Law for Finance and Accounting Professionals

Curriculum guideline

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Course
BUSN 3730
Discontinued
No
Course code
BUSN 3730
Descriptive
Law for Finance and Accounting Professionals
Department
Business
Faculty
Commerce & Business Administration
Credits
3.00
Start date
End term
201720
PLAR
No
Semester length
15
Max class size
35
Contact hours
Lecture: 3 Hours Seminar: 1 Hour Total: 4 Hours
Method(s) of instruction
Lecture
Seminar
Learning activities

Lectures, videos, analysis of legal issues, discussion of legal cases, case assignments, and group activities

Course description
This course will build upon the business law foundation provided in the pre-requisite course, BUSN 1320 (Introductory Business Law), with an emphasis on areas of law particularly relevant to accounting and financial services professionals (including Certified Financial Planners). The areas of law that will be covered in this course include business organizations (sole proprietorships, partnerships, corporations), agency, corporate governance, real property mortgages, secured transactions, bankruptcy and insolvency, personal property, insurance, guarantees, trusts, wills and estates, and family law.
NOTE THAT STUDENTS WHO HAVE TAKEN BUSN 2420 (BUSINESS LAW II) CANNOT TAKE BUSN 3730 FOR FURTHER CREDIT.
Course content
  1. Business Organizations
    1. structure of business organizations – sole proprietorship, partnership, limited partnership, corporation
    2. features of the various types of business organizations including advantages and disadvantages of each
  2. Law of Agency
    1. creation of the agency relationship
    2. authority of the agent
    3. duties of the agent and the principal
    4. liability of the agent and the principal
    5. termination of the agency relationship
    6. general nature of a franchise relationship including its advantages and disadvantages
  3. Corporate Governance
    1. the role of officers, directors, and shareholders in the corporation
    2. the fiduciary duty and duty of care required by management
    3. situations of conflict of interest between directors/officers and the corporation
      1. competition with the corporation
      2. taking a corporate opportunity
      3. transactions with the corporation
    4. shareholders’ rights and remedies
    5. liability of directors and officers
  4. Real Property Mortgages
    1. nature of real property mortgages
    2. remedies for default
  5. Secured Transactions
    1. nature of a security interest
    2. creation of a security interest
    3. registration of a security interest and the British Columbia Personal Property Security Act
    4. determination of priority of a security interest
    5. enforcement of a security interest
  6. Bankruptcy Law
    1. the role of bankruptcy and insolvency in business
    2. the bankruptcy process under the federal Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act
    3. filing for bankruptcy
      1. bankruptcy by assignment
      2. bankruptcy by petition
    4. creditor rights in a bankruptcy proceeding
    5. proposals in bankruptcy
  7. Law of Personal Property
    1. acquisition and loss of rights
    2. property insurance
    3. business insurance
  8. Law of Trusts
    1. general nature of a trust
    2. relationship of trustee and beneficiary
    3. inter vivos trusts
    4. testamentary trusts
  9. Family Law
    1. marriage
    2. common-law relationships
    3. separation and divorce
    4. child support
    5. spousal/common-law/partner support
  10. Wills and Estates
    1. purpose of a will
    2. types of wills
    3. duties of executor
    4. probate
    5. intestacy
  11. Power of Attorney
    1. purpose of a POA
    2. obligations of the Attorney
    3. risks associated with POAs
    4. attributes
    5. alternatives to POAs
    6. living wills
Learning outcomes

The student will be able to:

  1. distinguish between the main forms of business organizations;
  2. identify the important legal aspects pertaining to corporate governance including the powers, duties and liabilities of officers and directors and the rights and remedies of shareholders;
  3. explain the basic features of the law of real estate mortgages, including the remedies available to a mortgagee in the context of default by the mortgagor;
  4. describe the use of security interests to finance personal property and set out the legal mechanisms available to creditors to enforce their rights;
  5. recognize the main requirements for a bankruptcy claim and outline the key aspects of a bankruptcy proceeding;
  6. identify the main legal principles relating to insurance and guarantees;
  7. recount the key features of the law of wills and estates;
  8. identify fundamental aspects of family law that are relevant to providing professional financial planning advice, including the economic rights and potential liabilities of parties in the context of marital breakdown;
  9. demonstrate a strong understanding of the law of trusts;
  10. recognize the primary legal concepts applicable to powers of attorney;
  11. apply the legal principles that are contained in this course to real world situations and cases; and
  12. state the more significant provincial and federal statutes pertaining to the foregoing areas of law.
Means of assessment

 

Term tests (2-3)

55-65%*

Class participation and/or assignments and/or quizzes

5-10%

Final examination

25-35%

Total

100%

*No one examination may be worth more than 40%

Textbook materials

McInnes, Kerr, VanDuzer and Carmody, Managing the Law: The Legal Aspects of Doing Business

Latest Edition, (Toronto: Pearson Education Canada).

(or any alternative textbook approved by the Business Department)

Additional cases and readings decided by the Instructor.

Prerequisites

BUSN 1320 (C or higher) or an approved substitute

Corequisites

Nil

Equivalencies

Nil

Which prerequisite

Nil