Module Catalogue 2024/25

Pre Requisite Comment

For Incoming Study Abroad and Exchange Students:

Incoming students should possess some basic accounting knowledge and be familiar with the content of the statement of profit or loss and other comprehensive income and the statement of financial position (NUBS pre-requisite level: ACC1000/ACC1003).

Co Requisite Comment

N/A

Aims

- to enable students to appraise a company's financial condition and performance from its published accounts, paying particular attention to the context of its operating environment and accounting policy choices

- To develop project management skills

- To develop team working skills

- To develop report writing skills

- To develop presentational skills

Outline Of Syllabus

Analysis of the business environment, ratio analysis, report writing, working in teams, work on presentations. Students will also be introduced to narrative reporting of financial performance in addition to analysing the methods used in reports such as impression management.

Intended Knowledge Outcomes

By the end of the module students should be able to:
Examine the key indicators of financial performance and compare the performance of one company with others.
Investigate the interaction of a company with the business environment to appreciate that accounting does not exist in a vacuum.

Intended Skill Outcomes

By the end of the module students should be able to:
Present an analysis of financial statements, including ratio analysis, in a group report and in a group presentation.
Prepare a word-processed group report that illustrates and compares (by means of graphs, tables and charts as appropriate) trends and features of the financial performance and position of a publicly listed company and comparative companies.
Analyse the operating environment and history of a publicly listed company.
Work in a diverse team over a long term project.

Teaching Rationale And Relationship

Lecture materials (PIP lectures and pre-recorded lectures) and module talk will explain the aims, objectives, structure and operation of the module, and students will form teams and be allocated a different company to each team. Lectures on team working, spreadsheet construction and on the analysis and interpretation of company accounts will provide a framework for understanding the following key indicators of financial performance:
1. level of growth
2. profitability, cost structure and impact of accounting policies;
3. cash generation and liquidity;
4. level of investment as a safeguard for future profitability;
5. structure of a company's finance.

Students are expected to obtain relevant background information for example via the the library, which is well-stocked with periodicals and other relevant sources e.g. Financial Times, industry/economic reports etc. All students have the opportunity to consult with academic staff on a group basis throughout the module. Students are required to take the initiative to arrange team meetings, consultations with staff as required, and to play a full part in the work of the group. Team working, research and report writing skills are thus developed through the project as well as analytical and numerical skills.

Assessment Rationale And Relationship

The report in semester one will help demonstrate development of skills which are key to the completion of the group project in semester two. The report will be based around reviewing and analysing narrative reporting techniques used by organisations to portray their financial performance to their stakeholders.

The second semester involves a group assignment. Individuals will receive the group mark adjusted according to the team members' assessment of each other's contributions to the report and presentation. Each team is to keep a log of its meetings, which should be handed in with the project itself. The Module Leader retains the right to adjust individual marks where it is deemed necessary in the interests of fairness in light of completion of a 'buddy check'. Included within the group report will be a reflective piece on the engagement and development involved in the first and second semester.

The group report and group presentation test the students' knowledge and skills acquired across the two semesters without exception.

General Notes

Original Handbook text: