BUD2 Financial Accounting – the Language of Business

Høst 2026

Topics
Accounting involves collecting, analyzing, and communicating financial information. It is often referred to as the " Language of Business ". This language is built on specific frameworks, rules, and formats, which students must understand to effectively interpret, analyze, and use financial data.
BUD2 Financial Accounting is an introductory financial accounting course that focuses on understanding the fundamentals of financial accounting and applying them in real-world analytical contexts. This course provides the students with the foundational skills needed to read and interpret financial statements and use accounting data to support informed business decisions. The course is taught during the third semester of the BEDS programme, where the overarching theme is management and technological change, emphasizing how to use financial data to run a business effectively and make sound investment and operational decisions.
After completing the course, the students will have a solid foundation in financial accounting principles, be able to prepare, analyze, and interpret financial statements, and use financial data for decision-making in a global business environment.
Key topics covered in this course:
- Introduction to financial accounting: understanding the basic concepts and relationships in financial accounting including the purpose and role of accounting in business; understanding how the consequences of business decisions are reflected in the financial statements.
- Accounting frameworks and regulations: discussing regulatory frameworks and the role of accounting standards, with an introduction to IFRS; providing an overview of the annual report and sustainability reporting.
- The three major financial statements: learning the nature, purpose, and content of the three major financial statements - Balance Sheet (Statement of Financial Position), Income Statement (Statement of Profit and Loss), and Statement of Cash Flows as well as how to prepare them; understanding how these statements are interconnected and their importance in financial analysis.
- Financial statement analysis: analyzing and interpreting financial statement data to assess a company's financial health through profitability, solvency, and liquidity analysis; comparing financial performance across companies; using Python and AI tools (Large Language Models) for conducting financial statement analysis.
Learning outcome
Knowledge
After completing the course, the students will:
- understand the fundamental concepts, principles, and objectives of financial accounting
- have basic knowledge of the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), their significance, and role in global accounting practices
- have knowledge of the key components of the annual report and sustainability reporting
- understand the purpose and content of the three major financial statements: the Balance Sheet, Income Statement, and Statement of Cash Flows, as well as the relationship between them
- have knowledge of how common business transactions are reflected in the financial statements
- understand how judgment and uncertainty affect the financial statements
Skills
After completing the course, the students will be able to:
- apply basic accounting principles to account for common business transactions in financial statements
- recognize how accounting frameworks and regulations impact the preparation and presentation of financial statements
- prepare a basic Balance Sheet, Income Statement, and a Statement of Cash Flows
- analyze and interpret financial statements to evaluate a company's financial health, including its profitability, liquidity, and solvency
- perform basic benchmarking to compare the financial health and performance of different companies
General Competencies
After completing the course, the students will:
- acquire a foundational understanding of financial accounting and how financial statements and financial information in general can improve the quality of decision making
- be able to think critically and systematically about financial information and its implications for business decisions
- be able to communicate accounting information in a written form
Teaching
- Lectures
- Workshops (solving problems and practical cases in small groups)
- Group project (students will be pre-assigned to groups of 2 - 4 by the instructors)
- Weekly Q&A sessions
Recommended prerequisites

None
Required prerequisites

None
Compulsory Activity

Group project: Students will be pre-assigned to groups of 2-4 students by the instructor. The task will be to perform a basic financial statement analysis of a company and submit a written report. The group work will be assessed with "Approved"/"Not Approved". The mandatory activity should be successfully completed (ie, receiving "Approved" grade) for the students to receive a course approval.
Assessment

4 hours written digital school exam.
The exam must be answered in English.
Grading Scale

A-F
Computer tools

Python
AI tools (Large Language Models such as Copilot)
Literature

Atrill, P., & McLaney, E. (2025). Financial accounting for decision makers (11th ed.). Pearson. ISBN: 9781292739120
Also available as an eBook with 12-month access: ISBN-13: 9781292471105.
Permitted Support Material

Calculator
One bilingual dictionary (Category I).
All in accordance with Supplementary provisions to the Regulations for Full-time Study Programs at the Norwegian School of Economics Ch.4 Permitted support material https://www.nhh.no/en/for-students/regulations/ and https://www.nhh.no/en/for-students/examinations/examination-support-materials/
Retake

Retake is offered early in the non-teaching semester for students who were registered for the exam at the time of the assessment in the teaching semester, and did not achieve a passing grade. Other students may retake the exam the next time the course is offered.
For detailed information regarding the retake policy, please visit our website: https://www.nhh.no/en/for-students/examinations/retake-of-exams/ (copy url).