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Led by Dorothy Edith Rigour Simulacrum
Eight tutorials on financial accounting situated in its real-world context — capital markets, regulation, audit, corporate governance, ethics, ESG and climate reporting. Led by Dorothy Rigour, professional sceptic and former audit partner, with Penelope Smythe-Bottomley on climate accounting frameworks. Covers the user perspective on accounts, ratio and trend analysis, the regulatory landscape, the audit function, corporate governance under the UK Code, ethics in financial reporting, and the rise of non-financial reporting.
Courses are available to holders of a paid pass or membership. See passes & membership →
Led by Dorothy Edith Rigour Simulacrum
The question
Who actually reads financial accounts and what shapes the reporting framework around them. The module covers the six classes of user (investors, lenders, employees, customers and suppliers, government, the public) and what each wants, the IFRS Conceptual Framework's prioritisation of investors and lenders and the stakeholder critique of that prioritisation, agency theory as the foundational rationale for mandatory disclosure, the role of sell-side and buy-side analysts as intermediaries, the dominance of institutional investors in modern markets, and the contrast with closely-held private companies. The closing scenario asks whose accounts a specific document is.
Outcome
The student can name the six main user classes and what each wants from financial accounts, articulate the agency-theory rationale for mandatory reporting, distinguish the role of sell-side from buy-side analysts, and recognise the trade-offs in trying to serve multiple user groups with a single set of accounts. (User perspective)
Practice scenarios
Your friend has just started as an investor-relations manager at a UK-listed mid-cap company (£1.2bn market cap, FTSE 250). They are preparing the company's first annual report under their own remit and want to know what to prioritise. The CEO wants the report to be "compelling and aspirational"; the CFO wants it to be "tight and conservative"; the marketing team has produced a glossy front section full of customer quotes; the new board chair has flagged a section 172 statement and an ESG section as priorities. Your friend wants a structured way to think about who the report is actually for and what each user group will look for.
Your goals
Led by Dorothy Edith Rigour Simulacrum
The question
The systematic toolkit for reading a set of accounts — the five ratio families and the standard members of each. The module covers profitability ratios (gross/operating/net margin, ROCE, ROE), liquidity ratios (current, quick, cash), gearing and solvency (debt/equity, debt/EBITDA, interest cover), efficiency (receivables days, payables days, inventory days, cash conversion cycle, asset turnover), and investor ratios (EPS, P/E, dividend yield, dividend cover). The DuPont decomposition of ROE as the most useful single decomposition. Trend analysis, common-size statements, peer-group benchmarking, the limits where ratios mislead, and why *the ratios look fine* is not the same as *the firm is healthy*. The closing scenario reads a pattern in a real set of numbers.
Outcome
The student can compute the standard ratios in each of the five families, perform a DuPont decomposition of ROE, run a basic peer-group benchmarking exercise, identify warning signs in the ratio trend, and recognise where the ratios are likely to be misleading. (Ratio and trend analysis)
Practice scenarios
Rigour Simulacrum gives you three years of accounts for a UK retailer. Year-on-year revenue growth: 8%, 4%, 1%. Gross margin: 42%, 39%, 35%. Operating margin: 8%, 5%, 1%. Inventory days: 60, 78, 102. Receivables days: stable around 30 (mostly card payments). Payables days: 35, 30, 22. Net debt: £18m, £24m, £36m. Interest cover: 12x, 7x, 3x. Cash from operations: £22m, £14m, £4m. The CEO's commentary in each year has been "investing for growth" and "platform for the future". Your job is to assess whether the company is actually healthy.
Your goals
Led by Dorothy Edith Rigour Simulacrum
The question
The four pillars of UK financial-reporting regulation. The module covers company law (Companies Act 2006 — section 172 directors' duties, section 414 strategic report, audit-exemption thresholds, Part 23 distributions), reporting standards (UK-endorsed IFRS for listed; FRS 102 for unlisted), the FCA Listing Rules with the Premium and Standard segments and the post-2024 reforms, audit regulation under the FRC and the transition to ARGA, and the Stewardship Code for institutional investors. The historical scandals that drove each layer (Maxwell, Polly Peck, BCCI, Equitable Life, Carillion, BHS, Patisserie Valerie). The closing scenario briefs a new director on what governs them.
Outcome
The student can name the four pillars of UK regulation, identify which pillar applies to a given question, name the most important Companies Act provisions and the role of the FRC, distinguish Premium from Standard listing requirements, and articulate the historical scandals that drove the development of each regulatory layer. (UK regulatory framework · jurisdictional)
Practice scenarios
A friend has just been appointed as a non-executive director of a UK-listed mid-cap company (Premium-segment). They are sharp on commercial matters but have never been through formal director training and are slightly intimidated by the regulatory complexity. They have asked you to brief them on what they actually need to know about the regulatory framework — not exhaustively, but enough to be a competent director from day one.
Your goals
Led by Dorothy Edith Rigour Simulacrum
The question
External audit as the institution that bridges the gap between the preparer (with every incentive to present favourably) and the user (who cannot directly verify). The module covers audit as opinion on truth-and-fairness rather than certification of accuracy, the risk-based approach, materiality (planning vs reporting), the three audit-evidence approaches (controls testing, substantive analytical, tests of detail), the four audit opinions (unqualified, qualified, adverse, disclaimer), the modern extended audit report with Key Audit Matters, the audit-committee relationship, FRC Ethical Standard requirements on independence, the expectation gap between what users think audit does and what it does, and the historical failures (Enron and Andersen, Carillion and KPMG, Patisserie Valerie and Grant Thornton, BHS and PwC) and the resulting Brydon, Kingman, and CMA reforms. The closing exercise reads an audit report.
Outcome
The student can describe the risk-based audit approach, identify the four audit opinions and what each means, read an extended auditor's report and extract the Key Audit Matters and materiality disclosure, articulate the auditor-independence requirements, and recognise the expectation gap. (Audit function)
Practice scenarios
Rigour Simulacrum gives you the auditor's report from a UK-listed mid-cap company. The opinion is unqualified, but the report runs to nine pages and contains four Key Audit Matters: (1) revenue recognition on long-term contracts, (2) goodwill impairment of the largest acquisition, (3) deferred tax recoverability, and (4) the going-concern conclusion in light of significant covenant headroom pressure. Your job is to interpret what the auditor is signalling.
Your goals
Led by Dorothy Edith Rigour Simulacrum
The question
Corporate governance as the system by which UK listed companies are directed and controlled, expressed through the FRC's Corporate Governance Code on a *comply or explain* basis. The module covers the historical sequence (Cadbury 1992 → Greenbury → Hampel → Higgs → Walker → 2024 update), the Code's five sections, board roles (chair, CEO, SID, NEDs, executive directors), independence criteria for NEDs, the audit/remuneration/nomination committees and their composition, board evaluation, diversity disclosures under FCA Listing Rules, shareholder votes on remuneration, proxy advisers (ISS, Glass Lewis), governance for non-Premium listings (AIM, Wates Principles for large private companies), and the limits of governance (tone at the top cannot be regulated into existence). The closing scenario tests the independence of a long-serving NED.
Outcome
The student can describe the five sections of the Code, identify the role and independence requirements of NEDs, articulate the "comply or explain" mechanism, name the three key board committees and their composition, and recognise the historical scandals that have driven each revision of the Code. (UK corporate governance · jurisdictional)
Practice scenarios
Your friend (the new NED from Module 3) has been appointed to the audit committee. The audit committee chair has flagged that the committee will, in the next quarter, be reviewing (a) a proposal to extend the auditor's tenure for a tenth consecutive year (one year before mandatory rotation kicks in), (b) a £400k engagement letter for non-audit services from the same firm, and (c) the going-concern conclusion in light of declining cash flow. Your friend is uncomfortable with all three but does not yet know the rules well enough to push back effectively. They have asked for your briefing.
Your goals
Led by Dorothy Edith Rigour Simulacrum
The question
The spectrum from accounting judgement to earnings management to outright fraud, and the warning signs along the way. The module covers Cressey's fraud triangle (pressure, opportunity, rationalisation), common earnings-management techniques (cookie-jar reserves, big-bath restructuring charges, channel stuffing, capitalisation of operating expenditure, related-party transactions at non-arm's-length, off-balance-sheet financing), the warning signs in a set of accounts (gap between earnings and operating cash flow, frequent restatements, complex group structures), the role of internal controls and audit committees, whistleblowing protections under PIDA 1998, the IFAC Code of Ethics with the five fundamental principles, and case studies (Enron, WorldCom, Tesco 2014, Carillion, Patisserie Valerie, Wirecard). The closing scenario investigates aggressive accruals.
Outcome
The student can describe the spectrum from judgement to fraud, apply the fraud triangle to a real situation, identify the warning signs in a set of accounts, articulate the five ethical principles, and recognise the threats-and-safeguards framework. (Ethics and fraud)
Practice scenarios
Rigour Simulacrum has handed you the analytical review of a UK-listed company. Reported revenue is up 18% year-on-year; reported profit before tax is up 24%. *But* operating cash flow is down 32%, receivables days have stretched from 45 to 78, and the company has booked a £14m reduction in the bad-debt provision (releasing previously-recognised provisions back to the income statement). The CFO's narrative: "We have improved credit control, so the bad-debt provision is no longer needed at the previous level." Your job is to assess whether this is legitimate or whether it crosses into earnings management.
Your goals
Led by Penelope Smythe-Bottomley Simulacrum
The question
The new architecture of non-financial reporting. The module covers the historical sequence (voluntary CSR → GRI → CDP → TCFD 2017 → ISSB 2021 → IFRS S1 and S2 from 2024), UK SECR requirements, the TCFD framework (governance, strategy, risk management, metrics and targets), the GHG Protocol Scope 1/2/3 distinction with attention to the difficult and disputed Scope 3, scenario analysis (orderly, disorderly, hot-house), transition vs physical risk, the materiality debate (financial materiality under IFRS vs double materiality under EU CSRD), greenwashing and the FCA anti-greenwashing rule, the assurance question, and the international landscape. The closing scenario reads a set of climate disclosures critically.
Outcome
The student can describe the architecture of UK non-financial reporting, distinguish TCFD from IFRS S2, name the four pillars of climate disclosure, distinguish Scope 1 / 2 / 3 emissions, recognise the difference between financial and double materiality, and identify the warning signs of greenwashing. (ESG and climate reporting · jurisdictional)
Practice scenarios
Penelope Simulacrum hands you the climate-related disclosures from a UK-listed manufacturer. Reported Scope 1 emissions: 45,000 tCO2e (down 8% YoY). Scope 2: 22,000 tCO2e (down 12% YoY). Scope 3: "in development; expected to be reported next year". Net-zero target: 2050 (no interim milestones disclosed). The narrative is glossy, with photographs of solar panels and language about "leadership in sustainability". Your job is to assess whether this is substantive disclosure or greenwashing.
Your goals
Led by Dorothy Edith Rigour Simulacrum · with Penelope Smythe-Bottomley Simulacrum
The question
Where financial reporting is heading. The module covers the IFRS / US GAAP convergence story since the 2002 Norwalk Agreement and its slowdown after 2014, ISSB as global sustainability baseline versus the more demanding EU CSRD/ESRS, machine-readable reporting (XBRL, iXBRL, ESEF), continuous-reporting proposals, AI as user (analysts using LLMs across many annual reports) and AI as preparer (companies using LLMs to draft disclosures) with the new ethical questions raised, integrated reporting combining financial and sustainability, the assurance regime under ISSA 5000, and the retreat of public markets given the UK Listing Review and Mansion House reforms. The closing scenario imagines the annual report in 2035.
Outcome
The student can articulate the five major trends, distinguish IFRS / US GAAP / ISSB / EU CSRD positions, recognise the implications of machine-readable and AI-mediated reporting, and reflect on what the future of financial reporting means for their own career or business interests.
Practice scenarios
Rigour Simulacrum and Penelope Simulacrum close the course with a forecasting exercise. Imagine the annual report of a FTSE 250 company in 2035. What is in it that is not in today's reports? What is no longer there? What has changed about how it is consumed by users? Your job is to make a defensible forecast — not science fiction, but extrapolation from the trends Rigour Simulacrum has set out.
Your goals