Understand the impact of cost data on business decisions and more.
Format: Online
Duration: 8 weeks
In ACCT 6201 Managerial Accounting for Decision Makers, you will examine every aspect of cost data and how it relates to decision making, planning and control. More than just numbers and columns, accounting information can be an effective management tool if leveraged correctly. You will gain insight into the versatility of this data as well as how accounting practices are evolving in manufacturing, service delivery technologies and more. Through this case study-oriented course, you will become familiar with the two basic types of product costing systems as well as the concept of cost flow. From how process costing measures the costs of direct labor, direct materials, and overhead costs for each process, department, or function, to value-based systems that help companies manufacture and deliver products and services while minimizing waste, you will discover methods for improving operations and lowering costs.
You will examine cost behavior in terms of fixed, variable, and semi-variable type costs, as well as the concept of cost-volume- profit analysis. While learning about the budgeting process, you will see how operating and financial budgets differ and how each is used. You will explore the flexible budgeting process and see how return on investment, economic value added, and residual income are used. At the heart on any budget is the cash flow statement and you will gain appreciation for its role as you learn how to prepare a cash flow statement for use as an analytical tool.
What You Will Learn in ACCT 6201
Despite a manager’s best intentions, budgets are rarely permanent. You will see how to report budget variances and learn how they can be used to evaluate performance and control costs. Managers use incremental analyses to make decisions that affect an organization's activities in a short time window. You will examine that process as well as price-setting methods used to establish the prices of services and goods.
Sample Assignment
After choosing a real organization, you will consider new projects or business opportunities that warrant consideration for that company. Throughout the course, you will develop a proposal detailing your recommendations.
Every organization must provide financial information to creditors, investors, the IRS, the SEC, and/or local governments about its financial health and performance. Therefore, monthly, quarterly, and annual financial reporting is necessary. While, as a manager, you may not be directly responsible for preparing these reports, it’s vital that you comprehend them at a detailed level as they also gauge organizational performance and guide employee compensation decisions.
Course Topics
Throughout this course, weekly topics may include but are not limited to:
- Managerial Accounting — Cost Concepts and Job Order Costing
- Process Costing Systems and Value Based Costing Systems
- Cost-Volume-Profit Analysis and the Budgeting Process
- Flexible Budgets, Performance Analysis, and Cash Flow Statements
- Standard Costing and Variance Analysis
- Short-Run Decision Analysis and Pricing Decisions
- Capital Investment Analysis
- Financial Statement Analysis
Course Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion of ACCT 6201, you will be able to:
- Define cost accounting concepts.
- Evaluate the nature of costs in a given business situation and identify the business drivers behind those costs.
- Calculate and record product costs using job order, process and activity based costing methodologies.
- Measure the profitability of decentralized business segments.
- Evaluate capital budget alternatives and apply managerial accounting concepts to management decision making.
- Analyze the effectiveness of short-run decision models.
- Apply key types of financial performance measurement tools to analyze financial statements.
Request More Information Today
To learn more about the online Master of Business Administration curriculum from Benedictine University, including Managerial Accounting, call (866) 295-3104 to speak with a program manager or request more information.
Course content and outcomes may vary and are subject to change without notice.