Because of the COVID-19 limitations, the course may have to be held

• on-line only. In this case a short (technical) introduction will be held prior to October 7/9 and the final exam will be split into preparing a paper of approx. 3 pages (15%) and an oral on-line exam (20%) or as
• split sessions with approx. half of the students attending the classes in person and half from home/on-line. A decision on the interim and final exam format will be made as the course progresses and the restrictions (if any) become known.

The course provides participants with an overview of accounting and reporting for (international) SME groups by introducing students to the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) at a high-level. The accounting requirements will be complemented by introducing the IT and reporting system requirements as well as the internal and external auditing requirements. It will deal with matters of international (income) taxation and the concept of group taxation. Finally, an overview of applicable corporate governance standards and practices will be presented. The more recent initiatives around non-financial information will be addressed.

• Accounting & Controlling Systems: Purpose & Goals, Set up, Reporting Requirements, Review and Monitoring,
• International Accounting Standards: Overview and High-Level Comparison to Austrian GAAP
• Auditing: Internal & External Auditing, Structure and Use
• Cross Border Taxation: Withholding Taxes, Double Taxation Agreements, Taxation of Groups of Companies
• Governance in International SME Groups
• Reporting of non-financial information and the (internal) approval process

• Students will obtain a high-level knowledge of the key concepts and elements of corporate financial reporting under IFRS; they will learn about the preparation and structure of IFRS financial statements and notes and the underlying accounting and controlling system requirements.
• Students will gain practice-relevant knowledge in the areas of internal and external auditing, cross-border taxation, non-financial reporting and corporate governance.
• Students completing this course will be able to assess the complexities of financial reporting, auditing, taxation and governance in international SME groups

Full attendance is obviously recommended, with a  75% minimum overall. Therefore, participants may miss a maximum of one (full) session.

The course consists of lectures, short home assignments, presentations by students to be challenged and peer-evaluated by other students. The lectures serve to explain the key concepts of the subject matters and their application in practice and are supplemented by the Home Assignments which will introduce the format and style of questions to be expected at the interim and final exam. For each of the classes from week 2 to 5 and 7 all or some (depending on the number of) students will be asked to prepare and hand in approx. 5 topics / questions no later than the evening of the day before class and should be prepared to share their research in class.

The 6-8 presentation topics will be assigned to groups of 2 to 4 students to be presented in class 6 (or 7 if needed) for a duration of approx. 15-20 minutes. There will be an opportunity to discuss the presentations with the instructor prior to the presentation. The pre-final presentation slides or texts are due on Sunday evening before the presentation will be held in class for the instructor to have a final review and the challengers / peer evaluators to prepare. Each student will get to challenge at least one, more likely two other presentations by reading the respective presentation and preparing and presenting meaningful challenges (comments, questions, cross-functional views, etc) and to finally submit a peer evaluation on the colleagues´ presentation.

It is expected that students actively engage during class.

• 15% (150 points) Interim test on IFRS (which may have to be held as an on-line test)
• 15% (150 points)Home assignments and course participation
• 35% (350 points)Presentation and Challenges including the peer-evaluation
• 35% (350 points)Final Exam (or 15% paper, 20% oral on-line exam)

On each of the examinations (interim, presentation, final) a minimum score of 25% of the possible points is required to pass the course. Overall, a 75%weighted attendance is required to obtain a passing grade.

E-Mail: ekandler@ekwp.at