Description

Introduction to Accounting and Finance

Description - summary of the module content

Module description

Accounting, which is concerned with collecting, analysing and communicating financial information, is a key function in any organisation as it informs decision making. All business managers should have a working knowledge of financial reporting and an understanding of the basic techniques of management accounting. This module, which introduces students to the key financial statements and how to complete and interpret them, will cover concepts that enable students to understand and evaluate the financial performance and position of a business.

For this module there is neither a requirement for prior knowledge of accounting and finance, nor pre-requisite  or co-requisites.    

Module aims - intentions of the module

The aim of the module is to give the student an introduction to financial and management accounting.  It outlines some of the basic accounting concepts and procedures used in the preparation of financial statements as well as some of those used in management accounting.

Financial terminology in English will be presented and practised through listening, reading, speaking and writing.

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)

ILO: Module-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 1. Demonstrate a basic awareness of the fundamental concepts and principles of accounting in the preparation of financial and management accounts
• 2. Produce simple financial statements for a business entity
• 3. Use appropriate budgeting and costing techniques to analyse a business situation and make a reasoned decision
• 4. Use ratios to analyse and interpret financial information
• 5. Demonstrate a knowledge of basic financial terminology when analysing a business situation

ILO: Discipline-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 6. with guidance, analyse, synthesise and present appropriate information to assist with decision making
• 7. evaluate different approaches and procedures and apply them to practical situations

ILO: Personal and key skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 8. communicate effectively in the written and spoken form

Syllabus plan

Syllabus plan

• Introduction to accounting
• Introduction to book keeping
• Preparation of financial statements using accounting conventions
• Analysing and interpreting financial reports
• Examining different costing techniques
• Budgeting
• Capital investment appraisal
• Short-term and long-term financing
• Understanding the limitations of financial techniques

Learning and teaching

Learning activities and teaching methods (given in hours of study time)

Details of learning activities and teaching methods

Assessment

Formative assessment

Summative assessment (% of credit)

Details of summative assessment

Re-assessment

Details of re-assessment (where required by referral or deferral)

Re-assessment notes

Deferrals

Mid-term Exam: September entry (C1) will sit this exam with January entry (C2)

Mid-term Exam: Cohort 2 will sit this exam in the resit period before the Cohort 2 Exam Board

Final Exam: C1 - will sit this exam with January entry (Cohort 2) 

Final Exam: C2 - will sit this exam in the resit period before the Cohort 2 Exam Board

Deferred exams will not be capped.  Where only the final exam is deferred, marks for the mid-term exam will be included in the module grade.

Referrals

Where a student has achieved a mark of less than 40% for the module, they will take a Referral Exam paper (2 hours) covering all learning outcomes.  The exam will be taken in the resit period before the Exam Board and will constitute 100% of the module grade.  The grade for the referral exam will be capped at 40%.

Resources

Indicative learning resources - Basic reading

Basic reading:

Accounting: A Smart Approach (3rd Edition)

Carey, Knowles & Towers Clark (OUP)

ELE

Web based and electronic resources

Module has an active ELE page

Indicative learning resources - Other resources

Company annual reports

Class hand-outs and activities

Key words search

Accounting and Finance