How can I enrol?
The enrolment deadline for Business Law and all other AMCT stage one papers is 15 December for April examination and 15 June for October examination.
Business Law is one of four foundation papers which comprise stage one of the AMCT Diploma in Treasury. Only students enrolling on AMCT can book this paper. You can study the stage one papers in any order, but are recommended to study Financial Management & Accounting before, or at the same time as Corporate Taxation, because some basic accounting knowledge is assumed in the taxation manual and tuition course.
Exemptions
Exemptions from AMCT stage one papers are available for qualified and part qualified accountants and those individuals with previous relevant qualifications.
Entry requirements
- Good standard of English: due to the course being written and examined in English, students will need to possess a good standard of English.
- Internet Browser version: the eLearning website is an important part of this course as you will be able to access the online course manual, discussion forum and further information. Therefore you do need the latest browser to access the content. We suggest one of the following browsers: Internet Explorer 7 or 8, Firefox 3 or Google Chrome to view the content correctly.
Course content
An overview of the course content is provided below. For a detailed outline download the full syllabus
Study Unit 1 – Nature and sources of law
The nature and purpose of law
The sources of law
Parliamentary legislation
Delegated legislation
European Union ‘EU’ law
Human rights
Application of legislation
Judicial precedent
The UK court structure
Study Unit 2 – Company Law
Business associations
Legal personality
The Memorandum and Articles of Association
The formation of companies
The administration of companies
Directors
The company’s capital
Debentures
Maintaining capital
Raising capital
Establishing an overseas presence
Study Unit 3 – Company reconstructions, schemes of arrangement and takeovers
Methods of reconstruction
Schemes of arrangement under sections 425-427A Companies Act 1985
Reconstruction under section 110 Insolvency Act 1986
Takeover offer
The city code on takeovers and mergers
The rules governing substantial acquisition of shares (SARs)
Monopolies and merger control
Study Unit 4 – Liquidation, administration and receivership
Introduction to corporate insolvency
Company voluntary arrangement
Administration orders
Administrative receivership
Liquidation
Directors
Insolvency practitioners
Employees
Statement of affairs
UK insolvency and the foreign company
Overview of US bankruptcy rule
Study Unit 5 – Contract
What is a contract?
The essential elements of a valid contract
Consensus in idem
Consideration
Consent – intention to contract
Capacity
Privity of contract
Form of a contract
No legal prohibition
Misrepresentation
Other factors affecting the validity of a contract
The terms of a contract
Exclusion clauses
Interpreting a contract
Discharging a contract
Remedies for breach of contract
Study Unit 6 – Agency and partnership
The law of agency
Introduction
Creation of agency
Duties of an agent
Rights of an agent
Authority of an agent
Disclosed and undisclosed agency
Termination of agency
The law of partnership
Introduction
Partnership defined
Formation of partnership
The mutual rights and duties of partners
Partners’ authority
Partners’ liability
Dissolution of partnership
Limited liability partnership
Limited partnership
Agency and partnership – the international dimension
Study Unit 7 – Guarantees, warranties and indemnities
The obligation of guarantee
Extent of guarantor’s liability
The rights of a guarantor
Terminating the contract of guarantee
Implications of guarantees on the borrowing by companies
Implications of guarantees on annual published accounts
Letters of comfort
Warranties and disclosures
Indemnities
Study Unit 8 – Banking Law
UK banking regulation
Negotiable instruments
Promissory notes
Bills of exchange
Presentment
Dishonour
Avals and forfaiting
Forgery
Business usage of negotiable instruments
Cheques
Electronic fund transfers
Uniform commercial code and EFT
Lien
Appropriation and set off
Study Unit 9 – Compliance
The London Stock Exchange
The Alternative Investment Market (AIM)
Regulation of the Financial Services Industry
Financial crimes
Study Unit 10 – EU and US financial and banking law
International law
The European banking regime
Money laundering – the international dimension
The US Securities framework
Offshore havens
Learning outcomes
Following completion of the course you will have a clear understanding of:
- The origins and the basic principles of English law and the inter-action between European and English law.
- The main structure and content of company law relating to companies, securities and finance professionals.
- The various procedures for changing the legal status or ownership of companies.
- The basic principles of the law of contract, and the nature of guarantees and agency.
- The basic principles of liquidation administration and receivership.
- Those aspects of banking law relevant to corporate funding.
- Some of the key features of other legal systems including those of the EU and US.
- Some of the key differences between English law and other legal codes including EU and US legislation.
Business Law is a distance learning programme combining self study with optional face-to-face teaching.
Study tools include:
- A comprehensive course manual
- e-learning website providing access to an online version of the course manual, progress tests, past exam papers, glossary and course tutors
What’s included: Course manual (print and online), access to the e-learning website and the tuition school.
You will need: Access to a computer with internet connection.
Tuition and revision
Optional tuition
The four day optional tuition course covers core topics. Tuition has been tailored to cover the key areas of the course – reinforcing and improving knowledge. Tuition days complement your home study; each day is intensive, covering a number of topics in detail with lecturers, worked examples and tutorial sessions.
You can book onto the optional tuition and revision when you enrol or up to 10 days before the start of the courses.
Assessment and examination
Each paper within the AMCT syllabus is assessed by a three hour written examination.
Pass mark and pass rates
The mark you need to achieve a pass in all papers apart from CertITM is normally 50%. The pass mark for CertITM will vary from one examination sitting to another according to the difficulty grade of the multiple choice paper. As a guide a student achieving 70% or over will have passed CertITM.
Booking your exam venue
Students are automatically registered to sit the exam in London. If this is where you intend to sit your exam, no further communication with us is necessary.
We have exam venues in Edinburgh, Dublin, Hong Kong and Singapore which you can book. You don’t need to book your exam venue when you enrol, we will write to you 10 weeks before the exam date asking you to select your venue.
If you cannot take your exam at one of the above venues and you live outside of the UK mainland, you can request to take your exam at a venue local to you. It is your responsibility to contact a suitable venue. The first point of contact is the British Council, although Universities and Colleges of Higher Education are also acceptable venues. Further details will be available to you when you enrol as a student.
For students sitting exams at venues other than London, Edinburgh and Dublin, an administration fee will be payable directly to your chosen local exam venue.
Becoming a member of the ACT
AMCT is the associate membership qualification for the ACT and leads to the designatory letters AMCT. On achieving AMCT you can become a member of the ACT and join the largest community of qualified treasury, risk and finance professionals.
