Certified Expert in Accounting, Leadership and Sustainability

Financial accounting is a more standardised language because it is highly regulated. Unit 1 shows you how to read and understand financial statements, which is a necessary step for analysing them. You will also learn what the objectives of financial reporting are. In particular, we introduce you to International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), a set of globally accepted accounting standards which are increasingly used across the world. You will become familiar with the basic principles of the IFRS and that there might be conflicts between different objectives of accounting.

Financial reports are the outcome of the financial reporting process. Understanding IFRS reports might be of high practical relevance for several reasons: (1) Many stakeholders base their economic decision making on published financial statements; accounting will likely have an impact on cost of capital. (2) In banks, credit decisions require thorough financial statement analysis, in most cases the clients of a bank are not from the financial sector. This unit introduces you to financial statement analysis, i.e. how financial statements are used in economic decision making. The Unit deals with common size financial statements, introduces key financial indicators, but also more sophisticated tools that help us to assess a firm’s operating profitability. The Unit also discusses different valuation models and helps you to understand which role financial accounting data plays in equity valuation. Furthermore, this unit shows the role that corporate strategy plays in the formulation of financial KPIs and the impact these indicators have on a company’s targets and control process.

In Unit 3, you will learn the basics of cost accounting. This includes important concepts such as direct and indirect costs, variable and fixed costs, and total versus unit costs. To calculate profits of products or divisions, we need to allocate overhead costs. There are different options and depending on the option you choose some product or departments will look more profitable or less profitable – although the underlying business activities do not change! Specifically, the unit will introduce you to methods for allocating support department costs, to job costing, and activity-based costing. Understanding these choices is important for any performance evaluation exercise and particularly important for all if responsible for a department or business unit. Moreover, understanding cost allocation is also important, if you want to analyse investment proposals by corporate loan seekers.

Unit 4 covers important techniques for analysing costs for managerial decision-making. The module will guide you through cost-volume profit analysis which addresses the question of how many units you need to sell to break-even. Moreover, absorption costing and variable costing are explained, which are highly relevant to calculate the value of inventory and to calculate operating income of businesses that have inventories. Finally, you will be introduced to lower price limits and to choosing the optimal product or service mix when capacities are lower than customer demand.

Unit 5 introduces you to economic and psychological aspects of incentives. The knowledge provided in this unit is important for all leaders, as people in leading positions must evaluate the performance of their subordinates. We will consider the non-monetary aspects that drive human behaviour and are relevant in accounting settings, such as social comparison, fairness, honesty and reciprocity. Finally, the Unit will also provide you with recent insights regarding psychological pitfalls (heuristics and biases) in decision making, for example self-justification, overconfidence, and the sunk-cost effect.

The last module provides a comprehensive overview of the frameworks and principles shaping the way organizations disclose their sustainability efforts, ensuring transparency and long-term value creation. This comprehensive module equips you with the knowledge and skills to effectively navigate the complex landscape of sustainability reporting and contribute to the sustainable finance movement. Understanding the role of disclosures in sustainable finance is crucial. Students explore how sustainability disclosures can redirect capital flows towards more sustainable investments. By mainstreaming sustainability into risk management, organizations can enhance their resilience and better manage potential risks. Adopting a long-term perspective and maintaining transparency are key benefits of effective sustainability reporting. The module covers various reporting frameworks, starting with the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), one of the most widely used sustainability reporting standards. You'll also learn about the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) and the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB), which promote consistent and comparable sustainability disclosures. Additionally, you'll delve into the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS), which are tailored to the European context. A significant portion of the module is dedicated to the foundations of ESRS reporting. You'll examine the structure and contents of ESRS sustainability reports, understand the importance of materiality analysis in identifying relevant sustainability topics within your operations and value chain, and explore the qualitative characteristics that make sustainability reports effective. The module also provides an overview of topical ESRS issues. You'll gain insights into climate change and pollution, water and marine resources, ecosystems and the circular economy, workforce considerations, and the impact on customers, affected communities, and business conduct.  In addition to ESRS, the module covers other relevant regulations in Europe. You'll explore the EU Taxonomy, which defines sustainable business activities, and the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR), which outlines what constitutes sustainable financial products. Finally, the module examines the relationship between sustainability reporting and capital markets. You'll investigate whether there is a "greenium" or premium for green investments, understand the significance of sustainability ratings, and learn about the assurance processes that ensure the credibility of sustainability reports.