Financial accounting in context
This module will help you understand different types of companies, including their formation, company financial accounting, the regulatory framework in which they operate, and their role in the context of market economies, law and society. You’ll also gain an understanding of corporate governance, corporate responsibility, and sustainability reporting. You’ll learn how to interact with accountants and auditors to understand their duties, as well as other external stakeholders to understand their information needs. By the end of this module, you should be able to prepare basic company financial accounts (including cash flow statements) and interpret the financial statements of a single entity company from the perspective of external stakeholders.
What you will study
You will study two aspects of company financial accounting and reporting.
Accounting technical: understanding, preparing and interpreting company financial statements and reports. You&/courses/qualifications/details/b293/39;ll learn how to prepare income statements, balance sheets, statements of changes in equity, and cash flow statements for single-entity companies. You&/courses/qualifications/details/b293/39;ll also learn how to interpret financial statements from the perspective of external stakeholders.
Contextual: the economic, legal and social context of companies and company financial accounting. You&/courses/qualifications/details/b293/39;ll learn about the characteristics of market economies and companies, regulation, financial accounting standards, audit and corporate governance, and why business ethics, corporate responsibility, and sustainability reporting are essential for mitigating the deficiencies of corporate governance and financial reporting. You&/courses/qualifications/details/b293/39;ll also learn about contract law and employment law and their influence on financial accounting.
You will learn
You will learn about the different legal forms of business entities and the differences in regulatory requirements that company law places on private limited companies, public limited companies, and quoted or listed companies.
Entry requirements
This module assumes that you will have completed Fundamentals of accounting (B124) or equivalent. Therefore, you should already:
- know and understand the principles of double-entry bookkeeping and how they underpin the balance sheet and the income statement
- be able to prepare an income statement and balance sheet from the trial balance and additional summary information for businesses organised as sole traders.
The end-of-period adjustments that you need to be able to make include:
- closing inventory
- depreciation of non-current assets,
- accrued and prepaid expenses and accrued and deferred revenues,
- writing off irrecoverable receivables,
- increasing or decreasing the allowance for receivables.
- interest expense and interest payable
At the start of the module, you&/courses/qualifications/details/b293/39;ll have the chance to review the prerequisite core knowledge and skills. This way, even if you completed an accounting module a while ago, you can refresh your understanding and skills in order to feel confident that you&/courses/qualifications/details/b293/39;re ready for this module. You&/courses/qualifications/details/b293/39;ll also be required to use a calculator and Excel spreadsheets.
If you have any doubt about the suitability of the module, please speak to an .
What's included
You’ll be provided with a printed Exam Preparation Workbook and have access to a module website which includes:
- a week-by-week study planner
- course-specific module materials
- audio and video content
- assignment details and submission section
- online tutorial and forum access.
You will need
A non-programmable calculator.
Computing requirements
You’ll need broadband internet access and a desktop or laptop computer with an up-to-date version of Windows (10 or 11) or macOS Ventura or higher.
Any additional software will be provided or is generally freely available.
To join in spoken conversations in tutorials, we recommend a wired headset (headphones/earphones with a built-in microphone).
Our module websites comply with web standards, and any modern browser is suitable for most activities.
Our OU Study mobile app will operate on all current, supported versions of Android and iOS. It’s not available on Kindle.
It’s also possible to access some module materials on a mobile phone, tablet device or Chromebook. However, as you may be asked to install additional software or use certain applications, you’ll also require a desktop or laptop, as described above.