STAGE 1 MODULES
Introduction to Accounting and Finance
To teach students the role of accounting and its development and the nature and significance of accounting information. Students will be introduced to record keeping and data processing.
Financial statements, performance and asset management. Accounting concepts and conventions, accounts of limited companies. Basic interpretation of accounts, relevant costs, cost behaviour, break-even analysis, cost-profit-volume analysis, marginal costing, full costing, overhead absorption and job costing. Introduction to variance analysis and budgeting. Financial corporate objectives and financial arithmetic, sources of finance, functioning of stock markets and investment appraisal.
Organisational Behaviour and Sociology of Work
To provide the foundations for the behaviour of people at work and to understand the broader social and organisational context of their existence. Evolution of management and control; the manager’s role in work organisational; the growth of organisations; organisational culture and structure; HRM and motivation; the social context; bureaucracy, class and society; the labour process; control and cooperation; gender and race; trade unions.
The Macroeconomic Environment of Business
To provide an analysis of the macroeconomic environment of business using basic business tools of economic analysis. To develop an understanding of the national and international economic environment, focusing on their impact on business. Unemployment; Inflation; National income and output; Money and interest rates; Macroeconomic policy; International trade; Protectionism; Multinational corporations; International investment; Trading zones; The European Union; The balance of payments; Exchange rate.
Business Law
To provide an understanding of the main legal structures in business with particular reference to Law of Contract, Tort and an introduction to Agency, Partnership and Company law. Formation of contract; Terms of a contract; Vitiating factors; Discharge of contracts; Remedies for breach of contract; Sale and supply of goods and services; Law of agency; Law of partnership; Law of torts; Company law.
Business Economics
To introduce students to key economic concepts, principles and policy instruments in the context of the business environment. Theory of demand; Markets – Supply and Demand; Competition; Monopoly; Oligopoly; Economic issues related to labour markets and boundaries of the firm; Market failure and government intervention.
Organisational Information Systems
To develop the basic awareness of information systems (IS) in an organisation. To develop an awareness of the nature, the process, and the organizational and the contextual issues involved. Digital and information age; Systems thinking; Information systems development methodologies; IS tools and techniques; Telecommunications and networks; Internet and E-Commerce.
Quantitative Methods in Information Management
To teach students the skills of analysis and the use of mathematical / statistical techniques to tackle business problems. Descriptive statistics, Concepts of probability and probability distributions; Confidence intervals and Hypothesis testing; Linear regression; Normal and T-Distribution.
Foundations of Marketing
To introduce students to the concepts and principles of marketing and their application. Marketing environment; Consumer and organisational buying behaviour; Market segmentation, targeting and positioning; Marketing planning and control; Product and pricing strategies; Marketing channels and supply chain; Marketing communication strategy.
Foundations of Production and Operations Management
Provide an understanding of the roles and contributions of production in organisations and the basic transformation model. Introduce the concept of a product or service in the context of delivery system design; explore the principal issues that concern the operations manager and techniques that can be used to support decisionmaking activities. The 5Ps of Operation; Product and service package; Product / service design process; Capacity management; Variety management; Operating system design; Work study; Total quality management; Operations planning and control; Health and safety.
STAGE 2 MODULES
Financial Accounting
To develop an understanding of external accounting reports, with particular reference to their analysis, evaluation, regulations and policies governing their preparation, the principles of corporate governance and the role of auditors. Financial accounting standards and policies; Published accounts of companies and their interpretation; Significance and implementation of corporate governance; Goodwill; Revaluation; Auditing principles and guidelines; Internal controls; Major issues in auditing practices; critical analysis of company performance.
Management Accounting
Students will be taught to understand the role of management accounting in the overall strategic management and management control processes within organisations. They will also be conversant with management accounting tools and techniques used in the decision making process in organisations.
The outline syllabus includes the role of management accounting, costing approaches, absorption costing, variance costing, activity-based costing and activity-based management. Accounting information for decision making, cost behaviour and relevant costs, cost-volume profit analysis and pricing decisions. Accounting information for planning and content, budgeting and responsibility accounting, budgetary control and behavioural aspects. Standard costing and variance analysis, divisionalisation, transfer pricing and performance measurement. Modern developments in management accounting, limitations of traditional management accounting. Strategic management accounting for competitive advantage, value chain, management in accounting and quality, accounting for just-in-time systems, customer profitability analysis and balanced scorecard.
Financial Management
An introduction to the key aspects of financial management to boost the profitability of a business entity as well as create and improve shareholder value. To develop an understanding of how business are financed and how methods of financing can affect decision-making. Investment appraisal; Risk and return; Bond valuation; Valuation of shares and firm; Cost of capital; Basic capital budgeting decisions; Dividend policy and share repurchase; Basic capital structure theory; Working capital management.
Economics of Industry
To provide students with an awareness of the organisation structure of industry with an emphasis on interactions among firms in an industry. Students will gain a better understanding of how firms compete and organise themselves. Market and competitive analysis; Boundaries of the firm; Position and dynamics; Economies of vertical integration; Diversification; Market and industrial analysis; Strategic positioning; Competitive advantage; Internal organisation.
Company Law and Administration
To enable students to appreciate the legal nature of a company and to develop an understanding of the legal principles of corporate structure. Classification of companies; Formation of companies; Memorandum and articles – content, legal effect; Alteration of meeting and resolution, shares and debentures; Investors’ protection.
Quantitative Methods for Managers
To develop the theory and application of statistical techniques in management. Hypothesis testing; F-distribution; Chi-square test; Analysis of variance; Correlation; Regression; Introductory multivariate statistics.
Business Information Systems
To understand the nature of information and its role in business management. To acquire information analysis skills to enable a discerning use of rich information resources. Characteristics of information; Components and types of information systems; Systems concepts – control and feedback loop; Types of models; Information system methodologies.
Practice of Management Skills
To develop an understanding of key managerial concepts, both traditional and modern, related to management as a profession. Evolution of management; Management and organisation structures; Ethics and social responsibility; Decision-making; Problem solving; Managing change and organisational development; Strategic management process.
Organisational Design
Develop an understanding of the conceptual foundations of organisational performance across a wide range of organisations and of the design factors needed to achieve high performance. Including: approaches to studying organisations, performance, social norms, decision making, structures - functional and product, motive and other structures, competitive strategies, co-operative strategies, voluntary associations and public service organisations.
The Transformation of Work
This is a topical course and subjects may change to reflect this but important topics include the following: Sociological approaches to work; Traditional work organisation; Class, occupation and identity; New forms of work; Identity and work; Emotional labour; Hidden work; Surveillance; Gender and Masculinity; Race; Conflict and Misbehaviour.
STAGE 3 MODULES
Corporate Reporting
To develop an understanding of the objectives, principles and methods of external financial reporting including statements of accounting standards. To consider the impact of developments on accounting practice in response to changes in the social and economic environment. Stocks and long term contract; Role of audit and consolidated accounts; The grey areas of accounting concepts; Off balance sheet finance and revaluation of assets; Ration analysis; Foreign currency transactions.
Strategic Accounting and Management Control
To provide an insight into the role of accounting information as an instrument of management strategy and control. Strategic profitability analysis; Activity based costing and management; Transfer pricing and multinational companies; Performance measurement; Management control systems.
Contemporary Issues in Accounting
To introduce students to some of the current issues in accounting and finance. Students should be able to identify, analyse and form arguments with respect to the various issues on finance and accounting reporting, research and report on selected topic. Share capital; Capital maintenance and distributable profits; Earnings per share; Ethics for accountants; Current issues in consolidation of group accounts; Financial restructuring; Critique of cash flow statement; Environmental and social reporting.
Capital Markets, Investment and Finance
To provide an understanding of the workings of capital markets and the relationship between risk and returns. To provide practical skills in the evaluation of corporate investments and financing decisions. Corporate valuation and value-based management; Mergers, acquisitions and divestitures; Derivatives management; Multinational financial management.
International Finance
To evaluate investment and financing decisions for multinational firms. To evaluate strategies for managing risk by companies who trade internationally and to understand exchange rate movement. Global financial management; Foreign exchange theory and markets; Foreign exchange exposure; Financing the global firms; Multinational capital budgeting; International trade finance.
Understanding Strategic Management
To develop an understanding of, and ability in, the theory and practice of strategic management. Students will be exposed to the concepts and frameworks for the analysis of the external and internal environments of organisations, generations of strategic alternatives, as well as implementations and evaluations of strategies environment scanning and industry analysis; Internal scanning and organisational analysis; Strategic formulation; Strategic choice; Strategy implementation; Evaluation and control; Strategic audit.
International Accounting
This course aims to: (i) provide students with an understanding of the nature of, and the factors influencing, accounting and corporate reporting practices around the world and to consider the efforts by the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) and other bodies to harmonise accounting and corporate reporting practices; and (ii) to develop in students an awareness and appreciation of some of the contemporary issues that the IASB has had to deal with.
Applied Strategic Management
To develop the relevant knowledge, understanding and analytical abilities to undertake an in-depth strategic analysis of business organisations. Strategic implementation; Strategy and structure; Portfolio management; Corporate parenting; Managing strategic change; Measuring company performance.
International Business Strategy
To develop an understanding of the theories and concepts that underpin the strategic moves of organisations in their internationalisation process. Addressing strategic issues in the context of regional and global competitive factors. International trade theory; Modes of foreign market servicing; Strategy, structure and control; Functional strategies.
Auditing
Auditing offers detailed understanding of the essential concepts and techniques relating to the provision of statutory auditing under the Companies Act, Auditing Standards and other Professional guidance.
Principles of assurance and auditing under the relavant Companies Acts; Professional ethics legal liability; Auditor Independence; Understanding the business; Planning the audit; Risk assessment; Systems and Controls; Gathering evidence; Completion; Reporting; Review and feedback.
Taxation and Personal Finance
To introduce the key concepts of business and personal taxation, and personal finance and planning.
Overview of taxation system; Income tax and self-assessment; Personal allowance; Corporate tax; Capital allowance; Tax planning; VAT; Personal finance planning
Management Project
To enable students to apply the knowledge and experience gained in the aught component of the programme to a relevant topic or project. To foster individual development of critical enquiry and application of research techniques and to develop students in their planning of time and resources, data analysis and report writing.
