Overview

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.

Assessment Strategy

Threshold c- to c+ (50-59%): Satisfactory performance. 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. Knowledge of key areas/principles only. Weaknesses in understanding of some areas. Limited evidence of background study. Answer inadequately focused on task and with some irrelevant material and poor structure. Arguments presented but lack coherence. Minor factual/computational errors. Lacking original interpretation.

Good B- to B+ (60-69%): Good performance. 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. Understands most but not all concepts/issues. Evidence of background study. Focused answer with good structure. Arguments presented coherently. Mostly free of factual errors. Some limited original interpretation. Well known links between topics are described. Problems addressed by existing methods/approaches. Good presentation with accurate communication

Excellent standard: 70+ 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 the use of creative and reflective skills.

Learning Outcomes

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

• Defend the use of accounting information for decision-making, planning and control.

• Examine the need for and investigate the principles underlying the preparation of accounting information.