Faculté des sciences de l administration École de comptabilité Course Outline WINTER 2010 January 12, 2010 MANAGEMENT ACCOUNTING CTB-1002 Instructor: Paul-V. Paré 4222, pavillon Palasis-Prince Phone: 418-656-2131, Ext. 7302 paul-v.pare@fsa.ulaval.ca Secretary: Louise Têtu 5247, pavillon Palasis-Prince Phone: 418-656-2131, Ext. 7572 louise.tetu@fsa.ulaval.ca THIS COURSE OUTLINE IS ONLY VALID FOR THE CURRENT TERM. THE TEXTBOOKS, COURSE MATERIALS AND DATES COULD BE MODIFIED FOR THE NEXT SEMESTER. ALL EXAM DATES FOR THE FACULTY ARE AVAILABLE A WEEK BEFORE THE BEGINNING OF THE SESSION ON THE FOLLOWING WEBSITE: http://www.fsa.ulaval.ca/examenspremiercycle. THUS, IT IS YOUR RESPONSABILTY TO VERIFY THAT YOU DO NOT HAVE ANY CONFLICT. FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE READ THE EXAM POLICY OF THE FACULTY: www.fsa.ulaval.ca/politiqueexamen. STUDENTS FOLLOWING THE CMA (CERTIFIED MANAGEMENT ACCOUNTANT) STREAM WILL HAVE TO KEEP A MINIMUM AVERAGE OF 2.5 FOR THE FIVE FOLLOWING ACCOUNTING COURSES: CTB-2100(21499), CTB-2101(21500), CTB- 2102(21503), CTB-3101(21501), AND CTB-3103(21504) TO REGISTER FOR CTB-3107(21505). CTB-3107 IS A PREREQUISITE FOR THE CMA EXAM. FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THE PREREQUISITES FOR CTB-3107 AND THE NEW CMA STREAM FOR STUDENTS GRADUATING IN DECEMBER 2010, PLEASE VISIT THE FOLLOWING WEBSITE: http://www5.fsa.ulaval.ca/webdav/site/fsa/shared/fichiers/ecole_de_comptabilite/etudier%20en%20ctb/ctb- 3107%20criteres%20adm_CMA_08-09%20mai09.pdf http://www5.fsa.ulaval.ca/sgc/faculte/departementsecole/ecolecomptabilite/formationecolecomptabilite/site/fsa DURING THIS COURSE, THE EMAIL AND THE FORUMS ARE THE OFFICIAL MEANS OF COMMUNICATION THAT THE INSTRUCTOR WILL USE TO CONTACT THE STUDENTS. HOWEVER, THE STANDARDIZED LAVAL UNIVERSITY ADDRESS <@ULAVAL.CA> IS THE OFFICIAL WAY OF COMMUNICATION BETWEEN THE UNIVERSITY AND THE STUDENT. THEREFORE, IT IS THE STUDENT'S RESPONSIBILITY TO CHECK THE MESSAGES HE RECEIVED AT HIS <@ULAVAL.CA> ADDRESS AS WELL AS THE MESSAGES SENT THROUGH THE WEBCT MAIL TOOL AND THOSE POSTED ON THE FORUMS. THE RÈGLEMENT DISCIPLINAIRE À L INTENTION DES ÉTUDIANTS STATES ABOUT TWENTY ACADEMIC OFFENCES SUBJECT TO SANCTIONS. YOU ARE PROBABLY AWARE OF THE MOST OBVIOUS ONES, BUT DID YOU KNOW THAT COPYING A FEW SENTENCES OR QUOTES WITHOUT MENTIONING A SOURCE IS ONE? TO KEEP YOURSELF FROM BEING EXPOSED TO CONSEQUENCES LIKE FAILING A COURSE OR BEING EXPELLED FROM THE UNIVERSITY, CHECK THIS WEB PAGE: WWW.FSA.ULAVAL.CA/PLAGIAT, WHERE YOU WILL FIND ALL THE INFORMATION YOU NEED TO PREVENT PLAGIARISM.
INTRODUCTION In an economy that is constantly changing, information is becoming, more than ever, a strategic resource for today s manager. Although technology allows better information management, managers must have a framework that facilitates decision making. Management accounting allows managers at every level of the company to draw up strategic planning and follow its evolution. Therefore, this course is designed for all students enrolled in the Bachelor of Business Administration program, as well as students from other programs who are interested in acquiring management accounting notions and to apply them in different decision making situations. 1. GENERAL OBJECTIVES OF THE COURSE In this course, students will acquire the fundamental concepts and basic methods of management accounting, i.e. the process consisting of identifying, measuring, analysing and communicating information related to economic events of organisations. Students will learn how various decisions made by senior managers influence costs and how the different ways of measuring these costs facilitate control and evaluation. Thus, this course is about defining and analysing costs in decision making contexts. Students also have to position management accounting in comparison to financial accounting. They will also study the concept of company performance and the importance of considering numerous aspects when measuring it. 2. SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES OF THE COURSE This course is an essential complement to financial accounting, where most of the notions and tools used in management accounting come from. It also uses tools and concepts from the following parts of an organisation: human resources, production, marketing and finance. It is the first of four mandatory courses of the CMA stream. It also prepares students for CTB-2102(21503), Gestion stratégique des coûts and CTB-3103(21504), Performance, décision et contrôle. The objective of this course is to provide students with a general understanding of the concepts relevant to management accounting. It will also enable students to develop managerial accounting skills and become familiar with techniques used in decision-making situations. At the end of this course, students will be able to apply the various methods learned in the course to manufacturing and service enterprises, public sector entities and non-profit organizations. The main objectives of the course are the following: Recognize the importance of management accounting in an organisation and how it can be used within the context of the other functions of the company. Name the main tools and techniques specific to management accounting. Identify the characteristics and behaviour of different types of costs and analyse decisions that influence these costs. Use cost/volume/profit analysis to determine the break-even point, the safety margin and potential profit in a given situation. Identify and apply different pricing methods. Recognize the application contexts of the various cost accounting systems. 2
Calculate production costs and analyse decisions that have an influence on these costs, and interpret them in a decision-making context. Recognize the importance of activity-based costing in the evaluation of organizational performance. Have a clear mental picture of management control mechanisms and understand their importance and limits. Apply cash management after preparing and analysing a cash budget. Explain the relevance of decentralization and identify responsibility centres and various types of transfer prices. Calculate and interpret divisional performance. Use balance scorecards for decision-making and distinguish between lead and lag indicators. 3. ALIGNMENT BETWEEN COURSES AND BBA PROGRAM GOALS AND OBJECTIVES Advanced stage in the course 1. Learn how to make decisions Development Evaluation mode used Multiple choice question and short-answer question (problems) 2. Communicate Initiation 3. Collaborate and work as a team member Short-answer question (problems) Initiation Term project done in a team of 2 4. Be open to the world Initiation Not evaluated 5. Master technological tools Development Term project done on Excel 6. Be open to change Initiation Not evaluated 7. Behave in ethical manners Initiation Not evaluated 4. COURSE CONTENT Main topics of this course are the role of management accounting, cost accounting systems, accounting information and decision-making, planning, control, and finally, performance management. This course incorporates the most recent developments in managerial accounting: introduction to activity-based costing and activity-based management, as well as alternative performance measurements. These tools can be used to evaluate and measure the methods and tools learned in other courses, like the logistics management course. They also broaden the perspective of performance valuation to other dimensions than those addressed in finance and in financial accounting, among others. 3
5. PREREQUISITES FOR THE COURSE CTB-1000(21381) Comptabilité générale or CTB-1006(23023) Introduction to Accounting MQT-1102(21919) Probabilités et statistiques or MQT-1100(22938) Probability and Statistics for Business 6. TEACHING APPROACH We will use the following approaches to meet the course objectives: Mandatory textbook reading Problem solving Term assignement. The course uses mainly Ulysse s formula, and the use of a computer is mandatory, even for sections offered in the usual format. The different calculations (cost separation, cash budgets, etc.) require the use of computers, which are not only used as a support to teaching material. Students will also use and design spreadsheets as well as simple statistical analysis tools from the probabilities and statistics course. 7. COURSE CONTENT PART 1 DECISION MAKING Session 1: Introduction to Management Accounting and Cost Classification Distinguish between financial accounting and management accounting Conceptual framework of management accounting Role of management accountants and ethics The importance of management accounting and its relation with other functions of the company Cost classification in relation with time, their utility in decision-making process, volume, cost object, the level of accountability, inventory valuation Session 2: Cost Behaviour Distinguish fixed and variable costs using the following methods: Intuitive methods High-low method Linear regression Session 3: Cost-Volume-Profit Relationships Cost-volume-profit analysis Break-even point, margin of safety, potential benefit 4
Session 4: Short-Term Decisions Adding and dropping product lines Make or buy Pricing methods Repair or replace Special orders Utilization of a constrained resource Session 5: Traditional Cost Accounting Systems Cost allocation methods Cost accumulation method (job-order costing system and process costing system) Manufacturing and Income statement Session 6: Activity-Based Costing, Sustainable Development and Environmental Accounting Activity-Based Costing Identify the particularities of activity-based costing Determine cost of activities and of cost objects Resources, drivers, and cost objects notions Sustainable development and environmental accounting Fundamental concepts of sustainable development and environment Key players in sustainable development Management of environmental costs Session 7: Review Session 5
PART 2 MANAGEMENT Session 8: Introduction to Management Control and Budgeting Traditional approach to management control Contemporary approach management control Management control mechanisms Interactions between different types of budgets The different steps of the budgetary process Behavioural aspect of budgets The use of the budget in planning and control Session 9: Cash Flow Management Liquidity and risk management Cash budget Session 10: Budgetary Control Budgetary control process Flexible budget Calculation of basic revenue and costs variances Session 11: Decentralization, Responsibility Centres and Transfer Prices Distinguish between centralization and decentralization Distinguish between different types of responsibility centres Distinguish between different types of transfer prices Session 12: Performance Measurement Systems Divisional performance evaluation Indicators Balance scorecard 6
8. COURSE SCHEDULE Sessions Topics Readings Session 1 January 14, 2010 Introduction to Management Accounting and Cost Classification Chapter 1, p. 2 to 11 and 18 to 22 Chapter 2 Chapter 12, p. 484 to 493 Session 2 January 21, 2010 Session 3 January 28, 2010 Session 4 February 4, 2010 Cost Behaviour Chapter 3 Cost-Volume-Profit Relationships Chapter 11 Short-Term Decisions Chapter 12, p. 500 to 509 Session 5 February 11, 2010 Session 6 February 18, 2010 Session 7 February 25, 2010 Traditional Cost Accounting Systems Activity-Based Costing, Sustainable Development and Environmental Accounting Revision Chapter 4 Chapter 5, p. 166 to 177 Chapter 6 MID-TERM EXAM: Friday February 26, 2010 from 18h30 to 21h20. Room: To be determined (note 1) READING WEEK FROM MARCH 1 TO MARCH 7, 2010 Session 8 March 11, 2010 Introduction to Management Control and Budgeting Chapter 7, p. 256 to 273 and 279 to 293 Session 9 March 18, 2010 Cash Flow Management Chapter 7, p. 273 to 278 Session 10 March 25, 2010 Session 11 April 1, 2010 Budgetary Control Decentralization, Responsibility Centres and Transfer Prices Chapter 8 Chapter 9, p. 358 to 365 Chapter 10, p. 402 to 411 Session 12 April 8, 2010 Performance Measurement Systems Chapter 10, p. 411 to 426 FINAL EXAM: Friday April 23, 2010 from 18h30 to 21h20 (note 1) Note 1: Information available at http://www5.fsa.ulaval.ca/sgc/formation/baalaval/pid/6597 7
9. EVALUATION PROCEDURES Mid-term exam (session 1 to 7) 40 % Final Exam (session 8 to 12) 40 % Term project Master Budget 20 % April 9, 2010 before noon The assignment, which must be completed in a team of 2, consists in the preparation of a master budget. To do so, the use of an electronic spreadsheet like Excel or any other spreadsheet program equivalent to and compatible with Excel is mandatory. The required notions are simple (addition, subtractions, multiplications and divisions, cell formatting, absolute and relative cell references, and referencing cells outside the worksheet and the sum function) but the neophyte will have to spend about 20 hours learning them, using a book you ll find in a bookstore. This software is used to: Apply the theory by elaborating a cash budget based on previously established forecasts (operating budget). Integrate budgets using electronic links within a spreadsheet. Instantly evaluate the effects on cash requirements and cash management of a change in data. Evaluate budget integration. Alphanumeric calculators are FORBIDDEN for both exams. To pass this course, you must achieve an average of 50% in exams and of 60% for the total of all evaluation requirements. This is the grading scheme that will be used for this course: A+ 88 and above C+ 69.00 71.99 A 85.00 87.99 C 66.00 68.99 A- 82.00 84.99 C- 64.00 65.99 B+ 79.00 81.99 D+ 62.00 63.99 B 75.00 78.99 D 60.00 61.99 B- 72.00 74.99 E 59.99 and below 10. MAIN REFERENCES USED IN THE COURSE Mandatory: Brewer, Garrison, Noreen, Kalagnanam, Vaidyanathan. Introduction to Managerial Accounting, Second Canadian Edition, McGraw-Hill-Ryerson, 2008. Website of the course on WebCT, where you ll find links to accounting associations and other organizations related to the accounting discipline (password required). Optional: Louis Ménard, et al. Dictionnaire de la comptabilité et de la gestion financière anglais-français avec index français-anglais. Toronto: Institut canadien des comptables agréés, 1994. o Available at the library: HF 5621 M535 CMA Website: CMA Québec Website: http://www.cma-quebec.org/ CMA Canada Website: http://www.cma-canada.org 8