The major sources of information on which to base judgements on borrowing capacity, liquidity, managerial effectiveness, and investment potential remain the financial statements of an organisation. This unit is a result of the claim made by Foster, an authority in the finance field, that developments in the fields of accounting, economics, finance and statistics (as they relate to financial statement analysis) are understood well enough to permit financial statement analysis to be studied intensively.

This unit examines the theory and application of information technology on the accounting discipline. It covers principles of systems analysis, design and database management relating to accounting information systems. The functions, control, data and processes of accounting information systems are discussed in the context of businesses. The communication of accounting information through the internet or intranet and the development of integrated systems is also explored.

The goal of this unit is to identify the accounting issues that arise from the various forms of corporate organisation and how these translate into disclosure issues for financial reporting purposes. The unit includes company formation and liquidation; accounting for a group of related companies and other associated entities includig partnerships, joint ventures and trusts.

The fundamental of any management accounting system in organization is to provide appropriate information for (1) costing of products and services; (2) support functions - planning, controlling, evaluation, continuous improvement and decision making and (3) competitive support - focuses on the provision of both financial and non-financial services to the management team to enhance the firm's competitiveness. This unit is designed to provide an overview in understanding all these areas of information.