Fall 2023
6334 Accounting & Finance for Lawyers - THAKKAR- 25622
Professor(s):
Shobhan Thakkar (ADJUNCT)
Credits: 3
Course Areas: Business and Commercial Law
Time: 4:00p-5:30p MW Location: 200
Course Outline: The course teaches the basics every lawyer should know about accounting and finance in order to communicate, negotiate, and counsel effectively regarding business matters: the accounting process; the balance sheet, income statement, and cash flow; financial statement analysis; auditing; time value of money; interest; credit; securities; risk; valuation; derivatives; financial decision rules; and financial markets and regulation. The course presumes no prior knowledge of accounting or finance. Exercises and brief business case studies will be assigned to develop comfort with calculations and concepts. No special mathematical knowledge is required, just basic arithmetic and algebra.
This course is taught by a J.D. who has significant experience in startups and venture capital along with a master’s in accounting and significant experience as a lawyer both at one of the best New York law firms in the area of finance as well as in-house at various technology enterprises:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/shobhanthakkar/
Additionally, Shobhan is part of MDAngels (https://www.mdangels.net/) and Buena Vista Angels (https://www.buenavistaangels.com/what-we-do) and has co-founded several companies.
Course Syllabus: Syllabus
Course Notes: (Synchronous Online) The UH registration system instruction mode for this course is listed in parenthesis. After student registration opens, there may be instruction mode changes to this course up through two weeks before the first day of classes for the term, but notice of such changes will be sent to then-registered students. Contrary to the UH information, some student materials may not be available online, such as an assigned casebook. A physical classroom may be assigned for this course to give students a location in the Law Center to join the virtual class sessions. If the course has a final examination, the final and any other assessment for the course, such as a mid-term exam, will be conducted without the need to physically come to the Law Center, such as, for example, via the EBB portal as a take home exam or under remote proctoring.
Prerequisites:
First Day Assignments:
Final Exam Schedule: 12/6 4pm-7pm
This course will have:
Exam:
Paper:
Satisfies Senior Upper Level Writing Requirement: No
Experiential Course Type: No
Bar Course: No
DistanceEd ABA: Yes
Pass-Fail Student Election: Available
Course Materials
Book(s) Required
Course Materials: Introductory Accounting, Finance and Auditing for Lawyers by Lawrence A. Cunningham (Seventh Edition West Group); ISBN: 978-1634604109
