Registry

Module Specifications

Current Academic Year 2012 - 2013
Please note that this information is subject to change.

Module Title	Management Accounting
Module Code	AC511
School	DCUBS
Online Module Resources
Module Co-ordinator	Semester 1: Barbara Flood Semester 2: Barbara Flood Autumn: Barbara Flood
Module Teacher	Barbara Flood
NFQ level	8	Credit Rating	10
Pre-requisite	None
Co-requisite	None
Compatibles	None
Incompatibles	None

Description

The purpose of this module bring students' knowledge of the principles and practice of management accounting to an advanced level. It seeks to integrate the study of management accounting with the study of strategy, behavioural science and organisation theory. It also aims to develop students' ability to interpret and communicate management accounting information. The modules examines, from both research and practice perspectives, issues relating to the role of management accounting in organisations, cost management, control and performance management and decision support

Learning Outcomes

1. Critique the role of management accounting in modern organisations
2. Ascertain current developments (research and practice) in cost management and illustrate the applicaiton of various costing approaches and techniques
3. Examine traditional budgetary control techniques and calculate and interpret advanced variances
4. Appraise current developments (research and practice) in control and performance management and evaluate their relevance and usefulness to modern organsations
5. Evaluate advanced decision-making theory and tools and apply various techniques to complex scenarios

Workload	Full-time hours per semester
*Type*	*Hours*	*Description*
Lecture	72	Held during semester 1 and semester 2
Directed learning	115	Revising class material; reading assigned articles/chapters; attempting assigned questions; revising for final exam
Examination	3	Final exam (3 hours)
Assignment	35	Reading, preparing and completing individual essay for submission in Semester 2.
Assignment	25	Group assignment in Semester 1
Total Workload: 250

All module information is indicative and subject to change. For further information,students are advised to refer to the University's Marks and Standards and Programme Specific Regulations at: http://www.dcu.ie/registry/examinations/index.shtml

Indicative Content and Learning Activities

The changing environment of management accounting.
Multiple roles of management accounting; Changes in external and internal environments and implications for management accountants; Criticisms of management accounting and pressures for change; Conceptual foundations of management accounting and the importance of interdisciplinarity; The accounting profession, professional competence and professional responsibilities and ethics..

Cost management.
Problems with tradtional cost allocation; Activity-based analysis - ABC and ABM; Value analysis, cost reduction, customer profitability analysis, target costing, life cycle costing, theory of constraints, total quality management..

Management control and performance management.
Budgetary Control - the role of budgets, budgeting setting, criticisms of budgets, activity-based budgets, zero-based budgeting; Standard costing and variance analysis - criticisms of standard costing, calculation of advanced variances, interpretation, disposition and investigation of variances, planning and operating variances, opportunity cost approach; Management control frameworks - designing control systems, contingency theory; Behavioural issues - motivation theories, use of quantified targets, dysfunctional behaviour, style of evaluation, target difficulty, participation; Performance management within organisations - non-financial factors, KPIs and the balanced scorecard, the beyond budgeting debate, interpreting conflicting performance measures..

Decision making.
Decision making framework; Decision making scenarios including consideration of scarce resources using linear programming, theory of constraints and throughput accounting; Uncertainty, decision tree analysis, expected value of perfect information, utility functions, maximin and regret criteria; Qualitative factors in decision making. Responsibility centres and performance evaluation, centralisation v decentralisation of decision-making accounting mmeasures and alternative measures of performance, including use of return on investment, residual income and economic value added; Transfer pricing - context, issues, methods/approaches of calculating transfer prices, varying scenarios and dealing with conflict..

Conclusion.
Future roles of management accountants as value-adding members of organisations; Challenges and potential conflicts..

Assessment Breakdown
Continuous Assessment	30%	Examination Weight	70%

Course Work Breakdown
Type	Description	% of total	Assessment Date
Group project	Group written submission and oral presentation concerning management accounting information and communication	15%	Week 6
Essay	Literature review and academic writing - completed on an individual basis	15%	Week 21

Reassessment Requirement
Resit arrangements are explained by the following categories; 1 = A resit is available for all components of the module 2 = No resit is available for 100% continuous assessment module 3 = No resit is available for the continuous assessment component
This module is category 1

Indicative Reading List

Blocher, E. Stout, D, Cokins, G. and Chen, K.: 2008, Cost Management: A Strategic emphasis. , 4th, McGraw Hill.,
Drury, C.: 2008, Management and Cost Accounting, 7th, Cengage Learning,
Emmanuel, C.R., Otley, D.T. and Merchant, K.A: 1990, Accounting for Management Control, Chapman Hall,
Johnson, H.T & Kaplan, R.S.: 1987, Relevance Lost: The Rise and Fall of Management Accounting, Harvard Business School Press,
References to other books will provided during lectures and seminars: 0, Various,

Other Resources

None

Array

Programme or List of Programmes

MBS

MSc in Accounting

PBSSA

PG Exchange(Business School)

Timetable this semester: Timetable for AC511

Date of Last Revision

18-MAY-10

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