IB551J: BUSINESS FINANCE AND ACCOUNTING (2022-2023)

Managers across the world depend upon a team of professionals to provide them with knowledge and specialised information. Key members of this team include the financial manager and the accountant. Understanding the framework of business finance and accounting principles means you develop skills and knowledge essential to becoming a skilled leader in the managerial marketplace. This course gives you the opportunity to explore business finance principles and conventions including understanding risk and return, financial statement analysis and the calculation of key metrics used daily by global corporations.

Among other topics the course includes:

• The global landscape for major corporations.
• Stock markets; the primary and secondary markets.
• The structure and financial management of a company.
• The statement of financial position (the balance sheet).
• Understanding the income statement.
• The statement of cash flows and understanding cash flow.
• Analysing and interpreting financial statements; including financial ratios, economic value added and accounting rates of return.
• Measuring corporate performance.
• The time value of money.
• Valuing stocks and bonds.
• Net present value and discounted cash-flow analysis.
• Risk, return and the opportunity cost of capital.
• Project analysis and real options.
• Book value, market value and shareholder’s equity.
• Financial leverage and liquidity and sustainable growth rates.
• The board of directors and the role of non-executive directors.
• Corporate governance around the world.

By the end of this course, you will: 

• Understand the key roles played by financial managers and accountants in the corporate world. 
• Understand methods for using financial statements and information to improve the quality of decision making. 
• Be able to critically evaluate the uses and limitations of the statement of key financial statements in relation to decision making. 
• Be able to make real investment decisions using concepts such as net present value and discounted cash-flow analysis.
• Be able to understand the relationship between risk and return and use this skill to make decisions about diversification.
• Understand the difference between market risk and specific risk.
• Be able to explain the role and composition of the board of directors and the issues associated with the remuneration of directors. 
• Be able to consider the importance of corporate governance across the world.