Financial Accounting and Financial Statement Analysis

Introduction

This course provides students with a solid understanding of financial accounting and reporting in an international context. Building on earlier courses in the programme, the course focuses on how financial statements serve as a tool for business communication, bridging the gap between companies and their stakeholders.

In addition to fundamental training in how transactions are recorded and summarized into financial statements, students will learn how International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) guide the recognition, measurement, and presentation of financial information. The course further introduces selected advanced topics, including deferred tax, consolidated financial statements, and important differences between IFRS and Norwegian Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (NGAAP).

Course content

• The role and purpose of financial accounting and reporting
• Double-entry bookkeeping and the accounting system
• Recording transactions, closing the accounts and preparation of financial statements
• Structure and content of the income statement, balance sheet, and cash flow statement
• Fundamental accounting concepts and principles under IFRS
• Recognition and measurement of common assets and liabilities, income and expenses
• Deferred tax and consolidated financial statements: principles and accounting treatment
• Key differences between IFRS and Norwegian Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (NGAAP)
• Financial statement analysis: profitability, liquidity, solvency
• Financial statements as a tool for business communication
• How capital markets use and respond to accounting information