ACC313

Management Accounting

Management Sciences
300 level
3 credit units
260 pages
15 units

This course equips students with fundamental cost and management accounting techniques. It covers costing principles, cost accounting systems, and cost behavior analysis. Students will learn about budgeting, standard costing, and decision-making under uncertainty. The course also explores performance measurement and relevant financial analysis tools, providing a comprehensive understanding of management accounting practices.

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About this course

Difficulty: Intermediate
Study hours: 208 hours
Maths: Intermediate
Content: Theoretical, practical, case study
Practical work: Yes

How it is assessed

Assignments
Tutor Marked Assessments
Final Examination

What you'll read

The real module and unit structure of ACC313, taken from the course material NOUN publishes.

Module 1

One paragraph, so you can see how it reads

ACC313 · UNIT 1: GENERAL PRINCIPLES OF COSTING

An important step in computation and analysis of cost is the classification of costs into different types. Classification helps in better control of the costs and also helps considerably in decision making. Classification of costs can be made according to the following basis.

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What you should be able to do

Apply costing principles in various business scenarios
Prepare and analyze budgets for effective control
Conduct variance analysis to identify and address deviations
Evaluate investment opportunities using different appraisal techniques
Apply marginal costing in decision-making
Measure and improve organizational performance using financial and non-financial metrics

What it prepares you for

Careers

Management Accountant
Financial Analyst
Cost Accountant
Budget Analyst
Financial Manager

Where it is applied

Manufacturing
Service Industry
Healthcare
Retail
Financial Services

Where it gets hard

The units students slow down on, and what makes each one heavy.

Module 3: Decision Making and Investment Appraisal
Unit 12 Internal Rate of Return
Complex calculations and understanding of present value concepts require strong quantitative skills and financial acumen.
Module 3: Decision Making and Investment Appraisal
Unit 13 Profitability Index
Requires understanding of both time value of money and the ability to compare multiple investment options.

A suggested way through it

Suggested

13 weeks, about 112 hours in total. Yours will differ.

Week 1Module 1: General Principles of Costing
- Unit 1: General Principles of Costing · 8 hours
  Define costing and cost accounting.. Discuss the importance and basic principles of costing.. Differentiate between costing and cost accounting.. Identify the essentials of a good costing system..
Week 2Module 1: General Principles of Costing
- Unit 2: Cost Accounting Systems · 8 hours
  Explain the meaning of cost accounting system.. Compare cost accounting with financial accounting.. Distinguish between cost accounting and management accounting.. Identify the parts of a cost accounting system.. Highlight the necessity for cost accounting system..
Week 3Module 1: General Principles of Costing
- Unit 3: Determination of Cost Behaviour · 8 hours
  Describe the concept of cost behavior.. Identify the reasons for studying cost behavior.. Explain the concept of relevant range.. Identify and describe the types of cost behavior.. Describe a level of activity..
Week 4Module 1: General Principles of Costing
- Unit 4: Element of Cost and Cost estimation Techniques · 8 hours
  Define cost and its elements.. Explain the nature and types of cost classification.. Describe fixed, variable, and semi-variable costs.. Explain the need for cost estimation.. Describe the various cost estimation techniques..
Week 5Module 2: Budgeting and Standard Costing
- Unit 5 Budget and Budgetary Control · 8 hours
  Define budget and budgetary control.. Identify various types of budgets.. Outline budget preparation procedures.. Prepare a cash budget.. Explain the techniques used in budgeting.. Distinguish between forecast and budgets.. Learn about the objectives and organisation of budgetary control..
Week 6Module 2: Budgeting and Standard Costing
- Unit 6 Standard Costing · 8 hours
  Define standard cost and standard costing.. Explain the setting of standards.. Identify the types of standards.. Explain capacity levels.. Discuss the need for revising standards.. Understand the shortcomings of setting standard costs..
Week 7Module 3: Decision Making and Investment Appraisal
- Unit 7: Decision Making under Uncertainty · 8 hours
  Define marginal costing.. Prepare a marginal costing statement.. Discuss the merits and demerits of marginal costing.. Explain absorption costing.. Compare marginal and absorption costing.. Explain the decision process.. Define relevant cost and differential costing..
Week 8Module 3: Decision Making and Investment Appraisal
- Unit 8: Sources of Finance · 8 hours
  Identify short-term sources of finance.. Identify long-term sources of finance.. Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of each source..
Week 9Module 3: Decision Making and Investment Appraisal
- Unit 9 Payback Period · 8 hours
  Explain the meaning of payback period.. Calculate payback period.. Apply decision rules for payback period.. Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of payback period..
Week 10Module 3: Decision Making and Investment Appraisal
- Unit 10 Accounting Rate of Return · 8 hours
  Explain the meaning of accounting rate of return.. Calculate accounting rate of return.. Apply decision rules for accounting rate of return.. Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of accounting rate of return..
Week 11Module 3: Decision Making and Investment Appraisal
- Unit 11 Net Present Value · 8 hours
  Explain the assumptions underlying discounted cash flow appraisal.. Define net present value (NPV).. Calculate net present value.. Apply investment criteria under the NPV approach..
Week 12Module 3: Decision Making and Investment Appraisal
- Unit 12 Internal Rate of Return · 8 hours
  Define internal rate of return (IRR).. Calculate internal rate of return.. Apply investment criteria under the IRR approach.. Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of IRR..
Week 13Module 4: Performance Measurement and Revision
- Unit 13 Profitability Index · 8 hours
  Explain the meaning of profitability index.. Calculate profitability index.. Apply decision rules for profitability index.. Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of profitability index..
- Final Revision · 8 hours
  Review all units. Work on assignments. Prepare for final examination.

Preparing for the exam

What to do

Create a detailed study schedule allocating time for each unit.
Practice solving numerical problems from each unit, focusing on formulas and calculations.
Review all Tutor-Marked Assignments (TMAs) and understand the solutions.
Create concept maps linking units on budgeting, costing, and variance analysis.
Focus on understanding the assumptions and limitations of each investment appraisal technique.
Practice decision-making scenarios using marginal costing and CVP analysis.
Review past exam papers to familiarize yourself with the exam format and question types.

Questions students ask about this course

What is ACC313 about?

How many units does ACC313 have?

ACC313, Management Accounting, has 15 units across 1 module, over 260 pages of course material. You can read it one unit at a time.

How many credit units is ACC313?

ACC313 carries 3 credit units, at 300 level in Management Sciences.

Is ACC313 hard?

ACC313 is rated intermediate level, with intermediate mathematical content. It is mostly theoretical, practical and case study work, and it has a practical component.

How long does ACC313 take to study?

About 208 hours of study, spread across its 15 units.

How is ACC313 assessed?

ACC313 is assessed by Assignments, Tutor Marked Assessments and Final Examination.

What can I do with ACC313?

Management Accountant, Financial Analyst, Cost Accountant, Budget Analyst and Financial Manager.