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Cooperation with PwC and energy institute for unique Master programme

19 December 2006

The University, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) and the Energy Delta Institute (EDI) have announced their intention to set up an Executive Master of Finance and Control for the Petroleum Industry (EMFC-PI) planned to go live early 2008. This unique international post-academic programme -aimed at financial controllers working at petroleum companies- focuses on the upstream segment and deals with topics such as energy trading and reserves accounting.


The programme will benefit from a close, high level of cooperation between business and university and bridge the gap between practice and theory. PwC will provide industry knowledge and instructors for the programme. The RUG will act as the content owner of the programme, will place EMFC-PI within its current accreditation and provide instructors. Graduates are allowed to bear the international title Executive Master of Finance and Control (EMFC). EDI will host the programme, use its network of industry specialists and is responsible for the marketing and logistics aspects.

"The development of this programme is a unique initiative that combines in-depth practical with academic knowledge", says Dirk Swagerman, Professor in Controlling at the faculty. "Furthermore this initiative boosts Groningen in its ambition to be generally recognized as 'Energy Valley'. With the large number of activities related to petroleum and natural gas and alternative forms of energy, as well as a concentration of knowledge of energy and the energy business, Groningen fulfils all the conditions required to give this initiative a solid basis."

Aad Groenenboom, Energy & Utilities leader at PwC adds: “At the moment, a high-quality post-academic programme for finance and control tailored to the petroleum industry does not exist. I believe that petroleum companies have a great need for such a programme. The highly competitive environment in which petroleum companies operate demands sophisticated and effective financial management at all levels in the organization. At the same time, the industry is subject to rigorous rules and regulations. Furthermore the rising importance of National Oil Companies also creates further need for the development of joint high-level training programmes on an internationally established knowledge platform.”

Volko de Jong, managing director of EDI: “A post-academic programme for finance and control perfectly fits in the ambition of EDI to be a leading business school in the international energy world. Our participants come from energy companies around the world. The huge impact of finance and control issues is clear for these companies that are among the highest valued companies in the world. We are sure that with PricewaterhouseCoopers we have a partner that can provide in-depth knowledge on top of the academic experts of the University of Groningen.”

EMFC-PI Programme
Petroleum companies do not necessarily have the in-house resources to deal with all developments. The EMFC-PI programme can support them by educating and training their future executive staff at a post-academic level with the ability to help ensure the financial stability of the organization in the context of both normal operations and specific projects.

The target group comprises employees from multinational petroleum companies and the service industry. The programme covers topics such as Management Control, Information Management and Control Measures, Financial Accounting, Finance and Treasury, Corporate Law, Tax Law, Regulation, Logistics, Organization, and Management and Culture. A final thesis will stimulate students to integrate the knowledge acquired in the programme with their daily practice.

EDI and PwC
Energy Delta Institute (EDI) is an International Business School for Natural Gas, founded by N.V. Nederlandse Gasunie and the University of Groningen, with strong support from OAO Gazprom.
PricewaterhouseCoopers provides industry-focused assurance, tax and advisory services to build public trust and enhance value for its clients and their stakeholders. The PwC Global Energy, Utilities and Mining group is the professional services leader in the international energy, utilities and mining community, advising clients through a global network of fully dedicated industry specialists.

Last modified:06 December 2019 09.17 a.m.
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