Dr Vasiliki Athanasakou OLD 2.20 and Prof Ane Miren Tamayo OLD 5.05

This course is available on the MSc in Accounting and Finance, MSc in Accounting, Organisations and Institutions, MSc in Management and MSc in Management (CEMS MIM). This course is available with permission as an outside option to students on other programmes where regulations permit.

Other students may be admitted only with the agreement, in writing, of the MSc (Accounting) Course Tutor if they have sufficient academic background knowledge. This course cannot be taken in conjunction with AC420 Financial Reporting in Capital Markets.

Knowledge of financial accounting at undergraduate level is presumed.

A number of financial reporting issues and topics are covered. It is likely that they include but are not restricted to the following: accounting for value creation with special emphasis on cash flows and revenues, business combinations, corporate disclosure, capital markets efficiency, and corporate governance. Most topics are covered from an International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) and/or United States Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (US GAAP) perspective.

18 hours of lectures and 9 hours of seminars in the MT.

The formative assessment consists of two pieces of course work that students will hand in. This will be a combination of essay/discussion type questions and some numerical calculations. The questions will be representative in nature and difficulty of the exam which will also be a combination of discussion and numerical questions. The questions to be handed in for formative assessment will be based on specific readings and numerical examples covered in class and lecture and will ensure that students have gained mastery over the course material and are comfortable with its quantitative aspects. In addition to individual feedback the written work will also be discussed in class, and solution hints and discussion points posted on Moodle.

Throughout the course we rely on a range of academic articles, case studies, text book chapters, practitioner and popular press articles, company financial statements, and excerpts from accounting standards to illustrate the various concepts, treatments, and principles. Examples of readings: Beyer A, Cohen DA, Lys TZ and Walther BR 'The financial reporting environment: Review of the recent literature', Journal of Accounting and Economics 2010 50, 296-343; Kothari, SP (2001), 'Capital Markets Research in Accounting', Journal of Accounting and Economics Vol 31, pp 105-231; Farber DB (2008) 'Restoring Trust after Fraud: Does Corporate Governance Matter?' The Accounting Review 80, pp. 539-561; selected chapters from David Alexander, Anne Britton, and Ann Jorissen, International Financial Reporting and Analysis, 5th edn, Thomson.

Exam (100%, duration: 1 hour and 45 minutes) in the main exam period.

The first 15 minutes will be reading time.