Ethics, Sustainability Reporting, Governance and Risk (ACC494)

ACC494 Ethics, Sustainability Reporting, Governance and Risk examines the evolving role of accountants in organisations, focusing on ethical principles, environmental and social reporting, governance structures, risk management frameworks and internal control structures. As accountants are stewards of corporate information, they are an important line of defence to bolster organisational integrity, transparency and accountability. This course discusses the principles and framework for professional ethics for accountants. We then shift perspectives to the role of managers, their relationship with stakeholders and their influence on financial statements. The scope of corporate reporting is then expanded from financial reporting to emerging areas of practice in environmental and social reporting. The course turns inwards and looks at risk management frameworks and the role of internal controls. Finally we will look at corporate governance frameworks and well as the artificial intelligence governance for accounting.

• Moral philosophy and business ethics
• Professional ethics and anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT)
• Agency theory
• Earnings management
• Introduction to sustainability reporting
• Environmental and social reporting
• Understanding risk management
• The enterprise risk management framework
• Internal controls
• Implementation of internal controls
• Corporate governance
• AI governance for accounting

• Examine fundamental ideas on ethics in general, in business and codified professional ethics for accountants.
• Appraise agency theory, the stewardship role of accounting information and the motivations, applications and implications of earnings management.
• Appraise the need for sustainability reporting the standards used, and the regulatory environment in Singapore.
• Analyse the conceptual framework, key rules, regulations and guidelines governing the corporate governance of companies in Singapore and in other countries.
• Evaluate the responsible use of artificial intelligence in an organisation for accounting.
• Formulate organisational strategies to manage risk.
• Evaluate the need for and the effectiveness of internal control systems.