Management - and financial reports

7/27/2019 Management - and financial reports

1/12

UG 1st Year 2013-14Michaelmas Term | Financial Reporting

FINANCIAL REPORTING

Tomo Suzuki

N.B. Please remember to check the Intranet for the most current version of this list.Library staff regularly updates hyperlinks, shelf locations and copy information.

Reading lists must not be republished electronically without first removing the hyperlinks; doing soconstitutes a serious breach of copyright.

Lecturer Prof. Tomo Suzuki (Head of Accounting Group)

Organisation 1. Preliminary Exercise before the first lecture (See below)2. Lectures (Eight 2-hour lectures in Michaelmas Term)

3. Classes and TESTs (Five 1.5 hour classes in weeks 1, 3, 5, 6 and 8)4. Examination (Several calculative and conceptual questions, and a fewexplanatory and critical essay questions, in Trinity Term 1.5 hours.)

Background & ObjectivesBackground: In the last decade or so, the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), which

adopt Fair Value Accounting instead of traditional Historical Cost Accounting, have become the

internationally dominant accounting regulation. General perception of this Global Accounting ispositive. Let us learn, first, how this should work. However, does IFRS help all the stakeholders, by

presenting business realities as they are? To what extent, and in what ways, can we utilise this new

accounting regime in todays highly financialized business society? Some even suspected IFRS roles

in the recent financial crisis and scandals. We do not aim to be an accounting expert, yet, sometechnical and institutional knowledge of accounting is essential to be a good management of any

organization.

Objectives: Our objectives are: (1) to understand how modern financial reporting is supposed to

theoretically work from a technical (e.g., double-entry system and ratio analysis) and an institutional

(e.g., regulations and audit firms) point of view; (2) based on timely case studies, we try to assess theextent to which the roles of financial reporting are achieved in practice; (3) in a fast-changing, global

and socially-conscious business environment, we explore new developments of business reporting and

disclosure.

This course will enable you to (1) read financial sections of business papers and magazines well

(i.e., understand the language of business), (2) perform primary comparative analyses of manycompanies, for example, for investment purposes, (3) perform detailed analyses of each individual

organisation, for example, for credit analyses, (4) consider your own organisations reporting policyand strategy in a fast-changing, global and socially-conscious environment, (5)beyond these practical

benefits, to consider some intellectual and critical issues on the roles of financial reporting in society.

Preliminary ReadingThose with little or no background in accounting will find this course challenging. The course requires

a considerable effort to get to grips with both the vocabulary of accounting and techniques. Officiallyspeaking, the course does not assume any knowledge of accounting in advance of the first lecture

Correct at 17/10/2013 Please report broken links to [email protected] 1
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]


2/12


(except for the Preliminary Exercise see below), however some preliminary reading should help.

Choose any (short, light and very basic) double-entry bookkeeping and financial accounting book for

business people. Or, perhaps it is better to utilise web-based information such as:-http://www.freebookkeepinghelp.com/. Some courses here are really good and for free.

Preliminary Exercise Most ImportantThe aim of the Preliminary Exercise is to standardise the minimum knowledge that is required for thiscourse. The point of this exercise is to understand the flow from double-entry bookkeeping to financial

statements, and more fundamentally, to get used to accounting terms (such as assets andliabilities). Where to obtain it: The Preliminary Exercise can be found at the end of this Reading

List, or can be available on the shared network drive or Weblearn, under the Financial Reporting,

Lecture 0. Or, you may access it online by clicking here (please change the link to the UG drive, if

we still have, and please link the latest version). When and How to complete it: The PreliminaryExercise should be completed in advance of the first lecture. The exercise is very simple but requires

some time to repeat and memorise. You can NOT finish in a few days. You must repeat it at least Five

Times if you have little background of accounting. You should expect a TEST in the first Lecture.

Michaelmas term is going to be extremely busy for you, and you will never find time to catch up.Please do it now.

The textbook below provides some double-entry bookkeeping issues. If you repeated thePreliminary Exercise five times and understood well, there is no need to go through them. However, if

you wish to know double-entry bookkeeping and the accounting procedure a little better, please utilise

it. There are some differences between the two, also in the above on-line accounting courses as well. Ifyou find accounting terminologies confusing, actually, you are doing well. It is the case in the actual

financial world (and it is not the disorganisation of the lecturer), and you started getting used to it.

Class Work and Arrangement - ImportantWe will have Classes in weeks 1, 3, 5, 6 and 8 (1.5 hours each time). You will be notified with your

Class No., day and time at the beginning of Michaelmas term. You will NOT be able to change your

Class unless you have an exceptional and legitimate reason. In the class room, you are asked to sitexactly the same seat every week so your class teacher can remember you (It is important for the

Tutorial Reporting purpose).

(1) The first 30 minutes will be spent for a short TEST on the previous weeks topic. The first week

TEST will be on the double-entry bookkeeping from the Preliminary Exercise. In the following

weeks, you are expected to revise weekly handouts and problem sets, to prepare for the TEST. If

you perform very well or very poorly, your College will be notified.

(2) The last 60 minutes will be spent for discussions on a few important topics from the lecture of the

week. The discussions should form the basis of your essay which should be handed in in thefollowing Class.

(3) Essay: Strictly follow the rules below. Type written on A4 paper. 12-font-size. State your Classnumber followed by Surename, First Name on the top-right corner. The length should be strictly

within 850 words. Staple top-left corner. Hand in the Class in person, only. Delayed submission

will NOT be accepted under any circumstance due to the need for the efficient administration for

large scale classes. If the above rules are not met, your essay will not accepted, and the score /mark will be zero.

http://www.freebookkeepinghelp.com/http://isbs.sbs.ox.ac.uk/mba/courseinformation/Documents/MBA09mFR%20preliminary%20exercise.pdfmailto:[email protected]://www.freebookkeepinghelp.com/http://isbs.sbs.ox.ac.uk/mba/courseinformation/Documents/MBA09mFR%20preliminary%20exercise.pdfmailto:[email protected]


3/12


TextbookAs financial accounting has just gone through the International revolution and Fair Value revolution

over the last decade or so, we have not seen a good textbook authors are just catching up. Also,

Oxford accounting courses are short which does not provide candidates with much time to readthrough a tick textbook. If candidates just skim a textbook, it can be rather confusing. On the other

hand, updated teaching/learning materials are increasingly available on-line. Therefore, I thought of

not setting a textbook this year for the first time. However, this can cause a worry among manystudents; and therefore I tried to find a relatively concise and updated textbook which covers similar

topics as ours. The following textbook (John Dunn, 2010; there could be a new edition, and in such a

case, use the new edition.) is recommended. By the time of your purchase, there may be a new edition,

which is fine, of course. The textbook sometimes addresses issues which go beyond the scope of thiscourse. In such cases, use your discretion as to whether or not you have time to read beyond topics

raised in the lectures. Reasonable judgements and time management, are essential in surviving the

Oxford courses. In any case, Readings in the Reading List should be done AFTERlectures, unless

otherwise advised. In this Reading List, Chapter and page numbers refer to this textbook (2010version).

Financial Reporting and Analysis(1st edition, 2010) John Dunn

ISBN 978-0-470-69503-6

January 2010, 2009Paperback, 392 pages

Alternatively, the following textbook is also good, covering more topics and details. If you are keen to

develop your financial reporting knowledge, you may wish to purchase this textbook. (But if you justskim this textbook, it will be more confusing than helping you.) You should always use the newest

edition. By using the Table of Contents and Index, you can easily find relevant parts of the textbook to

our course.

Financial Accounting: An International Introduction, 4/e (April 2010), by David

Alexander and Christopher Nobes; Publisher: Financial Times Press/PeasonsEducation

The following textbooks are recommended foradvanced and interested students.

For reading Annual Report and Financial Statements line by line (Basics): Interpreting Company

Reports and Accounts (2008) 10/e Holmes, Sugden and Gee, FT Prentice Hall, ISBN-13:978-0-273-71141-4.

http://eu.wiley.com/WileyCDA/WileyTitle/productCd-EHEP001670.htmlhttp://eu.wiley.com/WileyCDA/WileyTitle/productCd-EHEP001670.htmlhttp://library.ox.ac.uk/find?DocID=16515686mailto:[email protected]://eu.wiley.com/WileyCDA/WileyTitle/productCd-EHEP001670.htmlhttp://library.ox.ac.uk/find?DocID=16515686mailto:[email protected]


4/12


For Financial Statements Analysis (Applied): Analysis, Interpretation and Understanding (2003) 6/e

Pendlebury and Groves, Cengage, ISBN-13: 9781861529473

For more advanced and comprehensive (including company valuations): Financial Reporting,

Financial Statement Analysis, and Valuation - A Strategic Perspective 6/e (2007) Stickney, Brown,

and Wahlen, Cengage, ISBN-13: 9780324302950



5/12


Lecture 1 Overall Framework of Financial ReportingThe first lecture illustrates the overall workings of Financial Reporting, covering its brief history, theusers and uses of accounts, the method of double-entry bookkeeping, basic financial statements,

namely Statement of Financial Position (or more commonly, Balance Sheets or BS), Statement of

Comprehensive Income (Income Statement orIS; or Profit and Loss Account or PL) and Statement ofCashflow (Cashflow Statement orCF), and issues which go beyond traditional Financial Reporting. (I

warned you already that the terminologies are confusing, but this is the reality.)

1.1 Users and Uses of Financial Reporting

1.2 Revision of Preliminary Exercise: Case Study (Lemonade ltd.)

1.3 Basics of BS, IS and CF accounting techniques and terminologies to be understood.

1.4 Annual Report (Nestle, and Oxford BioMedica plc.). Contents to be understood.

1.5 Off-balancesheet transactions and extended reporting

Reading Textbook and supplement in the lecture

Lecture handouts and Revision Guide, which will be given at the end of each lecture, will give you

precise contents that you are supposed to learn in each week. Use the following readings as supplementto what we study in the lecture. You do NOT need to go through all the details to pass the course.

Chapter 1 Learn overall background of Financial Reporting

Chapter 2 Lean overall background of todays regulation. We will comeback to this point in other lectures.

Chapter 3 Learn the contents of Annual Reports but use Nestles AnnualReport for details.

Chapter 4 Skim this chapter to know the role of academic research. Youare warmly invited to consider your career as an academic

accountant. Please do speak to me.Annual Reports Read annual reports of Nestle and Oxford BioMedica as

much as possible to familiarise the contents of Annual Report.

Off-balance story provided in Lecture Understand the importance of Off-balance sheet transactions.

Additional Reading (only if you are keen to know the details)

Zeff, S. (2003) How the U.S. AccountingProfession Got Where It Is Today

Accounting Horizon. Vol. 17, Issue. 4.

Available on Business Source Complete.

The UK is covered by the textbook. So, use this for the US. Do

not try to remember the details. Simply use this as a

supplementary reading about the accounting profession, which

is very helpful as basic knowledge of FR.

Class 1 TEST (Calculation): Double-entry bookkeeping, Gap filling of Financial Statements.Class 1 Work (Essay): What is IASB, and what is IFRS? Critically evaluate the roles of them.

http://sbs-libprox.sbs.ox.ac.uk:2048/login?user=sbslprox1&pass=Pr0x1482&url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=11721479&site=ehost-livehttp://sbs-libprox.sbs.ox.ac.uk:2048/login?user=sbslprox1&pass=Pr0x1482&url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=11721479&site=ehost-livemailto:[email protected]://sbs-libprox.sbs.ox.ac.uk:2048/login?user=sbslprox1&pass=Pr0x1482&url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=11721479&site=ehost-livehttp://sbs-libprox.sbs.ox.ac.uk:2048/login?user=sbslprox1&pass=Pr0x1482&url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=11721479&site=ehost-livemailto:[email protected]


6/12


Lecture 2 Details of ISIn Lecture 1, we learnt the overall framework of financial reporting, however, almost all the figureswere given. This time, we will see how figures are actually calculated. In order to understand this,

we will study some important accounting terms and concepts such as Realisation, Accrual,

Consistency, etc (see below in the table), and we will do this with many examples. Through thisprocess, we will realise how accounting figures can be problematic, rather than neutrally or objectively

reflecting corporate reality. We start from IS items in this lecture, followed by BS items and CF items

next time (The IFRS approach starts from BS, then IS; but we start from IS then BS, for some goodreasons. Details will be explained in the Lecture).

2.1 I S Accounting concepts and terms to be learnt with examples

Revenues (or Sales) On this, the textbook is not strong. But see Construction contracts (pp.

221-228. We will come back to this point time and again. Please checkthe accounting concept of Realization on Websites.

Cost of Sales Chapter 10. Please check the concepts of Matching, Fifo/Lifo andprudence.

Gross Profit - (Whats the use of this notion of profit?)

General Expenses Accrual, Expense e.g., Rent, Water charge, etcSee Lecture

handout.

Depreciation/Amortisation Chapter 8 and 9. Depreciation / Amortisation e.g., Depreciation of

buildings, or Amortisation of Licence.

Bad Debt Provision /

Allowance

pp. 252-267. Please check the concepts of Prudence and Consistency

See Lecture handout and Websites.

Directors pay e.g., Stock Options. See Lecture handout.

Profit before Tax - (Whats the use of this notion of profit?)

Tax Chapter 6. (But do not go into details)

Profit after Tax - (Whats the use of this notion of profit?)

Dividend s Statement of Changes in Equity, Corporate Governance. See Lecturehandout.

Retained Profit for year - (Whats the use ofthis notion of profit?)

Below the line, either under the IS or Statement of Changes in Equity (IFRS, etc) . The format above is

slightly different from IFRS format in relation to the Other Comprehensive Income at the bottom of

the statement. We will deal with this issue in the lecture.

Reading - TextbookSee the above table. Additional readings will be provided in the lecture. Because the textbook takes aslightly different teaching approach from the Lecture, the reading sections above appear messy. If

this bothers you, do not spend too much time this week. Wait until Lecture 3, and read through the

textbook from Chapters 6 to 11. This should help you understand issues around IS, BS and CF items.

Class 2 TEST (Calculation):[Class 2 is in week 3] Several IS items. See handouts for details. See

also the Selected Exam Questions in Week 0 file online.

Class 2 Work (Essay): Choose one from (1) What are profits and how do we determine in the IS?,and (2) Explain accounting for R&D. (We will come back on these in Lectures 3 and 4).



7/12


Lecture 3 Details of BS, CF and Reading Annual ReportIn Lecture 2, we covered Income Statement items. We now move on to Balance Sheet items, andCashflow Statements.

3.1 BS Accounting concepts and terms to be learnt with examplesFixed Assets (Tangible) Chapter 8 Historical Cost, Revaluation e.g., Land.

(Intangible) Chapter 9 Historical Cost, Revaluation e.g., Goodwill (Lecture 4)

Current Assets Chapter 10. e.g., Inventories, Cash, etcCurrent/non-current distinctionBiological Assets (IAS 41). See Lecture handout.

Total Assets Schuetze, W. (1993) What is an asset?,Accounting Horizons, 7 (3), pp.66-70. [This is an Additional Reading] Available from Business Source

Complete.

Liability Chapter 11 e.g., Contingent Liability, Off-balance sheet

Shareholders Equity Chapter.1

Retained Profit Chapter.1

Other components of Eq See lecture handout, and also Fixed Assets and Revaluation.

Equity and Liabilities -

3.2 CF - See Lecture handout for Cashflow Statement

Reading - TextbookFor BS, see the above table. Additional readings will be provided in the lecture.

For CF, the textbook is not strong. Use Lecture handout.

Reading

Biondi, Y. & Suzuki, T. (2007)Introduction: the socio-economic impacts

of international accounting standards.

Socio-Economic Review, Vol. 5, No. 4.Available from OUP journals

Learn Fair Value accounting and the difference fromHistorical Cost accounting. The Socio-Economic Review,Vol. 5, No. 4. covers different impacts of Fair Value

Accounting on wider issues including financial crisis,

fair trade, etc Read as much as you can.

Dichev, Ilia D.. (2008)On the Balance

Sheet-Based Model of Financial Reporting.

Accounting Horizons, Dec2008, Vol. 22Issue 4, p. 453-470

Learn the difference between Income Statement Approach and

Balance Sheet Approach.

3.3 Reading Financial Statements -As a revision case study, we will read and analyse Oxford BioMedicas Annual Report. If we do not

have time for this in the class, you are expected to read the Annual Report at home.

Class 3 TEST (Calculation):[Class 3 is in week 5] Balance Sheet items; Cashflow statement.

Class 3 Work (Essay): Choose one from (1)Cash is fact. Profit is someones opinion What does

this mean? Critically evaluate this statement, and (2) Explain the recent shift from the IncomeStatement Approach to the Balance Sheet Approach in Financial Accounting.

Note: See other questions for Class 3 in Lecture 4 (next page)

http://sbs-libprox.sbs.ox.ac.uk:2048/login?user=sbslprox1&pass=Pr0x1482&url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=9403110114&site=ehost-livehttp://dx.doi.org/10.1093/ser/mwm011http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/ser/mwm011http://sbs-libprox.sbs.ox.ac.uk:2048/login?user=sbslprox1&pass=Pr0x1482&url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=36321562&site=ehost-livehttp://sbs-libprox.sbs.ox.ac.uk:2048/login?user=sbslprox1&pass=Pr0x1482&url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=36321562&site=ehost-livehttp://sbs-libprox.sbs.ox.ac.uk:2048/login?user=sbslprox1&pass=Pr0x1482&url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=36321562&site=ehost-livehttp://sbs-libprox.sbs.ox.ac.uk:2048/login?user=sbslprox1&pass=Pr0x1482&url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=36321562&site=ehost-livemailto:[email protected]://sbs-libprox.sbs.ox.ac.uk:2048/login?user=sbslprox1&pass=Pr0x1482&url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=9403110114&site=ehost-livehttp://dx.doi.org/10.1093/ser/mwm011http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/ser/mwm011http://sbs-libprox.sbs.ox.ac.uk:2048/login?user=sbslprox1&pass=Pr0x1482&url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=36321562&site=ehost-livehttp://sbs-libprox.sbs.ox.ac.uk:2048/login?user=sbslprox1&pass=Pr0x1482&url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=36321562&site=ehost-livemailto:[email protected]


8/12


Lecture 4 Financial Statement Analysis 1; Accounting for Business Combination.4.1 Financial Statement Analysis 1 - Trend Analysis (Horizontal analysis)

Lecture 1 covered the overall framework of financial reporting. Lectures 2 and 3 covered many

accounts in the IS, BS and CF. Having studied details of each account, this time, we will analyse actual

financial statements. Based on a simple Trend Analysis, we will form a basis of detailed analysis of anorganisation.

Case Study 1: Network Communication plc. (No preparation is required)

Reading Textbook and Annual Report

(Chapter 7) The textbook is not strong on Financial Analysis. Learn

Trend analysis based on the case studies in the lectures.The textbook covers some critical pints of the use of

financial analysis.

Annual Reports

Go back to the Annual Reports we have already seen and

try to read Financial Statements as much as possible.

4.2. Accounting for Business Combination (or Group Accounting)

In the second half of the lecture, we will introduce the issues of Business Combination. So far, weassumed that we account for one legal entitys financial performance and positions. However, large

companies usually have many group companies. In order to know the groups performance and

financial positions, we will introduce group accounting. We use cases from Nestle, Coca Cola,

Enron and others.

Reading - TextbookChapter 12 and 13 Learn usefulness and difficulty of group accounting. Learn

also basic methods of consolidation, but do not go into

details. Learn the nature and meanings of Goodwill,Minority Interest and other key notions. For Segment

Reporting, see Chapter 7.

Additional Reading

Henry, B. (1999) What constitutescontrol?,Journal of Accountancy, 187

(6), pp. 39-43.

Available from Business SourceComplete

Lean the difficulty of consolidation in relation to

determination of the to-be-consolidated entities.

If you are very busy, just scan the article.

Herrmann, D. & Thomas, W.B. (2000)

An analysis of segment disclosures underSFAS No. 131 and SFAS No. 14,

Accounting Horizons, 14 (3), pp. 287-302.

Available from Business SourceComplete

We learnt the necessity of consolidation, but what about thenecessity of segment (i.e., breakdown) information?

Shareholders and Stakeholders keep demanding more

information. If you are very busy, just scan the article.

Class 3 TEST (Calculations):[Class 3 is in week 5] Calculation of Goodwill and Minority Interests.

Class 3 Work (Essays): Choose only one from the questions in Lecture 3 and (3) How should we

account for Goodwill?

http://sbs-libprox.sbs.ox.ac.uk:2048/login?user=sbslprox1&pass=Pr0x1482&url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=1918269&site=ehost-livehttp://sbs-libprox.sbs.ox.ac.uk:2048/login?user=sbslprox1&pass=Pr0x1482&url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=1918269&site=ehost-livehttp://sbs-libprox.sbs.ox.ac.uk:2048/login?user=sbslprox1&pass=Pr0x1482&url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=3644818&site=ehost-livehttp://sbs-libprox.sbs.ox.ac.uk:2048/login?user=sbslprox1&pass=Pr0x1482&url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=3644818&site=ehost-livemailto:[email protected]://sbs-libprox.sbs.ox.ac.uk:2048/login?user=sbslprox1&pass=Pr0x1482&url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=1918269&site=ehost-livehttp://sbs-libprox.sbs.ox.ac.uk:2048/login?user=sbslprox1&pass=Pr0x1482&url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=1918269&site=ehost-livehttp://sbs-libprox.sbs.ox.ac.uk:2048/login?user=sbslprox1&pass=Pr0x1482&url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=3644818&site=ehost-livehttp://sbs-libprox.sbs.ox.ac.uk:2048/login?user=sbslprox1&pass=Pr0x1482&url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=3644818&site=ehost-livemailto:[email protected]


9/12


Lecture 5 Financial Statement Analysis 2 - Ratio Analysis; Regulation.Following Trend Analysis in Lecture 4, we now move on to Ratio Analysis which will enable us toperform comparative analysis of many companies. XBRL may appear useful in the globalised markets

and businesses. However, the danger of the over reliance on the ratio analysis will also be emphasised.

5.1 Risks of Ratio Analysis Cases from Nestle, Henkel and Sany (a Chinese company).

5.2 Revision of Trend Analysis Vodafone Case

Reading - Textbook

Chapter 7 The textbook is not strong on Financial Analysis. Use the

Lecture handout. For basic calculations, you must useactual financial statements to practice.

Reading

Brown, P. (1998) A model for effective

financial analysis,Journal of FinancialStatement Analysis, 3 (4), pp. 60-63.

Available on Business Source Complete

This is one of traditional ways of doing financial analysis.

Critically evaluate the model proposed here and combineit with the model proposed in the textbook.

Brashear, Jim. (2009) SEC Mandates

Interactive Data Financial Reporting.

Corporate Governance Advisor, Vol. 17Issue 3, pp. 27-30

Available on Business Source Complete

Learn how XBRL should work; but also criticallyevaluate risks associated with it.

See Reference textbook above Some more details on ratio analysis.

5.3 Accounting Regulation Critically evaluating the Global Accounting Regulation

Read Chapter 5. IFRS by International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) is generally regarded asprogress towards more efficient financial markets. Is it the case? If so, in what ways, is it so; and is itnot so? We evaluate effectiveness of IFRS in the globalized business world based on some examples

such as IAS 41 Agriculture.

Class 4 TEST (Calculations):[Class 4 is in Week 6] Financial Ratios and their interpretation.

Class 4 Work (Essay): Choose one from (1) In the era of internet and XBRL, how would such

readily available data work in our business and society?, and (2) How should financial reporting be

regulated in the globalised era? Demonstrate balanced arguments based on good examples.

Preparation for Lecture 6: You can also find the copy on the Weblearn.

(1) Read Microsoft Case Study (HBS 9-100-027). Questions and Data for this CaseStudy. (You can disregard the Questions and Data for now).

(2) Oxford BioMedica Case Study (No in-advance preparation).

(3) IFRS (IAS 41), Plantation and Sustainable Development Case Study. (Click HereCase should be available soon from The Case Centre Link / Copyright).

http://sbs-libprox.sbs.ox.ac.uk:2048/login?user=sbslprox1&pass=Pr0x1482&url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=940420&site=ehost-livehttp://sbs-libprox.sbs.ox.ac.uk:2048/login?user=sbslprox1&pass=Pr0x1482&url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=940420&site=ehost-livehttp://sbs-libprox.sbs.ox.ac.uk:2048/login?user=sbslprox1&pass=Pr0x1482&url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=39877742&site=ehost-livehttp://sbs-libprox.sbs.ox.ac.uk:2048/login?user=sbslprox1&pass=Pr0x1482&url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=39877742&site=ehost-livehttp://ecch2.ecch.cranfield.ac.uk/internetcases/Gateway/Webcases/electronic/pdfs/oxford/9-100-027.pdfhttp://var/www/apps/conversion/tmp/Documents/Teaching%20CF-R9/tsuzuki/Week%206/601%20Microsoft%20Case%20Study%20Question.dochttp://var/www/apps/conversion/tmp/Documents/Teaching%20CF-R9/tsuzuki/Week%206/601%20Microsoft%20Case%20Study%20Question.dochttp://var/www/apps/conversion/tmp/Documents/Teaching%20CF-R9/tsuzuki/Week%206/602%20Microsoft%20Case%20Study%20Data.xlshttp://var/www/apps/conversion/tmp/Documents/Teaching%20CF-R9/tsuzuki/Week%206/602%20Microsoft%20Case%20Study%20Data.xlsmailto:[email protected]://sbs-libprox.sbs.ox.ac.uk:2048/login?user=sbslprox1&pass=Pr0x1482&url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=940420&site=ehost-livehttp://sbs-libprox.sbs.ox.ac.uk:2048/login?user=sbslprox1&pass=Pr0x1482&url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=940420&site=ehost-livehttp://sbs-libprox.sbs.ox.ac.uk:2048/login?user=sbslprox1&pass=Pr0x1482&url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=39877742&site=ehost-livehttp://sbs-libprox.sbs.ox.ac.uk:2048/login?user=sbslprox1&pass=Pr0x1482&url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=39877742&site=ehost-livehttp://ecch2.ecch.cranfield.ac.uk/internetcases/Gateway/Webcases/electronic/pdfs/oxford/9-100-027.pdfhttp://var/www/apps/conversion/tmp/Documents/Teaching%20CF-R9/tsuzuki/Week%206/601%20Microsoft%20Case%20Study%20Question.dochttp://var/www/apps/conversion/tmp/Documents/Teaching%20CF-R9/tsuzuki/Week%206/602%20Microsoft%20Case%20Study%20Data.xlsmailto:[email protected]


10/12


Lecture 6 Creative Accounting, Audit and Regulation.Lecture 5 pointed out that accounting figures and ratios are utilised in our highly globalised andautomated financial world. Under such conditions then, how would management of multinational firms

behave? Let us examine managements behaviour based on the cases from Microsoft, Oxford

BioMedica, Enron and Satyam. How, should accounting regulation and auditing, prevent excessivecreative accounting and accounting scandals?

For the preparation for the case studies below, see page 8.

6.1 Case Study 1: Microsofts Creative Accounting

6.2 Case Study 2: Oxford BioMedica plc.

6.3 Case Study 3: IFRS (IAS 41), Plantation and Sustainable Development Case Study.

6.4 Auditing and Audit Firms Cases of Satyan (India) and others.

Reading - TextbookChapter 7 Revise again how financial analysis is done and where

trick may be hidden.

ReadingCollingwood, H. (2001) The earnings

game: Everyone plays, nobody wins,

Harvard Business Review, 79 (6), pp. 65-

74.Article available on Business Source

Complete. For help with searching click

here

Consider the effects of earnings management.

Sharma, E. Kumar. (4/5/2009) Run Open

Fraud.exe.Business Today, Vol. 18 Issue 7, p90-92. For full text click here

Available from Business Source

Complete

Learn some details of recent accounting scandal at Satyamwhich was listed at NYS and also received the Corporate

Governance Award.

Bazerman, Max H.; Loewenstein, George;

Moore, Don A. (2002) Why Good

Accountants Do Bad Audits.HarvardBusiness Review, Vol. 80 Issue 11, pp. 96-103.

Article available on Business Source

Complete. For help with searching click

here

You know theoretically what auditors are supposed to do.

But then let us learn why they do bad audits.

Class 4 TEST (Calculations): [Class 4 is in Week 6] Review double-entries of creative accounting.

Class 4 Work (Essay): Choose only one from the questions in Lecture 6 and (3) What is Creative

Accounting? Is it always wrong or bad? What is the role of Auditors in this context? Are they playing

the expected roles under the current institutional arrangements?

https://portal.sbs.ox.ac.uk/sites/static/informationcentre/collections/pages/Databases.aspxhttps://portal.sbs.ox.ac.uk/sites/static/informationcentre/collections/pages/Databases.aspxhttp://sbs-xnet.sbs.ox.ac.uk/int_pdfs/Finding_articles_EBSCO.pdfhttp://sbs-libprox.sbs.ox.ac.uk:2048/login?user=sbslprox1&pass=Pr0x1482&url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=37791538&site=ehost-livehttp://sbs-libprox.sbs.ox.ac.uk:2048/login?user=sbslprox1&pass=Pr0x1482&url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=37791538&site=ehost-livehttps://portal.sbs.ox.ac.uk/sites/static/informationcentre/collections/pages/Databases.aspxhttps://portal.sbs.ox.ac.uk/sites/static/informationcentre/collections/pages/Databases.aspxhttp://sbs-xnet.sbs.ox.ac.uk/int_pdfs/Finding_articles_EBSCO.pdfmailto:[email protected]://portal.sbs.ox.ac.uk/sites/static/informationcentre/collections/pages/Databases.aspxhttps://portal.sbs.ox.ac.uk/sites/static/informationcentre/collections/pages/Databases.aspxhttp://sbs-xnet.sbs.ox.ac.uk/int_pdfs/Finding_articles_EBSCO.pdfhttp://sbs-libprox.sbs.ox.ac.uk:2048/login?user=sbslprox1&pass=Pr0x1482&url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=37791538&site=ehost-livehttp://sbs-libprox.sbs.ox.ac.uk:2048/login?user=sbslprox1&pass=Pr0x1482&url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=37791538&site=ehost-livehttps://portal.sbs.ox.ac.uk/sites/static/informationcentre/collections/pages/Databases.aspxhttps://portal.sbs.ox.ac.uk/sites/static/informationcentre/collections/pages/Databases.aspxhttp://sbs-xnet.sbs.ox.ac.uk/int_pdfs/Finding_articles_EBSCO.pdfmailto:[email protected]


11/12


Lecture 7 CSR Reporting, Environmental Accounting, and Accounting for NPOs.So far, we have looked at Financial Reporting of for-profit organisations. However, Oxford candidates

are often more socially conscious than those in the other top business schools, and many of them willbecome a social entrepreneur, work for NPOs, governments and international organisations such as the

UN. How could these organisations be best accounted for? In addition, even if you are working for a

commercial company, you will need to be aware of impacts of CSR Reporting which has become anincreasingly important means of communications with stakeholders. Let us understand the state of arts

of these new reporting practices, and consider the future and the strategy for emerging business

reporting issues.

7.1 CSR Reporting

7.2 Environmental Accounting (including Accounting for Nuclear Power Plants)

7.3 Accounting for NPOs

7.4 Designing Accounting for Sustainable Growth Experimental Research Perspective

Reading (No good textbooks are readily available)

Use the Business Source Complete database forbrowsing relevant articles to serve your interests. We are now almost at the end of the course.Also, todays topics are fast changing.Please actively search the relevant literature,

articles, data, etc which serve your

interests.

Ballou, Brian; Heitger, Dan L.; Landes, Charles E. (2006) The

Future of Corporate Sustainability Reporting.Journal

of Accountancy, Vol. 202 Issue 6, p65-74.

Available from Business Source Complete.

Lean the evolution and future of CSR

reporting

NPO Accountinghttp://www.muridae.com/nporegulation/accounting.html

Some accounting for NPOs. If you are verykeen on this point, use as a reference point.

Class 5 TEST (Calculations): [Class 5 is in week 8.]None.

Class 5 Work (Essay): (1) Accounting should simply reflect the reality as they are. Or, Financial

Reporting can be designed to enhance sustainability of business and socio-economy. Discuss from aninstitutional mechanism design perspective.

https://portal.sbs.ox.ac.uk/sites/static/informationcentre/collections/pages/Databases.aspxhttp://web.ebscohost.com/bsi/viewarticle?data=dGJyMPPp44rp2%2FdV0%2Bnjisfk5Ie46bZNtqawSbek63nn5Kx68d%2B%2BT62otkewpq5Qnqu4TbCwsUqexss%2B8ujfhvHX4Yzn5eyB4rO2Tbeqt0%2BurLQ%2B6tfsf7vb7D7i2Lt68t6kjN%2Fdu1nMnN%2BGu6ixS66vtkmznOSH8OPfjLvc84Tq6uOQ8gAA&hid=4http://web.ebscohost.com/bsi/viewarticle?data=dGJyMPPp44rp2%2FdV0%2Bnjisfk5Ie46bZNtqawSbek63nn5Kx68d%2B%2BT62otkewpq5Qnqu4TbCwsUqexss%2B8ujfhvHX4Yzn5eyB4rO2Tbeqt0%2BurLQ%2B6tfsf7vb7D7i2Lt68t6kjN%2Fdu1nMnN%2BGu6ixS66vtkmznOSH8OPfjLvc84Tq6uOQ8gAA&hid=4http://www.muridae.com/nporegulation/accounting.htmlmailto:[email protected]://portal.sbs.ox.ac.uk/sites/static/informationcentre/collections/pages/Databases.aspxhttp://web.ebscohost.com/bsi/viewarticle?data=dGJyMPPp44rp2%2FdV0%2Bnjisfk5Ie46bZNtqawSbek63nn5Kx68d%2B%2BT62otkewpq5Qnqu4TbCwsUqexss%2B8ujfhvHX4Yzn5eyB4rO2Tbeqt0%2BurLQ%2B6tfsf7vb7D7i2Lt68t6kjN%2Fdu1nMnN%2BGu6ixS66vtkmznOSH8OPfjLvc84Tq6uOQ8gAA&hid=4http://web.ebscohost.com/bsi/viewarticle?data=dGJyMPPp44rp2%2FdV0%2Bnjisfk5Ie46bZNtqawSbek63nn5Kx68d%2B%2BT62otkewpq5Qnqu4TbCwsUqexss%2B8ujfhvHX4Yzn5eyB4rO2Tbeqt0%2BurLQ%2B6tfsf7vb7D7i2Lt68t6kjN%2Fdu1nMnN%2BGu6ixS66vtkmznOSH8OPfjLvc84Tq6uOQ8gAA&hid=4http://www.muridae.com/nporegulation/accounting.htmlmailto:[email protected]


12/12


Lecture 8 Summary: Account-ingfor what and how?This is the last lecture of our Financial Reporting course. Throughout the course, various problematicfeatures of accounting were identified. Once caught up in the busy business life, however, we tend to

forget these problematic features of accounting. Accounting shifts our focus quite exclusively on

numbers themselves, which, in turn, creates new social realities. At the end of this course, let usrecapitulate what we have studied, and remind us what we are accounting for and in what ways. We

will use two case studies.

8.1 Case Study 1: Japanese Banking Industry - Institutional and socio-economic need.

8.2 Case Study 2: Enron Scandal Personal need (or greed).

(For these Case Studies, no preparation is required. For the Enron case, DVD will be played.)

Essential Reading

The whole textbook No new issue this week. It is time to re-read the textbookfor revision. Do not worry about the details, but try to

understand the overall framework of Financial Reporting.

Additional Reading (only if you are keen to know the details)

Special Issue on Enron. Journal of

Accounting and Public Policy, 21 (2).

Particularly: Benston, George J. &

Hartgraves, Al L. (2002) Enron: whathappened and what we can learn from it

pp.105-127.

Available from Science Direct.

Learn what happened with Enron. Do not worry about the

details of accounting techniques, but know how creativeaccountings might have happened.

Class 5 TEST (Calculations):[Class 5 is in week 8.] None.Class 5 Work (Essays): Choose only one from the question in Lecture 7 and (2)Consider an

effective social mechanism in which accountants and accounting practices are appropriately

disciplined.

Epilogue:Thank you for learning Financial Reporting with me. This course is too short, but I hope you learntsomething from this course. Financial reporting is much more powerful than usually thought, in many

different senses. If you are interested in learning financial reporting more, please contact me. I am on

Facebook(please make friends .). I hope we have a chance to meet again.

Thank you.

Tomo Suzuki

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=PublicationURL&_tockey=%23TOC%235926%232002%23999789997%23327679%23FLA%23&_cdi=5926&_pubType=J&_auth=y&_acct=C000010360&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=126524&md5=f3bd0981d97ce4a768eac552379ee3eb&view=chttp://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0278-4254(02)00042-Xhttp://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0278-4254(02)00042-Xhttps://www.facebook.com/tomo.suzuki.oxfordhttps://www.facebook.com/tomo.suzuki.oxfordmailto:[email protected]://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=PublicationURL&_tockey=%23TOC%235926%232002%23999789997%23327679%23FLA%23&_cdi=5926&_pubType=J&_auth=y&_acct=C000010360&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=126524&md5=f3bd0981d97ce4a768eac552379ee3eb&view=chttp://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0278-4254(02)00042-Xhttp://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0278-4254(02)00042-Xhttps://www.facebook.com/tomo.suzuki.oxfordmailto:[email protected]