Fin­an­cial Ac­count­ing and Re­port­ing and its In­sti­tu­tion­al Con­text

Course content

This course offers an introduction to financial accounting and reporting. Students will learn how to prepare, read and interpret corporate financial statements. They will also gain a solid understanding of the theories and practices behind these statements. The course is focused principally on IFRS accounting techniques but supplemented with a social and institutional understanding of accounting and financial reporting. 

Throughout the different sessions, students acquire general business knowledge by analyzing the financial statements of diverse companies. The course focuses on companies with different institutional backgrounds, ensuring broader economic context coverage. Analyzing financial data and assessing its quality aims to stimulate students' curiosity about ambiguities in accounting and develop a high degree of analytical and critical thinking. A part of the course covers ethical issues in accounting and the role of business in sustainable development. We apply an inclusive view on the role of business, going beyond a mere focus on profit maximization acknowledging the importance of ESG issues.

In relation to Nordic Nine

Accounting is the language of business that measures, summarizes and communicates business information to various stakeholders. The objective of financial accounting is to provide information that is useful to decision making of existing and potential investors, creditors and other stakeholders. Given that the practice of accounting is supported by several qualitative characteristics such as relevance, faithful representation, comparability, verifiability, timeliness, and understandability with the overall purpose of producing useful information to the users of reporting, this course will develop your skills in the domain of several Nordic Nines (NN1, NN2, NN5, NN6 and NN7).

#1 You have deep business knowledge placed in a broad context

#2 You are analytical with data and curious about ambiguity

#5 You understand ethical dilemmas and have the leadership values to overcome them

#6 You are critical when thinking and constructive when collaborating

#7 You produce prosperity and protect the prosperity of next generations