Management Accounting and Control – (M.Sc.)

Contents

Prerequisite courses

• Foundation of Research

The management accounting discipline is grounded in different philosophical assumptions about knowledge, the empirical world, and the relationship between theory and practice. In this course we introduce three perspectives - positivistic, interpretive, and critical - and their underlying assumptions concerning the generation of scientific knowledge and its impact on our lives.

• Cost Management - Concepts, Perspectives and Practices

Cost management is a central activity within financial management. Without a deep rooted understanding of the financial situation of the company and the financial implications of future events, the company is likely to lose orientation and reduce the room for maneuvering. Within the management board, the cost manager is responsible for bringing the financial information into the decision process.

• Production Planning and Control

During the past decades integrated planning and accounting systems have developed rapidly. Using these systems in connection with cost management techniques such as ABC, balanced scorecard etc. has created much better opportunities to model the physical processes and activities, which generate costs in connection to design, production and marketing. This means that it has become much easier to fulfill differentiated needs for information based on registration systems.

• Advanced Excel

IT and specifically Excel and VBA programming have a huge spread in practice and are widely used for accountants and controllers. The amount of available data has increased extensively in many companies, partly due to the use of ERP systems and Data warehousing. As a consequence, there is a need for economists with the ability to extract the relevant date and perform valid quantitative analysis. Excel and Crystal Ball will be used for different types of decisions, specifically within controlling, cost estimation and different types of profitability layouts.

• Strategy and Management Accounting

In this course different elements of strategy formulation and strategic management accounting will be discussed and analysed. An important element involves the provision of information for the formulation of an organisations' strategy and managing strategy implementation and its importance for management accounting.

• Accounting Information Systems

AIS gives you an outline of the different types of administrative programmes, their designs, application, implementation and security. In recent years, there has been a rapid development in the use of information technology in the accounting departments of companies. Today, the majority of companies to some extent employ information technology for accounts and management accounting purposes.

Specialisation courses

• Planning and Budgeting

Budgeting plays a central role in planning and structuring organisations' strategies. Budgeting coordinates the organisations' strategies and business units. It is used as a tool for structuring and creating guidelines for activities and moreover to allocate resources and responsibilities. Furthermore, budgeting enables the organisation to follow up on planned activities and thereby illustrating the variances that may exist in the achieved performance.

• Management Control: Performance Management

Performance management plays an increasingly important role in all types of organizations. It comprises both performance measurement techniques and approaches which may be adopted in using these techniques to exercise control, e.g. result control, action control, interactive control, and personnel and social control. However, different control types and the way they are applied are not equally feasible for solving different types of management control problems.

• International Financial Accounting I

After attending the course, you should at an intermediate level understand and be able to apply the requirements for recognition in the published yearly report.

• International Financial Accounting II

The aim of this class is to develop an understanding of the relevance of accounting information for decision making, and the reliability and quality of accounting statements.

• Project Management with Accounting Perspectives

Management accountants and controllers will for sure be involved in different kinds of projects. These projects assist a company to achieve specific objectives which are in alignment with the overall goals and objectives of the company. During its life-time, a company will have to choose between various projects, implement and control them.

• Business Models

The objective of the course is to provide the students with tools, which will enable them to identify an organisation's current situation. With this identification, the student should be able to define future oriented solutions with growth opportunities, following implementation of strategy and reporting tools. The theoretical aim is for the student to acquire knowledge and competences within different business models and reporting tools. Subsequently, the student will through a case study attain practical skills in order to analyse and evaluate the livelihood and future possibilities of a specific organisation's using the business models concepts.

In the third semester you can choose elective courses within your areas of interest. The courses can either be taken at the Aarhus School of Business during the semester, at the ASB Summer University or at one of our more than 200 partner universities abroad. You can also participate in internship programmes either in Denmark or abroad.

The fourth semester is devoted to the final thesis. You may choose the topic of the thesis freely and in this way get a chance to concentrate on and specialise in a specific field of interest. The thesis may be written in collaboration with another student or it may be the result of your individual effort. When the thesis has been submitted, it is defended before the academic advisor as well as an external examiner.

Accreditation

After the Student life Section there should be a section called Accreditations , that should include the following information:

The former Aarhus School of Business, Aarhus University (ASB), is one of Europe's largest and best business schools, as is illustrated by the accreditations which ASB has earned in the past seven years. ASB has been EQUIS-accredited since 2001, and in January 2008 we were approved to initiate the AACSB accreditation process.

Proof of high quality and international focus

EQUIS and AACSB are the leading international quality systems for assessing, improving and accrediting institutions of higher education within the field of management and business administration. In order to live up to these accreditations, ASB must not only demonstrate that we are capable of high-quality performance, but also that our activities are internationally oriented. The accreditations are also proof that we have achieved a good balance between high academic quality and professional relevance through close collaboration with the national and international business communities.

These accreditations are vital for the institution to maintain and strengthen its position in an increasingly competitive sector. They are decisive for ASB's brand and for our ability to attract the right students, researchers and collaborative partners. The accreditations are renewed every three to five years, which ensures that we work on an ongoing basis to develop ourselves and to improve the quality of everything we do.

Facts about EQUIS, AACSB and AMBA accreditations

EQUIS stands for European Quality Improvement System, and accreditation is awarded by the EFMD (European Foundation of Management Development), whose members comprise leading business schools all over the world.

AACSB stands for Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business, and AASCSB International awards accreditation.
The accreditations are awarded to the entire institution – not just to individual programs or parts of the organization. Both accreditation systems maintain a significant focus on strategy.
AMBA stands for Association of MBAs , which is an independent international organization for MBA students, masters and employers. The AMBA accreditation is awarded to the entire institution but relates specifically to MBA programs. The purpose of AMBA is to secure high standards for MBA programs worldwide.

ACE Denmark

In August 2007, it was enacted that higher education study programs offered by the Danish University Act must be accredited by the Accreditation Institution - ACE Denmark. Accreditation is a professional assessment carried out using centrally set criteria for quality of existing and new courses. The purpose is to ensure and document quality and relevance of the higher education study programs.
According to the Danish University Act, the accreditation council is the specific unit, which makes the decisions regarding accreditation of all higher education study programs. Decisions are made on the basis of accreditation reports prepared by accreditation operators.