Postgraduate Course: Accounting and Financial Management (CMSE11104)
Course Outline
| School | Business School |
College | College of Humanities and Social Science |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 11 (Postgraduate) |
Availability | Available to all students |
| SCQF Credits | 15 |
ECTS Credits | 7.5 |
| Summary | This is an introductory course on accounting and finance with a particular emphasis on understanding accounting information and financial management. Its objective is to provide the accounting and financial background desirable for any intending business manager, and an introduction to those analytical tools necessary to understand the financial management of an organisation and the interrelationship between the organisation's accounting results, financing and valuation. Specifically we focus on the following topics: the accounting process, basic accounting statements and their interpretation, capital investment decisions, firm valuation, cost of capital, dividend policy and capital structure. |
| Course description |
Accounting is described as the "process of identifying, measuring and communicating economic information to permit informed judgements and decisions by users of the information" (American Accounting Association). As described, accounting is involved with the generation of both financial and non-financial information that will be utilised by decision-makers to make good. Similarly, financial management is mainly about making decision relating to assets, liabilities, cash management, investing and financing activities.
Together, accounting and financial management are related to the decisions that organisations make with the resources they have as well as communicating the information to interested parties.
This course aims to provide students with an understanding of the basic areas of accounting and financial management to enable them to function as members of the management decision-making team in their organisation. The particular emphasis is on the application of techniques and interpretation of financial information.
Syllabus:
Introduction to basic financial statements
Financial statement analysis
Working capital management
Capital investment decision: Appraisal methods
Basic cost terms/ Relevant cost for decision making
Budgetary process
Transfer pricing in divisionalised companies
Cost Management
Balanced Scorecard
Student Learning Experience:
The initial topics in the course provide opportunities to apply individual understanding and knowledge in weekly end-of-lecture exercises to an analysis of financial statements in a group setting. Learning will take place throughout the course via a combination of formal lectures, in-class exercises, discussion and assessments (group work and a final examination).
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
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Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | For Business School PG students only, or by special permission of the School. Please contact the course secretary. |
Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | None |
| High Demand Course? |
Yes |
Course Delivery Information
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| Academic year 2015/16, Available to all students (SV1)
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Quota: None |
| Course Start |
Semester 1 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
150
(
Lecture Hours 30,
Summative Assessment Hours 2,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 3,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
115 )
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| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
70 %,
Coursework
30 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
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| Additional Information (Assessment) |
Assignment 30%
Exam 70% |
| Feedback |
All students will be given at least one formative feedback or feed-forward event for every course they undertake, provided during the semester in which the course is taken and in time to be useful in the completion of summative work on the course. Such feedback may be at course or programme level, but must include input of relevance to each course in the latter case.
Feedback on formative assessed work will be provided within 15 working days of submission, or in time to be of use in subsequent assessments within the course, whichever is sooner. Summative marks will be returned on a published timetable, which has been made clear to students at the start of the academic year.
Students will gain feedback on their understanding of the material when they discuss their answers to the tutorial questions in class when needed. Students may also ask questions during lectures to assess their knowledge.
Weeks 1-11 (less reading week) - Feedback on end-of-lecture exercises during lecture
Grading and feedback of group reports
Grading and generic feedback for course examination
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| Exam Information |
| Exam Diet |
Paper Name |
Hours & Minutes |
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| Main Exam Diet S1 (December) | Accounting and Financial Management | 2:00 | |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Understand and critically evaluate the roles of accounting information and financial management in helping managers make decisions in organizations
- Discuss how information in budgets and transfer pricing approaches can promote planning, control and divisional performance in organizations
- Review financial statements and evaluate the performance of a firm in operations and capital investment
- Critically evaluate developments in cost management and strategic management accounting
- Critically evaluate the ethical issues in accounting/ management decision areas
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Reading List
Financial & Management Accounting by Pauline Weetman (2013), 6th Edition
Drury, C. Management and Cost Accounting (8th edition)
A good source of FREE information for background reading would be from:
www.bookboon.com
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Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
On completion of the course students should have demonstrated that they are able to:
Demonstrate skills and abilities in personal effectiveness via communication and working effectively with others as well as demonstrating skills in time management and planning to ensure timely submission of assigned group project.
Understand the basic concepts in accounting and financial management.
Evaluate the critical issues relating to performance of companies and capital budgeting decisions.
Apply accounting information for planning and control as well as use cost data in decision making
After completing this course, students should be able to understand and interpret reported financial statements and to apply basic costing and financial management techniques to generate information to aid decision making |
| Additional Class Delivery Information |
The course is assessed in two forms. The first is an assignment carried out in groups and worth 30%. The assignment is to evaluate the performance and prospects of an internationally competitive firm. The students are required to submit an evaluation of accounting performance at the end of the first half of the course and a completed report at the end of the course. The first submission is not assessed but is required. The second assessment is a degree examination worth 70%. This is a two hour exam in which you will be asked to complete a multiple choice part plus complete two questions from a selection of four. |
| Keywords | MGMT-AFM |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Yew-Ming Chia
Tel: (0131 6)51 3024
Email: |
Course secretary | Mr Peter Newcombe
Tel: (0131 6)51 3013
Email: |
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