This course focuses on management accounting and control mechanisms within and without organisations and explores their technical - calculative perspectives as well as social - organisational issues.

10 x 2 hour lectures and 6 hours of tutorials

None

There are no co-requisites.

ILO being assessed

The course aims to enable students to practice computational, analytical and interpretative skills with a variety of management accounting techniques, to help students gain an appreciation of management control system design choices, and management control techniques. It also encourages and stimulates discussion and critical appraisal of the existing theories and empirical literature examining the appropriateness of different forms of management control systems.

On completion of the course, students will be able to :

1. use and apply a range of management accounting and control practices namely, costing, budgeting, and decision-making tools

2. explain and conceptualise the key elements of the typical management control system and their implications for human behaviour in organisations

3. explain and critically appraise various contingency factors affecting the design of management control systems

4. critically evaluate why and how management accounting practices change and the relevance of new practices for different organizations

5. analyse management accounting studies with a view to identifying underlying issues and their implications for practices and human behaviour in different organizations.

6. work in a group to propose a new system of management control or to analyse existing management accounting practices and their underlying issues in different organizations

7. demonstrate the ability of critical evaluation of the literature in the preparation of the group essay

Students must submit the following two components of coursework:

1. for a 30% formative/summative assessment: 1500-word practical report on a management accounting and control development

2. for a 70% summative assessment: 4000-word academic essay discussing an assigned issue of management accounting and control change programme.