AF6010 - Strategic Management Accounting

You will learn through lectures, seminars and guided and independent learning. The lectures will cover theories and concepts that will enable you to build your knowledge of Strategic Management Accounting. You will also explore these concepts in more detail during seminars and apply them to real life and hypothetical scenarios.

The universities e-learning portal will be used to house information and materials relevant to the lectures and seminars. You will be guided towards further independent study thought the use of academic journals and relevant industry media articles.

The module has a supporting reading list on the library service that provides you with an opportunity to explore the subject in more detail.

Your directed study will support the work you have undertaken in the contact sessions. You will be expected to keep up-to-date with your seminar exercises. To aid with formative feedback and self-assessment on progress, solutions to these exercises will be made available to you on the e-learning portal.
Independent learning time is set aside for learning activities, self-identified by you, to gain a deeper and broader knowledge of the subject.

Support will be provided to you by members of academic staff leading the module and providing the lecture input. A team of academic staff will be allocated to seminar groups of approximately 20 students.

Seminars are designed to provide closer, more personal support for you, your questions and knowledge following the lectures allowing you to gain clarity, confidence and furthering understanding.

Lectures will be recorded using Panopto so students may review the lectures to recap on concepts as needed.

The module is supported through the University’s e-learning portal (Blackboard) where you will find all the required materials for lectures, seminars and directed learning. All recommended readings will be easily accessible via an electronic reading list.

The module is designed to support both assessment for learning (through formative feedback gained in seminars) and indeed, these aforementioned activities will also support the assessment of learning.

All modules at Northumbria include a range of reading materials that students are expected to engage with. Online reading lists (provided after enrolment) give you access to your reading material for your modules. The Library works in partnership with your module tutors to ensure you have access to the material that you need.

Knowledge & Understanding:

• You will be expected to demonstrate critical understanding of Strategic Management Accounting concepts and framework and be able to apply this knowledge to scenarios thereby providing justifiable solutions (MLO1).

Intellectual / Professional skills & abilities:

• Apply and evaluate budgeting and costing techniques and their implication on performance and use financial and non-financial criteria, to critically evaluate business performance (MLO2).


Personal Values Attributes (Global / Cultural awareness, Ethics, Curiosity) (PVA):

• You will develop, reinforce and critically evaluate the ethical characteristics of a Northumbria graduate as you consider the ethical and professional codes of conduct applicable to professionals such as accountants in corporate organisations and reflect on how they link with your own values (MLO3).

Formative assessment will take place through group work, assignment discussion, case study activity and theory/practice related discussions in the context of a teaching and learning plan.

Summative assessment will take the form of a 3,000 word report, with a small numerical element, addressing the learning outcomes for the unit. This will involve applying given SMA concepts to a selected scenario (MLO1, MLO2 & MLO3).

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On this module you will develop an understanding of the nature of Strategic Management Accounting and its use in strategic decision making, planning and control. There is emphasis on the use of information that relates to factors external to the firm, as well as non-financial and internally generated information. Historic approaches of traditional management accounting have been criticised for providing misleading information and are compared and contrasted to more modern methods of Strategic Management Accounting to assist in business decision making.

By the end of this module you will develop critical evaluation skills necessary for your career. This will be gained through critically evaluating Strategic Management Accounting concepts and applying them to practice. You will acquire analytical, analysis and evaluating skills that are important for employment purposes.