About this course: In this course, you will explore how to use accounting to allocate resources and incentivize manager and employee behaviors in using these resources. You will also learn how financial and non-financial accounting information facilitates strategic performance measurement and how to integrate this information to continuously improve strategy. Upon successful completion of this course, you will be able to: • Understand the role of managerial accounting information in common business decisions • Differentiate relevant and irrelevant information • Avoid common pitfalls in business decisions • Prepare a master budget and its key components • Describe the iterative and interrelated nature of budgeting • Evaluate capital investments via a variety of measures • Understand how upper management uses variance analysis • Calculate, interpret, and investigate variances • Understand decentralization and its advantages and disadvantages • Compute and interpret financial performance measures • Communicate the role of non-financial measures and strategic performance measurement systems • Identify issues associated with performance measurement and incentives • Understand the nature and role of subjective performance evaluation This course is part of the iMBA offered by the University of Illinois, a flexible, fully-accredited online MBA at an incredibly competitive price. For more information, please see the Resource page in this course and onlinemba.illinois.edu.
Created by: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Taught by: Gary Hecht, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Accountancy
Department of Accountancy, College of Business
| Basic Info | Course 2 of 7 in the Value Chain Management Specialization |
| Commitment | 4 weeks of study, 6-8 hours/week |
| Language | English |
| How To Pass | Pass all graded assignments to complete the course. |
| User Ratings |
Syllabus
WEEK 1
Course Overview and Relevant Information for Decision Making
In this module, you will become familiar with the course, your instructor, your classmates, and our learning environment. Decisions are at the heart of all organizations. In this module, you will also explore the nature and role of relevant information in common business decisions, and how such information facilitates these decisions and helps managers and employees avoid common pitfalls. You will also consider how the financial perspective adopted by accountants complements other, qualitative perspectives.
18 videos, 8 readings, 4 practice quizzes
- Video: Welcome and Course Overview
- Reading: Syllabus
- Reading: About this Course: Ratings and Reviews
- Reading: About the Discussion Forums
- Reading: Glossary
- Reading: Social Media
- Reading: Getting to Know Your Classmates
- Practice Quiz: Orientation Quiz
- Reading: Module 1 Overview
- Reading: Module 1 Readings
- Video: Fundamental Concepts
- Video: Sunk Costs
- Video: Opportunity Costs
- Video: Common Mistakes
- Video: What We've Learned in Lesson 1.1
- Practice Quiz: Lesson 1.1 Practice Quiz
- Video: Learning Objectives and Overview
- Video: Keep or Drop a Product Line
- Video: Make or Buy
- Video: Replace or Retain Equipment
- Video: Additional Considerations
- Video: What We've Learned in Lesson 1.2
- Practice Quiz: Lesson 1.2 Practice Quiz
- Video: Learning Objectives and Overview
- Video: Sell "As-Is" or Process Further
- Video: Accepting a Special Order
- Video: What We've Learned in Lesson 1.3
- Video: Module 1 Review
- Practice Quiz: Lesson 1.3 Practice Quiz
- Video: Like this course? Learn more with the iMBA! (Optional)
Graded: Module 1 - Conceptual Quiz
Graded: Module 1 - Quantitative Analysis Quiz
Graded: Module 1 Mini-Project
WEEK 2
Budgeting for Planning and Control
At the heart of an organization’s planning and control function is its budget. In this module, you will explore the purpose of budgeting, the role of managers and employees in budgeting, and related implications. You will also develop an organization’s budget, ultimately understanding the iterative nature among the budget’s key components: the operations, financing, and capital investments budgets.
25 videos, 2 readings, 4 practice quizzes
- Reading: Module 2 Overview
- Reading: Module 2 Readings
- Video: Fundamental Concepts
- Video: Basic Terminology
- Video: Implications
- Video: What We've Learned in Lesson 2.1
- Practice Quiz: Lesson 2.1 Practice Quiz
- Video: Master Budget Overview
- Video: Sales Budget
- Video: Production Budget
- Video: Component Budgets
- Video: Budgeted Income Statement
- Video: What We've Learned in Lesson 2.2
- Practice Quiz: Lesson 2.2 Practice Quiz
- Video: Financing Budget Overview
- Video: Cash Budget - 1
- Video: Cash Budget - 2
- Video: Cash Budget - 3
- Video: Extending the Example
- Video: What We've Learned in Lesson 2.3
- Practice Quiz: Lesson 2.3 Practice Quiz
- Video: Capital Budgeting Overview
- Video: Example Scenario
- Video: Payback
- Video: Accounting Rate of Return
- Video: Time Horizon and Implications
- Video: Discounted Cash Flow and Net Present Value
- Video: Internal Rate of Return
- Video: What We've Learned in Lesson 2.4
- Video: Module 2 Review
- Practice Quiz: Lesson 2.4 Practice Quiz
Graded: Module 2 - Conceptual Quiz
Graded: Module 2 - Quantitative Analysis Quiz
WEEK 3
Standard Costing and Variance Analysis
After establishing goals, setting targets, and the budget, upper management uses variance analysis to compare, assess, and investigate differences between actual and expected performance. In this module, you will learn how upper management uses variance analysis to motivate and monitor managers and employees, how to perform variance analysis on any aspect of the organization, and ultimately understand the power of this important tool for planning and control.
13 videos, 2 readings, 3 practice quizzes
- Reading: Module 3 Overview
- Reading: Module 3 Readings
- Video: Fundamentals and Concepts
- Video: Cost Variance Classification and General Framework
- Video: Causes of Variances
- Practice Quiz: Lesson 3.1 Practice Quiz
- Video: An Example Scenario and Direct Materials Variances
- Video: Direct Labor Variances
- Video: Variable Overhead Variances
- Video: Fixed Cost Variances
- Video: Production Volume Variances
- Video: What We've Learned in Lesson 3.2
- Practice Quiz: Lesson 3.2 Practice Quiz
- Video: Fundamentals and General Framework
- Video: An Example Scenario
- Video: What We've Learned in Lesson 3.3
- Video: Module 3 Review
- Practice Quiz: Lesson 3.3 Practice Quiz
Graded: Module 3 - Conceptual Quiz
Graded: Module 3 - Quantitative Analysis Quiz
Graded: Module 3 Mini-Project
WEEK 4
Performance Measurement and Evaluation
Accountants help implement, communicate, and evolve organizational strategy via the information they provide to owners, managers, and employees. Specifically, they help plan, monitor, and control decisions via the performance measurement, evaluation, and compensation system. In this module, you will explore many aspects of this important system, including decentralization, financial and non-financial performance measurement, strategic performance measurement systems, and subjective performance evaluation.
13 videos, 2 readings, 3 practice quizzes
- Reading: Module 4 Overview
- Reading: Module 4 Readings
- Video: Fundamentals and Concepts
- Video: What We've Learned in Lesson 4.1
- Practice Quiz: Lesson 4.1 Practice Quiz
- Video: Why is Financial Performance Measurement Important?
- Video: Return on Investment
- Video: The Underinvestment Problem
- Video: Residual Income
- Video: What We've Learned in Lesson 4.2
- Practice Quiz: Lesson 4.2 Practice Quiz
- Video: Non-Financial Measures
- Video: Strategic Performance Measurement Systems
- Video: Performance Measurement Issues
- Video: Subjective Performance Evaluation
- Video: What We've Learned in Lesson 4.3
- Video: Module 4 Review
- Practice Quiz: Lesson 4.3 Practice Quiz
Graded: Module 4 Quiz
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Pricing
| Audit | Purchase Course | |
|---|---|---|
| Access to course materials | Available | Available |
| Access to graded materials | Not available | Available |
| Receive a final grade | Not available | Available |
| Earn a shareable Course Certificate | Not available | Available |
Ratings and Reviews
Overall a great course with relevant use of material. Suggestion for improvement-the balance scorecard. Knowing how that might be used in organizations would be helpful. Also, a few more case studies in the videos would be good. I would recommend this course to anyone looking to further their knowledge in decision making based accounting.
Great course, I does complement the Managerial Accounting course I took before. A lot of tools to apply in the work place. The videos and the examples are wonderful for the learning pourpose.
Outstanding ways to broaden knowledge!
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It is great and helpful, but I think it is kind of needed to be updated such as unavailable links to materials and some errors on the textbook.