82189 - Management Control Systems Lab

Learning outcomes

The course aims to provide students with some tools and techniques of cost management in several contextes (for-profit, non-profit, private, public). By the end of the course students are able to: (a) to define the network of responsibility center, the different types of responsibility centers, and the basis for choosing the most appropriate type; (b) to understand what are the phases of the management control process and the characteristics of each; (c) to understand some of the issues involved in measuring non-financial performance and to implement effective integrated (financial and non-financial) measurement systems. This course is integrated with Business Analytics as it completes the integrated course Analytics for Management (I.C.) with the competences needed to analyze the organizational structure of the company, the responsibility owned by each department and the analytical information needed to measure and manage performance of the company.

Course contents

- Management Control Systems

- Balanced Scorecard

- Non-financial measures of performance

- Financial measures of performance

- Flexible budget, controllability, and evaluation

- Advanced cost accounting and reporting

- Variance analysis

Readings/Bibliography

- Drury, Colin, Management and Cost Accounting, 9th edition, Cengage learning.

- Materials prepared by the instructor and available on Virtuale.

Teaching methods

The course is based on class discussions and active participation by students. Classes comprise a mix of lectures and in class activities.

Assessment methods

The final mark will be obtained by passing a final written exam (2 hours). The final exam consists of a mix of exercises, open questions, and multiple questions. 

 

Graduation grid of marks:

- 18-23: sufficient preparation and ability to analyze but relating to a limited number of topics covered in the course, use of an overall correct language;
- 24-27: technically adequate preparation but with some limits with respect to the topics covered, good operational skills, even if not particularly articulated, expressed in correct language;
- 28-30: very good knowledge of a large number of topics covered in the course, good operational and critical skills, high-level usage of specific terminology;
- 30L: excellent and very in-depth and exhaustive knowledge of the topics covered in the course, critical analysis and connection skills, very high-level usage of specific terminology.

Teaching tools

Exercises, cases, mock exam papers, slides, additional reading materials and slides, and course information will be available on virtuale.unibo.it.

Office hours

See the website of Filippo Boccali