MSc Management / Course details

This course offers a comprehensive, self-contained introduction to both financial and management accounting for students with no prior background in the subject. It covers the fundamental concepts, principles, and techniques of financial reporting, emphasizing practical application in real-world business and social contexts. The course also introduces essential management accounting tools used by decision-makers to plan, control, and analyze organizational performance. Designed to be accessible and relevant, it equips non-specialists with the vital knowledge and skills needed to interpret financial information confidently and use it strategically. Ideal for students seeking a foundational understanding of accounting to support future studies or careers in business, management, or finance, this course provides a clear, practical pathway to developing essential business skills in a supportive learning environment. 

BMAN73071 Programme Req: BMAN73071 is only available as a core unit to students on MSc Management

The aim of this accounting course is to provide students with an understanding of both external and internal aspects of accounting. It covers financial accounting, which focuses on the preparation and presentation of financial information for stakeholders such as investors, debtholders, suppliers, and government, as well as management accounting, which is concerned with internal decision-making processes within an organization. Recognizing that these two areas have distinct characteristics and serve different audiences, the course is designed to be a self-contained introduction for students who are not specialists in accounting and finance. Its primary goal is to equip learners with the essential knowledge and skills necessary for making informed and effective business decisions, preparing them to apply accounting principles in various professional contexts. 

Knowledge and understanding 
KU1 Identify and explain elementary terminology of financial and management accounting.

KU2 Apply accounting principles to preparing simple financial statements, including the Statement of Financial Position (SOFP), Income Statement, and Cash Flow Statement.

Intellectual skills 
IS1 Explain the use of cost and management accounting techniques within their broader organisational and environmental context

Practical skills 
PS1 Calculate financial ratios and use these ratios to analyse a set of simple financial statements, making critical judgements based on that analysis.

Transferable skills and personal qualities 
TS1 Describe the behavioural, organisational, and social dimensions affecting the design of managerial accounting and control systems in organisations    

There will be ten lectures and one revision session, structured around the following topics:

1. Financial versus Management Accounting, Introduction to Financial Accounting 
2. The Income Statement  
3. Accounting for Limited Liability Companies, (Example- focused) 
4. The Statement of Cash Flows 
5. Financial Ratios  
6. Costs, cost behaviour, and cost analysis  
7. Accounting for managerial decision making 
8. Principles of cost allocation 
9. Budgeting for planning and control 
10. Capital investment appraisal 
11. Revision lecture

Delivery is a mix of lectures, seminars, online tutorials and the online resource 
Canvas. The course is delivered under 10 topics. Please familiarise yourself with the structure of the module website on Canvas including the various content 
folders created by the course convenors. You will find these folders by clicking the link 
‘Course Content’ on the main left hand-side menu.

Lectures are used to introduce context, concepts and techniques. This is where much of the content which you will need to understand to do well in this module. Lectures slides will be available via the Canvas module website at least one day before your scheduled lecture slots. Although the lectures will be recorded and posted on the 
Canvas automatically by end of Thursday, the podcast shouldn’t be used as a 
substitute for attending lectures. Also, there may be occasional technical failures that 
prevent the podcast from being recorded and published, which unfortunately is not 
possible to retrospectively fix them. Attendance will be monitored for lectures. 
Seminars are used as a way of helping to develop your understanding of concepts, 
providing an opportunity to practice some of the techniques introduced and to consider 
problems and issues based on cases and examples. In this way, the seminar exercises 
build on and supplement the lectures. These seminars will be interactive, and your 
participation is expected. The seminar exercises will be posted to Canvas in advance of each seminar.

Attendance will be monitored for seminars.

Online Tutorials (pre-recorded videos) in the Financial Accounting part of the course 
are used to demonstrate how to prepare a simple set of accounts, i.e., income statement (profit and loss account), statement of financial position (balance sheet) and cash flow statement. In Management Accounting, online tutorials emphasize how to conduct CVP analysis, identify relevant and full costs, and how to prepare a budget. The tutorials will be pre-recorded and will be available via the Canvas module website. You are encouraged to attempt the questions in your private study time before watching the videos.

 

100% written examination

Written and in class

The recommended text is McLaney, E. and Atrill, P. (2014) Accounting and Finance : An Introduction 7th edition published by Pearson. But please check that you get the most up to date version at the time of purchase. Also please ensure that you get the correct book including both financial and management accounting chapters - these authors have a number of different titles.

Informal Contact Method

Office Hours

Online Learning Activities (blogs, discussions, self-assessment questions)