Financial Accounting and Reporting Course Descriptor

Course Overview

This course is an introduction to the fundamental principles of financial accounting and reporting. The course introduces students to a selection of methods in financial accounting and reporting, taking care to discuss both the business use of these methods and their possible ethical implications.

The course enables students to not only learn and use the tools of financial accounting but also interpret financial reports and consider the financial health of a business. Wherever appropriate, the course relates current economic, business, and global events to accounting issues and how these may be applied differently within a global context. Consequently, students will be encouraged to read financial articles in the press and will analyse financial reports of a range of existing different businesses in addition to studying academic journals on financial accounting. 

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of the course, students will be able to:

Knowledge and Understanding

Subject Specific Skills

Transferable and Employability Skills

Teaching and Learning

This course has a dedicated Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) page with a syllabus and range of additional resources (e.g. readings, question prompts, tasks, assignment briefs, discussion boards) to orientate and engage students in their studies.

The scheduled teaching and learning activities for this course are:

Lectures/seminars/workshops

40 scheduled hours – typically including induction, consolidation or revision, and assessment activity hours.

• Version 1:all sessions in the same sized group

OR

• Version 2: most of the sessions in larger groups; some of the sessions in smaller groups

Faculty hold regular ‘office hours’, which are opportunities for students to drop in or sign up to explore ideas, raise questions, or seek targeted guidance or feedback, individually or in small groups. 

Students are to attend and participate in all the scheduled teaching and learning activities for this course and to manage their directed learning and independent study.

Indicative total learning hours for this course: 150

Assessment

Both formative and summative assessment are used as part of this course, with purely formative opportunities typically embedded within interactive teaching sessions, office hours, and/or the VLE.

Summative Assessments

Further information about the assessments can be found in the Course Syllabus.

Feedback

Students will receive formative and summative feedback in a variety of ways, written (e.g. marked up on assignments, through email or the VLE) or oral (e.g. as part of interactive teaching sessions or in office hours).

Indicative Reading

Note: Comprehensive and current reading lists are produced annually in the Course Syllabus or other documentation provided to students; the indicative reading list provided below is for a general guide and part of the approval/modification process only.

• “Financial Accounting”, 10th edition (International Student Edition), Libby, Libby, & Hodge (McGraw-Hill).

Indicative Topics

Note: Comprehensive and current topics for courses are produced annually in the Course Syllabus or other documentation provided to students; the indicative topics provided below is used as a general guide and part of the approval/modification process only.

• Business decisions and the accounting system
• The structure of financial statements
• Reporting and interpreting accounting information