UNC Charlotte - Belk College of Business
MBAD 6131-U90 - Management Accounting Syllabus
Summer I – 2010 [May 25 – June 29, 2010]
Instructor Nabil Elias, Ph.D., FCMA (Canada)
Office 266B Friday Building; 704-687-7682; 704-687-6938 (fax)
Email Website: http://www.belkcollege.uncc.edu/nelias
Office Hours
Uptown Tuesday & Thursday 5:00 – 5:30, or by appointment
Please contact me by e-mail as needed
Course Material
- Textbook: Atkinson, Anthony A., Robert S. Kaplan, Ella Mae Matsumura, and S. Mark Young. 2007. Management Accounting (Fifth Edition). Prentice Hall. [ISBN 9780132423885] Referred to as ‘A’.
2. Goldratt, Eliyahu M., and Jeff Cox. 2004. The Goal: A Process of Ongoing Improvement (Third Edition). North River Press Publishing Corp. [ISBN: 0884271781] (G).
- Supplemental Material – Referred to as ‘SM’.
Course Description
MBAD 6131 – MANAGEMENT ACCOUNTING (3 credit hours) Prerequisite: MBAD 5131 or equivalent. This course deals with using accounting information for strategic, tactical, and operating decisions with a focus on strategic cost management. Emphasis is on using cost and other management accounting information in making sound decisions, its effect on managerial behavior, and its use in formulating and implementing strategy, and issues of design and operation of management control systems including the intended and unintended consequences of performance measurement.
Course Objectives
This course is intended to help you to use accounting information for strategic, tactical, and operating decisions with a focus on strategic cost management. Specifically, its aim is to:
- Develop and enhance your understanding of the nature of cost and accounting information in organizations, your ability to use that information in making sound decisions, and your skill in assessing the consequences of these decisions, and
- Develop and enhance your understanding of the process and structure of management planning and control systems as a means to achieve corporate objectives, and of their intended and unintended consequences.
Course Linkages
Some of the concepts in this course are dealt with from different angles in other MBA courses, namely: Financial Management, Operations Management, Marketing Management and Management Strategy.
Expectations
1. Do: Study the material in advance of class coverage.
2. Do: Prepare the designated questions in advance. Struggling with the material is expected and is a natural part of the learning process in this course. As a minimum, at least read the questions in advance and think about how you would approach them!
3. Do: Attend class and participate in class discussion.
4. Do: Persist in your attempt to understand the material & let me know immediately if you experience any difficulty.
5. Do Not: study the problems with prepared solutions in front of you, but check your answers against them to improve your learning. If this point is taken lightly, it is likely you will struggle during exams and wish you studied differently.
Evaluation
Requirement / Points / % / Grade AssignmentCase Development Team Assignment / 100 / 10 / Grade / Point Score
Case Analysis Team Assignment / 100 / 10
Exam I / 250 / 25 / A / 900 – 1000
Exam II / 300 / 30 / B / 800 – 899
Exam III / 250 / 25 / C / 700 – 799
Total / 1000 / 100 / U / <700
Exams
Exams will include questions similar, though not identical, to the designated questions and reflect class coverage of the material. Some questions will test your ability to apply the concepts learned in the course. The course concepts are fairly straightforward but their application can be challenging. Answering the designated questions is most critical for good performance on the exams. No exam solutions will be posted. Exams will be reviewed in class and collected before the class break.
Discussion & Study Groups / Case Teams
Discussion & study groups will form on the first day of classes. From time to time, selected questions or cases will be assigned to your study group for class discussion purposes. Your group will also work as a team to develop a case related to corporate governance, which another team will analyze and discuss. Your team will also analyze and discuss a case developed by another team.
Experience shows that study groups can be helpful to their members in general, and in unexpected circumstances in particular.
Class participation is expected. Although no formal scores are assigned for group or class discussion and participation, these factors will be seriously considered in assigning final course grades in borderline cases.
Designated Questions
Please be prepared to discuss the designated questions according to the timetable any announcements made in class. Although no formal scores are assigned for designated questions, preparing them in advance is not only expected, but is also necessary to perform well on the exams. There may not be sufficient time to go over the solutions for all designated questions in class; it remains your responsibility to study all designated questions whether or not they were covered in class. Solutions will be made available on Moodle; and you are expected to exercise restraint in not reviewing them until after you have completed your own solutions.
You are expected and strongly advised to develop your own solutions without reference to the provided solutions; struggling to develop your independent answers will minimize your struggle during exams. Avoid the temptation to review the answers before completing your own solutions. Understanding the provided solutions without attempting the problems on your own will seriously undermine your performance in this course.
You might find the following recommendations helpful:
1. As much as possible, answer the designated questions before class.
2. Bring a hard copy (or your laptop) of your solutions of the designated questions to class so that you can participate effectively in class discussion.
3. Complete your work first, and then check your answers against the posted solutions to help you develop a better grasp of the material. Review the text and class notes for any discrepancies if necessary.
4. Seek help at the earliest point if you feel that you are having serious difficulties with the designated questions. Contact me if you need help, preferably by email.
Corporate Governance Cases
You are expected to work as a team of 3-4 students to a) develop a corporate governance case, and b) analyze another corporate governance case developed by another team.
The length of the main text of the case (your case development assignment) or of the case analysis (your case analysis assignment) should not exceed ten double-spaced typewritten pages (12-point font and adequate margins), excluding such items as a cover page, abstract, executive summary, appendices, tables, charts, graphs, endnotes, and list of references. All end of text material (e.g., appendices, tables, graphs) should be cross-referenced in the text. In writing your case or case analysis, please resist the temptation to include extensive or frequent quotes. Use quotes sparingly.
Case: Your case should include:
a) Background information about the company, but that information should not exceed one page.
b) A detailed description of the case facts. This description should not express any opinions, only facts as reported objectively in published sources, and properly credited in the case. If there are different sides to the issue, then the different sides should be provided and properly credited, completely devoid of your opinions.
c) Issues should be highlighted towards the end of the case, or the questions to be addressed should be identified.
d) Include tables, graphs, and other contextual information in appendices at the end of the case text. Appendices should be properly credited.
Case Analysis: Your case analysis report should include:
a) An Executive Summary.
b) Analysis of the issues, organized by sections or questions.
c) If there are specific questions, your answers to these questions.
d) Recommendations to the board of directors, or to various constituents or stakeholders as appropriate.
Only one submission of your group’s case or case analysis is required; the top of your document should include the names of your team members. Note the following:
1. Submit your case and case analysis on Moodle on time, no later than 5:20 PM of the day it is due. Late submissions will NOT be accepted.
2. Ensure that the format for references throughout the report and the list of references at the end of the report follows the APA style.
3. If you need to, use endnotes rather than footnotes.
4. Provide credit throughout the text in compliance with academic integrity standards. In addition, a list of references should be provided at the end of the text.
If you are not familiar with the rules for giving proper credit to sources, you should review the examples given on the UNC Charlotte’s Dean of Students website: http://www.legal.uncc.edu/policies/ps-105.html
Use the APA citation format throughout your case or case analysis and for your list of references at the end of the case or case analysis. In-text (sometimes called parenthetical) citations should be used, in addition to a list of references, and both should follow the APA style. Examples and explanations can be found on line. You may find the following links helpful. The first link includes useful Q & A related to applying the APA style.
http://www.apastyle.org/faqs.html#13
http://www.dianahacker.com/resdoc/social_sciences/intext.html
http://library.uncc.edu/display/?dept=reference&format=open&page=1094
http://library.uncc.edu/files/3/usbus/citation.doc
Group / Team Work - Suggestions and Recommendations
1. Get acquainted with your discussion group / team members quickly. Develop positive group / team dynamics.
2. Set deadlines, meeting times, means of communication, etc. As a team, review and discuss the progress of your case and case analysis and decide on the next steps.
3. Discuss all issues of content and team dynamics frankly and openly. Include everyone in your discussion. Hold every member accountable to the team. Provide each other an opportunity to make a meaningful contribution to the successful completion of the case and case analysis.
4. Remember that all members are responsible for the content of your submissions. Ensure that all your references are probably credited throughout the text, and that quotations are identified as such. A violation of this norm can seriously affect not only your case and case analysis grades but could also subject you and your team to disciplinary action as per UNC Charlotte’s academic integrity policy. This may be so, even if you did not directly contribute to the violation.
5. Ensure that each of your case and case analysis is an integrated whole, not merely a collection of parts contributed by each member; your reports should be entirely seamless. Each team member should review and edit each report prior to its submission.
Academic Integrity
The UNC Charlotte code of student academic integrity expressly prohibits cheating, fabrication and falsification, multiple submissions, plagiarism, abuse of academic material, and complicity in academic dishonesty. See: http://www.legal.uncc.edu/policies/ps-105.html
Attendance
Attendance is expected. Every class member is expected to contribute to the class learning environment and, in turn, benefit from classmates’ contributions. If an emergency occurs, it is your professional responsibility to inform me in advance that you will not be in attendance. In that case, stay in touch with your study group / team to obtain class notes. Missed classes or portions thereof without advance notice, or repeated absences for any reason may result in a lower grade than what formal performance might otherwise indicate.
Belk College Policy on Diversity
“The Belk College of Business strives to create an inclusive academic climate in which the dignity of all individuals is respected and maintained. Therefore, we celebrate diversity that includes, but is not limited to ability/disability, age, culture, ethnicity, gender, language, race, religion, sexual orientation, and socio-economic status.”
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MBAD 6131 – U90 Summer I, 2010 Tentative Timetable (Subject to Change), As of May 20, 2010
# / Date / Text Chapters / Goal Chapters / Designated QuestionsI. Introduction, Cost Concepts, & Cost Assignment
1 / May 25 / 1, 2 / 1-10 / 1: 18, 19, 21, 24, 25; SM1, 2, 3
2: 21, 22, 23, 25, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32; SM4
2 / May 27 / 4 / 11-15 / 4: 22, 23, 26, 27, 34, 37, 38, 48; SM5
Case Selection
II. Decision Making
3 / June 1 / 5 / 16-25 / *Exam-I (Ch. 1, 2, 4; SM1-5)
5: 29, 30, 31, 33, 35, 44, 45 (change Fixed to Full in table), 46, 60, 47; SM6, 7
Goal Questions I
4 / June 3 / 6 (Omit Appendix), 11 / 26-30 / 6: 22, 23, 30, 31, 36, 42, 47; SM8, 9, 10
11: 44, 45, 46, 47
5 / June 8 / 11 / 31-40 / 11-52, 53, 54, 65; SM11, 12; Case Development Due
Goal Questions II
III. Management Control Systems
6 / June 10 / 10 / Decision Making Review
10: 36, 46, 53, 64, 68, 70, 71; SM13, 14, 15
7 / June 15 / 12 / *Exam-II (Ch. 5, 6, 11; SM6-12; The Goal)
12: 59; SM16
8 / June 17 / 12 / SM17, 18, 19
7: 31, 35, 49, 50, 54
9 / June 22 / 7,8,9 / 8: 66, 67, 68, 76
9: 32, 38, 39, 43, 44; Ethics Questions
10 / June 24 / Case Analysis & Discussion; Review
Case Analysis Due
11 / June 29 / [5:30 – 7:45 – Exam-III Chapters 7, 8, 9, 10, 12; SM13-19; Ethics Study Questions
*Exam-I and Exam-II will be held at 5:30 to 7:15, followed by a 15 minute break. Class resumes at 7:30 and continues until 9:15.
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Nabil Elias, PhD, FCMA (Canada)
Department of Accounting, Belk College of Business
The University of North Carolina at Charlotte
Dr. Elias currently teaches in the MBA and Master of Accountancy programs at UNC Charlotte. He previously served as director of the MBA program at UNC Charlotte, and as professor of accounting, director of MBA programs, interim associate dean, and department head at the Asper School of Business, University of Manitoba (Canada). He also held positions as visiting professor at INSEAD (France), Thunderbird “the American Graduate School of International Management” (Glendale, AZ), HEC (France), ESCP (France), Laval University (Quebec, Canada) and Monterrey Tech EGADE (Mexico). He taught MBA classes in Monterrey (Mexico), Taiwan, and Hong Kong.
Nabil Elias served as President of the Canadian Academic Accounting Association, and as member of the Canadian Accounting Standards Board and the Canadian Standards Advisory Board. He was involved with standard setting in Canada for a period of nine years. He also served on several professional study groups and task forces dealing with contemporary accounting issues. He served as member of CMA accreditation and re-accreditation site-visit teams that evaluated more than 15 leading Canadian business schools including Ivey “UWO”, Rotman “U of Toronto”, Schulich “York U”, UBC, Simon Fraser U, HEC and U of Manitoba.