The European Post-Master Accountancy and International Post-Master Accountancy programs

The European Post-Master Accountancy program (EPMA) was launched in 2014. Content wise it is identical to the Dutch Post-Master Accountancy program (PMA). Hence, the program covers the complete theoretical part of the RA education. The EPMA is offered entirely in English, yet Dutch laws and regulations (translated) are an integral part of the program. This means that the program is the perfect choice for non-Dutch speaking candidates who work for an accounting firm in the Netherlands or who work abroad and regularly are confronted with Dutch clients. Of course Dutch speaking candidates in an international practice will also greatly benefit from the EPMA since it comprises many international components.

The program of EPMA

Typically participants have a fulltime job as an assistant auditor at an international accounting firm (mainly the Big-4, BDO, but also some other mid-sized firms). The program consists of a theoretical part which is organized by the university and a practical part which is partially organized in practice by the participants’ employers and partially by the university.

“Locations of the EPMA are Tilburg (November seminar), Bucharest (May seminar), and Valencia (July seminar).”

The nominal length of the program is a little bit more than two years. Content wise the program is fully equivalent to the Dutch program (the PMA), yet the format is different. Whereas the PMA is given in weekly full-day sessions on Fridays, the EPMA is given in one- and two-week blocks with full-day sessions from Monday till Saturday. Locations of the EPMA are Tilburg (November seminar), Bucharest (May seminar), and Valencia (July seminar). During the seminars in Bucharest and Valencia company visits to accounting firms are organized to get a flavor of the international differences in the way audits are done, the profession is organized and accounting firms are managed. We also invite local lecturers from academia and practice to illustrate how certain problems in accounting, auditing and information systems are approached, including financial reporting regulations, the organization of the profession in Spain, Romania and other countries, and the role of IT in the audit. In addition, candidates can opt for the US CPA qualification. The training for the CPA exam is a separate component of the program. For that purpose the program organizes a one-week training and exam seminar in Chicago (IL). An additional fee applies for the CPA training and exam. Most accounting firms require a motivation letter from their employees if they want to do the EPMA instead of the PMA, so check this before you decide to enroll. Enrollment via www.tilburguniversity.edu/epma.

IPMA

Besides the EPMA and the PMA Tilburg University also offers the International Post-Master Accountancy program. This program is identical to the EPMA except for the timing and location of the seminars. The seminar are entirely held in Willemstad (Curacao) in April, June and October. Typically candidates work and live in the Caribbean. Including Curaçao, Aruba and Suriname. The IPMA is predominantly in Dutch.