3 ECTS
The finance course
represents the combination of two sets of knowledge: reading financial
statements and decision-making in a company. While holding its high ambitions
to cover those broad areas during one course, Finance keeps its strong focus on
the management perspective of the user of the information while keeping the
high pace and intensity of the lectures.
The course starts with
the basics of the conceptual framework of accounting and the preparation of
financial statements: a balance sheet and an income statement. The course
further develops the aspect of the analysis of the financial statements by
adding the ratio analysis. The second part of the course shifts the focus to
decisions the company is making on its financing as well as its new projects.
The course contains
lectures and consultations. The lectures cover the theoretical material where
both theoretical and practical parts are applied – the theoretical concepts are
applied and tested by the students when the problems are solved and solutions
discussed and analysed. To prepare for the upcoming lecture, students need to
read the chapters stated in the course outline. The suggested tasks as listed
in the course outline are optional while highly recommended for students’
self-practice at home (all the tasks have answers provided by the textbook). The
consultations are scheduled once a week. Whatever career path
students might be willing to choose knowledge obtained in this course will make
them sophisticated users of financial information equipped for the
decision-making process.
- Teacher: Nataļja Točelovska
3 ECTS
With the advent of the Internet and emerging technologies, more information has the capacity to stray beyond the sphere of control of its owners than ever before. The development has been closely followed by concerns over the privacy and data protection of information owners. This course comparatively and critically examines the legal aspects of privacy and data protection through the prisms of regulation, practice and academic scholarship. Data protection and privacy stems from fundamental values enshrined in several international instruments, such as the European Convention on Human Rights or the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. These renditions have taken on a new facet of interpretation in the context of data-focused economies. The gamut of economic and social benefits must be balanced with short and long-term risks to individuals and organizations alike. In turn, the European Union states have agreed on several major regional norms, such as Directives 2002/58/EC and 2006/24/EC, as well as the General Data Protection Regulation coming into force May 2018.
The issue of data protection and privacy becomes more complicated as it reaches the subsidiarity levels of structures closest to enforcing the norms. The borderless nature of the data domain denotes potentially transnational consequences for any decisions taken by state regulators. Together with various differences in interpretation and capacity, the current lack of privacy and data protection harmonisation among various states is a point of contention. Concurrently, states are seeking the correct way to balance the interests of private parties, in spite of disparity in bargaining power. Within the European Union, all parties involved must comply with accountability principles and retain Data Protection Impact Assessments to various degrees before and after the creation of contractual relations. The same parties also hold responsibility for data breach notifications. Issues further delve into data interaction with the general public and individuals, via targeted advertising from private parties, or surveillance from the state. This course delves into the aforementioned themes by tracing their development from inception to contemporaneity in doctrine and practice, critically appraising current paradigms in light of new technological praxis and discoveries.
- Teacher: Edina Harbinja