Students

MMBA8040 – Accounting for Managers

2023 – Term 4, Online-scheduled-weekday

General Information

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Unit convenor and teaching staff Unit convenor and teaching staff Unit convenor and lecturer
Chris Patel
Contact via Email: chris.patel@mq.edu.au
4 Eastern Road, Office 334
Email for appointment
Moderator
Jengfang Chen
Contact via Contact via Email
4 Eastern Road, Office 330
Email for appointment
Credit points Credit points
10
Prerequisites Prerequisites
Admission to MBA or GradCertBusAdmin or GradDipBusAdmin or PGDipMgt or GradDipMgt or GradCertMgt or MSocEntre or GradCertSocEntre
Corequisites Corequisites
Co-badged status Co-badged status
Unit description Unit description

This unit equips managers and potential managers with the skills and tools to construct, analyse, interpret, and act upon accounting, financial and non-financial information produced within a business to improve judgments and decisions. International and national contextual factors and theoretical frameworks are examined to provide insight into the complexities of financial decision making. The discussion and analysis begin with the three financial statements targeted at external users: statement of profit or loss, statement of financial position and statement of cash flows. The unit then proceeds into the analysis, interpretation of financial information, and the use of management accounting information for the purpose of managerial decision making. Research skills and real-life complexities in the decision-making process are highlighted.

Important Academic Dates

Information about important academic dates including deadlines for withdrawing from units are available at https://www.mq.edu.au/study/calendar-of-dates

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:

  • ULO1: Apply skills to investigate and propose well-reasoned solutions to make prudent financial judgements and decisions.
  • ULO2: Evaluate a range of business indicators to measure and track the firm’s value creation.
  • ULO3: Critically analyse the implications of a firm’s decisions/strategies for a range of stakeholders in view of the firm’s strategic considerations.
  • ULO4: Apply finance, accounting and economic theories, frameworks and methods to make business decisions.

General Assessment Information

Late Assessment Submission Penalty (written assessments)  Unless a Special Consideration request has been submitted and approved, a 5% penalty (of the total possible mark) will be applied each day a written assessment is not submitted, up until the 7th day (including weekends). After the 7th day, a grade of ‘0’ will be awarded even if the assessment is submitted. Submission time for all written assessments is set at 11.55pm. A 1-hour grace period is provided to students who experience a technical concern.  

For any late submissions of time-sensitive tasks, such as scheduled tests/exams, performance assessments/presentations, and/or scheduled practical assessments/labs, students need to submit an application for Special Consideration

Assessment Tasks

Name Weighting Hurdle Due
Online Participation 10% No During online classes
Class Test 20% No Wednesday 25 October 8pm to 9pm.
Syndicate Report 20% No Friday 24 November before 10pm.
Final Exam 50% No University formal examination period

Online Participation

Assessment Type 1: Participatory task
Indicative Time on Task 2: 10 hours
Due: During online classes
Weighting: 10%

 

Students will be assessed on their class participation during the session.

 


On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Apply skills to investigate and propose well-reasoned solutions to make prudent financial judgements and decisions.
  • Evaluate a range of business indicators to measure and track the firm’s value creation.
  • Critically analyse the implications of a firm’s decisions/strategies for a range of stakeholders in view of the firm’s strategic considerations.
  • Apply finance, accounting and economic theories, frameworks and methods to make business decisions.

Class Test

Assessment Type 1: Quiz/Test
Indicative Time on Task 2: 15 hours
Due: Wednesday 25 October 8pm to 9pm.
Weighting: 20%

 

During the mid-session, a class test will be held.

 


On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Apply skills to investigate and propose well-reasoned solutions to make prudent financial judgements and decisions.
  • Evaluate a range of business indicators to measure and track the firm’s value creation.
  • Apply finance, accounting and economic theories, frameworks and methods to make business decisions.

Syndicate Report

Assessment Type 1: Project
Indicative Time on Task 2: 25 hours
Due: Friday 24 November before 10pm.
Weighting: 20%

 

Students are required to undertake an analysis of a range of aspects of a company listed on the Australian Stock Exchange. They are required to analyse the performance of the organisation (including strategic considerations) and provide critiques and recommendations.

 


On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Apply skills to investigate and propose well-reasoned solutions to make prudent financial judgements and decisions.
  • Evaluate a range of business indicators to measure and track the firm’s value creation.
  • Critically analyse the implications of a firm’s decisions/strategies for a range of stakeholders in view of the firm’s strategic considerations.
  • Apply finance, accounting and economic theories, frameworks and methods to make business decisions.

Final Exam

Assessment Type 1: Examination
Indicative Time on Task 2: 15 hours
Due: University formal examination period
Weighting: 50%

 

The final exam is of 2 hours duration and will be conducted online. It will be open book and covers the content of the course.

 


On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Apply skills to investigate and propose well-reasoned solutions to make prudent financial judgements and decisions.
  • Evaluate a range of business indicators to measure and track the firm’s value creation.
  • Apply finance, accounting and economic theories, frameworks and methods to make business decisions.

1 If you need help with your assignment, please contact:

  • the academic teaching staff in your unit for guidance in understanding or completing this type of assessment
  • the Writing Centre for academic skills support.

2 Indicative time-on-task is an estimate of the time required for completion of the assessment task and is subject to individual variation

Delivery and Resources

Seminars will be conducted online from 20 September to 22 November from 6 pm to 10 pm. Extensive resources are provided on ilearn for each of the ten seminars. Students are required to study the relevant readings and the examples shown in the seminar slides. Extensive resources are evaluated to provide a focus on understanding international and national contextual factors and theoretical frameworks to enhance financial decision-making. 

Unit Schedule

MMBA8040: UNIT SCHEDULE

(See iLearn for details and resources)

Seminar 1

Introduction and understanding contextual factors to improve financial decision-making.

Seminar 2

Introduction to the technical language and usefulness of accounting.

Seminar 3

Statement of Financial Position (Balance Sheet) and Statement of Financial Performance (Income Statement/Statement of Profit or Loss).

Seminar 4

Statement of Cash Flows.

Seminar 5

Working Capital Management.

Seminar 6

Analysis and interpretation of financial statements. Class test. 

Seminar 7

Guest Lecturer: Improving financial decision-Making and using Digital Technologies.

Seminar 8

Introduction to Corporate Social Responsibility & Sustainability Reporting.

Seminar 9

Management Accounting Concepts for Decision-Making: Cost-volume-profit analysis; full costing and activity-based costing.

Seminar 10

Management Accounting Concepts for Decision-Making: Budgeting. Revision.

 

Policies and Procedures

Macquarie University policies and procedures are accessible from Policy Central (https://policies.mq.edu.au). Students should be aware of the following policies in particular with regard to Learning and Teaching:

Students seeking more policy resources can visit Student Policies (https://students.mq.edu.au/support/study/policies). It is your one-stop-shop for the key policies you need to know about throughout your undergraduate student journey.

To find other policies relating to Teaching and Learning, visit Policy Central (https://policies.mq.edu.au) and use the search tool.

Student Code of Conduct

Macquarie University students have a responsibility to be familiar with the Student Code of Conduct: https://students.mq.edu.au/admin/other-resources/student-conduct

Results

Results published on platform other than eStudent, (eg. iLearn, Coursera etc.) or released directly by your Unit Convenor, are not confirmed as they are subject to final approval by the University. Once approved, final results will be sent to your student email address and will be made available in eStudent. For more information visit ask.mq.edu.au or if you are a Global MBA student contact globalmba.support@mq.edu.au

Academic Integrity

At Macquarie, we believe academic integrity – honesty, respect, trust, responsibility, fairness and courage – is at the core of learning, teaching and research. We recognise that meeting the expectations required to complete your assessments can be challenging. So, we offer you a range of resources and services to help you reach your potential, including free online writing and maths support, academic skills development and wellbeing consultations.

Student Support

Macquarie University provides a range of support services for students. For details, visit http://students.mq.edu.au/support/

The Writing Centre

The Writing Centre provides resources to develop your English language proficiency, academic writing, and communication skills.

The Library provides online and face to face support to help you find and use relevant information resources. 

Student Services and Support

Macquarie University offers a range of Student Support Services including:

Student Enquiries

Got a question? Ask us via AskMQ, or contact Service Connect.

IT Help

For help with University computer systems and technology, visit http://www.mq.edu.au/about_us/offices_and_units/information_technology/help/

When using the University's IT, you must adhere to the Acceptable Use of IT Resources Policy. The policy applies to all who connect to the MQ network including students.


Unit information based on version 2023.04 of the Handbook