Financial Leadership

A course that makes business sense

• Prepare yourself for senior finance roles and equip yourself with a highly marketable combination of strategic finance and leadership skills
• Make a more substantial contribution to the commercial and operational areas of your organisation
• Develop your finance and leadership competencies so you become more noticeable as a manager who can lead with a financial perspective
• Take a flexible study route to a highly regarded masters qualification - with intensive blocks of study taking place over six weekends

Relevant to professionals working in the public and private sector alike, it is particularly valuable if you are:

• A qualified accountant and feel you’ve reached a ‘glass ceiling’. You’ll gain critical skills throughout the course which will set you apart from others.
• An aspiring or current senior finance/senior manager keen to progress your career to reach chief financial officer level or the equivalent. You may have extensive financial knowledge acquired through experience, but no professional accounting qualifications.

Senior finance managers are increasingly seen as key drivers for creating value, implementing and actively informing strategy. To be effective at this level it’s vital to understand the organisation’s vision and lead across different functions.­ This integration of competences is often missing at various levels of management and in many business sectors.

Our MSc Financial Leadership is distinctive because it focuses on a powerful combination of strategic finance and leadership skills. You’ll gain knowledge that extends beyond the core functions of finance and embraces a more holistic and strategic view of business. Ultimately, you will make a difference to the success of your organisation while accelerating your personal career progression.

With extensive use of real-life case studies, the course is delivered by leading academics, research experts and practising senior finance and leadership professionals. Their wealth of experience will encourage you to consider a variety of perspectives and will enrich your learning experience.

Derby Business School collaborates with CPA Australia, a professional accounting body which works closely with a number of employers worldwide, including many blue-chip UK based organisations. The CPA is well respected globally, focuses on providing development for strategic business leaders, and is expanding its reach within the UK.

The MSc Financial Leadership qualification is currently awaiting a decision from CPA Australia to confirm what exemptions can be achieved on the CPA professional programme.

You'll study subjects such as:

• Corporate Financial Strategy
• Leading and Managing the Finance Function
• Strategic Projects
• Financial Governance
• Personal Leadership
• Independent Study: Research Methods
• Independent Study: Dissertation

Please note that our modules are subject to change - we review the content of our courses regularly, making changes where necessary to improve your experience and graduate prospects.

The programme is designed to accommodate the needs of participants who have existing work commitments. It will be delivered over a series of six, three day weekends (Friday-Sunday), with an interval of approximately eight to ten weeks between each session.

You are assessed in a variety of ways including:

• presentations
• conference papers
• case study evaluation
• debating
• research based assessments
• report based assessments.

You will usually need to:

• be a manager with two to three years’ work experience in a finance or non-finance role, and/or
• may hold a 2.2 bachelors in any Accounting and Finance or Business related degree, and/or
• may be part or fully qualified/associates of a professional accounting body eg Part/fully qualified CPA Australia/ACCA/CIMA/CIPFA/​ICAEW/ICAS and ICS.

We welcome and encourage applications from people of all ages as long as they can be considered adequately prepared to be successful on the programme.

The programme is designed to provide you with the academic and practical skills to; progress your career to a senior finance manager role and through the combination of finance and leadership competencies developed within the programme, become more noticeable as a manager who can lead with a financial perspective.

On successful graduation you will be better qualified to apply for more senior roles within your current organisation or others. 

The masters will enable you to be more marketable and noticeable in the workplace. In particular the personal development and mentoring elements of the programme will be very useful when you are making future career decisions. You will be much more self-aware of your personal skill set and this will enable you to take a more strategic overview of your personal career development.

Contact us

If you need any more information from us, eg on courses, accommodation, applying, car parking, fees or funding, please contact us and we will do everything we can to help you.

† Additional information about your studies

January start subject to applications

Download programme specification

Teaching hours

Like most universities, we operate extended teaching hours at the University of Derby, so contact time with your lecturers and tutors could be anytime between 9am and 9pm. Your timetable will usually be available on the website 24 hours after enrolment on to your course.

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