Course 2011-2012 a.y.

Course Objectives

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.

Course Content Summary

PART I: MANAGEMENT ACCOUNTING

A. Introduction to Management Accounting Concepts

• Discuss the evolution of management accounting.
• Define and illustrate cost objects, direct costs, and indirect costs.
• Understand the associations between cost drivers, variable costs, and fixed costs, and the major assumptions underlying the definitions of variable and fixed costs.
• Review the concepts of contribution margin, breakeven point, and cost-volume-profit analysis.

B. Cost Accounting Systems

• 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. 

C. Activity-Based Costing and Cost Allocation

• Understand the differences between traditional cost systems and Activity-Based Costing (ABC).
• 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.

D. Budgets and Responsibility Accounting

• Introduce flexible budgets and standard costs as aids for planning and control.
• Analyze the relationships between planning, programming and budgeting systems.
• Introduce the reasons behind decentralization and understand the concept and various forms of responsibility accounting.  

PART II: STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT

A. Core Concepts in Competitive Strategy

• The Notion of Competitive Advantage
• The Institutional and the Competitive Environment
• Generic Strategies
• Resources and Competences

B. Competitive Dynamics and Orchestration

• A Primer of Game Theory
• Competitive game theory
• Cooperative Game theory
• Platform Competition

C. From Competitive Advantage to Sustainable Competitive Advantage

• Industry Scope and Globalization
• Industry Dynamics and Technology Trajectories
• Cycles of Product and Process Innovation
• Dynamic capabilities

Detailed Description of Assessment Methods

The course evaluation is as follows:

Exceptional class participation is rewarded with one additional point. Attendance to class and participation to discussion is essential to the learning process. Details on the final exam and class participation are provided on the first day of class.

Textbooks

Attending and non-attending students: required readings

PART I

• C. Drury, Management Accounting for Business, Southwestern Publishing, 2009, Fourth Edition, selected chapters
• Bocconi Library. Case collection. Course Reserves, Academic Year 2011-2012  

PART II

• G. Verona (ed), Readings in Strategic Management
• G. Verona (ed), Case Collection, Academic Year 2011-2012