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The University of Southampton
International Summer School

International corporate governance: business summer school

Course overview

Discover how companies are entities that vary significantly worldwide. Equip yourself with a knowledge of how national law, politics and culture shapes them, and in turn how this affects business management and financing.

On this summer school course, you’ll learn how corporate governance as a system of rules, practices and processes balances different company stakeholders’ interests. We’ll delve into how corporate governance underpins every aspect of business management, from action plans and internal controls to performance measurement and corporate disclosure.

You’ll critically appraise or evaluate:

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Course information

Eligibility Minimum English requirement
Level Level 4, equivalent to 1st year of a degree
Duration 3 weeks
Contact time 45 hours
Extra cost £0
Equivalent to 3 to 4 US semester hours or 7.5 European ECTS credits. Learn how they’re recognised.
Fees Fees to book your summer school place

Who this course is for

You need an interest in business and finance to apply.

What you’ll learn

You’ll develop analytical, computational, team-work and presentation skills. You’ll also gain an understanding of:

Course lead

This Southampton Summer School course is led by Professor Bruce Hearn, a visiting professor of accounting and finance. He has held visiting professorships in leading universities around the world and has over 12 years’ professional experience in the City of London. Find out more about Professor Bruce Hearn.

Contact us

Please contact the Summer School Team on +44 (0)23 8052 8895 if you have any questions.

To ask us anything about Southampton Summer School, email us: summer@southampton.ac.uk.

Field trips you’ll take

No field trips for this course, which focuses on teaching and group work.

Topics you’ll cover

Week 1

Day 1: Theoretical perspectives I

Day 2: Theoretical perspectives II: Corporate governance structure: boards, committees

Day 3: Corporate governance and firm performance

Day 4: Executive compensation

Day 5: Assessment - Group presentations

Week 2

Day 1: The role of family in business firms

Day 2: Business groups and their impact on governance

Day 3: Law, finance and governance

Day 4: Institutional impact on governance

Day 5: Industry guest speaker and student practical mini-case study exercises

Week 3

Day 1: Corporate governance and firms ability to obtain cost effective finance

Day 2: Excel-based valuation workshops and case-study exercises

Day 3: Corporate social responsibility (CSR) and public relations

Day 4: Corporate governance failures and their implications

Day 5: Recap over course and essay writing techniques

Teaching and assessment methods

You’ll have a 3 hour teaching session every day from Monday to Friday.

You’ll be assessed by:

  1. A group presentation at the end of the first week
  2. A 2,000 word essay at the end of the course.

The presentation and the essay give you half of your final mark each.

Reading list

Core textbook:

Solomon, J. Corporate Governance and Accountability John Wiley & Sons

Second Edition 2007.

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