Undergraduate Course: The Accounting Profession (ACCN10027)
Course Outline
School | Business School |
College | College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences |
Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 10 (Year 3 Undergraduate) |
Availability | Available to all students |
SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
Summary | 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 |
The aim of the module is to provide 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.
Outline Content
Introduction to professions and the accounting profession
The professionalisation of accounting
Recruitment, socialisation and professional identity
Gender and the accounting profession
Race, ethnicity and the accounting profession
Professional work and jurisdictions
Accounting firms
Professional ethics
Commercialisation, globalisation and professionalism
Review - Deprofessionalisation or new professionalism
Student Learning Experience
The course is based on weekly two-hour sessions which will comprise a combination of lectures and group presentations on assigned topics. Lecture material will be distributed for each session. Students are expected to undertake additional self-study using recommended reading material.
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
Pre-requisites |
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Co-requisites | |
Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | Business Honours entry |
Information for Visiting Students
Pre-requisites | Visiting students must have at least 4 Business or Accounting courses at grade B or above
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High Demand Course? |
Yes |
Course Delivery Information
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Academic year 2024/25, Available to all students (SV1)
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Quota: None |
Course Start |
Semester 2 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
200
(
Lecture Hours 20,
Feedback/Feedforward Hours 2,
Formative Assessment Hours 2,
Summative Assessment Hours 2,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
170 )
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Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
80 %,
Coursework
0 %,
Practical Exam
20 %
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Additional Information (Assessment) |
80% Written Exam (Individual) - 3 hours - Assesses all course Learning Outcomes.
20% Presentation (Group) - 20 minutes - 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 |
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Main Exam Diet S2 (April/May) | | 2:00 | | Resit Exam Diet (August) | | 2:00 | |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Describe and discuss critically the principal theories which seek to explain and interpret professionalisation projects.
- Relate and discuss the structure and development of the accountancy profession in the UK and globally, including the power of the multinational accounting firms and assess the impact of commercialisation on accounting professionalism.
- Understand and critically discuss the importance of recruitment and socialisation processes to the construction of the professional accountant.
- Understand and critically discuss the significance of class, gender and race as barriers to recruitment and career building in the accountancy profession.
- Analyse critically the changing patterns of professional work and professional ethics in accountancy and interfaces with other professions.
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Reading List
There is no textbook for the course. A reading list for each session will be provided at the start of the course and will mainly comprise articles from academic journals which are available from e-journals, along with books and documents from the websites of organisations such as the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC), and the Professional Oversight Board. |
Additional Information
Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Cognitive Skills
After completing this course, students should be able to:
Understand how to manage and sustain successful individual and group relationships in order to achieve positive and responsible outcomes, in a range of virtual and face-to-face environments.
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. |
Keywords | TAP |
Contacts
Course organiser | Prof Stephen Walker
Tel: (0131 6)51 5543
Email: S.Walker@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Mx Fran Knocke
Tel:
Email: Fran.Knocke@ed.ac.uk |
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