Course Catalogue

Strategic Management Accounting ACCFIN4051

  • Academic Session: 2026-27
  • School: Adam Smith Business School
  • Credits: 20
  • Level: Level 4 (SCQF level 10)
  • Typically Offered: Semester 2
  • Available to Visiting Students: Yes
  • Collaborative Online International Learning: No
  • Curriculum For Life: No

Short Description

This course explores the problems of the conventional wisdom of management accounting and examines the recent strategic solutions advanced in the areas of cost management, decision-making and performance management. 

Timetable

10 x 3 hours of seminar-based lectures

Requirements of Entry

Normally a grade D3 or above in Management Accounting 2 or equivalent course

Excluded Courses

None

Co-requisites

None

Assessment

1. Written assignment, including essay; Individual; 1050 words; 25%; ILOs 1-6.

2. Written assignment, including essay; Individual; 1050 words; 25%; ILOs 1-6.

3. Degree exam: in-person; Individual; 90 minutes; 50%; ILOs 1-6.

Main Assessment In: April/May

Course Aims

The aims of this course are:

■ To offer an opportunity to explore how management accounting is implicated in strategy execution processes in organisations; and

■ To make the students familiar with how real-world practices in cost management, decision-making and performance management are implicated in strategising efforts in different types of organisations.

Intended Learning Outcomes of Course

By the end of this course students will be able to:

 

1. Discuss the problems of conventional management accounting and appreciate the importance of strategic management accounting in contemporary organisations;

2. Evaluate the milestones of conceptual/theoretical developments in strategic management accounting and related fields (e.g., industrial economics, organisational theory; marketing; operational management);

3. Identify key strategic management accounting models and techniques and discuss their implications on management accounting change;

4. Deploy these key techniques and models in relevant strategy scenarios;

5. Evaluate the impact of recent techno-managerial innovations and political-economic transformations on the emergence and popularisation of strategic management accounting;

6. Discuss the key issues in strategic management accounting theories, concepts, and practice.

Minimum Requirement for Award of Credits

No exceptions