Teaching Winter - 2024/2025
Thesis |
Courses Winter Term 2024/25
Expected Future Course Offerings
| ECTS | Language | Summer Term 2025 | Winter Term 2025/26 | |
| Bachelor - Management Accounting | ||||
| Kostenrechnung (INRW 1) |
6 |
DE | X | |
| Controlling (INRW 2) | 6 | DE | X | |
| Valuation (INRW 3) | 6 | EN | X | |
| Bachelorseminar Rechnungswesen | 6 | DE | X | X |
| Bachelor - Financial Accounting | ||||
| Externes Rechnungswesen (EXRW 1) | 6 | DE | X | |
| Internationale Rechnungslegung (EXRW 2) | 6 | DE | X | |
| Konzernrechnungslegung und Unternehmenspublizität (EXRW 3) | 6 | DE | X | |
| Grundlagen der Wirtschaftsprüfung (EXRW 4) | 6 | DE | X | |
| Bachelorseminar Rechnungswesen | 6 | DE | X | X |
| Seminar Empirische Forschung | 6 | DE | ||
| Master | ||||
| Research on Corporate Transparency | 6 | EN | X | |
| Financial Accounting and Analysis | 6 | EN | X | |
| Accounting II: Corporate Decision-making and Quantitative Analysis | 6 | EN | X | |
| Empirical Methods in Accounting and Finance | 6 | EN | ||
| Advanced Topics and Cases in Accounting | 6 | EN | X | |
| Master's Thesis Seminar Accounting | 6 | EN | X | X |
| Financial Accounting Research Group | 6 | EN | X | X |
| PhD | ||||
| Accounting Reading Group | 6 | EN | X | X |
| Financial Accounting Research Group | - | EN | X | X |
Course Descriptions
Bachelor - Management Accounting
Controlling (Management Accounting) (6 ECTS)
Das Controlling als betriebswirtschaftliche Teildisziplin ist in seiner Entwicklung von den Anforderungen der Praxis geprägt. Ziel der Veranstaltung ist es, den Studierenden eine theoretisch fundierte und praktisch relevante Systematisierung der unterschiedlichen Aufgaben des Controllings aufzuzeigen und anhand von konkreten Anwendungsfällen zu veranschaulichen.
| Vorkenntnisse: | Veranstaltung "Kostenrechnung" |
| Literatur: | - Ewert/Wagenhofer: Interne Unternehmensrechnung, 8. Auflage, Berlin u.a. 2014 |
The development of controlling as an area of business administration has been shaped by the needs of managerial practice. The objective of this course is to provide students with a theoretically sound and practically relevant overview of the various tools used in controlling and to illustrate these tools with applied cases.
| Prerequisites: | Basic knowledge of cost accounting (e.g., through our course “Kostenrechnung”) |
| Literature: | - Ewert/Wagenhofer: Interne Unternehmensrechnung, 8. Auflage, Berlin u.a. 2014 |
Kostenrechnung (Cost Accounting) (6 ECTS)
Das Hauptziel dieser Veranstaltung besteht darin, den Studierenden die Grundprinzipien der Kostenrechnung zu vermitteln. Sie lernen Aufbau und Ablauf eines systematisch periodischen Informationssystems kennen, wobei der Schwerpunkt auf den Methoden der industriellen Kostenrechnung liegt. Kosteninformationen aus Vollkosten- und Teilkostenrechnungssystemen werden im Kontext von Entscheidungssituationen überprüft.
| Literatur: | - Friedl, G., Hofmann, C., Pedell, B.: Kostenrechnung - Eine entscheidungsorientierte Einführung, 4. Auflage, München 2022 |
The objective of this course is to familiarize students with the basic principles of cost accounting. The students are introduced to the structure and sequencing of a periodic information system with an emphasis on the methods of industrial cost accounting. Information from full costing and marginal costing systems are evaluated in the context of specific decision problems.
| Literature: | - Friedl, G., Hofmann, C., Pedell, B.: Kostenrechnung - Eine entscheidungsorientierte Einführung, 4. Auflage, München 2022 |
The goal of the course is to present students the basic tools to value firms and other assets. The course comprises three main parts. The first part presents the mechanics of relative and intrinsic valuation. The second part focuses on how to estimate the inputs for these valuation methods (e.g., forecasting cash flows or earnings, estimating the cost of capital). The third part deals with special valuation cases (e.g., valuing start-ups or private firms). Students will apply these methods by carrying out a valuation of a German company. Throughout the course, students have the opportunity to explore firm-level financial and accounting data using R-based interactive analysis tools.
| Prerequisites: | Basic knowledge of bookkeeping and financial accounting is required. Basic knowledge of corporate finance is recommended. |
| Literature: |
-Damodaran, A. (2012): Investment Valuation, 3rd Edition, Wiley Finance. Relevant chapters and additional material will be announced throughout the course. |
Bachelor - Financial Accounting
Externes Rechnungswesen (Financial Accounting) (6 ECTS)
Im Rahmen der Veranstaltung soll der Zugang zum betrieblichen Informationssystem Rechnungswesen erschlossen werden. Hierzu werden methodische Grundlagen zur zahlenmäßigen Erfassung betrieblicher Sachverhalte und ihrer zweckorientierten Aufbereitung erlernt. Darauf aufbauend wird die Bedeutung der finanziellen Berichterstattung eines Unternehmens insbesondere an Eigen- und Fremdkapitalgeber erläutert. Zu diesem Zweck werden die Grundlagen des geltenden deutschen Jahresabschlussrechts erörtert.
| Vorkenntnisse: | Keine |
| Literatur: | - Baetge/Kirsch/Thiele, Bilanzen, 14. Auflage, Düsseldorf 2016. - Döring/Buchholz: Buchhaltung und Jahresabschluss, 14. Auflage, Berlin 2015. - Coenenberg/Haller/Schultze: Jahresabschluss- und Jahresabschlussanalyse, 24. Auflage, Stuttgart 2016. |
The objective of this course is to provide insights into accounting information systems of companies. To achieve this objective, the students learn the methodological principles of numerical recordings of business transactions (i.e. bookkeeping). Building on this, the relevance of financial reporting to external users such as investors and creditors is illustrated by discussing the most important accounting rules under German Commercial Code (HGB).
| Prerequisites: | None |
| Literature: | - Baetge/Kirsch/Thiele, Bilanzen, 14. Auflage, Düsseldorf 2016. - Döring/Buchholz: Buchhaltung und Jahresabschluss, 14. Auflage, Berlin 2015. - Coenenberg/Haller/Schultze: Jahresabschluss- und Jahresabschlussanalyse, 24. Auflage, Stuttgart 2016. |
Internationale Rechnungslegung (International Financial Reporting) (6 ECTS)
Das Hauptziel dieser Veranstaltung besteht darin, die Studierenden mit den internationalen Bilanzierungsstandards vertraut zu machen. Ausgerichtet ist die Veranstaltung dabei auf die International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), die besonders für deutsche bzw. europäische kapitalmarktorientierte Mutterunternehmen durch die EU-Verordnung von 2002 eine große Bedeutung erlangt haben. Nach einer Einführung sowie der Einordnung in einen institutionellen Rahmen stehen Fragen zum Bilanzansatz von Vermögenswerten und Schulden sowie zu deren Bewertung nach IFRS im Mittelpunkt.
| Vorkenntnisse: | Veranstaltung "Externes Rechnungswesen" |
| Literatur: | - Pellens/Fülbier/Gassen/Sellhorn: Internationale Rechnungslegung, 11. Auflage, Stuttgart 2021. |
The objective of this course is to familiarize students with international accounting standards. The course focuses on International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) that have attained great relevance for German and other European capital market-oriented firms through the European Union’s IAS-Regulation of 2002. The course begins with an introduction to the institutional framework behind the IFRS and continues with questions related to the recognition and measurement of assets and liabilities under IFRS.
| Prerequisites: | Basic knowledge of financial accounting (e.g., through our course “Externes Rechnungswesen”) |
| Literature: | - Pellens/Fülbier/Gassen/Sellhorn: Internationale Rechnungslegung, 10. Auflage, Stuttgart 2017. |
Konzernrechnungslegung und Unternehmenspublizität (Group Accounting and Firm Disclosures) (6 ECTS)
Das Hauptziel dieser Veranstaltung besteht darin, die Studierenden mit den Vorschriften und Regeln zur Konzernrechnungslegung und Konzernabschlusserstellung vertraut zu machen. Einführend wird ein Überblick über die Organisationsform "Konzern", die Aufstellungspflichten und die Abgrenzung der rechnungslegenden Einheit gegeben. Hieran schließt sich die Aufbereitung des Einzelabschlusses sowie die Währungsumrechnung an. Weitere zentrale Themen der Konzernrechnungslegung sind die durchzuführenden Konsolidierungsmaßnahmen sowie ein kurzer Überblick über den Konzernanhang. Über den Konzernabschluss i.e.S. hinaus wird im Rahmen der Veranstaltung jedoch insbesondere auch eine grundlegende Einführung in die periodische und anlassbezogene unternehmerische Publizität gegeben.
| Vorkenntnisse: | Veranstaltung "Externes Rechnungswesen", empfohlen: Veranstaltung "Internationale Rechnunglegung" |
| Literatur: |
- Baetge, J./Kirsch, H.-J./Thiele,S.: Konzernbilanzen, 11. Aufl., 2015. |
The objective of this course is to familiarize the students with the rules and regulations concerning group accounting and the preparation of consolidated accounts. The course begins with an overview of the “group” as an organizational form and continues with a discussion of the requirements for preparing consolidated financial statements as well as the limits of the reporting entity. After that, the preparation of individual financial statements and the process of currency conversion are discussed. Other key aspects of group accounting are the various consolidation procedures as well as related disclosure requirements. Finally, the course provides students with an overview of other periodic and event-specific disclosures by firms.
| Prerequisites: | Basic knowledge of financial accounting (e.g., through our course “Externes Rechnungswesen”) and international accounting (e.g., through our course “Internationale Rechnungslegung”) |
| Literature: |
- Baetge, J./Kirsch, H.-J./Thiele,S.: Konzernbilanzen, 11. Aufl., 2015. |
Grundlagen der Wirtschaftsprüfung (Fundamentals of Auditing) (6 ECTS)
Der Berufsstand der Wirtschaftsprüfer*innen in Deutschland unterliegt sich stark verändernden gesetzlichen Rahmenbedingungen. Die Kodifizierung dieser Rahmenbedingungen bezieht sich dabei sowohl auf das Berufsprofil als auch auf die Berufsgrundsätze, mit denen die Tätigkeit der Wirtschaftsprüfer*innen auszuführen ist. Neben einer Einführung in diese Themen beschäftigt sich diese Veranstaltung auch mit dem institutionellen Rahmen des Berufsstandes und den Sanktionsmechanismen zur Durchsetzung der Berufsgrundsätze. Darüber hinaus werden an geeigneter Stelle auch Entwicklungstendenzen des Berufsstands aufgezeigt und diskutiert.
Sprache: Deutsch
| Vorkenntnisse: | Veranstaltung "Externes Rechnungswesen", empfohlen: Veranstaltung "Internationale Rechnunglegung" |
In Germany, the auditing profession is subject to rapidly changing rules. These rules are based on both the profile of the profession and the quality standards for the duties of the auditor. Aside from introducing students to these topics, the course deals with the institutional framework of the profession and the mechanisms of sanctions that contribute to enforcing this framework. The course also demonstrates and discusses current developments in the profession.
Language: German
| Prerequisites: | Basic knowledge of financial accounting (e.g., through our course “Externes Rechnungswesen”) and international accounting (e.g., through our course “Internationale Rechnungslegung”) |
Bachelorseminar Rechnungswesen (Bachelor's Thesis Seminar Accounting) (6 ECTS)
In diesem Seminar sollen die TeilnehmerInnen notwendige Fähigkeiten zur Erstellung einer Bachelorarbeit erwerben. Das Seminar gliedert sich in einen formalen und einen methodischen Teil. Im Rahmen des formalen Teils werden die TeilnehmerInnen zentrale Techniken des wissenschaftlichen Arbeitens erlernen und anwenden. Im Rahmen des methodischen Teils erhalten die TeilnehmerInnen einen Überblick über die relevanten Forschungsmethoden im Bereich des Rechnungswesens. Zum Abschluss des Seminars müssen die TeilnehmerInnen ein Forschungsexposé, das als Grundlage für die Abschlussarbeit dienen kann, anfertigen und in einer abschließenden Sitzung präsentieren und verteidigen.
Um eine Bachelorarbeit an unserem Institut zu schreiben, müssen Sie das Bachelorseminar sowie zwei der folgenden Lehrveranstaltungen erfolgreich absolviert haben: Internationale Rechnungslegung, Konzernrechnungslegung, Wirtschaftsprüfung, Controlling, Valuation.
The goal of the seminar is to provide participants with the necessary skills to complete a Bachelor’s thesis at our institute. The seminar comprises a formal and a methodological part. During the formal part, participants will learn and apply key techniques of academic work. During the methodological part, participants will obtain an overview of the relevant research methods in accounting. Towards the end of the seminar, participants will develop and present a final research proposal that may serve as a foundation for the Bachelor’s thesis.
To write a Bachlor’s thesis at our institute, students have to successfully complete the seminar as well as two of the following accounting courses: Internationale Rechnungslegung, Konzernrechnungslegung, Wirtschaftsprüfung, Controlling, Valuation.
Seminar Empirische Forschung (Seminar on Empirical Research) (6 ECTS)
Dieses Seminar wird gemeinsam von den Bereichen Accounting, Economics, Finance, Marketing, Management und Wirtschaftsgeschichte angeboten. In diesem Semester ist der Lehrstuhl für Angewandte Mikroökonomik für die Organisation des Seminars verantwortlich.
Ziel des Seminars ist die eigenständige Durchführung und Präsentation eines kleineren wirtschaftswissenschaftlichen empirischen Forschungsprojektes. Im Rahmen des Seminars ist eine Hausarbeit in zwei Teilen eigenständig zu bearbeiten. Der erste Teil befasst sich mit wichtigen Kennzahlen im Accounting und erfordert die Anwendung von STATA. Der zweite Teil erfordert die Abgabe von einem Extended Abstract und die Anwendung von STATA. Die Ergebnisse der 2. Hausarbeit sind zum Abschluss des Seminars zu präsentieren.
| Vorkenntnisse: | Statistik I & II, Einführung in die Ökonometrie |
This seminar is organized in cooperation with the chairs of Economics, Finance, Marketing, Management and Economic History. In the current semester, the chair of Applied Microeconomics is responsible for the organization of the seminar.
In this seminar, students will conduct and present a small scientific empirical project. During the seminar, students will work on a homework assignment that comprises two parts. The first part addresses data issues in accounting research. In the second part, students will conduct empirical analyses and prepare an extended abstract that summarizes their key findings. Both parts require the use of STATA or similar software packages. The findings of the second part of the assignment will be presented at the end of the seminar.
| Prerequisites: |
Basic knowledge in statistics and econometrics (e.g., through the courses “Statistik I & II” and “Einführung in die Öknometrie”) |
Master
Financial Accounting and Analysis (6 ECTS)
The goal of the course is to present students the basics of financial accounting and financial statement analysis. The course comprises three main parts. The first part deals with the objectives, fundamentals and institutions of financial accounting. The second part focuses on specific accounting rules under International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). The third part covers topics related to financial statement analysis such as financial analysis, forecasting methods and valuation models.
| Literature: |
Harrison Jr., W.T., C.T. Horngren, C.W. Thomas, W. M. Tietz, and T. Suwardy: Financial Accounting (International Financial Reporting Standards) 11th edition, Pearson Education, 2018 Palepu, K.G., P. M. Healy, and E. Peek: Business Analysis and Valuation (IFRS edition) 5th edition, Cengage Learning, 2019 |
Master's Thesis Seminar Accounting (6 ECTS)
This seminar is designed for Master students. Its main objective is to support each participant in developing a research project that is suitable for a Master thesis at the Institute of Accounting and Auditing. As a starting point, all seminar participants are required to prepare an initial research proposal. During the seminar, students will be provided with insights into the most important aspects of accounting research and will have to complete various assignments. The goal is to finish the seminar with a final research proposal as a base for the Master thesis. Students who successfully complete this seminar are eligible to write a Master thesis at the Institute of Accounting and Auditing. More information can be obtained in the section Master's thesis.
| Prerequisites: | Seminar participants are expected to have a sound understanding of accounting, finance and statistics as well as some basic knowledge of econometrics. |
Advanced Topics and Cases in Accounting (6 ECTS)
The goal of this seminar is to explore current topics of scientific and real life interest in the area of accounting and auditing, widely defined. It consists of a series of lectures (offered weekly) and work on assigned topics. The participating students will work in teams. Each team will hand in a seminar paper based on their assigned topic. The papers will be presented and discussed during a seminar day towards the end of the semester.
| Prerequisites: | Advanced understanding of international financial reporting issues and a solid background in corporate finance |
Research on Corporate Transparency (6 ECTS)
The main goal of this course is to present students the theoretical foundations of financial reporting. Besides serving as fundament of accounting research, accounting theory is important from a practitioner’s view, since it enables market participants to understand and to predict the behaviour of subjects, such as preparers, auditors, addressees and regulators, in the domain of accounting. After investigating the role that accounting information plays from a valuation and contracting perspective in a risk-neutral world, the impact of accounting information on capital markets with risk-averse market participants will be explored. These theoretical underpinnings will serve as a background for the study of diverging incentive structures of participating subjects. While doing so, a particular emphasis will be placed on the role that accounting theory and research plays in explaining the phenomenon of earnings management. In order to investigate the facets of accounting theory and earnings management, students will be expected to read and understand academic studies and to analyze several financial reporting issues, which are of current importance to accounting practice.
| Prerequisites: | Conceptual understanding of the financial accounting and reporting process, some background knowledge about decision theory and asset pricing; intermediate knowledge in micro economics (contracts and incentives, information economics) |
| Literature: |
- Wagenhofer/Ewert: Externe Unternehmensrechnung, 3rd edition, Berlin 2015. |
Empirical Methods in Accounting and Finance (6 ECTS)
This course aims at equipping students with the skill-set to design and conduct empirical studies based on observational (archival) data in the fields of accounting and finance. After successful completion of the course students should
- understand the fundamentals and common pitfalls of quasi-experimental research design,
- be familiar with matching mechanisms, instrumental variable and panel data approaches which help with causal inference,
- be aware of limitations of these research designs,
- and, using the statistical software packages STATA and/or SAS, have gathered experiences in designing and conducting large-scale research projects.
| Literatures: | - Angrist, Joshua D. and Jörn-Steffen Pischke (2009): Mostly Harmless Econometrics: An Empiricist's Companion, Princeton University Press. - Morgan. Stephen L. and Christopher Winship (2007): Counterfactuals and Causal Inference: Methods and Principles for Social Research, Cambridge University Press. |
Financial Accounting Research Group (6 ECTS)
The main objective of this seminar is to introduce eligible students to current research in the area of financial accounting and auditing. To achieve this, we will provide participants with the necessary skills to comprehend common research design choices and to identify shortcomings of these choices.
Participants of the seminar will be invited to several lectures, tutorials and talks of international guests, which will take place at the institute. Since it is common to discuss the content of these talks beforehand, participants will also be invited to the corresponding discussion meetings at the institute. In addition, we will invite leading industry experts to discuss current financial accounting topics with us in a small colloquial atmosphere.
Each seminar period will last for one academic year and we expect participating students to commit to the full year. We expect to have around 12 meetings scattered throughout the academic year. A final seminar schedule will be distributed at beginning of each term (preliminary schedule). The discussion meetings prior academic talks will be arranged on short notice. Enrolment into the seminar is possible thoughout the year. For application, send a transcript of records to Ulf Brüggemann (u.bruggemann(at)hu-berlin.de). All participating students will be receiving a certification letter signaling their participation in this advanced seminar. Master students can also chose to obtain 6 ECTS by graded reviews on papers that are presented throughout the seminar. Syllabus FARG
Open Science Seminar: Management Accounting Made Easy (6 ECTS)
The idea of this experimental seminar is to learn the fundamentals of Open Data Science by jointly evaluating the findings of a field experiment on the effects of self-regulated online learning and procrastination on exam performance. Last semester, we offered the newly developed online training tool “Management Accounting Made Easy” (MAME) to students of the Bachelor level course “Kostenrechnung”. MAME consists of five additional online tests with extensive feedback, covering the full course material. The tests were provided to participating students over the course of the term to match course content, roughly following a bi-weekly schedule. Syllabus (incl. dates and further details)
PhD
Finance Accounting Research Group (6 ECTS)
The Finance Accounting Research Seminar is a joint initiative of Humboldt University and ESMT with the aim of fostering the exchange between active researchers in the areas of finance and accounting. The seminar schedule can be found here.
Accounting Reading Group (6 ECTS)
The course aims at equipping you with the necessary background and skill-set to read, comprehend and evaluate empirical work in the area of financial accounting research. It is aimed at second year PhD students and requires a sound background in economics and microeconometrics. In addition, students should have a general understanding of the institutions of capital markets in general and financial accounting in particular.