Financial Management Schools and Programs in Spain

Financial Management Studies in Spain

Financial management is the part of finance that deals with running a company's money: financial planning and treasury, management control, investment and funding decisions, financial analysis, company valuation and risk. In Spain it is mostly a postgraduate subject. Students usually first take a bachelor's degree in business administration, economics or finance and then specialise with a master's degree in financial management (Dirección Financiera), either an official university master's or a business school programme.

Official master's degrees

Under Royal Decree 822/2021, official master's degrees have 60, 90 or 120 ECTS credits and are valid throughout Spain; bachelor's degrees have 240. A search for "Dirección Financiera" among master's degrees in the Ministry's Register of Universities, Centres and Degrees (RUCT) returns 11 records, including older and phased-out programmes. Current examples include the Máster Universitario en Dirección Financiera at the Universidad de Sevilla and, online, at the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya, the Master in Accounting and Financial Management at the Universitat Pompeu Fabra, the master's in Financial and Tax Management at the Universitat Politècnica de València and the master's in Finance and Financial Management at the Universidad del País Vasco. A wider search for "Finanzas" returns 68 master's records, such as the Master in Business and Finance at the Universidad Carlos III de Madrid and the master's in Finance Management at the Universitat de Lleida.

Business school programmes

Many financial management programmes are run by business schools, often part-time for working professionals. The same decree created the Máster de Formación Permanente, a university continuing-education qualification of 60, 90 or 120 ECTS credits that must always be clearly distinguished from official degrees. EAE Business School is a typical example: its Máster en Dirección Financiera has 60 ECTS credits, is taught part-time in Spanish in Barcelona and Madrid, and in Madrid lasts 12 months. In Barcelona students receive the school's own master's and a Máster de Formación Permanente from the Universitat de Lleida; in Madrid the qualification is the school's own, with UNIE. The programme covers financial strategy, financial planning and treasury, management control, investment decisions, financial analysis and company valuation.

Business school programmes like this do not lead to an official master's degree. That matters if you later want a doctorate in Spain or need the degree recognised abroad, so check how each programme is classified before you apply.

Where to study financial management in Spain

Our directory lists 23 schools for this subject. Madrid and Barcelona have the most. Examples include universities such as the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, CUNEF Universidad, the Universidad Camilo José Cela, the Universitat Jaume I and the Universidad del País Vasco; and business schools such as ESADE, EAE Business School, the IEF (Institut d'Estudis Financers) and EUNCET in Catalonia, ESIC, ESERP and IMF Business School in the Madrid area, CESTE in Zaragoza, ENAE in Murcia and ESESA in Málaga.

For a shorter, practical route, vocational training (FP) offers the Técnico Superior en Administración y Finanzas, a 2,000-hour higher-level qualification that, according to the ministry's TodoFP portal, prepares for jobs such as financial administrator.

Admission

Official master's degrees require a bachelor's degree, and each university sets its own admission criteria. Business schools are often more flexible: EAE accepts graduates who want to specialise and professionals with experience in finance or accounting, and asks candidates from fields other than economics or business to take a module in financial accounting first. Students who still need a bachelor's degree and finished secondary school outside Spain usually start with UNEDasiss, the UNED service that assesses international students' records for admission to Spanish bachelor's degrees.

Recognition and careers

Financial management is not a regulated profession in Spain. A foreign degree can receive a declaración de equivalencia, which certifies its academic level (bachelor's or master's), and students who continue studying in Spain can ask for convalidación of subjects. EAE lists career paths such as chief financial officer (CFO), financial controller, treasury director, strategic financial consultant, financial planning and analysis (FP&A) director and financial auditor.

Frequently asked questions

Is there a bachelor's degree in financial management in Spain?

Financial management is mainly taught at master's level. Students usually take a bachelor's degree in business administration, economics or finance first.

What is the difference between a Máster Universitario and a Máster de Formación Permanente?

A Máster Universitario is an official degree listed in RUCT. A Máster de Formación Permanente is a university continuing-education qualification of 60 to 120 ECTS credits that is not an official degree.

Can I study financial management part-time?

Yes. Many business school programmes are part-time, such as EAE's 60-credit master's, and the UOC offers its official master's online.