Note that Lectures start in Week 1 and Tutorials start in Week 2
The Unit is divided into 5 integrated areas. All of these areas are important to an understanding of the commercial and corporate issues that have a relationship to the role and responsibilities of accounting and business professionals.
Legal system and core legal and commercial concepts
Relevance for accounting and business professionals: Exposure to basic rights and commercial responsibilities to inform both personal transactions and professional advice to clients; employment relations; duty of care in the delivery of services; objectivity in assessment of performance; basic business organisation and structure.
Week 1 (Lecture 1)
Legal framework
Law of tort
Company Law Perspectives, 4th ed. 2020 [this is the required text and is referred to herein as "CLP 4th ed"]: Ch.1 and 3
Week 2 (Lecture 2)
Contract law
CLP 4th ed: Ch. 2
Tutorial 1
Week 3 (Lecture 3)
Contract law
Consumer protection
Agency
CLP 4th ed: Ch. 2, 4 and 34
Tutorial 2
Business Organisations and the Corporate Framework
Relevance for accounting and business professionals: Informed as to the choice of profit-making structure; the importance of exposure and extent of business failure and personal liability; understanding key business advice and strategy; entrepreneurial interrelationships; knowledge of role and functions of the corporate regulator.
Week 4 (Lecture 4)
Comparison of business organisations
Partnership
Registration of companies – the role of ASIC
Types of companies
Consequences of registration
CLP 4th ed: Chs.5, 6, 7, 8 and 24
Tutorial 3
Week 5 (Lecture 5)
The nature of Trusts and the role of corporate trustees
The company constitution and the relationship between the company and outsiders – the role of directors as agents and company liability in contract, tort and crime
Financing - Share capital and fundraising; loan capital
Dividends
CLP 4th ed: Ch. 9, 10, 11, 13, 14, 15, 16 and 17
Tutorial 4
Corporate management and governance responsibilities
Relevance for accounting and business professionals: Developing the ability to advise corporate clients, including individual directors and other managers; relevant foundation knowledge for personal future entrepreneurship; the importance of financial and ethical obligations and downsides of failure; recognising the relationship between company directors and accounting professionals; becoming alert to problems of financial oversight.
Week 6 (Lecture 6)
Directors and corporate management
Directors fiduciary duties
CLP 4th ed: Ch.18 and 19
Tutorial 5
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Mid-Session Break (13 September 2021 - 24 September 2021)
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Week 7 (Lecture 7)
Directors statutory duties and corporate governance
Financial and reporting obligations
Audit
CLP 4th ed: Ch. 20, 21, 22, 23
Tutorial 6
Shareholders and the corporate market
Relevance for accounting and business professionals: Ability to advise clients on the nature of the corporate marketplace; foundation information for providing professional investment advice to clients; awareness of key issues in company meetings; grounding for professional advisory role and introduction to current market issues in the acquisition and disposal of shares; introduction to shareholder equity issues including protection of rights.
Week 8 (Lecture 8)
Members rights
Company meetings
CLP 4th ed: Ch. 25 and 26
Tutorial 7
Week 9 (Lecture 9)
Takeovers
Financial services and markets – regulation and prohibited conduct
CLP 4th ed: Ch. 27 and 28
Tutorial 8
Insolvency
Relevance for accounting and business professionals: Exposure to key accounting and business issues in insolvency practice and the place of insolvency practitioners in the accounting and legal professions; understanding important signs and warnings of insolvency for both personal and business advisory use; being alert to insolvency options; understand legal alternatives and advise companies and their directors on effective insolvency planning and remedial action.
Week 10 (Lecture 10)
The concept of insolvency and the importance of insolvency regulation
Restructuring
CLP 4th ed: Ch. 29, 30, 31 and 32
Tutorial 9
Week 11 (Lecture 11)
Liquidation
The role and responsibilities of liquidators
CLP 4th ed: Ch.31
Tutorial 10
Week 12 (Lecture 12)
Summary and Revision
Tutorial 11
Week 13 (No Lecture)
Tutorial 12