Program Overview

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Key information

Duration

1-year (Max. 3-years)

Start of programme

October / January / April / June

Attendance mode

Online learning (part-time)

Location

Online

Fees

£7,280

Course code

OLTF0043

Entry requirements

A recognised UK Bachelor's degree, or international equivalent, in finance, economics, or another appropriate discipline. Qualifications in other subjects will be assessed on their merits. Your application may be considered if you have previous education and experience, equivalent to a degree-level qualification, which includes suitable preliminary training. All international applicants must be able to show that their English is of a high enough standard to successfully engage with and complete their course at SOAS.

Course overview

International businesses have a growing need for senior personnel with high quality management skills and specialist regional knowledge.

As the regions of Asia and of Africa take roles as leading and emerging economies in the world, this Postgraduate Diploma in International Business Administration responds to this need. Students will study the interplay between global and local factors that influence management decisions in business.

Why study PGDip International Business Administration at SOAS?

• SOAS is ranked 38th in the UK for Accounting and Finance (Complete University Guide 2023)
• We're ranked 6th in UK for graduate employability (QS World University Rankings 2023)
• Develop an excellent understanding of the key issues shaping international business strategy in a global financial environment
• We offer specialist knowledge of financial and management systems in the emerging markets of Africa, Asia and the Middle East

Structure

You will study four modules: two core modules and two elective modules selected from the list below.

Core modules

International Business Strategy - 30 credits

Welcome to the module International Business Strategy. In a rapidly changing world, companies that operate across national boundaries are increasingly the norm – domestic businesses serving local markets tend to be smaller, less innovative, less profitable, than those that roam the world searching for favourable opportunities. On the other hand, there are bigger hazards in unfamiliar territories, and intelligence is required to assess markets, capital requirements, financing methods, risk, marketing techniques, and organisational forms, to enable the opportunities to be seized.

This module aims to provide frameworks, techniques and examples to help you participate successfully in the exciting and risky world of international business.

Learning outcomes

When you have completed your study of this module, you will be able to:

• analyse the principles underlying decisions to invest in countries other than the home base
• discuss the basics of business strategies of cost advantage and differentiation
• explain the analysis behind decisions about where to locate production operations
• explain some of the reasons why marketing and pricing strategies can succeed and fail according to the conditions in different countries
• identify the variety of structural arrangements available to the international business
• analyse the options for dealing with currency risk in an international project or business
• analyse the elements that make a location suitable for investment projects
• list and define the types of political risk involved in establishing a business in another country.

Managing the Transnational Corporation - 30 credits

Welcome to the module Managing the Transnational Corporation. This module is about exploring the management of transnational corporations (TNCs). In doing so, the module considers the transnational as a distinct social, cultural and strategic entity. This is important since TNCs have a global focus which involves engaging with actors from (often) very different cultural backgrounds, and yet these corporations inherently seek to retain (and sometimes impose) their own distinct corporate identities and determine their own strategic orientation. This apparent contradiction can often create tensions, particularly with regard to negotiating with nation states and sub-national authorities over new investments, subsidies and determining tax liabilities or with trade unions over wages, working conditions and/or human resource practices. On the other hand, engaging with diverse actors and cultures may unlock new opportunities for TNCs, particularly if they can successfully exploit the variety of capabilities across their foreign affiliates. If these capabilities can be successfully harnessed within the TNC’s strategic goals, then this might enhance the TNCs prospects for growth and development.

This module explores these issues through a variety of perspectives from different strands of literature. This allows us to capture the essence of the transnational corporation, but at the same time appreciate the differences in the nature of management practice across the globe. For instance, there are often noted (and sometimes subtle) differences in the management styles and strategies of Western and Asian TNCs. Such differences can raise tensions, particularly in the case of international joint ventures. A salient issue is the extent to which management practices have converged towards a global norm.

Learning outcomes

When you have completed your study of this module, you will be able to:

• understand TNCs as distinct social, cultural, technological, economic and strategic entities relevant to the emerging global economy
• explain the nature of international production, and evaluate critically the main theoretical approaches that explain why firms have become transnational
• evaluate the various organisational alternatives that exist for transnational corporations and assess their effect on coordination and control, the potential for innovation, international human resource practices, and culture
• demonstrate an in-depth knowledge of a range of relevant case studies and explain their implications for both theory and practice
• compare and contrast various processes of control and coordination across TNCs, and explain why they vary, especially in response to new opportunities and challenges, and the leverage abilities of TNCs in relation to nation states, suppliers and labour
• assess critically the extent to which ‘culture’ is a distinguishing feature of TNCs generally, and when comparing nationally and regionally headquartered TNCs to each other.

Elective modules

Banking Strategy - 30 credits

Welcome to the Banking Strategy module. The world of banking has changed considerably in recent years, particularly since the crisis of 2007–09. This module aims to give you a good understanding of the characteristics of the financial system and the role of intermediation, as well as the implications of recent structural changes for bank management and external corporate control. You will learn about banks’ sources of funding and how the environment after the 2007–09 crisis transformed their funding choices.

The module also aims to provide an analysis of the factors that can contribute to success or failure in the execution of banks’ mergers and acquisitions (M&A) transactions, and the cultural challenges that may be crucial to the success of an M&A deal involving banks. We hope that your study of the module will enable you to evaluate the business strategy and implementation failings that have given rise to bank failure and to assess the benefits and costs from regulation of the financial services industry, and the net regulatory burden faced by the banking industry.

Learning outcomes

When you have completed your study of this course, you will be able to:

• analyse the particular risks banks are exposed to as a direct result of the intermediation process
• assess the degree to which a bank's strategy may lead to an optimal level of risk, for the bank and for the financial system as a whole
• describe the financial intermediation linkages in a financial system
• analyse patterns of structural change and strategic positioning over cycles of globalisation, deregulation and consolidation
• describe the sources of funding for banks and discuss how they affect banks' profitability and risk
• explain the sources of risk facing banks
• discuss the changing nature of risks facing banks in emerging economies
• explain the causes of the global financial crisis of 2007–09, identifying the features that were unique to this crisis, and those that are common to other crises
• analyse the business models which made some banks especially vulnerable in that crisis
• consider the strategic implications for banks of the regulatory environment.

Corporate Finance - 30 credits

In this module you will study the main issues in modern corporate finance. The subject ‘corporate finance’ is a well-established discipline, which is concerned with corporations large enough to have issued shares that are ‘quoted’ on a stock market. We must, though, first clarify what we mean by the issues, for the issues that are important to one person may be viewed as less important by others.

Learning outcomes

When you have completed your study of this module you will be able to:

• describe modern principles of corporate finance and evaluate their validity
• rationalise corporate finance decisions in the light of agency problems and conflict of interest among corporations' stakeholders
• analyse firms' investment decisions
• discuss firms' choice of capital structure and its implications for the value of the firm
• examine and discuss the key issues related to dividend policy and their implications for the value of the firm
• critically assess the reasons behind mergers and acquisitions and their welfare implications.

Corporate Governance - 30 credits

This module, Corporate Governance , is specially designed for the postgraduate study of such areas as management, finance, financial law, corporate law, economics and related subjects. The module is designed to increase the depth of your understanding of corporate governance issues. As corporate governance is a multi-disciplinary subject – covering such topics as law, politics, management, finance, and economics – you will find that the module will add to previous study of any of these disciplines. A previous knowledge of corporate governance is not required.

Upon successful completion of this module, it is hoped that students with a variety of backgrounds will understand the key elements of corporate governance and its importance to the international economy. In order to achieve this, a strong emphasis is placed on the relationship between theoretical concepts and real world issues. It is therefore hoped that the module can make a real contribution to your in-depth understanding of the relevant corporate governance issues.

Learning outcomes

When you have completed your study of this module you will be able to:

• outline and discuss the key legal, political and economic features of the major corporate governance systems found around the world
• analyse how corporate governance systems influence performance, including both the performance of individual firms and the allocation of capital within a country
• discuss the evolution of diverse ownership and governance structures across different economies
• evaluate theories of the firm, and explain how they are relevant to the diverse range of ownership structures that exist in reality
• address such practical questions, as how should the board of directors and executive teams be composed; how should executives and board of directors be remunerated given the legal, political and economic framework in the country; how do CEOs decide about the mix of debt and equity finance and how does the mix affect their discretion and control over cash flow?
• explain why the quality of corporate governance is relevant to capital formation
• describe why systematic failure of corporate governance can lead to failure of confidence that could spread from individual firms to entire markets or economies
• discuss the role of corporate governance codes and evaluate their usefulness in achieving better corporate governance practices.

Finance in the Global Market - 30 credits

The starting point for understanding any financial market is that, on a large scale, firms and governments have to turn to institutions (such as banks) and markets (such as bond markets) to finance their core operations. Even if a government or firm currently has no need to borrow or obtain new capital funds, it operates on financial markets to manage its old financial liabilities (such as its outstanding bonds which are traded on markets) or to invest currently surplus funds. At the same time, banks and other financial institutions essentially operate on financial markets as their main business activity.

The fundamental fact underlying this module is that such large players’ financial operations take place on financial markets that are international in character. That is especially true now that, since the 1970s, economies have experienced a fast pace of . For centuries firms’ and governments’ financial operations have generally involved an international dimension, but modern globalisation has been accompanied by changes in both its and its .

You will study a variety of theories throughout the module, which seek to explain the ways in which finance is handled internationally. One question we want you to keep in mind throughout your study of is: ‘Is the theory true?’ Whatever your answer, your next step should be to consider the related, but different question ‘Is the theory useful?’

Learning outcomes

When you have completed your study of this module you will be able to:

• explain the nature of an exchange rate regime, and assess the future evolution of such regimes
• identify and discuss drivers of the growth of the global foreign exchange market
• explain the nature of exchange rate quotations
• discuss the foreign exchange market microstructure
• interpret balance of payments accounts
• use purchasing power parity measures of gross domestic product (GDP)
• explain the law of one price
• assess the uses of absolute purchasing power parity and relative purchasing power parity
• explain how firms can use currency derivatives to manage risks through hedging
• discuss what determines whether firms do use currency derivatives for hedging
• discuss models and empirical evidence on the difference between the beta coefficient of multinational enterprises as compared with domestic firms
• outline evidence on the connection between agency costs and the capital structure of multinational enterprises
• explain the main features of 'third generation' models of currency crises
• discuss the effects of regulatory regimes on firms' choice of stock exchange for their foreign listings
• explain the differences and relative merits of project finance compared to corporate finance as methods of raising international finance
• compare them with the main features of first and second generation models

Financial Reporting - 30 credits

Welcome to the Financial Reporting module. Accounting is a vital yet complex task for any organisation. Businesses and public organisations need to keep accurate records of their income and spending. This information is needed both for internal decision-making and to demonstrate accountability to their stakeholders. This module is designed to give students sufficient knowledge of financial reporting practices, in both the private and public sectors, to use the information produced and to contribute to debates on the development of reporting policy. The module concentrates on financial reporting using the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) and International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS). These standards have now been adopted in many countries; other countries are in the process of adoption or have implemented similar systems.

Learning outcomes

When you have completed your study of this module, you will be able to:

• discuss the international conceptual frameworks for financial reporting in the public and private sectors
• discuss the development and global adoption of the International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS) and the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS)
• explain and contrast the differences in external reporting on a cash and accruals basis
• discuss the accounting treatment for specific assets and liabilities in accordance with IPSAS and IFRS
• discuss the process of consolidating financial statements and identify relevant accounting standards
• discuss the application of governance principles and compare with national governance guidance.

Introduction to Valuation - 30 credits

This module introduces concepts and tools for valuing companies in a consistent manner. You should find it useful as a starting point and guide for analysing the performance of companies and industries of your interest, and for interpreting and assessing valuations.

The module should be useful for practitioners working in various market environments – from developed countries to emerging markets, from services to manufacturing industries, and from the viewpoints of managers to the desks of stock analysts.

Learning outcomes

When you have completed this module and its readings, you will be able to do the following:

• discuss the importance of value to the performance of companies and economies, and differentiate between activities that create value and those that do not
• explain how to calculate the Return On Invested Capital (ROIC), why a high ROIC can be sustained by a competitive advantage, and the role of pricing advantages and cost advantages in value creation
• provide a proper assessment and organisation of financial statements
• analyse ROIC and revenue growth and assess the financial health of a company with respect to its ability to take on short-term and long-term projects
• denote the properties of WACC, how to estimate it, and alternative ways to calculate its components, and its limitations
• provide a verification of valuation results and sensitivity analysis which helps confirm the value drivers of a company under a broad set of conditions
• identify the economic fundamentals of value – the return on invested capital and expected revenue growth
• explain what is meant by behavioural finance, distinguish between informed investors and noise traders and discuss the main managerial implications of market efficiency.

Risk Management: Principles and Applications - 30 credits

Welcome to this module on Risk Management: Principles and Applications. This module has four main aims, to:

• illustrate the main types of risk
• present the most important ideas and methods used in the analysis of portfolios of financial securities, including stocks and bonds
• explain how rational investors can use financial derivatives (mainly, futures and options) in order to alter the risk of their investment position
• illustrate some more specialised risk management techniques, such as Value at Risk and Credit Risk.

The emphasis throughout is on the general principles behind the investment decisions, rather than on case studies or anecdotal evidence. Thus, you will study, for instance,

• the main features of portfolios, which include stocks and bonds,
• how to calculate their risk, and
• how investors can combine their holdings of different securities to reduce their overall risk without sacrificing return.

Similarly, when you deal with futures and options, you will explore how these instruments can be used to manage risk and to expand the opportunity set of investors.

Learning outcomes

When you have completed this module, you will be able to:

• outline the most important strategies of risk management
• explain how stocks and bonds can contribute to the risk and return of a financial portfolio
• discuss the key principles of diversification of financial investment
• correctly measure the risk of financial portfolios
• explain the risk profile involved in financial derivatives, such as futures and options
• discuss the importance of Value at Risk and scenario analysis
• define and use the principles of credit risk analysis

Teaching and learning

The programme takes a minimum of 1-year to complete. Each module lasts 10 weeks. You are registered for a maximum of 3 years.

Key dates and calendar

To find out when a particular module is running, please view the study calendar on each individual module page.

• See our online learning key dates.

Fees and funding

Tuition fees 2022/23

PG Dip (4 modules)
£7,280

Fees are inclusive of all required resources. Whilst we incorporate all of the costs into your module fees, depending on your country of residence, you may incur local costs such as: fees paid to local examination centres for sitting your examinations.

Fees may increase each year, therefore may be higher in subsequent years of study. See online learning fees for further information.

Pay as you learn

Our online learning programmes can be paid in full at the time of enrolment (thus avoiding any subsequent rise in fees).or on a pay-as-you-learn basis. Pay as you learn means you only pay for the module you are enrolling on.

Employment

As a graduate of this programme, you will be well prepared for a senior position in corporations, banks, financial services companies, business consultancies, regulatory authorities and international organisations.

• Find out about our Careers Service.