Durham University
Programme and Module Handbook
This is an archived handbook for a previous year. The current undergraduate and postgraduate handbooks can be viewed using the links above.

Postgraduate Handbook 2015-2016 (archived)

Module ECON41915: CORPORATE REPORTING

Department: Business School (Economics and Finance)

ECON41915: CORPORATE REPORTING

TypeLevelCreditsAvailabilityModule CapLocation
Tied 4 15 Available in 2015/2016 Durham

Tied To

Pre-requisites

  • None

Corequisites

  • None

Excluded Combinations

  • None

Aims

  • To enable students to:
  • acquire and demonstrate a specialist knowledge and understanding of the aims of financial reporting and the techniques of financial statement analysis;
  • develop a critical understanding of reasons for, and the impact of, international differences in corporate reporting;
  • appreciate the importance of corporate reporting for transparency and accountability in corporate governance systems.

Content

  • Presentation of financial statements;
  • Ethical duties of accountants;
  • Non-financial, environmental and social reporting;
  • Reporting the financial performance of entities (international accounting standards (IAS/IFRS));
  • Financial statements of groups of entities;
  • Analysis and interpretation of financial statements.

Learning Outcomes

Subject-specific Knowledge
  • By the end of this module students should have a specialist knowledge and understanding of:
  • concepts of financial reporting and the techniques of financial statement analysis;
  • international standards of corporate reporting and their importance for the evaluation of firm performance;
  • the importance of corporate reporting for transparency and accountability in systems of corporate governance;
  • the purpose of CSR reporting.
Subject-specific Skills
  • By the end of this module students should:
  • have practised problem-solving and analytical skills in the corporate reporting context.
Key Skills
  • written communication;
  • planning, organising and time management;
  • problem solving and analysis;
  • using initiative;
  • numeracy;
  • computer literacy.

Modes of Teaching, Learning and Assessment and how these contribute to the learning outcomes of the module

  • A combination of lectures, seminars and guided reading will contribute to achieving the aims and learning outcomes of this module. The summative examination will test students' knowledge and understanding of the subject-matter, their critical judgement and problem-solving skills.

Teaching Methods and Learning Hours

ActivityNumberFrequencyDurationTotal HoursAttendance Monitored
Lectures 10 1 per week 2 hours 20
Seminars 4 1 per fortnight 1 hour 4 Yes
Preparation & Reading 126
Total 150

Summative Assessment

ComponentComponent WeightingElementLength/DurationElement WeightingResit Opportunity
Written examination 100% Written examination 2 hours 100% Same

Formative Assessment

Online test administered via DUO. Additional formative assessment, and feedback, may take a number of forms such as oral feedback on work prepared by students for seminars; answers to questions either discussed during a seminar, or posted on DUO.


Students who do not attend monitored activities shown under Teaching Methods and Learning Hours, or who fail to complete the summative or formative assessment(s) specified above, may be subject to the Academic Progress procedures defined in the University's General Regulation V, and may be required to leave the University.