Module Information

Module Identifier
ABM1120
Module Title
Financial Analysis and Decision Making
Academic Year
2018/2019
Co-ordinator
Semester
Semester 1

Course Delivery

 

Assessment

Assessment Type Assessment length / details Proportion
Semester Exam 3 Hours   Written examination  50%
Semester Assessment Report/Case Study  30%
Semester Assessment 1 Hours   Test  20%
Supplementary Exam 3 Hours   Written examination  50%
Supplementary Assessment Report/Case Study  30%
Supplementary Assessment 1 Hours   Test  20%

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this module students should be able to:

* List, describe, explain, compare and contrast different elements in accounting context, usage, approaches, regulation, practices and analysis; business funding; financial decision making; and business planning and monitoring

* Account for common transactions and produce standard financial and management accounting statements

* Interpret financial accounting statements

* Cite, explain, appropriately select and apply formulae/techniques to analyse accounting and market-based information; make short and long-run financial decisions; calculate costs of capital; and describe and present data

* Integrate different forms of analysis in order to generate a well-reasoned and holistic assessment of an organization's financial performance and position

Brief description

This module develops a practical grasp of financial and management accounting, financial analysis and financial decision-making, relevant to the aspiring general manager. Topics include the preparation and interpretation of the principal financial statements; accounting requirements and practices for the internal planning, monitoring, management and control of a business; and business finance, including sources of finance, financial management, and stock-market analysis of performance

Content

Introduction and context
  • Alternative forms of reporting entity
  • Users and uses of acounting information
  • Financial versus management accounting
  • Desirable qualitative characteristics of accounting information
  • Regulatory requirements of accounting
Understanding and interpreting financial accounting information
  • Accounting concepts and conventions
  • Principal financial accounting statements
  • Approaches to financial statement analysis
Choosing and managing business funding
  • Sources of business finance
  • Cost of capital
Essential statistics and present value calculations
  • Summarizing and representing data using mean, median, mode, variance, standard deviation,covartiance etc
  • Plotting data, charts etc
Management accounting tchniques and short term decision making
  • Various cost types and cost classifications
  • Alternative approaches to the costing of goods and services
  • Short run decision making
Long term investment appraisal techniques and decisions
  • Alternative methods for capitalproject appraisal/long run decision making
Planning and monitoring business activities
  • Approaches to and perspectives on budgeting Simple variance analysis
  • Sub organizational performance evaluation

Module Skills

Skills Type Skills details
Application of Number Develop an easy familiarity with numerical data sources and numerical data Apply numerical data to problem solving with care and accuracy Assess the reasonableness of and interpret numerical solutions Support assertions/arguments with appropriately developed and presented numerical data Calculate and use descriptive statistics
Communication Develop confidence in and clarity of oral communication via: Tutorial participation Project team group discussions Develop clarity and focus of writen communication via: Group project production Development of answers to self-study questions Develop and use appropriate subject specific vocabulary
Improving own Learning and Performance Identify and distil the key issues covered by lectures, tutorials and self-study Identify and use a range of learning resources Investigate benefits of small group working on self-study Structure study to accommodate intensive learning
Information Technology Use a variety of electronic web- and library based resources to review available information and retrieve pertinent information Use various software packages for the production of the group project report (text, numerical tables and analysis, graphics) Use software to complete elements of the self-study (e.g., spreadsheets for ease of tabulated numerical calculations, production of summary statistics, production of graphs, etc.)
Personal Development and Career planning Develop skills in financial analysis and decision making which are essential to the aspiring general manager Identify a variety of potential career routes within the financial and professional services sector
Problem solving Identify the precise problem to be solved Assess which data are pertinent to the problem Recognize that alternative solution methods might be available Select and apply appropriate methods for solving the problem Assess the reasonableness of problem solutions and interpret those solutions
Research skills Identify which information sources are available to: Facilitate module study (understanding, wider reading) Provide information to facilitate the analysis of business performance and prospects Provide raw input to the production of the group project Select the most pertinent information for retrieval Retrieve information Re-assess the pertinence and assess the credibility of retrieved information Properly reference/attribute information sources
Subject Specific Skills Identify and use sources of financial information Understand, analyze, interpret and synthesize between financial accounting, management accounting and market- based financial information Make well-based financial recommendations and decisions Bring financial analysis and decision making skills to the service of the business - in strategizing, marketing, operating, etc.
Team work Develop experience of team work and develop team working skills via group project

Notes

This module is at CQFW Level 7