MBA in Financial and Management Accounting

Introduction

The aim of the MBA Finance programmer is to develop a broad but critical understanding of the major areas of finance and enable the student to apply this theoretical understanding to the practical management of the financial affairs of a business, both domestically and internationally. Accounting & Finance are the languages of business; understanding and applying this language to your business, and to business in general, remains the single most valuable competence of management. Today’s middle and senior-level managers are faced with increasingly complex responsibilities, and in order to meet challenges, they must be continually sharpened to deal with changes and equipped with management skills. Prepare yourself by enhancing your personal competence in financial analysis of the past, problem evaluation of today, and planning for the future.

Objectives

This program will challenge you to:

• Learn how to build and use financial statements to evaluate the financial/strategic performance of an organization
• How to interpret financial reports
• Apply various techniques to understand areas of concern
• Identify key success factors, weak financial signals, and strong financial signals in your own industry sector
• Learn the metrics used by the world’ leading companies, how to use them, & why
• Confidently project your firm’s future performance

Training Methodology

This is an interactive course. There will be open question and answer sessions, regular group exercises and activities, videos, case studies, and presentations on best practices. Participants will have the opportunity to share with the facilitator and other participants on what works well and not so well for them, as well as work on issues from their own organizations. The online course is conducted online using MS-Teams/ClickMeeting.

Who Should Attend?

• Managers with direct financial responsibilities
• Executives who need to evaluate plans for approval and variance reports for corrective action
• Managers who need to improve their skills in constructing and controlling their budget
• Supervisors from every discipline and department who have to manage departments and plan, cost, and budget during their business careers
• Cost and management accountant
• Financial planners and cost analysts
• Senior managers who supervise people with financial responsibilities
• Financial and budget controllers who are moving to wider responsibilities
• Managers who need to know more about business planning, budgeting, cost terms, and techniques.
• Managers who have to plan, cost, and budget new business ventures.
• Managers and Supervisors from every business discipline and department have to run departments and plan, cost, and budget during their business lives.
• First appointment managers on fast-track development programmers
• Managers who require a refresher programmer on the topic or who would benefit from having an opportunity to consider new ideas and methods
• Anyone from non-financial disciplines who needs to evaluate proposed business expenditure decisions
• New members of the management team who need to know more about the budgeting process

Course Outline

Part One: A conceptual framework: setting the scene

Subject 1: Who needs accounting?

Learning outcomes

• Introduction
• The development of a conceptual framework
• The Statement of Principles
• Types of business entity
• Users and their information needs
• General-purpose or specific purpose financial statements?
• Stewards and agents
• Who needs financial statements?
• Summary
• Further discussions
• Test your understanding
• Application
• Problem solving and evaluation
• Activities for study groups

Subject 2: A systematic approach to financial reporting: the accounting equation

Learning outcomes

• Introduction
• The accounting equation
• Defining assets
• Examples of assets
• Recognition of assets
• Defining liabilities
• Examples of liabilities
• Recognition of liabilities
• Defining the ownership interest
• Recognition
• Changes in the ownership interest
• Assurance for users of financial statements
• Summary

• Further discussions
• Test your understanding
• Application
• Problem solving and evaluation
• Activities for study groups
• Supplement: Debit and credit bookkeeping
• Test your understanding

Subject 3: Financial statements from the accounting equation

Learning outcomes

• Introduction
• The accounting period
• The balance sheet
• The profit and loss account
• The cash flow statement
• The usefulness of financial statements
• Summary

• Test your understanding
• Application
• Activities for study groups
• Supplement: Using the accounting equation to analyze transactions
• Test your understanding

Subject 4: Ensuring the quality of financial statements

Learning outcomes

• Introduction
• Qualitative characteristics of financial statements
• Measurement in financial statements
• Views on prudence
• Regulation of financial reporting
• Reviewing published financial statements
• Summary

• Further reading
• Test your understanding
• Application
• Problem solving and evaluation
• Activities for study groups

Part Two: Reporting the transactions of a business

Subject 5: Accounting information for service businesses

Learning outcomes

• Introduction
• Analyzing transactions using the accounting equation
• Illustration of accounting for a service business
• A process for summarizing the transactions: a spreadsheet
• Financial statements as a means of communication
• Summary​
• Test your understanding
• Application
• Supplement: Recording transactions in ledger accounts: a service business
• Test your understanding

Subject 6: Accounting information for trading businesses

Learning outcomes

• Introduction
• Goods purchased for resale
• Manufacturing goods for resale
• Illustration of accounting for a trading business
• A process for summarizing the transactions: a spreadsheet
• Financial statements of Steven Jones, wholesaler
• Summary

• Test your understanding
• Application
• Supplement: Recording transactions in ledger accounts: a trading business
• Test your understanding

Part Three: Recognition in financial statements

Subject 7: Published financial statements

Learning outcomes

• Introduction
• International influences
• The Statement of Principles
• Balance sheet
• Profit and loss account
• Cash flow statement
• Group structure of companies
• Group financial statements
• Beyond the annual report
• Summary

• Further discussions
• Test your understanding
• Application
• Problem solving and evaluation
• Activities for study groups
• Supplement: Balance sheet format 1. as prescribed by the Companies Act 1985

Subject 8: Fixed assets

Learning outcomes

• Introduction
• Definitions
• Recognition
• Users' needs for information
• Information provided in the financial statements
• The usefulness of published information
• Depreciation: an explanation of its nature
• Reporting fixed assets and depreciation in financial statements
• Summary
• Further discussions
• Test your understanding
• Application
• Problem solving and evaluation
• Activities for study groups
• Supplement: Recording fixed assets and depreciation
• Test your understanding

Subject 9: Current assets

Learning outcomes

• Introduction
• Definitions
• The working capital cycle
• Recognition
• Users' needs for information
• Information provided in the financial statements
• Measurement and recording
• Stocks of raw materials and finished goods
• Debtors
  Prepayments
• Revenue recognition
• Summary

• Test your understanding
• Application
• Problem solving and evaluation
• Activities for study groups
  Supplement: Bookkeeping entries for (a) bad and doubtful debts: and (b) prepayment
• Test your understanding

Subject 10: Liabilities due within one year

Learning outcomes

• Introduction
• Definitions
• Recognition
• Users' needs for information
• Information provided in the financial statements
• Measurement and recording
• Accruals and the matching concept
• Liabilities for taxation
• Summary

• Test your understanding
• Application
• Problem solving and evaluation
• Activities for study groups
• Supplement: Bookkeeping entries for accruals
• Test your understanding

Subject 11: Provisions and long-term liabilities

Learning outcomes

• Introduction
• Users' needs for information
• Information provided in the financial statements
• Provisions for liabilities and charges
• Deferred income
• Long-term liabilities
• Summary
• Test your understanding
• Application
• Problem solving and evaluation
• Activities for study groups
• Supplement: Bookkeeping entries for provisions and deferred income
• Test your understanding

Subject 12: The ownership interest

Learning outcomes

• Introduction
• Definition and recognition
• Presentation of ownership interest
• Additional primary financial statements
• Users' needs for information
• Information provided in the financial statements
• Dividends
• Issue of further shares on the Stock Exchange
• Summary

• Test your understanding
• Application
• Problem solving and evaluation
• Activities for study groups
• Supplement: A spreadsheet for adjustment to a trial balance at the end of the accounting period
• Test your understanding

Part Four: Performance analysis

Subject 13: Ratio analysis

Learning outcomes

• Introduction
• A systematic approach to ratio analysis
• Investors' views on risk and return
• Pyramid of ratios
• Use and limitations of ratio analysis
• Worked example of ratio analysis
• Summary
• Test your understanding
• Application

Subject 14: Analysis of corporate performance

Learning outcomes

• Introduction
• Operating and Financial Review
• Other guidance in analysis
• Linking ratios to the cash flow statement
• Segmental information
• Summary

• Test your understanding
• Application
• Problem solving and evaluation
• Activities for study groups

Part Five: Current developments

Subject 15: Developing issues in financial reporting

Learning outcomes

• Introduction
• International harmonization and convergence
• Dynamic nature of the true and fair view
• Measurement of value
• Off-balance-sheet finance
• Related parties
• Social and environmental disclosures
• The reporting cycle
• Summary of financial statements
• Corporate governance
• Financial Reporting Review Panel
• How valid is the stakeholder model9

• Summary
• Further discussions
• Test your understanding
• Activity for study groups
• Notes and reference
• Management Accounting

Part Six: Setting the scene and defining the basic tools of management accounting

Subject 16: Functions of management accounting

Learning outcomes

• Introduction
• Meeting the needs of internal users
• Management functions
• Role of management accounting
• Judgments and decisions: case study illustrations
• The terminology of management accounting
• Summary

• Further discussions
• Test your understanding
• Cases for study groups
• Application
• Problem solving and evaluation

Subject I7: Classification of costs

Learning outcomes

• Definition of a cost
• The need for cost classification
• The meaning of 'activity'
• Variable costs and fixed costs
• Direct costs and indirect costs
• Product costs and period costs
• Cost classification for planning, decision making, and control
• Cost coding
• Cost selection and reporting
• Summary

• Further discussions
• Test your understanding
• Cases for study groups
• Application
• Problem solving and evaluation

Subject 18: Product costs: materials, labor, and overheads

Learning outcomes

• Introduction
• Accounting for materials costs
• Accounting for labor costs
• Production overheads: the traditional approach
• Production overheads: activity-based costing (ABC)
• Comparing the traditional approach and ABC
• Summary

• Further discussions
• Test your understanding
• Cases for study groups
• Application
• Problem solving and evaluation

Part Seven: Product costs and stock valuation

Subject 19: Job costing

Learning outcomes

• Introduction
• Job cost records: an illustration
• Job costing: applying the accounting equation to transactions
• Absorption costing and variable costing
• Moving forward
• Summary

• Test your understanding
• Cases for study groups
• Application
• Problem solving and evaluation

Subject 20: Process costing

Learning outcomes

• Introduction
• Allocation of costs to products in a process industry
• Joint product costs and by-products
• Decisions on joint products: sell or process further
• Summary
• Further discussions
• Test your understanding
• Cases for study groups
• Application
• Problem solving and evaluation

Part Eight: Decision making

Subject 21: Breakeven analysis and short-term decision making

Learning outcomes

• Introduction
• Cost behavior: fixed and variable costs
• Breakeven analysis
• Using breakeven analysis
• Limitations of breakeven analysis
• Applications of contribution analysis
• Short-term decision making
• Pricing decisions
• Summary

• Further discussions
• Test your understanding
• Cases for study groups
• Application
• Problem solving and evaluation

Part Nine: Planning and control

Subject 22: Preparing a budget

Learning outcomes

• Purpose and nature of a budget system
• Administration of the budgetary process
• The benefits of budgeting
• Problems of budgeting
• Public service organizations
• Practical example - development of a budget 643
• Shorter budget periods
• Summary

• Further discussions
• Test your understanding
• Cases for study groups
• Application
• Problem solving and evaluation

Subject 23: Standard costs

Learning outcomes

• Introduction
• Purpose of using standard costs
• The level of output to be used in setting standards 669
• The control process
• Direct materials cost variance
• Direct labor cost variance
• Variable overhead cost variance
• Fixed overhead expenditure variance
• Case study: Lincoln Ltd
• Investigating variances
• Flexible budgets and variance analysis
• Case study: Jerald Ltd
• Is variance analysis, based on standard costs, a useful exercise?
• A broader view of applications of variance analysis
• Summary

• Further discussions
• Test your understanding
• Cases for study groups
• Application
• Problem solving and evaluation

Subject 24: Performance evaluation and feedback reporting

Learning outcomes

• Introduction
• Preparing performance reports
• Performance evaluation
• Benchmarking
• Non-financial performance measures
• The Balanced Scorecard
• Management use of performance measurement
• Summary

• Further discussions
• Test your understanding
• Cases for study groups
• Application
• Problem solving and evaluation

Part Ten: Capital budgeting and business strategy

Subject 25: Capital budgeting

Learning outcomes

• Purpose of capital budgeting
• Payback method
• Accounting rate of return
• Net present value method
• Internal rate of return
• Mutually exclusive projects
• Which methods are used in practice?
• Control of investment projects: authorization and review
• Advanced manufacturing technologies
• Summary

• Further discussions
• Test your understanding
• Cases for study groups
• Application
• Problem solving and evaluation
• Supplement: Table of discount factors

Subject 26: Business strategy and management accounting

Learning outcomes

• Introduction
• Strategic management accounting
• The just-in-time approach
• Value chain analysis
• Total quality management and cost of quality
• Business process re-engineering
• E-business and e-commerce
• Summary

• Further discussions
• Test your understanding
• Cases for study groups
• Application
• Problem solving and evaluation

The end bit:

Enjoy using your financial knowledge in practice