Module Catalogue 2024/25

Pre Requisite Comment

N/A

Co Requisite Comment

N/A

Aims

To introduce N400/N401 students to a range of key skills that are vital for success as an Accounting and Finance professional. To introduce the mathematical and statistical techniques and concepts necessary in the field of Accounting and Finance.

Outline Of Syllabus

The key skills element and the mathematics/ statistical element will be taught concurrently.
Professional Skills:
- Introduction: Time management and study skills
- Team working
- Behavioural aspects of the successful professional
- Presentation and report writing skills
Mathematics:
- Basics of linear and non-linear equations
- Linear equations and non-linear equations
- Differentiation, partial differentiation and optimisation
- Descriptive statistics
- Basic probability and distribution
- Estimation and hypothesis testing
- Regression analysis

Intended Knowledge Outcomes

By the end of the module, students will be able to:
Understand and apply basic team working, time management and written and oral presentation skills required of accounting and finance professionals.
Understand and apply basic behavioural and ethical principles and recognise issues within the accounting and finance professions.
Undertake basic reflection on their own development of professional skills.
Understand the basic concepts of linear and non-linear equations and apply them to linear programming and break-even analysis problems.
Understand the basic concepts of differentiation and partial differentiation and apply them to solve straight-forward business and finance issues.
Understand the basic concepts of descriptive statistics and use them to present and describe data using appropriate tables, charts and numerical measures.
Understand the concepts of basic probability, random variables and associated distribution and density functions and relate and apply them to the binomial, uniform and normal distributions.
Understand the basic concepts of estimation and hypothesis testing and apply them to problems involving population means and variances.
Interpret the output from basic regression analysis and describe the limitations of standard interpretations.

Intended Skill Outcomes

By the end of the module, students will be able to:
Work as part of a team
Communicate through the use of oral presentations and written reports
Effectively manage their time
Be numerate, including the processing and analysis of financial and other numerical data and the appreciation of basic statistical concepts

Teaching Rationale And Relationship

Professional skills sessions will be presented by academic staff with input from library colleagues.

Mathematics and statistics lectures will be presented by colleagues from the School of Maths, who will introduce concepts and techniques. Lectures will be supported by workshop and small group sessions where students will discuss and obtain feedback on their work on case studies designed to put into practice the material taught in lecture materials. Students will also be set weekly Maths practice questions with solutions that develop their ability to apply the key concepts of the module.

The maths element is jointly taught across ACC1012 (the N400 programme) and ACC1053 (the NN14 programme).

Assessment Rationale And Relationship

The formal mathematics examination and individual assignments will test the mathematics and statistical concepts and techniques introduced in the module.

The key professional skills will be assessed via a group report and a group presentation, relating to a business scenario. In this assessment students will therefore need to demonstrate team working, planning and organisation skills, as well as business awareness, numeracy and data interpretation/ analysis skills.

Self and peer review will take place after the report and presentations, and individuals will receive the group mark adjusted according to self and peer review i.e. their own and their team members' assessment of each other's contributions to report and presentation. Each team is to keep a log of its meetings, which should be handed in with the project itself. The Module Leader retains the right to adjust individual marks where it is deemed necessary in the interests of fairness, including the award of a zero mark for individual students who fail to participate and/or fail to contribute effectively to their group.

In the case of an alternative semester 2 assessment (worth 50% of the overall module mark) being necessary due to circumstances, the module leader will in the first instance consult with the DPD as to the requirements of the professional accrediting body to discuss possible acceptable alternatives.

General Notes

N/A