Syllabus

LEARNING OUTCOMES

Credits: 6

Schedule: 08.01.2019 - 19.02.2019

Teacher in charge (valid 01.08.2020-31.07.2022): David Derichs

Teacher in charge (applies in this implementation): David Derichs

Contact information for the course (valid 04.12.2018-21.12.2112):

Lecturer: David Derichs

You can contact me via email with questions you may have relating to the course. Should you prefer a meeting in person, please arrange it via email. You will get a meeting slot within three days the latest. 

Visiting address: Room G3.05, Department of
Accounting, Aalto University School of
Business, Runeberginkatu
22-24, 00100 Helsinki

E-mail: david.derichs@aalto.fi

CEFR level (applies in this implementation):

Language of instruction and studies (valid 01.08.2020-31.07.2022):

Teaching language: English

Languages of study attainment: English

CONTENT, ASSESSMENT AND WORKLOAD

Content

• Applies in this implementation:

  The course content is subdivided into 6 components:

  DESIGNING COST ACCOUNTING SYSTEMS

  ·        
  Introduction to the course and practicalities

  ·        
  Overview of common cost accounting systems and their
  logic

  ·        
  Understanding and dealing with cost system complexity

  ·        
  Activity-based costing (ABC) vs. time-driven
  activity-based costing (TDABC)

  ·        
  Revisiting the causality principle

  CUSTOMER
  PROFITABILITY AND SHORT RUN PRODUCT MIX DECISIONS

  ·        
  Traditional vs. costs-to-serve approach to customer
  profitability

  ·        
  The concept of customer value

  ·        
  Costing under a Theory of Constraints (TOC)
  operational management approach and the definition of variable costs

  COST INFORMATION FOR PRICING DECISIONS

  ·        
  Cost-based pricing decisions under monopoly conditions

  ·        
  Guest lecture: Ficora

  TACTICAL PLANNING

  ·        
  Budgeting vs. tactical and financial planning

  ·        
  Scenario
  planing 

  FINANCIAL PLANNING

  ·        
  Rolling
  forecasting vs. traditional forecasting

  ·        
  The need
  for rolling forecasts

  ·        
  How to
  forecast financials?

  FORECASTING

  ·        
  Rolling
  forecasting vs. traditional forecasting

  ·        
  The need
  for rolling forecasts

  ·        
  How to
  forecast financials?

   

  
  

Assessment Methods and Criteria

• Valid 01.08.2020-31.07.2022:

  1. Lectures, reflection journals, participation activity and case reports (60% of the marking)

  2. Final exam (40% of the marking)

  Learning is based on case discussions, readings, short introductory lectures, guest lectures and reflection journals. Lectures will not cover all the content of the course readings, but will provide additional insights and practical applications on topics covered.

• Applies in this implementation:

  The course
  will be graded out of 100 (+ 1 bonus) points. The final exam accounts for 40
  points. You need to obtain a minimum of 20 points to pass. Case reports,
  learning diaries and in-class participation account for the other 60 points.
  Similarly, you need to collect a minimum of 20 points to pass. You can achieve 8
  points per case (5*8=40 points in total), 2 point per learning diary (6*2=12 points) and 9 points for participation (1 per lecture and 3 additional ones for
  outstanding overall participation). 1 of the participation points is considered
  a bonus, allowing you to make up for one missed point during the course.

   Please reconfirm the exam dates
  on weboodi.

   CASES

  Cases are
  due at the beginning of the class. During the second part of each lecture, we discuss
  the case together. Bring one hard copy of your solution to facilitate class
  discussion.

   Be
  prepared to present your case solution during each lecture. You can design and
  write your case solution as slide set / ppt-presentation. If the case contains
  questions, the presentation should provide justified answers to the questions,
  but should not be merely a presentation of the answers one by one. Instead, you
  should present the case as a coherent story. I expect you to contribute to the case discussion.

   The
  slides you submit have to meet business criteria:

  ·        
  A
  proper slides contains a title, visuals, and bullets only if you cannot capture
  your message in a more structured way (e.g., tables, matrices, frameworks,…)

  ·        
  Do
  not cramp the slide with information/text. Every slide has one main point.

  ·        
  Every
  slide has to be fully reasoned

  ·        
  Use
  font size of minimum 13 (preferably larger)

   The cases
  are to be submitted on MyCourses.

   LEARNING DIARIES

  Learning diaries enhance your
  learning and enable the teacher to judge the progress in class. Please take
  them seriously. Diaries help you reflect upon what you learned during lecture and
  from reading the course literature.

   General instructions

  •        
  Length
  about 2 pages.

  •        
  Use
  page numbers and ensure that there is your name on every page’

  •        
  Name
  the document as firstname_Lastname_LearningDiaryX

  •        
  Deadline
  Fridays following the respective lecture at 11:30 am. (e.g. the first deadline
  is on the fifth of January, reflecting on the lecture given on the second of
  January).

  •        
  Diaries
  are to be submitted through MyCourses only. You cannot submit the learning
  diaries after the deadline has expired.

  Questions to keep in
  mind when writing a diary

  •        
  What
  were the main insights from lectures and readings?  

  •        
  How
  do these points relate to your earlier knowledge/experience?

  •        
  Did
  some issues remain unclear? What would you like to know more about?

  •        
  Do
  you disagree with something? Why?

  Ø  DO NOT REPEAT
  what the lecturers/ authors of the articles said.

  Ø  REFLECT on
  what you learnt, what the main insights were, and what you would still like to
  know more about. Be critical. Present at least one question for which you would
  like to get an answer.

  Grading
  Each diary is
  graded either 0 or 2. You can earn 12 points (6 x 2) from diaries.

  Points	Criteria
  0	·         Addresses content superficially ·         No/little evidence of own reflection ·         Contains no/little or inappropriate critical comments; no/little justification for these comments ·         Presented in a disorganized, incoherent manner
  2	·         Essential content successfully integrated ·         Includes critical comments with substantial justification that reflect an integrated understanding of the issues ·         Evidence of relating the material to other knowledge domains ·         Reflections on the content in light of your previous experience ·         The paper is well written and free of errors

  
  

Workload

• Valid 01.08.2020-31.07.2022:

  - Lectures 18 h

  - Class preparation 24 h

  - Exercises/group work 50 h

  - Reflection Journals 12 h

  - Independent study 55 h

  - Exam 3 h

  TOTAL=162 h

• Applies in this implementation:

  1 ECTS equals 27
  hours of student work. Hence, this course comprises a total of 162 hours of
  work. Work division is planned as following:

  [hours]	Day1	Day2	Day3	Day4	Day5	Day6	Exam	TOTAL
  Cases/Assignments		10	10	10	10	10
  Learning diaries	2	2	2	2	2	2
  Lectures	3	3	3	3	3	3
  Self study	10	10	10	10	10	10	22
  TOTAL	15	25	25	25	25	25	22	162

  
  

DETAILS

Study Material

• Valid 01.08.2020-31.07.2022:

  Compulsory literature:

  Kaplan, R. & Anderson, S., (2003). Time-driven activity-based costing.

  Axson, D., (2009). Best Practices in Planning and Performance Management: Radically Rethinking Management for a Volatile World.

  Articles listed under each lecture.

   

  Suggested additional readings:

  Barret, R., (2007). Planning and budgeting for the agile enterprise: a driver-based budgeting toolkit. London: CIMA publishing

  For those who want to go deeper into cost accounting and activity based management: Kaplan, R. & Cooper, R (1998). Cost & effect: using integrated cost systems to drive profitability and performance. Harvard Business Press. Chapters 1 11

  For those who want to go deeper into forecasting: Morlidge, S. & Player, S (2010). Future ready: How to master business forecasting. John Wiley & Sons.

  For those with no cost accounting background: Horngren, C., Datar, S. M. & Rajan, M. (2011). Cost accounting A Managerial Emphasis.

  Availability

Prerequisites

• Valid 01.08.2020-31.07.2022:

  Students should have taken at least one course that covers issues of cost accounting. At Aalto this would be: Management Accounting II (22C00300), Financial Accounting (22C00400).

Registration for Courses

• Valid 01.08.2020-31.07.2022:

  Via WebOodi. Please see WebOodi for the registration dates.

• Applies in this implementation:

  Come open minded and be ready to discuss with fellow students and voice your opinions during class. 

FURTHER INFORMATION

Details on the schedule

• Applies in this implementation:

  All lectures take place from 12:15-15:00 on the following dates:

  8.1.                DESIGNING
  COST ACCOUNTING SYSTEMS

  15.1.              CUSTOMER
  PROFITABILITY AND SHORT RUN PRODUCT MIX DECISIONS

  22.1.              COST
  INFORMATION FOR PRICING DECISIONS

  29.1.              TACTICAL
  PLANNING

  5.2.                FINANCIAL
  FORECASTING

  12.2.              FORECASTING