ACC40020 Management Accounting

Academic Year 2023/2024

Management accounting involves the preparation and use of information for internal management purposes. It guides management decision-making. In addition, through appropriate measures and performance management processes, it can drive behaviour that improves an organisation’s ability to implement its strategy. These purposes are quite different from those of financial accounting and reporting.

The first part of the module (topics 1 to 5) lays out foundations, key concepts, and terminology, particularly in relation to ‘cost’. It highlights how costs appropriate for one purpose may be completely inappropriate for a different purpose. The challenge of indirect costs (not directly traceable to a product or service) is examined, including the pros and cons of related accounting approaches.

Topics 6 and 7 focus on decision-making, including Cost Volume Profit Analysis and the correct financial information for a range of common decisions such as discontinuing a product, outsourcing and pricing. Topic 8 addresses financial planning through budgets.

Finally, topics 9 to 11 focus on decentralisation, including divisional performance measurement, transfer pricing, and management accounting tools that improve an organisation’s ability to implement strategy (particularly sustainability orientated strategies).

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Curricular information is subject to change

Learning Outcomes:

On completing this module, you should:
- have mastered management accounting concepts and tools that support the successful implementation of strategy;
- be able to develop management accounting information that motivate the right organisational behaviours;
- be able to develop the correct management accounting information for different types of decision-making;
- be able to design and modify management accounting systems to support better decision making, and planning and control.

Indicative Module Content:

- Management accounting and performance management
- Cost concepts and behaviour
- Costing systems
- Cost allocation and Activity-Based Costing
- Relevant costs and decision-making;
- Cost-volume-profit analysis
- Budgetary planning and control
- Decentralisation and evaluation of investment centres
- Transfer pricing
- Balanced Scorecard and Strategy Maps
- Sustainability strategies and application of management accounting tools

Student Effort Hours: 
Student Effort Type Hours
Lectures

24

Specified Learning Activities

24

Autonomous Student Learning

77

Total

125

Approaches to Teaching and Learning:
Textbook and article readings.
Lectures.
Problem material, preparation and class discussion.
Case studies, preparation and class discussion.
 
Requirements, Exclusions and Recommendations

Not applicable to this module.


Module Requisites and Incompatibles
Not applicable to this module.
 
Assessment Strategy  
Description Timing Open Book Exam Component Scale Must Pass Component % of Final Grade
Examination: End of term examination at exam centre 2 hour End of Trimester Exam No Standard conversion grade scale 40% No

50

Examination: In-person short question exam conducted via Brightspace quiz Week 7 No Standard conversion grade scale 40% No

25

Continuous Assessment: Class preparation & participation, including completion of assigned exercises Throughout the Trimester n/a Standard conversion grade scale 40% No

25


Carry forward of passed components
No
 
Resit In Terminal Exam
Autumn Yes - 2 Hour
Please see Student Jargon Buster for more information about remediation types and timing. 
Feedback Strategy/Strategies

• Feedback individually to students, post-assessment
• Group/class feedback, post-assessment
• Online automated feedback

How will my Feedback be Delivered?

Feedback will be given in a timely manner. For exercises/assignments submitted via Brightspace quizzes, a solution and mark will be given the day after the submission deadline. Exercises/assignments will also be discussed in class with further opportunity for questions and feedback. Individual feedback will be given if/where appropriate.

The required textbook is:

JIAMBALVO, James (2020). Managerial Accounting, 7th edition, EMEA edition (available also as an ebook), John Wiley and Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey.
Timetabling information is displayed only for guidance purposes, relates to the current Academic Year only and is subject to change.
 
Spring
     
Lecture Offering 1 Week(s) - 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33 Thurs 10:00 - 11:50
External & School Exams Offering 1 Week(s) - 26 Thurs 12:00 - 13:30
Spring