NUS Business School
National University of Singapore
BMA5003_P1 – Financial Accounting, Semester 2 2015/2016
Part-time MBA Group: 6PM-9PM
Course Outline
Instructor: Adjunct Associate Professor Deon Chan
Office: BIZ2 #02-15
Email:bizcsfd@nus.edu.sg
Consultation Hours: 3 working days’ advance appointment
COURSE DESCRIPTION
This course is to equip students as managers to interpret and use the financial statements information in
business analysis and decisions. Managers need a firm basis for using financial statement information in their
careers in marketing, finance, banking, manufacturing, human resources, sales, information systems or other
areas of management.
AIMS AND OBJECTIVES
The course will equip the students with the understanding of financial accounting concepts, methods and uses.
The primary objectives of the course are to:
- Help students develop a good understanding of the accounting concepts and mechanisms underlying
financial information so that they can utilize the financial information for decision-making purposes in
business problems.
- Train students in accounting concepts and methods so that they can interpret, analyse and evaluate
financial statements and notes currently published in company annual reports.
- Provide students with a broad range of experience with realistic business and financial accounting
practices.
- Provide students with exposure on ethical and corporate governance issues in the business world.
PRE REQUISITE FOR THE COURSE
Nil.
REQUIRED MATERIALS
Main Textbook
Financial Accounting (8th edition) Global Edition, by Libby, Libby, and Short, and published by McGraw
Hill.
Supplementary Readings will be handed out during classes or posted to IVLE.
Course materials (lecture notes, discussion problems, project materials, etc) will be posted periodically on
IVLE.
MODULE WEBSITE:
The module BMA5003_P1 is set up in IVLE. You need to access the IVLE at least weekly before the lecture
to download the lecture materials and look out for announcements.
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CLASS SESSION
Class sessions will consist of lecture presentations combined with student presentations and discussion.
Punctuality, courtesy & absenteeism: Please arrive PUNCTUALLY. Students whom are absent without
valid reasons will be taken note of and participation marks would be deducted. Please switch your mobile to
silent mode during the class.
Lecture
For lecture, major points of a topic are covered. Lecture notes will be uploaded to IVLE before the start of
class each week. Students are advised to quick read the lecture notes and the chapters of the recommended
textbook (refer to the lecture plan below) before class each week. Additional readings assigned as and when
would also be uploaded to IVLE before each lecture.
CLASS PARTICIPATION (10%)
Please participate during the case discussions and lessons actively. Marks will be given for class
participations. Please participate by asking questions, answering questions posed by lecturer and fellow
students, offering opinions, relating material taught to your working experiences, commenting on presented
solutions to assignments.
INDIVIDUAL TUTORIAL (10%)
The purpose of the tutorial assignment is to help you to practice the accounting concepts and mechanisms,
and apply them to the questions. This is key part of the learning. All students are expected to complete the
tutorial questions before the due date.
You can discuss the tutorial questions in your group. However, all submission of the assignment is on an
individual basis. Each student is required to submit the tutorial.
GROUP CASE (20%)
A group will be assigned to present the solutions of the group case, while the other students are expected to
contribute to the discussion of the answers. Due to time constraint, sometimes not all the questions can be
discussed during the class, by which, the suggested solutions will be uploaded by the instructor for selfchecking. The grading will be based on the solutions submitted and the presentation. The presentation slides
should be uploaded to the student’s workbin before the lecture by 12noon. Please submit by the deadline stated.
The rest of the class is expected to prepare the assignment and participate actively in the discussion of the
assignment. Participation marks would be given.
ANNUAL REPORT PROJECT (30%)
This is a group project where the group will perform an analysis of a real-world company annual report by
applying the accounting concepts and methods taught in the course. It requires the reading and analysis of
annual report of listed companies. It serves to integrate all the topics covered and is also the self-learning
component of the course.
Deliverable will be the Project Report. Limit to the number of words would be announced during the class.
Grading will be based on clarity, conciseness and correctness of the written report of your analysis. Details
on the course project will be provided later.
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FINAL TEST (30%)
The final test is an open-book, open-notes test. All materials covered during the semester in lectures,
presentations, assignments, assigned readings and group project are examinable. All University-approved
calculators are permitted. Any other electronic and mobile devices e.g. laptop, smartphones and mobile phones
are not allowed.
EVALUATION
Your final grade will be determined on the following basis:
Final Test
Annual report project
Individual Tutorial submission
Group Case
Class participation
30%
30%
10%
20%
10%
100%
Lecture Plan
Lecture
Topic
1
Overview and Fundamentals of
Financial Accounting
Communicating and Interpreting
Accounting Information
Readings*
Libby Ch1
Libby Ch 5
Concepts and Understanding of Balance
Sheet
Libby Ch2
2
Concepts and Understanding of Income
Statement
Libby Ch3
3
Libby Ch 14
4
Performing Financial Statement Analysis
5
Concepts and Understanding of Sales
Cycle and Receivables
Libby Ch 6
6
Cost of Goods Sold and Inventory
Accounting
Libby Ch 7
7
Recess Week
Concepts and Understanding of Long
Term Assets and Intangibles
Libby Ch 8
8
Concepts and Understanding of
Liabilities
Libby Ch 9
3
9
Concepts and Understanding of Owner's Libby Ch 11
Equity
10
Concepts and Understanding of
Investments and Cash Flow Statements
11
Synthesis of Financial Reporting, Course
Wrap-up & Final Revision
12
Break
13
Final Test
14
Submission of Project
Libby Ch 12
& 13
Libby Ch 4
*- For supplementary readings for the lecture, please download from IVLE.
Module Website Resources
1. www.sgx.com
This is the website through which all corporate information and share information are found. The
annual reports reside in Listed Companies – Annual / Financial Reports link. Weblink is
http://www.sgx.com/wps/portal/marketplace/mpen/listed_companies_info/annual_reports_financial_reports
You need to access the above to download the Singtel and other company’s Annual Report for lecture
and project.
2. www.asc.gov.sg/frs/index.htm
All financial reporting standards for Singapore are found in the above weblink. It is not essential to
understand all that is written in the standards as BMA5003 is an elementary module that cover the
basic principles and not the detailed rules in the standards, usually covered in intermediate accounting
courses.
Advisory
Although this module is a basic accounting module, students who have no accounting or business finance
background are likely to find it challenging at the beginning. This is because this will be a new language
with its own unique terminology, concepts and rules, hence time and efforts are needed to familiarize with
them. Do not give up.
Work hard and hope you will have an enjoyable learning experience equipping you with the knowledge to
the accounting world.
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