Course Content:

The seminar examines current issues in international accounting and corporate management. Specific questions are addressed in each seminar. These include questions such as: What are specific advantages and disadvantages of fair value accounting? How do different compensation systems affect the behavior of managers? What role do analyst forecasts play in the context of financial reporting? How reliable is information from supplementary voluntary disclosures?

The seminar creates the ideal foundation for a master's thesis in accounting. It familiarizes students with accounting research methods and prepares them to conduct their own research project. In this seminar, students learn how to critically read and evaluate scientific texts on current research topics. Participants gain a deeper understanding of scientific work in the field of accounting. They receive food for thought for possible questions in a subsequent master's thesis and develop an overview of the current state of research for the topic covered in the seminar. You will develop important methodological skills and be able to critically question research approaches and conclusions. The small, individual setting of the seminar allows for interactions, through which students learn to discuss scientific issues. Participation in the seminar enables students to evaluate various scholarly essays in terms of the underlying research question and motivation, differences in research design, research contribution, and implications for future research and practice. Such analytical skills are equally fundamental to scholarly work as well as to problem solving in later professional settings.

Further information is provided in the course catalog under the course overview at the bottom of this page.

Course Content:

The press regularly reports on the "value" of a company in connection with corporate takeovers, IPOs or insolvency proceedings. But is this really about values or about prices? What is meant by these two constructs? In business valuation, values are determined for numerous different occasions, which can serve as a basis for the aforementioned transactions. But which procedures are used to value companies? Where do the input factors required for this, such as future earnings and capitalization rates, come from? What role do current political developments and accounting regulations play in valuation? The course Analysis and Valuation Advanced I: Business Valuation conveys not only the principles and methods of business valuation but also knowledge of the practical application of valuation methods, for example in the context of purchase price allocations and the valuation of intangible assets.

Further information is provided in the course catalog under the course overview at the bottom of this page.

Course Content:

The focus of the course Auditing is the development of a fundamental understanding of the audit of the financial reporting of companies in accordance with the respective applicable accounting standards. After successful participation in the course, students will understand the role of the auditor in the German corporate governance system, they will be able to present the concept and process of annual audits based on national and international auditing standards, and they will understand the risk-oriented audit approach. Furthermore, students are able to assess the performance of other statutory audits and special audits. They understand professional law and professional standards and have an understanding of liability issues. They also understand the internal and external quality assurance tools of the profession.

Further information is provided in the course catalog under the course overview at the bottom of this page.

Course Content:

After passing this course, you will be able to apply the methods for preparing consolidated financial statements in accordance with German Commercial Law (HGB) and International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). You will be able to prepare consolidated financial statements and conduct consolidation methods. In addition, you will be able to evaluate legal requirements and earnings management policies in consolidated financial statements.

Further information is provided in the course catalog under the course overview at the bottom of this page.

Course Content:

The International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) are international accounting standards for companies and are issued by the International Accounting Standards Board. The aim of IFRS is the preparation of internationally comparable annual and consolidated financial statements, detached from national legal regulations. After successful participation in the course "International Accounting Basic I: International Financial Reporting: IFRS", students will be familiar with the main components of financial statements prepared in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). They understand how non-current and current assets, equity and liabilities are treated under IFRS. They will be able to account for selected items. The students are also able to evaluate the differences to the German HGB.

Further information is provided in the course catalog under the course overview at the bottom of this page.