The Robert Gordon University

MSc Strategic Accounting

The MSc in Strategic Accounting (with CIMA) provides both an academic and a professional qualification awarded by the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA). A Top-up option is also available by distance learning.

The course has been designed to further develop accounting and non-technical skills and to study this Masters you will already hold the CIMA Advanced Diploma in Management Accounting. For those students who already have already completed CIMA exams, we offer the opportunity to gain the MSc degree through the Top-up option.

Please note - the Top-up option is currently available and the full MSc will be available from September 2015.

Course Structure

Stage One

• Research Methods
• International Business Environment
• Performance Strategy
• Enterprise Strategy
• Financial Strategy

Stage Two

• Dissertation
• Professional Case Study

Top-up Option

• Research Methods
• International Business Environment
• Dissertation

Study through our Campus Moodle virtual learning environment (VLE) provides full open access to tutors and other class members. Students have the benefit of being part of a group of learners with the invaluable opportunity to participate in active, group-related learning within a supportive online community setting. The interactive online campus provides students with lectures and course materials and these include:

• Virtual tutorials
• Live chat
• Discussion forums - student and tutor led
• Up-to-date web technology for delivery methods
• User friendly material

Once you have received an offer for the course, applicants are offered the chance to log into Campus Moodle for more information and to interact with staff and other applicants.

Department of Business & Management

The Business Management department is one of the largest in the school and .among the areas of interest .are Business Strategy, E-Business, Entrepreneurship and Operations Management. The Business Strategy group is the biggest numerically with 50% of the academic staff being located here. The group teaches a number of strategic management modules throughout the University and to a number of corporate clients. The areas of speciality within the group are Corporate Social Responsibility, Business Ethics, Business Strategy, Psychological Contracts and Environmental Management and Policy. The Charles P. Skene Centre for Entrepreneurship is an expanding area of expertise within Aberdeen Business School with a particular interest in small business enterprise. One of their remits is to provide entrepreneurial education to as wide a group of students as possible within the University.

Research Overview

The group has a number of different research areas in the field of general management, and it also has a specific focus on entrepreneurship research within Charles P. Skene Centre for Entrepreneurship. The following subject fields in the area of business management indicate the research interests of the academic staff and research students: • Corporate Social Responsibility

• Business Ethics
• Business Strategy
• Environmental Management and Policy
• Psychological Contracts
• Operations and logistics management
• Quality Management

In relation to entrepreneurship research, The Charles P. Skene Centre for Entrepreneurship has an enthusiastic research active group with a variety of interests and expertise in the topic of entrepreneurship. They undertake both qualitative and quantitative approaches to entrepreneurship and have research interests in two broad areas.

First the entrepreneurial process, trying to understand the big questions of how and why entrepreneurship arises and works. Other areas of interest include, for example, entrepreneurship in China, or rural entrepreneurship. They are also interested in more general issues, such as the role of gender and the role of social capital, for example. At present we have research students working in the areas of comparing criminality and entrepreneurship; the entrepreneurial narrative; the role of morality; the use of relationship marketing in SMEs and Chinese entrepreneurship.

The second area of specialisation is that of Small Business. Particular aspects of small business might include such topics as training, knowledge management, governance or innovation. The focus here is on the smaller business, which is viewed as being different from larger businesses, but nonetheless playing a key role.

The Department as a whole aspires to offer an intellectually challenging but supportive collegiate atmosphere where students will realise their full potential, in terms of scholarship, publication and personal development.

The School

Aberdeen Business School is one of the leading providers of management and professional education in Scotland. Over 3,500 students are studying a comprehensive range of courses. In the School we have over 1,700 postgraduate students from over 80 countries and offer a truly international experience. Founded in 1965, the business school has just celebrated its fortieth year and continues to build on its firm foundation.

The Business School is part of the Robert Gordon University, which has been regularly acclaimed as the Best New University in the UK based on a formidable reputation for its pragmatic approach to higher education.

The Aberdeen Business School is one of the largest Business Schools in the United Kingdom. Currently it is structured in five departments: Accounting, Finance and Economics, Business and Management, Law, Information Management, and Communication and Marketing. Associated with the departments, there are a number of satellite applied research centres in the field of Entrepreneurship, Knowledge Management, Tourism, Public Policy, and Transport Policy.

Aberdeen Business School have had AMBA accreditation for since 1999. The Business School is one of the largest providers of management education in the UK and have delivered online courses since 1999. We are rated excellent by the UK quality assurance agency for higher education and have a very strong portfolio of courses. The School offers 29 postgraduate courses with accreditation from CIPD, CIPS, AMBA, CIArb, CIMA, CIM, CMI, APM, IQA, Institute of Exporters, and CILIP to name a few. We have an extensive range of publications in our online library with approximately 3,500 academic journals.

Our Focus on Informed Learning

Aberdeen Business School is recognised nationally and internationally for responding to the needs of both students and employers. Our strong links with industry, commerce and the public sector enable us to ensure that our courses are practical and innovative and offer students the very best learning experience.

As a mark of the quality of our undergraduate and postgraduate level programmes many of our courses are recognised, or are accredited by, the professional organisations. This relationship between professional practice and academic rigour has meant that we continually appear in the top 5 for graduate and postgraduate employment in the Sunday Times University Guide. In 2006 RGU was ranked first for graduate employment in the UK. We enjoy the lowest unemployment of our graduates at 1.9% combined with the best rates of employment in graduate-level jobs of 86.4%.

Faculty Excellence

A teaching faculty that blends academic expertise with the credibility gained from current business, professional and consultancy activities supports the School’s programmes.

The staff also have an excellent record in attracting research funding from such bodies as the Arts and Humanities Research Board, Economic and Social Research Council, the European Commission and UNESCO.

Staff are also on the editorial boards of numerous international journals, including the Journal of Forensic Accounting, Journal of International Trade Law and Policy, Libri: International Journal of Libraries and Information Services, and the Journal of International Business and Economics Research.

Many of the School’s courses have a European and International focus and attract students from all parts of the UK the EU and further a field. The resulting mix of students, cultures and customs creates a modern cosmopolitan study environment from which staff and students benefit.

Aberdeen is located in the North East of Scotland. It is known as the Oil Capital of Europe and has a large number of Oil majors based in the city. The city has one of the lowest unemployment rates in the United Kingdom. Aberdeen has been voted the best place to study in the UK for the last 2 years. Students from International destinations would qualify for the fresh talent initiative on graduation.