The course consists of lectures with theoretical concepts, practical examples and excersises in the following fields:
1. Product and period costs, and their use in costing systems. Different costs for different purposes. Cost allocation
2. Order costing (job shop & batch) and process costing
3. Absorption costing, variable costing, and throughput costing.
4. Activity-Based Management: The concept of activities and processes. Includes methods such as Activity-Based Costing and Activity-Based Budgeting
5. Planning and Decision Making. How information is used for decisions. Cost-volume-profit analysis, budgeting, investment analysis, and cost estimations are explained.
6. Evaluating and Managing Performance. Standard cost analysis, "The Balanced Scoread card" and Kaizen costing. The importance of time, quality, and customer profitability is stressed.
The aim of the course is to provide you with the ability to understand, design and handle methods in the area of management control for industrial organisations. This means that after the course you should be able to:
1. Understand the construction of and the use of a job shop and a process-costing system, as well as the difference between product and period costs.
2. Define the content of and understand the use of the major tools in the following areas: cost management, value chain analysis, activity-based management (costing, budgeting and accounting), customer profitability analysis, quality management, time management, cost estimation and cost-volume-profit analysis, kaizen costing, standard cost analysis, budgeting, investment analysis, and performance evaluation, and measurment and process control.
3. Describe and understand the meaning of the different types of management control systems that exist.
4. Choose (and argue for the choice) between different management control systems.
5. Understand how information in different types of management control systems are used for decision-making.
6. Apply the theoretical concepts of management control systems to companies in different types of industries.
7. Implement different tools for management control in a spreadsheet tool, building on the theoretical concepts.
8. Critically evaluate and compare management control systems used by companies in different types of industries.