The course aims to provide the concepts and the theoretical and applied bases necessary to understand the logic of the functioning of the business system concerning methods of management, organization, business decision-making, and methods of recording business operations. 

To this end, the course provides the terminology, theoretical knowledge, and methodological tools necessary for the study and understanding of the following aspects: the institutional characteristics of the company (and in particular, the production company), its constituent elements, the models of management that characterize it, the main operating logics, the conditions of economic equilibrium and profitability, the double-entry method of recording external management facts, the method of keeping general accounts for the quantitative determination of the company.

The course comprises Business Administration (theoretical principles and models) and Accounting Applications (accounting and quantitative determinations). 

Part I: Business Administration

1) BUSINESS ACTIVITY
- Overview of economics and accounting
- The nature of the economic problem: the relationship between needs, goods, economic activity, and the role of firms
- The institutions that carry out the economic activity are households, production enterprises (firms), public enterprises, and non-profit enterprises.

2) FIRMS AND THE ECONOMIC SYSTEM
- Definition of the firm and its main subsystems (people, goods, processes).
- The business system and its relations with stakeholders and the environment.
- Classification criteria and types of enterprises.
- The institutional structure of businesses: legal entity and economic entity.
- The decision-making structure and management models.
- The human subsystem: organization and human resource management (organizational models).
- The assets subsystem consists of capital, qualitative (inventory), and quantitative (balance sheet) configurations, working capital, and capital configurations.
- The operations subsystem: management and the role of the information system.

3) THE ENTERPRISE IN ITS ECONOMIC AND FINANCIAL CHARACTERISTICS
- The concept of capital: composition and presentation (Statement of Assets and Liabilities)
- Total income and operating income. The profit and loss account and the determination of operating income.
- The principle of economic profitability.
- Economic equilibrium. The remuneration of the factors of production. The business risk.
- Investments and financial needs. The different sources of financing are risk capital, debt capital, and self-financing.

Part II: Accounting 

4. GENERAL ACCOUNTING
- The recording of business transactions and the double-entry method.
- Value-added tax and mandatory accounting ledgers.
- The purchase of goods with simple fecundity.
- Purchases of services.
- Sales of goods and services.
- Receipts and payments.
- Employment.
- Intangible and tangible assets.
- Financial liabilities.
- Founding of the companies.
- Adjustment entries.
- Closing entries for the profit and loss account and general closing entries.
- The reopening of the accounts.

The teaching is preparatory to the following courses: 
Business Administration and Accounting II 
Planning and Controlling
Business auditing

Knowledge and understanding. Students should have acquired knowledge of the conceptual foundations, theoretical principles, and methodological tools of business studies and accounting. In particular, students should have a good command of the topics covered in the course and understand what economic activity consists of and by whom it is carried out; what the characteristics of an enterprise and the peculiarities of the operation of the enterprise system; how enterprises are classified; what an enterprise is, how it relates to the environment and stakeholders, what are its basic patterns of behavior and operation, and what are the main economic and financial aspects that characterize it; the role of the enterprise information system; how the main external management facts are recorded in general ledger accounting using the double-entry method. These skills will be tested through written and oral questions.

Applied knowledge and understanding. Students are expected to be able to apply the knowledge they have acquired appropriately and flexibly to the issues and problems of the business environment based on the cognitive schemes of business studies and to understand the general characteristics of enterprises, the economic and financial aspects of the enterprise, and its patterns of behavior and operation. They should be able to record external management facts employing general accounting using the double-entry method. These skills will be tested through written and oral questions and exercises.

Autonomy of judgment. Students should be able to link the knowledge acquired during the course into integrated and coherent schemes and to deal with complex problems independently and with their judgment. They should have acquired the ability to evaluate proposed solutions and interpret the issues addressed critically. The teacher will stimulate these skills as much as possible, proposing in-depth studies through audiovisual materials, seminars, and targeted questions during the lectures to encourage the students’ active participation.

Communication skills. Students are expected to use business and accounting terminology appropriately and demonstrate a good command of the vocabulary related to the topics covered during the course. The lecturer will seek to encourage classroom interaction to develop communication skills.

Learning skills. Students must have developed good study skills, enabling them to master the topics covered during the course and to acquire the theoretical, conceptual, and methodological foundations essential for the successful continuation of their studies and professional preparation. Students must have acquired a reasonable degree of autonomy in studying the discipline, interpreting business phenomena, and identifying business processes that will help deepen their knowledge of the topics covered. Students must demonstrate that they can use the study material provided by the lecturer correctly and profitably.

The teaching material prepared by the lecturer in addition to recommended textbooks (such as for instance slides, lecture notes, exercises, bibliography) and communications from the lecturer specific to the course can be found inside the Moodle platform › blended.uniurb.it

Exercises in the General Accounting program will supplement theoretical lectures. At least two of these exercises will be held online in the early evening (between 6:00 PM and 8:00 PM).

During the week set by the academic calendar and within the official time slots for the course, the professor will organize two mid-term tests to allow students to self-assess their learning and the effectiveness of their study methods.

The first one will cover the first part of the syllabus (Business Administration), mainly consisting of multiple-choice questions. 

The second one will cover the second part of the syllabus (Accounting), mainly consisting of multiple-choice questions.