With this course you learn how corporations can align the interests of employees with those of their organisation. You examine the challenges of various financial and non-financial measures in incentive systems for employees, and the relationship between control, (operational) risk management and corporate governance.

The course aims to develop advanced skills in understanding, applying and interpreting key International Financial Reporting Standards. It aims to cover the major elements of reporting under IFRS.

Explore the practical aspects of Accounting. Learn programming with Python. Together with your fellow students, you will work on cases that an audit firm or company struggles with, such as the implementation of new accounting standards or the use of data analytics and process mining to improve an audit. This course develops your professional skills such as presentation skills and negotiating with clients, to help you develop the skill required in practice.

Some topics we will discuss are, for example: the main roles of financial accounting; management’s reporting incentives; earnings quality attributes; the need for financial reporting regulation; consequences of financial accounting for different constituencies such as investors, lenders, tax authorities and labour unions.

This course focuses on academic research and related practice in sustainability accounting, accountability and ethics. A secondary objective is to expose students to interdisciplinary qualitative academic research using social and organisational theory as a critical thinking tool. We specifically study the history of and motivations underlying the rise of sustainability accounting and the role and relevance of accountants and the accounting profession therein.

In this course, students learn to evaluate empirical research methodologies critically and to develop their own research proposal for an empirical study in the field of Accountancy & Control. We discuss the philosophical backgrounds of accounting research, the differences between research paradigms, the interplay of research, theory and practice, and the strengths and weaknesses of different research methods.

Auditing involves the testing and evaluation against agreed norms. It has an important societal function because the assurance provider is independent and perceived as being unbiased with respect to the information examined. Different stakeholder groups demand assurance about various types of information.

This course lets students apply conceptual aspects of financial accounting and reporting to the financial statements of real-world companies. Students will be taught to thoroughly analyse and scrutinise the financial statements of large and well-known publicly-listed companies from the perspective of a financial statement user.

We will cover theoretical concepts in combination with practice-oriented examples and exercises. The aim is to provide students with an entry into the topic of advanced data analytics. The focus will be on the application of selected data analysis methods and the necessary theoretical background that is required to apply these techniques effectively and to interpret the gained information critically.

This course explores the intersection of accounting, ethics, and sustainability reporting within organisations. Students will develop skills in ethical decision-making, understand the influence of individual behaviours and organisational dynamics on sustainability reporting practices, and learn to identify and mitigate biases that could affect sustainability reporting practices.

The Master’s thesis is the final requirement for your graduation. It is your chance to dive deep into a topic that you are enthusiastic about. A professor in your field of choice (track) will supervise and support you in writing your thesis. Upon graduation, you will be awarded the title Master of Science (MSc).