BA in Accounting and Finance

The module features the fundamentals of management through the functions of planning,
organising, controlling and leading. It highlights the strategic approach towards managerial
decision-making and provides knowledge to students on how to approach problems, challenges and
opportunities linked with human resources, motivation and teamwork. It features the key fundamentals
on communication, change management and leadership and highlights the importance of ethical
behaviour and social responsibility in managerial decision-making. At the end of the module, you
will be able to:

1. Exercise management and supervision in the key functions of management, namely, planning,
   organising, controlling and leading people. Facilitate the process of managing stakeholders
   and corporate governance in a competitive environment;
2. Study and influence culture and managing organisations through behavioural and situational
   models through motivational techniques;
3. Address and apply intelligence in unpredictable change in organisations through teams and
   team work and demonstrate a level of power and reasoning to manage activities effectively
   and efficiently;
4. Develop performance management systems of people and set measurement control systems;
5. Demonstrate aptitude and capabilities to complete basic finance and budgetary control;
6. Demonstrate an advanced understanding of relevant ethical expectations and any professional
   regulatory compliance requirements as set out by national and international bodies.

Students will have knowledge and understanding of key components of accounting and finance including
measuring and reporting financial position, performance and analysing and interpreting financial
statements based on cash-flow statements, profit and loss account and balance sheets. The Module
provides a sound basis of cost-volume profit analysis, costing and budgeting. Furthermore, it will
provide students with knowledge, skills and competencies on how to make basic capital investment
decisions and how to manage working capital. At the end of the module, you will be able to:

• Exercise management and supervision in the key functions of accounting namely, measuring and
  reporting financial performance, making capital investment decisions, and doing budgets
  whilst reporting cash flows;
• Study and influence accounting and finance managerial decisions focusing on making capital
  investment decision and financing the business in the long and short-term;
• Be competent in understanding the regulatory requirements as set out by national and
  international bodies;
• Address and apply intelligence in unpredictable change in organisations through teams and
  team work and demonstrate a level of power and reasoning to manage the finance of an
  organisation effectively and efficiently;
• Demonstrate an advanced understanding of relevant ethical expectations and any professional
  regulatory compliance requirements as set out by national and international bodies.

The module provides students with the knowledge and understanding of strategic HRM and also the
skills, abilities and competences to prospective and present managers on how they maximise the
potentials of human resources in an organisation. It provide the tools, knowledge and understanding
on how the management of human resources management contributes towards corporate objectives.
Students will enhance their knowledge and understanding of how HRM theories including performance
management, recruitment and selection, employee welfare, ethics and corporate social responsibility,
reward systems and talent management can be applied in practice. The module is intended to give
students the know-how to resolve HRM issues and highlights the current trends in this important
discipline in management. At the end of the module, you will be able to:

• Be able to critically evaluate and apply theories to practice the main concepts and theories
  of human resources management;
• Be able to identify, assess and practice the key functions of the HR functions from a
  strategic and operational perspective;
• Be able to identify, determine and apply to practice the international human resources
  management perspective to issues, challenges and opportunities within the HR function of
  both public and private sector organisations;
• Apply human resource management within a restructuring context and general organisational
  context;
• Be able to evaluate and apply in practice the basics of human resources planning,
  recruitment and selection;
• Be able to identify, evaluate and apply the basic concept of performance and reward
  management;
• Be able to assess and critically evaluate the challenges, issues and opportunities for
  employee involvement, employee relations and human resources training and development needs
  for both public and private sector organisations;
• Be able to identify, evaluate and apply practice in employee welfare principles;
• Be able to apply HRM models, frameworks and HRM paradigms within organisational culture and
  diversity at the workplace;
• Demonstrate an advanced understanding of relevant ethical expectations and any professional
  regulatory compliance requirements as set out by national and international bodies.

The module covers the different environments within which companies and public sector organisations
have to operate and gives the students the appropriate knowledge to assess the strategic
capabilities of an organisation. It further provides views and concepts of strategic choices and
strategic purposes of organisations and highlights the key components of organisational culture and
how this influences and impacts the strategy. Various types of business strategies are explained and
tools, models and frameworks on how corporate strategy can be applied through diversification are
part of the module content. The module includes theories and practical models that can be applied
through innovation and mergers, acquisitions and alliances. Leadership and strategic change and how
these are applied within a firm are key elements of this module. At the end of the module, you will
be able to:

• Identify the key components of a strategy and issues associated with organisational
  strategy;
• Appreciate the contributions of different academic disciplines and theoretical lenses to
  practice strategy analysis;
• Analyze macro- and micro-environments on organisational strategy and identify successful
  strategies for business organisations;
• Use various concepts and technique to recognize threats and opportunities in the
  marketplace;
• Identify and analyses how strategic capabilities can provide sustainable competitive
  advantage;
• Understand and undertake stakeholder analysis and corporate responsibilities performance
  models;
• Analyse the influence of organisational culture on strategy;
• Identify and assess generic business strategies and internationalization and their benefits
  in a competitive environment;
• Determine the appropriate choices between mergers and acquisition and alliances;
• Assess the value of strategic change;
• Demonstrate an advanced understanding of relevant ethical expectations and any professional
  regulatory compliance requirements as set out by national and international bodies.

Accounting systems provide useful inputs in the decision-making processes of organisations. This
module will provide students with an understanding of how accounting processes and techniques are
implicated in the management of organisations, be it at the board, strategic or tactical levels. The
module examines how organisations are controlled and managed from the point of view of internal and
external decision-makers, and the issues are considered in the context of business enterprises. The
module builds on the various management modules undertaken in Year 1 of the degree programme to
develop the student’s awareness of contemporary issues emerging at the intersection of accounting
and management. At the end of the module, you will be able to:

1. Be able to critically identify the key concepts and theories in corporate governance audit and accountability;
2. Be able to critically discuss the development of major corporate governance initiatives;
3. Be able to critically explain and evaluate the different approaches to management control;
4. Be competent in understanding the regulatory requirements as set out by national and international bodies;
5. Be able to critically evaluate the role of corporate governance mechanisms and how accounting systems are implicated in such mechanisms (by means of example, executive remuneration);
6. Demonstrate an advanced understanding of relevant ethical expectations and any professional regulatory compliance requirements as set out by national and international bodies.

The work of accountants permeates all aspects of management. Accountants provide information that is
relevant to both managers and external stakeholders in the context of planning and controlling an
organisation. This module explores the principles and techniques used by management accountants who
provide appropriate financial information to managers and help them to make better informed
decisions for the benefit of the organisation as a whole. At the end of the module, you will be able
to:

1. Constructively and critically differentiate the contexts in which management and financial
   accounting operate;
2. Critically determine costs based on cost terms and purposes;
3. Critically apply relevant management accounting techniques under various costing systems;
4. Be competent in understanding the regulatory requirements as set out by national and
   international bodies;
5. Critically distinguish between short-run and long-run pricing decisions and describe
   approaches to pricing;
6. Consistent with expectations at MQF Level 6, measure and apply yield, mix and quantity
   effects in planning and control;
7. Critically design and prepare budgets and perform in-depth variance analysis for strategic
   planning and control;
8. Demonstrate an advanced understanding of relevant ethical expectations and any professional
   regulatory compliance requirements as set out by national and international bodies.

The module provides a deep insight into the key theories and topics in Financial Management. The
module looks at how firms and corporations manage their financial investment and decisions in both
the long term and short term. The module explores a range of topics ranging from how organisations
evaluate financial performance, how decisions are made regarding possible investment in capital, and
how organisations make decisions in respect of dividend policy. At the end of the module, you will
be able to:

1. Be able to critically examine the financial strategy and structure of different types of organization
2. Be competent in understanding the regulatory requirements as set out by national and international bodies;
3. Be able to critically analyse and adopt appropriate methods with respect to specific issues of corporate financial management and problem solving;
4. Demonstrate an advanced understanding of relevant ethical expectations and any professional regulatory compliance requirements as set out by national and international bodies.

The module highlights the importance of research mindedness within a business environment and builds
upon elements already introduced in the other modules studied on the programme. The module enables
students to develop research mindedness, critical understanding and skills for business research.
Students will enhance their knowledge and skills on research mindedness and its relevance for
practice. They will frame research questions and plan and develop a literature-based project
proposal and make use of library/electronic resources. The module will further provide students with
knowledge on qualitative and quantitative methodologies and the ethics of business research. The
module will enhance a student’s ability to integrate research and theory for evidence-based
practice. At the end of the module, you will be able to:

1. Recognise the importance and be able to explain the nature and purpose of research and
   classify different types of research;
2. Study and demonstrate the main stages in a research process and identify the characteristics
   of a good research project;
3. Address and apply intelligence in understanding the general standards for research at
   different levels for effective career progression and self-development;
4. Demonstrate competences and skills in identifying research constraints such as funding, time
   and resources and determine the knowledge, skills and personal qualities researchers need to
   produce meaningful research outputs;
5. Demonstrate competence in using different techniques for generating research topics;
6. Address and apply intelligence to negotiate access to data and to consider relevant ethical
   issues as part of the research project;
7. Apply intelligence and competences in planning the management of a research process;
8. Demonstrate an advanced understanding of relevant ethical expectations and any professional
   regulatory compliance requirements as set out by national and international bodies.

This module provides an in-depth review of the building blocks of modern finance theory and
introduces the workings of financial markets at the graduate level. The analysis begins by
establishing the characteristics of a rational, risk-averse and utility-maximising investor. The
module then develops an understanding of the role of financial markets, security analysis and
valuation, efficient market theory, asset pricing theory and portfolio management. The module
explores the key elements of finance, how financial markets operate, pricing important financial
assets and understanding the models in which finance is based upon. Market efficiency is also
explored as is the pricing of derivative securities such as stock options and the determination of
the exchange rate in the foreign exchange market. At the end of the module, you will be able to:

1. Be able to critically demonstrate the factual, conceptual and procedural knowledge necessary
   to facilitate a deep understanding of the theoretical models that help explain financial
   investment behaviour;
2. Be competent in understanding the regulatory requirements as set out by national and
   international bodies;
3. Be critically conversant in the key concepts in Finance, including the operation and
   structure of financial markets and trading systems, the analysis and valuation of different
   types of securities, and the optimal management of portfolios;
4. Demonstrate an advanced understanding of relevant ethical expectations and any professional
   regulatory compliance requirements as set out by national and international bodies.

Since auditing and taxation are both essential elements of accounting, having an appreciation of the
two subjects is important not only for accountants but also for organisational managers. Auditing is
a crucial element of financial reporting and corporate governance and taxation implications must be
considered during decision making processes. At the end of the module, you will be able to:

1. Be able to critically compare aspects of the Maltese tax systems with taxation systems operated in other European and international countries;
2. Be able to critically apply different audit procedures to a variety of scenarios;
3. Be competent in understanding the regulatory requirements as set out by national and international bodies;
4. Be able to critically demonstrate what they have learned both by application to numerical data and in written form;
5. Be able to prepare computations for major Maltese taxes (including, by means of example, income tax, corporate tax, and capital gains tax);
6. Demonstrate an advanced understanding of relevant ethical expectations and any professional regulatory compliance requirements as set out by national and international bodies.

Each student will be guided on a one-to-one basis by an appointed supervisor on how to identify an
appropriate research topic, an appropriate approach to adopt in seeking to address the agreed
research question and how to apply relevant research philosophies and strategies. Students will be
expected to be able to justify identified research questions and test emerging research hypotheses.
The module necessarily seeks to build on BABM19. At the end of the module, you will be able to:

1. Manage and transform a research proposal into a research study that has the potential to add
   value to the area being explored;
2. Manage the planning of a research project, taking into account potentially complex and
   unpredictable situations, and including research milestones;
3. Undertake an analytical literature review in the chosen discipline area and, from this
   review, prepare an appropriate bibliography;
4. Understand and explain the relevance of differing philosophical perspectives and understand
   the main research paradigms which are significant for a business research project;
5. Understand the importance of research ethics at each stage of a research project, having
   regard to, for example, the principles of data protection and data management;
6. Review and apply knowledge to determine appropriate sampling techniques for a variety of
   differing research scenarios and be able to justify their selection;
7. Manage complex techniques to gather secondary and primary data and apply the knowledge,
   skills and understanding gained to an actual research project;
8. Make a contribution to professional knowledge and practice through the output of the major
   project;
9. Demonstrate an advanced understanding of relevant ethical expectations and any professional
   regulatory compliance requirements as set out by national and international bodies.