Prof Alnoor Bhimani OLD 3.08

and others

This course is available on the BSc in Accounting and Finance, BSc in Business Mathematics and Statistics, BSc in Econometrics and Mathematical Economics, BSc in Economics, BSc in Management and BSc in Statistics with Finance. This course is available as an outside option to students on other programmes where regulations permit. This course is available with permission to General Course students.

Available to students on other undergraduate/Diploma programmes with the permission of the Accounting Departmental Tutor.

Students must have completed Elements of Accounting and Finance (AC100) or Elements of Management Accounting and Financial Management (AC103) or Elements of Accounting, Financial Institutions and Financial Management (AC104).

The course addresses contemporary issues in management accounting, financial management, and organisational control. The course consists of four modules, all of which are taught by faculty with specific expertise in the area. The exact composition of the course may vary from year to year, but issues which are typically addressed include financial controls, organisational structures, performance measurement and incentive systems, budgetary control and public-sector and non-profit financial management.

The Function of management control systems: The course starts with the study of the quintessential role of management control systems in decentralised organisations, with a focus on the measurement and evaluation of the performances of organisational entities and their managers. Focusing on financial control systems, this module analyses issues related to financial target setting (as part of organisations’ planning and budgeting processes), performance measurement and evaluation, and the assignment of various forms of organisational rewards, such as bonuses and promotions.

Management accounting, budgets and behaviour: Building on the first module, this module focuses primarily on budgeting issues and on understanding how budgets impact employee behaviours and their decisions and actions. This module also discusses “beyond budgeting” and capital budgeting. This is done through the lens of different organisational theories, including contingency theory.

Accounting in non-governmental organisations: Many of the concepts from the prior two modules are then studied in the context of NGOs, including measuring the performance and effectiveness of NGOs, the use of 'business-like' management control and financial management systems (like budgets), the evaluation of programme efficiency and impact, and the accountability to donors and beneficiaries.

Accounting in the new public sector: The final module studies management accounting and financial management in the 'new public sector', including performance measurement, cost accounting, cost management and pricing; the roles of accounting controls in the health system reforms in the UK and elsewhere.

20 hours of lectures and 9 hours of classes in the MT. In LT, the module on ‘Accounting in non-governmental organisations’ is taught using a ‘flipped-lecture’ approach, with a series of on-line lectures, and five 2-hour classes. The remainder of teaching in LT will be 10 hours of lectures and 5 hours of classes. Week 6 in both terms will be a reading week.

Case studies and applications will be used extensively. Students will be expected to present cases and contribute to in-class discussions. Students will also be expected to produce four written assignments, two in each of MT and LT. The written assignment with the highest mark from each term will count towards the final mark for the course.

Detailed reading lists will be given out at the start of each part of the course. Illustrative references include: Bhimani and Bromwich, Management Accounting: Retrospect and Prospect, Elsevier/CIMA (2009); Bhimani, Contemporary Issues in Management Accounting, OUP (2006); Olson, Guthrie & Humphrey (Eds), Global Warning: Debating International Developments in New Public Financial Management, Cappelan Akademisk Forlag As, Oslo (1998); Merchant & Van der Stede, Management Control Systems: Performance Measurement, Evaluation and Incentives, FT/Prentice Hall (2012).

Exam (80%, duration: 3 hours) in the main exam period; the other 20% of the mark will be based on two of the four formative written assignments submitted during the year. The assignment with the highest mark from the two submitted pieces of work in each term (one of two in MT, and one of two in LT) will each count for 10% of the final mark for this course.