Module ECOS3272: Dissertation in Accounting

Department: Business School (Economics and Finance) [Queen's Campus, Stockton]

ECOS3272: Dissertation in Accounting

Prerequisites

• None

Corequisites

• None

Excluded Combination of Modules

• ECOS3032 Dissertation

Aims

• The module seeks:
• To provide students with the opportunity to undertake a detailed and critical examination of an approved topic of interest, and to present their findings and conclusions in an extended and coherent piece of work.
• To develop students' abilities to plan and manage their own learning.
• To facilitate students' development of research skills and provide the opportunity to apply their theoretical and practical (work-based) knowledge to an appropriate topic associated with their degree. Empirical research is encouraged where appropriate to the topic and programme of study, but is not compulsory.

Content

• The dissertation topic, which is subject to approval, should relate to one of the following areas of accounting: corporate reporting & disclosure, management accounting & control, auditing, assurance & forensic accounting, corporate governance, taxation, corporate social responsibility, sustainability & ethics, accounting information systems and international accounting.
• Lectures and supervisions will address the issues of research methods and methodology, data gathering and analysis, reviewing literature, structure and presentation of argument, and academic writing.

Learning Outcomes

• On completion of this module students should have acquired extended knowledge of a relevant topic of interest.

• On completion of this module students should:
• have acquired skills of independent research and project management;
• be able to present and analyse complex data in a clear and appropriate manner;
• be able to present arguments and conclusions in an extended and coherent form.

• Written Communication
• Planning, Organisation and Working to Deadlines
• Problem Solving and Analysis - by designing a research project, applying concepts and employing relevant analytical skills
• Initiative - by gaining access to relevant sources of information
• Computer Literacy - by production of the dissertation in word processed form, accessing literature and other sources via electronic means and the use of relevant computer-based methods of analysis

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

• Learning is facilitated by lectures, individual supervisions and private study, underpinned by the practical experience which students have gained throughout the programme to date.
• Formative assessment comprises the preparation of a dissertation outline, draft chapters for discussion at supervisions and the keeping of a dissertation diary.
• Summative assessment is through the production of a dissertation of 12,000 words (maximum).

Teaching Methods and Learning Hours

Summative Assessment

Formative Assessment:

Preparation of dissertation outline, including methodology, and draft chapters for discussion at supervisions. Keeping of a dissertation diary.

■ Attendance at all activities marked with this symbol will be monitored. Students who fail to attend these activities, or to complete the summative or formative assessment specified above, will be subject to the procedures defined in the University's General Regulation V, and may be required to leave the University