The content, assignments, and assessments for Accounting for Managers are aligned to the following learning outcomes. A full list of course learning outcomes can be viewed here: Accounting For Managers

Module 1: Manipulate numerical expressions involving fractions, decimals, and percents

Make calculations with whole numbers of varying magnitude

• Make calculations with whole numbers of varying magnitude
• Round whole numbers to a determined place value
• Use addition, substraction, multiplication, and division when evaluation whole number expressions

Make calculations with proper fractions, improper fractions, and mixed numbers

• Identify different types of fractions and convert between them
• Use addition and subtraction when evaluating with fractions
• Use multiplication and division when evaluating expressions with fractions

Make calculations with decimals of varying magnitude

• Use place value to define all digits of a decimal number
• Use addition and subtraction when evaluating expressions with decimals
• Use multiplication and division when evaluating expressions with decimals
• Convert decimals to fractions and fractions to decimals

Make calculations using percents or finding percents

• Use ratios to solve simple word problems
• Use percent to represent a given fraction or decimal
• Evaluate expressions and word problems involving percents
• Solve problems involving percent increase and decrease

Module 2: Apply math skills to solve problems with a variable of unknown value

Solve single and multi-step equations for a given variable

• Define and identify variables
• Use the addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division properties to solve single-step equations
• Solving multi-step equations with variables on both sides

Write and solve equations from word problems

• Translating simple word phases into math notation
• Use a problem solving strategy to set up and solve word problems

Solve equations for word problems that contain fractions, decimals, and percents

• Use mathematical questions to solve mark-up problems
• Use mathematical questions to solve discount problems
• Calculate simple and compound interest
• Solve any given formula for a specific variable

Use tables and graphs to visually represent numerical data

• Graph points on a coordinate plane
• Recognize the trend of a graph
• Calculate the rate of change using data points and graphical presentation
• Compare and contrast graphical data to decipher information and make decisions

Module 3: Identify the Major Principles of Accounting

Describe the place of finance and accounting within a business

• Discuss the roles of finance and accounting in a business
• Summarize the background and sources of financial accounting standards
• Demonstrate how ethics applies to the field of accounting

Discuss the financial consequences of various organizational structures

• Outline the variety of accounting roles internal and external to a business
• Differentiate between functional and divisional organization
• Describe the legal implications of a business’ organization on its accounting
• Summarize the information provided in a corporation’s annual report

Explore the fundamentals of accounting

• Define the accounting entity and discuss the going concern concept
• Identify the major underlying accounting principles of consistency, full disclosure, materiality, verifiability and conservatism
• Explain the accounting concept

Module 4: Describe the different types of business organizations and the financial statements they rely on

Examine the elements of common financial statements

• Define transactions
• Solving the accounting equation
• Identify general categories of accounts
• Describe the double entry bookkeeping system
• Explain how key financial statements are structured

Discuss the bookkeeping process and the overall effects of transactions

• Illustrate the expanded accounting equation
• Define common bookkeeping terms and phrases
• Construct bookkeeping journal entries based on given parameters
• Analyze the relationships between key financial statements
• Identify important information found on key financial statements

Analyze data from financial statements

• Describe how inventories are reported on balance sheets and income statements
• Demonstrate how current assets are reported on the balance sheet
• Show how noncurent assets are reported on the balance sheet
• Describe the presentation of stockholder’s equity on the balance sheet and statement of owners’ equity
• Discuss how expenses are reported on the income statement
• Explain how expenses are reported on the income statement

Explore how other financial components are accounted for and presented

• Compute core financial ratios that communicate essential information
• Calculate return on investment
• Calculating return on equity
• Analyze other key ratios to interpret financial statement data
• Discuss the limitations of financial statements

Module 5: Define managerial accounting, its key elements, and its role in a business

Describe the difference between financial and managerial accounting

• Compare and contrast financial and managerial accounting
• Explain the key components of managerial accounting
• Analyze the relationship between financial and managerial accounting and how they are compartmentalized within modern businesses

Examine the various managerial accounting perspectives throughout an organization

• Identify the roles/people in a business who take on managerial accounting decisions
• Explain how accounting affects strategy development
• Explain how accounting is tied to risk management planning
• Explain how accounting decisions are influenced by both employee and leadership beliefs and needs

Module 6: Predict fixed, mixed, and variable cost behaviors

Classify costs to better understand the business expenses

• Differentiate between product costs and period costs
• Classify a variety of manufacturing costs
• Define and give examples of fixed and variable costs
• Describe the relevant range and its use in managerial accouning

Summarize the key elements of mixed cost analysis

• Define and outline examples of mixed costs in retail and manufacturing businesses
• Define dependent variable and independent variable
• Analyze mixed costs using the high-low method
• Use the least-squares regression method to create a regression line on a graph of cost data

Module 7: Compare and contrast job costing, process costing, activity costing for tracking business costs

Discuss the importance of cost management

• Describe the relationship between cost management and managerial accounting relating to the value chain
• Differentiate between direct and indirect costs

Examine the job order cost accounting system

• Describe a situation in which job order costing is used
• Calculate an overhead rate, manufacturing overhead, and unit costs
• Explain the flow of costs in a job order costing system
• Prepare a sample journal entry that records job order costs

Examine the process cost accounting system

• Compare and contrast job order and process costing
• Explain the flow of costs in a process costing system
• Calculate equivalent units of production and costs per equivalent unit using the weighted average and FIFO method
• Prepare sample cost reconciliation journals for both the weighted average and FIFO methods
• Discuss how to allocate service costs as operations costs using the direct and step-down methods

Examine the benefits and limitations of both cost accounting methods

• Describe situations in which activity-based absorption costing is used
• Illustrate the difference between tradition costing and activity-based absorption costing

Module 8: Use cost-volume-profit relationships to predict the effects of possible changes to those varriables

Describe the key elements of cost-volume-profit analysis

• List the factors associated with cost-volume-profit analysis
• Outline the contribution margin model
• Calculate net operating income using the profit equation
• Compute the contribution margin ratio

Illustrate the application of cost-volume-profit concepts

• Explain why changes to key cost-volume-profit factors can significantly affect planning and decision making
• Prepare a statement that shows a charge in fixed cost and sales volume
• Prepare a statement that shows a charge in variable costs and sales volume
• Prepare a statement that shows a change in fixed cost, selling price and sales volume
• Prepare a statement that shows change in variable cost, fixed cost and sales volume

Examine various methods of break-even analysis

• Define the break-even point
• Determine the break-even point using the equation method, the formula method, and in dollar sales and sales units
• Define target profit analysis and use it to make sales volume calculations
• Compute margin of safety
• Analyze the break-even point data for a company that wants to adjust its sales mix

Identify cost-volume-profit considerations for choosing a cost structure

• Compare and contrast sample cost structures for company strengths and weakness
• Describe operating leverage and use it to evaluate sample cost structures

Module 9: Interpret all aspects of an operating budget

Discuss the purpose of an master budget

• Describe the advantages of budgeting to a business
• Define responsibility accounting
• Differentiate between alternative budget periods
• Identify the benefits of self-imposed and participatory budgeting

Illustrate the use of accounting data in a prepared master budget

• Summarize the impact of the sales forecast on the master budget
• Outline the sequence of components of the master budget
• Create a production budget
• Create a direct materials budget
• Create a direct labor budget
• Create a manufacturing overhead budget
• Create an ending inventory budget
• Create a selling and administrative budget
• Create a cash budget
• Create a budgeted income statement
• Create a budgeted balance sheet

Outline the effects of flexible budgeting on budgetary control

• Describe the shortcomings of a statistic budget
• Create a flexible budget report that shows sales, activity, labor, or cost variances
• Create a flexible budget report that shows multiple cost drivers

Module 10: Identify problems using cost variance analysis

Discuss the basic principles of cost variance analysis

• Identify the four steps of simple cost variance analysis
• Differentiate between favorable and unfavorable variances
• Determine if a variance is significant

Discuss different types of material variances

• Analyze the variance between expected material cost and actual material costs
• Analyze the variance between standard unit price and actual price of materials purchased
•  Analyze the variance between expected amount of materials purchased and the actual amount of materials purchased
• Discuss strategies to limit and reduce material variances

Discuss different types of labor variances

• Estimate expected labor costs
• Analyze the variance between expected labor cost and actual labor costs
• Discuss strategies to limit and reduce labor variances

Discuss the variable manufacturing overhead variances

• Analyze the variance between expected variable manufacturing overhead cost and actual variable manufacturing overly costs
• Analyze the variance between expected variable manufacturing overhead efficiency and actual variable manufacturing overhead efficiency
• Discuss strategies to limit and reduce variable manufacturing overhead variances

Module 11: Determine relevant revenues and costs for both short and long-term decision making

Explore cost types that affect decision making

• Define differential cost
• Describe avoidable costs
• Recognize sunk costs
• Identify opportunity costs
• Summarize the concept of different costs analyzed for different purposes

Recognize relevant costs for common business decisions

• Identify the data needed to support an add or drop decision
• Identify the data needed to support a make or buy decision
• Identify the data needed to support a special order decision

Determine the profitability of making changes to a constrained resource

• Described a constrained resource in retail business

Module 12: Present a variety of managerial decisions based on differential analysis

Discuss the process of managerial decision-making and the factors involved

• Explain the process of differential analysis
• Analyze qualitative factors that can also affect managerial decisions

Analyze data to create reports and make business decisions

• Create a report outlining the data to support a customer elimination decision
• Create a report outlining the data to support an add or drop decision
• Create a report outlining the data to support a make or buy decision
• Create a report outlining the data to support a sell or process further decision
• Create a report outlining the data to support a special order decision
• Create a report outlining the data to support a cost-plus pricing or target costing decision

Module 13: Analyze a statement of cash flows

Discuss key financial principles needed to produce and analyze a statement of cashflows

• Explain the nature of non-cash activities
• Identify cash flows that result from operating activities
• Identify cash flows that result from investing activites
• Identify cash flows that result from financing activities

Distinguish between the Direct and Indirect methods of preparing a statement of cash flow

• Calculate cash flows from operating activities by the indirect method
• Calculate cash flows from operating activities by the direct method

Prepare a statement of cash flow and describe how it can be used to evaluate a business

• Differentiate between net and gross cash flows
• Prepare a statement of cash flow using that indirect method
• Describe how cash flow factors can be used to improve or evaluate a business

Module 14: Describe the financial and non-financial data that managers use to measure performance

Identify common non-financial measures of performance and discuss their impact on an organization

• Discuss non-financial components of the balanced scorecard
• Describe what a performance report is

Analyze an organization’s financial performance

• Perform a trend analysis on a financial statement
• Perform a common-size analysis on a financial statement
• Perform a ratio analysis on a financial statement

Evaluate an organization’s performance using financial and non-financial data

• Evaluate a for-profit organization’s performance using financial and non-financial data
• Evaluate a non-profit organization’s performance using financial and non-financial data

Module 15: Explain how capital budgeting is used in decision making

Discuss capital budgeting

• Discuss the steps in the capital budgeting process
• Identify situations that require capital budgeting decision making
• Discuss the time value of money

Differentiate between the different capital budget methods

• Describe the pay-back method
• Describe the internal rate of return method
• Describe the net present value method
• Describe the simple rate of return method

Describe different ways to identify and measure potential risk of investments

• Evaluate a party’s risk aversion when proposing investment opportunities

Discuss different influences on making capital budgeting decisions

• Analyze a possible replacement projects to determine if it should be implemented
• Conduct a postaudit on an example case to determine if the expected results were achieved

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