General provisions

The course is offered at half speed and designed as a distance course. Together with the distance course Marketing and Organisation 2FE014, 15 credits it corresponds to the A-level in Business Studies.

The course syllabus was approved by the board of the Department of Business Studies on delegation from the Faculty of Social Sciences.

Entry requirements

General entry requirements

Learning outcomes

The course has the objective of instilling an understanding into the core problems and issues concerning companies and enterprises, as well preparing the students for advanced studies in business administration. The expected study results for each part are presented below.

Upon completion of the course the student should:

• be able to explain why companies use profit measures in order to evaluate and plan financial activities
• have a comprehensive knowledge of how profit and loss statements and balance sheets describe the company’s financial situation
• have a comprehensive knowledge of how expenses and income can be used for decisions about customers, products/services and organisational units
• have a comprehensive knowledge of the fundamental financial tools for the calculation of investments
• be able to recognise the different models for financial liability which are used in companies
• have a comprehensive knowledge of the fundamentals of double-entry bookkeeping
• be able to describe the fundamental rules of accounting
• have knowledge about legislation, legal rules and accounting principles governing Annual Reports of limited companies
• understand a number fundamental valuation rules
• have a comprehensive knowledge of the fundamentals of the legislation concerning the accounting of the limited companies shareholder equity, and rules for the issuance of bonds and the issuance of new shares
• be fully able to read a consolidated financial statement
• have a comprehensive knowledge of some fundamental models used to analyse a company’s situation
• show the ability to work with and learn from the material
• evaluate the reliability of different sources of information

Content

This is a basic course in business studies that aims to provide students with a broad introduction to the company's finances. The course covers the following areas:

1. Basic Perspectives

2. Product Cost Estimation

3. Result Analysis

4. Investment Calculations

5. Double-entry Accounting and Interim Accounting

6. Annual Report of Limited Companies

7. Consolidated Accounting

8. Financial Analysis

The section Basic Perspectives discusses why companies use profit measures instead of financial flows to evaluate and plan financial activity. The focus is on how the profit and loss statement and balance sheet describe the company's financial situation, primarily in service- and trading companies, but also in manufacturing companies. The cash flow of the company is described as cash inflow and cash outflow, without regard to the traditional design of the cash flow statements. The section ends with an introduction to some key figures and how they can be used.

The section concerning Product Cost Estimation covers how costs and revenues can be used as support for decisions about customers, products, services, organisational units and the like. Basic methods are variable costing/calculation or cost price calulation and the section also includes a discussion of how, where and when the different methods are useful.

In the section Result Analysis the company's cost structure in relation to volume changes are discussed.

One of the fundamental economic tools is techniques to assess payments spread out in time. The section Investment Calculations focuses on calculations to compute the value today of future amounts and future values ​​of amounts today.

The section Double-entry Accounting and Interim Accounting introduces Double-entry Accounting and Interim Accounting for the basic concepts' assets, liabilities, equity, income and expenses.

The next section deals with Annual Report of Limited Companies, i.e., income statement, balance sheet and cash flow analysis. A central issue is how these reports are affected by legislation, different accounting and valuation methods.

In the section about Consolidated Accounting basic knowledge of how to read a consolidated financial statement is important since any analysis of the company should be based on the company as an economic entity.

The Financial Analysis section discusses how accounting data via key figures can be used to describe the profitability and financial situation of the company.

Instruction

The language of instruction is Swedish. The teaching is entirely web-based and is based on independent study. Information about different activities, such as the work required and the date for the submission of papers and other assignments, is available on the course’s website. The course does not require any physical attendance. The communication between the participants and teachers occurs primarily via the website.

Assessment

Examination takes place continuously through individual and group tests. One grade is given for the course based on an assessment of all the parts of the examination. Grading criteria are presented in the study guide provided at the start of the course. The grades that are used are Pass with distinction (VG), Pass (G) and Fail (U).

Any supplemental work must be completed and handed in by the deadline specified in the study guide. Otherwise the course will receive a grade of U. The entire course (including all assignments) will then have to be redone on upcoming course dates, provided there are available spots. However, it is possible to receive the grade Pass without re-registration on the course by doing a written test.

Uppsala University does not accept cheating and plagiarism. Suspected incidents of cheating or plagiarism are reported to the Disciplinary Committee of the University, which may issue a formal warning to the student or suspend the student from studies for a certain period.

NOTE: Only completed courses can count toward a degree.

Other directives

The course replaces/overlaps among others the following basic courses in Business Administration: Economy, Accounting and Analysis 2FE024, Accounting 2FE155, Costing and Capital Budgeting 2FE156, Accounting 2FE154, Accounting A 2FE153, Accounting 2FE279, Financial Accounting 2FE151, Business and Enterprise 2FE000, 2FE007, Business and Markets I 2FE778, Business and Markets II 2FE779, 2FE008, Business and Enterprise I 2FE015, Business and Enterprise II 2FE016, Financial Accounting with Applied Business Analysis 2FE944, Financial Calculation 2FE945.