Module Identifier AC10120  
Module Title INTRODUCTION TO FINANCIAL ACCOUNTING  
Academic Year 2003/2004  
Co-ordinator Mr Iain McDougall  
Semester Semester 1  
Mutually Exclusive AC11020  
Course delivery Seminars / Tutorials   4 Hours  
  Practical   2 Hours  
  Practical   2 Hours  
Assessment
Assessment TypeAssessment Length/DetailsProportion
Semester Exam3 Hours AC10210: plus an objective test (20%). CI28220: plus accounting software based assessment (20%).  80%

Learning outcomes

On completion of the module the student should be able to:

In addition, students taking CI28220 will be able to record transactions and prepare summary financial statements using SAGE a commercial bookkeeping package.

Brief description

This module will provide non-accounting and finance students with an introduction to: the assumptions and techniques underlying the preparation of financial statements, the information needs of the various stakeholders, interpretation of financial statements, and current issues in financial reporting.

Objectives

By law limited companies are required to produce financial statements on a regular basis. A set of financial statements typically consists inter alia of three main documents:

The purpose for requiring companies to produce financial statements is to help various stakeholders in their decision making.

This module will provide non-accounting and finance students with an introduction to: the assumptions and techniques underlying the preparation of financial statements, the information needs of the various stakeholders, interpretation of financial statements, and current issues in financial reporting. Students taking CI28220 will receive instruction in the use of SAGE a commercial bookkeeping package.

Outline syllabus

  1. Introduction to financial accounting and financial reporting; contents of financial reports; users of financial reports.
  2. Valuation of assets and liabilities; recognition of income and expenditure; regulation of financial reporting; accounting conventions; international considerations; limitations of financial accounting.
  3. Financing and structuring of companies; ownership and control; balance sheet equation.
  4. Calculation of profit: stock, prepayments, accruals, depreciation, bad debts, and taxation.
  5. Double entry bookkeeping.
  6. Cashflow statements.
  7. Unincorporated entities: sole traders.
  8. Segmental reporting; inflation; environmental reporting; foreign currency translation.
  9. Interpretation of financial reports; limitation of financial reports; Creative accounting.
  10. Course conclusions and current developments in financial reporting.

Reading Lists

Books
P. Ateril and E. McLaney (1999) Accounting and Finance for Non-specialists 3rd. Prentice Hall
A. Thomas (1999) An Introduction to Financial Accounting 3rd. McGraw Hill

Notes

This module is at CQFW Level 4