UNSW Handbook Course - Accounting for Complex Structures and Instruments

Accounting for Complex Structures and Instruments - ATAX0053


	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: ATAX0015
	Fee Band: 3 (more info)
	Further Information: See Class Timetable

Description

This course is concerned with the accounting issues posed by complex financial transactions and organisational structures. It looks at the issues concerning the accounting for various extended entities, such as corporate groups, associated entities and joint venture arrangements. Issues such as accounting and reporting requirements for foreign currency transactions, off-shore operations, financial instruments are addressed. Careful treatment of these issues is essential to fairly determine the income and financial position of particular business entities.

Recommended Prior Knowledge

ATAX0015 Intermediate Financial Accounting is the prerequisite for this course.

Course Objectives

The main objectives of this course are:

To provide opportunities for practicing skills required for problem identification, analysis and the communication of accounting knowledge
To develop an understanding of the accounting standards and similar pronouncements pertaining to various accounting issues
To challenge student to think critically about corporate financial reporting by fostering an appreciation of: the frequency of use of particular accounting techniques by Australian companies; the role of the Conceptual Framework in evaluating accounting issues; and relevant research on the effects of accounting policy choices on financial statements, capital markets and decision-making behaviour

Main Topics

Consolidations
Equity accounting
Accounting for joint ventures and other corporate associations
Accounting for foreign currency
Accounting for financial instruments

Assessment

Assignment 1 - 15%
Assignment 2 - 10%
My eLearning Vista MCQ Quizzes, 3 quizzes (5% each) - 15%
Final Exam, Open book, 2 hours duration - 60%

Course Texts

Prescribed
Information regarding the Atax Textbook Lists for Semester 1 will be available on the UNSW Bookshop website from 1 February.

Information regarding the Atax Textbook Lists for Semester 2 will be available on the UNSW Bookshop website from 1 July.

Order from UNSW Bookshop:
http://www.bookshop.unsw.edu.au/atax.html

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.