Taxation, Accounting and Finance
Master of Science (M.Sc.)
Taxation, Accounting and Finance
Master of Science (M.Sc.)
Overview
In a Nutshell
Our master’s program in Taxation, Accounting and Finance (TAF) offers a clear focus on business taxation, financial accounting, and corporate finance. With nine dedicated TAF professorships, interdisciplinary collaboration modules, and practice-oriented teaching formats, the program prepares you to become a specialist in corporate analysis and valuation.
Formal requirements
The admission requirement for the Master's degree programme in Taxation, Accounting and Finance (M.Sc.) is
- successful completion of the Bachelor's degree programme in Economics at Paderborn University or
- successful completion of an equivalent or comparable research-oriented degree programme in economics or a relevant degree programme.
This degree programme must either
- with an overall grade of at least 2.5 or the equivalent foreign final grade, or
- you are among the top 35% of all graduates who have completed the examination. Either all corresponding examinations of the final semester and the previous semester or all corresponding examinations of the two previous semesters must be taken into account. This means that the grade of your degree (not individual examinations) is considered in relation to the final grades of all other degrees in the same degree programme. The comparison groups are either the degrees of the graduates of your final semester and the previous semester or the degrees of the graduates of the two previous semesters. In both cases, you must be among the top 35% with your degree in order to fulfil this formal admission requirement.
Content requirements
The degree must also include at least study components in the following fields and scopes:
| M.Sc. Taxation, Accounting and Finance | At least ECTS points |
|---|---|
| Taxation (= business taxation), Accounting (= accounting) and Finance (= financial management) | 50 ECTS CREDITS |
| Quantitative methods (no business informatics) | 10 ECTS |
| Bachelor's thesis | 8 ECTS |
The ECTS of the Bachelor's thesis are also taken into account in the field of Taxation, Accounting and Finance, provided that the Bachelor's thesis originates from this field. The ETCS of the Bachelor's thesis are not taken into account in the field of Quantitative Methods.
The Examination Board determines the requirements. If credit points totalling up to 30 ECTS are missing, the Examination Board may, in consultation with the candidate, determine which additional credits must be completed as a further prerequisite for enrolment.
Language requirements
Please note that international students (before they can start their actual studies) must prove that their German language skills are sufficient for the chosen degree programme. Accepted tests and specific requirements can be found on the website of theInternational Office.
Are you missing ECTS?
If you are missing up to 30 ECTS credits from your Bachelor's degree, enrolment in the Master's programme is possible subject to certain conditions. If possible, the requirements should be fulfilled in the first year of the Master's programme. You can find out which content needs to be re-studied in the notification sent to you by the study office. The Office of Student Affairs will also be happy to be your contact for further questions regarding the conditions imposed.
If you are missing more than 30 ECTS credits, enrolment is not possible under certain conditions, as the Bachelor's degree submitted differs significantly from a Bachelor's degree from Paderborn University.
If you would like to check in advance whether you meet the content and formal admission requirements for a degree programme, please send your overview of grades from your Bachelor's degree to the Admissions Office.
Further information on enrolment under requirements.
Any questions?
If you have any questions about the admission requirements, please contact the Academic Office.
You can find out all about deadlines and your next steps on the Paderborn University's central application information website.
Please check the admission requirements in advance.
Study Program
What’s this Program about?
Do you want to help international and regional companies navigate an increasingly complex world as a specialist in finance and reporting—whether as a corporate leader or as a consultant in tax and business advisory services? Or are you drawn to a career in auditing? Companies around the globe are looking for professionals like you!
As one of the largest departments in Taxation, Accounting and Finance at German universities, we prepare you thoroughly for a successful future in various fields of finance and reporting or for further academic study. You will gain in-depth
expertise in business taxation, accounting, and corporate finance. This knowledge is grounded in economic theory and rigorous scientific methods, enabling you to apply it effectively—even to entirely new challenges in a rapidly changing environment.
Our practice-oriented teaching methods and interdisciplinary collaboration modules equip you with the skills to communicate and implement your problem-solving approaches successfully.
3 Gründe für den Master Taxation, Accounting and Finance
Unser Masterstudiengang Taxation, Accounting and Finance (TAF) bietet einen klaren Fokus auf betriebliche Steuerlehre, Rechnungswesen und Finanzierung.
Study Contents
What is the structure of the course?
The nine professorships in our TAF department offer a diverse https://wiwi.uni-paderborn.de/en/studies/studienorganisation/modulesrange of courses, enabling you to align your studies with your personal interests and career ambitions. Throughout the program, you’ll learn to break down complex problems and solutions into their essential elements, communicate them clearly to decision-makers or clients, and facilitate informed decision-making. These social and professional skills are especially valuable in advisory fields such as auditing, tax consulting, and transaction services.
The curriculum covers the following areas:
With in-depth knowledge of tax law, commercial and international accounting, auditing, corporate law, and banking regulation, you'll be equipped to assess decision-making challenges within their institutional and legal context—and to
develop well-founded, economically sound solutions. Explore our full range of course offerings!
The collaborative courses are jointly offered by at least two professors from different disciplines, in some cases in collaboration with external industry partners. This interdisciplinary approach gives you a deep understanding of the complex interrelationships between different areas of finance and reporting, and equips you with decision-making strategies to effectively manage this complexity.
Examples of topics include:
- Methods, models, and strategies for the financial valuation, accounting treatment,
and regulatory handling of selected derivative and structured financial instruments
used by banks to hedge interest rate and credit risk. - Mergers, acquisitions, and divestitures.
- Transfer pricing at the intersection of corporate management and taxation.
You have the opportunity to broaden your academic profile with additional courses in business administration, economics, business law, or information systems.
In today’s data-driven business world, complex decision-making challenges in the fields of taxation, accounting, and finance (TAF) demand the ability to analyze large volumes of internal financial data and connect them with relevant external sources. Our modules in quantitative and qualitative research methods prepare you to meet this challenge: you’ll learn how to structure decision problems, identify key interdependencies, collect and evaluate the necessary data, and apply sound, evidence-based decision strategies. These skills are highly sought after by employers across industries and are essential for roles in consulting, auditing, and financial analysis.
Your studies culminate in a master’s thesis that must be clearly rooted in the subject area of Taxation, Accounting, and Finance.
Exemplary Study Plan
The study plan offers you a good orientation about your required and optional modules. However, the chronological order shown here is only an example and may change due to individual focus areas.
Focus Areas
Always included: our cross-cutting themes — digital & connected, sustainable & fair
No matter which individual specialization you choose, you will engage with key future-oriented topics across all subject areas—such as sustainable development, a digitally connected service economy, social justice, and stable, transparent financial and economic systems. Join us as we help shape the future of work! Only by thinking in interconnected ways can we develop meaningful solutions for a sustainable world.
Sustainability matters! That’s why sustainability plays a central role in our programs. Five professorships will prepare you to become a sustainability expert across various fields of economics and business:
- Business Administration, especially Sustainable Human Resource Management and Leadership
- Business Administration, especially Reporting, Governance, Sustainability
- Information Systems, especially Nachhaltigkeit
- Economics, especially Sustainability
- Business Education, especially Education for Sustainable Development
In addition, one third of our professors are already actively engaged with sustainability-related topics in both teaching and research and the number is growing!
Nachhaltigkeit in deinem Studium
Wie Nachhaltigkeit in die Studieng?nge der Fakult?t für Wirtschaftswissenschaften einflie?t – und warum das Thema immer wichtiger wird – erf?hrst du hier.
Possibilities
Study Abroad
It is important to us that you get to know different cultures and develop your language skills. Decide for yourself which opportunities you would like to take to gain international experience.
Each student has the opportunity to spend a semester abroad. You can choose the perfect place for your exchange semester from around 70 partner universities. Our special focus is the Asian area as well as French and Spanish speaking countries.
You can also gain international experience in Paderborn, even while being at home, so to speak. For example, you can take modules taught in English language. Most of the modules are led by guests from all over the world. You can also take part in a tandem language course or help with the integration of international students. Special highlights, however, are our short-term programs and summer schools. Here, you work in an international team on topics of business and economics for a few days. One example is the International Spring Program with Tohoku University from Japan which has taken place almost every year.
Together with our 9 partner universities in Asia we have established a particularly intensive connection to Asian countries. The core element of our Asian focus is the program in Asian Studies in Business and Economics (ASBE Program). Taking part in this program, you can gain profound knowledge of the Asian economic area, focus on Asian culture and spend half a year at one of our partner universities in China, Korea or Japan.
Students Report
Nine months in Denmark: Anna-Lena's internship abroad - Part II
Anna-Lena's wish to be able to look back on an instructive and enjoyable time at the end of her internship was definitely fulfilled.
Cinnamon buns, snow and wanderlust in Finland
In eastern Finland, Jessica was inspired by the Northern Lights and fabulous amounts of snow.
Northern lights and hearty waffles in Norway
Svenja tells how the Trondheim Fjord exceeds her expectations.
Enchanted by Colombia's diversity
Johannes reports how he accompanies turtles into the sea and observes whales.
Corona Semester Abroad in South Korea
Between green landscapes and ultra-modern cities, Jason studies.
Internship in New York
Yuri talks about his KPMG internship in New York and his time as a freemover.
Internship
An internship is not compulsory. However, we recommend that our students organise an internship on their own initiative during the lecture-free period, in combination with a semester abroad or during a semester off. This gives you the opportunity to further deepen the contents you have learned in a real company. In addition, you have the opportunity to apply for an Erasmus scholarship for an internship abroad.
Professional Orientation
We complement your academic training with guest lectures from industry professionals, case studies, business simulations, and project work. We also support final theses and seminar papers written in cooperation with companies.
In addition, you can enhance your profile with optional qualifications such as Business English, IT training, SAP and ITIL courses. Furthermore, you have the opportunity to acquire additional qualifications and to become a part of various student initiatives, for example in the areas of marketing, project management or sustainability.
Every January, a student team from our faculty competes at the John Molson MBA International Case Competition (MBA ICC) in Montreal, Canada. There, students develop strategic solutions to real-world business challenges, competing against top teams from around the globe.
Praxiserfahrungen im Studium
Projektseminare
In Projektseminaren bearbeitest du echte Problemstellungen von unseren Kooperationsunternehmen und erh?ltst Einblicke und Feedback.
Top ausgestattete IT-Labore
Hardware und Software auf dem neusten Stand der Technik zur Umsetzung deiner Forschungs- und Lehrprojekte.
Social Impact Festival
Gesch?ftsmodelle mit gesellschaftlichen Einfluss entwickeln.
Research
The TRR 266 Accounting for Transparency is a nationwide Collaborative Research Center and the first of its kind in the field of business administration. Paderborn University serves as the coordinating institution for this unique research initiative.
A team of over 80 dedicated researchers investigates how accounting and taxation influence corporate transparency, and how regulations and transparency affect the economy and society. The goal is to develop effective regulation for corporate transparency and a transparent tax system.
If you're considering a career in research, the TRR offers outstanding conditions and a wide range of support. As a student, you also have the opportunity to participate in research projects and connect with guest researchers from around the world.
Future Perspectives
After graduation Master ?
Career Opportunities
The master’s program in Taxation, Accounting and Finance prepares you specifically for careers with a strong focus on business taxation, accounting, and corporate finance.
Throughout the program, you’ll develop robust decision-making and analytical skills rooted in economics and business. These competencies enable you to approach both theoretical and practical problems with a structured, methodical mindset and to formulate comprehensive, solution-oriented strategies.