LSE MSc in Accounting & Finance

Question

It's pretty much common knowledge that the LSE MSc in Accounting and Finance is slightly less prestigious than the MSc in Finance. Nevertheless, how would you rate this program with regards to the overall landscape in Europe. As with the MSc in Finance, is it a top feeder for IB front office positions in London?

Ivan91 · Answer

I am skeptical about these Masters at top British unis. It is really easy to get in provided u have like 680 on theGMAT, there are many different masters, which imo means that the unis use them as a source to boost revenues. Now, of course there are many ppl who end out with excellent jobs but its really difficult..competition is brutal, u will be competing with other masters students and with undergrads from LSE, Oxbridge, Kings, imperial, warwick, to name a few, plus other top undergrads from the US or other european unis ( SSE, Bocconi, Sankt Gallen, Wien, to name a few )

I believe u will be better off waiting a few years and doing MBA in the UK/US, or doing masters in a german speaking country and recruit for Frankfurt and Zürich.

I believe u will be better off waiting a few years and doing MBA in the UK/US, or doing masters in a german speaking country and recruit for Frankfurt and Zürich.

MSFHQ · Answer

Everything I have heard is that recruiting is the same for all the masters. It is basically a known/unknown hack if you will. LSE has so many variations of the MSc in Finance and some are easier to get into than the others. IMO, I think you'll get a fine education in all the programs and LSE is one of the top UK business schools. I wouldn't let the "ease" of getting into that program deter you.

mooncakes · Answer

I think more important is how do these programs place? And you can check that out via LSE's stats.

https://www.lse.ac.uk/intranet/CareersAn ... /Home.aspx

Here's what it reports for Accounting & Finance:

Quote:

The Proportion of graduates in work or further study is: 86.6%

The average (median) salary of graduates in full time work is £32,500

Not all that impressive to me, but LSE's placement, despite its reputation, has always been a bit suspect in comparison to where continental European schools land you. Of course, there's the whole language barrier with the latter that makes things tough, so it's a trade off.

Honestly, the best career moves seems to be learning German and attending a German school. They get some pretty nice starting salaries, employment rates, and big name placements into investment banks and consulting firms. Unfortunately, learning German takes a while.

MSFHQ · Answer

Couple things.

1) LSE will place you in Frankfurt if you know German.

2) That starting salary is roughly $60K in USD. And it is an average. Considering that a starting investment banking salary is roughly $70K USD and you figure a chunk of the class will do corporate finance or accounting, something non investment banking, then you can see easily how the average can drop down.

3) Salary doesn't include all in comp. US bankers will get say $70 base, but will bring home $120-140K all in depending on bucket and market.

4) Roughly 90% placement is pretty good.

There are plenty of great continental programs that are all in English or have English options. Bocconi, St. Gallen, SSE are examples.

mooncakes · Answer

It's by no means terrible in terms of placement or salary, but I think there are better programs, especially considering the LSE price tag. The fact that it's a 1 year master's also poses some difficulties, as mentioned in some of the interviews on your blog. LSE gets a huge circlejerk on WSO & The Student Room, but I'd rather attend a lot of continental programmes which are cheaper (sometimes free) and have better work policies for non-EU citizens than the UK. It depends on what you want to do, of course, and there's the language barrier to keep in mind as well. It's ultimately dependent on the individual's situation but at the moment I'm pursuing my bachelor's in Scandinavia, and I'm inclined to just remain here for my master's and get a scholarship that would  pay me  to study rather than fork over $50,000 for a one year program that might not even get me a FO BB job (I vaguely remember one of your interviewees saying 1/7 or 1/8 of his class got FO positions?) Part of it is just London being extremely competitive given everyone applies for those positions, which makes a continental program even a better idea to have some sort of fall back if you can't secure a London spot(investment banking in Scandinavia/Germany/Switzerland/France is nowhere near the end of the world). Of course, LSE might allow you to place in continental Europe, but the continental European school will probably offer better opportunities to network/attend recruiting events, and it's by no means a waltz into a position if you're competing with HEC Paris/HSG students in their respective countries. Finally, I'll acknowledge that I'm coming from a non-EU perspective; I'm sure part of the reason why LSE might not appear as impressive as continental programs is because the UK doesn't have very friendly hiring policies to non-EUs, who generally make up a bulk of the class.

JohnSteve · Answer

Accountants are in demand and the UK financial services industry is one of the biggest, Both are great fields, but know that right now, it is easier to find a job in accounting than in finance. There are not enough accounting graduates to fill the existing jobs.that's the true behind these two terms.

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London, 
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Contact : 02032894704

LSE MSc in Accounting & Finance

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