Course 2024-2025 a.y.

Classes: 24 (I sem.) - 26 (I sem.)

Instructors:
Class 24: TIM MARTENS, Class 26: TIM MARTENS

The most successful managers need clear details on the economic and financial performances, acquired through their activity, to run winning companies. They use a deep understanding of where (in which business segment, product, distribution channel, geographical area, etc.) they are able the produce the bests results and how (pricing strategy, cost efficiency, profitable investment, service, quality, care, etc.). Business Planning and Control is the subject providing the set of knowledge to drive performances in the right direction implementing successful strategies. Cost measurement, cost management, pricing decisions, costs and decision making, product costing, budgeting and reporting, capital budgeting, and return on investments, performance management, and decentralization are essential tools and techniques to grant effective performance management. The mission of this course is to explore the role of Management Control and its tools in supporting the strategy implementation, in directing the managerial decisions and in appraising the performances to run successful companies.

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

 

• Cost definition and cost classification.
• Cost behaviour and Break Event Point analysis.
• Costs and decision making in actual contexts.
• Pricing decisions.
• Traditional and Activity Based costing systems.
• Job costing and process costing systems.
• Budgets, standard costing systems and variance analysis.
• Reporting systems.
• Responsibility and control.
• Decentralization and performance measurement.
• Transfer pricing.

At the end of the course student will be able to...

Appreciate the role of quantitative techniques to support decision-making.

Understand the relationships between costs, revenues and profit at various activity levels.

Comprehend management control systems as models to analyze business decisions and advise on the most appropriate course of action.

Appreciate the role of the planning and control mechanisms in formulating standards and budgets and in assigning responsibility to managers.

Understand the principles of cost allocations for pricing, stock valuation, and decision making in marketing, sales and operations.

At the end of the course student will be able to...

• Lectures
• Guest speaker's talks (in class or in distance)
• Practical Exercises

 

During the lessons, a selected number of exercises are solved in class. The exercises will allow students to practice the methods covered in class and will extend the content covered in the lectures.   The lectures will be complemented by several guest lectures held by CFOs that will talk about the role of management control in the current business environment. The covered content in these sessions will underline the content covered in the lectures. Students will have the opportunity to ask questions and network with the CFOs.

	Continuous assessment	Partial exams	General exam
Written individual exam (traditional/online)			x

Written individual exam (identical for attending and not attending students). Students can choose between two partial exams or one final exam. The student passes if the average grade is 18 or above.

The exam will consist of two parts with similar weights. The first part will consist of several multiple-choice questions. The second part will consist of several open questions requiring calculations.