INTERNATIONAL ACCOUNTING AND GOVERNANCE
cod. 1004546

Academic year 2017/18
1° year of course - First semester
Professor
Academic discipline
Economia aziendale (SECS-P/07)
Field
A scelta dello studente
Type of training activity
Student's choice
56 hours
of face-to-face activities
8 credits
hub: PARMA
course unit
in ENGLISH

Learning objectives

The Course gives to the Students the basical instruments to understand the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) referring to the specific European rules (UE) and the international arena, with a deep analysis of the role and of the use of the accounting information in the decision making process.
According to the specificity and diversity of the advanced accounting systems, the aim of the Course is giving knowledges to understand the importance of the internal and external controls on the economic information, as well as knowledges to apply the main financial communication instruments, voluntary or compulsory, typical of the multinational enterprises. Furthermore, the Course analyses the most important issues linked to “management accounting” in the different steps of planning, budgeting and controlling the managerial activity of companies, through the study of the operational tools like budget and business plan.
At the end of the Course, Students will be able to orient themselves in reading and understanding of company reports (primarily for listed companies), meaning both the accounting information and financial statements, the voluntary documents regarding the corporate social responsibility, the communication tools on corporate governance, and the information defined by the management accounting system..
Students will be able to read and interpret a financial statement, a budget a business plan, or an analytical report, to analyze the information in the sustainability reports, as well as to understand how to structure companies corporate governance structures, in order to make judgments on performance trends of the same companies.
As a result of the studies, Student will be able to interact with the chief financial officers (CFO) of the companies on accounting issues, as well as with investor relations of the same companies on matters related to financial communications.
Students, at the end of the Course, will learn a study methodology based on the analysis of the documentation provided by the Professor and on the critical interpretation of the knowledge acquired during the lectures. At the same time, the group work developed during the course will enable Students to learn methods to directly analyze companies’ financial documents, in particular a budget, exhibited and discussed at the end of the Course with the Professor and with the classmates. The seminars well conducted by firms’ managers will improve the empirical knowledge of the Students.

Prerequisites

No-one

Course unit content

The Course analyses the basic theoretical and practical elements of the '"accounting" science, considering the distinction between the "financial accounting", "accountability" and "management accounting", and also the relevant implications at international level of the financial communication process towards the financial markets, as well as the role of the systems of corporate governance.
Those aspects are studied also referring to the environmental and macroeconomic background around the enterprises, in which those elements are developed.

Full programme

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Bibliography

Alexander D., Nobes C., Financial Accounting. An International Introduction, Prentice Hall, 5th Edition, 2013.
Readings, journal article and other course materials provided by the professor.

Teaching methods

Oral lesson.
Business cases developed in the classroom.
Seminars.
Group work.

Assessment methods and criteria

Written Exam and Group Work.
Knowledge and understanding ability will be assessed with n. 4 “open” questions evaluated 7.5 points each related to the entire program developed.
The ability to apply knowledge will be assessed with the voluntary participation in Group Work, through which the candidates will proceed with the preparation of a budget, and the subsequent presentation of it , and by which each candidate could obtain an additional assessment of 1 to 3 points.
The autonomy of judgment and the ability to learn will be verified through the personal evaluation of certain phenomena.
The ability to communicate with appropriate technical language will be verified by specific questions of technical terms.

Other information

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