ACCTING 7014 - Management Accounting (M)

North Terrace Campus - Semester 1 - 2021

The course introduces students to contemporary management accounting concepts and techniques. Topics: the role of accountants in internal decision-making; tools used to design and develop costing systems; preparation of budgets and their role as a planning and control tool; other decision-making tools including CVP analysis, pricing decisions, inventory issues and costs of quality; fraud.

  • General Course Information
    Course Details
    Course Code ACCTING 7014
    Course Management Accounting (M)
    Coordinating Unit Accounting
    Term Semester 1
    Level Postgraduate Coursework
    Location/s North Terrace Campus
    Units 3
    Contact Up to 3 hours per week
    Available for Study Abroad and Exchange Y
    Prerequisites ACCTING 7019
    Incompatible COMMERCE 7021
    Course Description The course introduces students to contemporary management accounting concepts and techniques. Topics: the role of accountants in internal decision-making; tools used to design and develop costing systems; preparation of budgets and their role as a planning and control tool; other decision-making tools including CVP analysis, pricing decisions, inventory issues and costs of quality; fraud.
    Course Staff

    Course Coordinator: Dr VG Sridharan

    SEMESTER 1:
    Course coordinator and Lecturer:

    Name: Dr VG Sridharan
    Location: Room 13.07, Nexus 10, 13th Floor, 10 Pulteney Street
    Email: vg.sridharan@adelaide.edu.au

    SEMESTER 2:
    Course coordinator and Lecturer:

    Name: Dr Mahmud Masum
    Location: Room 13.09, Nexus 10, 13th Floor, 10 Pulteney Street
    Email: mahmud.masum@adelaide.edu.au

    Course Timetable

    The full timetable of all activities for this course can be accessed from Course Planner.

    Detailed session-wise schedule will be posted on MyUni before the commencement of the course.
  • Learning Outcomes
    Course Learning Outcomes
    1. Explain the three primary purposes of management accounting namely, inventory valuation, decision support and cost control.
    2. Compare traditional and contemporary costing approaches for the above purposes.
    3. Learn how costs are analysed for different product costing contexts such as job-order, process or joint-product systems
    4. Develop and apply standards and budgets for planning and controlling purposes.
    5. Apply incremental analysis to a range of business scenarios.

    University Graduate Attributes

    This course will provide students with an opportunity to develop the Graduate Attribute(s) specified below:

    University Graduate Attribute Course Learning Outcome(s)
    Deep discipline knowledge
    • informed and infused by cutting edge research, scaffolded throughout their program of studies
    • acquired from personal interaction with research active educators, from year 1
    • accredited or validated against national or international standards (for relevant programs)
    1-4
    Critical thinking and problem solving
    • steeped in research methods and rigor
    • based on empirical evidence and the scientific approach to knowledge development
    • demonstrated through appropriate and relevant assessment
    4,5
    Teamwork and communication skills
    • developed from, with, and via the SGDE
    • honed through assessment and practice throughout the program of studies
    • encouraged and valued in all aspects of learning
    2,5
    Career and leadership readiness
    • technology savvy
    • professional and, where relevant, fully accredited
    • forward thinking and well informed
    • tested and validated by work based experiences
    3-5
    Intercultural and ethical competency
    • adept at operating in other cultures
    • comfortable with different nationalities and social contexts
    • able to determine and contribute to desirable social outcomes
    • demonstrated by study abroad or with an understanding of indigenous knowledges
    5
    Self-awareness and emotional intelligence
    • a capacity for self-reflection and a willingness to engage in self-appraisal
    • open to objective and constructive feedback from supervisors and peers
    • able to negotiate difficult social situations, defuse conflict and engage positively in purposeful debate
    3,4
  • Learning Resources
    Required Resources
    Textbook

    The required textbook for this course is Horngren's Cost Accounting: A Managerial Emphasis, Global Edition, 17th Edition, by Srikant M. Datar and Madhav V. Rajan, Pearson.

    Pearson published both the eBook and print version of the textbook, which can be accessed at:
    https://www.pearson.com.au/9781292363165
  • Learning & Teaching Activities
    Learning & Teaching Modes
    This course is presented in Seminar Mode. There will be a three-hour interactive seminar class each week that students are required to attend.

    The seminar will be typically run in two parts. In each part, there will be one or two modules.  Each module comprises one major conceptual discussion followed by some real-world case or exercises, that will be guided by the lecturer and solved by the students. At times, the lecturer will divide the student cohort into convenient teams that will resolve the problems and get back with potential solutions. 

    Please check your student email and MyUni as course-related announcements are communicated via email and as announcements on MyUni Course page.

    Consultation hours will be advised on MyUni Course homepage.
    Workload

    The information below is provided as a guide to assist students in engaging appropriately with the course requirements.

    This course is provided in internal mode and contains 1 three hour seminar each week. Seminars commence in week 1 and the online mid-semester problem test will be held sometime around Week 6.  

    The University expects full-time students (i.e. those taking 12 units per semester) to devote a total of 48 hours per week to their studies. This means that you are expected to commit approximately 9 hours for a three-unit course or 13 hours for a four-unit course, of private study outside of your regular classes.

    Students in this course are expected to attend all seminars throughout the semester.

    Please refer to Access Adelaide for your timetable and enrolment details:
    www.adelaide.edu.au/access/


    Learning Activities Summary

    SESSIONS 1-3: PRINCIPLES OF COST ALLOCATION
    WEEK 1 - 1. Course Introduction; 2. Cost terms and purposes  Refer to Course Outline and Textbook Chapters 1 and 2
    WEEK 2 - 1. What is cost allocation and why must we allocate? 2. Conventional cost allocation in Chapter 15
    WEEK 3 - 1. Limitations of conventional approaches; 2. Activity-based cost allocation in Chapters 15 and 5

    SESSIONS 4-7: INVENTORY COSTING SYSTEMS
    WEEK 4 - 1. Job costing; 2. Process costing in Chapters 4, 17 and 18
    WEEK 5 - 1. Joint product costing; 2. By-product costing in Chapter 16
    WEEK 6 - 1. Absorption costing; 2. Variable costing in Chapter 9

    SESSIONS 7-9: DECISION SUPPORT SYSTEMS
    WEEK 7 - 1. Cost behaviour analysis; 2. Cost-volume-profit analysis in Chapters 10 and Chapter 3

    ----------Mid-semester Break-----------

    WEEK 8 - 1. Concept of relevance; 2. Decision context analysis in Chapter 11
    WEEK 9 - 1.Customer account profitability analysis; 2. Pricing decisions in Chapters 14 and 13

    SESSION 10-12: COST CONTROL SYSTEMS
    WEEK 10 - 1. Master budgets; 2. Responsibility Accounting in Chapter 6 
    WEEK 11 - 1. Flexible budgets; 2. Variance analysis in Chapters 7 and 8
    WEEK 12 - 1. Introducing strategic cost management; 2. Course review in Chapters 19 and 20

    SWOT/EXAM PERIOD

    Specific Course Requirements
    Consultation and communication

    Please check your student email and MyUni as course-related announcements are communicated via email.



  • Assessment

    The University's policy on Assessment for Coursework Programs is based on the following four principles:

    1. Assessment must encourage and reinforce learning.
    2. Assessment must enable robust and fair judgements about student performance.
    3. Assessment practices must be fair and equitable to students and give them the opportunity to demonstrate what they have learned.
    4. Assessment must maintain academic standards.

    Assessment Summary
    Assessment Task Task Type Due Weighting Learning Outcome
    First MCQ quiz Individual

    End of Week 2 

    5% 1, and 2
    Second MCQ Quiz Individual End of week 4 5% 1,2, and 3
    Online Problem Test Individual  End of Week 7 30% 1, 4, and 5
    Online Final Examination Exam period between 14- June - 3 July 60% All
    Assessment Detail

    Assessment Details:

    Assessment Task  Task type Due by  weight
    First MCQ quiz Individual End of week 2 5%
    Second MCQ quiz Individual End of week 4 5%
    Online Problem Test Individual End of week 7 30%
    Final Examination Exam Period 60%


    Students, please note:


    1. The two MCQ quizzes test your conceptual knowledge of the subject.  While the first quiz does not involve any numerical questions, the second one does.

    2. The online problem test will involve solving some problem questions.  This tests your ability to apply the relevant concepts and derive solutions for the stated problems.

    3. The final examination has a large portiion of weight on detailed problem solving apart from a small portion of short answer questions.

    Submission


    General Assessment Guidelines including Referencing Details
    A copy of the Postgraduate Programs: Communication Skills Guide will have been given to you at the beginning of your program. This guide will assist you structure your assignments. A copy of the guide can also be downloaded from http://www.adelaide.edu.au/professions/hub/pg/downloads/

    This publication also provides guidelines on a range of other important communication skills including writing essays and management reports, making oral presentations etc.

    In preparing any written piece of assessment for postgraduate studies it is important to draw on the relevant ‘literature’ to support critical analysis. Also essential is to reference the literature used. Correct referencing is important because it identifies the source of the ideas and arguments that you present, and sometimes the source of the actual words you use, and helps to avoid the problem of plagiarism. (Further information on plagiarism is provided later in this course outline.)

    The Harvard system is widely used in the Business School. Guidelines for the use of this style of referencing can be found in the Communication Skills Guide.

    Further assistance with referencing is available from the Faculty’s Learning Support Advisors. The contact details are provided on page 6 of the Communication Skills Guide.



    Course Grading

    Grades for your performance in this course will be awarded in accordance with the following scheme:

    M10 (Coursework Mark Scheme)
    Grade Mark Description
    FNS   Fail No Submission
    F 1-49 Fail
    P 50-64 Pass
    C 65-74 Credit
    D 75-84 Distinction
    HD 85-100 High Distinction
    CN   Continuing
    NFE   No Formal Examination
    RP   Result Pending

    Further details of the grades/results can be obtained from Examinations.

    Grade Descriptors are available which provide a general guide to the standard of work that is expected at each grade level. More information at Assessment for Coursework Programs.

    Final results for this course will be made available through Access Adelaide.

  • Student Feedback

    The University places a high priority on approaches to learning and teaching that enhance the student experience. Feedback is sought from students in a variety of ways including on-going engagement with staff, the use of online discussion boards and the use of Student Experience of Learning and Teaching (SELT) surveys as well as GOS surveys and Program reviews.

    SELTs are an important source of information to inform individual teaching practice, decisions about teaching duties, and course and program curriculum design. They enable the University to assess how effectively its learning environments and teaching practices facilitate student engagement and learning outcomes. Under the current SELT Policy (http://www.adelaide.edu.au/policies/101/) course SELTs are mandated and must be conducted at the conclusion of each term/semester/trimester for every course offering. Feedback on issues raised through course SELT surveys is made available to enrolled students through various resources (e.g. MyUni). In addition aggregated course SELT data is available.

  • Student Support
  • Policies & Guidelines
  • Fraud Awareness

    Students are reminded that in order to maintain the academic integrity of all programs and courses, the university has a zero-tolerance approach to students offering money or significant value goods or services to any staff member who is involved in their teaching or assessment. Students offering lecturers or tutors or professional staff anything more than a small token of appreciation is totally unacceptable, in any circumstances. Staff members are obliged to report all such incidents to their supervisor/manager, who will refer them for action under the university's student’s disciplinary procedures.

The University of Adelaide is committed to regular reviews of the courses and programs it offers to students. The University of Adelaide therefore reserves the right to discontinue or vary programs and courses without notice. Please read the important information contained in the disclaimer.