Financial Accounting Theory and Practice

This subject is available as a postgraduate-level subject for students studying the Graduate Certificate of Accounting or the Master of Professional Accounting at ICMS.

Subject Code:

ACC621A

Subject Type:

Core

Subject Level:

600

Credit Points:

4 credit points

Subject Rationale:

In-depth knowledge of financial accounting is a foundation of any accountant’s work. For accountants it is important to know how to prepare, interpret and analyse financial statements in a diverse range of business contexts and situations. Students will be introduced to accounting theory and concepts underpinning the recording of business transactions and preparation of financial statements with reference to the accounting standards.

Students will then apply accounting principles, processes and standards to prepare and present appropriate accounting information for various types of businesses, utilising contemporary cloud-based accounting software.  Students will analyse and interpret financial statements to support business decision making and provide recommendations to relevant business stakeholders. The latest developments in the environmental, sustainability and governance related financial reporting requirements will also be discussed.

Learning Outcomes:

a) Examine the role and purpose of financial accounting, accounting theories, accounting regulatory environment and ethical principles in accounting.

b) Employ financial accounting techniques and standards to record business transactions for various types of businesses, including sole traders, partnerships and straightforward corporate/company accounts.

c) Utilising cloud-based accounting software, prepare financial statements in line with relevant regulations, standards and accounting policies.

d) Critically analyse financial statements, interpret and communicate the results and make recommendations to key business stakeholders.

e) Evaluate the role of accounting policies, potential impact of changes of such policies and the latest industry trends in non-financial data reporting.

Assessment Information:

Learning outcomes for this subject are assessed using a range of assessment tasks as described in the table below.