BAEcon Accounting and Finance

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This is a research-based course unit that allows students to develop important skills and to gain critical understanding of the financial performance of firms and industries. In the first semester students will work typically in groups of five to analyse a set of firms in a specific industry, to understand the drivers of success, the context for strategic decision-making and the trajectory of performance. In the second semester, students will build on the knowledge and skills that they have developed to produce an individual project that considers corporate performance within a specific context.

Core for BA Econ (Accounting specialists). Option for Mgt (A&F). For Mgt (A&F) must have the following pre-requisites: BMAN21020, BMAN21040, BMAN20081 & BMAN23000(B).

Pre-requisite course units have to be passed by 40% or above at the first attempt unless a higher percentage is indicated within this course outline. If the pre-requisite unit is defined as a compulsory course unit within a student’s programme of study (Maths with Finance, IBFE, Accounting, BA Econ pathways for example) then progression onto the dependent unit is permitted as long as they have gained the appropriate amount of credit to progress on to the following year of their registered undergraduate programme.

 

BSc Management students specialising in Accounting and Finance can only take BMAN 31000 Financial Analysis of Corporate Performance if they have the following prerequisites: BMAN 21020 Financial Reporting and Accountability, BMAN21040 Intermediate Management Accounting, BMAN 20081 Financial Statement Analysis and BMAN 23000 (B) Foundations of Finance.

 

Co-requisites: None

Dependent course units: None

Programme Restrictions: This course unit is restricted to BA (Econ) Accounting, BA Econ Accounting and Finance, BA Econ Accounting and Economics and BSc Management students specialising in Accounting & Finance.

 

It is compulsory for BA (Econ) students specialising in Accounting. Joint BA (Econ) Accounting and Finance specialists may take BMAN30190 Empirical Finance instead of BMAN31000 Financial Analysis of Corporate Performance.

 

This course unit is designed to allow students to examine a set of corporations and business sectors in depth, applying and developing what they have learned to date to a range of related issues, concerns and possibilities regarding accounting, accountability, governance, business management and corporate responsibilities.  In particular, the various components of BMAN31000 are specifically designed to give students an opportunity to apply and develop practical, academic and transferable skills that will be useful on other course units and in their future working lives.

Formally, BMAN31000 aims to allow students to:

- work with other students to research, organise and present a group business analysis report and, subsequently, to work independently to produce an individual report studying a pre-selected research question;

- apply accounting and finance knowledge gained elsewhere on the degree programme and, with the material introduced in this course unit, to develop business analysis skills in order to appraise the performance of a particular industrial sector and set of firms, in wider business, market, regulatory and macro-economic contexts;

- use a variety of library-based and electronic research sources.

After successfully completing BMAN31000, students should be able to:

 

Semester 1: 30 hours of contact through a  mixture of lectures, tutorials and group presentation sessions.

 

Semester 2: 5 one hour group tutorials (during weeks 1-5) plus subsequent individual supervision.

Total study hours: 400 hours split between lectures, classes, group work, reading and research, and preparation for classes and coursework.

 

Informal Contact Methods

1. Office hours and individual meetings with course tutors

2. Online learning activities (blogs, discussions)

- Analyse and evaluate corporate performance using financial and other contextual information regarding the operating environment of a specific business sector and have an appreciation of the limits of this analysis.

- Apply knowledge of financial reporting, management accounting and finance to a particular industry and company context, and gain a better understanding of such issues as: the effects of accounting policies on the presentation and interpretation of financial statements; the allocation of resources and the control of costs within a corporation; and the financing of the company and the risks and rewards that arise from these financing decisions for investors and creditors.

- Construct a reasoned argument, supported by evidence and present such material, both orally and in writing, in a professional and academically respected fashion.

- Take responsibility for independent learning, including helping to define the scope of the tasks to be undertaken, planning and undertaking the research and writing up the results within a specified timetable.

- Gather, assess, and analyse financial and business data from credible sources, applying appropriate techniques to support decision-making.

- Produce professional-quality reports, structuring findings logically and presenting information in a clear and concise manner.

- Assess the reliability, validity, and relevance of different types of research materials, distinguishing between credible academic, professional, and industry sources. 

- Work effectively in groups, including planning, communicating and co-operating on tasks

- Find, use and interpret key primary and secondary sources to investigate corporations and industries and be able to use IT skills to organise and present such material.

- Collect, process, and critically interpret quantitative and qualitative data to support financial analysis and business recommendations. 

Group report (25%), group presentation (8%), and individual report (67%).

 

- Formal feedback and informal advice and discussion during lectures, seminars, presentations and supervision sessions.

- Written and/or verbal comments on assessed or non-assessed coursework.

- Written and/or verbal comments after students have given a group or individual presentation or submitted assessed reports.

 

Attendance and Peer Assessment

In terms of the group project in semester 1, the expectation is that all group members will contribute fully to the group presentation and to the preparation of the group project report.  Accordingly, in relation to both pieces of assessed work, all group members will be awarded the same mark unless there is substantive evidence of under-performance by one or more of them.  When submitting the group report, each member of the group is required to complete a peer-review form that states whether that member is satisfied with the contributions made by each of his or her fellow group members.  If one or more members of a group indicate on the peer-review form that a particular group member has not contributed adequately to the group project work, and if the conveners are satisfied that there is compelling evidence of a significant failure to contribute, then the conveners may impose a penalty on that group member.  Additionally, students who do not attend the group presentation and fail to submit any compelling mitigating circumstances are likely to receive a mark of zero.      

 

References will be given out during the course relating to the selected industry for the group project (once groups have been formed).  In this regard it is important that groups are formed as early as possible at the beginning of semester 1.  Individual project proposals (to be undertaken in semester 2) will be presented to students towards the end of semester 1.
 

 

Programme Restrictions: This course unit is restricted to BA (Econ) Accounting, BA Econ Accounting and Finance, BA Econ Accounting and Economics and BSc Management students specialising in Accounting & Finance.

It is compulsory for BA (Econ) students specialising in Accounting. Joint BA (Econ) Accounting and Finance specialists may take BMAN30190 Empirical Finance instead of BMAN31000 Financial Analysis of Corporate Performance.

For Academic Year 2025/26

Updated: March 2025

Approved by: March UG Committee