General ACCAACCA Masters with University of London

ACCA sent out an email about the MSc in Professional Accountancy with University of London out today. Unfortunately, very little information is available yet from https://www.accaglobal.com/gb/en/campaign/msc-professional-accountancy.html It seems that there will be two paths to ACCA: all require the fundamental ACCA exams and the 3 essential professional papers, but then you can choose between the two optional ACCA papers (ACCA route) or 3 MSc courses (MSc route). I guess those going the MSc route won't quality as auditors since the MSc doesn't include the audit exam. (Presumably, you could take the ACCA audit exam in addition to the MSc courses in order to quality.) I wonder about the cost of going the MSc route. The 3 essential P exams count as 90 credits (hopefully for no extra cost), leaving you to do 90 credits via 2 MSc courses and 1 MSc project. Looking at the OuL web site, a course at MSc level appears to be around 1260-1450 GBP. Assuming we only have to pay for the 3 courses we take, that'd be in the 3800-4400 GBP range, which wouldn't be bad for a MSc. UoL only does exams once per year, but you only have to do 2 MSc courses. (Hopefully the project can be done any time.) The course is through University College of London (UCL). UoL and UCL have a good reputation, so this MSc might be quite attractive. Note that there's a lot of guessing in this posting... I hope ACCA will post details soon. OpenTuition staff: do you have more information than what's currently available from the ACCA web site?

Sorry - all we know is what is on the ACCA website.

To be honest I saw news article in January about new initiative, but the link from above is something new for me. If you get any additional information please post.

good to hear that and hope it comes to pass.the cost is an issue thinking of how much it will cost. It is the cost that will determine its attractiveness so equivalent to ACCA PRICE good for us all

@kobrogya said: good to hear that and hope it comes to pass.the cost is an issue thinking of how much it will cost. It is the cost that will determine its attractiveness so equivalent to ACCA PRICE good for us all

There are similar courses/programmes offerred by other colleges under UoL. We may use that as a fee gauge for this Msc. I find a graduate diploma offerred by LSE is 1500+ pounds.

The cost will be £1,300 per module so £3,900 in total. Got this information from the admission team at UoL.

Wait, so does this mean that I would need to complete the Fundamentals Papers first or can I opt in while finishing up the F papers? Also £1,300 per module sounds reasonable considering that tuition fees for the P papers are substantially more than this. Hoping to start in January whilst completing my F papers!

From what I understand, there is no need to "opt in" to study this Msc. The admission criteria is to pass all F papers. So in order to start the course, you need to first finish all the F papers then join.

Damn...do you think they will have more sessions after July 2016? Or is there only 2? And does this mean I can move straight on to the MSc after the F papers? Does it mean that the completion of the P papers isn't necessary?

The essential papers are P1-P3 are 90 credits for the Msc and then 3 modules instead of the optional papers. that's 90 credits for approx 300 pounds and then 3900 pounds for the other 90 credits. or you could complete do your optional papers for 100 pounds per paper get qualified. @Avnish "Also £1,300 per module sounds reasonable considering that tuition fees for the P papers are substantially more than this." how is £1,300 is less than £100? Professional: P1, P2, P3 (and any two from P4, P5, P6 and P7) Early £103 £104 Standard £111 £112 Late* £266 £268

@latoyah84 said: The essential papers are P1-P3 are 90 credits for the Msc and then 3 modules instead of the optional papers. that's 90 credits for approx 300 pounds and then 3900 pounds for the other 90 credits. or you could complete do your optional papers for 100 pounds per paper get qualified. @Avnish "Also £1,300 per module sounds reasonable considering that tuition fees for the P papers are substantially more than this." how is £1,300 is less than £100? Professional: P1, P2, P3 (and any two from P4, P5, P6 and P7) Early £103 £104 Standard £111 £112 Late* £266 £268

I think he meant the total cost, tuition fees+ revision fees + exams fees could cost up to £1,200 £3,900 is reasonable for a Msc from UoL/UCL.

sorry, i self study so my exam fees/subscription fees/ and books are my only expense.

@latoyah84 said: sorry, i self study so my exam fees/subscription fees/ and books are my only expense.

You too are talking two different things. He was talking about the route that leads both to the UoL Msc degree and the ACCA qualification, whilst you were talking about the route only to the ACCA qualification.

https://www.accaglobal.com/content/dam/ACCA_Global/Assets/campaigns/msc-student-pathway.pdf

I understand what he is saying -tuition fees+ revision fees + exams fees could cost up to £1,200 - since i self study i cut out the tuition fees etc so I probably spend £150. that said there are persons like myself that self study that may find getting their ACCA qualification/membership first and then doing the Msc when their salary can manage the higher fees (£150 vs £1300). No disrespect to anyone but i had no clue that tuition fees were so high! I tried tuition for CAT back in 2002 and the school kept extending the period for sitting exams so i stopped. When i started ACCA in 2010 with a local college the tutor came in and read from the book - which didnt help much. I started self study in 2012 using only Opentuition and youtube videos and have been successful each sitting.

Hi Everyone Thank you very much for all the updates on this forum. I see the last update was on the 30 April 2015 and I was wondering if anyone has managed to establish what the pricing for the MSc modules will be? I am unfortunately in the same, if not worse, situation as Latoyah in terms of affordability. While a cost of GBP1300 per module may look affordable or attractive to many, it is to a huge extent expensive if you consider the fact that I am studying in South Africa and my studies are self funded. This costing equates to a total of R70 200.00 for the three modules which unfortunately, at this stage is 23.4% of my total cost to company per annum. You can imagine the financial effect of this, on my part.

Am I the only one that doesn't see where the value is in studying for an Msc in accounting when you will be ACCA qualified? It seems like a good money maker for the qualification providers and a good option for those that want to achieve some sort of Msc status. What it does seem like to me is that the ACCA is trying to bring the professional qualification (ACCA) and academic qualification of accounting closer together. We have a Bsc from Oxford Brookes and now an Msc from UOL could Phd in accounting be next? Your thoughts....

Hi all, I have received information regarding the MSc that ACCA are offering. I have thought about a potential route for myself in terms of study. I had a few questions, if anyone could help me. This is my route: Finish ACCA doing P6 Advanced Taxation and P7 Advanced Audit and Assurance as the options Do professional ethics module and submit project for BSc Applied Accounting from Oxford Brookes Enter CIMA through professional gateway route and finish CIMA strategic level Do the MSc Professional Accountancy as an affiliate/member of ACCA What I found most difficult was deciding between the modules below: ACCA: Advanced Performance Management, Advanced Financial Management MSc: Strategic Performance Management, Strategic Financial Management, Strategic Financial Project CIMA: Risk Management, Financial Strategy, Strategic Management As you can see you I have decided to go with the CIMA route as I felt this offers more in terms depth and knowledge. However, I may be wrong which is why I wanted advice. What is the difference between these modules and what do you think offers most relevant knowledge and application to the real world? You also may wonder why I want to do both CIMA and ACCA, this is because I want to be a more rounded individual with skills in management accounting. I am not trying to collect credentials, I believe the strategic level of CIMA offers knowledge ACCA does not provide. Please correct me if I am wrong. I feel ACCA does not have much management accounting in it. I also chose P6 Advanced Taxation and P7 Advanced Audit and Assurance as my ACCA options so that I have covered all bases. Thanks, Harry

You can do P5 and P4 and then do Msc with subjects Global issues and Financial Project. If you want to ne well rounded rather do MBA which is let say triple accredited.

@harry87 said: Hi all, I have received information regarding the MSc that ACCA are offering. I have thought about a potential route for myself in terms of study. I had a few questions, if anyone could help me. This is my route: Finish ACCA doing P6 Advanced Taxation and P7 Advanced Audit and Assurance as the options Do professional ethics module and submit project for BSc Applied Accounting from Oxford Brookes Enter CIMA through professional gateway route and finish CIMA strategic level Do the MSc Professional Accountancy as an affiliate/member of ACCA What I found most difficult was deciding between the modules below: ACCA: Advanced Performance Management, Advanced Financial Management MSc: Strategic Performance Management, Strategic Financial Management, Strategic Financial Project CIMA: Risk Management, Financial Strategy, Strategic Management As you can see you I have decided to go with the CIMA route as I felt this offers more in terms depth and knowledge. However, I may be wrong which is why I wanted advice. What is the difference between these modules and what do you think offers most relevant knowledge and application to the real world? You also may wonder why I want to do both CIMA and ACCA, this is because I want to be a more rounded individual with skills in management accounting. I am not trying to collect credentials, I believe the strategic level of CIMA offers knowledge ACCA does not provide. Please correct me if I am wrong. I feel ACCA does not have much management accounting in it. I also chose P6 Advanced Taxation and P7 Advanced Audit and Assurance as my ACCA options so that I have covered all bases. Thanks, Harry

You are already ACCA Affliate? In that case, you don't have to sit the two strategic modules from the Msc route. On the contrary, you need to sit one module which is something to do with contempary financial issues. Then the final project which is mandate for both routes for the Msc. As for ACCA (P4, P5) v CIMA management accounting wise, I doubt there is much difference.

Hi am considering msc professional accountancy but I wonder whether Uol will allow us to pursue PhD in finance . Because most PhD requires master merit degree or above. Thanks

I am not an affiliate. I am about to take P1, P2, and P3. I am really unsure what to do. I have compared the two syllabus and there are a few similarities. E3 CIMA seems like a carbon copy of P3 Business Analysis in ACCA. P3 CIMA has a few P1 ACCA Elements. F3 CIMA again has a few P4 ACCA elements. It looks like maybe CIMA won't add as much as I thought it would. However, then comes the choice of doing the MSc without doing any options or doing options and then the masters. Such difficult choices. Worse than studying! I may just not do the MSc altogether and do a MBA as suggested above after a few years working.

@harry87 said: I am not an affiliate. I am about to take P1, P2, and P3. I am really unsure what to do. I have compared the two syllabus and there are a few similarities. E3 CIMA seems like a carbon copy of P3 Business Analysis in ACCA. P3 CIMA has a few P1 ACCA Elements. F3 CIMA again has a few P4 ACCA elements. It looks like maybe CIMA won't add as much as I thought it would. However, then comes the choice of doing the MSc without doing any options or doing options and then the masters. Such difficult choices. Worse than studying! I may just not do the MSc altogether and do a MBA as suggested above after a few years working.

I believe the two strategic modules from the Msc route are actually in line with ACCA's p4 and p5 from the syllabus point of view. Even though neither P4 nor P5 has the word strategic in their names, I doubt anyone would suggest their examine purpose otherwise. So if you are taking the Msc route, you are actually taking up P4 and P5 as the option papers in ACCA. CIMA's F3 is very much like ACCA's P4, and CIMA's P3 is part from ACCA's P1 and P5. The organisation evaluation part in ACCA's P5 I believe is done in CIMA's P2.

Has anyone heard any more regarding this programme, pre registration opened on 01 August, I call UoL Int Programmes today and they said they were beginning to contact people who had registered their interest, has anyone on this forum been contacted? :-)

I haven't been contacted from UOL. I'm still waiting to hear from them.but question is does that msc professional accountancy worth it?

UOL is a reputable university. So, MSc from UOL is attractive. However, is MBA better than MSc since I am ACCA member now? I am in the dilemma situation now =(

The dynamics of this program is still very unclear to me.

It is clear now. The links below were helpful. The program is good one. https://www.londoninternational.ac.uk/courses/postgraduate/professional-accountancy-msc-pg-cert https://www.accaglobal.com/an/en/campaign/msc-professional-accountancy/msc-student.html

Does anyone know how soon the ACCA will acknowledge your pass in the first two modules which basically are P4 and P5, is it once you pass them, or do you have to wait till you complete the MSc programme?

Does it worth for your career development to go for Msc ( cost benefit analysis ) or it won't add much more value comparing to its cost ? for example going for MBA instead of Msc in finance