PRINCIPLES OF ACCOUNTING - 2025/6

Module Overview

To provide a grounding in the principles of accounting for students at Master level, most of whom are intending to pursue a specialist career in accounting or finance.

Module provider

Surrey Business School

Module Leader

AKERMAN Chris (SBS)

Number of Credits: 15

ECTS Credits: 7.5

Framework: FHEQ Level 7

Module cap (Maximum number of students): N/A

Module Availability

Semester 1

Prerequisites / Co-requisites

None

Module content

Indicative content includes:

• Accounting principles and company reporting


• Preparation and analysis of the key financial statements


• Cost analysis and product costing


• Principles of budgeting and control


• Short term decision making


• Capital Investment appraisal

Assessment pattern

Alternative Assessment

Not applicable

Assessment Strategy

The assessment strategy is designed to provide a review opportunity for the understanding of the core skills learnt to date. Accounting is a skill based course and there is continuous need for practice. The best way to assess these skills is through authentic examination and the course uses two formats a mid-term multiple choice and a final exam. Thus, the summative assessment for this module consists of:.

Online Test - This consists of multiple choice questions

Examination - The examination consists of longer questions which will cover the range of learning outcomes described within the course content. All questions require the student to display depth of knowledge by critical writing as well as showing competence in computational skills.

The marks will be returned within the deadlines set by the University.

Formative assessment and feedback

Students will receive feedback on their performance during the module as every week seminar questions are set and both written and verbal feedback is available in these seminars. 

Every week multiple choice questions are available and these need to be practiced.

The teaching staff are available during feedback and consultation hours and are happy to give individual feedback on the course materials during those hours. There are questions available in Surreylearn all of which are supplied with model answers and students are advised to work through these during the semester period.

Module aims

• Provide the conceptual foundations for understanding, analysing and interpreting financial information
• Apply accounting principles to decision making in modern business organisations
• Apply accounting principles to the business planning process and develop the skills used by business for management control

Learning outcomes

Methods of Teaching / Learning

The learning and teaching strategy is designed to:

Ensure students acquire their professional and practical skills and intellectual and cognitive skills through a menu of delivery modes.

Develop students’ - cultural awareness, confidence and competence in working with others, leadership, communication skills, employability, and professionalism.

The learning and teaching methods include:

SurreyLearn

SurreyLearn, identifies the issues within all topic areas listed in the learning outcomes and directs students to the relevant reading in the set textbooks and journal articles. SurreyLearn also includes activities that allow students to test their knowledge and understanding of the theories and concepts applied in the financial management context. It enables facilitation and interaction with the student body.

Lectures are used to introduce, compare, contrast and contextualise theories and concepts giving students the confidence to then apply these theories and concepts to decision making and problem solving. .

Seminar’s primary aim is to improve student understanding and knowledge with students being encouraged to develop a deeper appreciation of the subject matter while engaging with fellow students from a wealth of nationalities and backgrounds

Independent learning

Students are expected to work independently for a considerable amount of the semester.  There is weekly reading from the core text for the course and each week students are expected to do a broad selection of questions to test their learning and some longer questions to evaluate their understanding.

 

Indicated Lecture Hours (which may also include seminars, tutorials, workshops and other contact time) are approximate and may include in-class tests where one or more of these are an assessment on the module. In-class tests are scheduled/organised separately to taught content and will be published on to student personal timetables, where they apply to taken modules, as soon as they are finalised by central administration. This will usually be after the initial publication of the teaching timetable for the relevant semester.

Reading list

https://readinglists.surrey.ac.uk
Upon accessing the reading list, please search for the module using the module code: MANM198

Other information

Employability: The module provides a variety of tasks and authentic assessments that relate directly to professional life. Key to this, students develop the ability to critically evaluate the problem at hand, while interacting with their fellow students. As a result, students develop and enhance their interpersonal and professional skills.

Global and Cultural Capabilities: The module is taught in an interactive and collaborative way, in a cohort that commonly represents a wealth of nationalities and backgrounds. Students are encouraged to engage with, and learn from, diverse perspectives through interaction. Students will develop their ability to work effectively with other students from diverse backgrounds to broaden their world view and own perspectives.

Resourcefulness & Resilience (R&R): Students will develop attributes such as confidence, adaptability, problem solving and decision-making abilities, through interacting with other students and investigating and solving business issues. The effectiveness of the R&R will be inherent in assessment design.

Programmes this module appears in

Please note that the information detailed within this record is accurate at the time of publishing and may be subject to change. This record contains information for the most up to date version of the programme / module for the 2025/6 academic year.