BE162-7-AU-CO:
Financial Decision Making
2024/25
Essex Business School
Colchester Campus
Autumn
Postgraduate: Level 7
Current
Thursday 03 October 2024
Friday 13 December 2024
20
15 July 2024
Requisites for this module
(none)
(none)
(none)
(none)
(none)
MSC N40012 Professional Accounting,
MSC N40024 Professional Accounting,
MSC LN1412 Financial Economics and Accounting,
MSC N4N312 Accounting and Financial Management,
MSC N4N324 Accounting and Financial Management
The module will critically examine a range of issues that relate to financial and managerial decision-making, including incremental costing, cost volume profit analysis, budgeting, activity-based costing, capital structure and long term financing, capital investment appraisal, and financial analysis of commercial projects. Students will be expected to critically evaluate the issues outlined above and to engage actively in discussions.
The aim of this module is to provide students without a first degree in accounting or an accounting related subject with a sufficient grounding in management accounting and management control principles, investment appraisal and financial control principles, and market and managerial behaviours.
By the end of the module, students will be expected to be able to:
- Critically reflect on issues related to accounting and financial/managerial decision making.
- Develop a critical understanding of short term decision making principles and techniques, such as incremental costing and cost volume profit analysis.
- Critically evaluate the role of budgeting and management control in organisations and discuss the conflicting implications of budgeting decisions.
- Demonstrate a critical understanding of how activities can form a basis for managerial decisions as opposed to traditional methods of costing.
- Demonstrate a critical understanding of how the management of working capital such as inventories, the accounts payable, accounts receivable as well as cash conversion cycle can form a basis for short term financial decision making.
- Demonstrate a critical understanding of whether long term investment and financing decisions should aim at maximising organisational profitability and owners’ wealth.
- Develop a critical understanding of financial and non-financial performance measurement and management control methods.
- Demonstrate an understanding of rational economic, interpretative and critical perspectives on accounting.
- Develop presentation skills, critical thinking, and reflective analysis.
Skills for Your Professional Life (Transferable Skills)
By the end of this module, students should be able to demonstrate the following attributes:
- Research Skills and techniques- to be able to use the coursework to demonstrate the ability to analyse critically and evaluate one’s findings and those of others, summarize findings and write a report, use the coursework to advance their knowledge of how to find and collect relevant background information linked to the coursework.
- Enhance oral communication skills by using workshops and collaborative tasks to present information and ideas clearly and concisely, presents opinion and ideas in an open objective way.
- Critical thinking- to be able to rely on the lectures, to review different points of view or ideas and make objective judgement, and investigating all possible solutions to a problem by considering the pros and cons.
- Personal effectiveness- use the coursework to show initiative, work independently and be self-reliant, demonstrate the willingness and ability to learn and acquire knowledge.
Resources for the module will be made available through Moodle, where you will also be able to find notices and information about the module. Other useful resources can be found through the University Library and through indicated useful Internet sites.
This module will be delivered via:
- One 1-hour lecture per week.
- One 1-hour seminar per week.
- One revision lecture in the summer.
- One support (Q&A) class per fortnight.
Students will be expected to actively participate in lectures and seminars and
read the lecture and seminar materials assigned in this module outline before attending
each lecture/seminar session.
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Collier, P.M. (no date f) Accounting for managers: interpreting accounting information for decision making. Fifth edition. Chichester: John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
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Bhimani, A.
et al. (2023)
Management and cost accounting. Eighth edition. Harlow: Pearson. Available at:
https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/universityofessex-ebooks/detail.action?docID=5174630.
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Berry, A.J., Broadbent, J. and Otley, D.T. (2005b) Management control: theories, issues, and performance. 2nd ed. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.
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Norreklit, H. (2000) ‘The balance on the balanced scorecard a critical analysis of some of its assumptions’,
Management Accounting Research, 11(1), pp. 65–88. Available at:
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S104450059990121X.
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Proctor, R., Burton, N. and Pierce, A. (2009c) Managerial accounting for business decisions. 3rd ed. Harlow: Prentice Hall Financial Times.
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Jack, L. and Jones, J.V.H. (2007) ‘Facing up to new realities: the case for using relevant cost and target cost approaches in agriculture’,
Journal of Applied Accounting Research, 8(3), pp. 117–145. Available at:
https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/96754260880001056/full/html.
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Schiff, M. and Lewin, A.Y. (1970) ‘The Impact of People on Budgets.’,
Accounting Review, 45(2), pp. 259–268. Available at:
https://www.jstor.org/stable/244377?seq=1#metadata_info_tab_contents.
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Christiansen, J.K. and Skærbæk, P. (1997) ‘Implementing budgetary control in the performing arts: games in the organizational theatre’,
Management Accounting Research, 8(4), pp. 405–438. Available at:
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1044500597900457.
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Ekholm, B.-G. and Wallin, J. (2000) ‘Is the annual budget really dead?’,
European Accounting Review, 9(4), pp. 519–539. Available at:
https://doi.org/10.1080/09638180020024007.
The above list is indicative of the essential reading for the course.
The library makes provision for all reading list items, with digital provision where possible, and these resources are shared between students.
Further reading can be obtained from this module's
reading list.
Assessment items, weightings and deadlines
Coursework / exam |
Description |
Deadline |
Coursework weighting |
Coursework |
3,000 word essay |
09/01/2025 |
100% |
Exam |
Main exam: In-Person, Closed Book, 120 minutes during Summer (Main Period)
|
Exam |
Reassessment Main exam: In-Person, Closed Book, 120 minutes during September (Reassessment Period)
|
Exam format definitions
- Remote, open book: Your exam will take place remotely via an online learning platform. You may refer to any physical or electronic materials during the exam.
- In-person, open book: Your exam will take place on campus under invigilation. You may refer to any physical materials such as paper study notes or a textbook during the exam. Electronic devices may not be used in the exam.
- In-person, open book (restricted): The exam will take place on campus under invigilation. You may refer only to specific physical materials such as a named textbook during the exam. Permitted materials will be specified by your department. Electronic devices may not be used in the exam.
- In-person, closed book: The exam will take place on campus under invigilation. You may not refer to any physical materials or electronic devices during the exam. There may be times when a paper dictionary,
for example, may be permitted in an otherwise closed book exam. Any exceptions will be specified by your department.
Your department will provide further guidance before your exams.
Overall assessment
Reassessment
Module supervisor and teaching staff
Dr Jacob Agyemang, email: jagyem@essex.ac.uk.
Dr Jacob Agyemang & Dr Zeeshan Mahmood
ebspgtad@essex.ac.uk
No
No
No
No external examiner information available for this module.
Available via Moodle
Of 20 hours, 20 (100%) hours available to students:
0 hours not recorded due to service coverage or fault;
0 hours not recorded due to opt-out by lecturer(s), module, or event type.
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