Master of Professional Accounting

The Master of Professional Accounting at Griffith University is a two-year postgraduate degree for people who want to qualify as an accountant but did not study accounting in their undergraduate degree. You start with the fundamentals, financial accounting, management accounting, business law, economics, statistics and corporate finance, then move into advanced work in auditing, taxation, accounting theory and information systems. The degree is built around the units of study that the professional accounting bodies expect you to complete, so the content maps to what you will actually be tested on when you apply for membership.

How the degree is structured

Australian master's degrees are measured in units of study and credit points. At Griffith, trimesters are the usual teaching period, and a full-time load is typically four units per trimester. Over two years you complete around 16 units, or 160 credit points. Some units are core and some are electives, so you can tilt the degree towards tax, audit or management accounting depending on where you want to work. The final stage usually includes a capstone unit that pulls the pieces together, a practical case where you work through a company's accounts, tax position and audit risk rather than sit another exam. Assessment across the degree is a mix of exams, assignments, group projects and presentations, which is how accounting is taught and practised here.

What you actually learn

By the end you can prepare and interpret financial statements, apply Australian accounting standards, work through the tax treatment of common business transactions, plan and document an audit, and use accounting software and spreadsheets the way firms do. You also learn to read a balance sheet critically and explain what it means to someone who is not an accountant. Griffith has strong links with the professional bodies and with accounting firms in Brisbane and the Gold Coast, and many students pick up casual or part-time work in an accounting practice while they study, international students can work up to 48 hours per fortnight during trimester and unlimited hours during scheduled breaks. If you are already working, the evening and trimester structure makes it possible to keep a job while you study.

Who it suits

This degree suits three groups: recent graduates from other disciplines who want a career change into accounting; people already working in finance, banking or business who need the formal qualification to move into an accounting role; and international students who want an Australian accounting qualification that is recognised by the professional bodies and can lead to a skilled migration pathway. It is not an honours research degree, if you want to go on to a PhD in accounting, you would normally take the honours route or a research master's instead. English requirements for international applicants are the standard coursework-postgraduate level at Griffith: IELTS Academic 6.0–6.5 overall, with TOEFL iBT, PTE Academic, Cambridge C1 Advanced and the university's own English programmes accepted as equivalents. The Department of Home Affairs sets a separate English threshold for the Student visa itself. Tuition is published on the CRICOS register under course code 088233M, and you should confirm current fees, intake dates and unit offerings on the official Griffith University page before you apply.

• Auditor, working in an audit firm checking company accounts and internal controls; the big firms and mid-tier firms in Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne hire graduates from this kind of degree.
• Tax accountant, preparing tax returns and advising on GST, capital gains and business structures for individuals and companies.
• Management accountant, budgeting, forecasting and cost analysis inside a company, often in manufacturing, retail, health or government.
• Financial accountant, preparing statutory accounts and reports for ASX-listed companies, not-for-profits and government departments.
• Business services accountant, the generalist role in a suburban or regional accounting practice, looking after a portfolio of small business clients.
• Financial analyst, in banking, insurance or corporate finance, using the accounting and finance units from the degree.
• Graduate roles in the Australian Public Service, the Australian Taxation Office, Treasury and the Department of Finance regularly recruit accounting graduates.

After you finish, you can apply for membership of the professional accounting bodies and, if you are an international graduate, the Temporary Graduate visa (subclass 485) post-study work stream lets you stay and work in Australia for a period set by the Department of Home Affairs. Accounting has been on the skilled occupation lists, so many graduates use that time to gain the work experience needed for a permanent visa. Check the current lists and visa rules yourself, they change.