COURSE
NUMBER: MBA223.1
This course
is cross-listed with the EWMBA Program.
COURSE
TITLE: Corporate Financial Reporting
UNITS OF
CREDIT: 3 units
INSTRUCTOR:
Alastair Lawrence
E-MAIL
ADDRESS: lawrence@haas.berkeley.edu
CLASS WEB
PAGE LOCATION: http://bspace.berkeley.edu
MEETING
DAY(S)/TIME: Wednesdays, 6:00 – 9:30 PM
PREREQUISITE(S):
MBA202
CLASS FORMAT: Interactive class discussions,
presentations, and lectures.
REQUIRED READINGS: Current financial statements from
publicly-listed companies, textbook, and assigned readings.
BASIS
FOR FINAL GRADE: Class participation, presentations, term project, and final
exam.
ABSTRACT
OF COURSE’S CONTENT AND OBJECTIVES:
Prior to going public this year, Facebook Inc. (NASDAQ:
FB) reported a net income of exactly $1,000,000,000.00 for the 2011 fiscal
year. Was the $1,000,000,000.00 a coincidence and if not, how did Facebook Inc.
manage to report this net income number?
In this course, we will answer such questions and will go
through at least 25 financial statements of publicly-listed companies to learn
the subjectivity inherent in applying accounting standards, and hence,
appreciate that companies’ financial performance cannot always be taken at
face value. This course is an extremely practical course aimed at expanding
participants’ abilities to analyze and interpret financial statements from the
perspectives of external users.
The skills developed in this course will be readily
applicable to all facets of business and essential for those who want to be
astute users of financial information. We will not get bogged down with debits
and credits but rather focus on the flexibility permitted by accounting
standards and how such flexibility can affect the reported financial
statements. While the skills developed are valuable for every MBA student, they
are particularly relevant for the careers in consulting, finance, investing,
private equity, and upper management. Moreover, the skills developed will also
be applicable to the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) program.
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH: Alastair joined Haas last year after
obtaining his PhD from the University of Toronto. Prior to academics, he worked
for Ernst and Young LLP specializing in financial reporting for the high-tech
and financial industries. Alastair had a great time teaching Corporate
Financial Reporting in 2012 and looks forward to another very interactive class
in 2013. Alastair encourages those who have questions about the course to
stop by his office (F492) as he would be happy to answer those questions.