News | Wednesday, 23rd February 2011

National awards for accounting and finance

PQ Magazine rates us top

MANCHESTER Metropolitan is the UK’s top accountancy university, according to the influential PQ Magazine.

We were named Best Public Sector Accountancy College at the PQ Magazine annual awards, and the only provider to win two ‘oscars’ with Kieran Maguire winning the Best Accountancy Lecturer award.

“This is quite a coup and well deserved for a group of staff who are dedicated to preparing the best students,” said Graham Holt, Head of Accounting and Finance at MMU Business School.

The University is the only one in the North West to hold ACCA Platinum Status, and is kite-marked by the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA). All staff are ICAEW, ACCA, CIMA or CIPFA qualified, and a significant number have examiner responsibilities within the professional bodies.

Internship scheme

Learning is cutting-edge with video podcasts, revision DVDs, Twitter feeds and Facebook communication to provide a 24/7 connection between students and lecturers.

Despite budgetary constraints, the Accounting and Finance team also offered a summer internship scheme for undergraduates, giving them experience across a spectrum of employers, from plcs to partnerships, manufacturers to local authorities.

Additionally, undergraduates in financial services, planning and management were given RDR status by the Financial Services Authority, allowing them to give financial advice upon graduating.

The award of Best Accountancy Lecturer to Kieran Maguire is another accolade for this outstanding lecturer who was named 2010 Lecturer of the Year by students at the University – quite a feat for an accountancy tutor!

Innovative teaching

In addition Kieran won the Innovation in Teaching and Learning Prize 2010 for his developments in student learning, which include his e-learning website - kieranmaguire.co.uk - showcasing video podcasts.

Kieran’s website integrates into iTunes, so students can download the video podcasts to their MP3 devices, and his podcasts have also been used by www.opentuitiion.com in their material on their own website. His ACCA P2 lectures alone have been downloaded over 22,000 times in 2010.

One student wrote: “Kieran’s lectures are so easy to follow and he is great at explaining things and even manages to make the subject interesting! His podcasts are brilliant and very helpful. I couldn’t ask for a better lecturer.”