Accountancy and Finance lie at the very heart of every business organisation, whether it is a company, a government department or a charity. These disciplines equip business owners and managers with the knowledge and skills for critical decision-making. In the Department of Accounting and Financial Management, we offer you the opportunity to gain the experience necessary to negotiate the fast-changing world of business that you will encounter after graduation.
At the heart of the Department are our staff, who engage with our students through research-led teaching. We have research staff in the Department with international reputations in both Accounting and Finance. In the Accounting, Accountability and Research Group, our staff conduct valuable research that contributes to our collective understanding of accounting's role within organisations, markets and society. In the Behavioural Finance Working Group colleagues are engaged in collaborative, world-leading research in Behavioural Finance.
We are a team of academics that work closely together to engage our students and help them achieve their ambitions to work in the accountancy profession or business and finance-related roles. In this department, we value collegiality and collaboration and welcome diversity of opinion and rigorous academic discourse. The research conducted by staff in the Department utilises a variety of methodologies and relates to various topics. Members of the Department focus not only on their respective fields of expertise but also engage in inter-disciplinary and international collaborations.
Our research culture and expertise inform our teaching programmes, many of which also have professional accreditation. We are proud to offer programmes whose graduates are not only equipped to enter the accounting profession or the world of finance but have also benefited from research-led teaching and exposure to current developments and conceptualisations within these fields. Through our programmes, we aim to prepare our students to enter a changing business world where digital advances, increasing regulation, ethical values, corporate social reporting, climate change and calls for social equality will increasingly have greater prominence. We hope that those graduating from our programmes will take their place and contribute to a business world that is more sustainable, fair, and accountable.
Professor Gilad Livne
The Department is home to two research groups: (a) The Accounting and Accountability Research Group (AARG), which is committed to supporting and conducting scholarship in accountancy and providing a platform for the advancement of accounting-related research and (b) The Behavioural Finance Working Group (BFWG), which engages in the study of human behaviour in financial markets at the intersection of finance, psychology, economics and sociology.
- AARG: The Accounting and Accountability Research Group (AARG) was established in 2018 by Dr Suki Sian. Although the Group is home to researchers who are working in a variety of different fields and utilising various different approaches and methods, we identify three main streams of research: Business Models; Information in International Capital Markets; and The Profession and Accounting History. The AARG hosts an annual PhD Scholars conference.
- BFWG: The Behavioural Finance Working Group (BFWG) was established in January 2008 by Professor Gulnur Muradoglu and has more than 700 members worldwide. BFWG exists to perform world leading research in Behavioural Finance. It brings together practitioners with internationally respected academics in finance, psychology, sociology and economics through discussion groups, workshops and its annual conferences.
Departmental research has been extensively presented in world-leading conferences and published in internationally recognised academic journals. Our students have access to excellent facilities that include Bloomberg terminals and the most comprehensive databases.
Academic staff research
We publish in influential journals such as:
- Accounting, Organizations and Society
- Critical Perspectives on Accounting
- Accounting Auditing and Accountability Journal
- Accounting Forum
- European Accounting Review
- British Accounting Review
- Journal of Corporate Finance
- The Journal of Banking and Finance
- European Journal of Financial Management
- Journal of International Financial Markets Institutions and Money
- European Journal of Operational Research
- The Journal of Behavioural Finance
- Review of Behavioural Finance
- Journal of Economics and Business
- Journal of International Business
- Multinational Finance Journal
- Applied Financial Economics
We are a growing department and offer five distinct programmes. Our undergraduate programmes include BSc Accounting and Finance and BSc Accounting and Management and our postgraduate programmes include: MSc Accounting and Finance, MSc Accounting and Management and MSc International Financial Management. Our programmes offer a solid foundation for those hoping to enter the accounting profession or pursue careers in finance and management. We aim to help you to develop a wide range of skills that are transferrable to the job market including: critical thinking, analytical problem solving, teamwork, research, strategic thinking, and communicating information. We also offer a wide range of optional courses within our programmes that will help you to gain the required skill-set to fulfill your chosen career objectives.
Our accounting programmes are accredited by the main professional associations in the UK: the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW); the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA); and the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA). You will have the opportunity to gain exemptions from some professional exams and will, during the course of the programme, have opportunities to listen to inspirational speakers from the accounting profession and finance specialists from the City of London.
The Department of Accounting and Financial Management is seeking intellectually curious doctoral applicants with a strong academic track record who are interested in undertaking rigorous and innovative research in either Accounting or Finance. We are committed to educating scholars who will carry forward productive and rigorous research and who will lead in their fields of activity.
Prospective Doctoral candidates are encouraged to review the staff web pages to identify suitable potential supervisors within the Department.
