ACC 4040 - Advanced Managerial Accounting Course Outline Fall 2013

University of Manitoba
I.H. Asper School of Business
Department of Accounting and Finance
ACC 40401 - Advanced Managerial Accounting
Course Outline
Fall 2013
Instructor:
Office:
Office Hours:
E-mail:
Debbie Mortimer, B. Comm. (Hons.), M. Acc., FCGA
366 Drake
Tuesdays 4pm-6pm (until Nov. 12) or by appointment
[email protected]
Fall 2013
Phone #: 474-6389
Course Learning Objectives and Approach:
Objectives:
This undergraduate course is designed to broaden and deepen your conceptual and technical
understanding of management control systems (MCS). MCS are considered broadly to include
everything that managers do to ensure good performance or, more specifically, to ensure that
the company’s strategies get implemented effectively. But the emphasis in the course is on
financial controls, which dominate in importance at managerial levels in all organizations.
Using financial controls requires managers to make decisions about: (1) responsibility
structures (e.g., cost centers, profit centers), (2) performance measures (e.g., market, financial,
and/or nonfinancial measures and their combinations), (3) performance evaluations, which
take into consideration performance targets or other benchmarks, and (4) rewards (including
performance-dependent compensation).
Additionally, this advanced course is designed to
integrate prior management accounting course material with other course material
through the use of case studies, research papers, and group projects,
help students develop analytical, decision making, application, oral communication,
time management, interpersonal, creative and written communication skills, and
prepare students to write professional accounting exams.
Required Reading Material:
Management Control Systems. 3rd Edition. Merchant and Van der Stede, Prentice Hall. 2012.
ISBN: 978-0-273-73761-2.
Journal articles:
1. Ghosh, D, Complementary arrangements of organizational factors and outcomes of
negotiated transfer pricing in Accounting, organizations and society, 25, 2000, pages
661-682
2. Gaffney, K, Glankikh, V and Webb, RA, A case study of a variance analysis
framework for managing distribution costs in Accounting Perspectives, 6, 2007, pages
167-190
1
ACC4040 is a 3 credit hour course; Prerequisite: ACC3040 minimum grade of D
Grading:
Course grade is based upon:
Group Work:
15% Group Project, due November 29
 Oral presentation (5%)
 Written report (10%)
5%
Group Case – Due November 5
Individual Work
15% Participation:
5% – online
10% - in class
25% Midterm Examination (case analysis), October 24, 6pm-8pm, room 343 Drake
40% Final Examination (case analysis), to be scheduled by registar’s office
Final grades are based on the student’s weighted mark and performance relative to other
students. The following are the tentative grade cut-offs:
Cumulative Marks
90-100
80-89
75-79
70-74
65-69
60-64
50-59
Below 50
Grade
A+
A
B+
B
C+
C
D
F
GPA
4.5
4.0
3.5
3.0
2.5
2.0
1.0
0.0
These tentative cut-offs are subject to adjustment up or down depending on the relative
performance of the current class compared to prior classes that have taken the course with the
same instructor.
Group Work:
Group Project:
In assigned groups, you will have to decide on a company to report on/investigate. The
company chosen must employ at least 50 full-time staff (a franchised type business with less
than 50 employees may be approved); it may be of profit or non-profit orientation. Instructor
approval of the chosen company is required before starting the project.
When contacting the approved company please inform them of the scope of their involvement
which includes an onsite interview with company executives (or equivalent) and a tour of the
company’s facilities. Also, your company will be invited to attend the group presentations at
the end of the term.
You will be required to submit a report evaluating the company’s control systems. The report
should be between 6-8 pages, typed and double-spaced. The group will also be required to
present their findings to the class in an oral presentation of about 15-20 minutes. All group
members must participate in the presentation portion of the project. The following is a
tentative timetable for the project:
Submit group company for approval – include company name,
contact name, contact information (e-mail or phone) and company
industry
Contact company to set up a time for the interview and tour – via
phone or e-mail or in writing
Research company (website, other available information), design
interview questions
Interview and tour
Conduct other relevant research regarding company and ask followup questions from the interview
Oral Presentations and Written report due
September 27
By October 12
By October 21
By November 12
By November 19
November 29
The following are examples of interview questions:
What is the strategy or mission of your company?
What are the company’s key success factors/competitive advantage?
How do you ensure the strategy is being followed?
How is your company organized – formal or informal?
Do you have a strategic planning process? Who is involved? How does it work?
Do you have a budgeting system in place? How does it work?
How do you evaluate each of your key success factors?
How do you evaluate your people, on financial measures, or on non-financial measures?
How do you compensate your people?
How would you describe the culture of your workplace?
How would you describe the management style of your company?
What are your management control procedures (e.g. Standard costing, variance analysis,
observation (gut feel), other measures)?
How do you measure success or failure in your organization?
Group Case
As a group, you will be required to prepare a response to the case – “Formosa Plastics Group”
(page 536 of textbook). Your case response should be between 5-7 pages, typed, double
spaced with a minimum 11 point font. Appendices are not included in the page count. More
information will be posted in D2L.
Group Evaluation
Each group member will evaluate each of the other group member’s performance. If all
members contributed equally to the group work (case analysis, and project) each member
should receive a contribution score of 100%. If one or more members did not contribute fully
he or she should be given a contribution score of less than 100% (minimum = 0%). The grade
for each member will be equal to the grade assigned for the group work, multiplied by that
individual’s average contribution score as determined by the other group members. Please
submit your evaluation of your team members via e-mail ([email protected])
no later than December 6, 2013. Non-submission of a group evaluation will result in each
group member receiving 100% contribution score.
Individual Work:
Online Participation:
For 10 of the assigned cases of your choice you will be required to post a pre-class comment
to a discussion board in D2L. There will be assigned questions posted on the discussion board
for you to comment on. Your comment should not be more than 2-3 sentences. For the same
10 cases you will be required to post a post-class comment to D2L detailing “what you learned
from the case”. Your comment should not be more than 2-3 sentences.
Pre-class comments to be posted by:
Post-class comments to be posted by:
1pm on the day of the case discussion
12pm (noon) the day following class discussion
In-Class Participation:
Assigned cases/research papers are to be prepared for class. We will discuss each
case/research paper as a class and will learn what makes a management control system work
and/or not work. Oral participation marks will be allocated based on the QUALITY of the
student's participation. You can earn ½ of the oral participation grade by attending every case
class, meaning to increase your grade you must speak. The final oral participation grade will
be based on the consistent quality of class participation. The onus for speaking in class rests
entirely upon the student, who must indicate desire to speak in context of the ongoing
discussion by raising a hand.
In addition to the instructor's evaluation of oral participation, a student will be chosen for each
class case discussion to evaluate his or her peer’s participation. Participation will be graded
on a scale of 0-5. The following will aid as a guide to participation grading:
0 = no participation.
1 = stating a case fact.
2 = stating a case fact and giving a reason for its importance to the discussion.
3 = analysis of case facts/data and/or comments that add to the case learning experience. Ideas
offered provide useful insights.
4 = analysis of case facts/data and/or comments that move the case discussion forward and add
to the case learning experience. Ideas offered provide good insight and direction for the class.
5 = exceptional comment, pinpointed the case's essence and purpose. Ideas are well
substantiated and persuasively presented.
Examinations:
For students who miss the midterm for legitimate reasons, the weight of the midterm exam
will be allocated to the final examination. Absence from exams due to illness requires a
medical certificate. If you miss the midterm for non legitimate reasons you will be given a
score of 0 (zero).
Students who miss the final exam must apply to the Undergraduate Program Office in their
faculty for possible deferred examination privileges.
Any request for re-reads of term examinations must be made, in writing, within 10 working
days of the class when it was returned.
Note: November 13 is the last day for voluntary withdrawal without academic penalty.
Class Preparation
The most important requirement for this course is a thorough preparation and analysis of the
assigned case, reading material and active participation in the classroom. The course is built
around the case method. The learning in the class focuses more on the thought process in
analyzing business situations, not just on the solution per se.
Most of the cases included in this course represent broad organizational situations and
encompass many facets of a company's control system. In some instances, the case may
represent a good system and you are expected to learn what makes the system work well.
Other cases may present a system which has failed and the purpose here is to learn from the
failures. Any recommendation for changes when analyzing cases should carefully weigh the
organizational costs involved.
Assigned questions for in-class discussion purposes will be posted in D2L for each
case/research paper.
In the Classroom
My expectation is that you will come to the class having already thought and analyzed the
cases both individually and in small group discussions.
I encourage active student participation in class. I should point out that most students
typically tend to underestimate the worth of what they have to say. Thus, if ever in doubt,
speak up.
My role in the class is to help facilitate discussion. In part, I serve as a recording secretary,
clarifier, and questioner in order to help you present and develop your ideas. Remember, there
is no single correct solution to any of the case problems. There are however, wrong solutions,
or solutions which are inadequately supported with analysis.
Evaluation Cases
Certain assigned cases are denoted as “evaluation cases”. These cases have rubrics available
for you to assess your response to the case. It is encouraged you prepare a written response to
each of these cases, which you can then self-assess against the rubric to identify areas of
strength and weakness. The rubric will be made available during the class discussion of the
case.
The intent of “evaluation cases” is to give you practice on writing case responses and develop
an understanding of how cases are graded. This will help you develop skills for writing case
exams, including this course’s midterm and final exam, as well as, professional accounting
case exams.
Tentative Course Schedule
Date
Sept. 5
Sept. 10
Sept. 12
Sept. 17
Sept. 19
Sept. 24
Sept. 26
Oct. 1
Oct. 3
Oct. 8
Oct. 10
Oct. 15
Oct. 17
Oct. 22
Oct. 24
Oct. 29
Oct. 31
Nov. 5
Nov. 7
Nov. 12
Nov. 14
Nov. 19
Nov. 21
Nov. 26
Friday,
Nov 29
Nov. 28
Dec. 3
Case
Introduction to course
Management Control Systems - Overview
Management Control Systems – Overview
and How to Analyze a Case
Atlanta Home Loan
Test run for on-line discussion
Houston Fearless 76, Inc.
Groups Assigned
Axeon N. V.
PCL: A Breakdown in the Enforcement of
Management Control
Air-Tex Aviation
Ghosh – Research paper – posted in D2L
Zumwald, AG – evaluation case
Kranworth Chair Corporation – evaluation
case
Raven Capital, LLC – evaluation Case
Catalytic Solutions Inc.
Berkshire Industries PLC – evaluation Case
No Class - Midterm Exam 6pm-8pm
Room 343
Gaffney – research paper – posted in D2L
Olympic Car Wash
Formosa Plastics Group
Group Case Due
Corporate Governance and Ethics - Lecture
Vector Aeromotive Corporation –
evaluation case
Conservative Accounting in General
Products Division
The “Sales Acceleration” Program
The Expiring Software License
Entropic Communications Inc. – evaluation
case
University of Southern California:
Responsibility Center Management System
No class in lieu of Nov. 29 presentations
Group Presentations – 10am – 2pm
No class in lieu of Nov. 29 presentations
No class in lieu of Nov. 29 presentations
Reading
N/A
N/A
N/A
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 7
Chapter 9
Chapter 11
Chapter 10
Chapter 12
Chapter 12
Chapters 13-15
Chapter 13
Chapter 15
Chapter 13
Chapter 17
Academic Integrity
It is critical to the reputation of the Asper School of Business and of our degrees that everyone
associated with our faculty behave with the highest academic integrity. As the faculty that helps create
business and government leaders, we have a special obligation to ensure that our ethical standards are
beyond reproach. Any dishonesty in our academic transactions violates this trust. The University of
Manitoba General Calendar addresses the issue of academic dishonesty under the heading "Plagiarism
and Cheating". Specifically, acts of academic dishonesty include, but are not limited to:
-
using the exact words of a published or unpublished author without quotation marks and without
referencing the source of these words
-
duplicating a table, graph or diagram, in whole or in part, without referencing the source
-
paraphrasing the conceptual framework, research design, interpretation, or any other ideas of
another person, whether written or verbal (e.g., personal communications, ideas from a verbal
presentation) without referencing the source
-
copying the answers of another student in any test, examination, or take-home assignment
-
providing answers to another student in any test, examination, or take-home assignment
-
taking any unauthorized materials into an examination or term test (crib notes)
-
impersonating another student or allowing another person to impersonate oneself for the purpose of
submitting academic work or writing any test or examination
-
stealing or mutilating library materials
-
accessing tests prior to the time and date of the sitting
-
changing name or answer(s) on a test after that test has been graded and returned
-
submitting the same paper or portions thereof for more than one assignment, without discussions
with the instructors involved.
Group Projects and Group Work
Many courses in the Asper School of Business require group projects. Students should be aware that
group projects are subject to the same rules regarding academic dishonesty. Because of the unique
nature of group projects, all group members should exercise special care to insure that the group project
does not violate the policy on Academic Integrity. Should a violation occur, group members are jointly
accountable unless the violation can be attributed to a specific individual(s).
Some courses, while not requiring group projects, encourage students to work together in groups (or at
least do not prohibit it) before submitting individual assignments. Students are encouraged to discuss
this issue as it relates to academic integrity with their instructor to avoid violating this policy.
In the Asper School of Business all suspected cases of academic dishonesty are passed to the Dean's
office in order to ensure consistency of treatment.
UNIVERSITY OF MANITOBA
Asper School of Business
Absenteeism Form
Student Identification: (please print clearly)
Last Name
First Name
Middle Initial
I hereby authorize
U of M Student Identification Number
to verify with the attending physician or his/her
(Name of Instructor/Administrator)
staff or colleagues that the contents of this form are true.
Student’s Signature
Date
To be completed by the attending physician: (after the above section is completed)
Physician’s Last Name (please print clearly)
Physician’s First Name
Middle Initial
Street Address
City, Province
Postal Code
Telephone Number
Fax Number
To the attention of the physician: Your evaluation of the student’s condition is being used for the
purpose of determining whether or not the student has a valid reason to miss an important exam or
assignment. Your professional evaluation is necessary to ensure that only valid cases are excused.
I certify that the nature of the student’s condition is severe enough to prevent the student from
taking an exam or completing an assignment. If requested, my associates or I will verify for the
above-named instructor/administrator that this information is accurate.
The student’s condition will likely span the following dates:
(indicate start date)
until
(indicate end date)
Physician’s Signature
Date
Notes to physician:
 Please make a note in the student/patient’s file indicating that the student has given the above-named

instructor/administrator permission to verify with you, your staff, or your colleagues, that the information
contained on this form is correct. Thank you for your professional evaluation of this student’s condition.
PLEASE ATTACH THIS FORM TO YOUR REGULAR OFFICE STATIONERY THAT
INDICATES THE STUDENT VISITED YOUR OFFICE.
Note to student:
The use of this form is at the option of the student. However, in order to obtain an excused absence
for an assignment or exam, the student must obtain a doctor’s certification that the student’s
condition is severe enough to prevent the student from taking the exam or completing the
assignment. It is NOT SUFFICIENT to provide a note that only indicates the student visited the
doctor’s office.