AC4002 - Introduction to Accounting (2018/19)
| Module specification | Module approved to run in 2018/19 | ||||||||||||||||
| Module title | Introduction to Accounting | ||||||||||||||||
| Module level | Certificate (04) | ||||||||||||||||
| Credit rating for module | 30 | ||||||||||||||||
| School | Guildhall School of Business and Law | ||||||||||||||||
| Total study hours | 300 | ||||||||||||||||
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| Assessment components |
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| Running in 2018/19(Please note that module timeslots are subject to change) |
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Module summary
This module focuses on the accounting requirements of business organisations for internal and external reporting and decision making. It will examine the financial and management accounting techniques and decisions for sole traders and limited companies .
Module aims
1. to enable students to understand the underlying principles of the financial and management accounting processes and to prepare/construct relevant accounting statements
2. to enable students to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of accounting information systems and how they relate to the decision making uses of financial accounting statements
3. to enable students to analyse and interpret the financial accounting statements of a limited company
4. to enable students to understand management accounting techniques and their relevance to management decision making
5. to enable students to understand the context of the professional accountancy framework and to enhance their employability skills by using accounting software packages such as Excel and Sage
The module also aims to develop students’ skills, in particular:
- academic writing skills;
- communication skills, including oral presentation skills;
- application of knowledge and presenting data
- numeracy/ quantitative
- commercial awareness.
Syllabus
1. cash budgets, the income statement, the statement of financial position, the statement of cash flows
2. accounting adjustments and double-entry bookkeeping, simple suspense and control accounts
3. company finance and company accounting statements
4. interpreting financial statements and capital structure and investment ratios
5. absorption and activity-based costing, break-even analysis and budgeting
6. short-term decision making with pricing and costs
7. investment appraisal techniques and performance management
Learning and teaching
The learning and teaching strategy for the module is based upon key principles and techniques being introduced in a weekly 1 hour lecture which students then develop and practise using seminar examples. The week-by-week content of the module runs alongside the topics covered in the core textbook. Students will use the online resource centre accompanying the textbook which has additional practice questions and answers, flashcard glossaries of key terms, multiple choice questions, Powerpoint slides and a test bank.
Students will be responsible for attempting set questions in advance of seminar groups. Reflective learning will take place in the evaluation of the appropriateness of professional body frameworks which will be part of the coursework.
Learning outcomes
On completing the module students will be able to :
1. construct a set of financial accounting statements for a sole trader and a limited company, highlight the decision making needs of external users of financial reports and understand and implement the underlying concepts and conventions
2. understand and effectively use the double-entry system of bookkeeping including simple suspense and control accounts
3. calculate, interpret and understand the limitations of a set of accounting ratios for a limited company
4. calculate and interpret short-term cost analysis and budgeting using Excel for internal decision making purposes
5. differentiate between marginal and absorption costing and use the relevant technique in decision making and understand the traditional and ABC approaches to job and product costing
6. understand the principles involved in cost estimation for planning, control and decision making and use and interpret performance measurement and investment appraisal techniques for long-term decision making
Assessment strategy
The assessment strategy for the module will comprise three elements. The two in-classtests will assess basic financial and management accounting techniques, the coursework will require students to prepare an individual report and construct final accounting statements for a limited company and a reflective essay on the professional accountancy framework whilst the end-of-year examination will assess the management accounting learning outcomes.
Bibliography
Core textbook
Carey M., Knowles C. and Towers-Clark J. ( 2011 ) Accounting a smart approach
Oxford University Press
www.oxfordtextbooks.co.uk/orc/carey/
Additional reading
Weetman P. ( 2011 ) Financial and Management Accounting 5th edition FT Prentice Hall
www.myaccountinglab.com
Financial Reporting Council www.frc.org.uk
ICAEW www.icaew.com
ACCA www.accaglobal.com
CIMA www.cimaglobal.com
Accountancy Age www.accountancyage.com