Bang College of Business
ACC 2201, Management Accounting I
FALL 2013
COURSE SYLLABUS
COURSE TITLE:
Managerial Accounting
Instructor:
Office:
Office Hours:
E-mail:
Phone:
Serzhan Nurgozhin, MA, DipIFR
322/N Bang College of Business
Tuesday and Thursday: 13.30-14.30 or by appointment
serzhan@kimep.kz
2704-440 ext. 2110
PREREQUISITES
AC 1202, Accounting II.
COURSE OVERVIEW
The course makes a focus on how cost accounting helps managers to make better decisions.
By focusing on basic concepts, analyses, uses, and procedures instead of procedures alone,
cost accounting is recognized as a managerial tool for business planning, strategy, decisionmaking and implementation.
COURSE OBJECTIVES
This course will provide an introduction to selected managerial accounting topics such as cost
terms and cost behavior, inventory-costing methods, cost systems, product costing, cost
allocation, relevant costs/benefits, and capital budgeting.
The course includes three broad topics:
(1) Cost management,
(2) Planning and control,
(3) Strategic decision-making.
The three primary skills you are expected to acquire in this course are:
1. Be able to identify the relevant managerial issue, problem, or opportunity.
2. Be able to identify the information needed to address this issue/problem/opportunity.
3. Be able to address the issue/problem/opportunity using the tools you have learned in the
course.
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The course will also help you develop five of the most essential skills critical to achieving
success in the business environment:
1. The ability to communicate well, orally and in writing;
2. The ability to work on a team;
3. Analytical skills;
4. A solid understanding of accounting
5. A solid understanding of how a business functions.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
At the end of the course, students should be able to do the following:
 Describe how cost accounting supports management accounting and financial
accounting.
 Understand how management accountants affect strategic decisions.
 Describe the set of business functions in the value chain.
 Distinguish between the planning and control decisions of managers.
 Distinguish among the problem-solving, scorekeeping, and attention-directing roles of
management accountants.
 Describe three guidelines management accountants follow in supporting managers.
 Understand how management accounting fits into an organizations structure.
 Understand what professional ethics mean to management accountants.
 Define and illustrate a cost object.
 Distinguish between direct costs and indirect costs.
 Explain variable costs and fixed costs.
 Interpret unit costs cautiously.
 Distinguish among manufacturing companies, merchandising companies, and servicesector companies.
 Describe the three categories of inventories commonly found in manufacturing
companies.
 Distinguish inventoriable costs from period costs.
 Explain why product costs are computed in different ways for different purposes.
 Describe a framework for cost accounting and cost management.
 Understand the assumptions of cost-volume-profit (CVP) analysis.
 Explain the features of CVP analysis.
 Determine the breakeven point and output level needed to achieve a target operating
income.
 Understand how income taxes affect CVP analysis.
 Explain CVP analysis in decision making and how sensitivity analysis helps managers
cope with uncertainty.
 Use CVP analysis to plan variable and fixed costs.
 Apply CVP analysis to a company producing different products. Adapt CVP analysis
to situations in which a product has more than one cost driver. Distinguish
contribution margin from gross margin.
 Describe the building-block concepts of costing systems.
 Distinguish job costing from process costing.
 Outline the seven-step approach to job costing.
 Distinguish actual costing from normal costing.
 Track the flow of costs in a job-costing system.
 Dispose of under- or overallocated manufacturing overhead costs at the end of the
fiscal year using alternative methods.
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Explain how broad averaging undercosts and overcosts products or services.
Present three guidelines for refining a costing system.
Distinguish between simple and activity-based costing systems.
Describe a four-part cost hierarchy.
Cost products or services using activity-based costing.
Explain how activity-based costing systems are used in activity-based management.
Compare activity-based costing systems and department costing systems.
Evaluate costs and benefits of implementing activity-based costing systems.
Describe what the master budget is and explain its benefits.
Describe the advantages of budgets.
Prepare the operating budget and its supporting schedules.
Explain kaizen budgeting and how it is used for cost management.
Identify what distinguishes variable costing from absorption costing.
Prepare income statements under absorption costing and variable costing.
Explain differences in operating income under absorption costing and variable costing.
Understand how absorption costing can provide undesirable incentives for managers
to build up finished goods inventory.
Differentiate throughput costing from variable costing and absorption costing.
Describe the various capacity concepts that can be used in absorption costing.
Understand the major factors management considers in choosing a capacity level to
compute the budgeted fixed manufacturing cost rate.
Explain how the capacity level chosen to calculate the budgeted fixed overhead cost
rate affects the production-volume variance.
Identify the situations in which the process-costing systems are appropriate.
Describe the five steps in process costing.
Calculate equivalent units and understand how to use them.
Use the weighted-average method of process costing.
Use the first-in, first-out (FIFO) method of process costing.
Apply process-costing methods to situations with transferred-in costs.
COURSE MATERIALS
o Required: Cost Accounting: A Managerial Emphasis by Charles T. Horngren, George
Foster, Srikant M. Datar, Howard D. Teall; Twelfth Edition; Prentice Hall Canada
Inc., 2006
o Recommended: Management and Cost Accounting by Colin Drury, 2000, fifth
edition, Business Press Thomson Learning
o All information regarding this course and announcements can be found on the L drive:
L/ Nurlan Orazalin
o In addition to textbooks, handouts will be provided
COURSE REQUIREMENTS and GRADING:
Exam I
30
Exam II
30
Final Exam
40
Total Points
100
3
EXAMINATIONS:
There will be two non-cumulative exams during the semester and one final exam. They may
include true/false, multiple-choice, problem-solving, and open-ended essay questions. The
best way to score on the exams is to read all assigned texts and readings prior to each class.
Then students should take notes during lectures and class discussions. If you review the
materials after each class, you will find it easy to prepare for the tests.
There will be NO MAKE UP exam. If you miss an exam for any reason you will get 0 point
for that exam. In this case, when calculating the grade for the entire course, missed exam
grade – 0 will be included into calculation.
For any case of cheating during the exam instructor has a right to deduct 10-100 points from
the exam grade. Instructor does not have to prove cheating.
CLASS ATTENDANCE:
I believe that it is difficult to do well in this course without your regular attendance. So, your
regular class attendance is required as the exam material strongly emphasizes the class
lecture notes, exercises, problems, and discussions. The instructor will be circulating
attendance sheets during each lecture.
PARTICIPATION:
In this class, we will follow a modified case-method style, which I have found to be most
effective for students who must learn technical content and apply it in a managerial context.
Students should be active participants in case discussions, providing summaries of issues,
analyses, and recommendations. My role is primarily to facilitate your analysis and
discussion. Therefore, I will evaluate the contribution you make to whole class discussions,
both when I call on you and when you volunteer. So active participation is a must! Thinking
on your feet is an effective part of the learning process. Just sitting on your anatomy is not. It is
very important that you share your ideas, your thoughts and understanding of the topics
discussed.
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CHEATING:
You are going to be a profession that has a very strict ethical code of conduct. From the very
beginning you should show your great integrity in a great profession. Please, keep this in
mind: cheating will not be tolerated. I take violations to the Disciplinary Committee very
seriously, so do not cheat or engage in any other type of unethical behavior. All parties
involved in cheating or any other unethical behavior will receive “F” for the course.
For any case of cheating during the exam instructor has a right to deduct 10-100 points from
the exam grade. Instructor does not have to prove cheating.
If you think that this point system is potentially unfair to you (whatever the reason), you
should see me ASAP. Do not wait until the semester is almost over.
Grading, attendance and examination policies and procedures will be applied to the
course in accordance with stated KIMEP rules of conduct and discipline.
COURSE OUTLINE*
This syllabus is subject to possible further changes
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Number
of
classes
Topics
Chapters
2
2
2
3
3
The Accountant’s Role in the Organization
An Introduction to Cost Terms and Purposes
Cost-Volume-Profit
Income Effects of Alternative Inventory Costing Methods
Cost Allocation
Exam I
Activity-Based Costing and Activity-Based
Management
Job Costing
Process Costing
Exam 2
Decision Making and Relevant Information
Pricing Decisions, Product Profitability Decisions, and
Cost Management
Master Budget and Responsibility Accounting
Final Exam
CH 1
CH 2
CH 3
CH 9
CH 14
3
2
3
2
2
3
CH 5
CH 4
CH 17
CH 11
CH 12
CH 6
GRADING SYSTEM
90 to 100
85 to 89
80 to 84
77 to 79
73 to 76
70 to 72
67 to 69
63 to 66
60 to 62
57 to 59
53 to 56
50 to 52
below 50
Pass
Pass
Pass
Pass
Pass
Pass
Pass
Pass
Pass
Pass
Pass
Pass
Fail
Incomplete
Withdraw
A+
A
AB+
B
BC+
C
CD+
D
DF
I
W
5