Postgraduate Courses

On successful completion of the course, students will be able to:

• 1.
  Compare and contrast the balance sheet, income statement, and statement of cash flows.
• 2.
  Explain the economic environment of corporate financial reporting.
• 3.
  Infer economic events from financial statements.
• 4.
  Analyze a company’s financial health and provide a reasoned basis for the conclusions.
• 5.
  Adjust financial statements to make them more useful for decision making needs.
• 6.
  Recognize the most common cases of accounting frauds.
• 7.
  Describe the most common trading rules based on accounting information.

On successful completion of the course, students will be able to:

• 1.
  Use alternative measures of profitability and financial ratios to evaluate firm performance and identify investment targets.
• 2.
  Use financial ratios and price multiples to determine the timing of investment.
• 3.
  Use financial ratios to forecast financial statements and conduct credit analysis.
• 4.
  Understand how managers can use discretions in accounting method choices and estimates to influence financial statements and how to make adjustment to conduct meaningful comparisons.
• 5.
  Understand the difference between net income and cash flow from operations and how to use it and other indicators to detect accounting manipulation.

On successful completion of the course, students will be able to:

• 1.
  Compare and contrast the balance sheets, income statements, statements of shareholders’ equity, and statements of cash flows.
• 2.
  Explain the economic environment of corporate financial reporting.
• 3.
  Infer economic events from financial statements.
• 4.
  Analyze a company’s financial health and provide a reasoned basis for the conclusions.
• 5.
  Adjust financial statements to make them more useful for decision making needs.
• 6.
  Recognize the most common cases of accounting frauds.
• 7.
  Describe the most common trading rules based on accounting information.

On successful completion of the course, students will be able to:

• 1.
  Think critically and creatively and use analytical and quantitative techniques to make effective decisions.
• 2.
  Explain the financial accounting frameworks.
• 3.
  Use financial accounting information sophisticatedly, interpret financial strategies, assess financial risk and analyze financial accounting choices made by managers.
• 4.
  Recognize the international dimensions of accounting.
• 5.
  Define the role played by accountants in providing and ensuring the integrity of financial and related information.
• 6.
  Describe the accounting environment in Hong Kong.
• 7.
  Identify ethical challenges, creative accounting, and earnings management issues, and develop ethical and social responsibility.

On successful completion of the course, students will be able to:

• 1.
  Think critically and creatively and use analytical and quantitative techniques to make effective decisions.
• 2.
  Explain the financial accounting frameworks.
• 3.
  Use financial accounting information sophisticatedly, interpret financial strategies, assess financial risk and analyze financial accounting choices made by managers.
• 4.
  Recognize the international dimensions of accounting.
• 5.
  Define the role played by accountants in providing and ensuring the integrity of financial and related information.
• 6.
  Identify ethical challenges, creative accounting, and earnings management issues, and develop ethical and social responsibility.

On successful completion of the course, students will be able to:

• 1.
  Apply International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRSs) for:
  a) consolidating the financial statements of parent and subsidiary companies, including those subsidiaries which are wholly-owned and partially-owned;
  b) reporting investment in other companies using equity accounting;
  c) translating foreign currency transactions and operations, and reporting the effect on financial statements.
• 2.
  Discuss financial reporting practices by referring to the Conceptual Framework.
• 3.
  Explain the international dimensions of accounting.
• 4.
  Assess financial strategies and risk management policies of business entities with inter-corporate investments that convey control and/or significant influence and cross-border activities.
• 5.
  Demonstrate the roles of accountants in providing and ensuring the integrity of financial and related information.
• 6.
  Identify ethical challenges, creative accounting, and earnings management issues, and point out ethical and social responsibility of entities.
• 7.
  Analyze financial reporting issues, and propose and explain solutions thereof, in a team environment.

On successful completion of the course, students will be able to:

• 1.
  Interpret and explain cost concepts and related terms.
• 2.
  Interpret cost-volume-profit analysis.
• 3.
  Estimate the cost and price of a product.
• 4.
  Apply core managerial accounting information to strategic decision making.
• 5.
  Identify the internal budgeting process.
• 6.
  Construct cost management tools such as Activity-Based Costing.
• 7.
  Organize managerial accounting information to conduct performance evaluations.
• 8.
  Identify managerial accounting information as a competitive tool.

On successful completion of the course, students will be able to:

• 1.
  Facilitate students to topics related to treasury management and its international issues.
• 2.
  Expose students to working capital management and related international financial management issues.
• 3.
  Facilitate students to financial statement issues related foreign currency translation in consolidated financial statements and inflation restatement in price level changes.
• 4.
  Expose students to international transfer pricing issues related to international duty and tax.
• 5.
  Expose students to management internal control and risk management issues in international field.
• 6.
  Facilitate students to management control related to international management accounting issues.

On successful completion of the course, students will be able to:

• 1.
  Differentiate implications for firms operating under various influence and control situations.
• 2.
  Recognize the latest financial reporting rules for M&A deals.
• 3.
  List tax structuring and tax implications of M&A deals.
• 4.
  Analyze M&A risk management including earn-outs, contingent value rights, and collars.

On successful completion of the course, students will be able to:

• 1.
  Describe the major types and key functions of financial institutions.
• 2.
  Analyze financial statements and accounting practices of banks.
• 3.
  Evaluate regulatory compliance and financial performance of banks.
• 4.
  Assess bank valuation and identify key factors.
• 5.
  Be familiar with bank risk management framework and practices.

On successful completion of the course, students will be able to:

• 1.
  Recognize the basic principles of Hong Kong taxation and operation of the tax system.
• 2.
  Compute the tax liabilities for individuals and companies.
• 3.
  Explain the tax implications of transactions on business activities.
• 4.
  Apply their tax knowledge to tax cases and in real-life contexts.

On successful completion of the course, students will be able to:

• 1.
  Apply the framework of strategic tax planning.
• 2.
  Analyze how taxes impact choices of organizational forms.
• 3.
  Evaluate the role of tax in corporate investment and financing decisions.
• 4.
  Analyze cross-border tax planning opportunities for multinationals.
• 5.
  Explain the ethics of tax planning.

On successful completion of the course, students will be able to:

• 1.
  Describe the auditing profession, and the regulatory, legal and reporting framework of auditing.
• 2.
  Recognize the basic principles, objectives and ethical requirements of audit and assurance services.
• 3.
  Identify the audit process from client acceptance, design of audit procedures and recommend an appropriate audit conclusion based on the audit evidence obtained.
• 4.
  Assess risks and threats to an audit of financial statements through analytical and critical thinking.
• 5.
  Communicate effectively in writing and verbally.

On successful completion of the course, students will be able to:

• 1.
  Apply the legal knowledge studied to situations they are likely to encounter in their daily life and future careers.
• 2.
  Recognize the importance of different functional areas of the law, and solve legal and business problems critically and creatively by referring to the well-established cases and ordinances.
• 3.
  Recognize the importance of the law of professional negligence and duty of care on the part of the accountants and auditors, and become a responsible and capable member of the accounting profession.
• 4.
  Develop selected skills like analytical and critical thinking, effective communication and team work through the group project and presentation.
• 5.
  Recognize the importance of ethical responsibility, identify the ethical dilemmas, apply the ethical standards and recognize the consequences of breaching the ethical standards.
• 6.
  Recognize the importance of ethical responsibility and corporate social responsibility in the context of Chinese business ethics.

On successful completion of the course, students will be able to:

• 1.
  Explain the documents that lay down the features of a company and its internal procedures, and evaluate whether they can be altered.
• 2.
  Explain the role of key personnel in the management and administration of a company, and judge their rights and obligations.
• 3.
  Apply the rules in relation to company meetings.
• 4.
  Explain legal considerations and apply the legal rules in raising share or loan capital.
• 5.
  Explain the schemes of arrangement and apply the Codes on Takeovers and Mergers and Share Buy-backs.
• 6.
  Explain the law in relation to commencement, conduct and consequences of winding up and apply the avoidance powers.
• 7.
  Explain the role, structure, duties, powers and procedures of some important external bodies in relation to the work of an accountant.

On successful completion of the course, students will be able to:

• 1.
  Describe the background of development of corporate governance, and its importance to the sustainability of businesses by way of protecting stakeholders’ interests.
• 2.
  Explain the objectives and roles of directors, accountants and other responsible persons in the corporate governance system, and how stakeholders’ interests can be protected under different corporate governance theories and models.
• 3.
  Comply with the legal and regulatory framework for governance of companies in Hong Kong, while acknowledging recent developments in China and other countries.
• 4.
  Promulgate corporate governance principles and best practice.
• 5.
  Apply probity and ethical standards in governance.
• 6.
  Assert the value and importance of internal control functions and risk management to sound corporate governance.
• 7.
  Explain corporate social responsibility and its emerging importance to modern businesses, and recent developments in related corporate governance practice.

On successful completion of the course, students will be able to:

• 1.
  Explain and define the nature and role of data analytics and its application in accounting and business.
• 2.
  Explain and define issues related to big data and how to utilize big data.
• 3.
  Apply data mining modeling, analysis, and visualization techniques to solve accounting and business issues.
• 4.
  Utilize data analytics application(s) to perform and develop skills in business analysis.
• 5.
  Diagnose problems and issues by using big data to make responsible and ethical decisions.

On successful completion of the course, students will be able to:

• 1.
  Describe and apply knowledge and accounting applications on common ERP capabilities - collection, cleaning and analysis of data.
• 2.
  Identify common data analytics challenges and risks in accounting issues.
• 3.
  Utilize and apply accounting data analytics and its applications on modeling patterns of data, and identifying outliers and anomalies.
• 4.
  Apply and evaluate accounting analytics techniques on analysis for fraudulent activities in corporations.
• 5.
  Identify and incorporate accounting analytics technology and options for visualizations.
• 6.
  Identify and explain accounting issues in decision making in the data age - the future of data analytics in accounting.

On successful completion of the course, students will be able to:

• 1.
  Describe the current landscape and challenges of the asset management industry.
• 2.
  Explain the philosophy, theory, and process of quantitative equity investing.
• 3.
  Evaluate the performance of equity funds and investment strategies.
• 4.
  Be familiar with multifactor stock-selection models.
• 5.
  Identify the potential applications of machine learning technology in equity investment.
• 6.
  Design and develop quantitative investment strategies.
• 7.
  Conduct backtests on quantitative strategies and evaluate their performance.

On successful completion of the course, students will be able to:

• 1.
  Describe the history of blockchain technology and its recent development.
• 2.
  Explain the technical details of blockchain/distributed ledger technology including consensus mechanisms.
• 3.
  Identify real-world applications of blockchain technology.
• 4.
  Understand smart contracts.
• 5.
  Recognize regulations on cryptocurrency.

On successful completion of the course, students will be able to:

• 1.
  Understand and apply fundamental concepts and analytical tools related to ESG and corporate sustainability.
• 2.
  Analyze and evaluate the strategies and practices of leading companies in sustainable supply chain management, ESG ratings and investing, ESG disclosure, and sustainability reporting.
• 3.
  Understand the science and public policy underlining climate change and apply the corporate strategies for mitigating and adapting to climate change.
• 4.
  Identify and assess the driving forces behind ESG adoption and expansion at the levels of individual firms, specific industries, and an industrializing country as a whole.
• 5.
  Evaluate and rate the ESG practices and reporting of a China-based listed company, while offering innovative and practical solutions for improvement.

On successful completion of the course, students will be able to:

• 1.
  Demonstrate a sound grasp of the literature in their specialization.
• 2.
  Apply their specialized knowledge to solve related business problems in an innovative fashion.
• 3.
  Demonstrate a broad based knowledge of core business functions.
• 4.
  Integrate functional knowledge to solve business problems within their area of specialization.
• 5.
  Present their discipline knowledge clearly to layman.

On successful completion of the course, students will be able to:

• 1.
  Demonstrate a sound grasp of the literature in their specialization.
• 2.
  Apply their specialized knowledge to solve related business problems in an innovative fashion.
• 3.
  Demonstrate a broad based knowledge of core business functions.
• 4.
  Integrate functional knowledge to solve business problems within their area of specialization.
• 5.
  Present their discipline knowledge clearly to layman.

On successful completion of the course, students will be able to:

• 1.
  Demonstrate a sound grasp of the literature in their specialization.
• 2.
  Apply their specialized knowledge to solve related business problems in an innovative fashion.
• 3.
  Demonstrate a broad based knowledge of core business functions.
• 4.
  Integrate functional knowledge to solve business problems within their area of specialization.
• 5.
  Present their discipline knowledge clearly to layman.

On successful completion of the course, students will be able to:

• 1.
  Demonstrate a sound grasp of the literature in their specialization.
• 2.
  Apply their specialized knowledge to solve related business problems in an innovative fashion.
• 3.
  Demonstrate a broad based knowledge of core business functions.
• 4.
  Integrate functional knowledge to solve business problems within their area of specialization.
• 5.
  Present their discipline knowledge clearly to layman.

On successful completion of the course, students will be able to:

• 1.
  Demonstrate a sound grasp of the literature in their specialization.
• 2.
  Apply their specialized knowledge to solve related business problems in an innovative fashion.
• 3.
  Demonstrate a broad based knowledge of core business functions.
• 4.
  Integrate functional knowledge to solve business problems within their area of specialization.
• 5.
  Present their discipline knowledge clearly to layman.

On successful completion of the course, students will be able to:

• 1.
  Demonstrate a sound grasp of the literature in their specialization.
• 2.
  Apply their specialized knowledge to solve related business problems in an innovative fashion.
• 3.
  Demonstrate a broad based knowledge of core business functions.
• 4.
  Integrate functional knowledge to solve business problems within their area of specialization.
• 5.
  Present their discipline knowledge clearly to layman.

On successful completion of the course, students will be able to:

• 1.
  Demonstrate a sound grasp of the literature in their specialization.
• 2.
  Apply their specialized knowledge to solve related business problems in an innovative fashion.
• 3.
  Demonstrate a broad based knowledge of core business functions.
• 4.
  Integrate functional knowledge to solve business problems within their area of specialization.
• 5.
  Present their discipline knowledge clearly to layman.