ACM006: International Financial Reporting and Regulation

Module code: ACM006

Module provider: Business Informatics, Systems and Accounting; Henley Business School

Credits: 20

Level: Postgraduate Masters

When you'll be taught: Semester 1

Module convenor: Dr Ekililu Salifu, email: e.salifu@henley.ac.uk

Pre-requisite module(s): Financial reporting UG accounting curriculum or equivalent r equivalent. (Open)

Co-requisite module(s):

Pre-requisite or Co-requisite module(s):

Module(s) excluded:

Placement information: NA

Academic year: 2024/5

Available to visiting students: No

Talis reading list: Yes

Last updated: 28 May 2024

Overview

Module aims and purpose

The main aim of the module is to enable students to understand and critically evaluate the mapping between underlying economic events and the information in financial statements, and how this mapping affects inferences about the economic activities and position of the firm. The curriculum puts a strong emphasis on the wider social and political implications of financial reporting practice. Students are encouraged to relate economic events to diverse practices in financial statements, and to think critically about ongoing controversies and debates.

Module learning outcomes

By the end of the module, it is expected that students will be able to:

1. Understand and appreciate financial reporting as a complex social practice.

2. Understand the role of political, cultural and institutional factors in the production and application of accounting regulation.

3. Critically appraise various academic and professional arguments relating to the content of accounting standards and the standard-setting process.

4. Analyse, summarise and synthesise selected relevant academic and professional literature

Module content

The module will cover a range of theoretical and practical perspectives considering financial accounting:

• as the measurement of economic income and value (including applications to current accounting controversies).
• as an information system, including accounting for financial instruments and disclosure, and studying the demand for and supply of accounting information in a market setting and its stock market impact;
• as social and institutional practice examining the nature of and case for and against the regulation of corporate financial reporting.
• Illustrations are provided on how these theories are used in the production of accounting policies and regulation

Structure

Teaching and learning methods

Lectures will be used for the exposition of the major concepts, principles and techniques under consideration. Workshops will be used for case studies, practical applications and student-led presentations or discussions. A reading list will be provided that covers key academic and professional papers and other writings in the financial accounting literature.

Study hours

At least 28 hours of scheduled teaching and learning activities will be delivered in person, with the remaining hours for scheduled and self-scheduled teaching and learning activities delivered either in person or online. You will receive further details about how these hours will be delivered before the start of the module.

Please note the independent study hours above are notional numbers of hours; each student will approach studying in different ways. We would advise you to reflect on your learning and the number of hours you are allocating to these tasks.

Semester 1 The hours in this column may include hours during the Christmas holiday period.

Semester 2 The hours in this column may include hours during the Easter holiday period.

Summer The hours in this column will take place during the summer holidays and may be at the start and/or end of the module.

Assessment

Requirements for a pass

Students need to achieve an overall module mark of 50% to pass this module.

Summative assessment

Penalties for late submission of summative assessment

The Support Centres will apply the following penalties for work submitted late:

Assessments with numerical marks

• where the piece of work is submitted after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline): 10% of the total marks available for that piece of work will be deducted from the mark for each working day (or part thereof) following the deadline up to a total of three working days;
• the mark awarded due to the imposition of the penalty shall not fall below the threshold pass mark, namely 40% in the case of modules at Levels 4-6 (i.e. undergraduate modules for Parts 1-3) and 50% in the case of Level 7 modules offered as part of an Integrated Masters or taught postgraduate degree programme;
• where the piece of work is awarded a mark below the threshold pass mark prior to any penalty being imposed, and is submitted up to three working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline), no penalty shall be imposed;
• where the piece of work is submitted more than three working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline): a mark of zero will be recorded.

Assessments marked Pass/Fail

• where the piece of work is submitted within three working days of the deadline (or any formally agreed extension of the deadline): no penalty will be applied;
• where the piece of work is submitted more than three working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension of the deadline): a grade of Fail will be awarded.

The University policy statement on penalties for late submission can be found at: https://www.reading.ac.uk/cqsd/-/media/project/functions/cqsd/documents/qap/penaltiesforlatesubmission.pdf

You are strongly advised to ensure that coursework is submitted by the relevant deadline. You should note that it is advisable to submit work in an unfinished state rather than to fail to submit any work.

Formative assessment

Formative assessment is any task or activity which creates feedback (or feedforward) for you about your learning, but which does not contribute towards your overall module mark.

Formative assessments are available in the text book for all topics. In addition further revision questions are available on Blackboard and students will practise these questions in the workshops or will be required to complete them during their self-study time. Marking guides and feedback are provided where appropriate so that students can assess their own performance.

Reassessment

Additional costs