MSc Accounting and Analytics Curriculum
The programme consists of eight taught modules, assessed through a combination of written examinations and continuous coursework. Modules are taught over two terms, Michaelmas term (September to December) and Hilary term (January to April) with the final Trinity term (April to August) being dedicated to your practice-based project.
| Module | ECTS |
|---|---|
| Financial Reporting | 10 |
| Management Accounting | 10 |
| Foundations of Business Analytics | 5 |
| Company Law | 5 |
| Financial Management | 10 |
| Taxation | 10 |
| Audit | 5 |
| Corporate Governance and Ethics | 5 |
| Analytics for Accounting (Practice-Based Project) | 30 |
Taught modules normally take place across Michaelmas and Hilary terms, with the final Trinity term dedicated to the practice-based project.
|
September-December Michaelmas Term |
January-April Hilary Term |
May-August Trinity Term |
|
Note: Modules offered each academic year are subject to change. The modules listed above and below are the modules and timetable for 2026/27.
Module Descriptions
Financial Reporting (10 ECTS)
Develop the technical and analytical skills to prepare, interpret, and critique financial statements. Starting with double-entry bookkeeping and trial balances, you will progress to corporate, cash flow, and consolidated accounts. You will also apply international accounting and sustainability standards across a range of commercial scenarios.
How this fits your MSc journey: Builds the technical foundation needed to understand financial performance, analyse corporate reporting and evaluate sustainability disclosures across the programme.
Learning outcomes:
- Apply core accounting skills: Record commercial transactions using double-entry bookkeeping.
- Prepare financial statements: Produce trial balances and accounts for incorporated and unincorporated entities.
- Use international standards: Apply accounting and sustainability standards to single-entity and consolidated statements.
- Analyse financial performance: Interpret statements using ratios and other analytical tools.
- Evaluate reporting developments: Critique contemporary regulatory, conceptual and ethical issues.
Management Accounting (10 ECTS)
Build the financial insight needed to support planning, control, and strategic decision-making. You will apply costing, cost-volume-profit analysis, budgeting, variance analysis, pricing, transfer pricing, and investment appraisal techniques. The module also explores strategic cost management, non-financial performance measures, and the effect of sustainability and environmental issues on management information.
How this fits your MSc journey: Provides the analytical backbone for internal decision-making, resource allocation and performance improvement, while connecting accounting techniques with data analysis and sustainability.
Learning outcomes:
- Apply accounting insight: Use and critique management accounting concepts alongside data and statistical techniques.
- Support better decisions: Apply costing, break-even, budgeting, and variance analysis to business scenarios.
- Advise pricing: Evaluate pricing approaches and recommend appropriate transfer pricing strategies.
- Think strategically about cost: Distinguish traditional accounting systems from strategic cost management.
- Optimise performance: Select financial and non-financial measures to assess and improve organisational results.
Foundations of Business Analytics (5 ECTS)
Develop the quantitative and analytical skills to use data confidently in accounting and business decision-making. The module covers data collection and sampling, descriptive statistics, probability, confidence intervals, hypothesis testing, regression, prediction and classification. Using real datasets from accounting, audit and finance, students work in Python through Google Colab, with AI tools supporting code development and explanation so the focus remains on framing questions, interpreting results and exercising professional judgement. No prior programming experience is required.
How this fits your MSc journey: Establishes the statistical, technological and decision-making foundations required across the programme and prepares students for the Analytics for Accounting practice-based project.
Learning outcomes:
- Frame analytical questions: Translate accounting and business problems into clear research questions, hypotheses and variables.
- Collect and summarise data: Apply appropriate sampling, descriptive statistics and visualisation techniques.
- Use statistical methods: Apply probability, confidence intervals, hypothesis testing and regression to real datasets.
- Work with modern analytical tools: Use Python, Google Colab and AI-supported coding to conduct and explain analysis.
- Generate responsible insights: Interpret results, evaluate predictions and communicate evidence-based recommendations.
Company Law (5 ECTS)
Understand the legal frameworks that shape business and the accounting profession. Beginning with the court system and the interpretation of cases, you will progress to the rules governing business organisations, capital, employment and insolvency. Worked legal problems help you apply theory in practice and recognise when specialist legal advice is required.
How this fits your MSc journey: Equips you to interpret the legal context behind accounting, financial and strategic decisions, and to identify the obligations and risks facing business entities.
Learning outcomes:
- Understand the legal environment: Describe and critically assess the framework within which firms operate.
- Explain business structures: Apply the legal rules governing different forms of business organisation.
- Evaluate capital obligations: Assess legal requirements relating to corporate capital.
- Recognise employment duties: Identify the principal requirements of employment law.
- Navigate financial distress: Discuss and evaluate current developments in insolvency law.
Financial Management (10 ECTS)
Develop the financial insight needed to evaluate investment, financing and risk decisions. The module introduces the role and objectives of financial management, sources of corporate finance, cost of capital, investment appraisal, working capital and risk management before progressing to governance, business and asset valuation, mergers and acquisitions, restructuring and international transactions. Lectures, worked examples, practical exercises and real-world cases build confidence in applying financial techniques and interpreting market and company information.
How this fits your MSc journey: Connects accounting information with strategic financial decision-making, developing the analytical judgement required to assess value, risk, growth opportunities and sustainability considerations.
Learning outcomes:
- Understand financial management: Explain the responsibilities of financial managers and the influence of stakeholders and the wider economy.
- Evaluate investment and finance: Critically appraise investment opportunities, funding choices, cost of capital and working capital decisions.
- Value businesses and assets: Apply and critique appropriate valuation principles and techniques.
- Assess corporate transactions: Analyse mergers, acquisitions and restructuring as strategies for growth and value creation.
- Manage financial risk: Identify, apply and evaluate risk-management techniques, including hedging and derivative instruments.
Taxation (10 ECTS)
Develop a practical understanding of the Irish tax system and relevant European legislation. You will learn to prepare computations for income tax, corporation tax and capital gains tax, and understand VAT obligations. The module also examines tax policy, the relationship between strategy and tax planning, and the ethical distinction between tax avoidance and tax evasion.
How this fits your MSc journey: Equips you to assess how taxation affects individuals and businesses, combining technical computation with strategic awareness and responsible professional judgement.
Learning outcomes:
- Navigate tax legislation: Explain key Irish tax rules, relevant European law and associated ethical considerations.
- Prepare tax computations: Calculate and communicate income tax and corporation tax liabilities.
- Assess capital gains tax: Compute liabilities and explain the treatment of capital gains.
- Understand VAT: Describe the regulations governing VAT compliance and reporting.
- Connect tax and strategy: Evaluate how organisational decisions and tax planning influence one another.
Audit (5 ECTS)
Develop the professional judgement needed to assess audit risk, evaluate controls, gather evidence and form sound audit opinions. You will examine the legal and regulatory environment for audit, professional ethics and the assurance process. Practical work with anonymised and simulated audit files shows how planning, documentation, testing and reporting operate in professional practice, including the use of data analytics.
How this fits your MSc journey: Builds on Financial Reporting by examining how financial information is independently tested, challenged and reported. It also connects the programme's ethics, governance and analytics strands and aligns with professional audit and assurance standards.
Learning outcomes:
- Understand audit regulation: Describe and classify the legal, professional and standard-setting context.
- Plan an audit: Assess risk and materiality and translate findings into an effective audit plan.
- Evaluate internal controls: Identify control weaknesses and recommend practical improvements.
- Gather audit evidence: Design procedures and assess whether evidence is sufficient and appropriate.
- Form audit opinions: Use and critique audit reports through ethical, regulatory and company law perspectives.
Corporate Governance and Ethics (5 ECTS)
Examine how corporate governance and professional ethics shape transparent, responsible reporting. Building on financial accounting, the module explores Irish, European and international governance practice, the consequences of governance and ethical failures, internal controls, professional values and corporate social responsibility. You will learn to evaluate corporate reporting within its wider regulatory and stakeholder context.
How this fits your MSc journey: Connects accounting and reporting with governance, ethics and sustainability. It develops the judgement needed to assess controls, evaluate organisational decisions and support responsible reporting for shareholders and other stakeholders.
Learning outcomes:
- Explain effective governance: Describe the role of well-implemented corporate governance in responsible business practice.
- Apply governance standards: Explain and assess common governance practices, including relevant European codes.
- Evaluate governance impact: Critically assess how governance structures and failures affect organisations and their stakeholders.
- Assess internal controls: Design and evaluate appropriate controls across a range of corporate contexts.
- Exercise ethical judgement: Evaluate commercial, organisational and reporting decisions using professional values and ethical principles.
Analytics for Accounting (Practice Based Project) (30 ECTS)
Build confidence using cutting edge tools in real world scenarios. Delivered by Deloitte professionals, this immersive summer school gives you hands-on experience with technology and analytical tools, audit analytics, and data visualisation. You will work on applied projects with real data, guided by industry experts.
How this fits your MSc journey: Designed as the capstone module, this intensive experience builds on your accounting and analytics knowledge to prepare you for professional practice.
Learning outcomes:
- Apply data analytics: Use analytical tools to solve accounting and commercial problems.
- Evaluate ethics and security: Explain and critique ethical and security issues in data analytics.
- Understand emerging technologies: Demonstrate awareness of AI, RPA, and programming languages that are reshaping the profession.
- Enhance audit assurance: Apply analytics to the audit and assurance of financial and non-financial information.
Laptop requirement for Analytics for Accounting:
The Analytics for Accounting module uses Microsoft Power BI Desktop, a Windows-only application. Students using Macs will need access to Windows (e.g. via Parallels or a Windows laptop). Setup guidance is provided ahead of the module.