22902 Financial Reporting, Capital Markets and Disclosure
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particular session, location and mode of offering is the authoritative source
of all information about the subject for that offering. Required texts, recommended texts and references in particular are likely to change. Students will be provided with a subject outline once they enrol in the subject.
Subject handbook information prior to 2025 is available in the Archives.
Credit points: 6 cp
Subject level:
Undergraduate
Result type: Grade and marksThere are course requisites for this subject. See access conditions.
Description
The subject introduces students to the notion of scientific and applied research in financial accounting. Building on these frameworks, the students are taught how to identify research questions, develop theoretical frameworks and test empirically their theories. Students are also given insight into how to structure research reports.
Subject learning objectives (SLOs)
| 1. | Critically appraise the theoretical and empirical foundations of contemporary financial accounting research |
|---|---|
| 2. | Reflect on key research design and statistical analysis issues that arise in financial accounting research |
| 3. | Apply knowledge of research questions and research design issues to review and evaluate research papers |
Contribution to the development of graduate attributes
This subject provides an in-depth study of empirical financial accounting research at an advanced level, which is one of the core streams in the study of accounting. It therefore provides an essential set of ideas, concepts, skills and techniques for students to address business issues at honours level study in accounting. Students develop critical thinking, theory development and empirical analysis skills. They also advance their communication and interpersonal skills.
This subject also contributes specifically to develop the following Program Learning Objectives:
- Apply critical thinking and analytical skills in the process of completing a research project (1.1)
- Communicate research and its potential impacts effectively to a range of audiences (2.1)
- Apply the appropriate research method and analytical tools in addressing discipline specific problems (4.1)
Teaching and learning strategies
The teaching is seminar-based, and includes formal presentations by students as well as class discussion. Students will read relevant research papers prior to each class, including overview papers, and prepare summaries and critiques of these readings to be handed to the lecturer in class. The lecturer will mark these submissions and provide regular feedback to students regarding these submissions throughout the subject.
In class, students will lead discussion of specific pre-assigned papers selected from the required readings. Other students are encouraged to collaboratively participate in conversations by the lecturer, who actively guides the discussion and regularly provides opinions and detailed critiques of the assigned papers.
Content (topics)
- An overview of the development of early capital markets research through to current issues
- Identification of how informative is periodic accounting information, and to what extent is the available information 'fully utilised' by market participants?
- An introduction to the residual income model and its application in accounting research An examination of the definition, measurement and testing of conservatism
- The measurement and analysis of earnings management and, by extension, earnings quality
- Identification of accounting manipulation
- Alternative (non-GAAP) performance metrics
- The relation between governance attributes, accounting and broader disclosure issues
Assessment
Assessment task 1: Class presentations (Individual)*
| Objective(s): | This addresses subject learning objective(s): 1 and 2 |
|---|---|
| Weight: | 20% |
| Length: | Each presentation will be no more than 15 minutes and feature 5-6 slides as a maximum |
| Criteria: | Describe the role of financial accounting research through in class presentation 50% Identify key research design issues 20% Evaluate how key research design issues influence the empirical findings 30% *Note: Late submission of the assessment task will not be marked and awarded a mark of zero. |
Assessment task 2: Weekly graded paper summaries (Individual)*
| Objective(s): | This addresses subject learning objective(s): 1, 2 and 3 |
|---|---|
| Weight: | 30% |
| Length: | Each summary should be no more than 1 page per paper. |
| Criteria: | Summarise content from of research publications 50% Critically evaluate research questions in the context of contemporary financial accounting research 25% Critically evaluate research methods in the context of contemporary financial accounting research 25% *Note: Late submission of the assessment task will not be marked and awarded a mark of zero. |
Assessment task 3: Final examination
| Objective(s): | This addresses subject learning objective(s): 1, 2 and 3 |
|---|---|
| Weight: | 50% |
| Length: | The take-home exam will be over 3 days |
| Criteria: | Critique the importance of research questions 30% Critique the validity of selected research methods 35% Critique the contribution to practice of research 35% |
Minimum requirements
Students must achieve at least 50% of the subject’s total marks.
Required texts
There is no textbook for this course. Readings for each week are sourced from journals and/or the Social Science Research Network (SSRN). However, an excellent set of review articles applicable to most of the course can be found in the December 2010 issue of the Journal of Accounting and Economics (vol. 50, issues 2–3). While several of these papers are listed as preliminary reading throughout the course, it is recommended that students download these papers and review them. Students should consult the course reading list for a detiled week-by-week outline of the topics and required readings. The reading list is available via UTSOnline.
Calendar entry:
The subject introduces students to the notion of scientific and applied research. Building on these frameworks, the students are taught how to identify research questions, develop theoretical frameworks and empirically test their theories. Students are also given insight into how to structure research reports.
Useful websites:
Students should be familiar with SSRN.com.