Instructional goals
Equip students with the basic quantitative foundations needed to measure profit and financial position, and to evaluate the economic sustainability and performance of business activities.
Prerequisites
None
Intended learning outcomes
Independent Judgment:
Students will develop critical thinking skills that enable them to independently assess the accounting treatment of different business transactions. They will also acquire methodological tools to analyze and interpret financial statement information in a structured and informed manner.
Communication Skills:
Students will gain the ability to communicate effectively using appropriate accounting and business terminology. They will be able to discuss financial statements, explain accounting treatments, and express reasoned opinions on business transactions and financial reporting outcomes.
Learning Skills:
Students will develop the ability to approach complex problems by breaking them down into manageable components and identifying appropriate solutions. They will apply the techniques and concepts learned during lectures and reinforced through regular in-class and individual practice assignments, both in class and independently.
Course Contents
1. Introduction to the logic and structure of financial statements
2. Introduction to business performance analysis
Reference Books
Financial Accounting, by Robert Libby, Patricia Libby and Frank Hodge, McGraw-Hill. ISBN 9781264608751.
Teaching Methods
Lectures and 2 in-class exercise sessions, the timing of which will be set during the course based on class progress.
Attendance is monitored through the University's automated BEACON system. "Attending" status – which gives access to the midterm-based assessment route – requires attendance at no less than 75% of scheduled classes. Students below this threshold, or who opt out, follow the non-attending route (single final examination, 100%).
Assessment Method
Assessment is by written, verbalising examination. The written assessment includes multiple-choice questions and practical exercises.
For attending students, the final grade is determined by two midterm examinations:
1st Midterm – 30% of the final grade
2nd Midterm – 70% of the final grade
The final grade is the weighted average of the two midterms. The midterms are exonerating: students who sit and pass both are not required to take a final examination. In accordance with the rules applicable to the 2025/26 cohort, once the second midterm has been submitted the resulting grade is verbalised and cannot be rejected. Withdrawal must be recorded on Web Self Service within the duration of each written test.
Students who do not sit, do not pass, or choose not to take the midterms, and non-attending students, are assessed through a single written final examination worth 100% of the final grade, held in the regular exam sessions.
The two midterms are coordinated across Channels B and C (common dates and format).
Use of AI tools: Students may use AI-based tools (e.g. large language models) to support their study and the preparation of individual assignments, provided that such use is explicitly acknowledged and cited, indicating the tool used and how it was employed. Undisclosed use of AI tools, and any use during examinations, is not permitted and is treated as a breach of academic integrity.
Thesis assignment criteria
None
Week 1
Financial statements and business decisions
Week 2
Investing and financing decisions and the accounting system
Week 3
Operating decisions and the accounting system
Week 4
Adjustments, financial statements and the closing process
Week 5
Communicating and analyzing accounting information
Week 6
Sales, revenues, receivables and cash
Week 7
Reporting and interpreting cost of goods sold and inventory
Week 8
Reporting and interpreting property, plant and equipment and intangibles
Week 9
Reporting and interpreting liabilities
Week 10
Reporting and interpreting bonds and securities
Week 11
Reporting and interpreting shareholders' equity
Week 12
Statement of cash flows