ACCTING 7100 - Accounting for Managers

North Terrace Campus - Trimester 3 - 2021

Participants in this course will develop the essential ability of all managers, to use complex accounting information as a platform for decision-making. As the course unfolds, participants will build an increasingly sophisticated level of understanding of the language of accounting and its key concepts. In addition the course develops skills in interpreting earnings statements, balance sheets, and cash flow reports. This ability to analyse financial statements will enable participants to deal more effectively with strategic options for their businesses or business units. Strong foundations in financial analysis and development of crucial basic accounting skills will also enable participants to develop a management accounting focus. From this second phase of the course students will take away highly relevant skills in areas such as budgeting, product and service costing and short-run decision making. Such skills, ability and knowledge will enable participants to more effectively identify profitable opportunities and to contribute significantly to better management within their own organisations.

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Course Details

Course Code	ACCTING 7100
Course	Accounting for Managers
Coordinating Unit	Management
Term	Trimester 3
Level	Postgraduate Coursework
Location/s	North Terrace Campus
Units	3
Available for Study Abroad and Exchange	Y
Restrictions	Available for Graduate Certificate, Graduate Diploma in Business Administration and Masters of Business Administration, Master of Business Administration (12) students
Assessment	Exam/assignments/tests/tutorial work as prescribed at first lecture

Course Staff

Course Coordinator: Adjunct Ashley Miller

Course Timetable

The full timetable of all activities for this course can be accessed from .

Course Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this course, students will be able to:

1. Understand the nature and role of the four principal financial statements (i.e., the Income Statement, the Statement of Financial Position, the Statement of Cash Flows, and the Statement of Changes in Equity) ;

2. Develop an awareness and understanding of the accounting process and fundamental accounting principles that underpin the development of financial statements (e.g. accrual accounting vs. cash accounting, definition, recognition, measurement and disclosure of assets, liabilities, revenues, expenses; inventory valuation methods, provisions, depreciation; accounting for intangibles);

3. Ability to read, interpret and analyse financial statements; combine financial analysis with other information to assess the financial performance and position of a company;

4. Understand and apply course concepts to analyse common business management decisions such as pricing and outsourcing decisions from a financial perspective;

5. Understand the role of budgets in organisations, their limitations and the behavioural issues to consider when developing and using budgets for planning and control;

6. Develop group work and communication skills.

University Graduate Attributes

This course will provide students with an opportunity to develop the Graduate Attribute(s) specified below:

University Graduate Attribute	Course Learning Outcome(s)
Deep discipline knowledge informed and infused by cutting edge research, scaffolded throughout their program of studies acquired from personal interaction with research active educators, from year 1 accredited or validated against national or international standards (for relevant programs)	1, 2
Critical thinking and problem solving steeped in research methods and rigor based on empirical evidence and the scientific approach to knowledge development demonstrated through appropriate and relevant assessment	3, 4, 5
Teamwork and communication skills developed from, with, and via the SGDE honed through assessment and practice throughout the program of studies encouraged and valued in all aspects of learning	6
Career and leadership readiness technology savvy professional and, where relevant, fully accredited forward thinking and well informed tested and validated by work based experiences	4, 5, 6
Intercultural and ethical competency adept at operating in other cultures comfortable with different nationalities and social contexts able to determine and contribute to desirable social outcomes demonstrated by study abroad or with an understanding of indigenous knowledges	6
Self-awareness and emotional intelligence a capacity for self-reflection and a willingness to engage in self-appraisal open to objective and constructive feedback from supervisors and peers able to negotiate difficult social situations, defuse conflict and engage positively in purposeful debate	6

Learning Resources
Required Resources

The text required is:

Cunningham, B. M., Nikolai, L. A., Bazley, J. D., Kavanagh, M., Simmons, S., (2018), Accounting: Information for Business Decisions, 3rd Edition, Cengage Learning Australia. ISBN 9780730313748.

The textbook is available from the bookshop or online using the following information that has been provided by the publisher:

Printed version (students need to select the print option, rather than eBook): https://www.cengagebrain.com.au/isbn/9780170385411 (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.
eBook + access to CourseMate Express resources: https://www.cengagebrain.com.au/isbn/9780170283069 (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.

The publishers have offered a 10% discount code which can only be used for on-line purchases: RADELAIDE10
The textbook also has a companion online student study guide called CourseMate Express that contains summaries of the key points of each chapter and additional problems and questions (with solutions). The code and instructions to access this resource is included with the purchase of the hardcopy textbook or, as noted above, can be separately purchased if you buy the ebook version. As accounting techniques are often best learnt with lots of practice, you may wish to access this guide for such a purpose. Prior students have reported that they have found these sources of on-line resources to be a very useful for improving their understanding and for revision purposes.

Recommended Resources
Some course topics have brief readings provided to supplement the chapters in the textbook and these are indicated in the relevant topic in the topic schedule above. In addition, there are many textbooks that students can use as references. Students will find any financial accounting textbook useful in supplementing the materials provided in the financial accounting section of the course text. Three such books are:
- M Bazley, et al., [2004], Contemporary Accounting, [5th edition], Thomson. ISBN 0 17 011136 9.
- Birt, et al., [2005], Accounting: Business Reporting for Decision Making, J. Wiley. ISBN 0 4708 0473 4.
- D. Marshall, et al., [2005], Accounting: What the Numbers Mean, Mc-Graw Hill Irwin. ISBN 0 07 471350 7.
Likewise any management accounting textbooks will be useful in supplementing the materials provided in the management accounting section of the course text. Three such books are:
- K. Langfield-Smith, H. Thorne and R. Hilton, [2003], Management Accounting: An Australian Perspective, [3rd edition], Mc Graw-Hill, Sydney.
- ISBN 0074711903.
- R. H. Garrison and E. W. Noreen [2000], Managerial Accounting, [9th edition], Irwin McGraw-Hill, Boston. ISBN 0256260737.
- D.R.Hansen and M.M. Mowen [2005], Management Accounting, [7th edition], Thomson South-Western, Mason, OH. ISBN 0324234848.
Students should also consult weekly business journals and the daily press. Many newspapers and business journals can be accessed from their websites. These sources contain regular reports of the results and activities of local companies and other organisations and they may raise accounting issues of contemporary interest. Examples include: Australian Financial Review; business pages of The Australian; business pages of the Adelaide Advertiser.
Online Learning

In addition to using material contained in the course notes and prescribed textbook, useful resources will also be made available through the course’s MyUni website. These include answers to selected in-class exercises / activities and exam revision questions. Please remember to visit the website regularly for updates.

Learning & Teaching Modes

Accounting is very much an applied activity that is best understood and learnt through practice and utilisation. Class sessions in Accounting for Managers have been designed to reflect this “active learning” approach to the study of accounting. Only a small proportion of each class session will be delivered in a “lecture” style and the majority of class time will be spent working through and discussing various exercises and case studies in a “seminar” style. The course folder contains a “topic outline and activities” handout for each of the topics covered in this course. The topic outline handouts contain information about the readings, objectives, and activities/exercises that will be covered in each topic. It is vital that you cover the allocated readings and attempt in writing all the exercises for a topic PRIOR TO attending class sessions. There is a lot of material to cover from class to class and all later topics necessarily build on your learning from prior topics. If you have not conducted sufficient preparation for a class session, you will almost certainly find the discussion incomprehensible. Clearly this will also impact on your understanding of later material and your ability to achieve success in the course. To develop independent learning, all lecturers in this course have been instructed NOT to handout solutions to all the class exercises under any circumstances. If you miss a class session or have difficulty understanding a particular exercise or activity, your lecturer will be more than happy to discuss a suggested solution with you but only on the proviso that you have made some written attempt at a solution beforehand. However, some selected questions and solutions will be posted at regular intervals on the MyUni website to provide you with extra practice and feedback.

In your preparation for each class session, you should attempt the activities and exercises in the order listed in each topic outline because the activities have generally been structured from the least to most complex. During a class session your lecturer may choose to discuss activities in an order different to that listed in the topic outline and may even ask you to attempt previously unseen questions as a means of extending or testing your understanding of the relevant concepts, techniques, and skills.

Given the importance of preparation and participation to the successful completion of the course, it is important that you plan your studies ahead of time. Some topics will require more preparation than others and you will also have to allow for preparation for the test, group assignment and the exam. The topic schedule (under section 1.3) includes information that will help you to plan your studies in this course.

Workload

The information below is provided as a guide to assist students in engaging appropriately with the course requirements.

The workload in this course is not light, particularly topics 4 and 5 were there is a considerable amount of reading. Students normally find topics 7-11 easier in terms of preparation hours required compared to earlier topics. As a guide, students will need to spend around 7 hours (not including class time) per topic for reading and attempting/revisiting the in-class activities prescribed for each topic.

Learning Activities Summary

Topic	Readings (Summarised – see each topic outline)
Topic 1: An Overview of Accounting & Financial Statements	- Chapter 1 - Article: ‘A Guide to Understanding Financial Reports’
Topic 2: The Accounting Information System	- Chapter 2 - Article: ‘The Inconvenient Truth of Natural Capital Accounting’
Topic 3: Accrual Accounting & Measuring Performance	- Chapter 3 - Article: ‘Fuzzy Numbers’
Topic 4: Working Capital	- Chapter 5 - Chapter 7 (pp. 420 – 447 only) (you can ignore the Appendix to this chapter). - Chapter 9 (pp 534 – 541 and 559 – 561 only). - Article: ‘Current or Non-Current?’
Topic 5: Non-Current Assets, Debt & Equity	- Chapter 8 - Chapter 9 (pp. 541 – end) - Chapter 10 (pp. 596, 599 [Dividends] – end). - Article: ‘Companies should come clean on the value of leases on their books’ - Article: ‘Leasing rules new liability for top 20’ - Article: ‘Dividend Mess to be Corrected’
Topic 6: Cash Flows	- Chapter 11 - Article: ‘One.Tel’s cash SOS’
Topic 7: Financial Statement Analysis + IN-CLASS TEST	- Chapter 12
Topic 8: Introduction to Management Accounting, Costing Concepts & CVP Analysis.	- Chapter 14 - Chapter 16
Topic 9: Costing of Goods and Services	- Chapter 15 - Langfield-Smith chapter reading - Article: ‘Nurturing the Right Customers’
Topic 10: Incremental Analysis & Short-Run Decision-Making	- Chapter 18 (pp. e228 – e238 only) - Horngren, Datar and Foster chapter reading - Article: ‘Take a Cost-Benefit Approach to Ethics’
Topic 11: Budgeting & Control	- Chapter 17 - Article: ‘Who needs budgets’ - Article: ‘Comparing Budgets’

The University's policy on Assessment for Coursework Programs is based on the following four principles:

Assessment must encourage and reinforce learning.
Assessment must enable robust and fair judgements about student performance.
Assessment practices must be fair and equitable to students and give them the opportunity to demonstrate what they have learned.
Assessment must maintain academic standards.

Assessment Summary

Assessment Task	Weight	Objectives	Due or scheduled date
Test	15%	Understanding of concepts in Topics 1 – 6.	TBA
Group Project	30%	Ability to read, interpret and analyse financial statements; combine financial analysis with other information to assess the financial performance and position of a company.	TBA
Final Exam	55%	Understanding and apply course concepts to analyse common business management problems from a financial perspective.	TBA

Assessment Related Requirements

Attendance at Intensives:
The MBA program is largely undertaken through face-to-face class sessions to facilitate interactions between the lecturing staff and fellow students. Accordingly there is an expectation that you will attend all of the scheduled classes. If work commitments, illness or other circumstances require you to be absent from some lectures, please inform your lecturer in advance by either phone or email so that you may discuss the topic(s) to be covered in the class session and the tasks you need to complete before the next session. It is your responsibility to make arrangements with the lecturer or other students to catch up on information discussed in class, however, it is unlikely that lecturers will be able to repeat a class to cover your absence.

Please note that if you have not attended at least 80% of the class sessions for a course you will forgo your right, on academic grounds, to any supplementary assessment opportunities.

Assessment Detail

Further information on these assessment items will be provided separately.

Submission

The group assignment is to be submitted electronically.

The mid-trimester test and final examination are held in class sessions.

Course Grading

Grades for your performance in this course will be awarded in accordance with the following scheme:

M10 (Coursework Mark Scheme)
Grade	Mark	Description
FNS		Fail No Submission
F	1-49	Fail
P	50-64	Pass
C	65-74	Credit
D	75-84	Distinction
HD	85-100	High Distinction
CN		Continuing
NFE		No Formal Examination
RP		Result Pending

Further details of the grades/results can be obtained from Examinations.

Grade Descriptors are available which provide a general guide to the standard of work that is expected at each grade level. More information at Assessment for Coursework Programs.

Final results for this course will be made available through .

Student Feedback

The University places a high priority on approaches to learning and teaching that enhance the student experience. Feedback is sought from students in a variety of ways including on-going engagement with staff, the use of online discussion boards and the use of Student Experience of Learning and Teaching (SELT) surveys as well as GOS surveys and Program reviews.

SELTs are an important source of information to inform individual teaching practice, decisions about teaching duties, and course and program curriculum design. They enable the University to assess how effectively its learning environments and teaching practices facilitate student engagement and learning outcomes. Under the current SELT Policy (http://www.adelaide.edu.au/policies/101/) course SELTs are mandated and must be conducted at the conclusion of each term/semester/trimester for every course offering. Feedback on issues raised through course SELT surveys is made available to enrolled students through various resources (e.g. MyUni). In addition aggregated course SELT data is available.
Student Support
Policies & Guidelines
This section contains links to relevant assessment-related policies and guidelines - all university policies.
Fraud Awareness

Students are reminded that in order to maintain the academic integrity of all programs and courses, the university has a zero-tolerance approach to students offering money or significant value goods or services to any staff member who is involved in their teaching or assessment. Students offering lecturers or tutors or professional staff anything more than a small token of appreciation is totally unacceptable, in any circumstances. Staff members are obliged to report all such incidents to their supervisor/manager, who will refer them for action under the university's student鈥檚 disciplinary procedures.

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Authorised by:	Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Vice-President (Academic)
Maintained by:	Course Outlines Administrator

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