ESRM
321, Finance & Accounting From a Sustainability Perspective (SLN
14384) is an online course (except for two
mandatory
in-person exams on 2.9 and 3.10) that does not charge an additional fee and
offers 5 credits, NW, and I&S. This course has no
prerequisites. Below is overview info, and details are on the website at
Overview:
Finance and Accounting.
In
ESRM 321, we explore two of the four primary business dimensions: finance
and
accounting (companion course ESRM 320 explores marketing and management).
Finance refers to the flows and uses of money among individuals,
businesses, non-profit organizations, and governments and associated
processes,
institutions, and markets. Accounting involves recording,
classifying,
summarizing, and interpreting business transactions to provide management
and
stakeholders with information about a company’s performance, liquidity,
growth,
value, etc. Sustainability. Refers to integrating
environmental,
social, and financial elements in order to meet the needs of people today
without compromising Earth’s capacity to provide for future generations.
Integrating these three is called the triple bottom line. In business, the
bottom line refers to net income or profits because it is the last (i.e.,
bottom) line in a company's income statement; profits are essential because
a
business is unsustainable without them. Sustaining the planet over the long
term
depends not on one but all three bottom lines. We will explore the meaning
and
importance of sustainable business practices that respect and adhere to best
environmental science methods and ethical social responsibility standards.
The
context for this exploration will be assessing data in corporate
sustainability
reports. Companies that trade on U.S. stock exchanges are required by law to
report financial performance, but no laws exist for reporting social
responsibility and environmental performance. However, in response to
stakeholders many corporations voluntarily issue annual sustainability
reports
that provide information on the company’s environmental and social
responsibility practices and performance.
Course Goals: ESRM 321 has two goals: to provide a context for
1)
learning business concepts AND 2) hands on experience assessing corporate
sustainability performance. The learning objectives below in
bold are achieved through listening to the recorded
business
lectures and reading the Nickels textbook while the learning objectives
underlined below are achieved through assessing GRI indicators using
sustainability report information.Learning Objectives (at the end of this course, students should be able to do the following).
- Explain finance, accounting, corporate social responsibility, and sustainability concepts
- Summarize what money is, counterfeiting deterrence, and financial institutions
- Explain the functions of the U.S. Federal Reserve System and its monetary policy tools
- Describe stock markets, investing strategies, and socially responsible investing
- Analyze financial statements (e.g., balance sheets, income statements)
- Define corporate financial management
- Describe Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) framework for sustainability reporting
- Assess GRI economic and environment indicators to measure actual sustainability performance
- Analyze real world sustainability performance using data in corporate sustainability reports
- Summarize and interpret sustainability performance data
