Course content
Course aim:
This course offers a comprehensive introduction to financial accounting and reporting.
Throughout the different sessions, students acquire general business knowledge by analyzing the accounting practices and 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 aim to stimulate students' curiosity about ambiguities in accounting and develop a high degree of analytical and critical thinking. An essential part of the course covers ethical dilemmas and the role of business in solving such humanity challenges as environmental threats, social problems, and sustainable development.
We apply an inclusive view on the role of business going beyond a mere focus on profit maximization and considering the ESG impact going from the local communities to the global.
Topics covered in this course include but are not limited to:
- Accounting as a form of communication
- Accounting ethics
- Presentation of financial statements
- Double-entry bookkeeping
- Cash-basis and accrual-basis accounting
- Inventories and cost of goods sold (COGS)
- Cash, receivables, and short-term investments
- Fixed assets (Tangible & Intangible)
- Liabilities
- Shareholders’ equity
- Cash flow statements
- Financial statement analysis
- ESG reporting and assurance
See course description in course catalogue