07573 - Management Control

Learning outcomes

This course provides students with knowledge and skills related to management control tools, here defined as the system that guides managers' behavior towards the pursuit of corporate objectives using accounting techniques and performance measurement models. At the end of the course, students will gain the ability to set up and manage a system for detecting and analyzing economic and financial information useful for governing organizations. Students will learn the usage of accounting-based methodologies useful to analyze problems and identify coherent solutions. Finally, students will be able to master the technical-economic vocabulary of the management control function

Course contents

The course is structured to prepare students to make financially rational decisions useful for achieving company objectives. It provides knowledge on cost analysis, the behaviour of costs, revenues, volumes and profits when operational decisions change, understanding of operational levers, cost estimation and the creation of company dashboards for monitoring performance.

The course is both theoretical and practical. It presents different accounting tools that are required to successfully run businesses.

The course is divided into two parts:

Part 1 (30 hours)

Professor Magali Fia will teach in the months of February and March. At the end of the lessons there is a partial (mid-term) exam which concerns only the contents of Part 1.

Part 2 (30 hours)

Professor Alessandro Capodaglio will teach in the months of April and May At the end of the first semester of lessons there is a total written exam, which deals with the contents of Part 1 and Part 2. Students who have passed the partial exam with Professor Magali, can take a second partial exam focusing only on Part 2.

Readings/Bibliography

Horngren, C.T., Sundem, G.L., D. Burgstahler, J. Schatzberg, M. Agliati e A. Ditillo Programmazione e Controllo, Pearson, 2020 (17° o 18° edizione).

Module I Capp. 1,2,3,4, 5 (only: 5.2.3,5.2.4; 5.3.1)

Module II Capp. 6,9,12,13,14.

Note: Supplementary materials, slides, case studies, articles, and reports listed on the course website are to be considered an integral part of the syllabus.

Teaching methods

The teaching methods are a combination of lectures (presentations and related explanations), interactive lessons, seminars, exercises and discussion questions on specific topics. Whenever possible, seminars held by visiting international professors or managers will be organized

Assessment methods

The final exam will be administered in written form.

The written exam for Module I will consist of multiple-choice questions and 2 exercises and/or open-ended questions. The exam is in fact designed to assess both the acquisition of knowledge (e.g., definitions) and students' ability to apply what they have learned to concrete problems/exercises. Duration: approximately 60–75 minutes.

The written exam for Module II will consist of open-ended questions. Duration: approximately 60–75 minutes.

Class attendance is not taken into account for assessment purposes.

A minimum grade of 18 out of 30 is required to pass the exam. The grade scale is as follows:

below 18: fail
18–23: pass
24–27: good
28–30: very good
30 cum laude: excellent

Students must always register for the exam via AlmaEsami (mandatory — failure to register means the exam cannot be taken).

Depending on the number of students, exams may be organized into multiple shifts on the same day if the number exceeds a certain threshold.

Teaching tools

https://virtuale.unibo.it

Office hours

See the website of Magalì Fia

See the website of Alessandro Capodaglio