MBA - Master in Accounting and Finance / Presentation
Introduction
The MBA in Accounting and Finance has been designed by the International Telematic University Uninettuno in order to provide the necessary knowledge and expertise to senior managers and leaders of the accounting sector. The emphasis is on accounting and financial management in an international and local setting and the program draws on an emerging body of knowledge and evidence to allow comparisons across different countries and systems.
The contemporary global environment envisages a restructured financial sector taking the lead in maintaining and improving accounting services. This policy agenda emphasizes strongly the need for good leadership, and within that requires the development of a vision and of practices in financial management, appropriate for the organisation of financial services for the 21st century. The MBA is developed in order to assist the achievement of that aim. It builds on the research and teaching strengths so as to ensure that graduates will be able to administer accounting and finance services on the basis of a sound understanding of theories and practices of management.
This course focuses on the provision of a multidisciplinary, critically analytical and practice based approach to the main challenges and issues in financial management, planning and policy, which face the providers of accounting and accounting-related services. The program is suitable for all accounting professionals, planners, senior and mid – level managers working in or having responsibility for the financial management of organizations and of public or private enterprises.
The MBA Program lasts one and a half academic year corresponding to 90 ECTS credits structured in videolessons, seminars, exercises, conferences, tutoring activities, research activities and training periods.
The Master’s course includes seven modules and a research dissertation:
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Module 1 – Audit and Assurance
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Module 2 – Globalisation and Economic Policy
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Module 3 – Advanced Web Technologies
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Module 4 – Financial Statement Analysis
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Module 5 – Strategic Cost Management
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Module 6 – Elective Module / Other Activities
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Module 7 – Research Methods
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Module 8 – Dissertation
In order to get the Master’s title, that will be issued by the International Telematic University UNINETTUNO, the student has to prepare a final thesis on a topic agreed with the Master’s course Scientific Committee.
Aims & Objectives:
Aims:
This course is designed for accounting professionals or graduates with or without relevant management experience who expect to move into senior and top management roles in the financial sector. The program is set primarily within the context of the public and private accounting services, but it is also relevant for managers of NGOs, and international organizations and of private organizations. It is expected that students will be able to draw on their own knowledge of financial management in class work and assignments, and applicants without any relevant experience will normally be expected to gain such experience before starting the program.
The course aims to develop the ability to think analytically and to handle the management and development issues faced by senior and mid- level accounting managers. These include structure and organisation, planning and managing resources, reviewing and evaluating services and understanding the local / national and international context of the financial sector.
Objectives:
In order to achieve the goals of the program, the following objectives were developed:
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To provide graduates with a sound understanding of complex accounting systems across the world
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To develop sector-specific management knowledge together with the technical and managerial skills to successfully pursue a career in the accounting and finance sector
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To support the development of the next generation of senior managers and leaders in the accounting and finance sector
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To support the development of a skill set to manage entrepreneurship, innovation and change
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To enable students to acquire critical appraisal skills for evidence based decision-making
At the end of this program students should be able to:
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Demonstrate knowledge and understanding in the field of accounting and financemanagement, planning and policy-making with particular reference to governmental & private sectors;
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Identify, describe and critically analyse the major issues in management, planning and policy in the accounting and financesector;
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Identify and explain the context, challenges and opportunities involved in the formulation and implementation of financial policy;
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Review types of policies, situations and issues in the field of accounting and financemanagement, planning and policy-making;
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Apply knowledge and skills in selected areas of financial management, planning and policy to local circumstances;
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Conform to accepted modes of professional behavior and work in a team in an appropriate role; build upon the concepts and methodologies developed during the program through completion of a dissertation;
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Evaluate economic activities whose primary purpose is to promote, restore or maintain accounting services;
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Describe the role and apply selected techniques of economics for financial planning
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Develop and use a methodology for managing and planning for a decentralised accounting and financesystem;
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Describe and use concepts of organisation and structure, methods of planning and managing resources, and systems for reviewing and evaluating services;
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Analyse and develop accounting service policies in the relevant local and national context;
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Undertake comparative study of national and international financial policy and management issues;
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Demonstrate an understanding of the principles of good governance and professional ethics;
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Communicate effectively, work in groups, set priorities and manage workload effectively;
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Develop their capacity for independent learning and continuing professional development;
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Describe and critically analyse contemporary issues of accounting sector reforms and their relevance to financial resources development;
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Analyse contemporary approaches to financial resources management and develop a strategic approach to development for the accounting sector;
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Construct a human resources development framework including the planning, training and management functions in accounting;
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Conduct primary and secondary research in order to understand and develop evidence-based practice;
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Critically evaluate different training strategies and organise a training strategy for accounting personnel in a decentralised organisational structure;
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Describe and critique concepts of project appraisal, and design a framework for monitoring and evaluating a project or program;
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Describe and critique current concepts, models and theories of quality assurance;
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Construct a quality management policy for financial institutions;
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Demonstrate an understanding of theories and practices of public sector organizations and their management and leadership;
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Demonstrate an understanding of theories and practices which underpin effective, efficient and equitable financial policies and practices;
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Understand the role of management and leadership roles in accounting and finance;
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Possess conceptual understanding of management and leadership thinking that enables students to reflect on and evaluate critically both current research and its application to the practice of leadership in accounting and finance;
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Improve the understanding of management and leadership at workplace by research-informed teaching into practice;
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Introduce students to the main scientific disciplines that contribute to modern accounting and financial services.
Program of Study
The MBA Program has a duration that corresponds to 90 ECTS according to the ECTS cycle study system of intensive full time study (180 UK credit equivalence).
To earn 1 ECTS academic credit, according to the rules currently in effect a student must carry out 25 hours of activity. These are structured in videolessons, assignments, videoconferences, didactic and research activities in a combination of synchronous and asynchronous distant learning educational methodology. The Master is composed of 6 academic core module units and a Research Dissertation.
The academic title that is awarded in accordance with the higher education legislation in Italy is Master Universitario. For more details about the Program of Study please visit the following link: Educational offer
Internship and Erasmus Mundus Opportunities
Students could also make use of the Erasmus Mundus mobility program, which is coordinated by the International Mobility Office of the International Telematic University UNINETTUNO. The Office is responsible for promoting students and teaching staff mobility exchanges with other Universities, both in Europe and non-European countries. The Office coordinates local Erasmus activities and the Erasmus Mundus projects in which the University is involved.
Languages of Instruction
In the International Telematic University UNINETTUNO student can attend its Programs in one the languages that these are offered. The official languages of the Programs of the University are:
Italian, English, French, Arabic, Polish and Greek.
The MBA in Accounting and Finance is offered in the English and in the Greek language. In the near future, Russian and Chinese will be added as official languages in the International Telematic University UNINETTUNO.
Didactic Organization
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CORE MODULES *
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Insegnamento |
Docente |
Module 1
Globalisation and Economic Policy |
9 ECTS |
Module 2
Audit and Assurance |
12 ECTS |
Module 3
Financial Statement Analysis |
12 ECTS |
Module 4
Advanced Web Technologies |
12 ECTS |
Module 5
Strategic Cost Management |
12 ECTS |
Module 6
Other Activities / Elective Module (computer skills, internships, additional languages etc.) |
3 ECTS |
Module 7
Research Methods |
12 ECTS |
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DISSERTATION
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Module 8
Dissertation |
18 ECTS |
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In order to get the Master’s title, that will be awarded by the International Telematic University UNINETTUNO, the student has to prepare a final 15.000 words dissertation thesis on a topic agreed with the Master’s course Scientific Committee
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Additional Variations and Expansions
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*EACH OF THE SEVEN MODULES ARE ALSO OFFERED AS AN INDEPENDENT PROFESSIONAL PROGRAM AT CERTIFICATE LEVEL AWARDING ECTS.
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Academic Faculty
The MBA in Accounting and Finance is part of the Academic Programs of the Faculty of Economics. The Faculty has Undergraduate and Postgraduate Programs whereas qualified students can also study for a PhD / Doctorate and conduct Post Doctorate Research.
Didactics
Didactic activity takes place through the Internet, in the relevant section of the portal: www.uninettunouniversity.net, the first portal in the world where teaching is delivered in six languages: Italian, English, French, Arabic, Polish and Greek. The adopted psycho-pedagogic model implements the shift:
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from the central role of the teacher to that of the student;
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from the transmission of knowledge to the building of knowledge;
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from passive and competitive learning to active and collaborative learning.
The students play an active role in their learning progress and can study whenever and wherever they wish to. In the course of their learning, the students are guided by an online tutoring system, which is able to facilitate their learning and web-based communication process and to supply them with the tools to carry out their study of their particular subject successfully.
The online tutoring is organized into classes of students, with an advanced agenda system that is able to recognize each individual and to obtain the tracking of didactic activities and the quantitative and qualitative evaluation of the learning process of each single student.
Methodology
The didactic activity on the Internet unfold within the WEB macro-area known as the Didactic Cyberspace. In the Didactic Cyberspace the learning and developmental process is implemented and the access are differentiated through login and passwords on the basis of the three different roles of those who participate in the learning process: Professors, Tutors and Students. The three categories of those who utilize the service can access information linked to each teaching subject.
In particular, the Professor and Tutor can modify or substitute didactic materials and add new ones for the duration of the teaching period, while the student has his or her own area where data, information and personal notes can be inserted. The student can access:
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the Page of the Appointed Teaching Professor
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the Tutor Page.
Within these pages the Learning Environments are inserted and it is possible to access:
They constitute the course contents: digitized video-lessons with bookmarks allow the hypertextual and multimedia link to books, selected bibliographical references, texts of the exercises, lists of selected websites. The system of dynamic bookmarks gives the Internet-based video-lessons a hyper-textual character allowing different levels of navigation: from one lesson to the other one, between the subjects of a single lesson, between the materials referring to the same subject.
The students enrolled in the Master’s course will be able to be followed during every step of their study path by the Telematic Professor-Tutor, who represents a guide as well as a constant presence during your Learning Process. The long distance Tutoring activities can be carried out in two ways:
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in a synchronic manner, by using the chat rooms, the videochat rooms, video and audio-conference systems activated in the Didactic Cyberspace, but also the three-dimensional classroom created on the UTIU Island of knowledge on Second Life.
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in a diachronic manner, through tools such as e mail and discussion forums on the Internet. The discussion forums, related to the topics of a given teaching subject, allow you to extend the dialogue and activate a collaborative learning and to organize your thoughts regarding the discussion topic and study activity that you are engaged in.
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The virtual classroom in UNINETTUNO Island of Knowledge on Second Life
In UNINETTUNO (International Telematic University) Island of Knowledge we realized a 3D Auditorium devoted to the Master’s course. This is where the students’ avatar and professors/tutors’ avatars interact in the three-dimensional world of UNINETTUNO by them voice. Practice works, assessment tests and videoconferences with the protagonists of the European Union attending through their avatars are carried out, as well as direct practice activities guided by the professors/tutors’ avatars. In the virtual classroom of Second Life on the UNINETTUNO Island of Knowledge the students and the professors/tutors teach and learn in a collaborative and cooperative way, they build and share knowledge with people belonging to different political, cultural and religious realities, they dialogue, cultural differences are compared, socialization processes are activated as well as the creation of new knowledge.
Assessment
For the completion of the Program successful evaluation of all the Academic Modules is required as well as in the final Dissertation. More specifically, students are assessed as follows:
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for each Academic Module:
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written assignment or assignments are required, that are marked by the module coordinator professor. Written assignments are submitted electronically, via the personal special portal that each individual student has, on a specific date (special instructions are given during the course by the Professors, whereas overdue assignments are not accepted by the electronic system. In the case that students want to apply for an extension they have to submit a special request and justification well before the due date).
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oral or written vis-à-vis / face-to-face examination which takes place in the premises of the University in Rome, or in a venue abroad arranged for the occasion by the University, or in one of the University Technological Poles abroad, or in the premises of Italian Embassies. The assessment of the assignments and of the written exams and the organization of the exams is conducted exclusively by the Academic and Administrative staff of the University. In the following link there is a list of the University Technological Poles abroad: Technological Poles in the world
In the case of unsuccessful evaluation the student has the right to repeat the examination.
Students cannot proceed to the last stage of their studies, the drafting of their Dissertation Thesis, if previously they have not been successfully assessed in all the assignments and oral / written exams.
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for the Prova Finale / Dissertation Thesis:
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assessment of the Dissertation Thesis from the supervisors professors of the University.
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oral vis-à-vis / face-to-face viva examination of the Dissertation Thesis by the Committee of the University Professors that supervised and evaluated the dissertations and the Special Exam Commission. The Final Examination is conducted in English and takes place in Rome or in a venue abroad arranged for the occasion by the University, or in one of the University Technological Poles abroad, or in the premises of Italian Embassies, or via monitored teleconferencing. The Committee of the Professors and the Exam Commission apart from the evaluation of the oral dissertation examination / viva has the jurisdiction to ask questions for all the academic modules of the Program. After the Final Examination the Exam Commission ratifies the final grade of each student.
For the written assignments and the Dissertation students have to use the Harvard System for the referencing of their sources, whereas in the case of plagiarism they will be expelled from the Program.
Entry Requirements
The MBA in Accounting and Finance is aimed to prospective students that have a first degree or an equivalent recognized academic title. In addition, knowledge of the English language and Information Technology skills are required. Relevant professional experience is also desirable.
Credits awarded by previous studies could be transferred to the MBA Program subject to approval by the Program’s Scientific and Academic Committee.
The International Telematic University UNINETTUNO holds a strict equal opportunity policy towards all prospective students.
Procedures of Enrolment
The matriculation at the International Telematic University UNINETTUNO can be fulfilled only through our online procedure. It is necessary to have an e-mail account that will be asked for upon enrolment. In order to access the matriculation procedure it is necessary to act as follows:
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Enter the Administrative Secretariat
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Execute the new account registration through the system-guided procedure. At the end of the procedure a username and a password will be generated; these are to be used in the restricted area.
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Access the restricted area of the students' secretariat using the username and password generated by the enrolment procedure.
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Execute the online matriculation procedure entering the data that will be required. When all data are entered, you will be asked which payment mode you prefer. It is possible to pay the matriculation fee by online payment by credit card or by bank transfer.
Tuition Fees
The total amount of tuition fees for the MBA is € 4500,00 that is paid upon registration or in two installments directly to the University.
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The bank details to make the bank transfer are:
In favour of: Università Telematica Internazionale UNINETTUNO
Via del Corso, n. 226 00186 Roma
00186 Roma
IBAN: IT46 G030 6905 0201 0000 0070 068
BIC BCITITMM (only for bank transfers from abroad)
(Bank: IntesaSanPaolo SpA)
In the case of payment by bank transfer it is necessary to send the payment receipt to the following e-mail account: info@uninettunouniversity.net - or to the Fax number: +39 06 69207621.
UNINETTUNO will acknowledge the enrolment by sending an e-mail including the matriculation number, the USER ID and the Password to access the e-Learning platform. In case of problems with the matriculation procedure, do not hesitate to contact us: email: info@uninettunouniversity.net - at the toll-free number: 800 333 647 (within Italy), or at +39 06.69.20.761 (outside Italy).