Management Control Systems

Prof. Michel J. Lebas
Spring -- 1 credit
 
The objective of this course is to allow students to develop and reinforce their understanding of -- and their ability to use, as managers -- some key tools and thinking patterns of cost accounting, management accounting, cost management and performance guidance systems (also known as "management control systems") so as to maximize the long-term overall performance of a business (whether for --or not for-- profit.)

This course is designed for the generalist decision-making manager.  Topics that will be discussed include the following:
•  Cost concepts and behavior;
•  Costing systems;
•  Cost volume profit analysis;
•  Cost allocation and activity-based costing;
•  Customer profitability evaluation;
•  Cost information and decision-making;
•  Budgetary planning and control;
•  Standard costs and variance analysis;
•  Decentralization of responsibilities and performance evaluation;
•  Balanced Score Card (or Tableau de Bord) and strategy deployment and implementation.

The course explores the kind of support and assistance a managerial information system can provide the manager for her or his decision-making. 
•  Decision-making is about resource allocation (Which customer segments to target? Which product is the most profitable? Etc?) .
•  Organizations have to be designed to be economically efficient and to create customer value as well as stockholder value.
•  Managers achieve results through other people (through subordinates -delegation-- and in coordinating with peers).  The course has therefore a large behavioral content about the processes of distribution of decision-rights, evaluation of performance and allocation and use resources. 

The course works from two perspectives:

(1) An acquisition of tools for describing the operations of the firm and the dynamics of resource consumption and revenue generation; and

(2) The use of these tools in decision making with:

•  A strategic viewpoint, in order to identify guidelines for designing a goal congruent information system, and, in reverse,
•  A diagnostic approach, acknowledging that one must evaluate the implicit strategic limitations of any existing performance guidance system, managerial and cost information system and their ancillary procedures.