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Internal Audit Management and Consultancy - MSc

Currently viewing course to start in 2024/25 Entry.

The MSc Internal Audit Management & Consultancy is a unique offering in the UK and has been developed over many decades to ensure that it reflects the needs of the profession, employers and above all the students....

  • Level Postgraduate Taught
  • Study mode Part Time/Distance Learning
  • Location City Centre
  • School Birmingham City Business School
  • Faculty Faculty of Business, Law and Social Sciences

This course is:

Open to International Students

Overview

The MSc Internal Audit Management & Consultancy is a unique offering in the UK and has been developed over many decades to ensure that it reflects the needs of the profession, employers and above all the students.

The majority of the course team have worked in the internal audit professional as well as other connected professions and therefore have a keen insight into the demands of the profession and the knowledge, skills and behaviours expected. This coupled with decades of delivering a Masters level qualification in Internal Audit, we are confident that this course will meet those needs.

The course’s over-riding philosophy is: 

To equip those working within or intending to join the internal audit profession with the conceptual understanding, knowledge and skills to contribute positively to the organisations that they work for.

This course is open to International students.

What's covered in this course?

The Course is divided into 8 modules and is aligned to the Certified Internal Auditor (CIA) and Chartered Internal Auditor (CMIIA) qualifications. The course has been carefully mapped against the IAP Apprenticeship Standards and End Point Assessment (EPA), to the syllabi of the CIA and CMIIA and the IIA Inc’s suggested syllabus from the Internal Audit Educators Partnership programme, which has awarded this course its highest accreditation as a ‘Centre of Excellence’.

The first 5 modules of the course are designed to support the CIA syllabus in particular and thereby enable students who wish, to sit the CIA professional exams. For clarity the University does not hold any dual award or exemptions with the IIA Inc. for the CIA exams and therefore students must sit these in order to gain the CIA qualification.

The last 3 modules are then connected to CMIIA qualification. Our agreement with the Chartered Institute of Internal Auditors – UK & Ireland, means that students can achieve the CMIIA if they meet the following criteria:

  • Are a member of the Chartered IIA during and at the completion of their study with the University and the Chartered IIA.
  • They hold the CIA
  • They have successfully completed the MSc
  • They successfully complete the final CMIIA assessment with the Chartered IIA
  • They successfully complete the Chartered Membership interview with the Chartered IIA.

Why Choose Us?

  • Our Governance & Assurance Hub has become the UK’s first university department to be recognised as a Centre of Excellence by The Institute of Internal Auditors.
  • We are an established team with over 20 years’ experience of delivering courses accredited by the Chartered Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA) and the Internal Auditing Educations Partnerships (IAEP).
  • We now boast a Route to Chartered Status from the IIA UK
  • The Centre prides itself on its extremely high pass rates.
  • The lecture team is supported by guest speakers, who regularly visit to provide valuable practitioner insight.
  • We get to know our students as individuals and support their specific needs, or signpost them to other areas of the University that can provide additional, complementary support.
  • The delivery is flexible so you can choose full-time or part-time with block release and distance learning as options. This means you can fit your studies alongside work and personal commitments.
  • Following graduation, you will have the opportunity to apply for STEAMhouse Business Incubator membership.

Find out more

OPEN DAY

Join us on campus where you'll be able to find out more about your course, learn about postgraduate finance and get an insight into studying at BCU. Booking for the next event isn’t open yet. Register your interest below and we’ll email you as soon as booking goes live.

Next Event: 29 June 2024

Register interest

Entry Requirements

Essential Requirements
Typical Offers (UK Students)

A degree from a UK University or international equivalent

OR Certified Internal Auditor (CIA) global base qualification / Relevant professional qualification from the PIIA.

OR Relevant professional experience of at least 1 year

In recognition that many students may already have a relevant professional qualification, Accreditation of Prior Experiential Learning (APEL) for individual modules and / or stages may be given on a case by case basis. 

Additional information for EU/International students
Essential

Applications from international applicants with equivalent qualifications are welcome. Please see your country page for further details on the equivalent qualifications we accept.

In additional to the academic entry requirements listed above, international and EU students will also require the qualifications detailed in this table.

English language requirements 2020/21
IELTS

6.0 overall with 5.5 minimum in all bands

If you do not meet the required IELTS score, you may be eligible for one of our pre-sessional English courses. Please note that you must have a Secure English Language Test (SELT) to study on the pre-sessional English course. More information.

Other accepted qualifications Visit our English language page

If you have a qualification that is not listed, please contact us.

Fees & How to Apply

Please select your student status to view fees and apply
  • UK Student
  • International Student

UK students

Annual and modular tuition fees shown are applicable to the first year of study. The University reserves the right to increase fees for subsequent years of study in line with increases in inflation (capped at 5%) or to reflect changes in Government funding policies or changes agreed by Parliament. View fees for continuing students.

Award: MSc

Starting: Sep 2024

  • Mode
  • Duration
  • Fees
  • £1079 per 20 credits
  • Year 1 - 60 Credits
  • Year 2 - 60 Credits
  • Year 3 - 60 Credits

Fees for Part-time students

This course can be studied on a Part-time study basis. The cost per year of study is based on credit requirements for that year.

  • Distance Learning
  • 3 Years
  • Show fees
  • £1079 per 20 credits
  • Year 1 - 60 Credits
  • Year 2 - 60 Credits
  • Year 3 - 60 Credits

Fees for Distance Learning students

This course can be studied on a Distance Learning study basis. The cost per year of study is based on credit requirements for that year.

International students

Annual and modular tuition fees shown are applicable to the first year of study. The University reserves the right to increase fees for subsequent years of study in line with increases in inflation (capped at 5%) or to reflect changes in Government funding policies or changes agreed by Parliament. View fees for continuing students.

Award: MSc

Starting: Sep 2024

  • Mode
  • Duration
  • Fees
  • Distance Learning
  • 3 Years
  • Show fees
  • £1079 per 20 credits
  • Year 1 - 60 Credits
  • Year 2 - 60 Credits
  • Year 3 - 60 Credits

Fees for Distance Learning students

This course can be studied on a Distance Learning study basis. The cost per year of study is based on credit requirements for that year.

Access to computer equipment

You will require use of a laptop, and most students do prefer to have their own. However, you can borrow a laptop from the university or use one of our shared computer rooms.

Printing

You will receive £5 print credit in each year of your course, available after enrolment.

Field trips

All essential field trips and associated travel costs will be included in your course fees.

Access to Microsoft Office 365

Every student at the University can download a free copy of Microsoft Office 365 to use whilst at university and for 18 months after graduation.

Key software

You will be able to download SPSS and Nvivo to your home computer to support with your studies and research.

Key subscriptions

Subscriptions to key journals and websites and available through our library.

Free Adobe Creative Cloud Licence

Students studying on a course with a requirement to use Adobe software can request a free licence to install the entire suite of applications on up to two personal devices.

Excess printing (optional)

Once you have spent your £5 credit, additional printing on campus costs from 5p per sheet.

Memberships (optional)

You may wish to join the Chartered Institute of Internal Auditors, but this is not mandatory and only applicable if you wish to apply for Chartered status on completion of your MSc.

Accommodation and living costs

The cost of accommodation and other living costs are not included within your course fees. More information on the cost of accommodation can be found in our accommodation pages.

Personal statement

You’ll need to submit a personal statement as part of your application for this course. This will need to highlight your passion for postgraduate study – and your chosen course – as well as your personal skills and experience, academic success, and any other factors that will support your application for further study.

Not sure what to include? We’re here to help – take a look at our top tips for writing personal statements and download our free postgraduate personal statement guide for further advice and examples from real students.

Additional costs

While there are no additional costs associated with purchasing text books, there may be other costs to you. If you are joining the course which has a professional body accreditation you may be required to pay membership or examination costs. For details of these costs, please click on the link below.

Based on the past experience of our students, you might find it helpful to set aside about £50 for each year of your studies for your personal stationery and study materials. All our students are provided with 100 free pages of printing each year to a maximum total value of £15.

Route to Chartered Status

If you want to attain Chartered Status with the IIA or CIA, there are additional charges associated with this*:

IIA Application fee: £124

Annual IIA membership fee: £180

CIA application fee: $165

CIA learning fee: £500 plus VAT

CIA exam fees: $1,070

Professional Experience Journal fee: £100

*These costs are subject to change

Find additional costs for your course

Course in Depth

Modules

In order to complete this course a student must successfully complete all the following CORE modules (totalling 180 credits):

Our course is available to study in a range of options, ensuring you don’t have to miss out.

Part-Time

You can choose to study three years part-time, with qualifications achieved at the end of each year. 

  • Year One – Postgraduate Certificate
  • Year Two – Postgraduate Diploma
  • Year Three – Master’s (MSc)
Distance Learning

This course is also offered as a distance learning option, enabling you to study at a time that suits you. You don’t have to attend any face-to-face sessions, and delivery of course materials is done through our e-learning platform, Moodle. Each module with an exam has a revision day which, although not mandatory, you should highly consider attending. If you can’t make it, supporting materials are made available via Moodle.

If you’re an international student, you can sit your examinations at your British council offices for a fee payable locally of around £100 per examination.

Block Release

This option sees you attend intense face-to-face teaching on campus from Monday to Friday for each module, one a term for years one and two. In year three the block weeks take place in the first term for both modules in order to support early initiation of your research project.

This option also provides the flexibility to incorporate some distance learning, to accommodate your work and personal commitments. You can do this at no extra charge and with no penalties.

Student stories

Mariusz Makarski Profile

Mariusz Makarski

Joining BCU back in 2014 whilst still working full time, Mariusz had the help of his tutors to successfully balance his work and his studies. He is now a Senior Internal Auditor for the Royal Bank of Scotland.

Simon Grima

Studying part-time for his Masters, and with a career that embraces lecturing and consultancy, Simon appreciated both the academic and professional relevance of his course.

Employability

Enhancing employability prospects

There are planned field trips each term to local organisations. These trips will be accompanied by a seminar from a visiting professor on a related topic.

We also have a guest speaker programme, bringing the working world into the University. These talks are delivered in the block weeks, and presentations are posted on Moodle so that they are available to everyone.

All assignments are grounded in the real working organisations, allowing students to apply their knowledge into a real working environment.

Skills assessment takes place at the start of each term and students are encouraged to create a development plan to enhance their skills and work experience over the duration of the course. Lecturers will support students in finding opportunities to support this wherever possible.

International

Welcome to the Birmingham City Business School, home to students from over 70 countries all around the world!

Birmingham City Business School is one of the UK’s largest, most established and most respected business schools. Our programmes are practice based and many have an international focus, which means your course will be entirely relevant to today’s business world. Almost all of our courses, both at undergraduate and postgraduate level, are open to international students.

We also have links with universities across the world, including Europe, the USA, China, India and Malaysia.

International Services

Our international pages contain a wealth of information for international students who are considering applying to study here, including:

The University is conveniently placed, with Birmingham International Airport nearby and first-rate transport connections to London and the rest of the UK.

Facilities & Staff

Curzon facilities eatery
Curzon facilities staircase
Curzon facilities student hub

Our Facilities

We are constantly investing in our estate and have spent £400 million on new learning facilities.

The Curzon Building

This course is based at our City Centre Campus – and specifically The Curzon Building, alongside other Social Sciences, Law and Business students.

The £63m building offers students a unique social learning space, including a dedicated student hub incorporating student support services, in the heart of Birmingham’s Eastside development.

The Business floors house an extensive number of IT facilities, breakout areas, and specialised rooms. The Marketing Link Agency is designed to replicate a modern marketing firm, allowing students to get real-life experience of working in the marketing sector. There is also the City Trading Room, which features state of the art stock market tracking equipment, keeping you up to date with all the financial comings and goings of the London Stock Exchange and Wall Street.

The Curzon building is also conveniently close to Birmingham’s business and financial centre, allowing for strong links between your studies and the real world.

The Curzon Building also features:

  • An impressive library with access to over 65 million full text items and stunning views of Eastside City Park
  • Your Students’ Union which is located in a beautifully restored 19th century pub, The Eagle and Ball
  • A modern 300-seat food court with space to study and socialise
  • Accessible IT facilities with full Office365 for all students for free
  • Shared facilities with the wider campus including the Parkside Building and Millennium Point

Our staff

Michelle Dyke

Senior Lecturer in Audit & Assurance

Michelle has over 25 years’ experience in accounting, beginning her career in 1993 with Tarmac in Wolverhampton, before moving into practice firstly with Clement Keys Chartered Accountants and then BDO Stoy Hayward in the audit department.

More about Michelle

Julianne McGarry

Senior Lecturer

Julianne McGarry is an Internal Controls, Risk and Internal Audit professional with over 30 years’ experience across the Public and Global Private sectors encompassing FMG, OEM, Financial Services and Logistics.

More about Julianne