Master

Focus on Financial Accounting and Auditing

Educational goals:

Financial accounting is an instrument to report data, which characterizes the status of a company. A major part of financial accounting are periodic statements and other instruments of reporting, whose contents influence all stakeholders of a company, last but not least the investors. For an efficient use in an international environment, the statements are primarily compiled and audited according to international standards (IFRS). Studying the major “Financial Accounting and Auditing” will enable the students to answer substantial questions regarding the compilation, analysis and the auditing of financial statements, as well as to contribute conceptual and practical solutions. Therefore the educational content will prepare the students for a position in the areas of auditing, accounting, controlling and management.

Lectures:

Major

For approval of the major, three mandatory modules and one elective module must be taken. This results in a total of 24 credits points.

Mandatory modules (all three must be taken)

Auditing and Corporate Disclosure

(Wirtschaftsprüfung und Unternehmenspublizität)

Lecture organisation:

The course is based on lestures. Additionally, a colloquium is offered comprising the discussion of problems and questions handed in by students.

Hours per week:

2 (lecture) + 2 (tutorial)

Level:
Master

ECTS credits:

Schedule:

each summer semester

Instructor:

Prof. Dr. Axel Haller

Language:

German

Course objective:

The course is focused on the conceptual fundamentals as well as on the principles and methods of auditing. As auditing is part of the corporate governance system of a company, the objectives and contents of corporate governance are discussed in a theoretical as well as normative context.

The course starts out with the explanation of the necessity of the institution "auditing". Subsequently, students become aquainted with the legal framework, the self-organisation of the auditors´ profession as well as the professional oversight regimes in a national and international context. The course provides also a view on the conception and execution of a group audit. The students get to know selected audit principles and methods (e.g. audit risk model) and their usage in auditing individual parts of the financial statements. Besides national professional standards, the students are also referred to the International Standards on Auditing (ISA). Due to a series of financial reporting scandals and the related loss of authority and reliability of the auditing profession, ehtical aspects of the profession are also discussed.

Another focus of the course lies on corporate governance. The main legal and institutional frameworks are shown, which influence directly or indirectly executives´ decision making. Apart from this, an overview over the content of the German Corporate Governance Codex is given and opportunities and limitations of corporate governance structures are discussed.

Consolidated Corporate Reporting

(Konzernrechnungslegung und -berichterstattung)

Lecture organisation:

The course comprises a lecture and an accompanying tutorial. In this tutorial problems and case studies will be solved.

Hours per week:

2 (lecture) + 2 (tutorial)

Level:
Master

ECTS credits:

Schedule:

each winter semester

Instructor:

Prof. Dr. Axel Haller

Language:

German

Course objective:

The course is focused on the objectives, rules and techniques of the preparation of consolidated financial statements according to German GAAP and IFRS as well as on basic elements of corporate control.

After an introduction about the necessity and the concept of consolidated financial statements, the legal framework and the relevant accounting standards, the basic principles of consolidated accounting are explained. Based on this, students become familiar with the main legal requirements and accounting standards concerning the preparation of consolidated financial statements. Main topics are the identification of an obligation for group reporting, the determination of the scope of consolidated financial statements, the preparation of the basis of consolidation, methods of capital consolidation, elimination of inter-company transactions as well as accounting for deferred taxes. Additionally, the course covers also specific disclosure requirements concerning the notes to consolidated accounts as well as the preparation of the director´s report supplementing the consolidated statements. Legislative requirements on the publication and auditing of consolidated financial statements under German GAAP are also discussed. Due to the increasing globalisation of accounting, another main part of the course deals with special issues of international group reporting and the related supplementary challenges (e.g. foreign currency translation).

Concerning group control the students get to know the different control levels and instruments as well as incentive schemes. Essential characteristics of control systems and control quantities are also discussed. Besides, components and processes of an effective risk management system are shown.

Course requirements:
This course is based on the contents of the bachelor course Financial Reporting II. Therefore, it is necessary to have full knowledge of this course. For students who have not attended this course we recommend to attend in advance financial reporting II voluntarily. Students who received their Bachelor's degree from another university are encouraged to contact anyone of our team regarding the prerequisites of the course.

Financial Reporting under IFRS

(Financial Reporting under IFRS)

Lecture organisation:

The course comprises a lecture and an accompanying tutorial. In this tutorial problems and case studies will be solved.

Hours per week:

2 (lecture) + 2 (tutorial)

Level:
Master

ECTS credits:

Schedule:

each summer semester

Instructor:

Prof. Dr. Axel Haller

Language:

German

Course objective:

During the last years IFRS have globally gained authority and acceptance to a considerable extent. Thus, e.g. the EU obliges all parent companies seated in the EU, whose securities are publicly traded on the EU capital market, to prepare their consolidated financial statements on the basis of IFRS from the year 2005 on. Based on the knowledge of the conceptual basics of IFRS gained at the course "Financial Reporting II" the main part of this course deals with the rules and techniques of financial accounting according to IFRS. It covers all major accounting issues (recognition, measurement and presentation) which have to be dealt with when preparing and interpreting financial statements under IFRS. Main differences to German GAAP are also discussed.

The course also provides a view on elements like sustainability reporting, which become more and more important. This reporting which is directly addressed to all stakeholders, also named Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Reporting, has the purpose to deal with the sustainability of the company´s interaction with the whole environment.

Elective modules (one of the two must be taken)

Business Valuation and Analysis

(Unternehmensbewertung und -analyse)

Lecture organisation:

The course is part of the Major "Financial Accounting and Auditing" and is lectured by Prof. Dr. Röder and Prof. Dr. Haller

Hours per week:

2 (lecture) + block course

Level:
Master

ECTS credits:

Schedule:

each winter semester

Instructors:

Prof. Dr. Klaus Röder/Prof. Dr. Axel Haller

Language:

German

Course objective:

This course, "Business Valuation and Analysis", is part of the master´s program in "Financial Accounting and Auditing". The course is composed of one regular lecture by Prof. Röder as well as a block course by Professor Haller. The course is partly based on the textbook Corporate Valuation: A Guide for Managers by Daves/Ehrhardt/Shrieves. The learning objective of the course is to gain solid knowledge of the concepts and methods of the field of business valuation and analysis. The course covers in particular ratio and indicator based tools of financial analysis.

Sustainable Corporate Governance

The course is offered by Prof. Steindl. Information about the course can be found on the homepage of Prof. Steindl.

Additional courses

Corporate Governance, Internal Control and Auditing

(Corporate Governance, Internal Control and Auditing)

The objective of this course is to reveal issues of the interdependence between the internal and external dimension of the corporate governance system. Corporate governance embraces among other aspects guidance with regard to the ethics in management, accounting and audit-ing as well as the handling of risks. Typical issues are the internal control system to assure the compliance with legal and statutory instructions and the management of corporate risks by in-stalling a risk management system. It is also important to consider the corporate responsibility. Another aspect is the internal and external audit of the control and risk management systems to guarantee and enhance their efficiency and effectiveness. For this reason auditing has a significant function in the corporate governance system. The course is primarily based on case studies and requires basic knowledge of financial accounting and auditing. Students will gain an understanding of corporate governance and the related role of auditing.

Level: Bachelor (phase II) and Master

ECTS credits: 4

Block seminar: 5 days with each 4 hrs

Instructor: Prof. Dr. Axel Haller et al.

Registration:

Interested students can register for this course via e-mail to our secretary: sekretariat.faa@wiwi.uni-regensburg.de

The additional course "Corporate Governance, Internal Control and Auditing" is currently not taking place!

Language: English

Corporate Social Responsibility Reporting/Integrated Reporting

(Corporate Social Responsibility Reporting/Integrated Reporting)

Last decades have witnessed a significant increase in the debate on the role of the companies within society and in the attention for the social and environmental effects of their operations. Companies are expected to contribute to a sustainable global economy by combining long-term corporate profitability with social justice and environmental protection. This idea of corporate social responsibility (CSR) or corporate sustainability has enormous implications for corporate management, planning, control and reporting. Indeed, companies need to incorporate this goal into their business operations. At the same time, they are expected to disclose information on their economic, social and environmental performance in a so-called CSR report. With this respect, a multitude of national and international bodies and initiatives emerged with the aim to provide guidance for the implementation in business practice and, more specifically, for reporting on CSR issues. In this context, a new concept of corporate reporting i.e., integrated reporting (IR) was developed and gained particular importance. What begun and mostly developed as a voluntary practice has become particularly in Europe and in Brazil (respectively CSR reporting and IR) object of specific regulations and mandatory standards which are challenging the corporate world. The growing prominence of CSR and IR is reflected in the extensive and still increasing number of studies investigating the implemented practices, the motivations and implications of sustainability management and reporting. The course deals with these developments focusing on the implications for corporate reporting. It shows CSR and IR theoretical and conceptual foundations, their practical implementation and challenges. It presents and compares different international standards and regulations with a particular focus on the European regulation and the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS).

At the end of the course, students are able to both specify and describe the concepts of CSR and CSR reporting, IR and their components as well as the existing international norms, and European regulation and standards. Further, they are able to analyze and critically assess CSR and integrated reports. Finally, they can depict and interpret the major research findings concerning the reasons for, implications of, and future challenges of both integrating sustainability in business management and reporting.

Level: Bachelor (phase II) and Master

ECTS credits: 6

Instructor:

Dott. Ric. Cristina Landis

Prof. Dr. Maristela Mercedes Bauer, University of Feevale, Brazil

Language: English

Digitalization in Auditing

(Digitalisierung in der Abschlussprüfung)

This course teaches students the steps of the auditing process by primarily using case studies. By this methodological approach, the course is an excellent supplement to the teachings of the Master major “Auditing and Corporate Governance”. Amongst others the topics of the block courses are the following: audit planning, materiality and risk, tests of controls, analytical procedures, substantive tests of transactions and completing the audit. Furthermore challenges as well as opportunities for the auditor arising from the rapidly increasing digitalization are also covered.

Level: Bachelor (phase II) and Master

ECTS credits: 4

Lecture: 7 weeks (3 hrs per week, including exam)

Instructor: Prof. Dr. Axel Haller et al.

Registration:
Interested students can register for this course via e-mail to our secretary: sekretariat.faa@wiwi.uni-regensburg.de

Language: German

Financial Reporting in the USA

(Financial Reporting in the USA)

This course deals with the financial reporting practice in the USA and the connected requirements of the US capital markets. US Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (US GAAP) are still very important for the worldwide economy because the development of the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) is also influenced by the status quo and further progress of US GAAP. Furthermore, the worlds largest economy still refuses to allow the general usage of IFRS. The knowledge of the US accounting rules is also important to understand the change process and harmonization of accounting standards in Europe and worldwide. In comparison to the "principal based" IFRS or national (German) GAAP (HGB) it is also very interesting to have a closer look at a so-called "rule based accounting" according to US GAAP. The course introduces the students to principles, the institutional framework and concrete standards of financial reporting in the USA in order to broaden students' comprehension of national and international accounting standards. The course will be held by a visiting lecturer from the USA.

Level: Bachelor (phase II) and Master

ECTS credits: 4

Lecture: 4 weeks (6 hrs per week, including exam)

Instructor:
Prof. Dr. Thomas A. Buchman, Senior Instructor (Emeritus), and Prof. Dr. Raymond McFee jr., both Leeds School of Business, University of Colorado, Boulder

Registration:

Interested students can register for this course via e-mail to our secretary: sekretariat.faa@wiwi.uni-regensburg.de

Language: English

Public Management and Internal Auditing

(Public Management und Interne Revision)

Tense budgetary situations in the public sector raise awareness for more economic efficiency of public administrations and higher transparency in the use of funds. In recent decades, the modernisation of public administration has progressed further and further through the transfer and application of business management instruments that have proven themselves in the private sector. In this module, the framework conditions and theoretical foundations of (New) Public Management are first explained. Individual reform elements of administrative modernisation (e.g. conversion of accounting from cameralistics to double-entry accounting, budgeting, output-oriented control, privatisation and cooperation models) are discussed. As a result of spin-offs into public enterprises, investment management is becoming increasingly important, so that selected aspects of public corporate governance are also dealt with. Finally, to ensure the regularity and efficiency of administrative action, the process of internal auditing is first dealt with in general and then specifically in the administrative context.

Level: Bachelor (phase II) and Master

ECTS credits: 6

Schedule:

each summer semester

Hours per week:

2 (lecture) + 2 (tutorial)

Instructor:
Dr. Daniel Blab

Language: German

Special Issues of Financial Accounting and Auditing

(Spezialthemen der Rechnungslegung und Wirtschaftsprüfung)

The lecture primarily conveys knowledge about how to implement and interpret accounting and auditing regulations in consulting and auditing practice. Because of this methodical approach the course is an excellent supplement to the teachings of the Bachelor major “Financial Management and Auditing” and the Master major “Financial Accounting and Auditing”.
Amongst others the topics of the six block courses will be: Challenges in auditing special balance sheet items and transactions (e.g. non-current assets, inventories, provisions), the balancing of special ways in revenue recognition, the basics of auditing and its influence on practice, valuating and auditing intangible assets, intrinsic value auditing of investments held and Goodwill, challenges in company foundations and transformations.

Level: Bachelor (phase II) and Master

ECTS credits: 4

Lecture: 7 weeks (3 hrs per week, including exam)

Instructors: Dr. Karl Petersen, Prof. Dr. Christian Zwirner and Dr. Corinna Boecker, Dr. Kleeberg & Partner GmbH WPG/StBG

Registration:

Interested students can register for this course via e-mail to our secretary: sekretariat.faa@wiwi.uni-regensburg.de

Language: German

Research

Seminar

If you have any question concerning the Seminar, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Master thesis

A master thesis shall enable students to work on complex problems by applying advanced research techniques. Thus, students learn the methods and the structure of scientific reasoning. If you want to write your master thesis on an issue in the area of accounting or auditing ask us about our topics or feel free to present us your idea.
The master thesis can be written in the German and English language.

If you have any question concerning the master thesis, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Schedule:

	summer semester	winter semester
Financial Reporting under IFRS	X
Auditing and Corporate Disclosure	X
Business Valuation and Analysis		X
Consolitaded Corporate Reporting		X
Seminar	X	X
Additional courses	X	X

Master

Focus on Financial Accounting and Auditing

Major

Auditing and Corporate Disclosure

(Wirtschaftsprüfung und Unternehmenspublizität)

Consolidated Corporate Reporting

(Konzernrechnungslegung und -berichterstattung)

Financial Reporting under IFRS

(Financial Reporting under IFRS)

Business Valuation and Analysis

(Unternehmensbewertung und -analyse)

Sustainable Corporate Governance

Additional courses

Corporate Governance, Internal Control and Auditing

(Corporate Governance, Internal Control and Auditing)

Corporate Social Responsibility Reporting/Integrated Reporting

(Corporate Social Responsibility Reporting/Integrated Reporting)

Digitalization in Auditing

(Digitalisierung in der Abschlussprüfung)

Financial Reporting in the USA

(Financial Reporting in the USA)

Public Management and Internal Auditing

(Public Management und Interne Revision)

Special Issues of Financial Accounting and Auditing

(Spezialthemen der Rechnungslegung und Wirtschaftsprüfung)

Research

Seminar

Master thesis

Faculty of Economics