Postgraduate Course: Financial Accounting for your Business (CMSE11412)
Course Outline
| School | Business School |
College | College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 11 (Postgraduate) |
| Course type | Online Distance Learning |
Availability | Not available to visiting students |
| SCQF Credits | 10 |
ECTS Credits | 5 |
| Summary | While most businesses will employ an accountant for the preparation of financial statements it is still critically important that the owners and managers have a good understanding of the importance of various aspects of accounting and finance for their business or organisation. This course will enable participants to view accounting as a tool of management, and having completed it students will be able to understand and critically evaluate financial reports in order to assess the current performance of a business or organisation, and to plan for its future activities.
The course is intended to meet the needs of people who will be managing/leading, and/or working within, a small or medium size service businesses, and would be of interest to anyone in a business in the veterinary, medical, legal, science, computer science, or engineering fields. |
| Course description |
The course introduces participants to the nature and scope of financial accounting, together with the various types of business structure and the accounting requirements of each. Students will gain a knowledge of the principal accounting terms and main financial statements required by any business, together with an understanding of the purpose of each. Students will acquire tools to analyse and interpret the financial statements overall in order to recognise key trends of how the business is performing, and how this information can be used to plan for its future operations. Finally the course looks at financing options for a business; funding that can generated within the business together with options for third party funding.
Outline Content:
- Nature and scope of financial accounting and its importance as a management tool in the operation of tool of a business
- Types of business structures (Sole trader, Partnership, Company) and the accounting requirements for each.
- Understanding accounting terms and financial statements for a business.
- Evaluating performance of the business using the financial statements information
- Compare and contrast the internal and external sources of finance available to a business
Student Learning Experience:
This course will be delivered online through the virtual learning environment 'Learn'. Students will have access to recorded lectures and tutorials on each of the topics, and there will also be a number of live online sessions with the lecturer. A weekly study plan will give details of the topic to be covered, readings for the week, details of self-test materials, and tasks and assessments to be completed. Discussions forums will be used for class discussions on various topics.
|
Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
|
Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | None |
Course Delivery Information
| Not being delivered |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Explain the role and purpose of financial accounting and discuss the relevance of accounting information for a business, and for its management.
- Differentiate between various accounting terms and compare the main financial statements by a business, illustrating the nature and purpose of each statement.
- Calculate key financial ratios from accounting information, and use these to evaluate and assess the performance and financial position of the business.
- Compare and contrast the main sources of internal and external finance available to a business, and the circumstances for the most appropriate use of each.
|
Reading List
Principal textbook: Accounting and Finance for Non-Specialists, by and Peter Atrill & Eddie McLaney, 10th Edition. Publisher: Pearson, ISBN: 978-1-292-13560- (for paperback).
This book is also available in e-book form ISBN: 978-1-292 -13565-6
|
Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
-Enhancement of technology skills through use of online learning tools.
-Exercise independent learning and analytical skills.
-Critical evaluation and interpretation of course material.
-Apply analytical and problem solving skills to numerical information.
|
| Keywords | Not entered |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Ms Deirdre Ruddy
Tel:
Email: |
Course secretary | Mrs Kelly-Ann De Wet
Tel: (0131 6)50 8071
Email: |
|
|
University Homepage