COURSE NUMBER: MBA223.1
This
course is cross-listed with the EWMBA Program
COURSE TITLE: Corporate Financial Reporting
UNITS OF CREDIT: 3 units
INSTRUCTOR: Maria E. Nondorf
E-MAIL ADDRESS: nondorf@haas.berkeley.edu
CLASS WEB PAGE LOCATION: http://bspace.berkeley.edu
MEETING DAY(S)/TIME: Monday, 6:00– 9:30 PM
PREREQUISITE(S): MBA 202
CLASS FORMAT:
Each topic will be introduced using a lecture/discussion
format. The material will be illustrated by reference to actual financial
statements and by solving one or more basic problems. We will then use a
combination of cases, articles, and more sophisticated problems to solidify
your understanding of the concepts and to enhance your ability to analyze the
relevant financial statement disclosures.
REQUIRED READINGS:
Course reader (a textbook is supplemental [Revsine,
Collins, Johnson, and Mittelstaedt, Financial
Reporting and Analysis, Fourth Edition, McGraw-Hill Irwin, 2009])
BASIS FOR FINAL
GRADE:
ABSTRACT OF COURSE’S CONTENT AND OBJECTIVES:
The objective of this course is to provide you with the
skills to become a sophisticated reader and user of corporate financial
statements. As such, the focus will be on understanding and analyzing the
statements and supporting notes, rather than on preparing them. Given
today’s economic environment, the power to understand complex transactions will
be enhanced by your ability to analyze the accounting for these
transactions. Through this course, we move away from detailed accounting
mechanics so that you will be able to effectively utilize accounting data as an
important source of information about a company and its business
activities. The four general themes of the course are (1) Accounting
Information and its Interaction with Economic Performance; (2) Accounting and
the Scope of the Firm; (3) The Role of Accounting in Financing and Risk
Management Decisions; and (4) Financial Reporting and Corporate
Governance. Topics to be covered include the quality of earnings and
earnings management, the accounting and reporting of mergers and acquisitions,
off-balance sheet arrangements (including leases and pensions), derivatives and
hedging, stock options and other incentives, and international financial
reporting standards.
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH:
Professor Nondorf joined the faculty at the Haas School of
Business from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where she
received her Ph.D. in 2003. She is the Faculty Director of the Center for
Financial Reporting and Management at Haas.
Her research focuses on the impact of accounting on the manner in which
firms structure transactions, particularly corporate financing transactions
such as mergers and acquisitions. Prior to receiving her Ph.D., Professor
Nondorf was a senior manager in the Corporate Finance Transaction Services
Group of PriceWaterhouseCoopers in New York,
NY.