Accounting & Financial Management

This programme is designed to equip future accounting and finance professionals with the knowledge and skills to succeed. Accounting and finance are changing rapidly, with innovations and practice evolving to deal with the major challenges the world is facing. To excel in these industries, graduates should have strong technical knowledge, creativity and integrity. This programme develops your ability to contribute to business and society by using best practice methods in reporting, performance management, finance, sustainability, artificial intelligence and analytics.

The design of the programme features a strong core of modules on financial and ESG reporting, performance management and control, and finance.

Students can also develop their expertise in the following areas:

Accounting practice: Modules on taxation and auditing are available for those students who wish to pursue a career in professional accountancy.

Sustainable business and reporting: The core modules will develop student skills in sustainable reporting and business. In addition to that, students can build on that knowledge with a more advanced module on sustainable reporting and analysis.

Finance: A module on financial data technology is available in the summer trimester to develop student’s advanced finance skills.

Analytics and AI: The core modules will develop your business analytics skills. In addition to that, students can build on that knowledge with modules on AI and machine learning and financial data technology. This will enable students to contribute cutting-edge skills to their future employers.

How will I benefit?
Students will be taught at the beautiful UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School located in a bespoke campus in Blackrock, Co. Dublin. Students will join a dynamic international environment with more than 60 nationalities represented at the School.

Successful completion of the course corresponds to an extensive knowledge base in the areas of accounting and finance management, backed by a vital set of technical, analytical and personal skills.

Graduates will demonstrate a firm grasp of the tools and techniques for measuring and managing business performance, financial reporting and analysis, and financial management.

Students must complete 8 core modules in the Autumn and Spring Trimesters. In the Summer Trimester students complete 4 option modules.

Autumn Trimester
Accounting and Business Bootcamp
Strategic Corporate Finance
Strategic Management
Financial and ESG Reporting
Management and Environmental Accounting

Spring Trimester
Financial Risk Management
Accounting for Performance and Control
Accounting and Business Analytics
Law and Governance

Summer Trimester
Option modules include:
Advanced Financial Reporting
Auditing and Assurance
Taxation
Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning in Accounting
Financial Data Technology
Sustainability Reporting and Analysis

Please be advised that the above reflects the 2023/2024 curriculum structure and is subject to change each year. Modules have been revised and updated from 2022/2023 to respond to student needs and further details on each module will be available in due course.

Please review the entry requirements below. The UCD Smurfit Admissions Office staff have expertise in reviewing international qualifications from around the world and will be able to assess your application's comparability to the Irish entry requirement.

An honours bachelor business degree with a minimum 2.1 award at NFQ Level 8 (or international equivalent) AND have demonstrated strong academic ability (a 1.1 or 2.1) in their accounting and finance modules at undergraduate level.

Exceptional applicants with strong academic results (a 1.1 or high 2.1) in a degree (NFQ Level 8 or international equivalent) in Engineering, Mathematics, Science, Economics, or another quantitative discipline may be considered.

Note: Candidates may be asked to sit the Graduate Management Admissions Test (GMAT) subject to individual application.

Step 1: Collating Documentation
The first step is to collate the required documentation needed to assess your application. Please ensure that you have clearly scanned, titled and collated your documents in numerical order.

These can include but are not limited to:

TRANSCRIPTS AND ORIGINAL DOCUMENTS
CV
ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEST
REFERENCES
ADDITIONAL DOCUMENTATION

Step 2: The Application Process
Once you have collated the required documentation and reviewed the entry requirements for your programme of interest, you can now apply online.

You must apply online using our dedicated student information portal. You will be required to enter contact details, upload your documents and answer two essay questions (each approximately 300 words). We would ask that you seriously consider both essays and answer these in the context of the programme you are applying to. Try to not replicate your CV and demonstrate what makes you different from other applicants. There are no right or wrong ways to complete these essays.

Application Deadlines:
Applications are assessed on a rolling basis and courses will close once they are filled. We advise you to apply as early as possible to avoid disappointment. Please note certain scholarships may require you to apply before a certain date – please refer to our scholarship page here. If you have any questions in relation to deadlines or availability please email smurfit.admissions@ucd.ie.

You will then be asked to submit your application and pay the €50 application fee. No application can be assessed until the fee has been paid. You can apply for multiple programmes with the one application fee, but please be sure to mark your preferred course.

*Please ensure that you have clearly scanned, titled and collated your documents in numerical order

Once submitted, it usually takes 2-3 weeks before a decision is made on fully completed applications. This time period can sometimes be longer and can vary at different times in the year and in different regions. We may offer you a conditional place based on the completion of a number of criteria, such as degree, English test, or another qualification. This reserves you a place on the course and once you have fulfilled this criteria we will issue you a full offer.

*Please ensure that you have clearly scanned, titled and collated your documents in numerical order

Acceptance is completed by paying a non-refundable deposit (varies from either €500 or €1000 depending on the programme. Most of our programmes require a €500 deposit). Your offer email will detail the exact deposit amount required. Once you have accepted you will then be supported by the Programme Office who will contact you with further course and start details.

12 months full-time.

Full-Time EU:
€14,460 (academic year 2020/2021)

Full-Time Non-EU:
€19,900 (academic year 2020/2021)

Important Note: Tuition fees and other charges are subject to change each year.

Start date: September 2024

Career Opportunities
The programme positions its graduates to compete for careers in the finance teams of leading global companies and equips students for employment in these key areas:

(1) Finance Teams
Large Irish and multinational companies have many opportunities in their finance teams. Students who have completed a UCD Smurfit Graduate Business School degree are considered by many employers to have developed their accounting and financial management knowledge and skills to a level that means they can make an immediate contribution. The analytics, sustainability and technology expertise that can be developed on the programme gives graduates a significant advantage with organisations that need those skills combined with accounting and finance skills.

(2) Accounting Practice
Many roles are open in accounting practice to graduates of this programme. Leading accounting services firms will recognise the knowledge and skills developed in this programme, especially the analytics, AI and sustainability skills.

(3) Funds Accounting/Administration
There are many opportunities in the Dublin International Financial Services Centre (IFSC) for graduates of this programme in fund administration and accounting roles.

93% of our graduates from this programme were employed after 6 months across a range of industry sectors. (Source: Latest Graduate Outcomes Survey, published in December 2022.) Many of the graduates go on to join the accounting profession as professionally qualified accountants due to the exemptions available.*

* Subject to module choice and approval from awarding professional bodies. More information will be available in summer 2024.

Note: This programme is designed to prepare students for a career in professional accountancy or financial services. Applicants should note that it is not a suitable preparatory programme for PhD studies.