Contemporary Business Issues

Study guide: fourth edition

The Contemporary Business Issues subject examines contemporary and emerging global issues. The subject will familiarise you with the business environment you are likely to be operating in as an accountant, using contemporary issues as a vehicle for advancing the development of professional skills, values, ethics and attitudes.

Contemporary Business Issues is designed to help you develop a future-focused perspective that:

• understands the drivers of change affecting business and the accounting profession
• responds positively to change
• values lifelong learning to continually develop and improve technical, business, behavioural and leadership skills
• recognises that accountants add value by providing strategic business advice and contributing to good decision making
• acknowledges the importance of ethics, professional curiosity and enquiry as a means of avoiding imprudent decision making
• welcomes divergent opinions and creative approaches to problem solving as a means of gaining insights into an increasingly complex and dynamic business world.

This subject highlights the challenges and opportunities for the accounting profession, preparing you for a career in the contemporary business environment.

Contemporary Business Issues is an elective subject in the CPA Program.

A new interactive Contemporary Business Issues ebook study guide is now available. The award-winning format developed by Wiley will provide you with integrated practitioner videos, animations, note-taking features and more. You will be able to access the new ebook from My Online Learning. A full colour printed study guide and PDFs are also available to enrolled candidates.

Exam structure

The Contemporary Business Issues exam comprises multiple-choice questions.

General objectives

On completion of this subject, you should be able to:

• encourage an attitude of professional curiosity by challenging assumptions about contemporary and emerging global issues that are affecting the business environment, and how they should be addressed
• critically evaluate current research and practice on the origins and effects of contemporary and emerging global issues
• judge the effects that disclosure requirements will have on financial and non-financial reporting and consider the overall impact that a shift towards non-financial, sustainability and integrated reporting will have on enterprises and accounting functions.

Subject content

The weighting column in the following table provides an indication of the emphasis placed on each module in the exam. The proportion of study time is a guide for you to allocate your study time for each module.