Module ASB-1204:
Tutorials - Accounting & Finance

Module Facts

Run by Bangor Business School

20.000 Credits or 10.000 ECTS Credits

Semester 1 & 2

Organiser: Prof Doris Merkl-Davies

Overall aims and purpose

The purpose of this module is to introduce students to a range of skills and understanding for their development into confident and self-sufficient learners. The module will also encourage wider reading and research in the areas of Accounting and Finance.

Course content

The module will be based around fortnightly tutorial sessions where students are introduced to generic academic skills and fortnightly workshops where these skills will be applied in the context of Accounting and Finance.

The generic academic skills encompass note taking in lectures and seminars; IT skills (including internet, e-mail and Blackboard); the sourcing of information (including library, databases and search engines); the use and interpretation of evidence (including quotation, citation and plagiarism); essay preparation and writing (including the development of academic argument); oral presentation; and group work.

The subject specific tutorials introduce the various aspects of the accounting profession and incorporate Business Games to develop understanding. They include visits and presentations by professional accountancy bodies (ACCA, ICAEW, CIMA, CPA Australia) giving an overview of the respective institutions as well as membership benefits. One business game will be given by CIMA. Another will focus on and strengthen students' double-entry bookkeeping skills. Students will receive a certificate following their participation in the business games. Their reflections on their participation will form part of their overall portfolio. There will also be quantitative method sessions to strengthen students' management accounting skills.

Assessment Criteria

C- to C+

C- to C+ (50-59%): Much of the relevant information and skills mostly accurately deployed. Adequate grasp of theoretical/conceptual/practical elements. Fair integration of theory/practice/information in the pursuit of the assessed work's objectives. Some evidence of the use of creative and reflective skills.

threshold

D- to D+ (40-49%): No major omissions or inaccuracies in the deployment of information/skills. Some grasp of theoretical/conceptual/practical elements. Integration of theory/practice/information present intermittently in pursuit of the assessed work's objectives.

good

B- to B+ (60-69%): Most of the relevant information accurately deployed. Good grasp of theoretical/conceptual/practical elements. Good integration of theory/practice/information in pursuit of the assessed work's objectives. Evidence of the use of creative and reflective skills.

excellent

A- to A (70% +):* Outstanding performance. The relevant information accurately deployed. Excellent grasp of theoretical/conceptual/practice elements. Good integration of theory/practice/information in pursuit of the assessed work's objectives. Strong evidence of the use of creative and reflective skills.

Learning outcomes

  1. Develop an understanding of accounting and finance techniques

  2. Develop confidence and competence in a range of learning processes.

  3. Develop the ability to find materials relevant to particular issues and to appraise their provenance and limitations.

  4. Be able to solve management accounting problems by using quantitative analysis techniques such as Linear Programming

  5. Develop an understanding of the various aspects of the Accounting profession

  6. Communicate ideas clearly and confidently.

Assessment Methods

Type Name Description Weight
ESSAY Reflective essay

The essay should reflect, after attending the talks by the accounting professional bodies and researching what they have to offer students, which of the professional bodies students consider might suit them best. In addition students must submit a screenshot providing evidence that they have completed the first year of the FEFE game.

 75.00
CLASS TEST Class test

test on quantitative management accounting techniques

 25.00

Teaching and Learning Strategy

Hours
Tutorial

Fortnightly generic skills tutorials

 20
Workshop

Fortnightly 2 hour subject specific workshops

 20
Private study
  • Reading
  • Preparation for lectures
  • Solving exercises for drop-in sessions
 160

Transferable skills

  • Literacy - Proficiency in reading and writing through a variety of media
  • Numeracy - Proficiency in using numbers at appropriate levels of accuracy
  • Computer Literacy - Proficiency in using a varied range of computer software
  • Self-Management - Able to work unsupervised in an efficient, punctual and structured manner. To examine the outcomes of tasks and events, and judge levels of quality and importance
  • Exploring - Able to investigate, research and consider alternatives
  • Information retrieval - Able to access different and multiple sources of information
  • Inter-personal - Able to question, actively listen, examine given answers and interact sensitevely with others
  • Critical analysis & Problem Solving - Able to deconstruct and analyse problems or complex situations. To find solutions to problems through analyses and exploration of all possibilities using appropriate methods, rescources and creativity.
  • Presentation - Able to clearly present information and explanations to an audience. Through the written or oral mode of communication accurately and concisely.
  • Argument - Able to put forward, debate and justify an opinion or a course of action, with an individual or in a wider group setting
  • Self-awareness & Reflectivity - Having an awareness of your own strengths, weaknesses, aims and objectives. Able to regularly review, evaluate and reflect upon the performance of yourself and others

Subject specific skills

  • knowledge of some of the contexts in which accounting can be seen as operating (examples of contexts include the legal, ethical, social and natural environment; the accountancy profession; the business entity; the capital markets; the public sector)
  • knowledge of the main current technical language and practices of accounting (for example, recognition, measurement and disclosure in financial statements; managerial accounting; auditing; taxation) in a specified socio-economic domain
  • skills in recording and summarising transactions and other economic events; preparation of financial statements; analysis of the operations of business (for example, decision analysis, performance measurement and management control); financial analysis and projections (for example, analysis of financial ratios, discounted cash flow analysis, budgeting, financial risks)
  • Quantification and design. Data, and their effective organisation, presentation and analysis, are important in economics. The typical student will have some familiarity with the principal sources of economic information and data relevant to industry, commerce, society and government, and have had practice in organising it and presenting it informatively. This skill is important at all stages in the decision-making process.
  • An appreciation of the nature of the contexts in which finance can be seen as operating, including knowledge of the institutional framework necessary for understanding the role, operation and function of markets and financial institutions (e.g. the economic, legal, regulatory and tax environment, both national and international; the firm; the capital markets and the public sector).
  • An ability to interpret financial data including that arising in the context of the firm or household from accounting statements and data generated in financial markets. The interpretation may involve analysis using statistical and financial functions and procedures such as are routinely available in spreadsheets (eg Microsoft Excel) and statistical packages. It may assume the skills necessary to manipulate financial data and carry out statistical and econometric tests (e.g. estimation and interpretation of asset pricing models; financial modelling and projections; event studies and residuals analysis; elements of time series analysis, such as serial correlation mean reversion, and stochastic volatility).
  • An understanding of the financing arrangements and governance structures of business entities, and an appreciation of how theory and evidence can be combined to assess the effectiveness and efficiency of such arrangements (e.g. decisions as to sources of finance and financial structure; the pricing of corporate securities; the market for corporate control; corporate governance structures and mechanisms; financial planning and international dimensions of finance).
  • An ability to understand financial statements, and a basic appreciation of the limitations of financial reporting practices and procedures (eg financial statement analysis; the relation between cash flow accounting and accrual accounting; discretionary accounting practices).
  • Numeracy: the use of quantitative skills to manipulate data, evaluate, estimate and model business problems, functions and phenomena.
  • Articulating and effectively explaining information.

Resources

Talis Reading list

http://readinglists.bangor.ac.uk/modules/asb-1204.html

Reading list

A reading list comprising of journal articles accessible via University Library subscriptions will be provided.

Courses including this module

Compulsory in courses:

Optional in courses: