FACULTY OF MANAGEMENT ADVANCED MANAGEMENT ACCOUNTING II - MGMT 4130Y THURSDAYS, 18:00 20:50, Room: S4030

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1 FACULTY OF MANAGEMENT ADVANCED MANAGEMENT ACCOUNTING II - MGMT 4130Y THURSDAYS, 18:00 20:50, Room: S4030 INSTRUCTOR OFFICE HOURS Michael Bejerman, MBA, CMA Michael.Bejerman@uleth.ca. Thursdays in the classroom, at 21:00 or by appointment. Please . PREREQUISITES / CO-REQUISITES / EQUIVALENTS Management Note: All prerequisite courses must have a minimum C- grade. COURSE DESCRIPTION Management accounting is the process of gathering and applying information used to plan, make decisions, evaluate performance and control an organization. The focus of Management 4130 is on internal users of information; the course represents the capstone challenge in the undergraduate study of management accounting. Management accounting is all about properly reporting internal figures, statistics and other metrics to decision-makers. The best decisions are made on the basis of accurate and pertinent information, presented in a manner in which decision-makers often not accountants can make the best choices for the organization. The focus of this course will therefore lie in not only understanding what information decision-makers rely upon in order to function effectively, but also the presentation thereof. You will also be exposed to the limitations of information and to decision-making with little or no information. The aim is for students to become intelligent presenters (and users) of management accounting information.

2 COURSE LEARNING OBJECTIVES Increase students business acumen and understanding of the competitive context in which businesses operate along with the management processes used to run them. Reinforce students management accounting skills in a variety of management accounting areas used by managers for business decision-making and controlling the organization to properly execute the company s strategy. Provide students with an appreciation for the importance of critical thinking and the opportunity to improve this very important skill. COURSE OVERVIEW The overriding theme of this course reflects a professional development focus to help prepare you for entry into the accounting profession. Approximately half of the course is of the nature of a management accounting capstone that requires students to review, extend, analyse and, most importantly, integrate and apply previously learned managerial accounting and controls concepts to real life case situations. Student presentations will be a prominent feature of this course. In addition, the course will introduce you to new concepts and ideas related to accounting and control, from an integrative point of view. Finally, there is a module aimed at instilling a leadership and ethical mind-set within each student. Overall, this course aims to develop students skills, competencies and perspective as well as add to their base of knowledge in the domain of management accounting and control. The course is centred on the case method of instruction and aims to accomplish the following specific objectives: 1. Solidify existing (not new) technical knowledge and explore the issues surrounding this knowledge in slightly greater depth. 2. Develop an appreciation that developing a good solution to a problem requires students to be aware of complex interdependencies and draw upon a wide range of knowledge (i.e., problems in real life are often not confined to a single issue) to deal with disparate ideas, the differences between theory and practice, and the difference between understanding the basic concept and being able to apply it in a specific context or organization (key skill: integration). In particular, arriving at a comprehensive and meaningful solution to decision makers requires that accounting concepts be related to the broader, strategic context of the organization and blended with other information and qualitative factors. 3. Following from MGMT 3131, continue to develop critical thinking skills and the ability to solve accounting issues that are embedded in unstructured cases. Such situations are an essential feature of the upcoming professional exams and the day to day job of a professional accountant. Cases also provide students with insight into the real world of business. This course can be expected to help students with their upcoming professional exams by making them more comfortable with the case method and providing them with an approach and experience in dealing with cases (Key skills: application of knowledge and critical thinking, which encompasses judgment, diagnostic, analysis, and evaluation, in the course of developing well-reasoned solutions to problems). 4. Learn how to deal with ambiguous or uncertain information. Management Accounting MGMT 4130Y Fall

3 5. Acquire knowledge about the differences in applying management accounting and control concepts between not-forprofit and for-profit. 6. Examine some new topics (or modifications of old) reflecting changes taking place in the contemporary business environment so that you can add greater value to your clients and/or employer. Exposure to such knowledge, even if only at an introductory level, is something that others can expect from a (soon to be) University graduate. 7. Begin the journey of developing a leadership and ethical mind-set that will serve to empower students to seek and embrace future opportunities to develop their leadership abilities. Ultimately, it is the development of such leadership skills that leads to a successful career. 8. Develop presentation skills and provide students with the opportunity to gain more confidence in public speaking. (Key skill: effective communication) COURSE MATERIALS There is no new course textbook to be purchased. Instead, the following will be used: 1. Purchase: all students registered in the course will need to purchase a course reading package from the U of L bookstore. This package will have the cases (typically Harvard) and readings for which there is no free distribution. Note: pick-up the course packages at the back information counter of the bookstore or order it online. As well, it is possible that you will have to buy two or three cases directly from Ivey Publishing. Further instructions will be provided at a later time. 2. Intermediate management accounting textbook (any edition of the Horngren et al. textbook used in MGT 3130 or other intermediate management accounting textbook): for some topics examined in the course you may benefit from being able to review the material that you took in earlier classes. METHOD OF ASSESSMENT ITEM VALUE DUE DATE Participation 20% Continuous Budget Case Assignment 15% October 30 th Presentation 1 15% Varies Presentation 2 15% Varies Presentation 3 15% Varies Non-presenting group submissions 20% Varies Total 100% - Management Accounting MGMT 4130Y Fall

4 PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENTS 1. Class participation Since virtually every class involves taking up a case, class discussion is vital to the success of this course and student learning. Consequently, students need to actively participate in discussing the case during class. Simply coming to class and listening to what others are saying is largely a waste of your time if you are not prepared and cannot follow the discussion. More importantly, other students will certainly benefit from your comments if you make a sincere effort to contribute. Finally, participating in class is a way to get immediate feedback on your ideas and practice in speaking in front of others. The latter will be expected of graduates in their professional careers. Your participation grade reflects three things: attendance (you cannot participate if you are not present), the number of days that you contribute (quantity) and the quality of your contributions. It is important to recognize that you do not need to contribute in every class to do well with participation. The quantity standard for this course is to make a good comment once every class (assuming you are not presenting). However, simply speaking out is not the primary consideration. There must be some quality to your remarks. The quality standard reflects your contribution to the discussion. In the grading scheme, quality is considerably more important than quantity. Examples of differing levels of quality may include: Asking questions in class directed at other students, the instructor or the presenting group, Development of ideas put forth by other members of the class or presenting group, Performing analysis to substantiate your points (e.g., crunching numbers from the case, analysing the firm s strategy), Linking course readings or previously learned theory to the issue under discussion, Acting as a synthesizer by summarising the classroom discussion, Politely disagreeing with another student s (group s) position in the course of advancing your own position, Sharing your knowledge of the industry or technical knowledge associated with the case or your experience of how the company you worked at handled the situation under discussion, Being willing to deal with issues and concepts for which you do not know the answer but have an idea to try and develop. Other considerations in evaluating comments involve style (energy, conviction, manner of giving / taking criticism, professionalism), the timing of when you make a specific comment and, most important of all, the impact you have on your colleagues learning. Management Accounting MGMT 4130Y Fall

5 2. Budget Case Assignment Luxor Cosmetics case Because transfer students to the University of Lethbridge may never have had to construct a budget model, an assignment will be devoted to ensuring that students have practice in developing this fundamental skill. The assignment will be due at the start of class on October 30 th, The assignment should be no more than 5 pages, not including a maximum of 5 additional pages of supporting documentation (placed in appendices). The students names should appear on the cover page. If needed, include a table of contents. Papers should be submitted on standard 8.5 x 11 pages, single-sided, double spaced and printed in 12 point font. Any fact or detail mentioned in your submission not directly sourced from the case problem should be referenced appropriately. In most cases, outside research will not be required, however, may reinforce your presentation. If charts or graphs strengthen your presentation, please include them. Papers are to be submitted to the instructor at the beginning of class; an electronic copy must also be forwarded. Late papers will not be accepted without prior approval: a grade of 0 will be allocated to this final grade component. 3. Student Presentations The format for classes where students make an in-class presentation differs from classes where the instructor leads the discussion. For these classes there will be two assignments: one for the presenting group (PG) and one for the other groups who are not presenting (NPG). Non-presenting groups (NPGs) Students not presenting have an important role to play in the conduct of the class. Their task is to play the role of the audience (e.g., board of directors or senior management) that the PG is presenting to as indicated in the case. As in the real world, this role consists of asking critical questions on points they disagree with, asking for clarifications on points that were not fully understood, and to push the presenting group to think deeper about their analysis or points they may have missed or to connect the analysis with other relevant factors not considered by the PG. The point of the Q&A is for the class to arrive at a better or more reasoned and integrated recommendation, much like what would happen in real life. Moreover, knowing that other students are going to ask questions increases the motivation of the presenting group to be well prepared, anticipate questions in advance and gain additional opportunity to reason on their feet. Such questions provide NPG students with a great opportunity to earn participation points as there will be ample opportunity to ask good or excellent questions. Also, by the end of the day following presentations (i.e.: Thursday evenings), each non-presenting student will be asked to complete an evaluation form for the presenting group s presentation and each individual speaker. These evaluations will be given some weight in assigning grades to the presenting group. To ensure adequate preparation, NPGs will also have to hand in an assignment for each case that is presented in class. These assignments are not looking for perfection but simply to ensure that the group has worked through the case sufficiently well to be able to play their role properly. The cumulative grade for these assignments is 20% of the final grade. Management Accounting MGMT 4130Y Fall

6 Presenting Students The success of the class on days where student presentations are made depends upon how well the PG performs. If the presentation is poor, the learning objectives of the case will not be met. The instructor is willing to spend considerable time with the PG. However, the purpose of these meetings is not for the instructor to provide the PG with the answer or to do the work of the group. Instead, it is to point the PG in the right direction ( have you thought about this issue ), answer thoughtful questions posed by the group, provide PGs with additional sources to read, provide guidance on the proposed structure of the presentation, and even to provide encouragement. Be aware that excessive hand-holding will lead to a reduced grade for the PG. This will not be a problem as long as students are honestly trying to solve the problems at hand and working hard. Each PG case assignment will be quite specific in what is required for a specific case and who the presentation is aimed at. However, there are some general considerations that apply to all presentations. These are: 1. The acid test for a good presentation is that the decision makers could actually use the group s recommendations to solve their problem(s) in a manner that reflects the specific organization s strategy, resources, strengths, constraints and opportunities, among other things. Recommendations that apply to all organizations are rarely useful. 2. Every person in the group must participate in the presentation to roughly an equal amount of speaking time. Fifteen minutes for one speaker and five minutes each of the other three group members is not roughly equal. 3. Your presentation must include a PowerPoint slide presentation. You are welcome to also present information in non-traditional formats if it will make your presentation more memorable. The instructor is particularly interested in seeing creative methods to transmit information and the use of new technologies that enhance the presentation. 4. The group must be able to explain their points well (in a manner that will have impact on the intended audience) and answer questions effectively. Remember who your audience is (role play) and note that the presentation is for the benefit of your audience and not you the presenter. 5. You may want to have some analyses prepared in advance on PowerPoint slide(s) in anticipation of some questions you might receive. Holding back such slides from the initial, formal presentation is a good idea when presenting the slide during the formal presentation might take too long, is not important enough to devote time to it, or would interrupt the flow of the presentation. 6. Unless otherwise specified (or permission is obtained in advance), the presentation time will be limited to 60 minutes. In addition, up to 30 minutes will be devoted to the Q&A session, followed by a windup by the instructor. 7. At the start of class the group must provide the instructor with a paper copy of the slides used in the presentation. 8. At the start of class the PG should distribute to student colleagues numerical analyses contained in the presentation that might be difficult to read on the projector. 9. Presenting students should dress professionally. Management Accounting MGMT 4130Y Fall

7 GRADING SCHEME Percent Mark Letter Grade Grade Points Percent Mark Letter Grade Grade Points A A A B B B C C C D D F 0 CLASS SCHEDULE Class DATE PRESENTING GROUP ADDITIONAL DISCUSSION CASE 1 September 4 th, 2014 None. Bev s Ceramics 2 September 11 th, 2014 Ace Fertilizer Landmark 3 September 18th, 2014 Tata Steel Bridgestone Behavioral 4 September 25 th, 2014 Transglobal Airlines AeroGear 5 October 2nd, 2014 Kenco Engineering A votre Santé 6 October 9 th, 2014 Appaloosa County Day Care Forest Hill 7 October 16 th, 2014 JEA Pelarsen 8 October 23rd, 2014 Newport Homes Tri-Cities CB 9 October 30 th, 2014 City of Waterloo Shell Gabon 10 November 6 th, 2014 Even s Star Organic Farm Tri-cities 11 November 13 th, 2014 Johnson & Johnson Sancho College 12 November 20 th, 2014 Jane Ashby Sinclair Art Museum Irving Oil 13 November 27 th, 2014 Impcorp. Lebanon Gasket Co. COURSE POLICIES 1. Prerequisites. It is the responsibility of students to check the prerequisites for courses before registration. If students are found to be registered in a course for which they do not have the prerequisites, and they have not received prior permission from the appropriate program chair, they can be de-registered. If this occurs after the drop/add date, tuition will not be refunded. 2. Academic Dishonesty. In cases of academic misconduct, the policy of the instructor is to issue an automatic F for the course. This policy is uncompromising, irrespective on which component the infraction was committed. Accounting is an honourable profession and attempts to corrupt it will be regarded as especially serious. Students can find further information in the Calendar. Management Accounting MGMT 4130Y Fall

8 3. Plagiarism: to steal and pass off the ideas and words of another as one s own (Webster s). Plagiarism will never be tolerated and will automatically result in an F grade being submitted for the course and the student s behaviour reported to the Dean of the Faculty of Management. Any student caught plagiarizing may also be subject to additional University sanctions. For the current university policy on Cheating and Plagiarism, please consult the University of Lethbridge calendar. Please note that the University of Lethbridge subscribes to a plagiarism detection service. Students may be required to submit their written work in electronic form for plagiarism checking. 4. Ethical Conduct: The University s policies are described in the calendar and all students are expected to read and comply with them. Special care should be taken to understand and avoid the Academic Offenses of Plagiarism and Cheating listed in the Student Discipline Policy. Students will respect the basic standards of intellectual integrity, including, but not limited to, refraining from plagiarism, cheating or copying someone else s work. In addition, students are expected to take an active role in encouraging other members of the academic community to refrain from academic dishonesty, and are asked to advise the instructor if they are aware of any such violations. This provision applies to any work submitted as a group project. CLASSROOM EXPECTATIONS The instructor expects you to behave in a professional manner. Professional behaviour requires punctuality, courtesy, and the respectful treatment of others. Please do not engage in behaviour such as gossiping or other activities unrelated to the course that is construed as impairing the ability of others to contribute to, and follow, the class discussion. In the past students have complained about being distracted by others operating electronic devices in the classroom. Accordingly, the policy in this course is that classroom use of mobile telephones and smart phones (e.g. Blackberry, iphone) is prohibited. Please respect the rights of your fellow students by not using these devices and ensuring that they are off (i.e.: not on silent mode) before the start of class. It is well known that during the class some students use their computers to browse the web and engage in activities unrelated to the class. Please refrain from doing this: it creates a distracting environment for other students and the instructor. Also, please do not eat your dinner in the class. Finally, if you need help to understand a concept or problem being discussed, please raise your hand and speak up in class! Don't wait until the end of the class: other students will benefit from your question and its answer. HAVE FUN Most of all, come with an open mind and prepared to learn and participate. Management accounting is not an exact science and rules are (some say) deliberately vague. Explaining your reasoning is usually more important that getting the right answer which, in fact, may not actually exist. Certainly, different organizations, even corporations in the same industry apply management accounting principles differently, or not at all; all this creates a vibrant and dynamic managerial environment. Management Accounting MGMT 4130Y Fall