Accounting and Finance (with Foundation Year) - BA (Hons)

London South Bank University

In this module, you'll examine a range of ways of handling, analysing and presenting quantitative information. The underlying theme is to look at data in a variety of forms, to determine the ‘story’ that this data is telling, and to use that ‘story’ to justify decisions. This module will equip students with the quantitative skills necessary for them to be able to understand and analyse the information contained in numerical data, and to use this analysis to make business decisions.

This module will introduce you to the fundamentals of the regulatory framework of accounting together with the qualitative characteristics of useful accounting information. It will also develop knowledge and understanding of the underlying principles and methods used in the recording of financial data and preparation and presentation of financial statements. This module aims to build up your knowledge and understanding of the principles and concepts relating to financial accounting and, in so doing, to develop your technical proficiency in the preparation and interpretation of financial statements.

You’ll be introduced to a range of economic and financial topics and shows how these can be applied to understand the world around us. You’ll develop your understanding of the external environment businesses face, and aspects of finance relevant to the business context. The module aims to develop your understanding of the context in which modern business operates. Thus, enabling you to appreciate and apply simple economic concepts to facilitate business decision making in an increasingly dynamic and resource constrained global business environment. It further aims to equip you with the understanding of financial tools and markets and the knowledge to make financial decisions for your personal or professional lives.

You’ll be introduced to concepts of management in organisations, giving you an appreciation of the complexities of organisations, which affect employee the behaviour within them. You’ll learn about human resource management strategies to manage people in organisations, as well as key management, organisational behaviour and people management theories and practices.

You will learn about the basics of management accounting and how to apply your knowledge in various contexts. It will enable you to understand how to use a variety of management accounting techniques in supporting the management processes of planning, controlling and decision-making within organisations. It will cover cost accounting principles, conventions and practices as applied to the ascertainment of costs and the analysis, interpretation and presentation of cost information.

You'll utilise business project frameworks, problem solving skills and ideas generation techniques that will support you through the key stages required to complete a business project from concept to delivery. Throughout the stages of your project, and by incorporating a facilitated coaching process, you will be supported to develop key skills vital to successful leadership and management.

In this module, you will develop an understanding of the basic principles of contemporary finance and investment. It seeks to provide an elementary knowledge of the subject, simultaneously highlighting the essential links between accounting & finance concepts and practical financial management in a digital world. Through this, you will have a firm foundation in both the theoretical and practical aspects of financial decision-making in a digitised marketplace.

This module will build upon the Level 4 module, Financial Accounting and will introduce you to the conceptual and regulatory framework of financial reporting as well as ethical behaviour and implication for accountants.  The module will enable you to prepare, interpret and analysis financial statements for single entity and business combination in accordance with IAS and IFRS. Students who successfully complete the module should have a solid base from which to continue onto the Level 6 module, Corporate Reporting.

The module will introduce you to the general principles of Business and Corporate Law as well as ethical behaviour and implication for accountants.  It also introduces you to the English Legal System and examines the general principles of English Law, which have a major impact in the business and legal environment in which accountants operate.

This module will introduce advanced aspects of management accounting particularly to do with performance management within organisations that operate within competitive environments.  The module will help you understand the use of quantitative and qualitative information as well as cost, quality and process management systems used by organisations to measure and manage performance and implement optimal strategies in a changing and competitive environment.

This module provides comprehensive insights into graduate employability and your career development as an Accounting & Finance. It teaches you essential techniques of self-awareness building, career exploration, job search, succeeding in recruitment and selection processes and teamwork, enabling you to secure employment and thrive in the world of work. In addition, you will covers specific skills of particular relevance to Accounting & Finance students, with particular hands-on Excel and accounting software skills, and also knowledge of technological innovations such as Blockchain, cryptocurrency, and others. The module is taught as a mix of lectures, practitioner guest lectures, hands-on skills seminars and computer lab sessions. The portfolio assignment consists of two reflective pieces, encouraging you to embark on your own exploration and learning journey, relating the content covered in this module to and own individual career ambitions.

This module introduces you to the UK taxation system. This includes the study of various different kinds of taxes, how these taxes are calculated and how HMRC works. The main taxes covered will be income tax for individuals (both employment income and income from self-employment), corporation tax, simple group structures, and value added tax. You will learn to not only calculate tax liabilities for these taxes but also to plan tax affairs to efficiently manage the taxes of individuals and companies. You will also learn the basic compliance requirements for both individuals and companies.

This module introduces you to the concept of the auditing, assurance and internal audit function. It will examine the relationship between the statutory audit process, corporate governance, ethics and professional conduct. You will be given a firm foundation in the planning, risk assessment, audit testing and providing an audit opinion to a business entity. The main theme of this module is to explore the practical aspects of the auditing process and how this is applied to various business entities and how the audit process can assist businesses with their strategic business decision-making. The module will also consider the contemporary aspects of auditing such as social and environmental audit.

This module builds upon the knowledge and skills gained in earlier financial reporting/accounting modules. It covers the preparation and analysis of financial statements for individual reporting entities and groups. The module also addresses key financial reporting standards including those relating to leases, revenue recognition, non-current assets, financial instruments borrowing costs and related parties and addresses theoretical issues such as earnings management and regulation of corporate reporting.

This module is about managing the finance function in a business enterprise by making value-maximising financial decisions. Financial value is a function of cash, time and opportunity cost – all key factors that financial managers need to consider when allocating scarce resources to competing uses. Since value maximisation requires the optimum balance of return and risk, the management of risk will be an important theme of the module. You will be provided with a firm foundation in the theoretical as well as practical aspects of financial decision-making.