Programme Summary

Part	Semester	Module Code	Module Name	Credits
I	I	CAC 1111 CBA1105 CIN1109 CIN1106 CBU1108	Accounting and Financial Analysis IA Microeconomics Commercial Law Quantitative Analysis for Business I Principles of Management	12 12 12 12 12
Total Credits Part I Semester I				60
I	II	CFS1201 CFS1202 CFI1202   CAC 1211 CBA1205 CIN1207	Customs and Excise Laws Freight Forwarding and Logistics Introduction to Information Technology and Programming (Practical) Accounting and Financial Analysis IB Macroeconomics Quantitative Analysis for Business II	12 12 12   12 12 12
Total Credits Part I Semester II				72
Total Credits Part I				132
II	I	CFS2101 CFS2102   CFS2103 CFI2101 CAC 2110	Tax Law and Practice Computer Applications in Revenue Management (Practical) Value Added Tax I Corporate Finance I Accounting and Financial Analysis IIA	12 12   12 12 12
Total Credits Part II Semester I				60
II	II	CFS2204 CFS2207 CFS2207 CFI2201 CAC 2210 CFS 2206	Customs Management Theory and Practice I Public Finance and Economics Customs and Taxes Information Systems (Practical) Corporate Finance II Accounting and Financial Analysis IIB Customs, Taxes and Public Sector Information Systems (Practical)	12 12 12 12 12 12
Total Credits Part II Semester II				70
Total Credits Part II				132
III	I & II	CFI3001	Industrial Attachment	120
Total Credits Part III				120
IV	I	CFS4101 CFS4103 CFS4106 CFS4107 CFS4104	Customs Management Theory and Practice II Value Added Tax II International Aspects of Taxation Corporate Governance, Ethics and Integrity Audit Practice and Investigation 1	12 12 12 12 12
Total Credits Part IV Semester I				60
	II	CFS4203 CFS4204 CFS4205 CFI4206 CFS 4202 CFS4200	Economic and Fiscal Policy National Income Accounting Interpretation of Statutes and Legal Drafting Financial Modelling (Practical) Audit Practice and Investigation II Research Project	12 12 12 12 12 24
Total Credits Part IV Semester II				84
Total Credits Part IV				144
Overall Credits for the Programme				528

 

COURSE SYNOPSIS

 

CAC 1111 Accounting and Financial Analysis IA                                                                12 Credits

This course introduces basic financial accounting principles for a business and presumes no previous Finance and Accounting knowledge. Upon completion, students should be able to gather financial information and to demonstrate an understanding of accounting principles and apply those skills to a business organization. Course should cover techniques of identifying and describing information sources that financial analysts use in financial statement analysis besides annual financial statements and supplementary information and the steps in the financial statement analysis framework.  Topics include the complete accounting cycle, accounts hierarchy (account classes, account groups, subsidiary accounts); journal entries related to sales, purchases, collections, payments, and expenses; posting; accounting of value added tax; payroll accounting; accounting of current assets; trial balance, preparation of financial statements for different types of business entities and closing/opening entries; petty cash and various types of reconciliation statement analyses.

 

CBA 1105 Microeconomics                                                                                              12 Credits

This module will study markets and the decision making embedded therein. It will discuss standard economic arguments that free markets work “best", the conditions under which these arguments are most believable, and policy options when these conditions are not met. The module will examine both competitive markets, for which basic models of supply and demand are most appropriate, and markets in which agents act strategically, for which game theory is the more appropriate tool. The module will cover, inter alia, economic theory and the market economy, consumer theory, choice under uncertainty, production and costs, efficiency and trade, market equilibrium, game theory and imperfect competition.

 

CIN 1109 Commercial Law                                                                                               12 Credits

The module introduces students to the basic legal principles governing the business environment. Focus will be placed on definition of contracts, requirements of a contract, breach of a contract, remedies for breach of contracts, law of agency, contract of sale, law of business organisations and insurance contract.

 

CIN 1106 Quantitative Analysis for Business I                                                                   12 Credits

The module introduces students to the mathematical tools relevant for application to the business environment. Students will be expected to recognise the value of quantitative methods in analysing data and interpreting it in order to make relevant business decisions.

 

CBU1108 Principles of Management                                                                                 12 Credits

History and development of management thought, functions of management, organisational structures, decision making, communication, centralisation and decentralisation, delegation, leadership and motivation, controlling budgeting and non-budgetary controls.

 

CFS 1201 Customs and Excise Laws                                                                                12 Credits

This module seeks to examine the customs law act and the regulations that govern the importation of goods. The valuation of imported goods for customs purpose is also going to be covered. The module is guided by the Customs and Excise Act of Zimbabwe is primarily designed to provide students with knowledge of Customs related laws of Zimbabwe and how it is affected by International Customs norms or standards such as the Harmonised System and the GATT valuation code. This is turn will provide the basis for the management and administration of the customs and excise and for matters relating thereto and connected therewith.

 

CFS 1202 Freight Forwarding and Logistics                                                                      12 Credits

The module provides basic knowledge of cargo, traffic management skills, and an understanding of the unique requirements of international transportation and logistics within the confines of international best practices. Candidates will gain insight into cargo handling related to required shipment documentation and communication.  Expected outcomes include knowledge of intermodal transportation, supply chain packaging, warehouse operations, track protection.

 

CFI 1202 Introduction to Information Technology and Programming                                    12 Credits

The module provides a brief overview of the discipline of computer science and information technology topics including computer architecture, operation systems and networks, automata and models of computation, programming languages and compilers, algorithms, databases, security and information assurance, artificial intelligence, graphics, and social/ethical issues of computing. This module also provides an introduction to computer programming using the Python programming language, which covers basic procedural techniques such as variables, data types, selection, iteration, and functions. It will also introduce students to object-oriented programming. It also looks at various general programming concepts, such as algorithm design and debugging. By the end of the course, students should be able to construct a moderately-sized Python program.

 

CAC 1211 Accounting and Financial Analysis IB                                                                12 Credits

The module builds on the foundation laid in CFI 1102. Emphasis is on analysing, summarizing, reporting, and interpreting financial information. Upon completion, students should be able to prepare, analyse and interpret financial statements. The objective of the course is to provide students with hands-on experience in financial statement analysis. Students will be exposed to general tools of financial analysis, theoretical concepts, and practical valuation issues. By the end of the course, students should be comfortable with using firms' financial statements to develop an understanding of their performance and to establish a basis for making reasonable valuation estimates. Students will be introduced to financial packages that are used in analysing financial statements and decision making.

 

CBA 1205 Macroeconomics                                                                                             12 Credits

The module is designed to address how economists model the relationships between aggregate economic variables and examine how various fiscal and monetary policies can affect the results. The main goal is to improve students’ economic literacy and ability to apply economic models to analyse real world events.  This module will be taught from an equilibrium perspective. This means the module will work with economic agents that optimize and with aggregate consistency conditions. Along with building basic economics intuition, the module will be centred on constructing and understanding macroeconomic models. These models will be used to discuss the theory of long-run economic growth and short-run economic fluctuations and to analyse macroeconomic policy, in particular fiscal policy.

 

CIN 1207 Quantitative Analysis for Business II                                                                   12 Credits

This module seeks to introduce students to the application of quantitative methods to the business environment. Students will be expected to grasp mathematical tools which are used for analysing data and to be able to accurately interpret it and apply them in decision making.

 

CFS 2101 Tax Law and Practice                                                                                       12 Credits

The module introduces students to taxation and the tax system in Zimbabwe by covering topics that include an introduction to and current trends in the tax system in Zimbabwe. The concepts of and the difference between tax avoidance and tax evasion is explored. The sources of tax law, including an appreciation of the role of statutes, case law in Zimbabwe’s tax system and the practices of the Commissioner of Taxes. The principle of gross income and the sources of income and the taxation of fringe and other benefits are explored in detail. Students get an appreciation of the concepts of exempt income, deductions from income, capital allowances and an appreciation of the final deduction system and NSSA contributions. The calculation of income tax liability for individuals and credits that accrue to them from employment and simple types of business that include sole traders, partnerships, farming income and an introduction to the taxation of business income principles of capital gains taxes is covered. The module also gives an overview of the role and appreciation of taxation in personal financial management.

 

CFS 2102 Computer Applications in Revenue Management                                                 12 Credits

This module seeks to introduce the students to the computer-based revenue management models that can help improve the collection and management of revenue.

 

CFS2103 Value Added Tax (VAT) I                                                                                    12 Credits

The module provides a brief introductory study of the VAT legislation in Zimbabwe. As a foundation course to the study of VAT/GST, it exposes students to a more general overview of the tax system including, inter alia, the rationale for replacing various sales taxes with VAT/GST, specifically pointing to the deficiencies in these sales tax systems and especially the cascading effect in them. The regressively of VAT/GST will be explored as one of the crucial demerits afflicting the VAT/GST system. The evolution, including a general historical background to the VAT/GST will be done. The course will also review GST implementation in Zimbabwe and other countries. The study will then explore the following issues in VAT/ GST: Interpretation of fiscal legislation; definition of some important terms, such as trade, consideration, supply, goods and services, connected persons; registration for VAT/GST; some special types of supplies; timing and value of supplies zero-rated supplies and exempt supplies; VAT on the importation of goods and services; accounting for VAT and documentation requirements such as tax invoices, debit and credit notes; calculation of tax payable; prohibited deductions and returns, payments and assessments.

 

CF12101 Corporate Finance I                                                                                           12 Credits

The aim of the module is to identify the objective that corporate finance managers pursue or ought to pursue in order to satisfy the needs of corporate stakeholders and to develop, in students, concepts and corporate analytical tools that will enable them to meet this objective.  To this end, the module will cover the following critical areas: goals of a firm and the agency theory; time value concepts and valuation of bonds and shares; capital budgeting under certainty; operating and financial leverage; introduction to portfolio theory and capital asset pricing; the stock market and other sources of long-term capital; innovations in corporate finance.

 

CAC 2110 Accounting and Financial Analysis IIA                                                               12 Credits

This course is a continuation of the study of accounting principles with in-depth coverage of theoretical concepts and financial statements. Topics include comparison of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles and extensive analyses of financial statements. Upon completion, students should be able to demonstrate competence in the conceptual framework underlying financial accounting, including the application of financial standards. The course will give students the tools to perform a fundamental analysis of a company. Focus will be on developing these skills for assessing quality of financial statements, potential accounting distortions, recasting financial statements, DuPont framework, cash flow analysis, prospective analysis, using accounting numbers in forecasting, forecasting for valuation, and investor communication. Students must understand the effects of alternative financial reporting policies on financial statements and ratios and be able to execute appropriate adjustments to enhance comparability between companies. In addition, students must be alert to differences between a company’s reported financial statements and economic reality.

 

CFS 2204 Customs Management Theory and Practice I                                                       12 Credits

This module introduces students to the policy and principles of customs administration and international trends that impact on customs, including social expectations, emerging technologies and the global economy. A detailed analysis of the role and responsibilities of customs authorities is undertaken, including a historical perspective of the customs function, its evolving role in the International trade and commerce and the various international conventions and agreements which impact on customs policy.

 

 

CFS 2207 Public Finance and Economics                                                                         12 Credits

The module is meant to enable students to have a deeper understanding of the operations of public finance from the theoretical and practical point of view. It commences by looking at the nature and scope of public finance, theory of public goods, welfare theories and proceeds to consider the financial and economic role of the government. It also examines the scope and control of public expenditure, the main methods of diverting resources from private to public use by way of taxation, financial and macroeconomic problems, financial and macro-economic policies, and sources of finance/revenue. Because of the prominence of taxation as a source of public revenue, the module provides students with a conceptual framework for examining government taxing so as to analyse current tax policy and provide proposals for reform. The focus will be on evaluating the impact of taxation on the allocation of resources and the distribution of income.

 

CFS 2205 Audit Principles and Skills                                                                                12 Credits

The purpose of this module is to introduce the student to the underlying theories, principles and practices of modern auditing. In doing so, it will examine the modern auditing process and identify contemporary issues in auditing practice. It will provide students with the ability to assess audit risk and its component parts and evaluate the internal control systems and environment of an organisation.

 

CFS 2207 Customs Taxes and Public Sector Information Systems                                       12 Credits

The module enables the candidate to understand fiscal information systems that provide public sector managers a modern set of tools to assist them in performing  a variety of tasks, such as: (a) designing appropriate fiscal and monetary responses to changing macro-economic conditions; (b) ensuring accountability for the deployment and use of public resources; (c) improving the effectiveness and efficiency of public expenditure programs; (d) mobilizing domestic resources and managing external resources (foreign aid and loans); (e) managing the civil service; and (f) decentralizing operations with adequate controls.  Candidates should be able to use modern tools and technologies to perform macro-economic forecasting, budget preparation, execution, perform audits and prepare financial reports.

 

CFI 2201 Corporate Finance II                                                                                          12 Credits

The aim of the course is to develop further, in students, concepts and corporate financial analytical tools. The areas covered will include the following: Introduction to capital structure theory and practice; Cost of capital and valuation; Introduction to capital budgeting under uncertainty; Dividend policy theory and practice; corporate working capital management; and innovations in corporate finance.

 

CAC 2210 Accounting and Financial Analysis IIB                                                               12 Credits

The module examines concepts; conventions, standards, issues, the regulatory regime and, the reasons and progress towards harmonization of the preparation of Financial Statements and the Analysis of the Financial Statements prepared on these bases. Emphasis is on special problems which may include leases, bonds, investments, ratio analyses, present value applications, accounting changes, and corrections. Upon completion, students should be able to demonstrate an understanding of the principles involved and display an analytical problem-solving ability for the topics covered. Accounting computer problems involving preparation and completion of spreadsheets are integrated throughout the course. Areas to be covered include financial reporting quality and application of financial statement analysis to debt and equity investments. Frequently used tools and techniques for evaluating companies include common-size analysis, cross-sectional analysis, trend analysis, and ratio analysis. Beyond mere knowledge of these tools and techniques, however, the student must recognize the implications of accounting choices on the quality of a company’s reported financial results. Then the student can apply financial analysis techniques to tasks such as the evaluation of past and future financial performance, credit analysis, the screening of potential equity investments, and other emerging needs.

 

CFS 3001 Industrial Attachment                                                                                       120 Credits

Work-related activities consisting continuous assessment, academic supervision and evaluation culminating in submission of a final year report which is an equivalence of an industry-oriented research activities dissertation.

 

CFI 4101 Customs Management Theory and Practice II                                                       12 Credits

This subject introduces students to key aspects of customs policy and practice, international principles governing the assessment of import duties and other taxes, and the implementation of international agreements across a range of customs jurisdictions. It includes a detailed analysis of particular aspects of customs purposes, international rules of origin, customs ware-houses and free trade zones, transit and transhipment, excise of special import arrangements.

 

CFS 4103 Value Added Tax II                                                                                           12 Credits

The course aims at providing an advanced appreciation of VAT/GST law through the analysis of complex issues in the law. It will provide a broad overview of the territorial and economic scope of VAT. There are two conflicting principles on which the territorial scope of VAT can be based: The Origin Principle and the Destination principle. Students will be able to appreciate-ate the above principles and ultimately identify their economy's VAT/GST system in relation to the above principles. Complex issues related to the deeming provisions in the legislation, zero rating, VAT/GST implications relating to the so called 'property in possession' (PIP), the general disallowance rule (GRD) and exceptions thereof. The course will also aim to provide an appreciation of the complex area of input and output tax adjustments in relation to change of use of goods or services, sales of business as a going concern, irrecoverable debts, refunds in relation to overpaid tax and schemes for obtaining undue tax advantages, among other intricate VAT/GST issues. The course will also specifically refer to VAT/GST case law and students are expected to familiarize themselves with local and international cases and be able to analyse the influence of such cases to the development of VAT/GST.

 

CFS 4106 International Aspect of Taxation                                                                        12 Credits

The course provides a study of the federal revenue acts as they relate primarily to individual income tax theory and practice. Topical coverage includes the individual income tax return, gross income inclusions and exclusions, business expenses and retirement plans, self-employed and employee expenses, itemized and other deductions, accounting periods, accounting methods, depreciation, capital gains and losses and payroll taxes.

 

CFS 4107 Corporate Governance, Ethics and Integrity                                                        12 Credits

The module seeks to develop in students a firm understanding of the principles and theoretical underpinnings of Corporate Governance by getting insights into different corporate governance systems. It includes issues relating to fiduciary duties, risk oversight, audits, internal controls and crisis management. In addition, it focuses on ethical issues, mainly the ability to identify and deal with ethical dilemmas and unethical practices in business. Further, the module touches on integrity issues, particularly anti-corruption, and transparency and other areas of responsible business conduct.  It aims to bridge the gap between business integrity standards and their implementation in practice. It is anchored in international principles of corporate governance that put forward the expectation of the board and executive management on setting the ethical tone in an organisation and oversight of its business integrity policies.

 

CFS 4104 Audit Practice and Investigation I                                                                      12 Credits

This course was designed to introduce auditing and assurance knowledge and will examine special auditing topics such as accounting framework in Zimbabwe, Principles of external auditing, International Standards on auditing (ISAs), International internal auditing Standards (IIAs), Methods of determining income and many other necessary aspects involved in audit practice and investigations. The module is aimed at introducing key principles in audit practice and investigations.

 

CFS 4203 Economic and Fiscal                                                                                                        12 Credits   

The course will concentrate on selected important economic policy issues, tools and models.  The specific topics will be of contemporary interest and the topics covered include some of the following:  The operation and the activities of the state related to the taxation and spending and the impact they have on resource allocation, welfare and income distribution. Areas of focus include tax policy, trade agreements and public programmes. Inequality; International negotiations and trade policies; Global imbalances; World trade collapse; Fiscal policy and unemployment; Monetary policy and exchange rate frameworks; Financial integration and currency unions; Financial crises and relevant policies; endogenous growth, exhaustible resources and relevant policies.  Further it explores issues of efficiency, countercyclical policy along the business cycles, when to issue debt and what kind of debt; automatic stabilizers; fiscal sustainability; interactions between fiscal and monetary policy and empirical measurements of effects of taxation and debt. By the end of the module it is hoped that candidates will be able to use their knowledge of economic policy so as to have a better understanding of how an economy function.

 

CFS 4204 National Income Accounting                                                                             12 Credits

The course was designed to help students understand how national income is accounted. The course examines the complete circular flow model and measurement of economic performance using different methods. In understanding national income accounting a discussion of the nature of national income and social accounting is unpacked with particular reference to emerging issues around Environmental Social Governance (ESG) where the nexus between national income and environmental accounting is exposed.

 

CFS 4205 Interpretation of Statutes and Legal Drafting                                                       12 Credits

The course provides a general introduction to interpretation of statutes and fundamental rules and techniques of good drafting of pieces of legislation. It examines both the legislative process and the interpretation of statutes. Students will study various tools of statutory interpretation, including the use of legislative history materials and the doctrines and textual canons of statutory construction. Practice of law: course may focus on litigation documents, documents, or a combination thereof.

 

CFS 4202 Audit Practice and Investigation II                                                                     12 Credits

This module was designed to prepare students to understand and develop more skills that are needed in audit practice and investigation of high-profile cases that involve multinational companies, large companies listed on stock exchanges and cross-border businesses. The course is a further development from Audit Practice & Investigation I with the main focus on equipping students with skills to audit both customs and domestic taxes by paying particular attention to rules of origin for different groupings, double taxation agreements, post-clearance audits, money laundering investigations & cabbing of all Illicit Financial Flows. In this module, global emerging issues in modern customs and taxation such as valuation, transfer pricing and international taxation will be unpacked from an audit practice & investigation perspective so that revenue leakages are reduced. 

 

CFI 4206 Financial Modelling                                                                                           12 Credits

This is purely a practical course, which involves the use of computer packages to model data and challenges in finance, investment and economics. It covers Corporate Finance Models (such as Financial Statement Modelling, Operating Budgets, Capital Budget, Covariance, Beta estimation, Value at Risk, Event studies), Option, Pricing Models, Sensitivity Analysis, Scenario Analysis, and Computer Simulations GARCH models; Interest rate models and calibration and other fundamental innovations.

 

CFS 4006 Research Project                                                                                             24 Credits

The project is meant to give students an opportunity to apply the knowledge gained over the course period. Students undertake research in an area of their choice but limited to the taught courses in liaison with their supervisors to produce a project which has practical applications/solutions.