ACCOUNTABILITY, GOVERNANCE AND REGULATION - 1

The course contributes to the educational objectives of the Master's Degree Programme in Global Accounting and Finance, which develops students' knowledge and understanding of accounting, management control and finance. The first module of the course helps students appreciate and critically evaluate contemporary approaches to accounting regulation, as well as the role of accounting, auditing, management control and risk management tools in the governance of organisations in the private as well as public sector.

This module provides some foundational tools to appreciate the expanding role of accounting in the regulation and governance of contemporary organizations, as well as the changing ways in which accounting is itself being regulated. It provides advanced skills of analysis and evaluation of contemporary accounting methods and approaches through the discussion of research papers, offering a more conceptual and theoretical understanding of the practices and techniques studied at undergraduate level. Moving beyond the mere technical aspects of the accounting, students will learn to analyse it in its social and organizational context, reflecting on how accounting is shaped by its environment and contributes to shaping it. Drawing, inter alia, on political science, economic sociology and organization studies, students will learn to critically examine key accounting notions – such as decision-usefulness, transparency, objectivity and accountability – in their real-world applications and implications, including some problematic aspects and unintended consequences of those applications.

The main aims of the module are to:

appreciate the expanding role of accounting in the age of ‘regulatory governance’;
see accounting and accounting change as a function of specific organisational and institutional conditions rather than simply as the outcome of a process of technical optimisation;
understand the intended and unintended consequences of accounting within organisations and in society more broadly.
At the end of the module, students should be able to:

critically evaluate recent developments in accounting and auditing within business organisations as well as in the public sector;
question taken for granted assumptions about accounting and place notions of ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ accounting in a historical and institutional perspective.

Some familiarity with accounting and finance is highly advisable. The course represents the second part of "Accountability, Governance and Regulation" (12 credits)

Introduction: Accounting in the age of ‘regulatory capitalism’
Topic 1: Accounting and transparency
Case 1: University rankings
Topic 2: Accounting, standardization and financialization
Case 2: Accounting for Employee Stock Options
Topic 3: Accounting and sustainability
Topic 4: Auditing and assurance: audit in crisis?
Topic 5: Internal control and risk management
Case 3: Dollar Tree, Inc.
Case 4: Lehman Brothers
Case 5: Société Générale
Topic 6: Accounting in the ‘new public sector’
Topic 7: The ‘audit explosion’ in the public services
Case 6: Costing in Hospitals
Case 7: Performance measurement in the NHS

No textbook covers all the aspects of this module. Students are required to read a selection of texts from a variety of accounting and non-accounting journals and books. Lectures draw on clusters of readings that speak to the same topic and can be placed in a productive conversation. Students are required to read one or two readings per lecture (at times only selected pages). Specific guidance on how to approach each reading and which elements to concentrate on will be provided.

Students will have the following options:

Option 1:

a group presentation worth 50% of the final mark;
a final exam worth 50% of the final mark.
Groups will be formed by students with guidance from the module leader.

Option 2:

a written exam worth 100% of the mark for this module.

written

The lecturer has a duty to ensure that the rules regarding the authenticity and originality of exam tests and papers are respected. Therefore, if there is suspicion of irregular conduct, an additional assessment may be conducted, which could differ from the original exam description.

Fail ≤17 - Inadequate, fragmented, and incomplete knowledge of the content, which is not understood or is only partially understood and elaborated. Inadequate reflection and exposition skills.
Pass
18 - Very uncertain knowledge of the content, which needs to be consolidated, and which is understood and elaborated with great uncertainty. Reflection and exposition skills are barely adequate.
19 - Uncertain knowledge of the content, which needs to be consolidated, and which is understood and elaborated with uncertainty. Reflection and exposition skills are adequate.
20 - Sufficient knowledge of the content, which still needs to be consolidated to some extent, and which is understood and elaborated with uncertainty. Reflection and exposition skills are adequate.
Satisfactory
21 - More than adequate knowledge of the content, which is understood and elaborated with some uncertainty. Fair reflection and exposition skills.
22 - Fair knowledge of the content, which is understood and elaborated with some uncertainty. Satisfactory reflection and exposition skills.
23 - More than fair knowledge of the content, which is understood and elaborated with some uncertainty. Satisfactory reflection and exposition skills.
Good
24 - Accurate knowledge of the content, which is understood and elaborated with some uncertainty. Fair reflection and exposition skills.
25 - Accurate knowledge of the content, which is understood and elaborated with some certainty. Good reflection and exposition skills.
26 - Complete knowledge of the content, which is understood and elaborated with some certainty. Good reflection and exposition skills.
Very good
27 - Complete knowledge of the content, which is understood and elaborated with certainty. Remarkable reflection and exposition skills.
28 - Complete and in-depth knowledge of the content, which is understood and elaborated with certainty. Remarkable reflection and exposition skills.
Excellent
29 - Broad and in-depth knowledge of the content, which is understood and discussed confidently and independently, showing personal elaboration. Excellent reflection and presentation skills, albeit
with minor imperfections.
30 - Broad and in-depth knowledge of the content, which is understood and discussed confidently and independently, showing personal elaboration and originality. Excellent reflection and presentation skills.
Excellent
30 cum laude - In-depth but also very comprehensive knowledge of the content, which is understood and elaborated confidently, independently and with personal elaboration and originality, with full command of the language and excellent ability to make interdisciplinary connections. Advanced reflection and presentation skills.

During the 5 weeks of teaching, each topic will be addressed through a lecture-style seminar followed by an interactive discussion of a case-study, to be prepared in advance. Specific questions to guide the preparation of each case will be provided. Students will be invited to work in groups.

Attendance is highly recommended to make the most of this module and is a strong predictor of good exam performance. Students with legitimate and documented reasons preventing them from attending can request access to the recordings of lectures and case discussions on Panopto.

This subject deals with topics related to the macro-area "Climate change and energy" and contributes to the achievement of one or more goals of U. N. Agenda for Sustainable Development