07573 - Management Control

Learning outcomes

This course provides students with knowledge and skills related to management control tools, here defined as the system that guides managers' behavior towards the pursuit of corporate objectives using accounting techniques and performance measurement models. At the end of the course, students will gain the ability to set up and manage a system for detecting and analyzing economic and financial information useful for governing organizations. Students will learn the usage of accounting-based methodologies useful to analyze problems and identify coherent solutions. Finally, students will be able to master the technical-economic vocabulary of the management control function

Course contents

The course is structured to prepare students to make financially rational decisions useful for achieving company objectives. It provides knowledge on cost analysis, the behaviour of costs, revenues, volumes and profits when operational decisions change, understanding of operational levers, cost estimation and the creation of company dashboards for monitoring performance.

The course is both theoretical and practical. It presents different accounting tools that are required to successfully run businesses.

The course is divided into two parts:

Part 1 (30 hours)

Professor Magali Fia will teach in the months of September and October. At the end of the lessons there is a partial (mid-term) exam which concerns only the contents of Part 1.

Part 2 (30 hours)

Professor Alessandro Capodaglio will teach in the months of November and December. At the end of the first semester of lessons there is a total written exam, which deals with the contents of Part 1 and Part 2. Students who have passed the partial exam with Professor Magali, can take a second partial exam focusing only on Part 2.

Readings/Bibliography

Horngren, C.T., Sundem, G.L., D. Burgstahler, J. Schatzberg, M. Agliati e A. Ditillo Programmazione e Controllo, Pearson, 2020 (17° o 18° edizione).

Books chapters to study will be disclosed by the teacher at the beginning of classes

Note: Supplementary materials, slides, case studies, articles, and reports listed on the course website are to be considered an integral part of the syllabus.

Teaching methods

The teaching methods are a combination of lectures (presentations and related explanations), interactive lessons, seminars, exercises and discussion questions on specific topics. Whenever possible, seminars held by visiting international professors or managers will be organized

Assessment methods

The final exam is a written exam

The written exam is made by multiple choice questions, open questions and exercises. The exam is designed to assess the knowledge of students and their ability to use the concepts to solve problems.

Students have to enrol to the exam through Almaesami (this is compulsory).

Students might be organized in shifts on the same day, if their number exceed a certain threshold.

Attending classes in presence or not will not be evalutated by the professor.

Students will pass the exam with a grade of at least 18 out of 30. The following structure indicates the range of possible grandes:

< 18: insufficient (not passed)

18-23: sufficient

24-27: good

28-30: very good

30 cum laude: excellent

Teaching tools

https://virtuale.unibo.it

Office hours

See the website of Magalì Fia

See the website of Alessandro Capodaglio