This free course, Companies and financialaccounting, introduces you to the legal characteristics of limited companies and how limited companies raise finance through ordinary shares and loan capital. It also introduces the interests of company stakeholders, and looks at three different perspectives on companies and their role in society. Finally, it introduces the formats of company financial statements in comparison with those of sole traders.This OpenLearn course is an adapted extract from the Open University course B293 Financial accounting in context.Transcript
Overview
Syllabus
- Introduction
- Learning outcomes
- 1 Legal forms of business entity
- 1 Legal forms of business entity
- 1.1 Sole traders
- 1.2 Partnerships
- 1.3 Companies limited by shares
- 1.3.1 Private limited companies and public limited companies
- 1.3.2 A note on groups and holding companies
- 1.4 The legal characteristics of the modern corporation
- 1.4.1 Separate legal personality
- 1.4.2 Limited liability
- 1.4.3 Centralised delegated management under a board structure
- 1.4.4 Transferable and freely tradable shares
- 1.4.5 Absentee investor ownership
- 2 The market environment and sources of company finance
- 2 The market environment and sources of company finance
- 2.1 Sources of company finance
- 2.2 Equity finance (share capital)
- 2.3 Loan finance (debt capital or loan capital)
- 2.4 Primary and secondary markets
- 3 The interests and information requirements of company stakeholders
- 3 The interests and information requirements of company stakeholders
- 4 Three perspectives on the role of companies and financial reporting in society
- 4 Three perspectives on the role of companies and financial reporting in society
- 5 Comparing sole trader and company financial statement formats
- 5 Comparing sole trader and company financial statement formats
- 5.1 Sole trader financial statements
- 5.2 Company financial statements
- 5.2.1 Statement of financial position
- 5.2.2 Statement of financial performance
- 5.3 Statement of changes in equity
- 5.4 Statement of cash flows
- Conclusion
- References
- Acknowledgements
