The Financial Strategy module will focus on the advanced aspects of the investment decision (capital budgeting) and the way in which the organisation’s capital structure can be strategically adjusted to ensure the maximisation of shareholder wealth/added value.

The module will introduce relevant theory and models, practical financial tools and techniques, with appropriate references to real-life organisations. A strategic approach to critically analysing and evaluating financial information is encouraged, with a view to advancing your knowledge and understanding of capital budgeting, capital structure and dividend policy. In addition, it is vital you can confidently and effectively communicate the rationale behind your decisions.

With this in mind, the Financial Strategy module will utilise every opportunity to expose you to situations where you will be required to lead a seminar, facilitate a workshop, chair a meeting and/or present a report. The relevance of the Financial Strategy module as part of an undergraduate Accounting and Finance programme is further supported by the fact that it aligns to the syllabus requirements of professional accounting bodies such as CIMA, CPA (Certified Practicing Accountants) Australia, IFA (Institute of Financial Accountants) and ACCA. It will also equip you to enter the work environment with knowledge and competencies that will enable you to critically analyse, evaluate and communicate the financial decisions that will help transform the organisation to address its key priorities.

This module is intended to allow you the opportunity to extend aspects of your final and previous year modules to more depth, along with refining your research skills by means of an Independent Study dissertation.

Your Independent Study dissertation allows you to analyse and test the theories, principles and concepts addressed in the classroom environment in the reality of a private, public or community sector organisation by means of a pathway-related report. The independent study represents an individual piece of research completed under the guidance of an academic supervisor. It may be a research study which makes a contribution to the body of knowledge in your discipline area or professional background, or a study in which you critically analyse and evaluate existing knowledge and produces observations and conclusions of relevance to the particular field of study.

Firstly, you will look at how a business is controlled, investigating both the financial controls and the behavioural controls that are available. You will then move on to budgeting and how to calculate and interpret budgeted numbers so you can improve the performance of the business. This will include some analysis using advanced variances.

This leads on to performance-measurement tools and also the challenges that multi-divisional companies have with managing their performance along with transfer pricing issues, how companies compare to each other with benchmarking and how this is also useful within the not for profit sectors.

You will also learn about incentives and rewards and how, if these are not set correctly, can have dysfunctional consequences for your organisation, which also links into some ethical dilemmas. You will discuss the current issues in strategic management accounting and review some of the main cost-management theories. Pricing is discussed along with the different methods of calculating a cost plus base as well as looking at the market environment.

You will study the principles and impact of the circular economy, performance management and metrics in the circular economy, such as circularity assessments. This will involve the introduction, application and analysis of integrated reporting, including the work of the International Integrated Reporting Council, as well as environmental, social and governance reporting and impacts life-cycle analysis and case study analysis.

The role of the International Accounting Standard Board and the development of the regulatory and conceptual framework underpinning financial reporting

Published financial statements: income statement, statement of financial position, statement of changes in equity and cash flow statements, including business combinations, such as subsidiaries, associates and joint ventures

The analysis and evaluation of a wide range of accounting information, including financial instruments, earnings per share and employee benefits

The limitations of financial reporting and the development of non-financial reporting

• Interpretation and analysis of company financial reports
• Forecasting techniques
• Factors affecting share prices
• Evaluation of company’s place within the industry sector
• Vulnerability to external events
• Prediction of likely success or failure based upon extensive research

• UK financial system, markets and instruments and the role of government regulation in the industry

• The economics and psychology of personal finance decision-making through portfolio investment theory to determine the best long-run investment and saving strategy and the problems of behavioural bias

• Savings activity, pension fund management and international patterns of investment. Students will attempt to build their own successful portfolio

• The economic role of the banking sector and other financial organisations in relation to investment and the economic and psychological explanations of financial crises

• The role of the regulators and different types of financial regulation

• Arguments from real financial market specialists discussing the role of the Bank of England, banks and specialists such as hedge funds