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Course 2019-2020 a.y.

30007 - PROGRAMMAZIONE E CONTROLLO / MANAGERIAL ACCOUNTING

Department of Accounting

For the instruction language of the course see class group/s below

Go to class group/s: 11 - 12

CLEACC (6 credits - I sem. - OB  |  SECS-P/07)
Course Director:
GIOVANNI PAOLO TOMASI

Classes: 11 (I sem.) - 12 (I sem.)
Instructors:
Class 11: FRANCO FLAVIO MIROGLIO, Class 12: GIOVANNI PAOLO TOMASI

Class group/s taught in English

Class-group lessons delivered  on campus

Suggested background knowledge

To feel comfortable in this course, you should be familiar with financial accounting (basic).


Mission & Content Summary
MISSION

This course emphasizes the use of accounting information for internal planning and control purposes. The course is intended as an introduction for individuals who make business decisions and evaluate the performance of business units using data obtained from the accounting system. The course covers the vocabulary and mechanics of cost accounting, basic issues involved in the design of a cost accounting system, and the role of management accounting in decisions concerning resource allocation and performance evaluation. Lessons generally consist of an overview of each topic and the discussion of incidents, cases and exercises. Students are expected to improve their ability to use accounting information to support strategic and operating decision making.

CONTENT SUMMARY

The most important topics we consider during this course are the following:

  • Define and illustrate cost objects, direct costs, and indirect costs.
  • Understand the associations between cost drivers, variable costs, fixed costs, and the major assumptions underlying the definitions of variable and fixed costs.
  • Distinguish between job costing and process costing, and relate their value to the nature of the underlying production process.
  • Introduce cost allocation and the computation of overhead rates.
  • Activity-Based Costing and Cost Allocation.
  • Introduce flexible budgets and standard costs as aids for planning and control.
  • Introduce the reasons behind decentralization and understand the concept and various forms of responsibility accounting.
  • Examine more generally the nature of performance evaluation in business units.

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILO)
KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING
At the end of the course student will be able to...
  • Understand the concepts of contribution margin, breakeven point, and cost-volume-profit analysis.
  • Appraisal of traditional and activity based costing systems.
  • Learn how variances between actual and standard costs can be broken into price and efficiency variances to assist in assigning responsibility and examining the variances' causes.
  • Understand budgeting and forecasting processes.
  • Performance appraisal mechanism and processes.
APPLYING KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING
At the end of the course student will be able to...
  • Apply ABC concepts in an actual decision-making context to understand the effect of cost accounting methods on perceived product profitability, and the use of ABC data in operational and marketing decisions.
  • Compute the product cost.
  • Design a budget process in a manufacturing company.
  • Apply the acquired technical knowledge to solve real-life problems experienced by companies having to design and use cost measurement techniques.
  • Use a formal language for the explanation of management control systems (MCS) issues and enhance their communication and presentation skills.

Teaching methods
  • Face-to-face lectures
  • Exercises (exercises, database, software etc.)
  • Case studies /Incidents (traditional, online)
DETAILS

The learning experience of this course includes, in addition to face-to-face lectures, case discussions, real examples and exercises that are coping with specific Management Accounting & Control issues. As we use case studies and exercises, describing “real-life” situations and showing that there are several possible solutions to multifaceted problems, students deal with the identification and analysis of complex, open-ended issues. This is expected to enhance their ability to decide through information. To identify the salient issues is a vital skill in business today as managers in practice face the problem of dealing with large volumes of information. The topic covered during this course should be seen as important preparation for their career.

  • Case studies help students in understanding how to use managerial accounting information in specific environment.
  • Exercises help students in enhancing the cost accounting technique and the budget preparation. 

Assessment methods
  Continuous assessment Partial exams General exam
  • Written individual exam (traditional/online)
  •   x x
    ATTENDING STUDENTS

    The exam is written. It is also possible to take two partial exams, one by the middle and one by the end of the course. The good result of the two partial exams can replace the final written exam.

    Both general and partial exams are based on open quantitative exercises and theory questions

    Given a specific situation, students will be required to solve the quantitative problem and comment it. The learning objective of the first section is product cost calculation, break-even point analysis, budget preparation and segmented reporting analysis.

    Theory questions are open questions that cover the qualitative part of the course. The learning objective tested in the second section is the knowledge of organizational issues connected to the budget process, the accountability principle, the different cost allocation methodologies and  the performance evaluation criteria.

    NOT ATTENDING STUDENTS

    The assessment of non-attending students is entirely based (100% of the final grade) on the final written exam.

    The final written exam is based on open quantitative exercises and theory questions.

    Quantitative exercises are based on a specific problem, students are required to fix it adopting the management accounting techniques The learning objective of the first section is product cost calculation, break-even point analysis, budget preparation and segmented reporting analysis.

    Theory questions are open questions that cover the qualitative part of the course. The learning objective tested in the second section is the knowledge of organizational issues connected to the budget process, the accountability principle, the different cost allocation methodologies and the performance evaluation criteria.


    Teaching materials
    ATTENDING AND NOT ATTENDING STUDENTS

    The main course material, for both attending and non-attending students, is:

    • C. DRURY, Management Accounting for Business, Cengage Learning, 6th edition.
    • In addition to Drury’s textbook, slides, case studies and exercises are provided during the course. Students need to refer to the Bboard platform.
    Last change 21/05/2019 10:14