Overview
ACCT 356 provides intermediate coverage of managerial accounting concepts and the use of managerial accounting tools for strategic planning, measurement, and analysis. Students will develop an understanding of the role of management accounting information in building and managing a company’s strategies—whether for a for-profit or nonprofit organization.
Learning outcomes
After completing this course, students should be able to:
- apply the Diamond-E framework to organize the facts underlying a strategic analysis.
- describe and apply the elements of an effective case analysis.
- apply important strategic concepts such as core competence, distinctive competence, and sustainable competitive advantage.
- explain the six criteria in the FAROUT system of analysis.
- explain how the Boston Consulting Group’s (BCG) growth/share portfolio matrix and the General Electric business screen matrix are used for strategy.
- develop and interpret Porter’s five forces analysis for a particular industry.
- undertake a SWOT analysis for a given firm and explain the implications of the analysis for the organization’s strategy.
- apply customer segmentation analysis and explain the strategic implications of the segments.
- describe attribute/cost models of customer value analysis and describe the steps underlying resource base view (RBV) of strategic analysis.
- explain how to implement an issue analysis process, describe STEEP analysis, and identify the role and limitations of scenario analysis.
- describe the concept of the experience curve and the use of the growth vector matrix.
- describe the use of patent analysis, s-curve analysis, and the importance of the product life cycle concept for strategic planning.
- identify the five basic financial ratio types and use them to analyze a particular organization.
- explain strategic budgeting, describe its relevance to strategic planning, and use strategic cost management concepts to analyze organization costs.
- identify the data required to evaluate customer profitability and undertake a customer profitability analysis.
Evaluation
To receive credit for ACCT 356, you must achieve a composite course grade of at least D (50 percent) and a grade of at least 50 percent on the final examination. The weighting of the composite grade is as follows:
| Activity | Weight |
| Data Analytics Lab | 10% |
| Assignment 1 | 15% |
| Assignment 2 | 15% |
| Discussion Forums | 15% |
| Final Exam | 45% |
| Total | 100% |
The final examination for this course must be requested in advance and written under the supervision of an AU-approved exam invigilator. Invigilators include either ProctorU or an approved in-person invigilation centre that can accommodate online exams. Students are responsible for payment of any invigilation fees. Information on exam request deadlines, invigilators, and other exam-related questions, can be found at the Exams and grades section of the Calendar.
To learn more about assignments and examinations, please refer to Athabasca University’s online Calendar.
Note: Students planning to transfer this course to a Chartered Professional Accountant designation are advised that they will be required to achieve a grade higher than the minimum passing grade. See CPA Requirements for details.
Materials
Digital course materials
Links to the following course materials will be made available in the course:
Datar, S. M., Rajan, M. V., Beaubien, L., & Janz, S. (2021). Horngren's Cost Accounting: A Managerial Emphasis (9th Canadian Edition) (Chapters 14, 17, 23). ISBN 978-0-13-655821-7
Pinto, J. (2019). Project Management (5th Edition) (Chapter 8). ISBN 13: 978-0-134-73033-2
David, F.R.D.F.R.D.M. E. (2023). Strategic Management: A Competitive Advantage Approach (18th Edition) (Chapters 3, 4, 5, 10). ISBN-13: 978-0-13-789766-7
Print textbooks are not available for purchase.
Other Resources
All other learning resources will be available online.
A sample lesson is available for you to review.
Software Requirements
You will require a Windows operating system (PC) to install the Power BI software required for the Data Analytics Lab. All other course requirements can be completed on a PC or a Mac computer. Mac users who enrol in this course may need to make special provisions to complete the Lab using a PC and may wish to contact the Course Coordinator before registering. All other learning resources will be available online.