THE UNIVERSITY of EDINBURGH

DEGREE REGULATIONS & PROGRAMMES OF STUDY 2019/2020

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DRPS : Course Catalogue : Business School : Common Courses (Management School)

Postgraduate Course: Accounting (MBA) (CMSE11246)

Course Outline
SchoolBusiness School CollegeCollege of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences
Credit level (Normal year taken)SCQF Level 11 (Postgraduate) AvailabilityNot available to visiting students
SCQF Credits10 ECTS Credits5
SummaryBusiness leaders need a solid understanding of how their organisation is performing in order to monitor, control, assess, and report on the contribution being made to shareholders and stakeholders. This course provides the skills necessary to understand, interpret and use financial information in a practical business context allowing MBA professionals to become more disciplined and analytical in the way they go about planning, executing and evaluating business plans and strategies. To achieve this, the course will look at the components of a set of financial statements and ways of analysing and interpreting that information, providing a basis for the later study of more advanced financial analysis on the MBA. The course also looks at the various tools used in management accounting, developing the skills necessary to analyse a range of financial decisions which are central to the success of an organisation.
Course description The lecture programme proceeds through the syllabus using numerical examples where relevant and providing the opportunity in class for both class discussion and individual practice with numbers. The Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) Learn will be the primary source of information relating to the course. Any announcements and additional information, such as topic slides, topic questions and solutions, assignments and links to additional materials, will be provided through this forum and course participants should use it regularly. The discussion board on Learn will also be used throughout the semester and will be the main forum for you to communicate with other members of the class and with the course lecturer. Course participants will be able to assess their understanding of a topic by completing short online multiple choice assessments and also by the submission of a number of assignments to the course lecturer for review and feedback.

Syllabus:
Introduction to Financial and Management Accounting - ethics, purpose and users and regulatory framework.
Accounting terms and the primary financial statements
Financial statements of a Company and how to avoid creative accounting.
Analysing and interpreting financial statements.
Planning, Controlling and Decision Making tools for Management
Budgeting for Business
Cost-Volume-Profit Analysis.

Student Learning Experience:
The course engages with and develops numerical skills, analytical skills and skills of synthesis and presentation. Overall the course provides the grounding necessary for non-specialists to engage in dialogue with accounting professionals and to better understand how organisations (their own and others) are performing.
Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
Pre-requisites Co-requisites
Prohibited Combinations Other requirements For Business School PG students only, or by special permission of the School. Please contact the course secretary.
Course Delivery Information
Academic year 2019/20, Not available to visiting students (SS1) Quota:  None
Course Start Semester 1
Timetable Timetable
Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) Total Hours: 100 ( Lecture Hours 27, Formative Assessment Hours 10, Summative Assessment Hours 2, Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 2, Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours 59 )
Assessment (Further Info) Written Exam 70 %, Coursework 30 %, Practical Exam 0 %
Additional Information (Assessment) Written Examination 70%
Coursework 30%
Feedback The MCQ tests offer general formative feedback on your performance of each question, with guidance on areas which the tests have identified as development areas.

The Coursework, will have two formative feedback opportunities:

1. A video recording with a narrative of the grading process will be shared with the students. The purpose of this feedback is to help you appreciate what message you have conveyed through your report and whether it is accurate or suggests a lack of understanding. Furthermore, the feedback will attempt to identify missed opportunities or evidence to illustrate the points you raised. The logic behind the use of the video has the hope of making it easier for the student to follow the verbal narrative.
2. Students will have the opportunity to arrange a 1:1 feedback opportunity to discuss the feedback further and if possible to provide guidance and support on how to develop going forward.

The exam does not provide for feedback as it is the summative assessment of the course.

Exam scripts cannot be taken away by students. Students who wish to view an exam script, should contact the programme support team to arrange a time.
Exam Information
Exam Diet Paper Name Hours & Minutes
Outwith Standard Exam Diets December2:00
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
  1. Understand the derivation of the three financial statements which provide the basis for corporate financial reporting.
  2. Critically appreciate the strengths and the limitations of these statements.
  3. Use financial statements to critically assess corporate performance.
Reading List
Principal textbook: Accounting and Finance for Non-Specialists, by and Peter Atrill & Eddie McLaney, 11th Edition.
Publisher: Pearson, ISBN: 978-1-292-06271-6 for paperback
This book is also available in e-book form ISBN: 978-1-29206279-2

Additional references:
Financial and Management Accounting, An Introduction, by Pauline Weetman, 7th Edition.
Publisher: Pearson, ISBN: 978-1-292-08659-0
This book is also available in e-book form.

Details of any additional readings will be given in the weekly study plan released on Blackboard
Additional Information
Graduate Attributes and Skills Cognitive and Subject-Specific Skills:
Demonstrate understanding of a profit statement, cash flow statement and balance sheet.
Demonstrate ability to interpret a set of financial statements using ratio analysis and other analytical tools.
Demonstrate they can present the interpretation through a (succinct) written report.
Recognise key issues relating to the preparation of financial statements

Transferable Skills:
Develop numerical skills (the ability to prepare accounts)
Develop analytical skills (the ability to analyse accounts)
Skills of synthesis and presentation (to write a report on a business based on its accounting statements).
KeywordsAccounting Performance Analysis
Contacts
Course organiserMr Adam Finkel-Gates
Tel: (0131 6) 51 5976
Email: Adam.Finkel-Gates@ed.ac.uk
Course secretaryMrs Angela Muir
Tel: (0131 6)51 3854
Email: Angela.Muir@ed.ac.uk
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