Join a financial accounting course you can study flexibly, 100% online.
Learn the specialist accountancy skills needed for the world of finance.
In this Masters-level online short course, you’ll build the accounting knowledge that finance managers and analysts need to make finance and investment decisions.
With guidance from financial accountancy experts, you’ll:
- learn how to prepare financial statements and use them in financial analysis
- investigate firm valuation, risk, and capital budgeting
- develop deep financial analysis skills
- explore what financial information is for and how it’s controlled by governments, stock exchanges, and other institutions.
Who can join this online financial accounting course?
The course is ideal for managers and analysts who regularly use financial statements to evaluate financial performance and make financial decisions.
Build credits towards a Masters degree
This course is part of our online:
You can use the credits you earn on this short course towards this MSc qualification.
What you’ll study
You’ll cover the following modules in this course.
Introduction
- Goals of corporations
- Careers in finance
- Financial markets and institutions
- Financial crisis
Understanding accountancy
- Importance of financial accounts
- Audit report and audit process
- Book value and market value
Financial statements
- Key financial statements
- Accounting income and cash flow
- Personal and corporate tax
- Sustainability reporting
- Greenwashing
Corporate performance
- Financial ratio measurement and interpretation
- Performance measures
The time value of money
- Compound interest and the impact of compounding
- Present and future value computation
- Impact of inflation
- Real interest rates
Understanding value
- Bond valuation and bond characteristics
- Stock valuation
- Net present value and investment decisions
- Project analysis
Understanding risk
- Risk and return
- Measuring risk
- Diversification
- Asset and portfolio risk
- Market risk and firm-specific risk
Capital budgeting
- Measuring market risk
- The capital asset pricing model (CAPM)
- Capital budgeting and project risk
By the end of this course, you’ll be able to...
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Interpret the information contained in balance sheets, income statements, and statements of cash flow.
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Explain the goals and governance of the corporation.
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Evaluate measures of corporate performance.
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Prepare and interpret financial statements.
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Use financial statements to aid financial analysis, projections, financial risk analysis, and primary analysis of financial ratios budgeting.
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Calculate the value of financial instruments such as stocks and bonds, and analyse the factors impacting their value.
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Assess the risk and return characteristics of projects from a financial perspective.
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Apply risk assessment tools to the capital budgeting process.
Choose the University of Aberdeen for online financial accounting courses
7th in the UK
We ranked 7th in the UK for Accounting and Finance in the Guardian University Guide 2024.
We’re EQUIS accredited
Our Business School is EFMD EQUIS accredited, placing it among a select group of globally recognised institutions.
Earn as you learn
We fit around full-time work, so you can earn qualifications while you keep earning a salary.
How you’ll study
Online learning
This distance-learning financial accounting course is delivered flexibly, 100% online.
You can learn anywhere, with no need for a study visa, and manage your hours to suit you.
Your teaching
This course is taught at Masters level.
Teaching is delivered through MyAberdeen, our online Virtual Learning Environment (VLE). It holds all the materials, tools and support you’ll need in your studies. Take a look around MyAberdeen.
Course materials are carefully planned and structured. You can access your learning materials on computer, smartphone and laptop, 24 hours a day. You’ll find a range of resources at your fingertips, including:
- live online webinars
- reading materials
- discussion boards with colleagues and tutors
- the online resources of our award-winning Sir Duncan Rice Library.
Live online webinars
Across the course, you’ll have eight live webinar sessions with academic staff. These live online webinars support the main learning material and are central to your learning. Your participation in them will count towards your final grades.
Ahead of each live webinar, you’ll be asked to study the online materials provided, post questions to your tutor online, undertake multiple-choice quizzes and other tasks. You may also be asked to work in small groups to prepare for some of the live sessions.
Your tutors
You’ll learn from experienced academics and researchers from the University of Aberdeen Business School.
This course is assessed online via:
- an analytical project (worth 60% of your final course grade), and
- a reflective essay (worth 40% of your final course grade).
Live online webinars
This course features eight online webinars. Each webinar is live and scheduled to last for around one hour.
Webinar dates and times will be organised flexibly at the start of the course. Your course coordinator will consider everyone’s circumstances and time zones before setting up live webinar times that best suit the class.
Study hours
The course totals approximately 150 hours of teaching, private study, and assessment time. That’s around 10 – 15 hours per week.
This is an indicative guide to the time required for a typical student at this level to achieve the learning outcomes.
You can largely set your own study hours each week to cover the materials. MyAberdeen is available 24/7, so you can log in and study when it suits you.
Activities at fixed times
You’ll have live online webinars at fixed times, plus assessments with deadlines. But otherwise, you can access and work through your courses at your convenience.
Our first-class support structure will ensure that you aren’t alone in your studies. You’ll have contact with your coordinator via email, MyAberdeen and Microsoft Teams. You can use social media and discussion boards to chat with your fellow students too.
We provide a wide range of services to support you in your studies and beyond:
- Careers and Employability Service
- Disability support
- IT support
- Library support
- Student Support Service – help with finances, stress, wellbeing and non-academic issues
- Student Learning Service – study support, with advice sessions available via phone or Skype
- Aberdeen University Students’ Association (AUSA) – run by students for students
- Toolkit – clever apps and free training that can make your study life easier
Wherever you are in the world, you’ll feel part of our very special Aberdeen learning community.
Your course coordinator
Dr Pranjal Srivastava
Pranjal is a Lecturer in Finance in our Business School. He teaches courses related to financial markets. Pranjal’s research interests lie in financial markets, derivatives, banking and repurchases.
View Pranjal’s profileWhere this will take you
Towards a Masters
You’ll earn 15 credits at Masters level (SCQF Level 11) with this course. You can use these credits towards our:
Online MSc Finance
Earn your Masters flexibly, online.
Gain a deeper knowledge of core financial theory.
Develop your skills in corporate finance, portfolio analysis, asset valuation, derivatives and risk management.
View MSc FinanceCareers
You’ll leave this course with enhanced skills and expertise in making and using financial statements to evaluate firm performance.
You’ll also understand the sources of firm value and risk.
In-demand skills for careers in finance
These in-demand skills are valuable for careers in the finance sector, particularly for:
- corporate managers or analysts using financial statements to infer firm performance and evaluate firm value
- finance managers involved in the analysis of investment projects, acquisition targets, etc, and
- third-party analysts using financial statements to comment on firm performance.
Continuing Professional Development (CPD)
Your employer or professional institute may recognise this course for CPD hours. Talk to your employer or institute to find out more.
Free career support
Access our free careers service while you study.
- 1:1 appointments
- CV checks
- Interview prep
- Job opportunities
Entry requirements
Entry requirements
We welcome students from all over the world.
This course has no formal entry requirements. You do not need to provide proof of your qualifications.
But you do need to check the entry guidance above to understand the level of teaching delivered, to decide if this course is right for you.
If you do not have qualifications from the UK, check the equivalent teaching level for your country.
Visa requirements
You do not need a student visa to study online with us.
English language requirements
Teaching is delivered in English.
You do not have to provide proof of your English language skills to join this course. But we want to make sure that you can use English well enough to study successfully.
Recommended level of English
This course uses our Postgraduate Higher level of English language proficiency.
These are our Postgraduate Higher requirements, and these are minimum scores.
IELTS Academic, IELTS UKVI Academic, and IELTS Online (not IELTS Indicator or IELTS General Training)
- 6.5 overall
- 5.5 for listening and speaking
- 6.0 for reading and writing
TOEFL iBT and TOEFL iBT Home Edition
- 90 overall
- 17 for listening
- 21 for reading
- 20 for speaking
- 21 for writing
- TOEFL DI code is 0818
Cambridge English: B2 First, C1 Advanced, or C2 Proficiency
- 176 overall
- 162 for listening and speaking
- 169 for reading and writing
LanguageCert Academic/LanguageCert Academic SELT
- 70 overall
- 60 for listening and speaking
- 65 for reading and writing
LanguageCert International ESOL B2 Communicator (Written and Spoken) – Online / In-centre
- Overall High Pass
- 33 for listening, reading and speaking
- 38 for writing
Oxford ELLT Digital – English Language Level Test Online
- 7.0 overall
- 5.0 for listening and speaking
- 6.0 for reading and writing
PTE Academic (online test not accepted)
- 62 overall
- 59 for listening, reading, speaking and writing
For more information about language qualifications see our English Language Requirements page.
When you study with us, you can expect a first-class support structure so that you’re never alone in your studies.
But learning online does mean you have to motivate yourself and manage your own time.
Your most important commitment will be time – the time to work through, reflect on and understand your teaching materials.
Before you start a course that involves a high degree of independent study, we recommend looking at the time you will be able to devote to your studies each week:
- Be realistic
- Create a weekly schedule as a guide
If you have any questions about studying online, get in touch with our friendly team. We’re here to help.
You will need access to:
A computer (PC, laptop or Mac) operating on either:
- Windows 10 or later
- macOS 10.15 (Catalina) or later.
Most teaching materials are smartphone- and tablet-friendly. But we recommend a proper laptop or desktop for completing assignments comfortably.
Reliable internet access
We recommend:
- a wired connection
- a minimum download speed of 2 Mbps so you can take part fully in live sessions.
Speakers or headphones
- We recommend a headset with built-in microphone and earphones if you’re likely to study in an environment with background noise.
- A webcam is optional, but you may like to use one for some interactive sessions.
Software
We’ll give you access to Office365 applications. This means you can use online versions of Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint and install these programs on up to five personal devices.
If your course requires specialist software, we’ll provide you with access to this and a licence that lasts throughout your studies.
See our detailed IT requirements for more information.
Fee payment
Your course fee needs to be paid in full before you start your course.
We accept payment via Visa Debit, Visa Credit and Mastercard.
Ways to save
You may be able to get help funding this course via:
- discounts – if any discounts are available for this course, they’ll appear in the section below
- employer sponsorship – we accept full and partial fee payments from sponsors.
Find out more about funding options.
Student card
All our students are entitled to a University of Aberdeen student card. This gives you access to a range of student discounts around the city and online.
Learning resources
Access to all the books and resources you need are included in your tuition fee. They’ll be made available to you online and you do not have to buy your own copies.
Printing
You may wish to set aside a small budget for printing, depending on how you like to work.
This course has no formal entry requirements. You decide if it’s suitable for you.
The course is delivered at Masters level. At this level, you’d usually have at least:
- a 2:2 UK undergraduate degree (or equivalent), or
- relevant experience that supports this level of study.
Apply for this course
