Accounting, Controlling and Finance Department

The students know the theoretical basics, functions, terms and legal parameters of accounting.  They understand how it is integrated in the business environment.

They become acquainted with accounting systems and booking techniques. They understand basic accounting procedures, from the opening balance sheet to the closing balance sheet, and are able to apply this knowledge to basic accounting procedures themselves. 

The students acquire basic knowledge about balance sheets and profit and loss statements (P&L) as elementary components of the annual financial statement of a company. They are proficient in the key corporate targets of ‘success’ and ‘liquidity’ and are able to explain and interpret the relationships between the income statement, cash flow statement and balance sheet. Students can determine and interpret target figures using the accounting skills they have acquired in case studies. These case studies are worked on in small groups, enabling students to gain experience in how to organize and divide up the work in a team. The students practice self-management by preparing for the classes and following up afterward. They develop teamwork, conflict and decision-making skills by working on accounting case studies in small groups.

The students will:

• know the basic terms of management accounting
• are able to describe the process of management accounting
• know the subsections and systems of management accounting and are able to explain the main similarities and differences
• know how to calculate the production and prime costs of cost units and contribution margins using suitable methods and to evaluate the results appropriately
• are able to use the instruments of management accounting for fundamental operational aspects as information, decision-making, and control instruments
• are able to develop and evaluate solution options for more complex cases in group work, by making use of the theoretical foundations and convincingly justify and present the chosen solution
• improve their skills in in how to organize and divide up the work in a team and solve problems together

The students obtain a systematic, application-oriented overview of the most important methods and instruments of corporate finance. They know and understand the relationships between investment and financing, including investment and financial planning. They know static and dynamic investment calculation methods and are able to apply them. The students are familiar with the possibilities and limitations of the income approach (EWV) and discounted cash flow method in business valuation. They understand the fundamental alternatives of raising capital and are able to evaluate them.

They are also able to follow and assess current financial developments, solve comprehensive tasks solved in a group based on the division of labor, and present results in a clear and precise manner.

The students will:

• Get a systematic, application-oriented overview of the most important methods and instruments of corporate finance
• Be able to identify the correlation between finance and investment including investment and financial planning
• Be able to explain and assess static and dynamic investment calculation methods
• Be able to explain and assess the fundamental alternatives of raising capital

Building on the knowledge of accounting acquired so far, students are enabled to recognize, solve, and assess the main problems of the recognition and valuation in commercial financial statements. The students become acquainted with the authoritative principle and some of the significant recognition and valuation differences. Building on this, they are able to identify and justify the need for deferred taxes on a case-by-case basis. Their knowledge of accounting enables them to understand the interrelationships between the balance sheet, profit and loss statement, and cash flow statement, and to draw well-founded conclusions from this for financial statement policy measures and final analysis.

The students acquire the ability to systematically and quickly grasp changes in accounting standards, to evaluate articles on them in professional journals, and to substantiate their conclusions in discussions.

The students have a systematic, application-oriented overview of the most important methods and instruments of operative controlling. They know the tasks, concepts, and instruments, along with important planning, control, and coordination instruments of operative controlling and are able to explain and apply them in application-oriented case studies. The students understand budgeting and deviation analysis, and approaches and instruments of cost management and financial planning and are able to apply them. They know the possibilities for the structure and design of reporting as well as key figures and performance measurement systems.

Working on the case studies integrated in the course supports the students in analyzing and structuring questions in the field of operative controlling and in developing discipline-specific solutions. The intensive discussion of the solutions with fellow students and in the classroom, along with the feedback of the lecturers support the students in organizing and dividing up the work in a team and in systematizing and comprehensively evaluating complex issues. In doing so, they recognize operational conflicts, identify acceptable solutions, and are able to justify them.

The students have a systematic, application-oriented overview of the areas of responsibility, methods, and instruments of strategic controlling. They know how to ensure the achievement of project objectives through controlling and implement this themselves in application-oriented case studies. They understand how the implementation of corporate strategies can be ensured using performance measurement. They are able to design performance measurement systems and processes using case studies or real company situations and implement them in everyday company business. In addition, they have knowledge of current trends in strategic controlling, such as big data or developments in the field of strategic early warning or eco-efficiency analyses for the economic and ecological evaluation of strategies.

Working independently on case studies fosters the students’ ability to assess and make decisions in addition to their independence. This enables them to analyze, assess, and control complex issues in companies.

After successful completion of the Marketing Controlling course, the students have a systematic, application-oriented overview of the tasks, methods, and instruments of marketing controlling. They are able to categorize practical problems using the methodological toolkit of strategic and operative marketing controlling, to analyze them in a scientifically sound manner, and to develop and implement solutions for concrete problems. In doing so, they make particular use of the instruments and methods of product, price, communication, and distribution controlling.

The students know the different forms of financing and recognize the respective variations and differences. They know the advantages and disadvantages of the respective financing alternatives and are able to adequately differentiate between them, assess them, and apply them in concrete business situations. For their work in the future, they will be able to make financing decisions by weighing the advantages and disadvantages of the respective alternatives. They are able to assess the respective company situation and develop and present financing concepts.

The students train their self-management by preparing for and following up on the lectures. They discuss critically in small groups, have to come to a result or a solution and present it to the class in an appropriate way while defending their point of view. On the basis of current case studies, the students learn the necessity of financing models. They apply decision-making skills to problems in corporate financing and are able to differentiate and increase their ability to deal with conflicts by developing and applying optimization possibilities.

The students are able to assess positions in bonds and shares and to identify, interpret, and draw appropriate conclusions from significant correlations in the analysis and assessment of securities portfolios. They learn to analyze, assess, and synthesize expectations-related product types linking several risk factors.

By working on case studies in groups, the students are enabled to apply their comprehensive knowledge and methodological skills and to strengthen their ability to work in a team. The subsequent presentation of the results by the members of the groups further develops the students’ presentation skills, and the results of the group work is discussed and critically examined with the audience.

The students know the functions of banks and the regulations that are essential for conducting banking transactions. They also know the structures of the banking system and the structures of financial oversight at both the national and European levels, and they are able to explain and assess these structures. The students know important banking transactions, recognize the risks resulting from them, and are able to quantify and control these risks and determine the equity capital backing required for these risks. The students know suitable financial derivatives and how they work to manage banking risks.

The students have broad specialized knowledge that enables them to identify problems in both specialist and staff departments of banks, to develop solutions to them and assess them while taking various aspects into account. The students recognize problems in the banking market, and are able to analyze and assess them and formulate proposals for solving these problems. They are aware of the networked interaction of business, economic, legal, and mathematical problems and are able to analyze this.

By working on case studies in groups, students are enabled to apply their comprehensive knowledge and methodological skills and to strengthen their ability to work in a team. The subsequent presentation of the results by the members of the groups further develops the students’ presentation skills, and the results of the group work is discussed and critically examined with the audience.

The students have in-depth knowledge and skills in preparing individual and consolidated financial statements in accordance with international accounting standards (IFRS), while taking the accounting policy objectives under consideration. They know the basics of international financial statement analysis.

They have the skills to systematically and quickly grasp changes in normative foundations, to review articles on them in professional journals, to evaluate their statements, and to substantiate their conclusions with arguments in discussions. In view of the rapid changes in the field of auditing, they develop an awareness of the need to constantly update their knowledge. By working on case studies, the students are able to structure problems in the field of financial reporting and develop professional solutions. By intensively discussing the solutions in class and receiving feedback from the lecturers, the students have the ability to present complex issues clearly and effectively from an accounting perspective and to evaluate them in a comprehensible manner.

The students recognize typical accounting policy conflicts when dealing with complex issues and are able to identify and substantiate legally and ethically defensible solutions. By working on case studies in groups, they have the ability to work on complex tasks by applying the division of labor in a team and to take on changing roles.

In day-to-day business practice, the activities in accounting and controlling involve using the information available in internal and external accounting to create evaluations for the specific needs of specific people using technical resources. Based on their previous studies, the students know and recognize the information about operational processes that accounting can provide.

Using the demo version of a financial accounting software, the students are able to work independently in small groups to ascertain what information is available from which sources and where, or how it could be collected. Using tools from this software and spreadsheets, they are able to create concrete evaluations. This can also be done in independent study following a collective discussion of the task.
The students develop their self-management and time management skills by preparing for and following up on the lectures. Working in small groups promotes the idea of teamwork and enables students to further develop their teamwork skills.

This workshop focuses on the General Management business simulation. Just like a flight simulator for pilots, the students take over the management of a company as a management team and compete with their competitors on a common market. Up to 56 decisions have to be made per period. In the end, the management team has to justify its decisions and results.
In this simulation:

• they experience typical conflicts of objectives in corporate management first-hand
• they learn to use business management methods and information tools and to deal with uncertainty in decision-making
• they make business decisions in a team, often under time pressure

The course is also intended to help participants to consolidate and apply the knowledge and skills they have acquired so far in their various lectures in a targeted manner.

The students know the accounting system and booking techniques. They know the basic accounting procedures from the opening to the closing balance sheet. The students understand balance sheets and profit and loss statements (P&L) as elementary components of the annual financial statement of a company.

Through various exercises and cases, they are able to work independently and develop joint solutions with their fellow students. As a result, the students not only possess professional competence, but also an increased ability to cooperate within a team.

After attending the course, the students know the most important methods and instruments of management accounting, including the including the relationships between cost type, cost center, and cost unit accounting. They are able to calculate the production and prime costs of cost units and contribution margins using suitable methods and to evaluate the results appropriately. In addition, they are able to use the tools of management accounting for fundamental operational aspects as information, decision-making, and control instruments.

The students know methods and instruments of external and internal accounting and are able to apply them. They recognize how methods and instruments of external and internal accounting are interrelated, how they can be used for accounting policies and company analysis and how they can be utilized for the operational and strategic management of the company. They learn to apply these instruments in case studies to typical business management problems, both with guidance and independently.

As part of the module, the students gain a basic understanding of the accounting philosophy of the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) as well as the accounting contexts and know the key terms and definitions. Students learn the accounting rules of IFRS for selected balance sheet items and situations and for preparing consolidated financial statements.

• Independently working on a specialized business problem
• Transferring the specialized knowledge acquired in class to the operational problem
• Handling the difficulties of transferring knowledge
• Developing a workable solution

The students know the current developments on the international markets for corporate financing. They possess knowledge of selected instruments for evaluating national and international investment projects using models and are capable of recognizing problems that arise in the practical application. The students are able to answer questions relating to capital structure policies and the cost of capital and assess the opportunities and risks of the key instruments of corporate financing.

The students analyze models for determining option prices and are able to interpret and apply the sensitivity figures derived from the option price model of Black & Scholes. In addition, they are able to identify, analyze, measure, and manage market price change and maturity transformation risks and the instruments necessary to manage these, such as options, futures, and swaps. In addition to the quantification and management of various risks arising from changes in market prices, the quantification and management of counterparty default risks is another key learning outcome. The first step is to understand the expected and unexpected loss (CVaR) variables, including on a mathematical-statistical level, in order to determine a credit value at risk on this basis in accordance with credit portfolio models relevant to the practice. The students understand the basic forms of credit derivatives and are able to determine prices for them and to use these instruments to hedge risks.

In this class, the students work on complex controlling concepts in practical case studies and tasks from the business world.  In doing so, the students take on the role of an external consultant. They independently develop proposed solutions to the problems and present their results to company representatives and/or other experts.

During the class, specialized issues are developed together and discussed, suitable decisions are identified, and results are analyzed.

Participants develop the abilities and skills to be able to work in the corporate controlling department of large multinational companies. After taking the course, they will have deep knowledge of specialized English terminology in accounting, controlling, finance, and strategy.

The students will understand the background and be able to apply fundamental financial concepts and definitions like cash flow, return on sales, return on equity, return on assets, capital cost, discount rates, etc. They will be able to interpret information sources such as the balance sheet, income statement, and cash flow statement of international multi-divisional corporations in English. Participants will develop the know-how to evaluate complex investments using risk analysis and investment criteria (present value index, expected commercial value, decision trees, etc.). Based on this course, the students will be able to critically evaluate and practically apply valuation techniques for M&A transactions such as discounted cash flow or multiples. They will acquire knowledge about strategic controlling tools and how to apply them and understand the basic concepts of performance measurement and corporate social responsibility reporting. The students will understand basic problems of international controlling of subsidiaries and be able to apply specific concepts of corporate financial portfolio analysis such as the Marakon matrix.

As part of the strategic business simulation TOPSIM Going Global ( or a comparable simulation software), the students apply and deepen the business knowledge they have acquired in a practice-oriented manner. Management teams made up of several students are tasked with managing an international company in a highly competitive environment. Several time periods and decision-making situations with increasing complexity (which can be controlled by the simulation leader) need to be mastered.

The business simulation makes it possible to experience how entrepreneurs think and act in an international setting. Students analyze the environment, scenarios, and business reports, define goals and strategies for the company they are managing and implement them in highly competitive markets, learn how to handle complex decision-making situations involving uncertainty and time pressure, and experience coordination and decision-making processes in a team.

The students learn about relevant International Financial Reporting Standards and international accounting differences. Their understanding will be enhanced with regard to some major practical accounting problems. At the end of the unit, the students are able to critically appraise current practices and evaluate proposed changes to the International Financial Reporting Standards from a theoretical foundation.

The students apply the instruments of financial statement analysis to the published financial reports of a wide range of listed companies, enabling them to also learn about specific industries and world trade areas.

The students learn about the international aspects of corporate finance. In addition to foreign exchange exposure, which is dealt with in a separate unit (International Finance and Exchange Rates in International Business), they learn about financing the global firm and preparing and evaluating foreign investment decisions, portfolio management, and multinational budgeting.

Students train their ability to apply theories to real-world phenomena. They apply and improve their presentation skills.

They are exposed to cultural differences in approaching research topics and, in doing so, learn to deal with intercultural conflicts that occur in a work group. They improve self-management and time management when working on the assigned mini cases and exercises.

There is no special focus on Latin America in this class.

The students learn about the principles of accounting and controlling. Upon completion of the unit, they have gained insight into external accounting and cost accounting, their use in controlling, corporate finance, and basic investment calculation. The unit serves as a bridge for students without previous studies in business management and brings the students up to the entrance level needed for the units International Corporate Finance (964-52202) and Financial Reporting (964-52104).

Students with previous studies in business management are assigned topics that allow them to further develop their skills in applying the (cognitive) contents of the module to real-world cases. As students’ knowledge is typically based on their home country’s accounting system, they learn that even accounting principals are linked to culture.

Focus of the course: cognitive competences. Tools: Traditional class (teaching) and exercises in small teams and in individual work. The teamwork additionally enables students to develop their intercultural capabilities.

Students learn about the principles of accounting, corporate finance and investment. Upon completion of the unit, they have gained an insight into finance tools, their use in corporate finance and basic investment calculation. The unit serves as a bridge for students without previous studies in business management and brings the students up to the entrance level needed for the units International Corporate Finance (B09-52202) and Financial Reporting (B09-52104).

Students with previous studies in business management are assigned topics that allow them to further develop their skills in applying the (cognitive) contents of the module to real-world cases.

The focus of the course: cognitive capabilities trained in traditional classes and exercises.

The students learn about the different functions of a business and find out how they are interlinked. The TOPSIM business simulation enables students to learn how decisions that are made in one sector of the company affect the outcome of other sectors. Management decisions in HR, marketing and sales, and cost management are to be made within the company strategy chosen by the students. Thus, in addition to the ‘traditional’ classes in accounting & controlling and finance, they learn about marketing and HRM in the business simulation.

The students train their ability to apply theories to real-world phenomena. They further develop their analytical skills and apply and improve their presentation skills.

As they work in teams of around four students, they further develop their self-management and communication skills. They are exposed to cultural differences in approaching research topics and, in doing so, they learn to deal with intercultural conflicts that occur in a work group.

The students learn how analytical applications (business intelligence) can be used to manage and assess a company’s goals and strategies. They know how the key performance indicators of an IT organization can be defined and managed using systems.

Performance measurement requires a high level of analytical skills. The measurement of performance requires an understanding of business areas, the development of a target system, and the definition of suitable indicators to measure the achievement of targets. Abstraction, modeling, teamwork, decision-making, and presentation skills are fostered through the discussion of real-life implementation scenarios.

Self-motivation/independent studies:

• Homework/exercise (broad): The students independently repeat methods and techniques of performance measurement and apply these to selected examples in independent study.
• Homework/exercise (draft): Students identify the relevant key performance indicators for a selected issue, develop a corresponding target system and design suitable info cubes.

Knowing & understanding

• Building on the knowledge of French and German accounting acquired in the first year of their studies, the students are able to name more complex and advanced financial issues such as the cost of capital concept or strategic management systems and apply them to practical business problems.
• The students are able to articulate and explain the relationships between different finance and accounting systems.
• They can explain and interpret key business figures such as the balance sheet, P&L and cash flow statement.

Analyzing & evaluating

• In addition, the students are able to categorize and critically assess current financial developments.

Applying & creating

• The students learn to solve extensive financial tasks in a group and to present the results in a clear and precise manner.
• They are familiar with static and dynamic investment calculation methods and are also able to apply these in the German language. They understand the basic alternatives for raising capital and are able to evaluate them and draw conclusions for companies based on the advantages and disadvantages.

Broadness & depth

• The addition of topics such as investment calculation and strategic controlling considerably broadens the financial material covered so far. Knowledge is also deepened through the identification of complex interrelationships between the accounting systems.

Competencies

• The application of quantitative methods and corresponding software solutions particularly fosters analytical thinking and IT skills.

The students learn about the necessity and importance of accounting. They are proficient in booking techniques and are able to perform individual accounting transactions. They are able to distinguish between balance sheet and profit and loss accounts. They are able to open, maintain and close individual accounts.

They are able to perform the balancing of individual accounts using the balance sheet and P&L statement.

The students are introduced to management accounting and know its importance for the success-oriented management of companies. They know and understand the tasks, subsections and systems of management accounting. They acquire the ability to use relevant cost information for planning, controlling and decision-making in a company, in particular to calculate operational services, to measure short-term success and to determine costs that are relevant for short- and long-term decisions.

The exercises built into the course help the students to understand the material. They work on these individually or – especially the more complex cases – in groups. This helps students to improve their ability to organize and divide up the work together in a team.

The students develop the skills to work with the basic sub-sections and systems of cost accounting. They are able to evaluate the results they obtain.

The students receive a comprehensive and application-oriented overview of the instruments used to shape the asset and capital structure of a company

The students are taught basic financial management principles, terminology, and interconnections. The students are able to prepare, read, and analyze annual financial statements – consisting of balance sheet, P&L and notes to the consolidated financial statements – and know the tasks and contents of the management report. They are able to derive and prepare important accounting instruments for a company based on complex corporate circumstances. They are able to use the annual financial statements as a basis for business decisions. They are able to work out the differences between HGB (the German Commercial Code), IAS, and US-GAAP.

Submodule Controlling

The students know the basic concepts and methods of controlling. They apply concepts in a practical manner and critically appraise controlling approaches. They have mastered the relevant controlling instruments for different decision-making situations in practical business situations.

Submodule Applied Project in Controlling

The students work independently on a business problem from topics in the Controlling module and apply subject-specific concepts and instruments to develop a viable solution.

The students are able to identify and describe a complex business management problem that they will work on in detail in the course of their master’s thesis. The students are able to select and clearly describe research methodologies for the handling of their research topic. They roughly structure their master’s thesis and develop a suitable time and resource plan, and critically analyze relevant specialized literature.