Level 8 Certified in Strategic Financial Management

Learning Outcomes:

Introduction to financial and managerial  accounting its purposes and financial strategy  formulation. 

Cost systems:

• Cost classifications in terms of  object; function, product/service and behaviour;  opportunity cost, recording and analysing costs; job costing; batch costing; process costing; contract  costing; standard costing; variance calculations;  variance analysis and management by exception. 

Costing methods

• Absorption, marginal costing,  activity-based costing (ABC); use in calculating costs  and pricing policy and their relationship to cost controls and pricing. 

Cost control of systems

• Cost centre; profit  centres; investment centres; accountable  management; planning and control methods. 

Financial statements

• Estimates and assumptions  relating to the profit and loss account; balance sheet  and cash flow statement. 

Financial ratios analysis, interpretation,  decisions and limitations

• Employment of financial  ratios internally and externally; financial profiles of  organisations; calculation of key ratios reflecting  business liquidity; efficiency and profitability.

Budgets

• Types; flexible and fixed budgets; zero based budgeting, budgeting process from  subsidiary/functional to master budget; relationship  of budget to cost and quality control, resource  utilisation and profitability.

Budgets monitoring and evaluations:

• Budgeted  and actual figures, accounting for and investigating different kind of variances in budgetary controls;  corrective action; human behavioural issues relating  to budgeting. 

Sources of financial resources; types of funds

• Short term and long terms, sourcing funds internally  and externally; venture capitalists, leverages; risk, cost and control issues with types of funding;  techniques of selecting appropriate sources of funds  for different projects – comparison of costs, risk and  controls.

Managing working capitals and appraisal of  investment options

• Capital and revenue  expenditure, risk, cost and controls; cash flow  statements; time value of money; different methods  of project appraisal like accounting rate of return;  payback period and cash flows; discounted cash  flow – net present value and internal rate of return;  and allowance for inflation in money and real rates  of discount, taxation and project appraisal. 

Indicative reading list 

Core texts: 

• Atrill, P. and McLaney, E. (2006) Accounting & Finance for Non-specialists. (5th edition) Harlow: FT Prentice Hall.
• Chaffey, D., Bocij, P., Greasley, A. and Hickie, S. (2006) Business information systems: technology, development and management for the e-business, (3rd edition), Harlow: Financial Times Prentice Hall/Pearson Education. 

Additional reading: 

• Atrill, P. (2011) Financial management for decision makers. Harlow: FT Prentice Hall.
• Atrill, P. and McLaney, E. (2006) Management Accounting for Decision Makers. Harlow: Prentice Hall. 
• Berk, J. and DeMarzo, P. (2007) Corporate Finance. London: Pearson. 
• Brealey, R., Myers, S. and Marcus, A. (2007) Fundamentals of Corporate Finance. New York: McGraw Hill Irwin.
• Cox, D. and Fardon, M. (1997) Management of Finance. London: Osborne Books. 
• Dyson, J. R. (2004) Accounting for Non-Accounting Learners. 6th Edition. Harlow: FT Prentice Hall. 
• Drury, C. (2009) Management Accounting for Business. 4th Edition. London: Cengage Learning EMEA. 
• Lumby, S. and Jones, C. (2000) The Fundamentals of Investment Appraisal. London: Thomson Learning. 
• Laudon, K. and Laudon J. (2007) Management Information Systems – Managing the Digital Firm. 10th Edition. Harlow: Prentice Hall.
• Monden, Y. (1995) Cost Reduction Systems: Target Costing and Kaizen Costing. New York, Productivity Press.
• Marsh, C. (2009) Mastering Financial Management. Harlow: FT Prentice Hall. 
• Van Horne, J. and Wachewicz, J. (2009) Fundamentals of Financial Management. Harlow: FT Prentice Hall 
• White, G. I., Sondhi, A. C. and Fried, D. (2003) The Analysis and Use of Financial Statements. 3rd Edition. Hampshire: John Wiley and Sons.

Other indicative reading: 

• Peer reviewed academic journals as Financial Management, Journal of International Financial Management & Accounting, International Journal of Financial Management and related. 
• Online resources, corporate industry reports, the Institute of Certified Financial Managers publications and relevant.

Journals/newspapers: 

• The Financial Times; 
• Management Accounting Quarterly; 
• Financial Management; 
• International Journal of Financial Management; 
• Journal of International Financial Management & Accounting; 
• Management Today; 
• Strategic Finance;

Websites: 

• Most of the professional accounting bodies in the UK have their own websites (CIMA, ICA, CIPFA, AAT);
• www.aat.co.uk (Association of Accounting Technicians)
• www.cimaglobal.com (Chartered Institute of Management Accountants) 
• www.cipfa.org.uk (Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy) 
• www.companies-house.gov.uk (Companies House)

Entry requirements

To enroll The Level 8 Certified, the learner must possess:

• Graduated with a Master’s degree from an accredited university or achieved a Level 7 Diploma according to the European Qualifications
• For a degree from non-global accredited universities; The learner should have followed the Accreditation of Prior Experiential Learning for Qualification (APELQ) policy of the London Academy of Sciences.
• Learners must be over 24 years old.

Université Libérale de Paris  reserves the highest decision-making power for admission whether to accept or not accept after a specific review of each candidate’s profile to ensure that they can comprehend and gain benefits when participating. For the fake university or diploma mills, Paris-U shall not be accepted.

English requirements

If a learner is not from a predominantly English-speaking country, proof of English language proficiency must be provided.

• Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) level B2 or equivalent
• Or A minimum TOEFL score of 101 or IELTS 6.5; Reading and Writing must be at 6.5 or equivalent

Students can convert all credits and the full tuition fee when participating in the Paris-U academic programs if they want to study for an academic degree.

Credits transfer:

Learners can accumulate 20 credits from the Level 8 Certified program when participating in the Doctor of Business Administration (DBA) or phD of Paris-U. Please see the credit transfer policy HERE

Tuition fee transfer:

When participating in the DBA/PhD program, students who have graduated Level 8 Certified will receive a discount equivalent to short courses tuition fee. Please see the tuition fee transfer HERE

[APEL.Q] – Accreditation of Prior Experiential Learning (APEL) for Award of Academic Qualifications (Q) is the award of academic qualifications to individual learners through the evaluation and assessment of prior experiential learning towards fully accredited programmes offered by Paris-U. A degree with [APEL.Q] pathway is granted on the basis of the knowledge, skills, and competencies acquired through formal, informal, or non-formal learning.

As a crucial component of Liberal Education, Paris-U is the first university in the world to fully implement the APEL.Q approach to acknowledge past experience and knowledge. Assist students in becoming rapidly recognized and entering the labor market.

Short Courses Certified programs are completely approved and recognized, according to the same rigorous standards as academic degree programs. Learners might include this qualification in their portfolios when submitting for the APEL.Q examination.

Please note that, the APEL.Q process will leads to only MAHRM degree of Paris-U, not dual degree. For more information, read more HERE

Université Libérale de Paris Certified program is not-for-profit, so the tuition fees are fully supported by Paris-U and its partners. Université Libérale de Paris reserves the right not to accept more students if the number exceeds the quotas.

Apply Policy:

• To participate in Paris-U’s Short courses program, students need to meet the entry criteria corresponding to each level. Please see the “Entry” tab for more details.
• Paris-U will not accept applicants if their entry qualifications are from diploma mill universities or schools/universities that are not accredited.
• For Level 7 short courses programs, if an entry bachelor is unavailable, students must demonstrate a minimum of 5 years of work experience in the relevant field. Please note that a bachelor’s degree is required for the Master’s program of Paris-U so that you could study Level 7 certified but could not move to the Master’s program of Paris-U.

• English is not a mandatory entry requirement for short course programs, but candidates need to ensure that English is used in reading documents, listening to lectures, and doing assignments. Candidates should note that English is a mandatory requirement when switching to an academic program at Paris-U.

Apply Process:

1.  Choose the program that suits your requirements. Note that applicants without a university degree will not be able to participate in the program at Level 7, and applicants without a Master’s degree will not be able to participate in the program at Level 8.
2. Email your application to support@paris-u.fr with all the required documents. You could download the application form here.
3. Our admission department will contact you and guide you through further processes if the registration documents need to be supplemented.
4. Université Libérale de Paris will issue the Letter of Acceptant (LOA). You wil proceed to the next steps according to the instructions and pay tuition fee.
5. Université Libérale de Paris will issue a student confirmation letter, login account to the e-learning system and related documents.
6. You have become an official Paris-U student and enjoy your study journey.

The Short Courses Certified program is a fully online program. You can study anytime, anywhere. The final exam will be uploaded to the system and marked by the academic panel of Paris-U. Students must submit assignments on time. Otherwise, the student is considered not to continue the program.