The purpose of this module is to present the regulatory, legislative and governance requirements for financial reporting. The assertions contained in the resulting financial statements are challenged by the student availing of the principles of auditing to determine the adequacy of accompanying disclosures. In this way, the student comprehends the audit process led by a accounting professional as underpinning the credibility of the financial reporting process. As business transactions, be it local or global, rely hugely on this credibility, the role of the accountant as a responsible and ethical professional is emphasised.

Knowledge is imparted through lectures and tutorials and the completion of a case study requiring an analysis of the annual report of an assigned publicly traded company. The first series of lectures covers accounting regulation and its conceptual underpinning of accrual basis, going concern and accounting policies relating to revenue recognition and fair value. This is followed by lectures covering auditing principles and concepts, the internal control system(ICS) and auditing procedures that examine the ICS and finally the auditor's opinion. A third series of lectures introduces corporate governance, its key functions of accountability, responsibilty and transparency and the governance mechanisms that deliver corporate transparency. Study of the audit-performance expectations gap with an emphasis on professional and ethicial reponsibilities of the auditor completes the module.

• Differentiate the regulatory, legislative, conceptual and governance frameworks that impact the preparation of financial reporting. • Analyse the narrative content in the corporate Annual Report in determining adequacy of disclosures. • Identify the governance mechanisms that deliver corporate transparency and thereby lend credibility to financial reporting; • Evaluate the internal control system(ICS) using substantive testing prescribed in auditing procedures. • Justify the appropriate auditor's opinion in a given set of circumstances • List appropriate audit procedures in challenging specific audit assertions

• Recognise the gap between society's expectations of auditing and what is reasonably expected of auditors. • Relate the auditor's opinion as a manifestation of professional judgement with responsible and ethical behaviour expected of today's accounting professional.

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The student will be made aware from the outset of recent corporate scandals and their implications for accounting regulation, the audit process, public accountability, corporate transparency and business ethics. In addition to introducing the key influences of both accounting regulation and auditing procedures on financial information, the module endeavours to generate confidence in and high expectations for a successful career as an accounting professional. This is achieved by examining determinants of useful information found in the conceptual framework that provide the competence necessary for performing in a principles-based environment. The comprehension of this conceptual underpinning is progressed in the case study in which teams of students working collaboratively attempt to produce a professional judgement regarding corporate compliance. Study of the audit-performance expectations gap is designed to generate discussion on the professional and ethical responsibilities of the auditor. As students on completing this module compete for summer internships with accounting firms, the module aspires to producing knowledgeable students who can contribute.