Finance, Accounting and Management BSc

This module covers advanced financial reporting topics including:

• accounting conceptual framework
• accounting measurement and recognition issues
• special topics

This module will discuss some or all of the following topics:

• Pricing decisions and profitability analysis
• Measuring business performance
• Strategic management accounting (including strategic cost management)
• Issues in management accounting and control
• Current issues in management accounting

This module explores the (inter)relationships between business, society and the environment through the theories and practices of business ethics and sustainability. You will be introduced to different ethical frameworks that can be used to understand a business' responsibilities to a broad range of stakeholders; ranging from investors and customers, to employees, communities and ecosystems.

The module equips you with the capacity to describe and address specific situations that enable and/or constrain ethical and sustainable decision-making in businesses. Ultimately, the module develops your 'moral imagination' - to become responsible managers of the future - in light of competing stakeholder expectations, situational factors, and broader challenges of sustainability.

This module examines the workings of the major financial markets. Markets for equity and debt are dealt with (money and foreign exchange markets are also the focus) as are markets for derivative instruments. The module covers the key theoretical models of modern finance, key market conventions and mechanisms, financial risk management with derivative instruments.

This module will provide an introduction to econometric techniques for modelling data. Topics to be covered include:

• panel data modelling (difference-in-difference models; regression discontinuity designs; experiments)
• qualitative response models
• time series models

This module will provide you with an understanding of methods, results and models of behavioural economics and behavioural finance. We will talk about experiments and their importance in several fields. Within this context we will cover topics such as:

• how to design an experiment
• asset markets
• labour markets
• social dilemmas
• bargaining
• contests
• behavioural finance
• market structure
• risk

You will learn how to design your own experiment and how to interpret empirical results.

This module is an opportunity for you to work largely independently and in depth on a subject of your choice to be approved by staff from the Business School. 

You will be encouraged to understand the political and institutional frameworks within which business operates. Businesses do not simply react to policies set by government however; they are intimately involved in the processes of policy formation and decision making will be examined. You will be encouraged to think critically about policy formation and the role of business in this process. 

This module examines the antecedents and consequences of corporate restructuring. Factors triggering corporate restructuring are considered in a number of alternative organisational settings. In particular, the role of corporate governance in inducing and shaping corporate restructuring receives special attention (in particular, executive compensation and the market for corporate control).

The process of restructuring is discussed against a background of resource-based, agency and behavioural theories of the firm. The impact of corporate restructuring on the size, complexity, incentive systems and ownership structure of large firms is examined. Finally, the evidence relating to the effects of corporate restructuring on performance, employment, R&D and corporate governance is examined.

This module will offer an introduction to some theoretical concepts related to the allocation of risk by financial institutions. Then it will apply these concepts to the analysis of financial and banking crises.

This module discusses and analyses the management of the international finance function of firms. Typical issues include:

• foreign exchange markets
• foreign exchange and other international risks
• international financial markets
• international investment decisions
• foreign trade 

This module covers:

• introduction to law and economics: the Coase theorem, property rights and transaction costs
• economics of corporate law: ownership, agency and governance structures
• economics of contract law: efficient breach and efficient remedies
• economics of tort law: efficient liability rules
• economics of criminal law: fines and imprisonment
• economics of legal processes: litigation, settlement and trial
• competitive markets: products liability
• non-competitive markets: economics of antitrust law and regulation

The module provides an introduction to logistics and supply chain management (LSCM) within the international context. It examines how LSCM strategies contribute to businesses' competitive advantage, the relationship aspects between business partners in delighting end-customers and supporting operational activities and the international transport of goods. The module is taught by reference to academic literature and management practice, including case-studies and application to special topics such as humanitarian logistics and international trade. 

This module provides a broad-based introduction to the theory and practice of using computer and communication systems to solve problems in organisations.

The module is designed to provide the theoretical knowledge and technology-based insights needed in order to manage effective problem solving with information technologies and systems (IT&S), and to extract the most value from an actual or potential application of IT&S.

Specific domains include the strategic management of IT&S; the development, implementation and use of IT&S; the impacts of specific IT&S on organisational forms and activities.

This module provides an understanding of the factors which influence a company's choice of location, and of how to approach the design of layouts to support a company's strategic objectives and maximise the efficiency of its operations.

This module covers:

• introduction to purchasing - its importance, role and impact in organisations
• strategic sourcing decisions and approaches
• the stages of a typical purchasing process and introduction to various tools buyers use
• internal organisation of the purchasing function such as centralisation vs decentralisation
• supplier evaluation and selection issues, total cost of ownership (TCO) and quotation analysis
• portfolio and segmentation approaches to supplier management
• incentives and behavioural issues in managing suppliers
• negotiations
• special issues in purchasing: service sourcing and public procurement
• industrial case studies

This module will discuss the processes utilised by corporate enterprises to manage the risk of fortuitous loss. Once corporate risks have been identified and their impact on the firm measured, risk management attempts to control the size and frequency of loss, and to finance those fortuitous losses which do occur. 

This module examines individual decision-making under conditions of risk and uncertainty, and investigates the effectiveness of insurance as a means of controlling risk.

This module introduces you to key strategy and innovation concepts and tools which are relevant to dynamic markets in which there is rapid change in knowledge and skills, technologies, products, and services. Topics covered include:

• creating and sustaining competitive advantage in dynamic markets
• dynamic capabilities
• first and second mover advantages in innovation
• industry life cycles
• new product development and technology lock-ins
• innovation in services (public and private sector)

This module aims to provide you with the skills, knowledge and practical experience required to respond to the challenges involved in managing, commercialising and marketing technological innovation and new business development.