attributes in accounting, hybridised with a strong conceptual understanding of business intelligence and business financial technology.

The optional modules are designed to encourage personal learning and development in the fields of Professional Consultancy, International Business Strategy, Creative and Forensic Accounting, Digital Creativity and Entrepreneurship. These modules enable students to personalise their studies and develop specialist skills in line with their own interests and career aspirations.

The dissertation, which is a core module, enables learners to consolidate their skills through the conception and execution of a research-oriented project, that requires synthesis of theoretical concepts with empirical evidence and evaluation of relevant implications for practice.

This course can be studied 1 year full-time, 2 years full-time with placement or 16 months full-time with placement, starting in September. Or this course can be studied 15 months full-time, 27 months full-time with placement or 19 months full-time with placement, starting in January.

Built upon the core advanced features of the professional accountancy domain, our Accounting and Business Intelligence MSc will equip you with a unique set of expertise, that is currently in increasing demand. It fosters the development of a strong conceptual understanding of business intelligence, innovation, entrepreneurship and business financial technologies in addition to exploring current issues in such areas as corporate governance, international taxation, management and financial accounting. Armed with the ability to appraise both theoretical and applied perspectives on modern business models’ operation and sustainability, you will be able to apply a range of specialist skills to the organisations in which you will operate as a modern accounting professional.

As a masters graduate you’ll be equipped to enter a number of job roles, including: Auditor; Financial Accountant; Management Accountant; Financial Technology Associate; Business Intelligence Analyst; International Tax Consultant; Forensic Accountant; Business Consultant; Financial analyst; Financial Controller.

• A 2.1 (or International equivalent) in a degree in Accounting, Accountancy, Finance, Financial Management, Investment Management and Banking. Applicants with other degree subjects that include a substantial component including study of accounting, accountancy, finance, financial management, investment management and banking are encouraged to apply and will be considered according to their own merits.
• Applicants with a 2.2 or international equivalent will be considered on an individual basis according to the merits of each application. Please be aware that we will consider applicants who more closely meet our 2.1 degree level entry requirements in the first instance.

• IELTS: 6.5 (min 6 in all areas)
• Pearson: 59 (59 in all subscores)
• BrunELT: 63% (min 58% in all areas)
• TOEFL: 90 (min 20 in all) 

This programme is based on a combination of research-led and practice-oriented approaches to teaching and learning, which include:

• Action-based learning
• Team-based learning
• Experiential Learning
• Business simulations and role play
• Guest speaker presentations

Depending on each module’s requirements, ‘lecture and seminar’ or ‘block teaching/workshop’ contact-based delivery methods are used as appropriate.

Should you need any non-academic support during your time at Brunel, the Student Support and Welfare Team are here to help.

The assessment is designed to enable you demonstrate your standard of competence on the programme’s learning outcomes. In conjunction with appropriate feedback, it aims to incorporate crucial authentic elements that foster deep learning, self-direction, consolidation of experiences, relevance of skills to professional practice, problem solving, and peer interaction.

Implementation of the programme’s assessment strategy is achieved through a diverse set of methods and elements that include unseen examinations and MCQ tests/quizzes, essay/report writing, individually assessed group debates, individually assessed group presentations, case study analysis (alone and in teams), dynamic cumulative assignments that enable synthesis and achievement of learning objectives over longer periods of time, individually assessed role play, and writing of reflective accounts.

Finally, by working on a dissertation, you will be exposed to the challenges of developing a coherent and outcome oriented major piece of independent research that will help you develop original approaches in solving complex unstructured business problems.