Module overview
Accounting systems provide useful inputs in the decision-making processes of organisations. The overall aim of this module is to provide an understanding of how accounting processes and techniques are implicated in the management of organisations, be it at the board, strategic or tactical levels. This module will hence focus on how organizations are controlled and managed from the point of view of internal and external decision- makers, and the issues are considered in the context of business enterprises. The module builds on the fundamentals of accounting and the various management modules to develop the student’s awareness of contemporary issues emerging at the intersection of accounting and management.
Aims and Objectives
Learning Outcomes
Transferable and Generic Skills
Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:
- use appropriate communication skills.
- work as a part of a team;
- prepare a report;
- search and summarise information from different sources;
Subject Specific Intellectual and Research Skills
Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:
- identify, analyse and interpret appropriate quantitative and qualitative data in a decision making context.
Subject Specific Practical Skills
Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:
- critically assess the role of accounting information and techniques in the management of business organisations.
- critically evaluate the role and effectiveness of corporate governance mechanisms and the role of accounting in the corporate accountability process;
Knowledge and Understanding
Having successfully completed this module, you will be able to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of:
- explain and evaluate the use of corporate social reporting as a mechanism of stakeholder accountability;
- explain and evaluate the different approaches to management control;
- identify the key concepts and theories in corporate governance audit and accountability; discuss the development of major corporate governance initiatives;
- critically evaluate the role of corporate governance mechanisms and how accounting systems are implicated in such mechanisms (e.g. executive remuneration);
- apply, and assess the effectiveness of, a selected number of management accounting practices aimed at supporting planning, strategy and performance evaluation activities.
- explain and evaluate the alternative conventions of income measurement and valuation and how these may influence the outputs from financial statements;
Syllabus
- Theories and concepts of corporate governance and accountability .
- Major mechanisms of corporate governance, such as board of directors, executive incentives and compensation; shareholder activism, auditing; market for corporate control.
- Alternative conventions of income measurement and valuation.
- Latest developments and future directions in corporate governance and accountability such as research on corporate governance effectiveness, social and environment accounting, integrated reporting, global reporting initiative.
- Theories of management accounting and control.
- Role and effectiveness of budgeting and the process of budgeting.
- Divisional performance evaluation and financial measures.
- Management accounting and strategy: contemporary practices and approaches.
- Performance management frameworks e.g. Balanced Scorecard and the quantification of organisational goals, identification of perspectives and corresponding metrics.
Learning and Teaching
Teaching and learning methods
Teaching methods include:
Lectures, formal and informal group work sessions, case studies, presentations and student led mini-debates.
Learning activities include:
- group based evaluation of governance information (e.g. corporate governance reports remuneration reports) using accounting and non-accounting data sources, requiring preparation of report and presentation.
- private study – directed reading and analytical activities.
Type | Hours |
---|---|
Teaching | 24 |
Independent Study | 126 |
Total study time | 150 |
Resources & Reading list
Textbooks
Trevor Hopper, Deryl Northcott and Robert Scapens. Issues in Management Accounting. Prentice Hall.
Jill Solomon. Corporate Governance and Accountability. John Wiley & Sons.
Steen Thomsen and Martin Conyon. Corporate Governance: Mechanisms and Systems. McGraw-Hill Higher Education.
Peter Atrill and Eddie McLaney. Management Accounting for Decision Makers. Prentice Hall.
Merchant K. A. and Van der Stede W. A.. Management Control System - Performance Measurement, Evaluation and Incentives. Prentice Hall.
Christopher Nobes. The Penguin Dictionary of Accounting. Penguin - www.penguincatalogue.co.uk/download.fullHtmlCatalogue?catalogueId=13.
Krishna G Palepu, Paul, M. Healy and Erik Peek. Business Analysis and Valuation IFRS edition. Cengage Learning.
Assessment
Summative
This is how we’ll formally assess what you have learned in this module.
Method | Percentage contribution |
---|---|
Individual Coursework | 70% |
Group project | 30% |
Referral
This is how we’ll assess you if you don’t meet the criteria to pass this module.
Method | Percentage contribution |
---|---|
Individual Coursework | 100% |
Repeat
An internal repeat is where you take all of your modules again, including any you passed. An external repeat is where you only re-take the modules you failed.
Method | Percentage contribution |
---|---|
Individual Coursework | 100% |
Repeat Information
Repeat type: Internal & External