Run by Bangor Business School

15.000 Credits or 7.500 ECTS Credits

Semester 2

Organiser: Prof Lynn Hodgkinson

To enable students to gain a basic understanding of accounting and financial management, by examining basic principles and concepts in accounting statements and financial information so that they can be used to improve the quality of decision-making.

The different roles of accounting and its relationship to shareholder value and business structure; Measuring and reporting financial performance: the balance sheet and the profit and loss account; Management control and the use of budgets; The role of accounting information in marketing, operating, human resource and accounting decisions; Strategic investment decisions; The management of working capital; Sources of finance & financial markets.

threshold

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

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; Evidence of understanding the impact of management accounting decisions on the firm..

excellent

An outstanding performance, exceptionally able; 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 understanding the impact of management accounting decisions on the firm.

1. Appreciate the need for, and gain an understanding of, the principles underlying the preparation of accounting information.

2. Understand the principles used in recording business transactions and be able to prepare and analyse financial statements.

3. Understand the use of accounting information for decision-making, planning and control.

Type	Name	Description	Weight
	Individual Coursework		40.00
	Examination		60.00

		Hours
Lecture	A 2-hour lecture per week.	22
	One 1 hour drop-in session per week.	10
Private study		118

• 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 sentistevely 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.
• Teamwork - Able to constructively cooperate with others on a common task, and/or be part of a day-to-day working team
• 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

• 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
• knowledge of some of the alternative technical languages and practices of accounting (for example, alternative recognition rules and valuation bases, accounting rules followed in other socio-economic domains, alternative managerial accounting approaches to control and decision-making)
• 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)
• knowledge of contemporary theories and empirical evidence concerning accounting in at least one of its contexts (for example, accounting and capital markets; accounting and the firm; accounting and the public sector; accounting and society; accounting and sustainability) and the ability to critically evaluate such theories and evidence age
• knowledge of theories and empirical evidence concerning financial management, risk and the operation of capital markets (in cases of degrees with significant finance content).
• 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).
• People management: to include communications, team building, leadership and motivating others.
• Problem solving and critical analysis: analysing facts and circumstances to determine the cause of a problem and identifying and selecting appropriate solutions.
• Numeracy: the use of quantitative skills to manipulate data, evaluate, estimate and model business problems, functions and phenomena.

Resource implications for students

Students are advised to purchase the core text for this module.

Talis Reading list

http://readinglists.bangor.ac.uk/modules/asb-4007.html

Reading list

Accounting and finance for managers : a decision-making approach / Matt Bamber and Simon Parry Kogan Page, 2018.

Compulsory in courses:

• N2AU: MBA Environmental Management year 1 (MBA/EM)
• N2BB: MBA Environmental Management (with Incorporated Pre-Masters) year 1 (MBA/EM1)
• N1BL: MBA International Business (with Incorporated Pre-Masters) year 1 (MBA/IBUS1)
• N2BC: MBA Information Management (with Incorporated Pre-Masters) year 1 (MBA/INFM1)
• N2AS: MBA Information Management year 1 (MBA/INFOMAN)
• N1BG: MBA International Business year 1 (MBA/INTBUS)
• N2AF: MBA Law and Management year 1 (MBA/LMGT)
• N2BD: MBA Law and Management (with Incorporated Pre-Masters) year 1 (MBA/LMGT1)
• N2AN: MBA Management year 1 (MBA/M)
• N2BA: MBA Management (with Incorporated Pre-Masters) year 1 (MBA/M1)
• D4AE: MSc Environmental and Business Management year 1 (MSC/EBM)

Optional in courses:

• P3AS: MSc International Media & Management year 1 (MSC/IMEDM)
• P3AT: MSc Intl Media & Management (with Incorporated Pre-Masters) year 1 (MSC/IMM1)