AC5066 - Management Accounting (2024/25)
Module specification | Module approved to run in 2024/25 | |||||||||||||||
Module title | Management Accounting | |||||||||||||||
Module level | Intermediate (05) | |||||||||||||||
Credit rating for module | 15 | |||||||||||||||
School | Guildhall School of Business and Law | |||||||||||||||
Total study hours | 150 | |||||||||||||||
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Assessment components |
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Running in 2024/25(Please note that module timeslots are subject to change) |
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Module summary
This module builds on the foundation laid in Level 4’s Management Accounting Fundamentals. It is designed to help students to develop a sound understanding of the principles and techniques used by managers in planning, control, decision making and performance measurement. Students will also be able to understand the principles applied in job and service costing using both traditional absorption costing and the more recent activity based costing and information systems and technologies.
The module is directed at core accounting and finance students who intend to specialise in the field of accounting and finance after their degree. It is aimed that the module should provide them with the skills they need in the world of work when solving different business problems. Students’ skills in cost accounting will be developed through the module to enable them to plan, control, evaluate and measure performance.
The module aims to develop students’ skills in the following areas:
- application of knowledge and data presentation
- communication skills including oral presentation
- Interpersonal skills including working with others to achieve desired objectives.
- Numeracy and interpreting management accounting information.
Syllabus
Syllabus
Cost Accounting Systems
- Costing methods including Activity Based Costing. - LO1
- Standard Costing and implementation of its systems. - LO5
- Calculation of variances and reconciliation including planning and operational variances. - LO5
- Simple Product mix analysis - LO1
Planning, Control Short term Decisions
- Purpose of planning and control - LO2
- Limiting factors and scarce resources including linear programming methods.
- Creation of budgets such as incremental budgets, zero-based budgets and activity-based budgets and impact of behaviour on budgeting.- LO3
- Controllable and uncontrollable costs.
- Introduction to relevant costs. - LO2
Performance Measurement and Evaluation
- Introduction to performance measurement in both manufacturing and service industries - LO4
- Introduction to performance evaluation using key metrics, financial and non-financial indicators including the balanced scorecard - LO4
- Consequences of a divisional structure
- Advantages and disadvantages of return on investment and residual income.
- Transfer pricing methods and objectives - LO4
- Working capital management including working capital ratios and stock control - LO4
Information systems and technologies
- Discuss types of Information systems and technologies in organisations - LO4
- Identify sources of information and their relative importance in management decisions in terms of costs and benefits - LO6
- Discuss the strategic use of accounting information requirements, big data analysis and risks to organisation in its implementation
Balance of independent study and scheduled teaching activity
Scheduled teaching activity is a weekly two hours lecture and one hour seminar. Independent study is supported by practical seminar questions, past exam questions, practice questions in the recommended textbooks and past examination papers with suggested solutions on the websites of ACCA and CIMA. Relevant learning resources will be available on Weblearn.
Learning outcomes
On successful completion of this module, students will be able to do the following:
LO1 – Evaluate the nature and problems of traditional costing methods and activity based costing.
LO2 – Calculate and evaluate budgets including functional budgets.
LO3 – Critically appraise alternatives to traditional budgeting techniques and their behavioural implications.
LO4 – Apply and evaluate performance measures including financial and non-financial measures – Balanced score card.
LO5 – Demonstrate a good understanding of the cost control techniques used in organisations.
LO6 – Understand the importance of information systems and technologies in
management decision making.
Bibliography
Core Textbooks
Drury C, Management and Cost Accounting, 10th edition, 2018, published by Cengage Learning, ISBN-13: 9781473748873
Management Accounting, W Seal, Rohde, C, R H Garrison and E W Noreen, 6th Edition, McGraw Hill, 2019.
Other Textbooks
Accounting for Management Decisions, Arnold, J & Turley, S, 3rd edition, 1996, published by Pearson Education, ISBN-13: 9780133088182
Management Accounting, P Weetman, FT Prentice Hall, 2010.
Management Accounting for Decision Makers, Atrill, Peter, 8th ed, 2015
Cost and Management Accounting: An Introduction, Colin Drury, 8th ed, 2015
Employability and Reflective resources :
Financial Reporting Council www.frc.org.uk
ICAEW www.icaew.com
ACCA www.accaglobal.com
CIMA www.cimaglobal.com
Accountancy Age www.accountancyage.com
Financial Times www.ft.com
Journals:
Library Journal Databases: Academic Search Complete, Business Source Ultimate, Emerald Management, Science Direct
Websites:
Electronic Databases: FAME