Undergraduate Course: The Accounting Profession (ACCN10027)

Course Outline
School	Business School	College	College of Humanities and Social Science
Credit level (Normal year taken)	SCQF Level 10 (Year 4 Undergraduate)	Availability	Available to all students
SCQF Credits	20	ECTS Credits	10
Summary	The aim of the module is to provide final year students in accounting with critical insights to the profession they may enter or are likely to engage with during their careers. The course looks beyond the technical knowledge and skills acquired in earlier accounting courses to focus on the individuals who apply that knowledge and skill as members of professional organisations working in accountancy firms, industry and the public sector. The inclusion of subjects such as ethical decision making adds a vocationally relevant dimension to the module. The course is designed to offer historical and contemporary insights to issues such as: the problematic organisation of the accountancy profession; the power of accountancy firms; the changing scope of professional work; shifting boundaries with other professions; the accountancy profession in the global economy; exclusion from the profession on the basis of class, gender and race; diversity and equality; threats to accounting professionalism; and challenges to professional ethics.
Course description	Not entered

Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
Pre-requisites		Co-requisites
Prohibited Combinations		Other requirements	None

Information for Visiting Students
Pre-requisites	Course equivalents to Advanced Financial Accounting (ACCN10008); Management Accounting Applications (ACCN10010); Auditing (ACCN10009)

Course Delivery Information

Academic year 2014/15, Available to all students (SV1)		Quota: None
Course Start	Semester 1
Timetable	Timetable
Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info)	Total Hours: 200 ( Lecture Hours 20, Summative Assessment Hours 2, Revision Session Hours 2, Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4, Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours 172 )
Assessment (Further Info)	Written Exam 60 %, Coursework 30 %, Practical Exam 10 %
Additional Information (Assessment)	Individual essay of 2500 words: 30%; Presentation: 10%; Final degree examination: 70%
Feedback	Not entered
Exam Information
Exam Diet	Paper Name		Hours & Minutes
Main Exam Diet S2 (April/May)			2:00

Academic year 2014/15, Part-year visiting students only (VV1)		Quota: None
Course Start	Semester 1
Timetable	Timetable
Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info)	Total Hours: 200 ( Lecture Hours 20, Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4, Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours 176 )
Assessment (Further Info)	Written Exam 0 %, Coursework 100 %, Practical Exam 0 %
Additional Information (Assessment)	Individual essay of 2500 words: 30%; Presentation: 10%; Final degree examination: 70%
Feedback	Not entered
No Exam Information

Learning Outcomes
Knowledge and Understanding: - Describe the principal theories which seek to explain and interpret professionalisation projects. - Relate the structure and development of the accountancy profession in the UK and beyond. - Understand the importance of recruitment and socialisation processes to the construction of the professional accountant. - Comprehend the significance of class, gender and race as barriers to recruitment and career building in the accountancy profession. - Analyse the changing patterns of professional work in accountancy and interfaces with other professions. - Comprehend the power of the multinational accounting firms. - Assess the impact of commercialisation on accounting professionalism. - Evaluate the changing nature of professional ethics in accountancy. - Understand the significance of globalisation to the development of the international accountancy profession. - Understand the threats and opportunities facing the accounting profession. Intellectual Skills: - Identification and utilisation of relevant information - Analysis of qualitative data - Critical evaluation and interpretation of information - Synthesising and communicating findings - Problem identification and solving Discipline Specific (including practical) Skills: Critical awareness of: - Behaviour of accountants, accounting firms and professional organisations - Composition and application of accountancy practice - Contexts in which professional work is conducted - Ethical decision making - Nature of accounting professionalism - Inter-professional boundaries Transferable Skills: - Independent learning skills - Interpersonal communication skills - Organisation skills - Research skills - Analytical skills - Synthesising skills - Written and oral communication skills

Reading List
None

Additional Information
Graduate Attributes and Skills	Not entered
Keywords	TAP

Contacts
Course organiser	Prof Stephen Walker Tel: (0131 6)51 5543 Email: S.Walker@ed.ac.uk	Course secretary	Miss Jen Wood Tel: (0131 6)50 8335 Email: J.Wood@ed.ac.uk