Starting with the tools and metrics in the management accounting toolbox, the link between a company's competitive strategy, organisational design and organisational behaviour are illustrated through case studies, illustrative videos and lectures. The course is designed as a continuous flow of interaction and exchange, not limited to face-to-face classroom meetings. The course begins online before the classroom sessions and ends online after the classroom sessions. The course process revolves around collaborative learning and the 'flipped classroom'. Both collaborative learning and the flipped classroom are inspired by design thinking, using visualisation of arguments as a guide. Collaborative learning is based on the groups to which students are assigned for each set of modules. The 'flipped classroom' requires participants to study, discuss and interpret materials within their groups beforehand, with the classroom sessions acting as an interactive exchange of each group's insights. The casework acts as a cue for subsequent classroom discussions.

The course makes extensive use of Google NotebookLM and Gemini. Each group works in a dedicated NotebookLM environment that contains the course materials and can be extended with group notes and selected external sources. The AI workflow includes structured use of briefing documents and repurposing outputs for group preparation and reflection. 

The learning design follows Fink’s principles by combining foundational concepts with application, integration across managerial domains, reflection on professional practice, and learning how to learn with AI supported workflows. In practice, AI is used to manage reading load, interrogate course sources, structure analyses, test assumptions through what if scenarios, and improve the clarity of communication and visualization. The aim is to encourage conceptual and schematic big-picture thinking, to harness group dynamics through peer-to-peer learning, and to build a schematic understanding of causality that can benefit and spill over into the other core courses in Module 2 (Finance, Economics, Financial Accounting). The course revolves around casework and the discussion of case-related issues. Each case is assigned a set of questions to be answered by the case group. The answers to the cases act as a vehicle to start the case discussion towards linking management accounting results to broader managerial insights and actions. The cases focus on the relationship between the outcome of an (accounting) calculation and its wider, managerial interpretation and decision-making consequences. Cases are deliberately chosen to reflect the context of managerial interpretation and significance and are not to be regarded as computational exercises on steroids. Cases will change and be updated for each edition of the course. There is a course outline which acts as a 'handbook' detailing what is expected. Assessment is based on two parameters: the reflective journal (40%) and case work (60%). An anonymised example from the previous EMBA cohort of both case work and the associated feedback and grading is provided as a benchmark of expected quality. Casework will be assessed on the basis of three rubrics: the content submitted, the communication of the content, and a sequential log of the AI prompts used. The assessment criteria for both the casework and the reflective journals are fully specified in the course outline (the 'manual' of the course).

Each examination component will be scored on a scale of 0-100. The components will be weighted together according to the information in the course outline to calculate the final letter grade for the course. Students who do not take one/some/all of the assessment components will receive a lower grade or may fail the course. Candidates may be called for an oral examination as a check/verification of written work.

Casework and reflective journals will be submitted at a specified time and date. Submitted cases will receive feedback and a mark on the day of submission. This assessment allows the accumulation of learning across the three cases within and across groups. Therefore, all case work is always completed prior to classroom sessions (flipped classroom).

The Reflective Journal consists of each group producing a submission from scratch that articulates the group's overall learning throughout the course, including offline group discussion and learning. The aim of the Reflective Journal is to zoom out and place cases, tools and concepts within the participant's personal experience as a manager. It serves as a warm-up for the Personal Development Programme later in the EMBA programme. The details of what constitutes a Reflective Journal are set out in the course outline (the course manual). This includes an anonymised example from the previous EMBA cohort. In the event that a group reflective journal is particularly unrepresentative of an individual's perspective, a participant has the option of submitting a separate, individual reflective journal. The course outline specifies the 'how to' of this option.

Attendance at all sessions of the course is compulsory. If you need to miss part(s) of the course, you must apply for a leave of absence in advance. If you miss more than 25% of the course, you will have to repeat the whole course. It is the student's own responsibility to obtain any information provided in class that is not included on the course website / It's Learning or other course materials.

This course is part of a full Executive MBA programme and students must pass all course exams in order to receive a certificate. In all BI Executive courses and programmes, there is a mutual requirement for the student and the course director to incorporate the student's experience into the planning and delivery of courses, modules and programmes. This means that the student has the right and obligation to contribute their own knowledge and practical relevance by actively sharing their relevant experience and knowledge.