Module ECOS1151: Introduction to Management Accounting

Department: Business School (Economics and Finance) [Queen's Campus, Stockton]

ECOS1151: Introduction to Management Accounting

Prerequisites

• None

Corequisites

• None

Excluded Combination of Modules

• None

Aims

• The aim of the module is to introduce the basic concepts of Management Accounting and to enable students to understand Management Accounting reports.

Content

• What is Management Accounting? Introduction; corporate goals; objectives of management accounting in the organisational context. Value of information.
• Classification of costs Stock Valuation and Profit Measurement: Cost concepts; Traditional costing approaches; Quantitative costing techniques: cost estimation and prediction
• Material and Labour Costs
• Overhead Costs
• Absorption Costing and Marginal Costing
• Job Costing
• Process costing
• Short-term decision making: Information for Decision-Making: Activity-Based Costing (ABC); Cost behaviour; cost-volume-profit (CVP) analysis.
• Relevant costs; limiting factor analysis; Pricing decisions. Linear programming: application to managerial decision problems.
• Appraising Risk: decision-making under conditions of uncertainty.
• Capital budgeting
• Information for Planning and Control: Budgetary control and planning. Standard costing and variance analysis. Variance investigation models; behavioural aspects of management accounting. Strategic management accounting.
• Capital Investment Decision
• Management Accounting: Past, Present, Future: Explaining the gulf between theory and practice; agency theory. Current and future developments in management accounting.

Learning Outcomes

• On completion of this module, students will be able to:
• understand the relevance of accounting information in business decisions.
• understand basic management accounting concepts.
• understand the different cost classifications.
• understand the different costing systems.
• demonstrate the usage of management accounting information in short-term and long-term decisions.

• On completion of this module, students will be able to:
• calculate full and marginal costs and uses of both by managers.
• understand ways in which management accounting information may be used in decision making.
• calculate relevant costs for decision making.
• calculate product price under different pricing approaches.
• demonstrate the different investment appraisals techniques.
• emphasis the main aspects of planning & control.

• Written communication
• Planning, Organisation and Time Management
• Problem Solving and Analysis
• Initiative by gaining access to relevant sources
• Computer literacy
• Self-management and demonstration of ability to sustain effort over an extended period.

Modes of Teaching, Learning and Assessment and how these contribute to the learning outcomes of the module

• Learning will be facilitated by lectures, seminars and support for private study.
• The summative assessment, by examination, will test students’ understanding of the subject-matter and their ability to perform relevant calculations and techniques.

Teaching Methods and Learning Hours

Summative Assessment

Formative Assessment:

Computer-based multiple choice questions.

■ Attendance at all activities marked with this symbol will be monitored. Students who fail to attend these activities, or to complete the summative or formative assessment specified above, will be subject to the procedures defined in the University's General Regulation V, and may be required to leave the University