EXC 2122 Strategic Management Accounting

EXC 2122 Strategic Management Accounting

Course code: 
EXC 2122
Department: 
Accounting and Operations Management
Credits: 
7.5
Course coordinator: 
Tor Olav Nordtømme
Course name in Norwegian: 
Strategic Management Accounting
Product category: 
Bachelor
Portfolio: 
Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) - Programme Courses
Semester: 
2018 Spring
Active status: 
Active
Level of study: 
Bachelor
Teaching language: 
English
Course type: 
One semester
Introduction

Strategic management accounting focuses on defining and describing important causal relationships between factors that contribute to creating long-term values for the firm. By designing controlling systems that help us to evaluate the company’s ability to implement its overall strategies and plans, management theory, strategic planning and accounting together form a holistic framework for long-term decision-making.
The course focuses on theoretical models, various tools and techniques to support the decision-making process for management with real-life cases and exercises.

Learning outcomes - Knowledge

After completed course students shall have acquired knowledge about:

  • The link between the various activities carried out by an organization and its consumption of costly resources
  • How the design of a value chain model can be used as a tool to analyze the various activities’ contribution to value creation as well as how multi-dimensional process analyses can be used to improve process efficiency.
  • Allocation of costs to various cost objects by using traditional methods as well as activity based costing techniques.
  • The need to establish long-term goals and to determine critical success factors and Key Performance Indicators, as well as designing strategy maps.
  • How strategic decisions may tie up the organizational resources on a long term and the link between strategies, plans and budgets.
  • How the organization can measure the implementation of its current strategy plan by the use of Balanced Scorecards.
  • How traditional budgeting models can be improved to better facilitate different control purposes.
  • How the lean-philosophy’s continuous focus on reducing organizational waste can contribute to long-term value creation.
  • Challenges of achieving success by efficiently implementing processes that require actual change in organizational behavior.

 

Learning outcomes - Skills

After completed course students shall be able to:

  • Identify relevant cost drivers in a given organization, an activity or a business process
  • Design a value chain for a given organization or business process
  • Design models for allocation of direct and indirect costs to given cost objects
  • Define critical success factors, suggest relevant KPIs, design a strategy map and a scorecard as a basis for implementing Balanced Scorecard.
  • Measure the efficiency of various business processes
  • Design tools for budgeting and other financial planning
  • Identify sources for organizational waste by the use of lean-philosophy methods
Learning Outcome - Reflection
  • The students shall reflect on management accounting in a strategic and long-term perspective, where the goal is to use resources optimally to create operational efficiency and value creation.
Course content

Part one - Strategic Performance Management: Management control challenges, The Balanced Scorecard, definifing well-functioning KPIs, strategy mapping and measuring

Part two - Financial planning and budgeting: Budgets as a tool for financial simulation, cash flow forecasting, balance sheet budgeting.

Part three Understanding cost behavior and The Value Chain: Cost driver, primary and supporting activities, The Positioning School vs. The Resource Based View

Part four - Cost allocation and more advance costing models: Activity Based Costing, finding the costs for excess capacity

Part five - Business Process Analyses and The Lean Philosophy - Improving process efficiency with Lean concepts

Learning process and requirements to students

The course consists of lectures and self-tuition (reading the syllabus and doing exercises/assignments that are both mandatory and voluntary).  Throughout the course, the students shall discuss and solve a number of case-oriented business problems from the private and public sector.

Students are expected to use spreadsheets (e.g. Excel) when solving and submitting assignments. 

Software tools
No specified computer-based tools are required.
Additional information

.

Required prerequisite knowledge

EXC 3442 Managerial Accounting and EXC 3451 Financial Reporting and Analysis, or equivalent

Assessments
Assessments
Exam category: 
Submission
Form of assessment: 
Written submission
Invigilation
Weight: 
100
Grouping: 
Individual
Support materials: 
  • BI-approved exam calculator
  • Simple calculator
  • Bilingual dictionary
Duration: 
5 Hour(s)
Exam code: 
EXC 21221
Grading scale: 
ECTS
Resit: 
Examination every semester
Exam organisation: 
Ordinary examination
Total weight: 
100
Student workload
ActivityDurationComment
Teaching
26 Hour(s)
Participation in theory-based lectures.
Feedback activities and counselling
16 Hour(s)
Participation in exercise and case based lectures
Group work / Assignments
18 Hour(s)
Participation in exercise seminars organized by student tutor
Group work / Assignments
60 Hour(s)
Solving assignments alone and in student groups.
Student's own work with learning resources
50 Hour(s)
Text book, articles and class preparation
Examination
30 Hour(s)
Including preparation
Sum workload: 
200

A course of 1 ECTS credit corresponds to a workload of 26-30 hours. Therefore a course of 7,5 ECTS credit corresponds to a workload of at least 200 hours.