ACCT102 Management Accounting G1-G10 Course Outline 2011/2012 Term 2

ACCT102 Management Accounting G1-G10 Course Outline 2011/2012 Term 2 A. Instructor and Contact Information Group Timing and Location Instructors 1 Tue 12:00 15:15 2 Thu 12:00 15:15 3 Wed 08:30 11:45 4 Wed 15:30 18:45 Katherine Yuen Telephone Number: (65) 6828 0952 E mail Address: katheriney@smu.edu.sg Office SOA 5045 5 Thu 15:30 18:45 6 Fri 12:00 15:15 7 Tue 08:30 11:45 8 Tue 15:30 18:45 9 Mon 12:00 15:15 10 Wed 12:00 15:15 Jennifer Koh Telephone Number: (65) 6828 0614 E mail Address: jenniferkoh@smu.edu.sg Office SOA 5021 Wong Suay Peng Telephone Number: (65) 6808 5245 E mail Address: spwong@smu.edu.sg Office SOA 5038 Jimmy Lee Telephone Number: (65) 6808 5234 E mail Address: jimmylee@smu.edu.sg Office SOA 4005 Locations of all the above 10 sessions are at SOA/SOL Seminar Room 1 2 All instructors are based at the 5 th floor of the School of Accountancy (SOA), Singapore Management University, Singapore 178900, Fax number: (65) 6828 0600 Instructor s Consultation: 1. Physical meeting: Appointment through email or phone 2. Discussion forum in SMU e learn, if appropriate 3. Direct email Teaching Assistants: Please check SMU e learn and instructors posting for latest details. 1

B. Course Prerequisites Although there is no pre requisite for this course, students MUST have basic knowledge of financial accounting terms (e.g. understanding of "asset", "liability", "equity", "income statement", "balance sheet", "revenue", "expense", "depreciation", etc.) and concepts (e.g. "debits", "credits", double entry system). Thus it is recommended that students have completed Financial Accounting (ACCT 101, or ACCT 103, or ACCT 111). In addition, students are encouraged to acquire fundamental skills in Excel as this will be used in the course. C. Course Description This course introduces cost and management accounting topics to enable students to understand how accounting information is used to manage an organization. The course focuses on the factors that differentiate one company from another. For example, What makes one company more profitable and/or better managed than another? The course will look at various functional areas within the firm, ranging from manufacturing to marketing, and from accounting to human relations. In addition, the concept of management, how senior managers plan, implement and control those plans through people will be briefly discussed. The course will enhance students personal skills in preparation for more advanced courses at the university in the following ways: working in groups, analyzing cases, writing reports, and making presentations. D. Learning Approach The pedagogical approach to this course consists of three interlocking elements: Instructor facilitated Learning: Facilitation, Clarification, Synthesis Individual Learning: Preparation, Analysis, Action Collaborative Learning: Teamwork, Discussion, Sharing Learning activities are planned to take into account these three elements of learning. Both the technical learning and skills objectives will be developed through a blend of theory and practice. An understanding of basic management accounting knowledge on elementary concepts to be covered in the first few classes is important for subsequent studies of the subject. Thus it is important for students to ensure their learning and understanding through active in class participation and self practice on exercises. Each topic will start with a session on basic technical knowledge, followed by practice using exercises, discussions and other class materials to enforce students understanding of the topic. The role of the instructor is to facilitate, provide clarification of critical concepts and guide students to acquire fundamental concepts and the skills to adapt and adopt such concepts into practice and future applications. Often, it is important to be able to see the trees from the forests and synthesise on why certain things matters are just as important as how specific processes/procedures are performed. Students are reminded that their individual contribution to learning starts before class. Students should prepare by pre reading, analysing the materials/tasks/cases to be covered before coming to class and actively participate in class discussions. Preparation is the prerequisite for analysis which will allow you to take action in your individual learning. 2

Collaborative learning elements are developed through your contribution to your classmates learning experiences, either through teamwork in your group project or other assigned tasks, and being willing to contribute to class and forum discussions and share your findings and work so others will benefit. Naturally, your individual preparation, analysis and action will determine how much you are able to contribute to collaborative learning. E. Textbook and Other Resources Garrison, Ray H., Noreen, Eric W., Brewer, Peter C., Cheng, Nam Sang and Yuen, C.K. Katherine Managerial Accounting: An Asian Perspective, McGraw Hill, 2012 SUPPLEMENTARY TEXTS Horngren, Sundem, Stratton, Burgstahler & Schatzberg Introduction to Management Accounting Global Edition, 15 edition, Pearson 2010 Hilton Management Accounting Creating Value in a Dynamic Business Environment, International Edition, 8 th edition. McGraw Hill, 2009. ADDITIONAL REFERENCES: Young, S Mark Readings in Management Accounting, 6 th edition Prentice Hall 2012 Newspaper: Students are encouraged to read the The Business Times daily which is free at the following URL after 6pm: http://business times.asia1.com.sg/home Additional reading materials may be prescribed from time to time as appropriate. Other than the prescribed reading materials, students are encouraged to read any material that may be relevant to their field of studies. F. Lesson Plan Class sessions are of 3 hour duration and will include a review of study materials, class discussions and other learning activities. Course materials will be published in SMU e learn (https://elearn.smu.edu.sg/). A brief outline of course schedule is provided below. A detailed course work plan is available in Annex 1. Cost behaviour Standard cost Break even analysis for single and multi product Budgeting Absorption costing and variable costing Variance analysis Activity based costing Balanced Scorecard Job order costing Relevant cost for decision making Process costing Capital budgeting G. Assessment To pass the course, a student is required to obtain a TOTAL mark of 50% or better. The assessment components are listed below: Preparation and Class Learning Activities (10%), Progress Assessments (20%), Group Project (20%) and Final Examination (50%). 3

You should refer to the School of Accountancy Writing Guide for any written work submitted for this course. 1. Preparation & Class Learning Activities (10%) Students are strongly encouraged to actively participate in class and forum discussions as well as group presentations. Students will be graded on an individual basis according to their contribution to the class participation, forum discussion (if applicable) and group presentations. Pre class reading and completion of post class homework form part of the preparation marks. Instructor may give unannounced quizzes and check students class attendances and preparations from time to time. In this respect, students should come well prepared for every session and on time throughout the term. 2. Progress Assessments (20%) There will be 2 tests. Scope of each test can be found in Annex 1. The tests will be conducted in class on the 5 th and 9 th weeks at the start of the class. Test 1 will account for 8% of the course whereas Test 2 will account for 12% of the course. There will be no make up test for absentees. A brief summary of the topics to be covered in these tests can be found in Annex 1. Further details of the tests will be announced during the course. If you have to miss a test due to reasons beyond your control, bring necessary documents to prove it to your instructor. Subject to your instructor s approval and potential penalty, the score of your missing test may be adjusted by increasing the weight to the next test. Be sure to bring a calculator to the tests. In accounting tests and exams, students often compete not only in how well you understand the materials but also in how quickly you can recall and use the materials in solving problems. After reading chapter readings, students are strongly encouraged to gauge their level of understanding by solving as many exercises and problems as possible. 3. Group Project (20%) You need to form groups for your group project/assignment. The project/assignment details are described in Annex 3. Please consult your instructor for detail breakdown of the mark allocation on project. 4. Final Examination (50%) The final examination on 21 April 2012 (Saturday) at 1:00pm will be a 3 hour, closed book paper, which may consist of multiple choice questions, fill blank questions, and problem questions. If you miss the final examination, you cannot complete the course and will have to take the exam in the next term. Be sure to bring a calculator to the final examination. 4

H. Academic Integrity All acts of academic dishonesty (including, but not limited to, plagiarism, cheating, fabrication, facilitation of acts of academic dishonesty by others, unauthorized possession of exam questions, or tampering with the academic work of other students) are serious offences. All work (whether oral or written) submitted for purposes of assessment must be the student s own work. Penalties for violation of the policy range from zero marks for the component assessment to expulsion, depending on the nature of the offense. When in doubt, students should consult the instructors of the course. Details on the SMU Code of Academic Integrity may be accessed at http://www.smuscd.org/resources.html. Prepared by: Jimmy Lee Jennifer Koh Wong Suay Peng Katherine Yuen 11 December 2011 Approved by: Themin Suwardy 27 December 2011 5

Annex 1: Class Plan & Practice Questions Week (starting date) 1 (9 Jan) 2 (16 Jan) 3 (23 Jan) Topic Topic 1: Introduction & Overview of the topics related to the project Chapter 1 Topic 2: Cost Concepts Chapter 2 Topic 3: Cost Behaviour Chapter 3 CVP Analysis Chapter 4 including App 4A Topic 4: Variable versus Absorption Costing Chapter 5 including App 5A and 5B Practice Questions E1 2 E1 3 E2 11 P2 14 P2 23 P2 24 P3 12 E3A 1 E4 4 E4 7 E4 10 E4 12 E4 15 P4 22 P4 27 E5 5 E5 7 P5 15 PA5 2 4 (30 Jan) Topic 5: Cost Allocation Chapter 6 Topic 6: Activity based Costing Chapter 7 E6 3 E6 4 E6 6 5 (6 Feb) 6 (13 Feb) 7 (20 Feb) **TEST I (8% of Total Score; Ch 1 to 5)** Topic 6: Activity based Costing Chapter 7 Topic 7: Job Order Costing Chapter 8 Topic 8: Process Costing Weighted Average Chapter 9 **Submission of Project Proposal 17 Feb 2012 Fri 12nn** Topic 9: Master Budget Chapter 10 E7 5 E7 6 E7 10 E7 11 E7 14 P7 16 E8 1 E8 8 E8 15 E8 17 P8 25 E9 8 P9 13 P9 15 P9 16 E10 8 P10 15 P10 17 P10 20 P10 22 8 (27 Feb) 9 (5 Mar) 10 (12 Mar) SCHOOL RECESS **TEST II (12% of Total Score; Ch 1 to 10)** Topic 10: Balanced Scorecard Chapter 13 balanced scorecard session Topic 11: Flexible Budgets Chapter 11 Standard Costing and Variance Analysis Chapter 12 including App 12A P13 22 E11 1 E11 4 E11 17 P11 19 E12 5 E12 7 P12 12 P12 14 P12 15 P12A 8 11 (19 Mar) Topic 12: Relevant Costs for Decision Making Chapter 14 Project Presentations E14 5 E14 6 E14 15 P14 18 P14 23 12 (26 Mar) Topic 13: Capital Budgeting Chapter 15 including App 15A & 15B Project Presentations E15 5 E15 11 P15 16 P15 27 13 (2 Apr) 14 (9 Apr) 15 (16 Apr) Project Presentations REVISION WEEK **Submission of Project Report 9 Apr 2012 Mon 12nn** **FINAL EXAM Comprehensive; Ch 1 15, 21 Apr 2012 Sat 1pm ** 6

The detailed course work plan above sets out the agenda for the whole term. It is going to be a packed workload, and you are advised to set aside adequate time to prepare, participate and review each session. It is expected that you will need to spend anything 4 to 8 hours on average per week to keep up to date with the course materials and group work. You should also note that pre class reading of the notes and textbook as well as the relevant readings will help students understand the topics better and faster. Post class reinforcement exercises (practice questions) are set to make sure that you can actually do the bare minimum expected learning outcomes for each session. In some way, learning accounting is like playing piano, there is only so much you can do reading/listening about it, you have to roll your sleeves and go out and actually do and practise it! Additional exercises may be given to students for such purpose. You must complete your practice exercises on the weekly basis as unannounced quizzes may be given to test your preparation and understanding. Scorings on these unannounced quizzes contribute part of the overall assessment under the preparation component. 7

Annex 2A: Grading Policies on Class Learning Activities (10%) Class learning activities (or usually called Class Participation by other instructors) are an integral pedagogical approach at SMU. The importance of class interaction is enshrined in the SMU Mission Statement: Delivering an interactive, participative and technologically enabled learning experience. It is also one aspect of assessment that often causes discomfort to some students due to its potential ambiguity. This grading policy on class learning activities intends to give you some indication on how you will be assessed. In short, we have the responsibility and professional duty to assess your conduct, performance and achievement in the course, taking into account all aspects of assessments, including written, oral, participation, contribution to the learning process and everything else in between. There is some RELATIVITY element for this component of assessment. Grading Your Class Learning Activities grade will reflect our assessment of your level of Individual Learning (Preparation, Analysis, Action) having a positive impact on Collaborative Learning (Team Work, Discussion and Sharing), and your overall level of professionalism. Thus, ill prepared blabbering is inappropriate, neither does hijacking the airwaves without due consideration of others. Outstanding Performance (As, about 8 10out of 10) Demonstrates excellent preparation; successfully completed all pre class reading and post class homework; and consistently exhibits knowledge of assigned content. Brings up questions that need further exploration; consistently offer analysis, synthesis and evaluation of course materials and/or cases; responds very thoughtfully to other students' comments; and usually generate the flow of ideas brought forward in class and forum discussions. Ability to apply, analyse, evaluate and integrate course materials; and shows a willingness to take risk in attempting to answer difficult questions; Demonstrates ongoing very active involvement, with energy and interest in the subject matter. Good Performance (Bs, about 7 7.9 out of 10) Demonstrates good preparation; successfully completed majority pre class reading and post class homework; and exhibits knowledge of assigned content. Contributes well to class discussions; responds to other students' points; thinks through own points, questions others in a constructive way; and offers arguments on ideas brought forward the majority opinion. Ability to analyse and apply course material; and shows a willingness to attempt to answer questions; Demonstrates on going involvement, with interest in the subject matter. Average Performance (Cs, about 6 6.9 out of 15) Demonstrate some preparation occasionally; attempted some pre class reading and post class homework; and exhibit some knowledge of assigned content. Participates in discussion when solicited; shows some knowledge of course materials; offers input, but tends to reiterate the intuitive; reluctant to share information; and sometimes follow the flow of ideas brought forward in class and forum discussions. Attends class regularly; and demonstrates some interest in the subject matter Poor Performance (Ds or Fs, less than 5.9 out of 10) Demonstrate very minimal preparation; little or no successful attempts at pre class and post class quizzes, and exhibit the big sponge mentality ( You can contribute to MY learning but I won t contribute to YOURS ) Failed to participate even when solicited; shows very minimal knowledge of course materials; offers input but often irrelevant or unrelated; and usually do not follow the flow of ideas brought forward in class and forum discussions. Attend classes but remain passive or disruptive throughout 8

Annex 2B: Class Participation Rubric (10%) Score Attribute 0 to 1 (D+/D/F) Below average 2 (C+/C/C ) Fair 3 (B/B ) Average 4 (A /B+) Good 5 (A+/A) Excellent Preparation (for class pre and post) Demonstrates very minimal or no preparation for class. Completes little or no pre readings or assigned preparatory work. Expects to be spoon fed but shows no interest to contribute. Demonstrates occasional preparation for class. Completes some prereadings or assigned preparatory work. Takes marginal initiative in contributing effort. Demonstrates adequate preparation for class most of the time. Completes majority of pre readings or assigned preparatory work. Exhibits adequate knowledge of assigned content. Demonstrates good preparation for class. Successfully completes most pre readings or assigned preparatory work. Exhibits good knowledge of assigned content. Demonstrates excellent preparation for class. Successfully completes all pre readings or assigned preparatory work. Consistently exhibits solid knowledge of assigned content. Involvement (in class activities) Absent from classes on many occasions without valid reasons and/or prior notification. Very passive or even disruptive during class activities. Absent from classes on some occasions without valid reasons and/or prior notification. Somewhat passive during class activities but never disruptive. Attends classes regularly. Demonstrates some interest in the subject matter and in class activities. Attends classes very regularly. Demonstrates on going involvement, with strong interest in the subject matter. Attends all classes. Demonstrates very active on going involvement, with exceptional enthusiasm and interest in the subject matter. Consistency (in class participation) Has never or hardly ever heard him/her speak in class. Offers little contribution even when called. Presence not felt in class. Makes some effort to speak in class, albeit sporadically. Contributes to the discussion only when called. Presence weakly felt in class. Takes initiative to contribute fairly regularly to the class discussion. Presence somewhat felt in class. Takes good initiative to contribute regularly to the class discussion. Presence keenly felt in class. Contributes regularly and enthusiastically to the class discussion, without being domineering. Presence positively felt and welcomed by peers. Quality (of class contribution) Participation limited to asking short and simple questions, regurgitating known or obvious facts, or providing comments that are not meaningful or irrelevant to the discussion. Asking marginally thoughtful questions, or occasionally contributing comments or answers that demonstrate a basic understanding of the subject matter. Asking moderately thoughtful questions, or contributing meaningful comments or answers that demonstrate a good understanding of the subject matter. Asking in depth questions while also contributing insightful comments and answers that add value to the class discussion. Contributing very thoughtful and insightful comments and solutions that significantly enhance both the learning experience as well as peers understanding of the subject matter. Maturity (in thought and action) Shows disrespect and intolerance for others. Makes sly comments that reflect a desire to smear others, or conversely to merely impress/flatter others. Engages in personal activities that distract the class. Shows very modest respect and tolerance for others. Somewhat indifferent to the comments of others, but avoids making destructive comments. Shows moderate respect and tolerance for others. Considers thoughtfully the comments of others, but offers little or no constructive comments. Displays acceptable behavior. Shows good respect and tolerance for others. Considers thoughtfully the comments of others, and occasionally offers constructive comments. Displays good behavior. Shows high respect and tolerance for others. Often offers constructive comments. Displays exemplary behavior. Skillfully demonstrates decorum without wavering on professional integrity and judgment. Collegiality (with peers) Haughty, obnoxious, and selfcentered. Views participation solely as a means to enhance his/her own personal standing and performance at the expense of others. Somewhat indifferent and oblivious to the presence of peers. Overly concerned with scoring participation marks, with little or no regard to the value of cooperative interaction or relation with peers. Recognizes the presence of peers. Gives moderate regard to the value of cooperative interaction and relation with peers. Cordial and sincere. Values the importance of peers. Contributes to the collective responsibility and cooperative interaction among peers. Very cordial and sincere. Affable with peers. Shares ideas generously and selflessly. Views participation no longer as a means to score marks but to engage in a friendly and mutually enriching conversation. 9

Annex 3: Group Project (20%) TERM 2 2011 2012 GROUP PROJECT/ASSIGNMENT 1. Description of the Project The two main objectives of the project are: To demonstrate the understanding on potential implications of management accounting concepts in doing a business. To illustrate the ability to apply and explain the management accounting concepts in a business that you are interested in. Each team is to prepare a project on proposing to make and sell a product / products or to provide services. If your company is involved in manufacturing, you need to consider the raw material, labour and overhead issues. Which one(s) is/are the better costing system(s) for your business, for example, job costing, process costing or activity based costing? In some businesses, there may be a need to use a combination of the systems. Perform a forecast on the profitability (3 to 5 years) backed up by supporting details. Projected balanced sheet and cash flow statement are not required. Consider how to make your business most successful by having a proper cost control system and other innovative ideas. Extra marks will be given to creative and viable business ideas and products. You can use a real company s model to support your work but you need to provide source of information to support your forecast and costing. For example, if your company is involved in making and selling cookies, you may like to consider some of the followings in order to compile your projected profitability forecast: How are the manufacturing costs of each cookie determined? Can we make use of the different cost classification concepts, such as direct materials, direct labour, manufacturing overheads, variable and fixed, direct and indirect, differential, opportunity..? How do these concepts help us to get reasonable cost information? What costing system or a combination of systems are you going to use? Will it be job costing, process costing, activity based costing.? Will there be any rejected units because of quality control? How will this affect the cost of each cookie? What are the selling and administrative expenses? How do we justify say an increase in advertising, paying overtime in order to complete a job on time.? How much do we have to sell in order to breakeven? What is the margin of safety and degree of operating leverages under different scenarios? Will you be able to determine the total throughput or manufacturing cycle time? For example, flour mixing + baking time for a batch of cookies x number of batches required + packaging time + downtime + cleanup time Can we identify value added and non valued added activities and use the information to improve the business? How do you determine the pricing of your product(s), will costs be a good base to use? What are the assumptions required/made during the forecasting and budgeting process? Some of the questions may not be applicable to your chosen business. You should consider the specific required analyses for your chosen business and you may prefer to do only a few analyses but to do them in greater details. 10

2. Project Requirements The total number of words in your main report should not exceed 3,500 words. In addition to the 3,500 words (or 12 pages), where appropriate and necessary, you may add Pictures, Tables and Appendices. At the end of each project report, each team is required to include one page each of the followings: Reflection: e.g. main difficulties encountered and the key takeaways of doing the project and Learning points from watching other project teams presentations. Reflection and Learning Points are outside of the word limit of 3,500 words. 3. Copyright Requirement If outside material or research is used in the project, sources are to be cited. Students should only divulge confidential information with the agreement of the companies involved. 4. Submission Deadlines Project Proposal Students are required to submit a short project proposal (no more than 250 words) for instructor s approval by 12nn 17 February 2012 Week 6 Friday. The proposal should include: 1. General Information Section No (e.g. G1, G2, G3.. G10) Team No (e.g. T1 T10) Name of Team Members 2. Description of the business, for example, name of the business (actual name or make up name), contact of the business if applicable, products or services provided, approximate annual sales and staff size, targeted customers groups 3. The intended MA topics to apply. 4. Sources of information (e.g. through contacts or other research methods). Final Report Students are to submit 1. A hard copy of the project (double sided to save papers) to your instructor for grading purpose. 2. A soft copy to your session s drop box in SMU e learn which will automatically perform plagiarism check. Files should be neither password nor extraction protected. Subject to individual instructor s final announcement and preference, the deadline is 12nn 9 April 2012 Week 14 Monday, late submission will not be entertained, The following general information must be indicated on the front page of the report: Section No (e.g. G1, G2, G3.. G10) Team No (e.g. T1 T10) Name of Team Members 5. Grading of Group Project: General Guideline Students will be awarded a maximum of 20 marks for this project and they will be assessed based on the content (ability to evaluate, bring up ideas and concepts, etc.) and the presentation (structure, coherence, readability, etc.) of the project. 11

There should be minimal replication of information from your readings. Instead, you should focus on the discussion of the actual details of the selected business/project and provide a quality proposal that can convince bankers, venture capitalists, your instructor and probably your peers. Your Group Project grade will reflect your instructor s assessment of your level of research, critical analysis and your ability to convey what you have analysed into a meaningful, well structured, wellpresented report. This is, by default, a shared grade amongst the group members, unless there are indications of a non functioning group where other allocation basis may be more appropriate. Groups having insurmountable conflicts are advised to get in touch with me as soon as possible. Annex 4 is the form for your peer evaluation and will only be reported on exceptional basis (i.e. when you think that there are unfair contributions among your group members). Recap of important elements of a desirable group project report: Structure: A cohesive structure that gracefully flows from one section to another, demonstrating a holistic understanding of the overall purpose of the report rather than piece meal, point by point answers to a series of questions. o A proper executive summary that summarises your report, not an executive agenda. o An introduction that explains to the intended reader of your scope, agenda, approach, assumptions, etc. o Good, clean and consistent formatting, appropriate spacing, consistency of styles, and good English expressions, adherence to grammar and sentence structure. o Properly cited references that demonstrate an attempt to learn beyond the course materials. o A proper, strong conclusion. Analysis: A comprehensive assessment of the company s business environment, strategy, critical success factors, operation and financial position, at a level appropriate for the course, based on the prescribed methodology. o Exhibit sufficient level and depth of analysis. o Use of appropriate benchmarks in financial analysis. o Appropriate use of summary tables, charts, figures, appendices, etc to illustrate your points. o Technical proficiencies (calculations) are assumed, unless your report casts doubts of your ability. o Budgeting details can be submitted as part of the appendices of the report. Presentation forms part of the group project requirement. Your Group Project Report grade will be based on the elements listed above. The grades below are out of 20 points assigned to this component of assessment. A+ [about 19 20] truly exceptional report exceeding expectation, reserved for those who manage to demonstrate all of the above requirements A and A [about 17 18] excellent report, meeting significant majority of the above requirements Bs [about 14 16] good effort, meeting most of the above requirements Cs [about 11 13] commendable attempt, but lacking in many areas Ds/Fs [about 0 to 10] extremely poor effort 12

Annex 4: Group Project Peer Review Form (Please complete this form only if you have dispute on free riding or unfair workload/contribution with respect to the Group Project) Session Date and Time: Group Number: Your Name: Name of Your Group Members: Contribution Score (0 10 max) Comments 13