Durham University
Programme and Module Handbook

Postgraduate Programme and Module Handbook 2023-2024 (archived)

Module ACCT41910: Accounting and Finance (Taught)

Department: Accounting

ACCT41910: Accounting and Finance (Taught)

Type Tied Level 4 Credits 10 Availability Available in 2023/24 Module Cap None.
Tied to N1T717 Business Administration (Online) (for students entering from September 2022)

Prerequisites

  • None.

Corequisites

  • None.

Excluded Combination of Modules

  • Accounting and Finance (Online)

Aims

  • To contribute to the overall aims of the programme by developing students' understanding of the financial management of organisations.
  • To provide students with a critical appreciation of the financial tools of accounting and finance the techniques of financial statement analysis and investment appraisal.
  • To provide students with a critical understanding of the factors affecting the financial planning and risk assessment of a firm and of the financing and capital structure decisions, giving insight into topical issues.
  • To develop links with the Business School's research strategy by incorporating current research in the areas of financial management, reporting and disclosure.

Content

  • Fundamental Concepts of Accounting
  • Evaluating Financial Performance
  • Working Capital Evaluation
  • Financial Planning Techniques
  • Long Term Investment Decisions
  • Capital Structure decisions
  • Financial Risk Management

Learning Outcomes

Subject-specific Knowledge:
  • Upon successful completion of the module, the students will:
  • the key financial statements;
  • issues relating to working capital management;
  • the concepts of budgeting and short term decision analysis;
  • the factors affecting the capital structure and financing needs of a firm;
  • the fundamentals of financial markets in which firms operate;
  • the tools and techniques used in managing financial risks;
  • how managers make financial decisions in a world of uncertainty and imperfect information.
Subject-specific Skills:
  • Upon successful completion of the module, the students will be able to:
  • be able to use key techniques for interpreting financial statements;
  • be able to use key techniques of investment appraisal;
  • be able understand and apply techniques of cash budgeting and working capital management;
  • be able to identify and evaluate the methods by which financial risks can be managed, and the extent to which such methods should be used.
Key Skills:
  • Written communication;
  • Planning, organising and time management;
  • Problem solving and analysis;
  • Using initiative;
  • Computer literacy.

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

  • The summative assessment of the module, by an individual written assignment, will test students' acquisition and articulation of knowledge and their ability to apply key techniques of financial planning and analysis.

Teaching Methods and Learning Hours

Activity Number Frequency Duration Total/Hours
Workshops (a combination of taught input, groupwork, case studies and discussion), timetabled in blocks 6 Over a 3-day teaching block 4 hours 24
Preparation, reading and other independent study 76
Total 100

Summative Assessment

Component: Written Assignment Component Weighting: 100%
Element Length / duration Element Weighting Resit Opportunity
Individual written assignment 3000 words max 100% same

Formative Assessment:

Regular self-assessment exercises involving economic analysis and interpretation, using computer aided assessment.


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