ACC 300: Introduction to Financial Accounting
Contents
- Introduction to business activities, overview of financial statements and reporting process
- Record keeping basics and financial statement preparation: Balance Sheet
- Record keeping basics and financial statement preparation: Income Statement
- Balance Sheet: Presenting and analyzing resources and financing
- Income Statement: Reporting the results of operating activities
- Statement of Cash Flows
- Revenue recognition, receivables, and customer advances
- Working capital
- Long-lived tangible and intangible assets
- Notes, bonds, income taxes, and other liabilities
- Shareholders’ equity: capital contributions and distributions
Learning outcomes
Financial reports are a key source of reliable and relevant information about the financial position, profitability, and risk of an enterprise, on which investors and creditors depend in making resource allocation decisions. This course is designed to enable students to understand financial reports and the underlying reporting process and develop skills necessary in various decision-making situations. During this course, students would also have the opportunities to organize themselves into groups, meet regularly and work together on case-study assignments, and finally present their work. In this process, they are expected to acquire the important group communication skills and build teamwork and leadership that are vital for the future business environment.
Necessary prerequisites
–
Recommended prerequisites
–
| Forms of teaching and learning | Contact hours | Independent study time |
|---|---|---|
| Lecture | 2 SWS | 4 SWS |
| Exercise class | 2 SWS | 4 SWS |
| Tutorial | 2 SWS | 3 SWS |
| ECTS credits | 6 |
| Graded | yes |
| Workload | 180h |
| Language | English |
| Form of assessment | Written exam (90 min, 90%), presentation (10%) |
| Restricted admission | no |
| Further information | – |
Examiner Performing lecturer |  | Prof. Dr. Felix W. Vetter Prof. Dr. Felix Fritsch Rotating: Prof. Dr. Dirk Simons, Prof. Dr. Felix Fritsch, Prof. Dr. Felix Vetter |
| Frequency of offering | Fall semester |
| Duration of module | 1 semester |
| Range of application | B.Sc. Bus. Adm. |
| Preliminary course work | – |
| Program-specific Competency Goals | CG 1, CG 2, CG 4 |
| Literature | Financial Accounting: An Introduction to Concepts, Methods and Uses, 13e or 14e, by Weil, Schipper, Francis. |
| Course outline | Upon completion of the course, the students are expected to understand the fundamentals of the accounting process and be able to read, interpret, and analyze corporate financial reports. At the end of the course, the students will: Have a comprehensive knowledge of the field of financial accounting including ethical, moral, and managerial issues; Understand the role of financial accounting in the decision-making process of business organizations; Be able to apply financial accounting frameworks to business situations; Be able to form critical judgment covering an ability to identify and define accounting and business problems, apply analytical and quantitative techniques, make and justify decisions; Be effective in communication through collection, analysis and organization of information and ideas; Demonstrate teamwork, independence and creativity. This includes working, learning and problem solving as a team and independently. Further information is provided in the outline. |