Module Directory

This module will develop students' basic knowledge of management accounting and the context in which it operates. Students will learn about the traditional 'routine or period-oriented' concepts and techniques of costing such as absorption and marginal costing, system design such as job-order and process costing, and also the non-routine or ad hoc approaches relevant for decision-making. These concepts and techniques will be considered mainly in the context of manufacturing organisations, yet they are also relevant to the service and not-for-profit sectors.

The module is complete and self-contained in itself but also provides students with the conceptual knowledge and technical skills to progress to other second and third year modules in management accounting.

The aims of this module are:

• To develop an understanding of the main concepts and ideas underlying management accounting practice.


• To support and encourage education and learning, and to foster the capacity for individual study.


• To encourage and facilitate critical, analytical thinking as a foundation for subsequent academic study, employment and personal development.


• To provide the necessary support to enable the successful completion of the degree.

By the end of this module, students will be expected to be able to:

Knowledge & Understanding

Technical and critical understanding of:

1. The contexts in which management accounting (MA) operates.


2. The introductory ideas of cost and management accounting issues.


3. The costs, volume and profit in various business contexts.


4. The various issues of cost allocations and accumulations in relation to business and technology.


5. The conventional costing systems.


6. Various issues in relation to determining product costs, including relevant costs.

Skills & Abilities

Technical, analytical and evaluation skills in:

1. Applying recent and current management accounting approaches.


2. Applying management accounting in different organisational contexts.


3. Using management accounting to manage organizations.


4. Key conceptual aspects and practical application of cost and management accounting issues.


5. Engage in written and oral communication for analysing management accounting issues of all types covered.

Skills for Your Professional Life (Transferable Skills)

By the end of the module, students will be encouraged to develop a variety of transferable skills:

1. To identify and distill key features and arguments covered in texts and presentations.


2. To develop coherent and well-structured lines of argument supported by relevant analysis and concepts.


3. Discriminate between relevant and irrelevant information (both quantitative and qualitative) for the
   purposes of decision-making.


4. Apply analytical skills and critical judgement as required to handle management problems.


5. Lead and participate in group discussions.


6. Develop the ethical awareness required in being professional.


7. Communicate effectively orally and in writing, in presentations, essays and reports and developing core IT skills (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook).


8. Developing imaginative thinking within the accounting field.


9. Appreciate new ways of seeing accounting such as accounting for the environment and society.


10. Work under pressure and meet deadlines.

Management accounting may be seen as a way of providing information in three main areas: costing, decision-making, and planning and control. The emphasis of this module will mainly be on the first area (i.e., information for costing). In reality, however, it is often difficult to separate this area from the other two. For example, standard costing provides costing information which is then used as a tool for planning and control.

This module will be delivered via:

• Two 1-hour lectures in Week 2, then
• One 1-hour lecture per week.
• One 1-hour seminar per week
• One 1-hour voluntary support class in week 9.
• One 1-hour revision lecture in week 30.