01442 - Management Accounting

Learning outcomes

At the end of the course, the student, within the educational framework of the professional role of administrative manager or external consultant, will have acquired knowledge in business planning, with particular reference to the quantitative tools that represent its income, financial, and equity objectives. Specifically, the student will be able to: prepare the operating budget, assigning objectives to the different areas of company activity and within the framework of the company’s strategic objectives; prepare reports with the analysis of variances from expected objectives, for the subsequent analysis of their causes and the identification of any corrective actions.

Course contents

MODULE 1 – Fundamentals of Planning and Control
– The company information system
– Management control:

• strategic control

• managerial control

• operational control
  – Objectives of control
  – The role of the controller
  – General accounting vs. cost accounting
  – Costs:

• direct/indirect

• fixed/variable

• industrial/commercial
  – Cost centers and responsibility centers

MODULE 2 – The Budget as a Planning Tool
– The budgeting process
– Operating budgets:

• Sales budget

• Production budget

• Cost budget

• Investment budget
  – Summary budgets:

• Income budget

• Balance sheet budget

• Cash flow/financial budget
  – The forecast
  – The rolling budget

MODULE 3 – Variance Analysis and Performance Management
– Logic of variances:

• volume

• price

• efficiency

• mix
  – Analysis of:

• variable costs

• fixed costs

• contribution margin
  – Break-even analysis

MODULE 4 – Business Intelligence Applied to Management Control

4.1 Information System for Control
– Data sources:

• general accounting

• cost accounting

• sales

• logistics

• production
  – Data warehouse and data mart
  – Master data and transactional data

4.2 Data Modeling for BI
– Fact tables and dimensions
– Schemas:

• star

• snowflake
  – Time intelligence
  – Hierarchical KPIs

4.3 Management Dashboards
– Dashboards for:

• Top Management

• Management Control

• Sales

• Production
  – Advanced visualization:

• variances

• trends

• simulations
  – Data storytelling for management

4.4 Power BI Laboratory
– Data import
– Data modeling
– KPI calculation
– Dashboard creation

Readings/Bibliography

Teaching materials (handouts, presentations, business cases) provided by the instructor.

Teaching methods

The course includes a combination of lectures, class discussions, practical exercises, and the analysis of business cases.

Students will be encouraged to actively participate in discussions and to apply the concepts learned through the development of business cases.
Given the predominantly applied nature of the course, participants will be required to use a personal computer in order to carry out the exercises and analyze the proposed business cases.

Assessment methods

The final assessment is intended to verify the knowledge of the topics covered during the course with regard to the main models of cost accounting, as well as the methods of managing business information.

A written exam will be organized, followed by an oral presentation of the case developed in groups during the course. The assessment will be graded on a 30-point scale.

Passing the exam requires a minimum score of 18/30. The score will be awarded according to the criteria indicated below:

• < 18: insufficient (the topics are addressed inadequately in terms of both content and presentation)

• 18–21: sufficient (most topics are addressed adequately but at a superficial level in terms of content; limited reasoning skills demonstrated; presentation is substantially correct but modest)

• 22–25: fair (adequate knowledge of all topics covered; fair reasoning skills; adequate presentation skills)

• 26–28: good (thorough knowledge of all topics covered; orderly presentation of each topic; good command of specific terminology)

• 29–30: very good/excellent (in-depth and detailed knowledge of all topics covered; very good reasoning and systematic framing skills; accurate presentation; full command of specific terminology)

• 30 with honors: outstanding

Teaching tools

For the completion of the practical exercises and group projects, the use of the Microsoft Power BI application is required.

Office hours

See the website of Alessandro Capodaglio