This course introduces students to the basic concepts and principles of business administration in order to understand what business is, what it does, and its role in society. In this perspective, emphasis is placed on the businesses’ features and specific conditions that delineate their institutional and technical structure. The course also aims to help students to develop the skills they need to understand the principles and mechanics that regulate everyday business life. In addition, the course investigates accounting concepts, demonstrating how accounting information is recorded, summarized, and reported.

The complete scheduling of the program (timetable) will be inserted on the Moodle Platform

Teaching PROGRAM

1. Economic activity and business activity
1.1 The nature of economic problems over time and space. Differences between economics, business administration and accounting
1.2 The business system and its relationship with the environment
1.3 Classes and types of companies
 
2. The business system
2.1 The business system and its subsystems: organizational, operations and management, asset and information systems
2.2 The institutional structure of a company: legal subjects and economic subjects
2.3 The organs of the economic governance and management of a company

3. The economic behavior of firms
3.1 Corporate decision-making
3.2 Objective and bounded rationality models
3.3 The decision-making structure
3.4 Organization and Personnel Management
3.5 Concept, configurations, and the qualitative and quantitative composition of capital
3.6 Working capital. Calculating total income. Operating income and the preservation of capital
3.7 Costs and revenues in the business system
3.8 Investments and financing needs.  Funding choices. Self-financing. 
3.9 Cost effectiveness and efficiency. 

4. The accounting and business information system; journal entry, original entry and posting entry
4.1 Accounting methods: the double-entry system applied to the income system. The accounting plan, accounting books and records.

4.2 The setting up of a company. The main accounting entries: credit and debit entries, personnel entries and pay-roll records, commercial entries (purchase and sales entries), surpluses and losses, etc.

4.3 Closing and opening entries
 

Financial reporting

Management control

Auditing

 (knowledge and understanding). By  the end of the course, students must have acquired knowledge of the conceptual bases, of the theoretical principles and of the methodological tools proper to Business Administration. In particular, students must know and understand: what economic activity consists of and by whom it is carried out; what are the characteristics of a company and the peculiarities of the company system; how companies are classified; what a company is, how it relates to the environment, what its fundamental behavior and functioning patterns are, and what are the main economic and financial aspects that characterize it; the role of the corporate information system; how the main external management events are recorded in the general ledger according to the double entry method applied to the income accounting system; what are the purposes, structure and essential contents of the financial statements. The methods of teaching work with which these results will be achieved will consist of: frontal lessons and exercises. The learning assessment will consist in strutctured examination.

(applying knowledge and understanding). Students must be able to apply the knowledge acquired appropriately and flexibly to address the questions and problems posed by the business context based on the cognitive schemes of the Business Economy and in particular to analyze and understand the general characteristics of companies, the economic aspects and financial position of the company, as well as its management processes. Students must also be able to detect external management facts through general accounting, applying the double entry method to the income system. Finally, students must be able to read and understand an annual report, identifying the main economic and financial information therein included. The methods of teaching work with which these results will be achieved will consist of: frontal lessons and exercises.The learning assessment will consist in  semi-structured examination.

 (making judgements) Students must have the ability to connect the knowledge acquired during the course in integrated schemes and to deal with complex problems with their own judgment. The methods of teaching work with which these results will be achieved will consist of: frontal lessons and exercises.The learning assessment will consist in short text and oral examination.

 (communication skills) The subject requires the acquisition of a specific and precise technical language. At the end of the course, therefore, students must be able to adequately use the terminology proper to Business Economics and Accounting, demonstrating a good command of the lexicon relating to the topics covered during the course. The methods of teaching work with which these results will be achieved will consist of: frontal lessons and exercises.The learning assessment will consist in oral examination.

 (learning skills). Students must have developed good learning skills, which allow them to master the topics covered during the course and to lay the theoretical, conceptual and methodological foundations essential for successfully pursuing their study path and professional preparation. The methods of teaching work with which these results will be achieved will consist of: frontal lessons and exercises.The learning assessment will consist in strutctured, semi-structured and oral examination.

The teaching material prepared by the lecturer in addition to recommended textbooks (such as for instance slides, lecture notes, exercises, bibliography) and communications from the lecturer specific to the course can be found inside the Moodle platform › blended.uniurb.it

The teaching assistant’s sessions/tutorial sessions for a total of 15 hours (delivered by Dott. Sacchi Enrica) will provide practical exercise to further develop the above concepts and skills. Attendance is strongly recommended.  

On going assessment: during the course the teacher will organize exam simulation to allow the student to self-evaluate his/her learning level. On November 3, 2023, an intermediate test will be given (during the times allotted in the course calendar), and it will consist of two parts: a structured test part (multiple choice questions; true/false on accounting and business economics topics), and a semi-structured test part (exercises, such constitution entries, management entries, descriptions of the nature of the accounts) tied to the program that has been carried out until that point.

Teaching

Course lectures; tutorials and seminars

Traditional class lectures divided in two main parts: Economia Aziendale  (business administration) (EA) and Contabilità  (accounting)(ES) 

Lectures relate to both the contents of the course entitled Economia Aziendale (EA) as well as those of the course entitled Contabilità (ES), and will offer in-depth coverage of the concepts necessary to prepare for the exams for both these courses.   

Students are advised that the instructor will furnish slides relative to the exam program for Economia Aziendale  as well as the parts entitled contabilità  (accounting). These can be downloaded directly from the instructor’s site.  

The presentation materials used during lessons will also be provided for consultation and downloading by students (starting from the first semesters of the course); these will appear directly on the School of Economics site, and the instructor will provide students with a password that is connected with the relative course syllabus/instructor involved.

Furthermore students are advised to participate in the 2-credit Seminar entitled “Laboratorio di Contabilità” (Accounting Lab), which will take place each  semester; this will significantly allows students to assess their practical accounting skills, after passing the exam.

Innovative teaching methods

Problem solving

Attendance

There is no obligation to attend. However, attendance at the lesson is highly recommended. The matter requires, in fact, the acquisition of a specific technical language, as well as the ability to conceptual abstraction and concrete application of some methodological tools. In order to facilitate the gradual learning of the appropriate subject and terminology, therefore, frequent lessons are recommended.

Course books

Please procure the following textbooks:

- M. Paoloni, P. Paoloni (2021), Introduzione e orientamento allo studio delle aziende, Giappichelli, Torino (excluding Chapters 8 and 9).
- Paoloni Mauro, Celli Massimiliano (a cura di) (2020), Introduzione alla contabilità generale, CEDAM, Padova, second edition.
With the exception of: (i.e. the following parts of the textbook are NOT included in the exam program and therefore  DO NOT need to be studied):  

CAPITOLO X - SCRITTURE DI GESTIONE: 

• Paragrafo 1.3 (pag. 200): Acquisto di beni e servizi sul mercato internazionale

• Paragrafo 2.3. (pag. 238): Vendite di beni sul mercato internazionale

• Sotto-paragrafo 2.5.8. (pag. 270): Factoring

• Paragrafo 5.4 (pag. 336): Prestiti Obbligazionari

• Paragrafo 6 (pag. 353): Scritture relative agli investimenti finanziari

• Paragrafo 8.3 (pag. 385): Scritture relative alle imposte dirette

CAPITOLO XV: SCRITTURE DEI SISTEMI SUPPLEMENTARI: I CONTI D’ORDINE 

 
Further reading and consultation texts for preparing the exam:

M. Paoloni, G. Mattei, N. Paoloni (a cura di), Eserciziario di economia aziendale e di contabilità, Cedam, Wolters Kluwer, Italia, Milano, 2018.  

The teaching material prepared by the lecturer in addition to recommended textbooks (such as for instance slides, lecture notes, exercises, bibliography) and communications from the lecturer specific to the course can be found inside the Moodle platform › blended.uniurb.it

Assessment

Written and oral examination, on the same day (if this is compatible with the numbers of written exams in each exam session).

 The written examination (2 hours long) involves exercises, writing concerning accounting  and the response to open questions as well as multiple choice ones.It will include on average 7 or 8 exercises, based on subjects included within the Business Administration program, both relating to the theoretical part and the application of Accounting. The oral examination (which only takes place after one has passed the written part) involves questions on the entire examination program.

WRITTEN TEST: Each of the 7/8 exercises is awarded a score for a total of 30/30 points. The exercises, depending on the various topics, involve different modes of conduct. Some exercises contain closed-ended questions (the student must indicate what the correct answers are). Other exercises are based on open responses and include a description of the content related to the subject. Some exercises involve carrying out accounting and bookkeeping, while others require a description of the nature of the accounts and the type of variation (economic or financial). Some exercises involve calculating ratios and margins.

The student must perform the exercises correctly and answer the closed question requests provided for in the written test; they have to respond in an articulate and detailed way to the oral questions that may concern the whole EA and ES program.

The overall assessment of the student's level of preparation will be carried out taking into account the passing of the written test and the outcome of the oral test. For the written test, the total score obtained will be the sum of the score for each exercise. To gain access to the oral exam, students must have reached a score of 18/30. The oral test will last an average of 15/20 minutes and will cover up to  maximumof 4 questions. The total evaluation will take into account the medium result of the written (passed) test and the oral dissertation.The final evaluation will take into account the total average scores obtained by the student in both tests, written and oral.The evaluation is based on the different levels of knowledge of the topics of the course of study. This method of ascertaining the knowledge acquired is due, in particular, to the desire to verify the student's ability to synthesize, communicative and expressive skills, as well as the successful acquisition of the appropriate economic-business lexicon.

In order to facilitate their preparation of the exam for this course, students can download and consult the material used during the lessons, organized in ppt presentations, from the Internet.

Disability and Specific Learning Disorders (SLD)

Students who have registered their disability certification or SLD certification with the Inclusion and Right to Study Office can request to use conceptual maps (for keywords) during exams.

To this end, it is necessary to send the maps, two weeks before the exam date, to the course instructor, who will verify their compliance with the university guidelines and may request modifications.

Teaching

Same (see the exam program above for attending students)

Attendance

Students are called to carefully consider all information provided relative to the course.

Course books

Same (see the exam program above for attending students)

Assessment

Same (see information for attending students)

Disability and Specific Learning Disorders (SLD)

Students who have registered their disability certification or SLD certification with the Inclusion and Right to Study Office can request to use conceptual maps (for keywords) during exams.

To this end, it is necessary to send the maps, two weeks before the exam date, to the course instructor, who will verify their compliance with the university guidelines and may request modifications.

Students can request to receive a course bibliography and take the exam  (written and oral) in English. 

The student can request to sit the final (oral) exam in English with an alternative bibliography. Students wishing to take exams in English should send an e-mail to the professor and must study the following material in the foreign (English) language:

 Students wishing to take exams in English should send an e-mail to the professor and must study the following material in English:

- Marchini PL (2023), Business Administration and Accounting, Giappichelli: Chapters 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 10 (only 10.1, 10.2, 10.3, 10.4).

or

- Smith, Barry  (2010), Introductory Financial Accounting, McGraw-Hill (available through Ebrary) 

The student must show an understanding of the concepts and theories provided by the course; he must be able to identify and interpret the business problems in the start-up stage and during the lifecycle of the business.
The student must demonstrate that he/she can use the knowledge, methods, tools and concepts that allow the management of businesses, applying the logic of accounting and business administration.