Durham University
Programme and Module Handbook

Postgraduate Programme and Module Handbook 2024-2025

Module ACCT41610: Accounting & Finance (FT)

Department: Accounting

ACCT41610: Accounting & Finance (FT)

Type Tied Level 4 Credits 10 Availability Available in 2024/2025 Module Cap None.
Tied to N1T517
Tied to N1T617

Prerequisites

  • None

Corequisites

  • None

Excluded Combination of Modules

  • None

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, in particular, 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, students will have an advanced knowledge and critical appreciation of:
  • 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, students will:
  • Be able to use key techniques for interpreting financial statements;
  • Be able to use key techniques of investment appraisal;
  • Be able to 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

  • Learning outcomes will be met through workshops involving a mix of lectures, groupwork, case studies and discussion, supported by guided reading.
  • 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 lectures, groupwork, case studies and discussion) 40
Preparation & Reading 60
Total 100

Summative Assessment

Component: Written Assignment Component Weighting: 100%
Element Length / duration Element Weighting Resit Opportunity
Written assignment 3,000 words maximum 100% Same

Formative Assessment:

Group written assignment and individual presentation


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