Bachelor of Businesswith a Major in Accounting and Finance

Unit code: COM10011
Duration: 1 Teaching Period
Contact hours: Recommended 10 hours of study per week

About this unit

This unit has originated from a desire to give students an inspirational and engaging educational experience at the commencement of their business degrees. Infused with real world examples, the unit aims to develop an understanding of innovation practices and confidence and capability in communicating online within professional and academic settings. The unit focuses on innovation, communication, self-awareness and professional identity and the creation of a personal development plan.

Content

• Build confidence and capability in communicating online
• Develop a strong passion for business and innovation
• Develop the ability to be original, creative and forward thinking
• Establish and propagate their own brand and identity, and
• Demonstrate increasing self-awareness

This unit is found in Bachelor of Business With a Major in Business Administration, Bachelor of Business With a Major in Logistics and Supply Chain Management, Bachelor of Business With a Major in Management, Bachelor of Business With a Major in Marketing, Bachelor of Business With a Major in Sports Management and Bachelor of Business With a Major in Accounting, as well as in the Bachelor of Laws.

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About this unit

This unit provides a framework to learn accounting concepts. Students will learn how accounting concepts can be applied in business and provide useful information for evaluating and decision-making. Whatever aspect of business students intend to specialise in, they will need to be familiar with the concepts and principles underlying the practice of accounting. Such knowledge will enable students to understand the importance of financial information in decision-making and thereby provide them with the necessary financial literacy for their future roles in the world of business.

Content

Topics will include:

• Business Reporting – Financial reporting – Introduction to financial reports and their use in decision making
• Business Reporting – Recording & reporting business transactions using accrual accounting
• Business Reporting – Preparation and use of Cash Flow Statement
• Performance Assessment – Analysis & Interpretation of Financial Reports
• Performance Assessment – Introduction to Performance Evaluation – business unit & business unit manager
• Business Planning – Role of Budgets & Budget Preparation – focus on cash budget
• Business Planning – Revenue & Cost Determination
• Business Planning – Cost Behaviour & Cost Volume Profit Analysis (CVP)
• Business Planning – Operational Decision Making

This unit is found in Bachelor of Business With a Major in Business Administration, Bachelor of Business With a Major in Logistics and Supply Chain Management, Bachelor of Business With a Major in Management, Bachelor of Business With a Major in Marketing, Bachelor of Business With a Major in Sports Management and Bachelor of Business With a Major in Accounting.

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Unit code: ECO10004
Duration: 1 Teaching Period
Contact hours: Recommended 10 hours of study per week

About this unit

The aim of this unit is to provide students with an introduction to microeconomic and macroeconomic theory with business and government policy applications. At the conclusion of the subject, students will understand important micro and macroeconomic concepts and how they improve decision making in business and government.

Content

• Economic concepts of opportunity cost and comparative advantage
• Market behaviour
• Market failure
• Macroeconomic indicators
• Business cycle and economic growth
• Government stabilisation policy

This unit is found in Bachelor of Business With a Major in Marketing, Bachelor of Business With a Major in Sports Management, Bachelor of Business With a Major in Accounting, Bachelor of Business With a Major in Business Administration, Bachelor of Business With a Major in Logistics and Supply Chain Management and Bachelor of Business With a Major in Management.

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About this unit

Introduction to Business Information Systems aims to instil an appreciation of how technology can be used to assist business, without the technology becoming an end in itself. In particular, the unit aims to generate an awareness of the importance of information to decision-making and how to provide such information to ensure its usefulness to the decision makers. Students gain a strong foundation of business systems fundamentals and the influence of the Internet on business stakeholders; customers, suppliers, manufacturers, service makers, regulators, managers and employees.

Content

• Organisations in the digital economy
• Information Systems: their evolution to current role and purpose in business & society
• Strategic review of purposes of commercial business, organisational requirements for Information Systems
• Data and information management in the digital economy; Ethical, legal and security issues; Databases, and their importance to contemporary business
• Business processes: evolution and support of IS
• E-Commerce Networks and commercial internet applications
• IS to support business transactions & processes; Transaction processing systems, supply chain management, customer relationship management; enterprise systems
• IS to support managerial decision making, business intelligence, decision support, and knowledge management; the nature of IS management
• Information Systems requirements analysis; Information systems acquisition, development, and implementation

This unit is found in:

• Bachelor of Business With a Major in Logistics and Supply Chain Management
• Bachelor of Business With a Major in Management
• Bachelor of Business With a Major in Marketing
• Bachelor of Business With a Major in Sports Management
• Bachelor of Business With a Major in Business Administration
• Bachelor of Business With a Major in Accounting

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Unit code: MGT10001
Duration: 1 Teaching Period
Contact hours: Recommended 10 hours of study per week

About this unit

This unit aims to provide a broad understanding of management and its importance in enabling organisations to be effective within a diverse globalised environment. Students will learn to describe the four basic management functions of planning, organising, leading and controlling across an organisation; understand the application of some basic management principles in an increasingly global business environment; understand the importance of behaving in a professional and ethical manner; and prepare academic reports and essays including case studies using the appropriate format.

Content

Topics covered include introduction to:

• The challenge of management including the diversity of skills required
• The historical theories and views on management
• The nature of the external and internal environments including culture
• Social responsibility and ethics in management
• Planning and creative decision-making, including developing strategies
• Organising, leading and managing individuals and groups, including motivation
• Communication, including professional report writing

This unit is found in Bachelor of Business With a Major in Accounting, Bachelor of Business With a Major in Sports Management, Bachelor of Business With a Major in Business Administration, Bachelor of Business With a Major in Logistics and Supply Chain Management, Bachelor of Business With a Major in Management and Bachelor of Business With a Major in Marketing.

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About this unit

At the conclusion of this unit of study, the successful student will have acquired an understanding of key Marketing concepts and their application to modern business. This understanding of Marketing will also aid in the understanding of other disciplines in the Bachelor of Business/Commerce as well as providing a strong philosophical foundation for the vocational study of Marketing. In addition, students will have started the journey towards graduation and as such, this unit of study aims to provide students with opportunities to develop graduate attributes. This unit of study provides students with a series of learning opportunities designed to explore basic business and Marketing concepts from a variety of viewpoints including theoretical and applied perspectives.

Content

• An overview of marketing
• Marketing ethics
• The marketing environment
• Buyer behaviour
• Marketing information and research
• Segmentation, targeting and positioning
• Branding
• Goods and services
• Marketing channels and logistics decisions
• Integrated marketing communications
• Pricing

This unit is found in Bachelor of Business With a Major in Logistics and Supply Chain Management, Bachelor of Business With a Major in Management, Bachelor of Business With a Major in Marketing, Bachelor of Business With a Major in Sports Management, Bachelor of Business With a Major in Business Administration and Bachelor of Business With a Major in Accounting.

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Unit code: BUS30024
Duration: 1 Teaching Period
Contact hours: Recommended 10 hours of study per week

About this unit

Advanced Innovative Business Practice is the first of the two mandatory capstone units of the Bachelor of Business. In this unit, you will consolidate past learning, with important issues discussed earlier in the program, being revisited in cross-disciplinary contexts. Contemporary Innovation theories, models and frameworks will be infused into established business and management paradigms to facilitate a comprehensive understanding of the challenges and opportunities facing today’s business. Through this holistic application you will be able to analyse and evaluate business problems in order to offer practical, innovative and creative solutions which display awareness of the impact of such decisions on the organisation’s triple bottom line, that is, people, planet and profit.

Content

• Contemporary innovation frameworks and business models to facilitate creative problem solving
• Practical application of disciplinary knowledge to business contexts
• Ethical business practices
• Stakeholder considerations
• Integrated reporting factors
• Cultural diversity and sensitivity
• Professional team dynamics and team performance
• Advanced presentation and communication skills
• Reflective examination of personal learning

This unit is found in Bachelor of Business With a Major in Accounting, Bachelor of Business With a Major in Business Administration, Bachelor of Business With a Major in Management, Bachelor of Business With a Major in Marketing, Bachelor of Business With a Major in Sports Management, Bachelor of Business With a Major in Logistics and Supply Chain Management.

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About this unit

The unit provides an opportunity for students to apply skills and engage in a consulting project for an industry partner. Multidisciplinary teams will work on a live problem solving project from profit or not-for-profit enterprises operating in either private or public sectors. Teams will work under the guidance of a coach with project specific inputs from the industry client briefs. In the final week, teams will deliver their findings and recommendations to industry partner through an oral presentation and a written report. The unit aims at facilitating a successful transition from academic learning environment to work environment.

Content

• Applying discipline knowledge to a real-world context
• Principles, overviews and discipline issues that relate to the project context
• Interpreting and responding to project briefs
• Team dynamics, management tools and processes
• Communications issues and stakeholder expectations
• Research methods
• Critical and reflective practices
• Documenting project developments and recommendations

This unit is found in Bachelor of Business With a Major in Business Administration, Bachelor of Business With a Major in Logistics and Supply Chain Management, Bachelor of Business With a Major in Management, Bachelor of Business With a Major in Marketing, Bachelor of Business With a Major in Sports Management, Bachelor of Business With a Major in Accounting.

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About this unit

The aim of this subject is to introduce students to financial information systems, both manual and computer based. The basis of the subject is the accurate recording of all transactions following the principles of double entry accounting. In addition, students are introduced to the concepts of internal control and management accounting.

Content

• Rules of double entry accounting
• Recording transactions in ledgers and journals (both General and Special)
• Balance day adjustments
• Internal control
• Cash control
• Accounts receivable
• Liabilities
• Inventory management
• Fixed asset control
• Double entry accounting software

This unit is found in Bachelor of Business With a Major in Accounting.

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About this unit

The aim of this subject is to expose students to the complexities of providing and analysing data for internal decision making for a range of business entities. There are few rules in management accounting and the key feature of management accounting is the ability to identify and apply data relevant to the particular issue at hand.

Content

• Introduction to cost terms and concepts
• Cost behaviour, drivers and estimation
• Introduction to product and service costing
• Overhead costs and Activity based costing
• Tactical decision making
• Job and process costing
• Cost volume profit analysis
• Budgeting
• Standard costing and flexible budgets

This unit is found in Bachelor of Business With a Major in Accounting.

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About this unit

The aim of Company Accounting is to introduce and familiarise students with mandatory reporting practices with an emphasis on international accounting standards and the Australian corporate regulatory framework. Students will be made aware of different technical methods and the theoretical underpinning of these methods in order to assist them in the preparation of accounting information and financial statements in a form suitable for publication. These concepts will be illustrated and applied through the various stages of a business, from its inception through to further acquisitions, trading and termination of a business or group of related entities.

Content

• Nature & Regulation of Companies
• The Conceptual Framework
• Shareholders’ Equity: Share Capital and Reserves (includes advanced issues)
• Accounting for Income Tax
• Business Combinations
• Consolidations and Consolidated Financial Statements
• Accounting for Property Plant and Equipment
• Impairment of Assets
• Liquidations
• Accounting Standards and Financial Statement Disclosure Corporate Governance and Other Corporate Reporting

This unit is found in Bachelor of Business With a Major in Accounting.

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Unit code: ACC30005
Duration: 1 Teaching Period
Contact hours: Recommended 10 hours of study per week

About this unit

This unit aims to help students to understand: the basic concepts of income, capital and gifts; the rules governing allowable deductions and calculate taxable income; basic principles of the Fringe Benefit Taxation legislation; and the complexities of taxation in relation to various taxable entities. Students will research and explain the importance of current and landmark taxation decisions issued by the Courts and Administrative Appeals Tribunal. This will help them understand the major principles of tax planning issues and concepts.

Content

• Concepts of income and assessable income
• Distinction between income and capital
• Fringe Benefits Tax
• Capital Gains Tax
• Source, residency and derivation
• General and specific deductions; non-deductions
• Companies and shareholders
• Individuals and partnerships

This unit is found in Bachelor of Business With a Major in Accounting.

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Unit code: ACC30008
Duration: 1 Teaching Period
Contact hours: Recommended 10 hours of study per week

About this unit

This unit draws upon knowledge gained from earlier accounting units. In particular, students are required to apply and demonstrate insights derived from the areas of corporate accounting, management accounting and financial management. The unit seeks to instill in students a critical appreciation of both theory in accounting and contemporary accounting practice. It does this by locating the discipline of accounting into a wider context than that normally associated (or possible) with earlier accounting units. The unit will provide students with an understanding of various theoretical perspectives and the application of Accounting Standards to some important financial accounting problems. On successful completion of this unit, students should be able to understand, discuss, and critically analyse a range of issues pertaining to financial accounting theory and regulation.

Content

Although individual topic areas can vary, the unit syllabus typically embodies the following general pattern of topic coverage:

• External reporting environment
• Theory in accounting: general introduction
• Theory in accounting: some specific theories
• Theory in accounting: the Conceptual Framework
• Accounting for income tax (Part A)
• Accounting for income tax (Part B)
• Non-current assets: overview and depreciation
• Non-current assets: revaluation and impairment testing
• Accounting for intangible assets
• Accounting for leases
• Earnings per share
• Segment reporting

This unit is found in Bachelor of Business With a Major in Accounting.

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About this unit

The aim of this unit of study is to introduce, expound, and apply various management accounting concepts to evaluate and contextualise a company’s competitive advantage.
Students will be introduced to key management accounting concepts which will help them gain knowledge and understanding of the business environment. Students will be able to apply their knowledge to real world management accounting problems, develop critical thinking and problem-solving skills and will enhance their numeric skills, while developing structured explanations and arguments to accommodate multiple points of view (when necessary) before drawing conclusions.

Content

• Business Strategy and Competitive Advantage
• Absorption/Variable Costing and Inventory Management
• Performance Evaluation: Financial and Non-Financial Measures
• Balanced Scorecard
• Social and Environmental Cost Management
• Transfer Pricing and International Issues
• Contemporary Management Accounting Systems

This unit is found in Bachelor of Business With a Major in Accounting.

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Unit code: ACC30010
Duration: 1 Teaching Period
Contact hours: Recommended 10 hours of study per week

About this unit

The broad aim of this unit is to familiarise students with the underlying concepts and objectives of auditing and the subsequent reporting function of the auditor. The unit covers both theoretical and practical aspects of auditing, and in particular aims to integrate the concepts of auditing with practical approaches taken by the auditor to ensure students gain a complete picture of the audit process.

Content

Module 1: Audit Profession: the nature and objectives of auditing, ethics, and legal liability.
Module 2: The Audit Process: audit process and planning; materiality and audit risk; auditing procedures; sampling.
Module 3: completion of the audit and audit reports.
Module 4: Audit Considerations: electronic commerce and auditing.

This unit is found in Bachelor of Business With a Major in Accounting.

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Unit code: FIN10002
Duration: 1 Teaching Period
Contact hours: Recommended 10 hours of study per week

About this unit

The modern business involves many decisions and managers need the skills, technologies, procedures to successfully derive appropriate solutions to benefit the organisation. This unit will focus on data science as an analytical and decision-making tool, in a variety of business contexts, with a major emphasis on interpretation and application using Excel.

Content

• Descriptive statistics
• Analysis of statistics
• Inferential statistics
• Hypotheses testing
• Regression and time series analysis
• Basic modelling techniques
• Financial mathematics
• Financial statement modelling and valuation
• Case studies and applications

This unit is found in Bachelor of Business With a Major in Accounting.

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About this unit

The aim of this unit is to enable students to focus on the goals and functions of corporate financial management. It is designed to enable students to acquire an understanding of the scope and nature of the finance function and its role within corporate management.

Content

• An introduction to corporate financial management
• The time value of money
• Valuing shares and bonds
• Capital budgeting, NPV, making capital investment decisions
• Risk and return, capital asset pricing model
• Weighted average cost of capital
• Financial leverage and capital structure policy

This unit is found in Bachelor of Business With a Major in Accounting.

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Unit code: FIN30014
Duration: 1 Teaching Period
Contact hours: Recommended 10 hours of study per week

About this unit

This unit enables students to analyse the sources of financial risk as well as the importance of implementing hedging procedures in order to mitigate risk. The unit is designed to equip students with quantitative skills and understanding of a variety of derivative instruments that can be used for hedging purposes, while broadening their knowledge of managing risk within an ethical framework. The increasing instability of global financial markets and ethical scandals underscores the importance of this unit, whereby it has become a basic best practice in order to mitigate unforeseen losses. Students will also learn to how to mitigate financial risks using a variety of financial derivatives.

Content

• Introduction to financial risk management
• Futures and forwards – pricing, valuation and their use in hedging financial risk
• Options – option types, option payoffs, principles of option pricing, option strategies, hedging with options
• Interest rate and foreign currency swaps.
• Interest rate derivatives, using interest rate caps and collars for hedging
• Credit derivatives – credit default swaps (CDS); collateralised debt obligations (CDO)
• Financial risk management policies and procedures, ethics and governance

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Unit code: FIN30020 ORG20003
Duration: 1 Teaching Period
Contact hours: Recommended 10 hours of study per week

About this unit

Develop the skills to navigate the rapidly evolving and technology-driven environment of international finance. This unit will prepare you to adhere to the global financial system and its various exchange rate regimes in conjunction with relevant theories and how they are practised. You’ll learn about ethical behavioural values, traits and principles, as well as the Code of Ethics and Standards of Professional Conduct.

Content

Topics will include:
• Code of Ethics and Standards of Professional Conduct
• Ethics and trust in the investment profession
• Global Investment Performance Standards (GIPS)
• The foreign exchange market
• Exchange rate determination and purchasing power parity
• Factors that influence the exchange rate
• International finance technology platforms
• Cryptocurrencies

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Unit code: LAW20019
Duration: 1 Teaching Period
Contact hours: Recommended 10 hours of study per week

About this unit

This unit provides student with knowledge of investment, how to apply cash flow discounting valuation methods to assist decision during the process of marking an investment. Students will be introduced to conventional asset pricing models in finance, Markowitz portfolio theory and how to apply standardised benchmark when assessing and comparing investment portfolio. Other than investing in the equity market, this unit also covers emerging topics in investment markets such as behavioural issue in finance, current trends in investment, and technical analysis.

Content

Investments and securities markets
• Valuation framework
• Theory on market efficiencies
• Portfolio theory
• Investments at the emerging markets
• Indirect investments and exchange traded funds market
• Strategies in equity portfolios
• Behavioural issues in investments and technical analysis
• Fixed income market
• Equity derivative instruments

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Unit code: FIN30020
Duration: 1 Teaching Period
Contact hours: Recommended 10 hours of study per week

About this unit

Develop the skills to navigate the rapidly evolving and technology-driven environment of international finance. This unit will prepare you to adhere to the global financial system and its various exchange rate regimes in conjunction with relevant theories and how they are practised. You’ll learn about ethical behavioural values, traits and principles, as well as the Code of Ethics and Standards of Professional Conduct.

Content

Topics will include:
• Code of Ethics and Standards of Professional Conduct
• Ethics and trust in the investment profession
• Global Investment Performance Standards (GIPS)
• The foreign exchange market
• Exchange rate determination and purchasing power parity
• Factors that influence the exchange rate
• International finance technology platforms
• Cryptocurrencies

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Unit code: FIN30021
Duration: 1 Teaching Period
Contact hours: Recommended 10 hours of study per week

About this unit

Develop a comprehensive understanding of fixed income, debt markets and securities in relation to interest rates, especially for corporations and governments. This also includes bonds with options and structured products.

Throughout the unit, you will analyse credit and interest risk and the performance of fixed income products, especially in light of current and historical economic uncertainties. In addition, you will evaluate the ethical issues surrounding investments in fixed income securities and how financial technology will disrupt this market in the future.

Content

Topics will include:
• Types of fixed income securities and their characteristics
• Fixed income and debt markets
• Fixed income valuation and return analysis
• Term structure determination and yield spreads
• Interest rate risk and credit risk analysis
• Valuing bonds and embedded options
• Structured products
• Ethics in investing in fixed income securities
• FinTech advances with the fixed income market

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Unit code: LAW20019
Duration: 1 Teaching Period
Contact hours: Recommended 10 hours of study per week

About this unit

The aim of this unit is to enable students to gain an understanding of the law applicable to contracts and companies that are employed in the modern business environment. In particular the primary focus is on the contracting activities and its repercussions relating to businesses and entrepreneurial activities. The operations of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) which regulate the activities of companies, company officers and shareholders also take significance in this unit.

Content

Topic 1: The Australian Legal System, Formation of Contract
Topic 2: Terms of Contract
Topic 3: Validity of Contract
Topic 4: Termination of a Contract and Remedies
Topic 5: Characteristics of a Company & its Constitution
Topic 6: Company’s Relations with Outsiders including Company Contracts
Topic 7: Directors’ Duties and Company Insolvent Trading
Topic 8: Members’ Remedies

This unit is found in Bachelor of Business With a Major in Accounting and Bachelor of Business With a Major in Business Administration.

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Unit code: LAW30002
Duration: 1 Teaching Period
Contact hours: Recommended 10 hours of study per week

About this unit

This unit aims to provide students with an understanding of the laws of financial regulations governing the provision of financial services to retail and wholesale clients in Australia. Detailed consideration is given to the role of regulators, the banker- customer relationship, electronic banking, insurance and superannuation. The unit also sensitises students to the ethical considerations faced when dealing with consumers on behalf of financial institutions.

Content

• Brief introduction to the Australian legal system and the regulations relating to the provision of financial services
• Banker and customer
• Legal relationship between lender and borrower
• The Banking Code, Financial Ombudsman Service and the Australian Financial Complaints Authority
• Financial transactions in the digital environment
• Insurance law
• Superannuation law
• Consumer protection
• Ethics in the financial industry.

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Elective units are what turn a degree into your degree. They are units that you choose to tailor your course to suit your strengths, interests and career goals.

Take a look at the availability of the elective units we offer online.

Why do you need to study electives?

Through elective units you can explore subjects of interest that may not be included in the core structure of your degree. The electives you choose will enrich your understanding of your field of study and shape the way you think about the core units in your degree.
Electives can be an opportunity to further specialise in a particular area or diversify your knowledge base.

When should you choose your electives?

It’s a good idea to plan your electives at the start of your degree – this way you get a clear idea of what you’ll have completed at the end of your studies. However, if you’re unsure what to choose, or need more time, you do have the option to select them as you go.

How do electives work?

Electives can be chosen from a wide selection of Swinburne Online courses. And there are two ways that students select them:
You can broaden your knowledge by selecting units from a variety of focus areas

Here’s an example of how a student studying a Bachelor of Communications (Media Studies) might choose to broaden their knowledge by choosing a mix of electives from courses such as Bachelor of Design (Communications Design), Bachelor of Business (Marketing), Bachelor of Social Science (Criminology) and Bachelor of Education (Early Childhood).

ELECTIVES

• Design Studio: Concepts and Narratives
• Introduction to Business Information Systems
• Design Studio: Typography
• Fundamentals of Marketing
• Sociological Foundations
• Introduction to Management
• Understanding Language and Literacy
• Introduction to Business Law

You can further complement your core studies by choosing electives from a similar discipline

Here’s an example of how a student studying a Bachelor of Business (Marketing) might choose to further specialise by selecting electives from similar disciplines, in this instance Management and Sports Management.

ELECTIVES

• Introduction to Management
• Introduction to Sports Business Management
• Critical Thinking in Management
• Sports Marketing
• Business and Society
• Business and Society
• Organisational Behaviour
• Sports Clubs and Facilitites Management

If you’d like to start thinking about the electives that you will build into your degree, visit the list of Swinburne Online Courses.