Learning objectives
The course goals are to develop an understanding of cost analysis, and budgeting techniques and to strengthen business decision-making skills.
With successful completion of the course students will have mastered:
a) knowledge and understanding concerning the Managerial Accounting System, the introduction of Management Science (i.e. of Quantitative Approaches to Decision Making) based on MA information, and the different Costing Methods and Techniques.
In addition, students will have acquired knowledge and understanding about the diverse methods and techniques of programming and planning, as well as about the Enterprise Resources Planning Systems supporting company decisions.
b) the ability to apply knowledge and understanding within the Planning and Control Department. Students will be capable to assist and support Management Accountants in determining the costs of products, services, and so on, as well as in the preparation of Budgets and Financial Plans, and in the process of Decision Making.
the ability to apply knowledge and understanding assumes a working placement period, a university-organized internship (tirocinio curricolare).
c) the potential of Making judgments, to evaluate independently the issues and opportunities related to the many and varied methods of costing and budgeting, and planning in business environments characterized by risk. Autonomously S/he will assist or support the controller in the definition of the economic and financial consequences arising from the use of different MA methodologies.
d) Communication skills consist of the use of an appropriate technical language used to relate with those involved in the management and financial accounting. The students will have improved their problem-solving skills, relational capacity, and expression, both written and oral. The latter will allow them to liaise with business stakeholders and submit their conclusions regarding studies and analyses, clearly expressing their reasoning.
e) Learning skills, the ability to undertake more advanced studies with a degree of autonomy, particularly with reference to the courses of Advanced Management Accounting.
Prerequisites
It is assumed in this course that students have an appreciation and good understanding of Financial Accounting and Statistical Methods. Hence suggested prerequisites are Financial Accounting, Statistics, and Business English.
Course unit content
The course of management accounting emphasizes the internal business-building role of accounting and finance professionals who design, implement, and manage internal systems that support effective decisions, and support, plan, and control the organization's value-creating operations.
The course explores cardinal topics of management accounting in single- and multiple-period business settings also under market and company conditions characterized by risk.
The course covers the following topics, Management Accounting, Decision Theory, Cost Behavior, and Cost Management Systems, Master Budget and Variance Analysis, and the fundamentals of the advanced Managerial Accounting Tools.
Full programme
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Bibliography
CILLONI A., Economia dei costi nelle determinazioni e decisioni d'azienda. La simulazione d'impresa a mezzo della logica probabilistica, Giappichelli, Torino, 2022.
CINQUINI L., Cost Management, Volume I, Giappichelli, Torino, 2017.
Suggested readings:
CILLONI A. (a cura di), Programmazione e controllo. La logica decisionale, McGraw Hill
CINQUINI L. et alii, Cost Management, Volume II, Giappichelli, Torino, 2018.
Teaching methods
The teaching will consist of lectures (Active Learning Techniques are didactically implemented), practice exercises, and Businessmen seminars.
Acquisition of knowledge: lectures.
Acquisition of the ability to apply knowledge: exercises.
Acquisition of judgment: exercises and classroom discussions).
Acquisition of learning skills: development of guided exercises and case studies.
Acquisition of technical language: The meaning of commonly used terms is explained, and classroom discussions aim to encourage the correct use of terminology.
The teaching material will be enriched with video recordings of the lessons or with other material to be made available on the Elly page of the course.
Assessment methods and criteria
Students will be examined and assessed on knowledge and skills taught directly on class materials covered during Lectures through a Final Written Exam.
The assessment of learning will be carried out with an exam held in written form, with the possibility of an oral test for all or part of the participating students, if the results of the written test do not allow an effective assessment of individual preparation.
The written test is held in two parts.
The first part is related to Module one and consists of one open question (for which a wide answer is required, scored ten points) and two calculations (scored ten points each).
The second part is relating to Module two and consists of one open question (for which a wide answer is required, scored ten points), six short essays (scored two points each), and two calculations (scored five points each).
The duration of the exam is 90 minutes.
Knowledge and ability to comprehend (a) will be ascertained through the broad questions that are intended to assess the knowledge of the topics and the student's ability to make links between them, the short essays cover a wider range of contents.
The ability to apply knowledge and understanding (b), the autonomy of judgment (c), and the ability to learn (e) will be assessed both through the open-ended questions formulated in such a way as to require the student to make connections among the topics and through the exercises that require the application of accounting notions of costing, budgeting, and performance evaluations.
Communication skills (d) will be assessed both through open-ended questions for which appropriate language is required and through specific (short) questions designed to verify proper understanding and use of the terminology employed.
The two parts will be evaluated in 30/30, the final mark will be the average of the single evaluations obtained in the two parts. A minimum mark of 18/30 is needed in each of the two parts of the exam. Laude will be given to those particularly deserving students who, in addition to having complied with the requirements necessary to obtain a full assessment, in carrying out the exam have demonstrated an overall appreciable systematic knowledge of the subject, an excellent ability to apply the knowledge acquired to the specific problem in question, a significant autonomy of judgment, as well as special care in the formal drafting of the report.
Moreover, the evaluation of learning skills could consist of Continuous Assessments.
The results will be communicated via the Esse3 platform. Any further information will be provided through the Elly platform.
Other information
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