Strategic Management AccountingLaajuus (5 cr)

Objective

The students understand the significance of strategy as a success factor of an organisation. They are able to integrate planning and budgeting processes by transforming strategic goals into objectives of the Balanced Scorecard. The students are able to create and produce indicators describing the success of operations based on cause/consequence logic, as well as being able to collect information on the organisation needed for measurement. They are able to identify the economic requirements and the resource requirements related to personnel, necessary to achieve the aforementioned objectives. They are able to use budget information as a tool for examining and evaluating the results. The students are able to analyse financial risks of an organisation and control them.

Content

Strategy-based organisation, linking strategy to budgeting, Balanced Scorecard as a tool for strategic budgeting, creating strategic budgets, lean management, evaluation and organisational learning, management of financial risks.

Qualifications

Students are able to use methods of financial analysis and reporting.

Assessment criteria, satisfactory (1)

1 (Sufficient): The student is familiar with strategic management accounting tools and understands the meaning of strategies as an organisation’s success factor. The student is familiar with success indices of operation and is able to produce these by using the cause-and-effect logic. He/she is familiar with the Balanced Scorecard (BSC) tool’s use. The student understands the economics-related risks and knows how to cope with them.
2 (Satisfactory): The student is able to write and produce indicators describing an activity’s success by using the cause-effect logic and knows how to obtain organisational data required for measuring.
3 (Good): The student is able to combine planning and budgeting processes and turn strategic objectives into Balanced Scorecard (BSC) objectives. The student is able to identify resource requirements that are required for achieving the aforementioned objectives. The student understands the Balanced Scorecard as a strategic management system. The student is able to evaluate the risks associated with financial factors.
4 (Very good): The student is able to critically examine an organisation’s planning and budgeting processes and turn organisation’s strategic objectives into Balanced Scorecard objectives. The student is able to identify resource requirements for meeting the above objectives and knows how to use budget data as an evaluation tool for reviewing and evaluating the results. The student can critically estimate the economics-related risks and find ways to manage them. The student understands the connection between risk management and Balanced Scorecard.
5 (Excellent): The student can develop an organisation’s planning and budgeting processes and turn the organisation’s strategic objectives into objectives in accordance with Balanced Scorecard. The student is able to combine risk management with the planning and monitoring process implemented by Balanced Scorecard.