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Intermediate Financial Accounting - ATAX0015
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Faculty: Faculty of Law
 
 
School:  Australian School of Taxation
 
 
Course Outline: See below
 
 
Campus: ATAX Campus
 
 
Career: Undergraduate
 
 
Units of Credit: 6
 
 
EFTSL: 0.12500 (more info)
 
 
Indicative Contact Hours per Week: 0
 
 
Enrolment Requirements:
 
 
Prerequisite: ATAX0005, ATAX0010
 
 
Fee Band: 3 (more info)
 
 
Further Information: See Class Timetable
 
 

Description

This course is concerned with external financial reporting and, in particular, the accounting and reporting practices of listed companies. It is an issues based course, where more complicated business transactions and events are considered, as well as accounting problems in certain specific areas. The regulatory requirements for preparation of a set of company financial statements, together with the continuous disclosure requirements and voluntary disclosures made by companies, are examined. Alternative accounting practices and issues, and the choice of technique by different preparers of accounts are also examined. Emphasis is placed on the understanding of the theory of accounting and its development.


Recommended Prior Knowledge

ATAX0005 Accounting 1 and ATAX0010 Accounting 2 are prerequisites for this course.

Course Objectives

Having completed this course you should be able to:
  • Understand economic, political, legal, commercial and business issues (such as measurement problems in accountancy)
  • Apply fundamental theories (such as positive accounting theory) and concepts (such as those embodied in the conceptual framework of accounting) in diverse and unpredictable environments
  • Critically analyse the underlying theories, concepts, assumptions and arguments concerning the regulation of accounting
  • Communicate effectively and to a professional standard in verbal, written and group contexts
  • Lead and participate in teams (including members from diverse cultural backgrounds) and demonstrate an ability to manage, persuade and influence others
  • Apply specialist technical skills which are recognised by professional associations

Main Topics

  • The Australian financial reporting environment
  • Accounting theory
  • Accounting for assets
  • Accounting for liabilities
  • Accounting for leases
  • Accounting for income tax
  • Accounting for shareholder's equity

Assessment

Individual assignment 15%
Group research project 25%
WebCT MCQ quizzes Two quizzes (5% each) 10%
Final exam Open book, 2 hours duration 50%

Course Texts

Prescribed
Deegan C, Australian Financial Accounting (Sydney: McGraw-Hill 5th ed, 2007)

You will also need to access accounting standards, which are contained in EITHER of the following handbooks:

  • Accounting Handbook 2008 (Australia: Pearsons Education Australia, 2008)
  • Accounting Handbook 2008 (Brisbane: John Wiley & Sons Australia Ltd, 2008)
Purchase of the 'Accounting Handbook 2008' is recommended as you should make continual reference to this throughout the course.

If you do not wish to purchase the Handbook, then the individual accounting standards may be downloaded for free from the AASB website at: http://www.aasb.com.au/ . However, I do strongly recommend that you purchase the Handbook as it is a cheaper alternative to printing the individual standards.

Citation and Style Guides

The following is a selection of acceptable citation and style guides, which you may use as the basis for your written work. You must purchase or have access to one of the following publications:
  • Rozenberg P, Australian guide to uniform legal citation (Sydney: Lawbook Co, 2nd ed, 2003)
  • Stuhmcke A, Legal referencing (Sydney: Butterworths, 3rd ed, 2005)
  • Australian guide to legal citation (Melbourne University Law Review Association, 2nd ed, 2002) - Available from http://mulr.law.unimelb.edu.au/aglc.asp

Note that in disciplines other than law (ie, Accounting and Economics) the literature in these courses has, for the most part, been written in the Harvard style and in these courses you may prefer to use the Harvard style of referencing. Guides to using the Harvard style can be accessed at the following websites:

http://www.lc.unsw.edu.au/onlib/ref.html
http://www.usq.edu.au/library/infoabout/ref_guides/default.htm

In this course, it is acceptable to use either one of the prescribed legal styles, or the Harvard style. However, whatever style you adopt must be used consistently and correctly - you must not mix one style with another.

Recommended
Refer to Course Profile supplied by Lecturer.

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© The University of New South Wales (CRICOS Provider No.: 00098G), 2004-2011. The information contained in this Handbook is indicative only. While every effort is made to keep this information up-to-date, the University reserves the right to discontinue or vary arrangements, programs and courses at any time without notice and at its discretion. While the University will try to avoid or minimise any inconvenience, changes may also be made to programs, courses and staff after enrolment. The University may also set limits on the number of students in a course.