Master of Professional and Practicing Accounting
Overview
2 years full time
2 years
February, July
February, July
You can count on a Master of Professional Accounting
Melbourne Polytechnic’s firm grasp on corporate, national and global business environments can set you on the path towards an impressive career in business. Our Master of Professional and Practicing Accounting can help you stand out in a competitive industry that’s worth over $20 billion.
Become business-minded in a growing industry
Melbourne Polytechnic’s Master of Professional and Practicing Accounting will help you develop the multidisciplinary skills necessary to work at a managerial level in the financial industry. You’ll learn to identify trends and propose corporate adaptations that ensure financial and operational viability. Melbourne Polytechnic’s Master of Professional and Practicing accounting is accredited by CPA Australia and by CAANZ, offering a broader scope of professional pathways for both those with an existing accounting degree and those from non-academic backgrounds. Melbourne Polytechnic teaching staff include Certified Practicing Accountants (CPAs) and registered tax agents. A Master’s degree in Accounting with this focus is a rare and highly sought after qualification.
Why study a Master of Professional Accounting in Melbourne?
As a graduate of Melbourne Polytechnic’s Master of Professional and Practicing Accounting, you’ll have the skills and knowledge to explore a variety of different career opportunities. You will be eligible to apply for admission into CPA Australia and CAANZ professional programs. You may find employment as a public practice accountant, a management accountant, a professional consultant, a financial accountant, a senior accountant or a business analyst.
Exit Points
You’re able to exit the course with a Graduate Diploma of Professional and Practicing Accounting after completing eight subjects comprising the first year of the program. You can then choose to complete the Master’s degree later. However, there is a ten year period within which credits are eligible to be transferred. Credit cannot be transferred from studies completed more than ten years from the commencement of the Master’s program.
Further Studies
As an MPPA graduate, you are eligible to apply for admission as an associate member of CPA Australia. You are also eligible to apply for admission into the professional programs of CPA Australia and CAANZ. As we have mentioned, the MPPA is accredited by both professional bodies.
Count the credentials
Designed for progressive, hardworking, business-minded graduates and for those wanting to excel in the professional accounting field, the MPPA offers a plethora of employment opportunities, in any corner of the globe! The MPPA is ideal for those from a non-academic background who require a pathway into the professional bodies, CPA Australia and Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand (CAANZ). It also provides higher-level studies for those with an accounting degree.
Melbourne Polytechnic’s MPPA is accredited by CPA Australia and by CAANZ.
Career Pathways
Where will the Master of Professional and Practicing Accounting take me?
As a graduate of Melbourne Polytechnic’s Master of Professional and Practicing Accounting, you’ll have the skills and knowledge to explore a variety of different career opportunities.
- Management Accountant
- Financial Consultant
- Business Consultant
- Business Analyst
- Public Practice Accountant
- Senior Accountant
- Consultant
- Financial Accountant
Study Pathways
You can apply for entry into the professional programs of CPA Australia and CAANZ. You will be across research principles and methods appropriate to professional and practicing accounting and professional scholarship.
Course Details
Delivery methods
Course delivery continues at Melbourne Polytechnic during the challenges of the coronavirus (COVID-19) situation the world is facing right now. Our top priority remains the health, safety and well-being of our community.
This program has responded to the COVID-19 restrictions by modifying its delivery to a blended model supporting remote learning. For the immediate term, we’ve changed the way our students attend class, with all lectures, tutorials and seminars moved online.
A collaborative learning environment is created through the requirement of students to attend synchronous online sessions at the normal class times. These sessions are run through Moodle, our learning management system, and conferencing software (e.g. Zoom or Teams). This includes assessment wherever possible.
Alternative arrangements are being made for activities which must be conducted on-campus.
- Blended learning
- Face-to-face
Assessment Methods
Assessment consists of a mixture of case study reports, research reports, presentations, tests and examinations. The assessment recognises the advanced level of the studies in this course.
Units of Study
Credit points are a basic measure of student workload. All subjects are given a credit point value. Most subjects at Melbourne Polytechnic are 12 credit points. A normal full-time annual workload is 96 credit points. The academic year is divided into two main semesters; full-time students usually enrol in 48 credit points each semester, part-time students usually enrol in 24 credit points each semester or less.
| Code | Subject | Elective | Description | Year | Semester |
| MPA601 | ACCOUNTING FOR MANAGERS | Core | Introduces you to the key concepts of accounting and management decision making, providing you with knowledge and skills to be a preparer and informed user of financial accounting, information for decision making in the business context. The subject will develop the understanding of accounting concepts, accounting reports, performance evaluation and management and introductory budgeting and planning in order to make effective management decisions | 1 | 1 |
| MPA602 | INFORMATION SYSTEMS FOR MANAGERS | Core | This core subject enables graduates to contextualise use of Management Information Systems (MIS) tools and techniques, to model the use of data as information and knowledge, to value the nature and limitations of technology enablers, to map MIS capabilities to corporate functional requirements, and to manage the dynamic nature of MIS through evolving trends. | 1 | 1 |
| MPA603 | ECONOMICS FOR MANAGERS | Core | Graduates will receive a comprehensive understanding of the Australian economy within the greater context of the global economy with the prescribed core subject, Economics for Managers. Students benefit from a holistic approach to the study of micro- and macroeconomic principles, models and policies. Students explore various microeconomic theories, models and policies, their effect on the private and public sectors and a range of global economic factors that impact the Australian economy. | 1 | 1 |
| MPA604 | COMMERCIAL LAW | Core | This subject equips graduates to comprehend the legislation and statutes applicable to companies and other forms of business entities, from contemporary, historical and social perspectives. A key focus is sustainable development and its translation into governance practises. | 1 | 1 |
| MPA702 | BUSINESS RESEARCH METHODS | Core | A prescribed subject providing students with the theoretical and analytical tools essential to qualitative and quantitative research. Students acquire information, knowledge and skills required for effective decision-making in a corporate managerial context. | 1 | 2 |
| MPA703 | MANAGEMENT ACCOUNTING | Core | A prescribed subject equipping graduates with knowledge in cost and management accounting theory, and concepts and standards. | 1 | 2 |
| MPA704 | CORPORATE ACCOUNTING | Core | A subject providing an introduction to corporate accounting, including Australian and international regulatory frameworks. | 1 | 2 |
| MPA701 | CORPORATIONS LAW | Core | A subject exploring the legislation and statutes applicable to companies, from contemporary, historical and social perspectives. | 1 | 2 |
| MPA802 | TAXATION LAW AND PRACTICE | Core | A subject providing a legal framework for studies in accounting, providing knowledge essential to informed decisions in areas of taxation law and to compliance issues that impact business and individuals. | 2 | 1 |
| MPA803 | AUDIT THEORY AND ASSURANCE | Core | Audit Theory and Assurance subjects will enable graduates to understand the concepts of auditing theory and assurance, and to integrate those concepts with practical applications. | 2 | 1 |
| MPA801 | CAPITAL MARKETS AND FINANCE | Core | This subject explores best practice approaches to obtaining and using corporate funds to achieve long-term corporate goals, including application and analysis of techniques to maximise corporate objectives. | 2 | 1 |
| MPA804 | ACCOUNTING THEORY | Core | This unit will enable graduates to understand and evaluate financial reporting. | 2 | 1 |
| MPA901 | ETHICS AND GOVERNANCE | Core | This prescribed unit of study enables graduates to understand the role of contemporary management accounting in creative and enhancing value for shareholders. | 2 | 2 |
| MPA903 | ADVANCED CORPORATE REPORTING | Core | This unit of study focuses on the practical and theoretical aspects of the regulatory requirement of public companies incorporated under the Australian Corporations Act 2001. It enables students to gain advanced understanding of topics in financial reporting. It is also the final test of competence in the field of financial reporting. | 2 | 2 |
| MPA902 | STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT ACCOUNTING | Core | Strategic Management Accounting enables graduates to understand the role of contemporary management accounting in creating and enhancing value for shareholders. | 2 | 2 |
| MPA904 | GLOBAL BUSINESS CONTEXT | Core | A unit of study providing students with the politico-economic, financial and regulatory appreciation essential to successful management of a global business. | 2 | 2 |
Attend an Information Session
Fees & Costs
Fee-paying Places
| Per year | $18440 |
| Per semester | $9220 |
| Per year | $19600 |
| Per semester | $9800 |
When you are studying higher education courses you may qualify for FEE-HELP payments for part or all of your tuition fees. FEE-HELP loans do not cover materials costs.
Fees displayed are effective for new applications received on or after 1 November 2021. Tuition fees do not include textbooks, course materials or overseas student health insurance and visa fees.
After initial deposit, international students are able to pay tuition fees in installments, four times per year.
For more detailed information please read the International Student Fees.
Scholarships on offer
'We’d been discussing what projects we had coming up that we needed to go and buy materials for. And so then the scholarship came and it was just a sigh of relief.'
Requirements
Entry requirements
Academic
- Minimum of a Bachelor’s degree in any area of studies from a recognised higher education institution
- In the absence of a Bachelor’s degree, the following will be considered:
- A qualification at AQF level 8 [Graduate Certificate in Accounting; or Graduate Diploma in Accounting] from a recognised institution.
- Mature age applicants who do not hold any formal qualifications will be considered for admission on a case-by-case basis considering prior studies, employment record, and professional experience. A minimum of five years of relevant work experience, post year 12, will be required.
Applicants will be required provide a résumé providing verifiable details of work experience and testimonials on duties and responsibilities of employment.
Applicants will be required to attend a panel interview to assess their suitability for admission. The panel will comprise Head of Program of MPPA, another Head of Program, and an ongoing lecturer in Accounting.
For the mature age entry students, study support programs will be provided in the following areas:- Academic writing, incorporating essay and report writing
- Study skills including notes taking, summarising material, and constructing answers to test questions
- Referencing
- Academic integrity
Higher Education Admissions Criteria
As well as the specific entry requirements above, Melbourne Polytechnic admits students on the basis of the following categories:
If you have already studied higher education: Y ou may meet the admissions criteria for higher education at Melbourne Polytechnic if your highest level of study since leaving secondary education is a higher education course, such as a university degree.
If you have studied a VET course: You may meet the admissions criteria for higher education at Melbourne Polytechnic if your highest level of study since leaving secondary education is a vocational education and training (VET) course.
If you have recent secondary education: You may meet the admissions criteria for higher education at Melbourne Polytechnic if you are a recent secondary education student whose admission is primarily based on the completion of Year 12 within the past two years.
If you have work and life experience: You may meet the admissions criteria for higher education at Melbourne Polytechnic if you have work and life experience and left secondary education more than two years ago and have not undertaken vocational education training (VET) or higher education study since then.
Academic: AQF (Australian) Bachelor degree or overseas equivalent. Applicants must have an undergraduate degree in any field.
English: Academic IELTS 6.5 with no individual band below 6.0, Pearson PTE Academic 58 overall with no individual communicative skill below 50, or Melbourne Polytechnic recognised equivalency.
Next Steps
Melbourne Polytechnic is committed to providing transparency to the admissions process. In line with this commitment, we provide you with information that will help in making informed choices about your future studies.
Find out more about Melbourne Polytechnic’s commitment to admissions transparency.
Applicants for this course will need to have met the academic requirements. Meeting the minimum admission criteria does not guarantee entry into this course. Past academic performance may be considered.
You may also be required to attend an interview to discuss your career plans, aptitude and understanding of your chosen course of study and the requirements of tertiary study. (This may be conducted face-to-face or by through a video conference call using Skype or other application).
During your interview, you may be asked to provide:
- Your CV outlining your relevant work and life skills and experience
- Any letters of reference from employers
- Documents relating to prior study including course transcripts and subject outlines from other Higher Education Providers if you wish to apply for credit
When we receive your application, the International Office will be in contact with you shortly to discuss your application and provide you additional instructions.
If you'd like to speak to one of our International Office staff directly, call 1300 635 276
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