MSc Accounting and Finance

In today’s globalised environment, knowledge of international aspects of business operations is increasingly important for understanding the role and challenges for accounting in a globalized economic context.  The main objective of the course is to encourage students to look beyond national boundaries and to develop a critical awareness of the ongoing developments in the international arena of accounting practice.

The course will encompass a broad range of issues including: the economic and political ideas behind the development of international accounting; national accounting differences, the reasons behind those differences and their impact on global economic development; international accounting regulation; the emergence of international accounting bodies and their relationship to other intergovernmental agencies; key technical issues emerging in the development of international accounting.  Additionally, students will critically examine these issues in light of contemporary business, economic and political challenges.

The structure of the course involves both lectures and workshops. The aim with the lectures is to provide a learning framework and outline the major issues relating to the given subject; whereas workshops are meant for critical discussions and providing concrete examples of the issues studied.

The purpose of this subject is to increase your understanding of the social, political, economic and cultural factors that may lead to diversity of national accounting systems throughout the world and the problems that this diversity may cause for both companies; users of corporate annual reports and financial markets. This subject will increase your understanding of how the global international financial community has responded to this challenge through the International Accounting Standards Board and International Financial Reporting Standards. The subject will increase your understanding of the spread of international financial reporting standards in Europe; China and America in particular.  The subject will also provide the opportunity to increase your understanding of some key international financial accounting and reporting topics.

On completion of this unit successful students should have:

• an understanding of financial accounting and strategic issues in relation to multinational operations;
• a knowledge of the comparative differences in the nature and roles of accounting in various national contexts and causes of those differences;
• an understanding of the rationales for the recent major developments in an international accounting arena;
• a critical understanding of the current research pertinent to the themes covered in the course. 

Major textbook

Doupnik, T. & Perera, H.  (2015)  “International Accounting”, 4^th ed., Boston, London: McGraw-Hill

Additional textbooks

Alexander, D. & Nobes, C. (2013) “Financial Accounting: An International Introduction”, 5th ed., Prentice Hall.