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Unit information: Empirical Accounting and Finance in 2021/22

Please note: you are viewing unit and programme information for a past academic year. Please see the current academic year for up to date information.

Unit name Empirical Accounting and Finance
Unit code EFIMM0093
Credit points 15
Level of study M/7
Teaching block(s) Teaching Block 2 (weeks 13 - 24)
Unit director Dr. Shan
Open unit status Not open
Pre-requisites

Nil

Co-requisites

Nil

School/department School of Accounting and Finance - Business School
Faculty Faculty of Social Sciences and Law

Description including Unit Aims

The aim of this unit is to introduce students to doing quantitative empirical research in accounting and finance. The first part of the unit covers principles of conducting accounting and finance research, doing the literature review and working with Stata and with financial databases. The second part of the unit focuses on practical implementation of selected quantitative research methodologies, with a focus on cross-sectional and panel data techniques. In the unit, the students are exposed to leading empirical research in various areas of accounting and finance and learn how to develop their own research project, with an emphasis on critical assessment of the existing theoretical and empirical literature, obtaining and organising data, analysing it with relevant methods and techniques using econometric software and writing up the results in a formal fashion. This unit prepares students to work on a quantitative empirical accounting or corporate finance dissertation in the summer.

Intended Learning Outcomes

By the end of the course, students will have to:

1) Critically apply available empirical methods in accounting and finance;

2) Discuss the limitations of such quantitative methods;

3) Do a literature review;

4) Analyse, using special software, different quantitative models related to accounting and finance;

5) Assess the economic significance of the outputs of the aforementioned quantitative methods applied to different datasets;

6) Reflect on potential new problems and ideas that could be addressed with the quantitative methods applied on the course.

Teaching Information

Teaching will be delivered through a combination of synchronous and asynchronous sessions including lectures, tutorials, drop-in sessions, discussion boards and other online learning opportunities

Assessment Information

This unit will be assessed by group coursework 50% and individual coursework 50%

Resources

If this unit has a Resource List, you will normally find a link to it in the Blackboard area for the unit. Sometimes there will be a separate link for each weekly topic.

If you are unable to access a list through Blackboard, you can also find it via the Resource Lists homepage. Search for the list by the unit name or code (e.g. EFIMM0093).

How much time the unit requires
Each credit equates to 10 hours of total student input. For example a 20 credit unit will take you 200 hours of study to complete. Your total learning time is made up of contact time, directed learning tasks, independent learning and assessment activity.

See the Faculty workload statement relating to this unit for more information.

Assessment
The Board of Examiners will consider all cases where students have failed or not completed the assessments required for credit. The Board considers each student's outcomes across all the units which contribute to each year's programme of study. If you have self-certificated your absence from an assessment, you will normally be required to complete it the next time it runs (this is usually in the next assessment period).
The Board of Examiners will take into account any extenuating circumstances and operates within the Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes.

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