Learning objectives
The course offers a comprehensive overview on management issues in companies. It covers management issues in main functional areas of a company. Another main topic of this course is the quantitative analysis and the reporting of business activities. Therefore, appropriate systems and instruments of internal and external accounting and financial management are presented. Also, discounted cash flow techniques for investment appraisal are addressed.
KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING: At the end of the course the student should know the main issues related to the business management area. Specifically, he should acquire knowledge on the main tools and techniques that can be adopted for accounts' analysis, costing and cost analysis, as well as capital budgeting.
APPLYING KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING: The student should be able to draw up, read and analyze the main accounts documents, to determine the cost of a product and to evaluate the profitability of an investment.
MAKING JUDGEMENTS: The student should be able to evaluate with critical mind the trend of a company, and in particular to evaluate its accounts data, the profitability in realizing a product or an investment.
COMMUNICATION SKILLS: The student should be able to clearly present the results of the above mentioned analysis and evaluations.
Prerequisites
None
Course unit content
The course aims to introduce students to the use of conceptual tools and operating techniques useful to understand and address the economic dimension of the enterprise, with particular reference to the financial statements (part I), cost analysis techniques (part II) and capital budgeting (part III). As for the first part, both theoretical and practical aspects of the balance sheets are analysed, followed by the main balance indicators. In the second part of the course, after introducing the cost concept and the classification criteria, the main costing methodologies (namely, full costing and direct costing), the main criteria for the so called “cost-volumes-results analysis” and for the differential analysis are discussed. Finally, the last part of the program presents the main financial instruments for evaluating an industrial investment.
Full programme
PART I: BALANCE SHEET AND INCOME STATEMENT
The balance: Financial accounting; Accounts documents (list of assets, financial state); Reading the statement of accounts
Analysis of accounts: Balance indicators (profitability, liquidity, solidity, efficiency)
PART II: COSTING
Cost classification systems: Variable/fixed costs; Product/Period costs; Direct/Indirect costs
Full costing: Cost allocation; Job costing; Process costing
Direct costing and Cost-Volume-Profit analysis: Direct costing; Cost-Volume-Profit analysis; Break-even point analysis for single-product organizations and for multiproduct organizations; Differential analysis
PART III: CAPITAL BUDGETING
Basic concepts: Basic concepts of investment analysis
Cash flow and investment evaluation method: Discounted Cash Flow techniques; Net present value; Internal rate of return; Profitability Index; Pay-Back period
Bibliography
The suggested book is “Economia e Organizzazione Aziendale" (a.a. 2015-16, Prof.ssa Barbara Bigliardi, Create McGrawHill). Moreover, the notes of the professor, as well as exercises, their solutions and all the supporting material used during the lessons will be available for students on the home page of the course on the web platform Elly.In addition, the students may refer to the following secondary books:
- Anthony, R.N., Macrì, D.M., Pearlman, L.K, (2004), "Il bilancio: strumento di analisi per la gestione", McGraw-Hill, Milano, terza edizione.
- Anthony, R.N., Hawkins, D.F., Macrì, D.M., Merchant, K.A., (2004), “Sistemi di controllo: analisi economiche per le decisioni aziendali”, McGraw-Hill, Milano, seconda edizione.
- Anthony, R.N., Hawkins, D.F., Macrì, D.M., Merchant, K.A., (2005), “Analisi dei costi”, McGraw-Hill, Milano
Teaching methods
The class will combine in-class explanation of the background material, problem solving and case discussions. The theory in-class explanations will offers a comprehensive overview on management issues in companies. They will cover management issues in main functional areas of a company, quantitative analysis and the reporting of business activities. Therefore, appropriate systems and instruments of internal and external accounting and financial management will be presented in general. Also, discounted cash flow techniques for investment appraisal will be addressed.
During the problem solving and case discussions, the student should apply the main concepts acquired during the in-class theory lectures.
Assessment methods and criteria
The final exam consists in a written test and an optional oral test.
The written test, lasting 1,5 hours, covers the whole course program, includes 10 theory questions (3 points/question) and 3 exercises (10 points/exercise). Students have to reach the passing mark (18/30) in both parts. The final mark is calculated as average of the marks obtained in the two parts of the written test. Students who must take a further oral examination is at the discretion of the professor. Each student may require to have this oral exam in order to improve the result obtained with the written test.
Only for the student that will attend lectures, it is possible to realize 2 written tests during the course. The written tests will be agreed with students at the beginning of the course, and will have the same structure of the final exam.
Students have to register to the exam, exclusively via internet (https://unipr.esse3.cineca.it) until 7 days before the exam.
A non-programmable calculator can be used during the exam, but it is not allowed the use of books, notes and other teaching materials.
During the academic year, 7 exams sill be scheduled (in addition to the written test during the course), divided in three sessions January/February and March/April, June-July, and September. Three exams will be planned in the session immediately after the end of the course (June/July), two in the remaining sessions.
Other information
Non-attending students are recommended to periodically check the available teaching material and the instructions provided by the professor on the Elly web platform, this is e only professor/student communication tool. On this web platform, the slides used during the lessons and any additional material provided by the teacher will be uploaded weekly.
