Accounting and Finance for Engineers

Learning Outcomes

Knowledge and Understanding

Having successfully completed this module, you will be able to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of:

• financial strategy including capital structure, dividend policy and corporate governance of firms.
• cost analysis in the context of short and long term decision making and the use of discounted cash flow analysis;
• the assumptions underlying the preparation, interpretation and analysis of the Income Statement, Balance Sheet and Cash Flow Statement;
• the importance of capital structure and dividend policy decisions;
• the purpose, limitations, layout and presentation of financial statements;

Subject Specific Intellectual and Research Skills

Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:

• understand the role of accounting information in the collection, collation, decision making and analysis of business performance;
• appraise the role financial strategy within the business model of a firm.
• evaluate the processes by which the value of both real and financial assets can be estimated;
• evaluate the competing theories on the roles of dividend policy and the debt-equity mix in the determination of firm value;

Transferable and Generic Skills

Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:

• benefit from improved skills in learning, problem solving, numeracy written communication and self management.

Business Environment; Forms of business organisation; Introduction to accounting: information systems, the use of the Accounting Equation.; Accounting conventions and their use in the preparation of financial statements; Accruals, Prepayments and Depreciation The analysis and interpretation of financial statements using ratios; Financial planning and control. Dividend Payout policy and Capital Structure.; The valuation and appraisal of real and financial assets using DCF techniques and short term appraisal techniques including identification of relevant costs and discussion of other costing basis (direct, absorption; fixed and variable); Stock Exchange, Venture Capital and Initial Public Offerings, Merger and Acquisitions; Financial strategy and Corporate Governance. Risk and return, cost of capital, agency theory.

Lectures, weekly classes and 6-7 hours of private study per week, including reading, use of websites and working computational problems.

Formative

This is how we’ll give you feedback as you are learning. It is not a formal test or exam.

Problem solving

• Assessment Type: Formative
• Feedback: Formative feedback will be provided during the lecture and classes on the students’ performance in problem solving exercises and multiple choice questions.
• Final Assessment: No
• Group Work: No

Summative

This is how we’ll formally assess what you have learned in this module.

Referral

This is how we’ll assess you if you don’t meet the criteria to pass this module.

Repeat

An internal repeat is where you take all of your modules again, including any you passed. An external repeat is where you only re-take the modules you failed.