Analysis of Firms & Financial Statements

The subject is a capstone subject in accounting. The subject is designed to teach the underlying concepts and applied contemporary techniques that enable the users of financial reports to assess the performance of a firm, value a firm and evaluate its managers. The course is seen as an extension and integration of both accounting and the also the finance, economics and statistics subjects you studied earlier in your degree. The applied concepts taught will be useful to students in practice both as preparers and as users. The objective of this course is to equip students with both the concepts and techniques to be able to: (a) understand that information is imperfect and be able to understand the determinants of bias and random errors in information (b) use financial reports to assess the level and drivers of firm performance; (c) value firms and (d) consider whether markets are efficient in the use of information and if regulation over the production of external financial reports (and other information) is required. On successful completion of this subject, students should be able to: On successful completion of this subject, students should have improved the following generic skills: