Units

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Sample subject outline - Semester 1 2013

Note: Subject outlines often change before the semester begins. Below is a sample outline.

Rationale

All managers within an organisation make various decisions, both short-term and long-term, that often require accounting-based information. As a minimum, therefore, an understanding of the basic format of financial statements, the development of financial budgets, and costing of services is essential to being an effective research manager. This unit also provides a number of the critical foundational concepts relating to financial accountability, and techniques to enable managers to plan, implement strategies and evaluate performance.

Aims

This unit aims to help you develop basic core knowledge and skills in relation to the application of accounting from a managerial decision-making and control perspective. It aims to build your understanding of what an accounting system is and how the information produced by the accounting system (financial reports, budgets etc) is used when making business decisions and those associated within the research funding and commercial sectors. Further, the course seeks to provide insight on how a person external or internal to the organisation can use the financial statements produced by the accounting system to make decisions and evaluate performance. In addition, the course aims to provide an understanding of the basic short-term and long-term planning and control techniques adopted by managers including capital budgeting and working capital management.

Objectives

On completion of the unit, students will:

a) have an understanding of core accounting concepts. These include the key financial statements and the tools employed by external and internal decision-makers in their analysis of the financial performance of a firm or research organisation.

b) have acquired the ability to undertake some basic core accounting tasks. These may include but are not limited to: how to analyse the basic financial statements of a business or research budget, how to prepare a budget, how to calculate breakeven, how to determine the full cost of a service; and how to prepare data for capital budgeting decisions.

c) have developed some basic skills in using accounting information to make commercial and business decisions, including budgeting, cost-volume-profit analysis, costing, capital investment projects and working capital management.

Content

This unit enables the student to engage with the following content areas,

· Analysis and interpretation of financial reports (Income Statements and Balance Sheets), and explanation of basic accounting terminology.
· Understanding the difference between profit and working capital
· Defining and establishing insolvency
· Short-term and long-term decision-making techniques
· Budgeting and performance evaluation (accountability)
· Costing techniques
· Cash records and internal controls

Approaches to Teaching and Learning

It is assumed that students have no background in accounting principles, therefore for most students this will be an introductory course. However, it is acknowledged that in some areas students may have had some exposure to the issues covered, and in this case the course will extend students understanding of these basic accounting concepts. The emphasis will be on a ¿user approach¿ to accounting, not on teaching students how to prepare accounting records.
The approach taken in the unit encourages active learning through online collaboration. While the unit moderator (teacher) provides expert content input and guides individual learning, peer learning opportunities are equally important, as the class group will include a significant cohort of practicing research management professionals. Students will participate and interact in the online learning environment provided by this unit in a variety of ways, including:
a) Reading and responding to online content, including completion of online quizzes
b) Participating in online interactions such as forums and chat sessions
c) Engaging in formal assessment tasks (reading, reflecting, responding, writing, discussing) The emphasis in formal assessment tasks will be on extending a student's conceptual reach through individual experience and knowledge, and to facilitate this, opportunity will be provided for workplace-based assessment tasks and workplace-relevant modes (e.g. case studies, project reports, project plans, presentations).
Opportunities will be provided for formation of groups and for participation in externally provided expert workshops, seminars and information sessions.

Assessment name: Discussion Forum
Description: Description: Students are required to contribute weekly to the Online Discussions (in response to weekly stimulus questions and/or responses to designated key reading).
Relates to objectives: objectives 3a, 3b
Weight: 30%
Internal or external: External
Group or individual: Individual
Due date: Ongoing

Assessment name: Quiz/Test
Description: Description: Students are required to complete two short-answer tests at regular intervals.
Relates to objectives: objectives 3a, 3b
Weight: 30%
Internal or external: External
Group or individual: Individual
Due date: Weeks 4&7

Assessment name: Essay
Description: Description: Students are required to prepare a 2,000-3,000 word assignment at the end of the semester, covering a synthesis of a number of modules throughout the course. Some check figures will be provided for the quantitative elements of the assignment.
Relates to objectives: objective 3a, 3b
Weight: 40%
Internal or external: External
Group or individual: Individual
Due date: End of Unit

Assessment name: Self-assessment
Description: The unit moderator will be able to respond to email enquiries throughout the unit, s/he will provide written feedback on short answer tests within one week of completion and students will also have the opportunity to participate in online chat sessions. Together, these provide for ongoing evaluation of a student's progress through the unit, for example through moderator and peer feedback on forum and journal posting, and also the check figures for the quantitative elements of the assignment.
Relates to objectives: objectives 3a, 3b
Internal or external: External
Group or individual: Individual
Due date: Ongoing

Academic Honesty

QUT is committed to maintaining high academic standards to protect the value of its qualifications. To assist you in assuring the academic integrity of your assessment you are encouraged to make use of the support materials and services available to help you consider and check your assessment items. Important information about the university's approach to academic integrity of assessment is on your unit Blackboard site.

A breach of academic integrity is regarded as Student Misconduct and can lead to the imposition of penalties.

Resource materials

The key resource is the unit website. Reference materials are provided online in the unit's 'Resources' section and throughout the body of the website. They include:
§ Documents for download
§ Links to offsite websites and web pages

Students will also have access to:
§ An online chat facility
§ A personal journal/blog site
§ Online discussion forums

The resources are identified in relation particularly to the topics covered on a weekly basis, as described in the semester calendar for the unit to be provided to students in week one.

Risk assessment statement

There are no out-of-the-ordinary risks, other than those relating to the functioning of the internet and the provision of QUT systems access to the website for enrolled students.

Disclaimer - Offer of some units is subject to viability, and information in these Unit Outlines is subject to change prior to commencement of semester.

Last modified: 06-Mar-2013