MPhil Accounting and Finance

Programme description
A Masters level research degree obtained by successful examination of a thesis. The minimum period of study is one year.

Aims
The MPhil thesis will show convincing evidence of the capacity of the candidate to pursue research and scholarship, and represent original work that is appropriately located by the candidate within a wider field of knowledge and investigation.
Special features
The Master of Philosophy is a one year postgraduate research degree. Students undertake a substantial research project and may undertake some of the research training available to PhD students.  

The MPhil programme at AMBS offers an annual entry point of September.  Complete applications must be received in the Doctoral Programmes Office by 30 June - please refer to the Entry Requirements information for further details. 

Teaching and learning
The MPhil programme does not require students to undertake any Research Training; however students may choose to attend courses from the PhD Research Training Programme subject to availability.
Related research
Our research activities are undertaken via the following research groupings:

Corporate Reporting, Auditing and Business Group (CRAB) - covers reporting financial performance; accruals management and other accounting choices; market based accounting research; financial communication (both formal and informal); accounting based valuation models; the information transmission role of analysts; earnings timeliness and accounting conservatism; accounting policy choice; executive reward structures.

Auditing Group - captures work on the roles and methods of auditing; the contribution of auditing to processes of corporate governance; regulation of the auditing profession; and the contemporary developments in public/private sector auditing, in particular the changing international nature of audit regulation.

Business and Public Policy Group - focuses on management strategy, using political economy to analyse the underlying business and public policy issues; the group has expertise on sectors such as cars and media; studies major corporations such as Ford and GE; and focuses on new styles of public sector management, including the implications of private finance for public services.

Finance Group - staff research interests include:
-Asset Pricing, Market Efficiency and Investment Analysis - empirical research includes the testing of asset pricing models, and the related areas of anomalies, return predictability and behavioural finance; portfolio theory in the presence of background risk, dynamic asset allocation, and performance measurement.
-Financial Markets and Derivatives - including research on interest rate models and the pricing of interest rate derivatives; option pricing and techniques; volatility.
-Corporate Finance - empirical research in the areas of IPOs, corporate governance, new and emerging stock markets, and venture capital.
-Financial Econometrics - research including asymmetric response models, nonlinear models of share price behaviour, extreme value theory, and volatility modelling.
Management Accounting and Information Systems (MAISY) Group - incorporates management accounting and management information systems specialists.

Management Accounting Group - is especially strong in organisational, political economy and social theory approaches to accounting research utilising intensive case study methods. Particular interest is given to management accounting change and implementation.

Information Systems Group - interests include organisational, behavioural, theoretical issues relevant to the design, development, implementation/management of information technology and technological innovations.