Objectives

The lecture introduces the IFRS standards used to account for financial instruments and discusses their informational impact on capital markets. After an introduction that will touch on the institutional background of the international harmonization process in financial reporting, we will focus on key accounting issues related to financial instruments. We will illustrate the effects using current accounting practices of multinational entities, go into major research findings and apply the knowledge to case studies from accounting practice. We will conclude the lecture by an assessment of the importance of accounting for corporate governance and controlling (inside perspective) and for capital-market-oriented financial statement analysis (outside perspective).

Students will

• develop an intuition for the economic consequences of financial reporting and the role that accounting information for financial instruments plays on capital markets,
• understand the special role of IFRS 9 on international capital markets,
• become familiar with the main accounting rules for financial instruments and their impact on financial statements

Contents

The bi-weekly lectures combine theoretical concepts and practical insights on IFRS application. We will discuss the content and the implications of relevant IFRS regulations related to financial instruments. Frequent examples, exercises and cases will further deepen the understanding of issues in the practical implementation of IFRS reports. In addition, these exercises intend to specifically prepare students for exam questions.

The course is organized three main parts:

(1) Introduction to Financial Instruments Accounting

(2) Financial Assets

(3) Equity and Liabilities

You find a more detailed outline in the course schedule on Moodle (forthcoming)

References

Complementary Readings (voluntary):

Picker, R. et al. (2016): Applying IFRS Standards, 4th edition, Chichester, West Sussex / UK: John Wiley & Sons. ISBN: 978-1119159223 (print), 978-1119250777 (electronic).

Ernst & Young (2020): International GAAP 2020, 15th edition, Chichester, West Sussex / UK: John Wiley & Sons. ISBN: 978-1119669944 (print), 978-1119669968 (electronic).

Text Version of IFRS Standards

The official version of the standards is available for free through http://eifrs.ifrs.org/eifrs/UnaccompaniedIfrs after registration and will be made available on Moodle. In addition there will be a printed collection of all relevant IFRS available via the “Repro” for purchase.

Suggested alternatives (for purchase):

— IASB (2020): IFRS Standards, London / UK: IFRS Foundation. ISBN: 978-1-911629-46-7. (eIFRS access is available through shop.ifrs.org.)

— Wiley (2020). International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) 2020, Weinheim: Wiley-VCH. ISBN: 978-3-527-51029-0.

Evaluation

First attempt

Exam:

Written 1h30 hours

Documentation:

Allowed

Calculator:

Allowed

Evaluation:

A successful completion of the course will earn you 3 ECTS. Grading is based on your performance in the final written exam (100%).

Retake

Exam:

Written 1h30 hours

Documentation:

Allowed

Calculator:

Allowed

Evaluation:

A successful completion of the course will earn you 3 ECTS. Grading is based on your performance in the final written exam (100%).

IFRS standards are allowed during the exam in the following three versions: You are free to bring the IASB edition (only Part A, the standard without illustrative examples and basis for conclusion) or the Wiley edition to our exam. Alternatively, there will be a collection of all relevant IFRS standards for this course available from the “Repro” that is also allowed during the exam.