Run by Bangor Business School

10 Credits or 5 ECTS Credits

Semester 2

Organiser: Prof Jon Williams

To provide advanced coverage of current topics in financial accounting and financial reporting, by examining the objectives and contents of selected essential international accounting and financial reporting standards. The focus will be on the selection and disclosure of accounting policies, accounting for joint ventures, the disposal of subsidiaries, statements of cash flows, foreign currency translation, and earnings per share. In each case, current international accounting standards will be critically examined in the context of the range of accounting methods available. The course will conclude by reviewing the limitations of current financial reporting and the problem of creative accounting.

The content may include but will not be limited to demonstrating and application of the: Accounting policies; restatement of prior period results; accounting for the disposal of subsidiaries and accounting for discontinued operations; joint ventures; statements of cash flow; accounting for foreign currency transactions and translation; earnings per share; limitations of financial statements and creative accounting.

good

B- to B+ Techniques used in accounting and financial statement preparation are well understood and fully shown but with minor errors made in the detail of the computation. Final accounts and financial statements are substantially correct and presented appropriately for publication, but may contain a few errors. Conceptual awareness is shown at a high level with evidence of reading and the development of ideas outside lecture material, but still with some misunderstanding not of a fundamental nature.

excellent

A- to A* Accounting and financial statement preparation shows full competence at the technical level, with correct or substantially correct accounts, disclosures and financial statements, drafted suitably for publication. There is demonstration of reading and thorough understanding at the conceptual level, with very few examples of misunderstanding. The work is of the standard expected of a competent trainee accountant.

C- to C+

C- to C+ A technically competent grasp of the techniques of accounting or financial statement preparation are shown, but with some made in accounting or in the final financial statements. Conceptual issues are generally covered well, but with some misunderstanding, with some use of additional material shown beyond the lecture content. A critical understanding of accounting is shown, but with some shortcomings in analysis or synthesis.

threshold

D- to D+ A sound grasp of the techniques of accounting or financial statement preparation are shown but significant errors are made in accounting or in the final financial statements. Conceptual issues are covered in a superficial way with evidence of critical analysis, but only limited engagement with additional material shown beyond the lecture content.

1. Demonstrate an understanding of the financial statements by prepare individual and consolidated financial statements drafted to a level suitable for published accounts, including joint ventures and foreign currency adjustments, in accordance with international accounting and financial reporting standards.

2. Discuss at the level expected of a competent accountant, explain the objective, examine the development, and application of international accounting and financial reporting standards in relation to the disclosure of accounting policies, the restatement of results, discontinued operations, statements of cash flow and foreign currency.

3. Understand and demonstrate complex accounting adjustments and disclosures required when a company disposes of its investment in another company.

4. Apply at a scholarly level a critical and analytical approach to accounting and the development of accounting and financial reporting standards.

5. Evaluate with close insight the limitations of financial reporting and the problems of creative accounting.

Type	Name	Description	Weight
EXAM	Exam S2 2hrs	2 hour closed book exam	100

		Hours
Tutorial	Recorded tutorial: computational + theory, using pre-set examples.	5
Private study	Guidance to appropriate reading, and the use of computational examples to practice accounting and financial reporting.	73
Lecture	Classroom lectures, including the use of worked examples to demonstrate accounting computations.	22

• Literacy - Proficiency in reading and writing through a variety of media
• Numeracy - Proficiency in using numbers at appropriate levels of accuracy
• 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

• 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
• Analysis, deduction and induction. Economic reasoning is highly deductive, and logical analysis is applied to assumption-based models. However, inductive reasoning is also important. The development of such analytical skills enhances students' problem-solving and decision-making ability.
• Numeracy: the use of quantitative skills to manipulate data, evaluate, estimate and model business problems, functions and phenomena.
• Articulating and effectively explaining information.
• Conceptual and critical thinking, analysis, synthesis and evaluation.
• Problem solving and critical analysis: analysing facts and circumstances to determine the cause of a problem and identifying and selecting appropriate solutions.
• 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 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).

Resource implications for students

Students are advised to purchase the core textbook for the course.

Reading list

Core textbook: Elliott, B. & Elliott, J. 2015. Financial Accounting and Reporting.Harlow, Pearson.

Co-requisite of:

• ASB-3515: Financial Reporting 1

Compulsory in courses:

• NN4J: BSc Accounting and Finance (4 year with Incorp Found) year 3 (BSC/ACCF1)
• NN4H: BSc Accounting and Finance year 3 (BSC/ACCFIN)
• N402: BSc Accounting & Finance (with International Experience) year 4 (BSC/ACCFINIE)
• N406: BSc Accounting and Finance (Bangor International College) year 3 (BSC/BICAF)

Optional in courses:

• N107: BA Business year 3 (BA/BUS)