About Accounting And Finance (msc) in University of Southampton

Become an expert in auditing, corporate governance and tax through our MSc Accounting and Finance degree. You’ll also have a rare opportunity to study international accounting and taxation. This course will prepare you for a variety of careers in accountancy and other sectors.

This master's in accounting and finance is ideal if you have studied in accountancy, business, mathematics, or economics. It’s also suitable if you have relevant professional experience and want to improve your career opportunities.  

You’ll evaluate and apply core technical accounting and finance methods to real-world situations, and gain a detailed understanding of global financial markets and accounting systems. You can use our Bloomberg terminals for live financial data as well as a range of key databases for research.  

Throughout the course you’ll cover: 

• equity markets 
• investment decisions 
• management and financial accounting  
• mergers and acquisitions  
• internal and external auditing 
• behaviour

Unusually for a postgraduate in accounting and finance, you’ll have an opportunity to study international accounting and taxation. You’ll learn how a country’s social, economic, legal and political environment determines its tax regulations, and the impact of tax on company behaviours. 

Other current study choices include the rapidly expanding area of corporate governance. This will give you an understanding of high profile corporate collapses and financial crisis. You can also choose from reporting and markets, or sustainability accounting.

Specialists also give regular guest lectures and will share insights with you from current research and industry issues. This will enhance your studies and career options, giving you real networking opportunities. 

Course lead

Dr Oliver Marnet is the course lead for our MSc Accounting and Finance degree, and former Head of the Accounting Department. His research focus is on behavioural decision-making applied to audit and corporate governance. As well as continued interests in accounting, finance, audit, governance and judgement and decision-making.

He has won competitive research grant awards from, inter alia, the ICAEW and the Leadership Foundation for Higher Education, UK. He has also conducted research for the European Commission, Big-4 accounting firms, the Pensions & Investment Research Consultants Ltd (PIRC), Research Fortnight HE, and contributed to The Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators’ (ICSA) review of the Higgs Guidance for the Financial Reporting Council.

University of Southampton Highlights

University of Southampton Cost of Attendance

For international candidates aspiring to study in the UK, it is mandatory to have an estimate of the cost of living at the university on-campus/ off-campus. The list of basic expenses to be considered for applying for admission at the institute is as detailed below.