MODULE

HANDBOOK
Financial Analysis, Appraisal and Decision
Making
ACC9703M

Term B

2024 -25
Lincoln International Business School (LIBS)

LIBS Vision:
To provide an innovative, scholarly learning environment based on a commitment to
responsible management practices and a global community mind-set.

LIBS Mission:
To develop socially responsible leaders ready to meet the challenges of 21st century
business.

Contents
Contact Details ................................................................................................................ 3

Module Synopsis ............................................................................................................. 4

Module Learning Outcomes ............................................................................................. 5

AACSB ............................................................................................................................ 5

Learning and Teaching Approach .................................................................................... 6

Principles for Responsible Management Education (PRME) ........................................... 7

Module Delivery ............................................................................................................... 8

Contact Time ............................................................................................................... 8
Study Time................................................................................................................... 8

Formative Feedback Strategy .......................................................................................... 9

Assessment ..................................................................................................................... 9
Weighted Assessments................................................................................................ 9

Learning Resources ...................................................................................................... 10

The Library (www.library.lincoln.ac.uk ) ...................................................................... 11

Schedule of Activity ....................................................................................................... 12

Appendix 2: Assessment Brief ....................................................................................... 13

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Financial Analysis, Appraisal and Decision Making (ACC9703M)

Financial Analysis, Appraisal and Decision Making

Module Title

Subject Group Accounting and Finance

Academic Year 2024-25

Module Code ACC9703

Credit Rating 15

Level Level 7

External Examiner Qinye Lu

Contact Details

Module Leader: Nicki Wood [email protected]

Module Team: Madiha Sarwar [email protected]

Admin Support: LIBS Reception

David Chiddick Building
01522 83 5509

[email protected]

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Financial Analysis, Appraisal and Decision Making (ACC9703M)

Module Synopsis
The module aims to develop the student's ability to critically analyse the -financial
statements for single and group companies; understanding how the financial statements
are prepared, considering compliance with legal and regulatory requirements and the
relevant International Accounting Standards. Students taking the module will examine
both financial and non-financial matters that affect a business on a day to day basis and
develop proactive ideas to solve these issues. The module will equip the students with
the knowledge and skills necessary to understand corporate financial performance and
the relevance of accounting information, including the implications for the organisation,
stakeholders and for effective corporate governance.

The module recognises the different types of decisions that managers are required to
make, and considers how financial and management accounting information can be used
in support of these decisions. The module aims to develop the skills needed to
understand, apply and critically appraise the various tools and techniques that may be
used to support managers in decision-making in order to determine their relevance in
different organisational contexts. The module also evaluates the impact of financial and
management decisions on different stakeholders and ensures that decisions are properly
made and implemented to maximise value for key stakeholders of the organisation.

The practical side of the module extends to the role of enterprise resource planning
(ERP) systems in decision-making and explores the impact of cyber security on a
company's financial performance and financial reporting.

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Financial Analysis, Appraisal and Decision Making (ACC9703M)

Module Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of the module, you should be able to:

LO1 Critically examine and apply the concepts used in financial accounts
and reports, the regulatory and conceptual frameworks for financial reporting and
good corporate governance.
LO2 Critically appraise an organisation's financial performance and analyse its
published financial statements.
LO3 Evaluate different long-term or short-term decision-making techniques including
consideration of the concept of relevant costing.
LO4 Critically analyse capital investment decisions in light of the organisation's long-
term strategies and appraise the impact of risk and uncertainty on a variety of
decision scenarios.
LO5 Prepare reports to boards and senior managers, evaluating and recommending
options for financial and strategic decision making.

AACSB

In addition to module learning outcomes, selected modules within Lincoln International

Business School are required to deliver and assess particular core competencies
associated with our mission as an AACSB Accrediting Business School; and as such
reflect core skills and knowledge sets associated with being a graduate in business
management. There are twelve core competencies, and these are distributed across
modules associated with each programme. Each core competency is assessed through
the assessment(s) for a module and is identified on relevant the Assessment Rubric.
The assessment of these core competencies is not weighted (they don’t contribute to
your grade) but is assessed on the basis of proficiency/non-proficiency. If you find
yourself not achieving proficiency then this will not directly affect the outcome for a
module but is an opportunity for you to reflect on your own development and how you
can work towards proficiency at a later opportunity. We will also reflect on the overall
outcomes for modules and programmes and seek to enhance our teaching, learning and
assessment as a result.
The Core Competencies assessed in this module are as follows:
AoL CC6 Select and apply appropriate technologies to support reasoned, responsible
decision-making
AoL CC9 Compose high-level professional communications in a range of complex
contexts.

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Financial Analysis, Appraisal and Decision Making (ACC9703M)

Learning and Teaching Approach

The taught lectures for this module are used to introduce theoretical concepts and
decision-making techniques. Real world case studies will be utilised extensively to
enhance practical application of knowledge and develop a well-rounded understanding of
the subject. The seminars include both discussions of theoretical issues and practical
exercises that consolidate knowledge, understanding and application of the decision-
making processes and techniques. Directed reading and practical activities will be
assigned between sessions to contribute to students' learning and ability to develop a
deep, critical understanding of the concepts and techniques on a self-study basis.
Student-led activities will be utilised in the learning process with the intention to support
the principle of student as producer. This will allow students to develop the critical
evaluation skills necessary for various financial and management techniques to support
the decision-making process. The primary learning support materials are textbooks, but
on-line sources, academic articles and periodicals are utilised extensively.

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Financial Analysis, Appraisal and Decision Making (ACC9703M)

Principles for Responsible Management Education (PRME)

Lincoln International Business School is committed to the Principles for Responsible
Management Education (PRME) to develop future leaders that are socially responsible
who will create sustainable environmental and economic value.

This module contributes to the PRME agenda by following the 6 principles set out in the
PRME statement.

Six Principles
As an institution of higher education involved in the development of current and future managers
we declare our willingness to progress in the implementation, within our institution, of the
following Principles, starting with those that are more relevant to our capacities and mission. We
will report on progress to all our stakeholders and exchange effective practices related to these
principles with other academic institutions:

Principle 1 | Purpose:
We will develop the capabilities of students to be future generators of sustainable value for
business and society at large and to work for an inclusive and sustainable global economy.

Principle 2 | Values:
We will incorporate into our academic activities, curricula, and organisational practices the
values of global social responsibility as portrayed in international initiatives such as the United
Nations Global Compact.

Principle 3 | Method:
We will create educational frameworks, materials, processes and environments that enable
effective learning experiences for responsible leadership.

Principle 4 | Research:
We will engage in conceptual and empirical research that advances our understanding about the
role, dynamics, and impact of corporations in the creation of sustainable social, environmental
and economic value.

Principle 5 | Partnership:
We will interact with managers of business corporations to extend our knowledge of their
challenges in meeting social and environmental responsibilities and to explore jointly effective
approaches to meeting these challenges.

Principle 6 | Dialogue:
We will facilitate and support dialog and debate among educators, students, business,
government, consumers, media, civil society organisations and other interested groups and
stakeholders on critical issues related to global social responsibility and sustainability.

We understand that our own organisational practices should serve as example of the values
and attitudes we convey to our students.

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Financial Analysis, Appraisal and Decision Making (ACC9703M)

Module Delivery
The module will be delivered by 1 hour of lectures and 1 hours of seminars each week.
The schedule of activity is available in Appendix 1.

Contact Time

Class contact is via lectures and seminars. The taught lectures for this module are used
to introduce theoretical concepts and decision-making techniques. Real world case
studies will be utilised extensively to enhance practical application of knowledge and
develop a well-rounded understanding of the subject. The seminars include both
discussions of theoretical issues and practical exercises that consolidate knowledge,
understanding and application of the decision-making processes and techniques.
Student-led activities will be utilised in the learning process with the intention to support
the principle of student as producer. This will allow students to develop the critical
evaluation skills necessary for various financial and management techniques to support
the decision-making process. The primary learning support materials are text books, but
on-line sources, academic articles and periodicals are utilised extensively.

Study Time
Weekly sessions will share information and introduce concepts for the whole module.
Student will break into groups to discuss what is being learnt or to work on directed
activities. Directed reading and practical exercises will be assigned between sessions with
the aim of helping students to develop a deep, critical understanding of organisational and
board effectiveness and its application through self-study. Student-led activities will be
utilised in the learning process to support the principle of student as producer. Independent
Study will be required throughout the module to build on knowledge and activities delivered
in the weekly sessions.

There is extensive private study involved in this module in terms of both background
reading and carrying out practical exercises. As a general guide, you should expect to
devote a minimum of 10 hours of study per CATS point and so, for this 15 CATS point
module, you should expect to devote a minimum of 150 hours of study which means that
classroom contact represents a small minority of the minimum study time that you will need
to devote to this module.

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Financial Analysis, Appraisal and Decision Making (ACC9703M)

Module Delivery Total Hours

Lectures 11 Hours
Seminars 11 Hours
Workshops/ Discussion Boards/ 12 Hours
Revision sessions
Directed Study 16 Hours
Independent Study 100 Hours
Nominal Total (15 CATS) 150 Hours

Formative Feedback Strategy

Receiving formative feedback during your learning is essential to ensure you are
prepared for your final assessments. To support your learning throughout the module the
following formative feedback strategies are used:

• Assessment Workshops
• Dedicated assessment support lectures
• Feedback on seminar work

Assessment
The module is assessed by a presentation and report.

LO’s
Assessed
Assessment Method Weighting (%) Week Due
1 2 3 4 5
Presentation 60% 09/05/2025 x x x x x
Report 40% 09/05/2025 x x x x x

Weighted Assessments
1. Presentation (Appendix 2)
• 10 minutes
• 60% of the overall grade
2. Report (Appendix 2)
• 1,500 words
• 40% of the overall grade

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Financial Analysis, Appraisal and Decision Making (ACC9703M)

Detailed instructions for each of these assignments are also contained on the module’s
Blackboard page, under Assignment Guidelines.

Assessment Criteria Grids will be used to provide feedback on Blackboard and indicate
how marks will be allocated, examples are included in Appendix 3

Learning Resources
The recommended reading for this module are:

Atrill, P. and McLaney, E.J. (2017) Accounting and finance for non-specialists. Tenth
edition. Harlow, England: Pearson.

Atrill, P. and McLaney, E.J. (2015) Management accounting for decision makers. Eighth
edition. Harlow: Pearson.

CIMA (2005) CIMA official terminology. 2005 ed. Oxford: CIMA.

Drury, C. (2018) Management and cost accounting. 10th edition. Andover: Cengage
Learning.

Elliott, B. and Elliott, J. (2015) Financial accounting and reporting. Seventeenth edition.
Harlow, England: Pearson.

Gowthorpe, C. (2018) Business accounting and finance. Fourth edition. Australia:

Cengage.

Jones, M. (2013) Accounting. 3rd ed. Chichester: John Wiley. Leslie Breitner (2012)
Essentials of Accounting. Pearson Education; 11 edition.

McLaney, E.J. and ProQuest (Firm) (2017) Business finance [Eleventh edition]: theory and
practice. Eleventh edition. Harlow, England: Pearson Education Limited.

Weetman, P. (2016) Financial and management accounting: an introduction. Seventh

edition. Harlow: Pearson.

Wilks, C., Burke, L., and CIMA (2005) Management accounting: decision management.
Oxford: CIMA Publishing.

FAME database (n.d.) Available from https://guides.library.lincoln.ac.uk/fame.

Other more specific references are provided on the module Blackboard site and will be
signposted in class. You are also expected to read independently for this module. This
module requires that you follow the Harvard System of referencing.

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Financial Analysis, Appraisal and Decision Making (ACC9703M)

The Library (www.library.lincoln.ac.uk )

Our Subject Librarians are Martin Osborne and May Warren. They can assist you to use the
catalogue, do subject searches and so on. Contact details are:

Email: [email protected]
Room: University Library
Call: Microsoft Teams

If you cannot find Martin or May, any of the subject librarians will help you.

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 Financial Analysis, Appraisal and Decision Making (ACC9703M)

Schedule of Activity

Week W/C Lecture Topic Seminar Activity Reading

18 20/01/2025 Welcome Week
19 27/01/2025 Finding financial statements, stakeholders No Seminar Accounting and finance for non-specialists, Atrill, P & McLaney, E.J, 2022,
Pearson – Chapters 1
Elliott, B & Elliott, J, Financial accounting and reporting, (2019) Pearson,
Chapters 6-8
20 03/02/2025 Financial Statements, Elements Finance is Everywhere – Selecting a Accounting and finance for non-specialists, Atrill, P & McLaney, E.J, 2022,
company and initial investigation Pearson – Chapters 2 & 3
21 10/02/2025 Ratio Analysis Finance is Everywhere –investigation of Accounting and finance for non-specialists, Atrill, P & McLaney, E.J, 2022,
financial statements Pearson – Chapter 6
22 17/02/2025 Cashflow statement Finance is Everywhere – Financial Analysis Accounting and finance for non-specialists, Atrill, P & McLaney, E.J, 2022,
Pearson – Chapters 4 & 5
23 24/02/2025 Management Accounting & Budgeting Formative Assignment Brief 1 Accounting and finance for non-specialists, Atrill, P & McLaney, E.J, 2022,
Presentations Week Pearson – Chapters 7-9
24 03/03/2025 Independent Study Week 1

25 10/03/2025 Decision Making - Relevant Costing Formative Presentations week 2 Management and cost accounting, Drury, C 2020 Chapter 9

26 17/03/2025 Assignment Brief 2 Budgeting Business Finance, McLaney, E.J, 2016, Pearson – Chapters 4 - 7

27 24/03/2025 Relevant Costing Review Accounting and finance for non-specialists, Atrill, P & McLaney, E.J, 2022,
Risk & Uncertainty Pearson – Chapter 10
28 31/03/2025 Risk & Uncertainty question and discussion Accounting and finance for non-specialists, Atrill, P & McLaney, E.J, 2022,
Investment Appraisal Pearson – Chapters 11 & 12
29 07/04/2025 Investment Appraisal – Decision making Business Finance, McLaney, E.J, 2016, Pearson – Chapters 8 - 12
Finance, M&A
30 14/04/2025 Vacation

31 21/04/2025 Vacation

32 28/04/2025 Introduction to Governance Finance – a case study

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 Appendix 2: Assessment Brief

Module Code & Title: ACC9703M Financial Analysis, Appraisal And Decision Making
Contribution to Final Module Mark: 100%
Description of Assessment Task and Purpose: Description of Assessment Task and
Purpose: The assessment on this module comprises two elements:
• A ten minute video presentation
• A supporting 1,500 word report
Students are provided with a scenario, in which they are required to evaluate several options,
before preparing recommendations appropriate to the scenario
Presentation – A ten minute video presentation, which should be of a professional format
suitable for a management meeting. Visual aids may be used and the students may choose to
be visible or not in the presentation.
The presentation should not only make appropriate recommendations but provide a clear
justification for the recommendations.
Report – A 1,500 word report which is in a professional format, including an Executive
Summary. The report is based around the same scenario as the presentation and should
contain details and calculations which support the recommendations made in the presentation.
.
Learning Outcomes Assessed:
LO1 Critically examine and apply the concepts used in financial accounts
and reports, the regulatory and conceptual frameworks for financial reporting and good
corporate governance.
LO2 Critically appraise an organisation's financial performance and analyse its published financial
statements.
LO3 Evaluate different long-term or short-term decision-making techniques including consideration
of the concept of relevant costing.
LO4 Critically analyse capital investment decisions in light of the organisation's long-term strategies
and appraise the impact of risk and uncertainty on a variety of decision scenarios.
LO5 Prepare reports to boards and senior managers, evaluating and recommending options for
financial and strategic decision making.
Knowledge & Skills Assessed:
Subject Specific Knowledge, Skills and Understanding: Numeracy, Literature searching,
Referencing, Techniques and Skills Subject-specific knowledge.
Professional Graduate Skills: Independence and personal responsibility, adaptability, written
communication, critical thinking, IT skills, problem solving, effective time management,
working under pressure to meet deadlines.
Emotional Intelligence: e.g. self-awareness, self-management, motivation, resilience, self-
confidence.
Career-focused Skills: An understanding of the range of graduate careers, skills and
attributes required by employers, a range of strategies to present skills and attributes to
employers.
Assessment Submission Instructions:

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 You are required to submit both elements using Turnitin (report) Panopto (presentation)
before 12 noon on 09/05/2025 using the online assessment submission facility on the Module
Blackboard site. Pay careful attention to instructions provided at the time of submission.
Date for Return of Feedback: 02/06/2025
Format for Assessment:
The Presentation should be recorded and submitted through the submission site on
Blackboard. References used should be included in the reference list to the report.
The report is limited to 1,500 words. The word count includes everything in the main
body of the text (including headings, tables, citations, quotes etc.). It does not include
your reference list and appendices. The word count should be clearly stated on the first
page of the assignment.
You should also consider the following:
▪ Make sure that your full name and student registration number is clearly shown on
each page of your work and on the front sheet.
▪ Academic English (Use the spell and grammar checker (English UK))

Marking Criteria for Assessment: The assignment will be marked in line with the rubric
which can be found in the Assignment Brief on Blackboard

Please note that all work is assessed according to the University of Lincoln Management of
Assessment Policy and that marks awarded are provisional on Examination Board decisions (which
take place at the end of the Academic Year.

Assessment Support Information: Assessment Support can be found in the Assessment

Folder on Blackboard

Important Information on Dishonesty & Plagiarism:

University of Lincoln Regulations define plagiarism as 'the passing off of another person's
thoughts, ideas, writings or images as one's own... Examples of plagiarism include the
unacknowledged use of another person's material whether in original or summary form.
Plagiarism also includes the copying of another student's work'.

Plagiarism is a serious offence and is treated by the University as a form of academic

dishonesty. Students are directed to the University Regulations for details of the procedures
and penalties involved.

For further information, see plagiarism.org

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Lincoln International Business School
University of Lincoln Tel: +44 (0)1522 886644
Brayford Wharf East Fax: +44 (0)1522 886974
Lincoln, LN6 7TS Email: [email protected]

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