Advanced Management Accounting

Course Outline

Overview

This Management Accounting course explains the nature of management accounting and how it aids managers’ decision-making.

This course also provides an advanced understanding of the concepts relating to organizational decision-making, planning and control.

The course includes site visits to organizations relevant to the course so delegates can develop an understanding of how their contemporaries function in the real-world.

The course will wrap with a summary of the key learning points, followed by an action planning exercise with a view to apply the acquired knowledge and skills immediately upon your return to work. Post-course support is also available in relation to the implementation of your action plan, up to six (6) months following course completion.

Agenda

Accounting for Decision-making

• Key characteristics of accounting information
• The role of information technology
• Commercial objectives
• Capex and opex

The Key Relationship – Cost, Volume, Profits

• Costs for decision-making
• Breakeven analysis
• Types of profit
• Cost management strategies

Control through Budgeting

• Corporate plans
• Budgets and forecasts
• Types of budgets
• Behavioural aspects of budgeting

Site Visit

• Industrial visit to a relevant organization.
• An insight into the internal working of companies.
• An opportunity to learn through interaction with practising professionals.

Investment Appraisal for Capital Decisions

• Methods of investment appraisal
• Non-financial aspects of investment appraisal
• Risk in investment appraisal
• Financial management of capital projects

Measuring Financial Performance

• Comparison of performance to budgets
• Accounting for responsibility
• The importance of performance indicators
• The Balanced Scorecard

Changing Nature of Managerial Accounting

• Roadmap for finance effectiveness
• From tangibles to intangibles
• The stakeholder model of an organization
• Beyond budgeting

Site Visit

• Industrial visit to a relevant organization.
• An insight into the internal working of companies.
• An opportunity to learn through interaction with practising professionals.

Course Review

• Summary and recap of key learning objectives
• Action Planning

Target Audience

This Management Accounting course is suitable for:

• Staff responsible for budget preparation and reporting.
• Managers who are budget holders or have budget responsibility.
• Staff with planning responsibility who need a deeper understanding of costs and budgets.
• Those who wish to extend their understanding of the management accounting function to a more strategic level.
• Finance staff who are in a position to make managerial decisions.
• Non-financial staff who need to understand the accounting function at a strategic level.

Learning Outcomes

Upon completion of this Management Accounting course, you will understand:

• Understand how the finance function can create a decision support structure for managers.
• Explain the relationship between cost, volume and profits and why this is important to managers.
• Explain the scope of budgeting as a planning and control tool.
• The investment appraisal process and its management.
• Why and how measuring performance answers the question did we achieve what we set out to achieve and how do we spot warning signs on the way.
• How and why finance teams need to question and enhance the relevance of their function.
• A practical perspective into contemporary work practices in your field.
• How to implement an Action Plan at your workplace using the knowledge and skills acquired through the course.