Undergraduate Course: Accounting for Business 1 (ACCN08012)
Course Outline
| School | Business School |
College | College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 8 (Year 1 Undergraduate) |
Availability | Available to all students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | While most businesses will employ an accountant for the preparation of financial statements and for analysis of accounting information, it may still be important that others, such as owners, managers, or employees, from a non-accounting background, have a good understanding of the importance of various aspects of accounting and finance for a business or organisation. This course will enable participants to view accounting as a tool of management, and having completed it students will be able to understand and critically evaluate financial reports in order to assess the current performance of a business or organisation, and to plan for its future activities.
The course is divided into two parts, the first dealing with Financial Accounting topics, and the second with Management Accounting topics
This course is intended for students for whom Accounting is not an obligatory course in their degree programme, and it assumes no prior accounting knowledge by students in advance of taking the course. |
| Course description |
The first part of this course introduces participants to the nature and scope of financial accounting, together with the various types of business structure and the accounting requirements of each. Students will gain a knowledge of the principal accounting terms and the main financial statements required by any business, together with an understanding of the purpose of each. Students will acquire tools to analyse and interpret the financial statements overall in order to recognise key trends of how the business is performing, and how this information can be used to plan for its future operations. The course also looks at financing options for a business; funding that can generated within the business together with options for third party funding.
The second part of the course will give course participants an understanding of the internal management accounting systems and processes used by businesses in their planning and costing decisions in order to achieve the overall aims and objectives of the business. Key accounting tools such as budgetary planning and costing will be examined, and having completed the course participants will be able to apply the principles of these techniques to solve problems and answer questions faced by management regarding its financial operations.
Outline Content
Nature and scope of financial accounting and its importance as a management tool in the operation of tool of a business
Types of business structures (Sole trader, Partnership, Company) and the accounting requirements for each.
Understanding accounting terms and financial statements for a business.
Evaluating performance of the business using the financial statements information
Compare and contrast the internal and external sources of finance available to a business
The budgeting process and its importance for an business or organization
The role of costing and the terminology and processes used in this area
The use of break-even analysis in making decisions for a business
Full costing and its use in the costing of services and products and its role in setting prices.
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Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | None |
| High Demand Course? |
Yes |
Course Delivery Information
|
| Academic year 2024/25, Available to all students (SV1)
|
Quota: 400 |
| Course Start |
Semester 1 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
200
(
Lecture Hours 30,
Seminar/Tutorial Hours 9,
Feedback/Feedforward Hours 2,
Summative Assessment Hours 2,
Revision Session Hours 1,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
152 )
|
| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
70 %,
Coursework
30 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
|
| Additional Information (Assessment) |
70% Written Exam (Individual) - Assesses all course Learning Outcomes
30% Coursework (Individual) - MCQ test (Best 3 out of 4) - Assesses all course Learning Outcomes |
| Feedback |
Formative: Feedback will be provided throughout the course.
Summative: Feedback will be provided on assessments within agreed deadlines. |
| Exam Information |
| Exam Diet |
Paper Name |
Hours & Minutes |
|
| Main Exam Diet S1 (December) | AfB1 Exam | 2:120 | | | Resit Exam Diet (August) | | 2:00 | |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Explain the role and purpose of accounting in a business or organization and its role in assisting managers to make key decisions in a business.
- Review financial statements and evaluate the performance of a firm¿s operations and capital.
- Differentiate between, and prepare, various budgets used by a business and discuss the importance of each.
- Perform costing calculations to demonstrate the way in which this kind of analysis can be used when making short-term decisions for the business, and in the costing of products and services.
- Apply analytical skills in solving defined problems.
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Reading List
| Accounting and Finance for Non-Specialists, by Peter Atrill & Eddie McLaney, 12th or 11th Edition. Publisher: Pearson |
Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Communication, ICT, and Numeracy Skills
After completing this course, students should be able to:
Convey meaning and message through a wide range of communication tools, including digital technology and social media; to understand how to use these tools to communicate in ways that sustain positive and responsible relationships.
Critically evaluate and present digital and other sources, research methods, data and information; discern their limitations, accuracy, validity, reliability and suitability; and apply responsibly in a wide variety of organisational contexts.
Knowledge and Understanding
After completing this course, students should be able to:
Demonstrate a thorough knowledge and understanding of contemporary organisational disciplines; comprehend the role of business within the contemporary world; and critically evaluate and synthesise primary and secondary research and sources of evidence in order to make, and present, well informed and transparent organisation-related decisions, which have a positive global impact.
Identify, define and analyse theoretical and applied business and management problems, and develop approaches, informed by an understanding of appropriate quantitative and/or qualitative techniques, to explore
and solve them responsibly. |
| Keywords | Not entered |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Ms Deirdre Ruddy
Tel:
Email: Deirdre.Ruddy@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Miss Quinny Jiang
Tel:
Email: Quinny.Jiang@ed.ac.uk |
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