Course detail

Finance and Accounting for Business Strategy

FP-fabsPAcad. year: 2021/2022

Not applicable.

Language of instruction

English

Number of ECTS credits

5

Mode of study

Not applicable.

Learning outcomes of the course unit

Knowledge: The students can explain the role of managerial accounting, finance and management control in the business. They know principles and methods of compiling of the financial plan (strategic and operational) and budgets. Students also know various methods for financial performance evaluation. Moreover, they are aware of criticism of financial ratios. They know how to describe the basic strategic investment decision-making tasks. Also they know how to raise additional capital in the business and are able to perform calculation of capital costs.

Skills: Students are able to create both, strategic and operational financial plan. They can handle a single-step and multi-step calculation of contribution margin. Students can use cost-volume-profit calculation. They can analyze deviations from established plan. They are able to choose the appropriate approach to measuring and considering risks, not only in strategic investment decision making, but in management control.

Abilities: Students are able to develop strategic and operational plan, esp. budget for different scenarios. They can compare this plan with current status, to analyze variances and find their causes. They are able to comprehensively judge the financial efficiency of business as well as investment project, including risk analysis. Students are able to orient themselves in financial and managerial accounting topics, can make oral presentations on their work and carry responsibility for the correctness of their results.

Prerequisites

For study of the course, students must have/be able to:

  • A knowledge and understanding of the content of financial statements.

  • An ability to solve equations and calculate minimum and maximum values of functions, working out function graphs in various rasters.

  • Knowing the relationship between graphs and numerical formulation.

  • A knowledge of structure and creation of the business’s strategic and operational plan including relations among its parts.

  • Perform product cost calculations.

Co-requisites

Not applicable.

Planned learning activities and teaching methods

The course is made up of lectures that explain the basic principles, problems and methodology of the discipline. The lectures combines theory with illustrative solutions of examples. Lectures are given biweekly and each lasts for 100 minutes. There is 6 lectures in total.

Seminars support particular practical knowledge of the material presented in the lecture. Seminars are held every two weeks and each lasts for 100 minutes. There are 6 seminars in total.

Assesment methods and criteria linked to learning outcomes

Requirements for gaining the credit:

  • Active participation in seminars, individual assessment by the teacher (max. 10 points) – calculation of examples (set in e-learning), presentation of approaches and results.

  • 1 credit test at previously set date. The test will include 4 examples, the maximum score from test is 20 points. To pass the test a score of at least 60%, i.e. 12 points, is needed. The test can only be resat once.

  • A students will gain a credit if they have at least 60% of the total possible number of points from the seminars (max. 30 points) and at the same time gets at least 60% in the tests, i.e. min. 12 points. The assessment from the seminars is entered into the overall assessment of the course with a weighting of 30%.

Examination requirements:

Knowledge is verified by a written and oral examination. Only students who have applied in university information system and have the credit entered will be allowed to sit the examination. The examination is made up of 1 theoretical question and 1 case study. The written examination lasts 45 minutes. The maximum score for the written examination is 50 points. Then the oral part of exam follows. The maximum score for the oral examination is 20 points. The resulting assessment of the course is the sum of the points scored from the seminars, written and oral examination. The examination is classified according to the ECTS scale. Incorrect or illegible answers are assessed as unsatisfactory.

Course curriculum

  1. Strategic planning and operational planning: Purposes of planning; Planning cycles; Target setting; Cost-Volume-Profit analysis in planning
  2. Budgeting: Uses of budgets; From the master budget towards operating and cash budget; Strategic point of view: Net working capital; Credit management; Exchange rate risk; Single-step and multi-step calculation and use of contribution margin; Strengths and weaknesses of traditional budgeting; Alternative approaches to budgeting
  3. Financial performance evaluation: Performance measurement beyond financial; Financial ratios; Typical performance measures in various sectors (logistics, manufacturing, marketing); Using performance measures in business (time trend analysis, benchmarking); Major criticism of financial ratios
  4. Strategic investment decision making: Principles and assumptions; Methods for efficiency evaluation and their limits; Risk in investments, investment portfolio
  5. Variance analysis, managing corrective actions to fulfil planned objectives: Profit, revenues, contribution margin, fix and variable costs
  6. Selected instruments of strategic management accounting and control: External vs. internal factors; Environmental analysis; Industry analysis; Portfolio matrix; Business potential analysis

Work placements

Not applicable.

Aims

The main objective of the course is to introduce students with essential concepts, current trends and challenges in the area of the managerial accounting and finance management and control main processes, such as strategic planning and budgeting, financial performance measurement, strategic investment decision making, and new developments in financial management and control, all with special focus on international businesses.

Specification of controlled education, way of implementation and compensation for absences

Attendance at lectures is not compulsory, but is recommended. Attendance at seminars is checked by the tutor. Lessons are composed on the basis of biweekly schedules. Way of substituting missed lessons is fully in competence of a teacher.

Recommended optional programme components

Not applicable.

Prerequisites and corequisites

Basic literature

CHARIFZADEH, Michel and Andreas TASCHNER, 2017. Management accounting and control: tools and concepts in a Central European context. Weinheim: Wiley-VCH. ISBN 978-3-527-50821-1.

(EN)

MERCHANT, Kenneth A and Wim A VAN DER STEDE, 2012. Management control systems: performance measurement, evaluation and incentives. 3rd ed. New York: Financial Times/Prentice Hall, 815 p. ISBN 02-737-3761-9.

(EN)

BAKER, H. Kent and Philip ENGLISH, 2011. Capital budgeting valuation: financial analysis for today's investment projects. Hoboken, N.J.: John Wiley. ISBN 978-0-470-56950-4.

(EN)

Recommended reading

BERGER Alexander, 2011. Standard Costing, Variance Analysis and Decision-Making. GRIN Verlag. ISBN 978-3-6409-5598-5.

(EN)

COKINS, Gary, 2009. Performance management: integrating strategy execution, methodologies, risk, and analytics. Hoboken, N.J.: Wiley. Wiley and SAS business series. ISBN 978-0-470-44998-1.

(EN)

DAMODARAN, Aswath, 2012. Investment valuation: tools and techniques for determining the value of any asset. Third edition. Hoboken: John Wiley. Wiley finance series. ISBN 978-1-118-13073-5.

(EN)

Classification of course in study plans

  • Programme MGR-EBF Master's, 2. year of study, winter semester, compulsory
  • Programme MGR-IBM Master's, 2. year of study, winter semester, compulsory

Type of course unit

 

Lecture

13 hours, optionally

Teacher / Lecturer

Syllabus

  1. Strategic planning and operational planning: Purposes of planning; Planning cycles; Target setting; Cost-Volume-Profit analysis in planning
  2. Budgeting: Uses of budgets; From the master budget towards operating and cash budget; Strategic point of view: Net working capital; Credit management; Exchange rate risk; Single-step and multi-step calculation and use of contribution margin; Strengths and weaknesses of traditional budgeting; Alternative approaches to budgeting
  3. Financial performance evaluation: Performance measurement beyond financial; Financial ratios; Typical performance measures in various sectors (logistics, manufacturing, marketing); Using performance measures in business (time trend analysis, benchmarking); Major criticism of financial ratios
  4. Strategic investment decision making: Principles and assumptions; Methods for efficiency evaluation and their limits; Risk in investments, investment portfolio
  5. Variance analysis, managing corrective actions to fulfil planned objectives: Profit, revenues, contribution margin, fix and variable costs
  6. Selected instruments of strategic management accounting and control: External vs. internal factors; Environmental analysis; Industry analysis; Portfolio matrix; Business potential analysis

Exercise

13 hours, compulsory

Teacher / Lecturer

Syllabus

  1. Cost-Volume-Profit analysis in planning.

  2. Single-step and multi-step calculation and use of contribution margin.

  3. Budgeting, target costing, zero based budgeting.

  4. Investment efficiency evaluation.

  5. Variance analysis (standard costing).

  6. Final test.