Long Title:Contemporary Issues in Finance and Accounting
Language of Instruction:English
Module Code:H8CIFA
Credits: 5
NFQ Level:LEVEL 8
Field of Study: Finance, banking, insurance
Module Delivered in 2 programme(s)
Module Coordinator: CORINA SHEERIN
Module editor: CORINA SHEERIN
Teaching and Learning Strategy: The ethos of this module is to create critical independent thinkers and learners who are able to contribute to modern finance and accounting discourse. As such the teaching and learning strategy will focus on the ability to critique information and structure a logical debate and discussion. The module will encourage both interdependent as well as independent learning. Group discussion and presentations will predominately feature. Module hours will be in the form of seminars primarily. These will be supplemented with traditional classroom led lectures also. There will be a high proportion of lectures which will feature both guest lecturers from industry as well as peer academics. Both guest lecturers and peer academics will also inform the annual assessment strategy and they may be directly involved in assessment thought presentations, debates etc. A wide range of classroom materials will be used including academic journals, practioner led journals, case studies, audio visual information and on-line resources where appropriate.
Learning Environment: Learning will take place in a classroom/lab/workplace environment with access to IT resources. Learners will have access to library resources, both physical & electronic and to faculty outside of the classroom where required. Module materials will be placed on Moodle, the College’s virtual learning environment.
Module Description: The aim of this module is to stimulate critical thinking among learners concerning contemporary issues in finance and accounting. Learners on completion will be able to articulate a comprehensive understanding of current issues. Equally learners will be able to disseminate and assess multiple sources of information from the foreground of academic research on topics of substantive public interest, thus ensuring they are informed and critical contributors to contemporary debates in finance and accounting.
Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of this module the learner will be able to:
LO1 Critically assess and disseminate multiple sources of financial and/or accounting research in order to develop a comprehensive understanding of relevant issues.
LO2 Demonstrate individual led critical thinking skills through exposure to both academic and industry-led research in finance.
LO3 Communicate, present and articulate a detailed understanding of contemporary issues in finance and/or accounting to a non-technical audience as part of a group.
LO4 Engage in meaningful discourse with academic peers and finance practioners on contemporary issues and challenges in the Financial industry.
Pre-requisite learning
Module Recommendations

This is prior learning (or a practical skill) that is required before enrolment on this module. While the prior learning is expressed as named NCI module(s) it also allows for learning (in another module or modules) which is equivalent to the learning specified in the named module(s).
No recommendations listed
Requirements

This is prior learning (or a practical skill) that is mandatory before enrolment in this module is allowed. You may not enrol on this module if you have not acquired the learning specified in this section.
No requirements listed
 

Module Content & Assessment

Indicative Content
Topic 1: Post Financial Crisis: Risk Management in Finance
n/a
Topic 2: Post Financial Crisis: Accounting Standards
Application in an uncertain environment
Topic 3:Globalisation of Banking and Finance
e.g.: Islamic Banking, Digital Currencies and Accounting Standards to meet these evolutions
Topic 4: Applying Financial Expertise to Environmental Issues
e.g.: Ireland as a global ‘Green Finance’ centre, Sustainability and Environmental Accounting
Topic 5: Algorithmic Trading: A Black Box?
n/a
Topic 6: Growth Areas of Financial Services and Accounting
e.g.: Microfinance, Crowd Funding, Forensic Accounting
Assessment Breakdown%
Coursework100.00%

Full Time

Coursework
Assessment Type Assessment Description Outcome addressed % of total Assessment Date
Formative Assessment Formative assessment will be included by the provision of class case studies followed by review of results and group in class feedback. In addition oral and written communication along with in class discussions will be included as part of the practical approach to learning. Provision of individual feedback will be provided individually outside of lecture time or on line through Moodle 1,2,3,4 Non-Marked n/a
Practical (0260) Continuous Assessment Groupwork (50%) Each student will be randomly allocated to a learning team (max four persons). As part of the learning team there will be a number of requirements throughout the semester. These may include contribution to a module blog, team debates and/or interactive presentations. 1,2,3,4 50.00 n/a
Practical (0260) Each student will be asked to write a research paper and hence lead a seminar on an article/topic relating to an issue related to any of the topics covered in the last six weeks of the programme of study. The written research paper will be submitted in advance of the seminar and feedback will be provided prior to the seminar session. Each seminar will be approximately twenty-thirty minutes long and learners will be expected to present their seminar/lecture to their peers and/or industry specialists or other academics. The seminar will be marked by the lecturer in the first instance as well as industry specialists or/and peer academics. 1,2,3,4 50.00 n/a
No End of Module Assessment
No Workplace Assessment
Reassessment Requirement
Coursework Only
This module is reassessed solely on the basis of re-submitted coursework. There is no repeat written examination.
Reassessment Description
The learner must obtain a composite 40% across the assessment elements in order to pass the module. The repeat strategy requires the resubmission of one or more coursework pieces which may include presentation elements. The repeat assessment(s) will assess all learning outcomes.

NCIRL reserves the right to alter the nature and timings of assessment

 

Module Workload

Workload: Full Time
Workload Type Workload Description Hours Frequency Average Weekly Learner Workload
Lecture No Description 1 Every Week 1.00
Seminars No Description 2 Every Week 2.00
Independent Learning No Description 7.5 Every Week 7.50
Total Hours 10.50
Total Weekly Learner Workload 10.50
Total Weekly Contact Hours 3.00
Workload: Part Time
Workload Type Workload Description Hours Frequency Average Weekly Learner Workload
Lecture No Description 1 Every Week 1.00
Seminars No Description 2 Every Week 2.00
Total Hours 3.00
Total Weekly Learner Workload 3.00
Total Weekly Contact Hours 3.00
 

Module Resources

This module does not have any book resources
Recommended Article/Paper Resources
  • Unavailable, Journal of Finance
  • Journal of Quantitative Finance Unavailable
  • Unavailable, Quarterly Journal of Finance
  • Unavailable, Journal of Economics and Finance
  • Unavailable, Journal of Banking and Finance
  • Unavailable, The European Journal of Finance
  • Unavailable, Journal of Current Issues in Finance, Business and Economics
  • Journal of Accounting and Finance Unavailable
  • International Journal of Accounting and Finance Unavailable
  • Accounting, Organisations and Society Unavailable
  • The Accounting Review Unavailable
  • Contemporary Accounting Research Unavailable
Other Resources
 

Module Delivered in

Programme Code Programme Semester Delivery
BAHACF BA (Honours) in Accounting and Finance 6 Core Subject
BAHBMD BA (Hons) in Business 6 Optional