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2014/2015  KAN-CIMMO1017U  Management Accounting

English Title
Management Accounting

Course information

Language English
Course ECTS 7.5 ECTS
Type Mandatory
Level Full Degree Master
Duration One Semester
Course period Autumn
Timetable Course schedule will be posted at calendar.cbs.dk
Study board
Study Board for MSc in Economics and Business Administration
Course coordinator
  • Alex Yu Lichen - Department of Operations Management (OM)
Main academic disciplines
  • Financial and management accounting
Last updated on 04-07-2014
Learning objectives
The purpose of this course is to present and discuss management technologies that can be considered useful for controlling companies that operate world wide.
  • Describe and understand the notion of opportunity cost and organizational architecture and explain how they together constitute a framework for analysing management accounting systems in a decision making and a control perspective
  • Describe and understand different management accounting systems and discuss their strengths and limitations from a decision making as well as a control perspective
  • Analyse the cost of improving accounting systems decision making ability and effectiveness as a control devices and reflect upon the trade-off between the use of accounting for different purposes
  • Critically reflect on and assess the value and relevance of specific management accounting systems in a particular organizational setting.
Examination
Management Accounting:
Exam ECTS 7,5
Examination form Written sit-in exam
Individual or group exam Individual
Please use the formal requirements for academic papers, which can be found on e-campus
Assignment type Written assignment
Duration 4 hours
Grading scale 7-step scale
Examiner(s) One internal examiner
Exam period Winter Term
Aids allowed to bring to the exam Limited aids, see the list below and the exam plan/guidelines for further information:
  • Allowed calculators
  • Allowed dictionaries
Make-up exam/re-exam
Same examination form as the ordinary exam
If the number of registered candidates for the make-up examination/re-take examination warrants that it may most appropriately be held as an oral examination, the programme office will inform the students that the make-up examination/re-take examination will be held as an oral examination instead.
Description of the exam procedure
Individual 4-hour written (closed book) exam. Computer based exam with access to Excel. No other written or technical aids are allowed at the exam, except from certain calculators specified by the course responsible) and dictionaries. Cf. The Regulations for written tests at CBS. The exam is internal and the evaluation is made by one teacher alone.
The regular exam will be held in November. The final exam date will be announced by the secretariat.
Course content and structure

Companies operating internationally face the same challenges as national companies, but a few more are added because of language, cultures, laws, finance etc. The perspective taken in this course is that of setting up an organization, designing and implementing performance controls, measuring and reporting performance, planning etc. Management accounting and management control serve as the theoretical platform for the problems discussed and models presented. Some issues will deal with aligning a strategy to an international implementation and other issues have an operational perspective where budgeting, transfer pricing are tools that must be considered. Behavioural and cultural aspects are central to all international operations. Where applicable these will add perspectives to the discussion of how to implement the management technologies that are under consideration.

The content of the course will be partly case-driven and partly theory-driven. Extensive cases will serve as discussion fora where analysis of management issues and argued solutions are the expected outcome.
These are subsequently confronted with selected models and theories for a theory driven discussion. Some issues and cases will depend on analysis of various financial statements
and financial tools where others will focus on arguing benefits and drawbacks of various organisational set ups. Textbooks and cases supplemented with recent journal articles will serve as the documentary material for this course.

Please note that exchange students who want to follow the course need at least two courses in accounting/financial accounting/finance and one course in management (e.g. a B. Com. or B. Bus).

Teaching methods
The teaching mainly takes place in large classes where e.g. extensive cases will serve as discussion fora where analysis of management issues and argued solutions are the expected outcome.
Expected literature

Indicative literature.

Jerold L. Zimmerman. Accounting for Decision Making and Control. 7th edition. Mcgraw-Hill Irwin.

Last updated on 04-07-2014