Forensic Accounting

Program Overview

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Forensic Accounting MSc

Key information

Accreditation:

This course is Accredited by the Chartered Institution of Management Accountants (CIMA) and the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE).

Course information

Overview

Explore financial crime investigations and work with business legal teams on this forensic accounting Master’s. Prepare for your career as a forensic accountant, or in internal auditing or compliance, whether you’ve studied accounting in the past or not.

Develop your knowledge and critical analysis skills as you investigate where things have gone wrong in business.

You’ll study financial crime, law and fraud as you focus on business crime prevention and prepare for case discussions with lawyers. You'll apply your learning in topical case studies and develop your understanding of what to look for in financial accounts in industry.

To start, you'll explore topics including data modelling, accountancy basics and valuations. You’ll then discover forensic investigation and fraud examination, as well as corporate governance and ethics, and learn to be an expert witness in our replica courtroom.

By learning from experienced lecturers and industry guest speakers you’ll gain a better understanding of the industry as a whole, and have opportunities to network with guests and fellow accountancy students from across the department.

You'll graduate ready for your forensic accounting or compliance career. To get the most out of this course you should be analytical and curious, and keen to specialise in forensic accounting.

Eligibility

This course accepts UK, EU, and international students.

Course highlights

• Discover forensic accounting, law and policy
• Use real-world case studies
• Apply your learning in practical assessments in our replica court room
• Learn how to prevent financial crime
• Prepare to support businesses in industry
• Network with and learn from industry guest speakers
• Use materials from the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners
• Benefit from our partnerships with various accounting and audit partners and our work with the Financial Reporting Council

Accreditation

The Chartered Institution of Management Accountants (CIMA) and the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE) accredit this course.

Entry requirements

Eligibility

This course accepts UK, EU, and international students.

UK qualifications

• A second-class honours degree in a relevant subject or equivalent qualification and/or equivalent professional experience.

Non-UK qualifications

If you're applying as an international student with a non-UK degree, view the equivalent entry requirements we accept for your country.

English language requirements

• English language proficiency at a minimum of IELTS band 6.5 (or equivalent) with no component score below 6.0.

Course costs and funding

Tuition fees (September 2025 / January 2026 start)

• UK, Channel Islands, and Isle of Man students: £12,600 (full-time), £4,200 per year (part-time)
• EU students: £12,600 (full-time), £4,200 per year (part-time)
• International students: £19,200 (full-time), £6,400 per year (part-time)

Modules

Full-time

• Aef Research Methods and Dissertation (45 credits)
• Database Design and Implementation (15 credits)
• Expert Witnessing and Dispute Resolution (15 credits)
• Financial Analysis (15 credits)
• Fraud Examination and Forensic Investigations (15 credits)
• Statistics and Data Modelling I (15 credits)
• Corporate Governance and Ethics (15 credits)
• Data Analysis and Visualisation (15 credits)
• Financial Crime and the Law (15 credits)
• Valuations and the Expert Report (15 credits)

Part-time

• Year 1: Financial Analysis (15 credits), Fraud Examination and Forensic Investigations (15 credits), Statistics and Data Modelling I (15 credits), Corporate Governance and Ethics (15 credits), Financial Crime and the Law (15 credits)
• Year 2: Database Design and Implementation (15 credits), Expert Witnessing and Dispute Resolution (15 credits), Data Analysis and Visualisation (15 credits), Valuations and the Expert Report (15 credits), Aef Research Methods and Dissertation (45 credits)

Distance learning — full-time or part-time

• Msc Forensic Accounting Dissertation (Dl) (45 credits)
• Database Design and Implementation (Dl) (15 credits)
• Expert Witnessing and Dispute Resolution (Dl) (15 credits)
• Financial Analysis (Dl) (15 credits)
• Fraud Examination and Forensic Investigations (Dl) (15 credits)
• Statistics and Data Modelling I (Dl) (15 credits)
• Corporate Governance and Ethics (Dl) (15 credits)
• Data Analysis and Visualisation (Dl) (15 credits)
• Financial Crime and the Law (Dl) (15 credits)
• Valuations and the Expert Report (Dl) (15 credits)

Facilities

Bloomberg Suite

Access data from the world's global financial markets and gain experience using industry standard software.

Replica courtroom

Explore how laws and policies operate in practice and build the skills you'll need to present and attend cases in our realistic copy of a Crown Court.

Business analytics software

Use industry standard business analytics software such as Microsoft BI, Python, and Tableau.

How you'll spend your time

Course structure

You will study the same modules on this course if you study full-time or part-time, and whether you study on campus or through distance learning.

Assessment

You'll be assessed through:

• Cross examinations (law court)
• Presentations
• Assignments

Career development

Careers this Master’s prepares you for

This Master’s degree will help you to specialise in forensic accounting and build on your business or accountancy studies at undergraduate level.

You'll benefit from CIMA exam exemptions after you graduate. This means you'll have fewer exams to sit to become an accredited forensic accountant.

Graduates of this course have gone onto areas such as:

• Forensic accounting
• Business accounting
• Compliance
• Internal auditing

Supporting you

Personal tutor

Your personal tutor helps you make the transition to independent study and gives you academic and personal support throughout your time at university.

Student engagement officers

In addition to the support you get from your personal tutor, you'll also have access to our student engagement officers. They can give you confidential, impartial advice on anything to do with your studies and personal wellbeing, and refer you to specialist support services if you need extra help or support.

Maths and statistics support

The Maths Cafe offers free advice and help with maths skills in a friendly, informal environment.

Business study support tutors

You'll have help from a team of study support tutors. Based within the Faculty of Business and Law, these tutors are familiar with the specific requirements your assignments and work closely with faculty academics.