General provisions

The course is offered within, e.g., the Bachelor's Programme in Business and Economics and as freestanding course, as part of Business Studies C.

Entry requirements

Completed 30 credits from basic courses (A-level) in business studies, and attended 30 credits intermediate courses (B-level) in business studies of which at least 15 credits must be completed.

Learning outcomes

Once the course is completed, the student should be able to:

• Describe the regulation of financial accounting, and how it evolves.
• Analyse how the choice of accounting regulation and other accounting choices affect the firm's financial reports and the financial reports' usefulness for making economic decisions among the investors and the creditors.
• To perform consolidated accounting, and
• To independently be able to analyse, reflect, draw conclusions of, and evaluate the financial reports based on, e.g., accounting quality.

Content

The course studies financial accounting from three perspectives: The preparers, the assurance, and the user's perspective.

The preparers' perspective focus on accounting principles and how they are applied in the form of accounting standards. Accounting standards considered are both IFRS and national accounting standards.

The user's perspective focus on financial analysis in the broad sense, i.e., how can we interpret, evaluate, act on the financial reports. The assurance perspective focuses on auditing of the financial reports.

Instruction

Lectures, seminars and group assignments are used in this course. They rely on scientific knowledge and accepted common practices. A purpose with the teaching forms is to allow for various ways to learn.

The seminars cover, among other things, accounting standards. They are also an introduction to reading and understanding financial accounting from a scientific perspective. The teaching is based, among other things, on research articles based on selected themes.

The course is taught in Swedish. The course may also use external lectures/seminars with the goal of complementing the lectures with current financial accounting issues. Some lectures are mandatory.

Assessment

The examination consists of the modules:

1. Seminars and assignments 5 credits (U, G)
2. Individual written test, 10 credits (U, G, VG)

and one grade is given for the whole course, 15 credits.

Grading criteria are presented in the study guide that applies to the course section. In Module 1 the following grades will be used: pass (G), and fail (U). In Module 2 the following grades will be used: pass with distinction (VG), pass (G), and fail (U). Examinations handed in late will not be graded except under special circumstances. Any remaining supplemental work must be completed and handed in by the deadline specified in the study guide. To receive the grade G on the whole course, the student must have achieved the grade G on both examination modules. To receive the grade VG on the whole course, the student must have achieved the grade G on Module 1 and the grade VG on Module 2.

If a student hasn't received a passing grade on Module 1, then the examination has to be retaken. This is only possible through re-registration during subsequent course sections. A student that hasn't received a passing grade on Module 2 can take a make-up exam during subsequent course sections without re-registration.

If there are special reasons for doing so, an examiner may make an exception from the method of assessment indicated and allow a student to be assessed by another method. An example of special reasons might be a certificate regarding special pedagogical support from the University's disability coordinator.

Uppsala University does not accept cheating or plagiarism. Suspected incidents of cheating or plagiarism are reported to the Vice-Chancellor, which may issue a formal warning to the student or suspend the student from studies for a certain period.

NOTE: Only completed courses can count toward a degree.

Other directives

The course substitutes/overlaps among others Accounting and Finance 2FE411.

The course is read partially integrated with the bachelor's thesis course, but the main part of the thesis work takes place during the second half of the semester. The course Financial Accounting is given during the first half of the semester.