Programme Specifications

N/A

Accounting
Finance

October 2023

This is a four year degree scheme with Year 0 being a generic business foundation year, enabling a student to continue onto the traditional three year programme. A successful Year 0 student will be able to enter Year 1 and should be confident that they will be able to successfully complete their studies, as they will have had an earlier introduction in the skills, competencies and syllabus of their chosen degree scheme route.

Accounting is concerned with the provision and analysis of information for a variety of decision-making, accountability, managerial, regulatory and resource allocation purposes. Finance is an activity concerned with the workings of national and international capital markets and the interaction between such markets and economic units, such as households, firms, financial institutions and governments. Accounting and Finance takes together these two closely inter-related areas.

The aims of the scheme are:

• To provide students with subject-specific knowledge and subject-related skills for a career in accountancy, finance; business or related area. These include:

How the design, operation and validation of accounting systems affect, and are affected by, the development of accounting theory, individuals, organisations, information technologies, markets, society and the environment. This study is informed by perspectives from the social sciences. Such perspectives may be derived from, but are not restricted to, disciplines such as economics, information systems, politics, psychology and sociology.

The design and operation of financial systems (which includes banks, stock exchanges, financial intermediaries, financial institutions and governments), structures and instruments and, in particular, to understand the pricing of financial assets, the measurement and management of risk, and the possibilities for optimising the behaviours of firms, financial institutions and individuals. Such study can be pursued from a variety of perspectives, including, but not restricted to, the behavioural, ethical, economic, sustainable and statistical/mathematical.

• To develop transferrable skills which are applicable widely to a range of occupations.

• To develop an appreciation of the concepts and characteristics of accounting and finance as an area of academic and applied study.

The learning outcomes of the Accounting and Finance part of the degree scheme are guided by the two QAA Subject Benchmark statement for Accounting and Finance. The programme provides opportunities for students to develop and demonstrate knowledge and understanding, skills, qualities and other attributes in the areas that are listed in further detail later in this section.

• A1 Knowledge of the contexts in which accounting can be seen as operating (examples of contexts include the legal, ethical, social and natural environment; the accountancy profession; the business entity; the capital markets; the public sector) and why accounting is valuable in these contexts.

• A2 Knowledge of the main current technical language and practices of accounting (for example, recognition, measurement and disclosure in financial statements; managerial accounting; auditing; taxation) in a specified socio-economic domain.

• A3 Knowledge of possible alternative technical languages and practices of accounting (for example, alternative recognition rules and valuation bases, accounting rules followed. in other socio-economic domains, alternative managerial accounting approaches to control and decision-making).

• A4 Skills in recording and summarising transactions and other economic events; preparation of financial statements; analysis of the operations of business (for example, decision analysis, performance measurement and management control); financial analysis and projections (for example, analysis of financial ratios, discounted cash flow analysis, budgeting, financial risks) and an awareness of the contexts in which accounting data and information is processed and provided within a variety of organisational environments and the relationships with other systems providing information in organisations.

• A5 Knowledge of contemporary theories and empirical evidence concerning the operation and effects of accounting, including detailed coverage of at least one of its contexts (for example, accounting and accountability; accounting and corporate governance; accounting and capital markets; accounting and the firm; accounting and the public sector; accounting and society; accounting and sustainability; auditing), and the ability to critically evaluate such theories and evidence.

• A6 An awareness of issues in financial management, risk and the operation of capital markets.

• A7 An appreciation of the nature of the contexts in which finance can be seen as operating, including knowledge of the institutional framework necessary for understanding the role, operation and function of markets and financial institutions (for example the economic, ethical, legal, poltical, regulatory, social and tax environment, both national and international; the firm; the capital markets and the public sector).

• A8 A knowledge of the major theoretical tools and theories of finance, and their relevance and application to theoretical and practical problems (for example, the concept of arbitrage and examples of its use; financial mathematics; informational efficiency; optimal risk sharing; portfolio theory; asset pricing models and the valuation of securities; cost of capital; derivative pricing; risk management; information asymmetry; principal- agenct relationships; signalling; Fisher separation and capital budgeting criteria; behavioural finance; term structure and the movement of interest rates; determination of exchange rates and financial intermediation).

• A9 An understanding of the relationship between financial theory and empirical testing, and application of this knowledge to the appraisal of the empirical evidence in at least one major theoretical area. The appraisal should involve some recognition of the limitations and evolution of empirical tests and theory (for example the efficient markets hypothesis; anomalies; risk management pricing of derivatives and other securities; portfolio management; interest rates; exchange rates; raising capital and capital structure).

• A10 An ability to interpret financial data including that arising in the context of the firm or household from accounting statements and data generated in financial markets. The interpretation should involve analysis using statistical and financial functions and procedures such as are routinely available in spreadsheets and other· statistical/econometric software packages. It may involve the skills necessary to manipulate financial data and carry out statistical and econometric tests (for example estimation and interpretation of asset pricing models; financial modelling and projections; event studies and residuals analysis; elements of time series analysis, such as serial correlation mean reversion, and stochastic volatility).

• A11 An understanding of the financing arrangements and governance mechanisms and structures of business entities, and an appreciation of how theory and evidence can be combined to assess the effectiveness and efficiency of such arrangements (for example, decisions as to sources of finance and financial structure; the pricing of corporate securities; the market for corporate control; corporate governance; financial planning; and international dimensions of finance).

• A12 An understanding of the factors influencing the investment behaviour and opportunities of private individuals (for example, bonds, equities, and derivatives; risk aversion; risk/return trade-offs; portfolio management and performance measurement; pensions and long-term savings; the tax treatment of savings and investments; international diversification; foreign exchange risk; objectives of, and constraints on, institutional investors and advisors).

• A13 An understanding off the financial service activitiesy in the economy, and the factors that are changing these activities over time, and an appreciation of how finance theory and evidence can be employed to aid such understanding (for example, ideas of information asymmetry, moral hazard and risk sharing could be employed to analyse the fundamental nature of services, such as insurance, pensions, bank lending and consumer credit, and also explore fundamental problems arising in such financial service provision;. The efficient market· hypothesis could be used to explore the value added by investment and financial services)

• A14 An ability to understand financial statements, and a reasonable appreciation of the limitations of financial reporting and disclosure practices and procedures (for example financial statement analysis; the relation between cash flow accounting and accrual accounting; discretionary accounting practices; and financial statement-derived measures of financial performance, including risk).

Learning and Teaching

Teaching, learning and assessment methods used to enable outcomes to be achieved and demonstrated are as follows: Lectures, tutorials, seminars, help classes, case studies, research, data analysis, and computer-assisted learning.

Assessment Strategies and Methods

Formal end-of-module examinations, formal and informal in-semester tests (including long form, short form and multiple-choice answer formats), project work / report / case study (individual and group), essay, diary / reflection, formal and informal presentation (individual and group).  

10.2.1 Intellectual Skills

Information provided by Aberystwyth Business School:

• B1 A capacity for the critical evaluation of arguments and evidence.

• B2 Analysis, filtering and evaluation of data and drawing reasoned conclusions concerning structured and, to a more limited extent, unstructured problems from a given set of data and from data which must be acquired by the student.

• B3 Numeracy skills, including the processing and analysis of financial and other numerical data and to appreciate statistical concepts at an appropriate level.

• B4 Location, extraction and analysis of data from multiple sources, including acknowledging and referencing sources.

• B5 Using contemporary information and communication technology for the acquisition, analysis and communication of information. Skills in the use of communication and information technology in acquiring, analysing and communicating information (these skills include the use of spreadsheets, word processing software, standard statistical packages; electronic financial databases; the internet and email).

• B6 Communication skills including the ability to present quantitative and qualitative information together with analysis, argument and commentary in a form appropriate to different intended audiences, and oral as well as written presentation.

• B7 Capacities for independent and self-managed learning.

• B8 Experience of working in groups, and other interpersonal skills, and in presenting the results of their work orally as well as in written form.

Learning and Teaching

Teaching, learning and assessment methods used to enable outcomes to be achieved and demonstrated are as follows: Lectures, tutorials, seminars, help classes, case studies, research, data analysis, and computer-assisted learning.

Assessment Strategies and Methods

Formal end-of-module examinations, formal and informal in-semester tests (including long form, short form and multiple choice answer formats), project work / report / case study (individual and group), essay, diary / reflection, formal and informal presentation (individual and group).

10.2.2 Professional practical skills / Discipline Specific Skills

By the end of their programme, all students are expected to be able to demonstrate:

• C1 demonstrate reasonable knowledge of some of the contexts in which accounting operates

• C2 demonstrate reasonable knowledge and understanding of, and an ability to use, current technical language to describe practices of accounting and an ability to apply them in straightforward structured situations from given data generated for the purpose

• C3 demonstrate reasonable knowledge and understanding of some alternative technical language and practices and, where relevant within the context of a particular degree course, an ability to apply them in straightforward structured situations from given data generated for the purpose

• C4 with reasonable accuracy, record and summarise straightforward transactions and other economic events and prepare financial statements complying in outline with relevant regulatory requirements

• C5 analyse the operations of a business and perform straightforward financial analyses and projections; and demonstrate a reasonable awareness of the contexts in which accounting data and information is processed and provided within a variety of organisational environments, and the relationships with other systems providing information in organisations

• C6 demonstrate reasonable knowledge and understanding of theories and empirical evidence concerning the effects of accounting in at least one of its contexts

• C7 demonstrate reasonable awareness of issues of financial management, risk and the operation of capital markets. In cases of degrees with significant finance content see the Subject Benchmark Statement for Finance for required levels of knowledge and understanding

• C8 demonstrate possession of the required cognitive abilities and non-subject specific skills to a reasonable level of achievement.

• C9 an appreciation of the nature of the context and institutional framework in which finance operates

• C10 knowledge of the main theories used in finance and an ability to apply them in straightforward structured situations from given data generated for the purpose.

• C11 an ability to interpret financial data and carry out straightforward statistical and financial analysis appraisal.

• C12 an ability to relate empirical evidence to finance theory in at least one of the main areas of finance with a reasonable understanding of the significance and limitations of such evidence.

• C13 an understanding of the financial needs of business entities, a reasonable appreciation and understanding of how theory and evidence may be used to guide practice; the workings of capital markets; the relationship between risk and return; and the nature and use of financial derivatives.

• C14 an understanding of the principles of personal investment.

• C15 an ability to use and interpret the information in financial statements.

• C16 an understanding of the economic, political, regulatory and social environments in which finance and financial services operates, and the ethical considerations embedded in these operations.

Learning and Teaching

Teaching, learning and assessment methods used to enable outcomes to be achieved and demonstrated are as follows: Lectures, tutorials, seminars, help classes, case studies, research, data analysis, and computer-assisted learning.

Assessment Strategies and Methods

Formal end-of-module examinations, formal and informal in-semester tests (including long form, short form and multiple-choice answer formats), project work / report / case study (individual and group), essay, diary / reflection, formal and informal presentation (individual and group).

By the end of their programme, all students are expected to be able to demonstrate:

• D1 Problem solving skills

• D2 Research skills

• D3 Communication skills

• D4 Improving own learning and performance

• D5 Teamwork skills

• D6 Information technology skills

• D7 Quantitative skills

• D8 Personal development and career planning

Learning and Teaching

Teaching, learning and assessment methods used to enable outcomes to be achieved and demonstrated are as follows: Lectures, tutorials, seminars, help classes, case studies, research, data analysis, and computer-assisted learning.

Assessment Strategies and Methods

Formal end-of-module examinations, formal and informal in-semester tests (including long form, short form and multiple choice answer formats), project work / report / case study (individual and group), essay, diary / reflection, formal and informal presentation (individual and group).