The course has the aim to provide knowledge of the fundamentals of management accounting. At the end of the course, students will be able to analyse the different costs and will have the skills and the tools to take decisions in the cost management process. The aim is also to enable students to apply the principles of management accounting in decision-making and profit planning for the long and short term strategic financial planning.

The Managerial Accounting course presents the basic concepts of management accounting, explaining at first the differences with financial accounting, and then, going deeply into the tools used to analyse the cost process and determine the costs themselves. Cost behaviour, process costing, Cost-Volume-Profit Analysis, master budget, flexible budgets, standard costs, Activity-Based Costing and Balanced Scorecard will be the main topics studied in the course. An accounting a strategic analysis will be conducted on the tools presented in order to learn how to use them in the decision making process.

Students who will successfully complete the course should be able to:

           •           Know the differences between financial accounting and management accounting

           •           Classify costs depending on the analysis to be conducted

           •           Use cost-benefit analysis to take business decisions

           •           Use cost-volume-profit analysis to calculate the BEPs and to conduct sensitivities analysis and decide which tools have to be used to increase the performance of the firm

           •           Prepare operating and financial budgets

           •           Analyse operating and financial budgets

           •           Understand the flexible budget and prepare it, comparing it with the static budget

           •           Understand the activity-based-costing process and apply it to make business decisions

           •           Conduct an accounting and a strategic analysis of the tools presented in the course, understanding their impact and consequences on the performance of the firm. 

Assessment Guidelines for assigning main letter grades: A, B, C,D, and F.

A:  Work of this quality directly addresses the question or problem raised and provides a coherent argument displaying an extensiveknowledge of relevant information or content. This type of work demonstrates the ability to critically evaluate concepts and theory and has an element of novelty and originality. There is clear evidence of a significant amount of reading beyond that required for the course.

B:  This is highly competent level of performance and directly addresses the question or problem raised.

There is a demonstration of some ability to critically evaluatetheory and concepts and relate them to practice. Discussions reflect the student’s own arguments and are not simply a repetition of standard lecture andreference material. The work does not suffer from any major errors or omissions and provides evidence of reading beyond the required assignments.

C:  This is an acceptable level of performance and provides answers that are clear but limited, reflecting the information offered in the lectures and reference readings.

D:  This level of performances demonstrates that the student lacks a coherent grasp of the material.

Important information is omitted and irrelevant points included.In effect, the student has barely done enough to persuade the instructor that s/he should not fail.

F: This work fails to show any knowledge or understanding of the issues raised in the question. Most of the material in the answer is irrelevant.

No more than three absences are allowed.

Introduction to the managerial accounting

Differences between managerial accounting and financial accounting

Basic Financial Statements structures and contents: Balance Sheet, Income Statement and Statement of Cash Flows

Cost behaviour analysis

Cost-Volume-Profit Analysis

Traditional approaches to full costing and decision making problems

Activity-Based Costing

Master Budget

Flexible Budget and Standard Costs

Balanced Scorecard

An updated course schedule will be provided at the beginning of the course.