Course 2009-2010 a.y.

Course Objectives

Information is essential to all well-managed businesses. The amount and quality of information available to managers is very important to evaluate a business and to manage it. For this reason the use of reporting and performance evaluation system arises as one of the most relevant mechanisms through which it is possible to effectively control a company.
The objective of this course is to cover both the areas of performance evaluation and performance reporting in detail. Through this course it is possible to understand objectives, characteristics, potentialities and limitations of the financial measures. Furthermore the course explains the recent evolutions in the Performance Measurement Models (Value Chain Reporting, Balanced Scorecard, Performance Prism, Risk Assessment). Finally, objective of the course is to understand how to manage the links between measures, responsibilities and incentives.

Course Content Summary

• The role of reporting systems
• The Financial Statement Analysis as the first phase in designing a Reporting Systems
• Designing and Evaluating Reporting Systems: from the understanding of strategic and organizational requirements to the choice of performance measures
• Recent evolutions of reporting systems: the value-based reporting
• Recent evolutions of reporting systems: the use of non-financial indicators (balanced scorecard, performance prism, )
• Different reporting systems for different businesses
• Linking performance measures to responsibilities
• Aligning performance measures and incentives

Detailed Description of Assessment Methods

Attending students

• The assessment is based either on
  - two written partial exams
  OR
  - one general written exam
• A group assignment completes the evaluation

Non Attending Students

• Written exam
  
  

Textbooks

• Text book will be comunicated in the course syllabus distribuited to students.
• Other required teaching material will be provided through the B-Learning Space or handed-out in class.