Very committed lecturer, who always tries to establish a practical reference to theory. He always has an open ear and is very friendly with the students. During the lectures, students are encouraged to think for themselves through spontaneous questions. His attempts to explain complex topics with everyday situations increase learning progress and broaden your horizons. Since he is still relatively young, he may have less experience than older lecturers, but his style was convincing.
Content: The course actually consists of two parts. In the first part, it starts with relatively simple valuation principles and what finance is actually about (shareholder value). Then, portfolio theory, a more difficult topic, similar to financial analysis, is considered. The second part looks at the individual securities and their valuation. This is ultimately used to calculate the cost of capital at the end of the lecture. In the tutorials, the theoretical and computational understanding of the material is practiced on the basis of the tasks in the compulsory literature.
Effort: The effort in this course is high, especially for solving the tutorial questions beforehand, but this then makes it easier to study for the exam. If you have previous knowledge of finance, you can omit the required literature, but you need the book for the exercises. The participation grade can be quickly raised to a high level with active participation in the tutorials. The Excel case study at the end of the semester requires precise work and understanding of the last lectures. However, it can be solved without extensive knowledge of Excel. The exams were 2 hours long and fair.
Other: It is not worth buying the book at the course, as you can borrow the copies, including older versions, from the library. Participation in the tutorials is very important. Attendance in the lectures is not compulsory. The math part of this course is easier than at the University of St. Gallen, but using a financial calculator allows for more complex tasks.
Conclusion: Those who like finance and also like to calculate larger tasks will make a good choice with this course. Good grades can be achieved because the evaluation is fair, objective.
Diplomacy
Type: Lecture (3h)
Examination achievement: Diplomatic paper (Cable) (20%)
Presentation (individual) (20%)
Participation (20%)
Final exam (MC and short essay questions) (40%)
Lecturer: Caitlin Byrne:
As mentioned above under the East-West International Diplomacy section, this lecturer often seems unprepared and unorganized. In addition, she appeared at least 10 minutes late for each lecture. However, she has a wealth of knowledge and experience acquired through her previous work as a diplomat for the Australian State Department. The lectures are often adorned with one or the other story. Unfortunately, the sometimes subjective seeming assessment of the examination results is problematic.
Content: The course deals with various aspects of diplomacy. For example, how negotiations should be conducted or what types of diplomacy exist today. The content of the course is rather broad and gives a good overview of this exciting subject. Unfortunately, the slides were not always presented in full by the lecturer. There are chapters from books or newspaper articles on the various topics. Therefore, no book is to be bought as compulsory literature in this course. In each lecture, current world affairs were discussed first, so that interesting discussions often arose. Part of the participation grade could be earned in these discussions.
Effort: The effort is higher than it first appears, because the lecturer seems rather casual, but is tough and intransparent in the assessment. The fact that no evaluation criteria are announced in advance means that getting a good grade can sometimes be a matter of luck. For the first paper, research has to be done and a certain writing style has to be adhered to. A research question must be formulated for the presentation, which should then be tested using 1-2 examples. These two exams shouldn’t be underestimated, although they don’t sound like much. The exam sometimes contained very detailed multiple choice questions or questions in which you had to insert the missing word. Therefore, exact learning is necessary to get a good grade.
Other: No book needed. Attendance is highly recommended, as the class is very small and participation or non-participation is quickly noticeable. Check the examination results on the information sheet before deciding on this course (examination results change again and again).
Conclusion: Anyone who is interested in this area and likes to discuss in small international classes is certainly not wrong with this course. Good grades are possible, but also a bit of luck due to the subjective evaluation.
Accounting principles
Type: Lecture (2h) and tutorial (2h)
Examination: Paper (Event Study) (groups of 2) (15%)
Exam (in the middle of the semester) (15%)
Paper and presentation (groups of 4 to 5 (25%)
Final exam (45%)
Lecturer: Richard Kent:
Young doctoral student who is very motivated and committed to the lectures and tutorials. Tries to get students excited about accounting with his humor and relaxed manner. With his lecture he strongly adheres to the book, which is stated as mandatory literature. That is why his lectures are very well structured. Sometimes, however, especially with more complicated questions about exam performance, you notice your lack of experience. This gives you the feeling that you don’t know exactly what you want.
Content: The course starts out fairly easily with very simple bookkeeping, but becomes more and more difficult and specific as the semester progresses. The content is better explained than in Controlling & Accounting, because there only topics are skimmed over without explaining the whole logic and technology behind it. Sometimes the material also includes specifically Australian topics, such as Goods and Service Tax or Payroll Accounting, which was quite interesting. All in all, the material is taught to such an extent that one is able to read an Annual Report and also create its components. Australia is a major country in Oceania continent. For information about Oceania, please visit computergees.
Effort: The effort is still very manageable at the beginning of the semester. However, the first paper requires a certain understanding of finance (share price event study) and thorough research. During the entire semester, it makes sense to read the chapters in the compulsory literature, as the slides are a good summary of them and the exercises are also taken from the book. If you have previous knowledge of accounting, reading the book is a very good way to test and refresh your knowledge. The second paper is a lot of effort, since a key figure analysis has to be carried out and groups of four or five are worked on. Therefore you should pay close attention to who you want to write this paper with if you want to get good grades. The learning for the exam is limited,
Other: The book should be bought because the newest copy is needed and the library is always out of stock quickly. It’s best to buy it secondhand at the book sale at the beginning of the semester. Attendance is not necessary, but the lecturer notes the students who are often absent, and this could at most be disadvantageous in a paper. We formed two classes because too many students were enrolled, otherwise the course would have been a good opportunity to get to know MBA students.
Conclusion: The course is highly recommended if you want to refresh your accounting knowledge and get to know Australian regulations. Furthermore, the relaxed nature of the lecturer creates a pleasant course atmosphere.
