Course Lecturer Name(s): Ronald A Peters
Course Lecturer(s) Contact Information: rapeters@sgu.edu, 444-4175x3612
Course Lecturer(s) Office Hours: Monday, Wednesday 2.30PM to 4.30PM
Course Lecturer(s) Office Location: Winward Hall (Building C)
Course Support: Tracy Fortune, tfortune@sgu.edu, Ext. 3373
Course Management tool: To learn to use Sakai, the Course management tool, access the link https://apps.sgu.edu/members.nsf/mycoursesintro.pdf
Course Description:
This course examines the concepts, tools and procedures underlying the development of a cost accounting system used to support managerial decision making, control and performance reporting. Topics covered include cost measurement, cost allocation, job costing, process costing, Activity based costing. The course will make reference to various types of organisations to demonstrate how cost accounting is used and these include: manufacturing, service, profit seeking, non-profit organisations and government.
Course Objectives:
- Discuss the role of cost accounting in providing in support of Financial Accounting, Managerial Accounting and the creation of value for managers.
- Explain the five step decision making process and its role in Management Accounting.
- Introduce key guidelines for Management Accountants
- Introduce the concept of professional ethics and the role of Accountants in ensuring that the organisation maintain high ethical standards.
- Introduce various cost terms that underpins the understanding of how cost accounting provides information to assist managers in determining the cost of cost objects, in planning, controlling and decision making.
- Discuss the similarities and differences in planning and controlling variable overhead costs and fixed overhead costs.
- Explain the concept of inventory costing and the effect that various capacity level concepts have on inventory costs.
- Discuss the allocation of support department costs, common costs and revenues
- Discuss the allocation of production costs to joint products and by-products
- Explain the five steps used in process costing systems to cost products and services.
Student Learning Outcomes:
- Distinguish between Financial Accounting, Management Accounting and Cost Accounting
- List and discuss the five step decision making process
- Distinguish job costing systems from process costing systems
- Describe the building block concepts of costing systems used to determine the cost of products and services
- Compute variable overhead flexible budget variance, the variable overhead efficiency variance and the variable overhead spending variance.
- Compute fixed overhead flexible budget variance, the fixed overhead spending variance and the fixed overhead production volume variance
- Identify what distinguishes variable costing from absorption costing
- Describe various capacity concepts that can be used in absorption costing
- Allocate multiple support department costs using the direct method and step down method 10. Allocate common costs and revenues using stand-alone method and the incremental method.
- Allocate joint costs to joint products and by products
- Use the five step process-costing sequence to cost products.
- Use the standards included in the Institute of Management Accountants statement of ethical professional practice to respond to ethical senarios
Program Outcomes Met By This Course:
ISLO-1: Students will be able to apply ethical skills to lead and manage in their respective business discipline.
ISLO-5: Students will be able to analyze financial and non-financial reports to assist local and global internal managers and external users in making decisions.
SAS Grading Scale: Grades will be assigned as follows:
A = 89.5% or better
B+ = 84.5 - 89.4%
B = 79.5 - 84.4%
C+ = 74.5 - 79.4%
C = 69.5 - 74.4%
D = 64.5 - 69.4%
F = 64.4% or less
Course Materials:
Text: “Cost Accounting: A managerial Emphasis” by Horngren, Foster and Datar 14th Edition, published by Prentice Hall.
Supplementary Readings/Resources: Available on the ACCT 401 Mycourses course management website (Sakai): These include the syllabus, power point slides, and selected solutions to problems.
Course Grading Requirement:
Grades will be earned as follows:
|
1. Class participation |
10% |
|
2. In class quiz |
30% |
|
3. Mid-term exam |
30% |
|
4. Final exam |
30% |
Course Requirements:
- Participation in class discussions.
- Satisfactory completion of all written assignments
- Successful completion of both in class quizzes.
- Successful completion of mid-term examination and final examination.
Course Schedule:
|
Week |
Topic |
|
|
1 |
Introduction Course design & Administration The manager, Management Accounting & Cost Accounting |
Chapter 1
|
|
2 |
Introduction to cost terms and purposes |
Chapter 2 |
|
3 |
Cost Volume profit Analysis |
Chapter 3 |
|
4 |
Job Costing |
Chapter 4 |
|
5 |
In Class Quiz 1 |
|
|
6 |
Flexible Budgets – Variable overhead cost variances |
Chapter 8 |
|
7 |
Flexible Budgets – Fixed overhead cost variances |
|
|
8 |
MID TERM EXAM |
|
|
9 |
Process Costing |
Chapter 17 |
|
10 |
Inventory Costing |
Chapter 9 |
|
11 |
Capacity Analysis |
Chapter 9 |
|
12 |
In class quiz 2 |
|
|
13 |
Allocation of Support Department costs, common costs and revenues |
Chapter 15 |
|
14 |
Cost Allocation – Joint products and By products |
Chapter 16 |
|
15 |
Cost Allocation – Joint products and Byproducts |
Chapter 16 |
|
16 |
Final Exams |
|
School of Arts and Sciences Master Syllabi — Info for All Sections
Academic Integrity
The St. George’s University Student Manual (2019/2020) states as follows:
“Plagiarism is regarded as a cardinal offense in academia because it constitutes theft of the work of someone else, which is then purported as the original work of the plagiarist. Plagiarism draws into disrepute the credibility of the Institution, its faculty, and students; therefore, it is not tolerated” (p. 48).
Plagiarism also includes the unintentional copying or false accreditation of work, so double check your assignments BEFORE you hand them in.
Be sure to do good, honest work, credit your sources and reference accordingly and adhere to the University’s Honor Code. Plagiarism and cheating will be dealt with very seriously following the university’s policies on Plagiarism as outlined in the Student Manual.
Your work may be subject to submission to plagiarism detection software, submission to this system means that your work automatically becomes part of that database and can be compared with the work of your classmates.
The St. George’s University Student Manual (2019/2020) states as follows:
“Students are expected to attend all classes and or clinical rotations for which they have registered. Although attendance may not be recorded at every academic activity, attendance may be taken randomly. Students’ absence may adversely affect their academic status as specified in the grading policy. If absence from individual classes, examinations, and activities, or from the University itself is anticipated, or occurs spontaneously due to illness or other extenuating circumstances, proper notification procedures must be followed. A particular course may define additional policies regarding specific attendance or participation” (p. 9).
The St. George’s University Student Manual (2019/2020) states as follows:
“All matriculated students are expected to attend all assigned academic activities for each course currently registered. Medical excuses will be based on self-reporting by students. Students who feel they are too sick to take an examination or other required activity on a specific day must submit the online SAS medical excuse, which is available on Carenage. Students are only allowed two such excuses a year. Upon consultation with the Director of University Health Service, the third excuse will result in a mandatory medical leave of absence. The policies regarding make-up examinations are at the option of the Course Director” (p.46).
For additional specific examination policies and procedures, refer to the St. George’s University Student Manual (2019/2020), pages 31 through 37.
The St. George’s University Student Manual (2019/2020) states as follows:
“A student with a disability or disabling condition that affects one or more major life activities, who would like to request an accommodation, must submit a completed application form and supporting documentation to the Student Accessibility and Accommodation Services (SAAS) located in the Dean of Students Office. It is highly recommended that students applying for accommodations do so at least one month before classes begin to allow for a more efficient and timely consideration of the request. If a fully completed application is not submitted in a timely fashion, an eligibility determination may not be made, and accommodations, where applicable, may not be granted prior to the commencement of classes and/or examinations” (p. 8).
It is the responsibility of the student to read and understand the policies, laws, rules and procedures that while they could affect your grade for a course, have not been specifically outlined in the course syllabus. These are contained in the St. George’s University Student Manual.