In this course we explore the reasons for accounting, which form the basis of the profession. It is a course with a difference: it is about accounting itself, not how to account.
While much of our 'adventures in accounting' is consumed by the practice of accounting - such as debits and credits, the application of accounting standards, and the preparation of financial statements - this course is different. This course is about accounting itself - not how to account.
This requires us to consider the broader implications that financial accounting has for the fair and efficient working of our economy. This involves taking into account the diverse, and sometimes divergent, interests of external users of accounting information - such as investors - and management. This calls for a consideration of regulation and ethics, and information asymmetry.
This course will conclude with an examination of the implications that COVID-19 holds for information asymmetry in financial markets.
Danny Tan, BCom (Accounting), LLB, Grad Dip Legal Practice, MTeach (Secondary), is a lecturer and tutor at the Department of Accounting at The University of Melbourne. He is a member of the Tax Practitioners Board and the Law Institute of Victoria. He has extensive experience in teaching introductory and advanced financial accounting courses to secondary school, undergraduate, and postgraduate students.
