Accounting Systems
Short Course
Course Aims
To provide a broad-based introduction to Financial and Management Accounting and Investment and the contribution the subject can make to the management processes within an organisation.
A continuous theme throughout the course will be the application of accounting techniques in a construction context and, in particular, the challenges arising from competition and changing operational management methodologies.
The outcome of the course will be students who understand and can apply the techniques and, at the same time, appreciate the problems and limitations which can arise from an overly simplistic focus on quantitative results.
Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of the module, students will be able to:
- Demonstrate an understanding of financial accounting, management accounting and investment appraisal, and related topics and their application in organisations
- Evaluate the effectiveness of managerial information in providing a basis for performance measurement, planning, control and decision making within organisations
- Analyse and prepare business data to facilitate management understanding and action.
Contribution to UK-SPEC Outcomes
- An understanding of the nature of financial statements: objectives and qualitative characteristics of financial statements; the accounting entity and the end user; company and group accounts
- The construction of financial statements; accounting adjustments, accruals, depreciation; final accounts of limited companies
- Preparation of financial statements: the shape and purpose of the Profit and Loss Account, Balance Sheets and Cash Flow Statements; their relationship to the entity and money measurement conventions
- Financial statement analysis; basic ratio analysis; the use of cash flow statements and other sources both within and external to the financial statements.
- The understanding of Concepts, conventions, measurement and valuation: conceptual framework; difficulties of determining measures of value and performance concerning tangible fixed assets, stock, goodwill and brands
- Knowledge and understanding of the role of management accounting: contrasted to financial accounting. Examination of firms' objectives and impact of external environment. Analysis of informational needs of managers and problems of embracing qualitative information
- Understanding decision making: shareholder wealth maximisation, an introduction to decision theory and the treatment of risk and uncertainty. Relevant costs and the primacy of future differential cash flows
- An awareness of cost behaviour and cost volume profit analysis: linearity assumptions and relevant range and communication benefits of break even type analysis
- Knowledge of cost estimation: methodologies of cost prediction including engineering/historic cost methods and their limitations. Impact of learning curve effects and economies/diseconomies of scale and the constraints of a competitive global market
- Awareness of pricing decisions: the primacy of the customer over the producer in non-monopolistic markets and the options/limitations this imposes. Full/marginal cost plus mark- ups and contribution margin pricing approaches
- Knowledge and understanding of the budgeting process: the importance of budgeting as a planning, control and authority delegation mechanism and the aggregation of individual functional budgets into master budget and cash forecast
Consideration of the implications of using the output of these techniques as an influencer of human behaviour.
- Project valuation under conditions of certainty: role of time value of money, present value calculations and the use of mathematical tables
- Ability to identify relevant cash flows for project evaluation
Understanding of payback, net present value, internal rate of return and accounting rate of return evaluation techniques, the comparison of these techniques and the justification of net present value as the preferred methodology - Understanding project evaluation in practice and consideration of approaches to incorporate risk
- Understanding the impact of taxation and inflation in project appraisal
Important Notice
All courses are subject to availability.
English language competency
Candidates whose first language is not English will be required to show evidence of an IELTS score of 6.5 or equivalent.
Duration
April - Monday to Friday,
09:00 - 17:00 (1 Week)
Assessment (credit-bearing attendance only)
Assignment and Examination
Credit-bearing fees
£900 (UK/EU), £1200 (International)
Non credit-bearing fees
£750 (UK/EU), £1050 (International)
Resit fees
£150
Note
Fees include course materials and access to relevant specialist software and laboratories.
Discounts may be available for multiple bookings (courses or delegates attending) - please call +44 (0) 20 8417 7488 for details.
How To Apply
Download the Short Course application form and post the completed form to us. Please ensure you have read the Short Course Policies document.
Contact
Paul Williams
Faculty of Science, Engineering and Computing
Paul.Williams@kingston.ac.uk
Please Note
University regulations (Section 5.2 of 'Awards of the University, September 2007') contain certain restrictions on using modules taken as short courses as credit towards a qualification. For further information, please contact the Short Course Unit.