This is an archived handbook for a previous year. The current undergraduate and postgraduate handbooks can be viewed using the links above.
Undergraduate Handbook 2025-2026 (archived)
Module ACCT2111: Assurance
Department: Accounting
ACCT2111: Assurance
| Type | Level | Credits | Availability | Module Cap | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tied | 2 | 20 | Available in 2025/2026 | None. | Durham |
Tied To
- N204: Accounting and Management with Placement Year
- N206: Accounting and Management with Study Abroad
- N302: Accounting and Finance with Placement Year
- N304: Accounting and Finance with Study Abroad
- N408: Accounting
- N409: Accounting with Placement Year
- N410: Accounting with Study Abroad
- NN42: Accounting and Management
- NN43: Accounting and Finance
Pre-requisites
- ACCT1061 Financial Accounting OR ACCT1041 Introduction to Financial Accounting
Corequisites
- None
Excluded Combinations
- ACCT2061 Audit and Assurance
Aims
- To develop students’ understanding of the critical aspects of managing an assurance engagement (including audit engagements): acceptance, planning, managing, concluding and reporting.
Content
- Legal and other professional regulations, ethics and current issues
- Accepting and managing engagements
- Planning and performing engagements
- Concluding and reporting on engagements
Learning Outcomes
Subject-specific Knowledge
- On completion of this module students should:
- Have an understanding of the purpose of audit and assurance;
- Have an understanding of the process of assurance from obtaining an engagement through planning it and reporting on it;
- Have an awareness of how internal controls operate within a business and how those contribute to the audit opinion;
- Have an understanding of the role that documentation and evidence plays in assurance and audit;
- Have an understanding of the ethical and legal requirements of being an assurance provider.
Subject-specific Skills
- On completion of this module students should:
- Be able to plan assurance engagements (including principally audit) so they achieve their objectives;
- Be able to conclude and report on assurance engagements in accordance with the terms of the engagements;
- Be able to advise on the ethical issues relevant to assurance engagements and when and why an assurance engagement is relevant to a business.
Key Skills
- Planning and organisational skills
- Critical analysis and judgement skills including professional scepticism
- Communication and reporting skills
- Use the online learning environment to efficiently access and manipulate relevant information
- Presenting information effectively, using appropriate tools
Modes of Teaching, Learning and Assessment and how these contribute to the learning outcomes of the module
- Learning will be based on knowledge transfer from workshops and independent study; workshop activities and discussions will provide the technical awareness of topics in a comprehensive form. Investigation of cases and real world organisations which underpin the workshops will encourage students to develop awareness of cultural differences and apply these to the development of their skills in managing themselves and others in such contexts.
- The summative timed invigilated examination will test students’ understanding of the main concepts and technical treatments through problem solving and reflection on learning.
Teaching Methods and Learning Hours
| Activity | Number | Frequency | Duration | Total Hours | Attendance Monitored |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Workshops | 20 | 2 per week | 2 hours | 40 | Yes |
| Preparation, Reading and Independent Study | 160 | ||||
| Total | 200 | ||||
Summative Assessment
| Component | Component Weighting | Element | Length/Duration | Element Weighting | Resit Opportunity |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Examination | 100% | In-person Written Examination | 2 hours | 100% |
Formative Assessment
Practice test
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.