Accounting and Finance

There are no exclusionary prerequisites.

However, students are advised to have the ability to read technical and legal texts, general notions of business organisation and basic digital skills for using spreadsheets and consulting institutional sources. The curricular unit includes an initial review of essential accounting concepts.

ME1. Interactive presentation of core concepts, combining theory, practical examples and guided reading of financial statements.

ME2. Guided exercises on accounting cycles, preparation of financial information and reading of the main financial statements.

ME3. Analysis of practical cases and financial reporting documents, focusing on interpretation of information and identification of limitations.

ME4. Use of spreadsheets to organise data, calculate simple indicators and prepare analysis tables.

ME5. Project-based learning through the preparation of an introductory financial diagnosis.

ME6. Tutorial guidance and formative feedback throughout the semester, including preparation of the oral presentation/defence.

ME7. Guided analysis of examples and documents related to the accounting of civil enforcement proceedings, including applicable ministerial orders, accounting of the enforcement agent, client accounts and the compensation fund.

Upon completion of this curricular unit, the student will be able to:

OA1. Understand accounting as an information system for management, external stakeholders and professional decision-making in a business context.

OA2. Identify the accounting standardisation model applicable in Portugal, including the Portuguese Accounting Standards System (SNC) and its general connection with International Accounting Standards/International Financial Reporting Standards.

OA3. Recognise the main accounting cycles of business activity: operating cycle, non-financial investment cycle and financing cycle.

OA4. Understand the process of preparing financial information and the structure of financial statements.

OA5. Read and interpret the statement of financial position, income statement, statement of changes in equity, statement of cash flows and notes.

OA6. Prepare and interpret, at an introductory level, the statement of cash flows, relating it to liquidity, cash position and the entity’s operating activity.

OA7. Apply basic financial analysis indicators to interpret the assets, financial position and economic performance of an organisation.

OA8. Know and interpret the accounting of civil enforcement proceedings, including the accounting of the enforcement agent, client accounts, the compensation fund and the ministerial orders concerning the calculation of enforcement agents’ remuneration and expenses.

Associated competencies:

CD1. Accounting and financial literacy: ability to understand accounting language and the main financial statements.

CD2. Critical thinking: ability to interpret financial information, identify limitations and draw prudent conclusions.

CD3. Applied problem-solving: ability to apply basic concepts to concrete business situations.

CD4. Technical communication: ability to explain accounting and financial information, orally and in writing, to non-specialised audiences.

CD5. Autonomy and academic responsibility: ability to use sources, data and digital tools, including AI, in a transparent, critical and responsible manner.

CD6. Ability to understand and apply basic accounting concepts associated with civil enforcement proceedings, particularly regarding the accounting of the enforcement agent, client accounts, the compensation fund and enforcement agents’ remuneration and expenses.

P1. Accounting as an information system and the accounting standardisation model

1.1. Objectives of accounting and financial information; users, relevance and limitations of information.

1.2. Portuguese Accounting Standards System: general framework, accounting instruments, entity categories and financial statements.

1.3. General relationship between the SNC and International Accounting Standards/International Financial Reporting Standards.

P2. Business activity cycles and introductory accounting treatment

2.1. Operating cycle: purchases, sales, inventories, customers, suppliers, income and expenses.

2.2. Non-financial investment cycle: tangible fixed assets, intangible assets, depreciation/amortisation and impairment losses at an introductory level.

2.3. Financing cycle: equity, borrowings, finance costs and financial structure.

P3. Preparation of financial information and financial reporting

3.1. Purpose, structure and articulation of financial statements.

3.2. Statement of financial position: assets, liabilities, equity and the fundamental accounting equation.

3.3. Income statement: income, expenses and profit formation.

3.4. Statement of changes in equity and notes: function, structure and informational usefulness.

P4. Statement of cash flows

4.1. Purpose and usefulness of the statement of cash flows.

4.2. Cash flows from operating, investing and financing activities.

4.3. Reading and interpreting liquidity generated and consumed by the entity.

P5. Reading and interpretation of financial statements

5.1. Articulation between the statement of financial position, income statement, cash flows and notes.

5.2. Accounting policies, estimates, materiality and limitations of financial information.

5.3. Identification of warning signs, inconsistencies and relevant issues for analysis.

P6. Introduction to financial analysis

6.1. Comparative analysis and time evolution of line items.

6.2. Liquidity and cash position indicators.

6.3. Financial autonomy, indebtedness and solvency indicators.

6.4. Profitability and efficiency indicators at an introductory level.

P7. Practical application: introductory financial diagnosis

7.1. Collection and organisation of an entity’s financial information.

7.2. Critical reading of financial statements and calculation of basic indicators.

7.3. Preparation of a technical summary with well-supported conclusions.

P8. Accounting of civil enforcement proceedings

8.1. Framework of the accounting of civil enforcement proceedings.

8.2. Ministerial Order No. 708/2003 of 4 August, as amended by Ministerial Order No. 436-A/2006 of 5 May.

8.3. Ministerial Order No. 282/2013 of 29 August.

8.4. Accounting of the enforcement agent.

8.5. Client accounts.

8.6. Compensation fund.

Students are assessed through the periodic/continuous assessment scheme, maintaining an overall weighting of 70% for the applied assignment and its oral presentation/defence and 30% for the individual written test/examination.

a) Periodic/continuous assessment

MA1. Applied assignment on reading and analysing financial statements, 50%. The assignment consists of an introductory analysis of an entity’s financial information, including reading of financial statements, preparation/interpretation of the statement of cash flows where applicable, calculation of basic indicators and preparation of well-supported conclusions.

MA2. Individual oral presentation and defence of the assignment, 20%. The mark for this component may differ between members of the same group, depending on the individual level of knowledge demonstrated.

MA3. Individual written test, 30%. The test covers the contents taught during the semester. Minimum mark: 5 out of 20.

The final grade is calculated as follows: FG = 0.50 x MA1 + 0.20 x MA2 + 0.30 x MA3. Students pass when the final grade is equal to or higher than 10 out of 20, provided that the minimum mark required in the written test is met.

b) Resit/special examination period

Students who do not pass through periodic/continuous assessment have access to the resit/special examination period, maintaining the weighting of 70% for the applied assignment and its oral presentation/defence and 30% for the individual written examination. The student may keep the positive grade obtained in the assignment completed in the same academic year or, alternatively, submit a new assignment or a revised version of the previously submitted assignment, under the terms communicated by the lecturer. The oral presentation/defence is mandatory to validate the assignment component.

c) Grade improvement

Grade improvement is carried out in accordance with the applicable regulations, maintaining the weighting structure of the curricular unit: 70% assignment/presentation and 30% written test/examination.

d) Attendance regime and working students

There is no minimum attendance requirement for access to periodic/continuous assessment, without prejudice to mandatory attendance at the oral presentation/defence and written test/examination. Students with working-student status or any other legally applicable special status may, by prior arrangement with the lecturer, carry out an individual assignment and oral defence at a time compatible with their status.

e) Guidelines for the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI)

In the preparation of the assignment, AI tools may be used to support research, organisation of ideas, language revision, preliminary text structuring and the preparation of tables or spreadsheets. The use of AI must be declared in the assignment, identifying the tool used, the purpose of its use and how the results were checked and critically integrated. AI may not be used in the written test/examination or during the oral presentation/defence, except for assistive tools authorised for accessibility or inclusion purposes.

f) Substantiated suspicion of fraud

In the event of substantiated suspicion of fraud detected during the marking of a written assessment, the student will be summoned to an oral examination to verify the knowledge and competencies demonstrated. This verification will be carried out by a panel composed of the course unit lecturer and two other lecturers from the same subject area. If the student fails to prove that they possess the knowledge and competencies demonstrated in the written assessment, the written assessment will be annulled.

NAO