Prof. Al Bhimani, OLD 3.20, Dr Matthew Hall, OLD 2.11, Dr Yuval Millo, OLD 2.17, Dr Rita Samiolo, OLD 3.33

Compulsory for BSc Accounting and Finance. Optional for BSc Business Mathematics and Statistics, BSc Economics, BSc Econometrics and Mathematical Economics, BSc Human Resource Management and Employment Relations, BSc Management, BSc Management Sciences and the Diploma in Accounting and Finance and other students with the permission of the Accounting Departmental Tutor.

Students must have completed AC100, Elements of Accounting and Finance.

The course analyses the roles and applications of management accounting practices and concepts in contemporary organisations and enterprises. Management accounting is extensively involved in the planning, coordination and control of complex organisations and networks of organisations competing on a global scale. Given the changing nature of management accounting within and across modern organisations, the course explores key management accounting concepts and tools, and their institutional, strategic, behavioural and economic underpinnings.

The course is organised in four modules. Management Accounting and Strategy looks at the emerging role of management accounting in modern enterprises, with a special focus on strategic finance in the global economy and the rise of cost and management accounting innovations. It considers also international issues and cross-national comparisons of financial management and control practices. Planning and Control in and across Organisations addresses intra- and inter-organizational management accounting and control issues, with particular attention to planning and budgeting practices ranging from long-range planning to budgeting and variance analysis, including the behavioural, organisational, political and cultural aspects of budgeting. Management Accounting for Decision Making examines how management accounting serves the needs of short- and long-term decision making from an individual, organisational and inter-organisational perspective, with a special focus on capital budgeting and investment appraisal. The final module, Performance Measurement, addresses the use of financial and non-financial performance measures in complex organisational and managerial settings, with particular emphasis on their behavioural consequences and the limits of quantification.

20 lectures of two hours and 20 classes of one hour.

Students will be expected to complete written assignments for each of the classes. Four of these assignments, one at each of the modules, will be collected and written feedback will be provided. Active engagement in the class discussions is essential and is expected of the students.

Illustrative texts and articles include: A Bhimani, Strategic Finance, Strategy Press, (2008); C Horngren, A Bhimani, S Datar & G Foster, Management and Cost Accounting, FT/Prentice Hall (2008); A.Bhimani, Contemporary Issues in Management Accounting, Oxford University Press (2006); Emsley, Redesigning variance analysis for problem solving, Management Accounting Research (2001) pp.21-40; Davila, T. and Wouters, M. (2005) "Managing budget emphasis through the explicit design of conditional budgetary slack", Accounting, Organizations and Society: 30, 587-608; Miller & O'Leary, Managing operational flexibility in investment decisions: the case of Intel, Journal of Applied Corporate Finance (2005), pp. 87-93.; Hall, M. (2008). The effect of comprehensive performance measurement systems on role clarity, psychological empowerment and managerial performance. Accounting,Organizations and Society, 33(2-3), 141-163.

A three-hour unseen examination will take place in the Summer Term.  The examination paper will consist of four sections with 3 questions in each: students must attempt one question from each section.