Presentation

Management accounting is the process in which financial numbers are transformed into information that is useful for financial decision making. The course rings true with all members who work in organizations throughout: how to collect, compile and analyze information that is useful for making financial judgement. What and where to invest? How much to borrow? How is financial performance for the year? How wealthy are we? Moreover, the class contains elements of forecasting and constructing pro-forma financial performance. How well will we do next year? How is our projected wealth and income?

The class has a strong focus on various financial elements such as the income statement, balance sheet, and the cash flow statement. Moreover, tools to analyze financial performance are presented, such as ratio analysis. The latter will help provide shortcuts for a quick understanding of a firm’s performance and business position. No prior knowledge or experience in financial matters is required.

Competences

General Competences

• GC1. To control and to integrate the techniques, instruments and methods of management needed in the development of the professional activity.
• GC2. To delve into the business management and into the different administration areas.
• GC4. That the students can communicate their conclusions, present their projects, results, plans, the knowledge and the reasons that support them before a specialized or an ordinary public in a clear and in an ambiguity free manner.
• GC5. That the students are able to integrate their knowledge in the different working areas of the business with information, usually incomplete or limited, in the business environment in order to manage the decision making and troubleshooting processes through complex and multidisciplinary situations.

Specífic Competences

• SC5. Learning to manage the managing indicator in the business decision-making depending on the same.
• SC12. To understand the functional organization of the business. Areas interrelation. To identify and to understand the factors and dimensions that belongs to the functional part of the business, and the features of its administration system.
• SC20. Ability of business decision-making according to the information of the analysis and interpretation on the four business fundamental accounting concepts: Balance sheets, Profit and Loss accounts, Cash Flow statement and Net Worth statement and of the main ratios and indicators of business and finance management.
• SC21. To understand fixed and current assets funding, the project funding and the self-generated funds of products or business areas.
• SC22. To be able to relate the business management decision-making with the macroeconomic changes.

Transversal Competences

• TC6. To communicate efficiently, in a structured and organised manner, the most relevant aspects of a project.
• TC8. To qualify the students with the knowledge and the skills necessary to be able to fulfil their professional performance in multicultural environments.
• TC9. To provide the students with learning skills that will allow them to continue their studies in an autonomous manner.

Program

Unit 1. The Fundamentals of Financial Statements
Introduction
Elements of the Balance Sheet
Elements of the Income Statement
Financial Numbers in a Political World The Balance Sheet
FORTUNY Inc.
Master Class

Unit 2. How Did We Do This Year? The Income Statement (I)
Introduction
The Concept of Depreciation
Special and Extraordinary Items
Income Statements and Financial Information
Income Statement and the Measurement of Performance
Income Statement, Dividends and Wealth
Master Class

Unit 3. Cash is King: The Cash Flow Statement
Introduction
The Concept of Accruals Within the Cash Flow Statement
Depreciation in the Cash Flow Statement
The Relationship Between the Balance Sheet, Income Statement, and Cash Flow Statement
Cash Flow Statements in Action: Asya Inc.
Bibliographical References
Master Class

Unit 4: Forecasting
Introduction
Basics of Forecasting
Forecasting the Income Statement
Forecasting the Balance Sheet
Forecasting the Cash Flow Statement Further Issues
Examples on Forecasting (from Simple to Hard)
Master Class

Unit 5. The Big Picture: Financial Numbers and Firm Strategy
Introduction
Amazon
Boeing
BP
Financial Statements
Master Class

Unit 6. Ratio Analysis
Introduction
Income Statement Ratios
Balance Sheet Ratios
Cash Flow Statement Ratios
Beginning of the Year, End of the Year or Average Values?
Ratios in a Downturn
Analysis of AppleMaster Class

Methodology

The different tasks and activities programmed during the semester have been developed with the goal of adapting the learning process to the different capabilities, necessities and interests of the students.

The activities included in the subject are:

• Practical cases: will provide the student with actual business situations that will need to analyse and, after that, make decisions, evaluate the consequences and alternatives. They will allow acquiring intellectual skills to face sudden situations or to plan action programs adapted to a changing environment where there is no math logic.
• Participation in events. During the course you will be participating in different events. Some of those events are attendance to online classes, forums, self-evaluation tests.

In the weekly program you can find the specific tasks you need to complete in this subject.

These activities are combined with the following aspects:

• Personal Study
• Tutoring. The tutoring class can be implemented through different tools and means. During the course of the subject, the teacher-tutor plans the individual tutoring on specific days for the resolution of academic-oriented doubts through “Consultation sessions”. Supplementing these sessions, students have also available the “Ask your teacher” forum through which they can formulate questions and check the corresponding answers on general aspects of the subject.  Due to the very nature of the media used, there are no fixed schedules for the students.
• Mandatory on-site final exam

The hours dedicated to each activity are detailed as follows:

Bibliography

Basic bibliography

The necessary texts for the study of this subject have been elaborated by UNIR and are available in a digital format to consult, download or print inthe virtual classroom.

Evaluation and Assessment

The evaluation system is based on the following numerical chart:

The grade is made up of two components:

On-site final exam (60%). At the end of the semester, you need to assist a mandatory on-site final exam. You need to pass the final exam so the grade obtained from the assignments (continuous assessment) is summed up to the final grade of the subject. 

Continuous assessment (40%): this type of assessment will be measured through the different assignments you need to complete during the course:

• Active participation and involvement in forums, online classes.
• Tasks. The completion of the different activities the students need to send through our virtual classroom such as research, critical thinking, practice cases.
• Self-evaluation tests. At the end of each unit, students will find a short quiz which will help the students to check the knowledge acquired during the course.

Remember that you can check the points (value) of each assignment in the weekly program.

Professor

Dr. Garen B. Markarian

Education: Dr. Markarian has 15yrs+ experience in management education at the undergraduate, masters, executive, and Ph.D. level. He currently is the academic co-director of the Venture Capital and Private Equity executive education program, and the co-director of the WHU risk management program partnered with the Stockholm School of Economics. Dr. Markarian has earned a B.S. in biology from American University of Beirut, and a Ph.D. from the Weatherhead School of Management at Case Western Reserve University..

Professional experience: Garen Markarian holds the chair of financial accounting at WHU - Otto Beisheim School of Management. As an international scholar specializing in corporate finance and governance, he has taught at IE Business School (Madrid), HEC (Paris), Bocconi, (Milan), Concordia (Montreal), Rice (Houston), and Case Western Reserve (Cleveland). He has previously held the position of First Regional Economic Officer for Western Asia at the United Nations.

Lines of research: Dr. Markarian has extensive experience in research on governance mechanisms, executive compensation, the banking crisis, stock markets, and financial statements and valuation.

Tips

Studying online means you can organize your study as you wish, as long as you meet the due dates of the different assignments (activities, tasks and tests). In order to help you, we propose the following steps:

1. From our online platform you will have access to each of the subjects you are enrolled. Apart from this, t you can access to the virtual classroom of the master. In this section, you have available all the documents on how to use the different tools included in the virtual classroom, how a subject is organized and you will also have the possibility to organize your study plan with the tutor.
2. Do not forget to check the weekly program. You will see which part of the content of the course you have to work on every week.
3. After knowing your work for the week, go to Units in your virtual classroom. There, you will have access to the study material (theory and practice) from the unit you need to study throughout the week.
4. Start by reading thethe Basic Knowledge of the unit, this section is the basic study material of the unit. Always read the first part of the same, Introduction, as we will show you here all the material you need to study. Visit, as well, the Resources section, you will find here the complementary readings, videos, experiences, etc.
5. Devote some time when doing the Practical Cases and Test. In the subject Program we will detail which are the corresponding activities for each week and the max. grade you can achieve in each one.
6. We strongly recommend to take part in the events of the course (On-site virtual classes, debate forums, etc.). To know the exact date for each one of these events you must visit the communication media on the Virtual Classroom. Your teacher and your tutor will inform of the subjects news.

Remember that in the virtual classroom of the master you can check how the different tools of the virtual classroom work: email, forum, online classes, sending the tasks, etc.