Contemporary Issues in Financial Accounting

This course introduces students to current philosophies, theories, and research in financial accounting, with an emphasis on analyzing contemporary issues of academic and practical relevance. Students learn critical approaches and a range of research methodologies, including bibliometric analysis, meta-analysis, and qualitative and quantitative research designs, to evaluate research contributions to financial accounting theory and practice.

The ultimate learning objective is for students to independently analyze and prepare high-quality financial accounting research proposals, present and review research findings, and identify opportunities for future research based on empirical evidence.

Topics include course agreements, academic writing styles and formats, academic ethics and plagiarism evaluation using Turnitin, critical analysis of journal articles, bibliometric and meta-analytic approaches, and issues such as disclosure, sustainability reporting, fair value accounting, integrated reporting, ESG ratings, and accounting fraud.

Learning methods include interactive lectures, group discussions, case analysis, and presentations. Students are assigned to read and analyze journal articles, prepare research proposals, and present their reviews. Assessment combines written assignments, article analysis, presentations, active participation, a midterm article analysis, and a final examination involving proposal revision and presentation. This strategy assesses cognitive, affective, and psychomotor abilities at higher levels of Bloom’s taxonomy, including analysis (C4), evaluation (C5), and synthesis (C6), across academic and professional contexts.