General Information
Promotional Video
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Instructor Bio
Scott Liao is a Professor of Accounting and Vice Dean, Undergraduate and Specialized Programs. He has previously served as Academic Director of Full-time MBA. He is passionate about teaching financial accounting, corporate control, and data analytics. He has taught in Global EMBA, executive programs, MBA, MMA, Rotman Commerce, and Ph.D. programs. His research interests include debt markets, banking regulation, and economic consequences of financial reporting and disclosure. He is an editor at Contemporary Accounting Research.
Target Audience
This is a case-based course designed for students interested in corporate governance, corporate finance and ethics. This course is also designed for students interested in firm communication and disclosure strategies to external stakeholders. Through this course, we will learn that financial reporting decisions are made at the C-Suite levels and require strategic thinking, and represent an essential part of corporate governance. This is an excellent course for students aspiring to consulting or finance careers.
Prerequisites
Financial Accounting and Finance 1
Format
Summer Intensive over two weeks
Course Mission
Based on the case studies we use, students will learn that financial reporting is an important part of managing business for C-suite executives, mostly CEO and CFO. The course is designed for future C-suite executives to understand that financial reporting can either improve firm transparency and increase firm value or can be used opportunistically for private benefits and thus fail the corporate. The cases we use in class will demonstrate financial reporting is CEO and CFO’s decision and has significant impact on corporate success or failure.
Course Scope
Different from other accounting courses where number crunching is much required, we focus on how corporate governance, corporate culture, stakeholders’ incentives such as short sellers and financial analysts interact with company financial reporting. We use a lot of high profile and concurrent cases to demonstrate the importance of executive financial reporting decisions. These high-profile cases include Lehman Brothers, Tesco, Lucking Coffee, Wirecard, and VW. We will also discuss the most concurrent case like SVB, FTX and Credit Suisse. In the course, you will need to work on the cases with your cohort, and finish an independent case write up. While Financial Accounting and Finance 1 are the prerequisites, you really do not need to be an expert in accounting or finance. Instead, I would like students to have a strategy mindset in class, discussing how managers or directors should deploy management compensation, corporate control, whistle blower programs, and external relationships at the high level.
Evaluation and Grade Breakdown
| Component | Due Date | Weight |
|---|---|---|
| Class Participation and Contribution | Ongoing | 20% |
| Group Case Write-Up and Discussions | Ongoing | 40% |
| Final Case | TBD | 40% |