OUBS Announces New MSC In International Finance And Management

The masters programme will provide in-depth studies of a range of financial issues in the international field and how those issues are best addressed. Its management component will give a comprehensive grounding in management issues relevant to the sector.

The programme starts with a one-year module which concentrates on management issues for company directors. The second stage looks at both strategy in general and financial strategy in particular.

The final year has two international modules – one on financial reporting to the international capital markets and the other on investment decisions. These provide a specialist knowledge base for senior financial managers in major companies.

Programme chair Prof Peter Walton said the launch of the course was timely, given the increasing moves to global use of International Financing Reporting Standards and globalisation of investment techniques.

He added: “The programme will be of particular interest to those who have specialist financial roles who are looking to advance as senior managers. To do so, they are likely to need a qualification of this kind to get beyond the glass ceiling they may encounter.

“This is a unique programme that offers a postgraduate qualification that people can study in their own time, without having to put their careers on hold. For a number of reasons, senior accountants may not want to take a year out to update their studies, so this new course is an ideal option for them.”

The three-year part-time programme will use the methods enjoyed by more than 30,000 Open University Business School students each year, taking MBAs and other management qualifications. The School offers a combination of distance learning resources that includes study materials, tutor contact and support, computer conferencing facilities and course websites. Like all OUBS courses, the unparalleled flexibility of the courses allows students to continue to work and allows them to transfer immediately the skills and knowledge they develop during their studies to their work.

Prof Walton added: “We are assuming the course’s students will have some years of practical experience in accounting or finance, on which they will be able to draw during their studies.”

Would-be students who are looking for more information are asked to call the university on +44 (0)1908 653231.

EDITOR’S NOTES
The Open University Business School (OUBS) is Europe’s leading business school and the major provider of management development programmes delivered by supported distance learning. It is one of an elite group of UK and European business schools to hold both the prestigious EQUIS quality kitemark, awarded by the European Foundation for Management Development (efmd), and AMBA (the Association of MBAs) accreditation for its MBA. The School is ranked fourth in the world for distance learning MBA programmes, according to rankings published by the Financial Times (March 2003). Currently the OUBS has 30,000 students based in the UK and more than 40 countries. Since its inception in 1983, more than 150,000 managers have studied an OUBS course at Certificate, Diploma or MBA level. The OUBS has also developed a significant research capability based in eight research units, and boasts one of the three largest Alumni Associations for MBA graduates outside the United States.

MEDIA CONTACT
Neil Coaten
Open University Media Relations

01908 652580
07901 515891
n.d.coaten@open.ac.uk