Unit Outline

Management accounting is an essential unit for students studying the Accounting major in the Bachelor of Business. Students will apply techniques to support management decision-making in respect of product costing, variance analysis, inventory management, budgeting and forecasting. The unit emphasises the application of quantitative and qualitative techniques to analyse cost behaviour. Students will evaluate the performance of products and business segments by applying the processes and techniques of management accounting that focus on the effective and efficient use of organisational resources. Students will also be introduced to theories of human behaviour and the impact on the design of performance measurement systems.

Intended Learning Outcomes

As per the Assessment and Results Policy 1.3, your results will reflect your achievement against specified learning outcomes.

On completion of this unit, you will be able to:


1.	Explain and apply management accounting techniques for business planning and control.
2.	Identify and analyse behavioural accounting, ethics, social responsibility, and sustainability issues applicable to management accounting and decision making.
3.	Use professional written communication to report decisions and recommendations from management accounting information.

Alterations as a result of student feedback

To Be Determined

How will I be Assessed?

For more detailed assessment information please see MyLO.

Assessment schedule


ASSESSMENT TASK #	ASSESSMENT TASK NAME	DATE DUE	WEIGHT	LINKS TO INTENDED LEARNING OUTCOMES
Assessment Task 1:	Online Test Via Respondus	Week 4	25 %	LO1, LO2
Assessment Task 2:	Case Study	Week 10	35 %	LO1, LO2, LO3
Assessment Task 3:	Exam via Respondus	Exam Period	40 %	LO1, LO2, LO3

Assessment details

Assessment Task 1: Online Test Via Respondus

Task Description:

There will be an online invigilated test in Week 4. The test includes both calculative and conceptual questions. More details will be provided in a separate announcement, posted on MyLO, before the test.

Task Length:

90 minutes

Due Date:

Week 4

Weight:

25 %

CRITERION #

CRITERION

MEASURES INTENDED

LEARNING OUTCOME(S)


1	Explain the nature and the role of cost and management accounting in an organisation.	LO1
2	Apply appropriate quantitative techniques to use costing information for business planning and control.	LO1
3	Identify and analyse the impact of ethics and social responsibility, and /or sustainability issues in management accounting and decision making.	LO2

Assessment Task 2: Case Study

Task Description:

The scenario for the task will closely resemble that of a real-life business decision-making process.

The task requires you to use appropriate and correct computational analysis, provided in an Excel file, to support your evaluation of the data, and your findings. You will then produce a written professional report, in which you communicate your findings and recommendations to your client/s or manager/s. In this, you must identify, analyse and report any social and/or environmental issues involved in the project, which may create ethical dilemmas for the client/manager that may affect your decision.

Task Length:

To be advised

Due Date:

Week 10

Weight:

35 %

CRITERION #

CRITERION

MEASURES INTENDED

LEARNING OUTCOME(S)


1	Explain the nature and the role of cost and management accounting in an organisation.	LO1
2	Apply appropriate quantitative techniques to use costing information for business planning and control.	LO1
3	Prepare budgets, analysis variances, and evaluate performance of an organisation and its products and business segments.	LO1
4	Demonstrate the use of advanced skills in the compilation of Excel worksheets to support management decision making.	LO1
5	Identify and analyse the impact of ethics and social responsibility, and /or sustainability issues in management accounting and decision making.	LO2
6	Recommend a course of action based on your analysis to support management decision making using precise business terminology and formal style to clearly communicate meaning.	LO3
7	Prepare a professional business report to communicate management accounting information for effective reporting and decision making.	LO3
8	Use a Harvard referencing system.	LO3

Assessment Task 3: Exam via Respondus

Task Description:

The exam will enable you to demonstrate your breadth and depth of understanding across all unit materials. All topics are examinable. An information sheet with details about the exam will be given to you in the last week of the semester and posted on MyLO. You will require a non-programmable calculator for the exam.

The invigilated exam will be completed by you via MyLO and Respondus on a day and time determined by the exams office.

Task Length:

3 hours

Due Date:

Exam Period

Weight:

40 %

CRITERION #

CRITERION

MEASURES INTENDED

LEARNING OUTCOME(S)


1	Explain the nature and the role of cost and management accounting in an organisation.	LO1
2	Apply appropriate quantitative techniques to use costing information for business planning and control.	LO1
3	Prepare budgets, analysis variances, and evaluate performance of an organisation and its products and business segments.	LO1
4	Identify and analyse the various theories of behavioural accounting and its implications for the design of performance measurement systems.	LO2
5	Identify and analyse the impact of ethics and social responsibility, and /or sustainability issues in management accounting and decision making.	LO2
6	Recommend a course of action based on your analysis to support management decision making using precise business terminology and formal style to clearly communicate meaning.	LO3

How your final result is determined

To pass this unit, you need to demonstrate your attainment of each of the Intended Learning Outcomes, achieve a final unit grade of 50% or greater, and pass any hurdle tasks.

Submission of assignments

Where practicable, assignments should be submitted to an assignment submission folder in MYLO. You must submit assignments by the due date or receive a penalty (unless an extension of time has been approved by the Unit Coordinator). Students submitting any assignment in hard copy, or because of a practicum finalisation, must attach a student cover sheet and signed declaration for the submission to be accepted for marking.

Requests for extensions

If you are unable to submit an assessment task by the due date, you should apply for an extension.

A request for an extension should first be discussed with your Unit Coordinator or teaching support team where possible. A request for an extension must be submitted by the assessment due date, except where you can provide evidence it was not possible to do so. Typically, an application for an extension will be supported by documentary evidence: however, where it is not possible for you to provide evidence please contact your Unit Coordinator.

The Unit Coordinator must notify you of the outcome of an extension request within 3 working days of receiving the request.

Late penalties

Assignments submitted after the deadline will receive a late penalty of 5% of the original available mark for each calendar day (or part day) that the assignment is late. Late submissions will not be accepted more than 10 calendar days after the due date, or after assignments have been returned to other students on a scheduled date, whichever occurs first. Further information on Late Penalties can be found on the Assessments and Results Procedure.

Review of results and appeals

You are entitled to ask for a review of the marking and grading of your assessment task if there is an irregularity in the marking standards or an error in the process for determining the outcome of an assessment. Details on how to request a review of a mark for an assignment are outlined in the Review and Appeal of Academic Decisions Procedure.

Required Resources

Required reading materials

Mowen, M.M., Hansen, D.R., Heitger, D.L., Sands, J.S., Winata, L., and Su, S. (2019). Managerial Accounting, Asia-Pacific Edition, 2nd edition, Cengage Learning Australia Pty Limited, South Melbourne, VIC.

Horngren, C. T., Datar, S. M., and Rajan, M., Maguire, W., Tan, R. (2017). Horngren’s Cost Accounting: A Managerial Emphasis, 3rd Australian Edn, Pearson Australia, Melbourne, VIC.