ØABED3100 Cases in Finance Course description

The objective of this course is to develop analytical skills of the students to analyze corporate performance and recommend how it can improve its performance. This course is an in-depth study of applied management accounting and finance focusing on their role in decision-making processes, strategy planning and execution embracing stakeholders’ expectations to enhance corporate economic, ethical, social, and environmental performance. The course content is organized in four modules as follows:

1. Module 1: Cost-volume-profit analysis
2. Module 2: Variance analysis for performance management
3. Module 3: Divisional performance analysis and Transfer pricing
4. Module 4: Capital investment decisions
5. Module 5: Emerging economic, ethical, social, and environmental issues in strategic management accounting and finance

Language of instruction is English.

The course assumes that students are familiar with basic concepts of business finance, financial accounting, cost and management accounting, and strategic management.

None

After having been an active student in this course and successfully completing it, the student should have the following overall learning outcomes defined in terms of knowledge, skills, and general competence.

Knowledge

The student has knowledge of:

• the principles of business finance and management accounting.
• how business finance and management accounting support decision-making and strategy in different types of businesses.
• different processes and methods of planning and control for strategic performance management embracing stakeholders’ expectations.
• emerging economic, ethical, social, and environmental issues in strategic performance management.

Skills

The student can:

• explain, contextualize, and apply the principles of business finance and management accounting.
• apply critical thinking, communication, and practice collaboration to strategic performance management problems.
• identify and evaluate the short-term versus long-term trade-offs in simultaneously responding to economic, governance, ethical, social, and environmental issues involved in business decision making.
• make informed decisions in strategic and ambiguous situations by acquiring, analyzing, and presenting information based on principles of business finance and management accounting.

General competence

The student:

• can rationalize and contextualize corporate decisions to enhance firm value by embracing stakeholders’ expectations.
• is aware of the development in corporate sustainability (ESG) drive.
• can exchange views on economic, ethical, social, and environmental implications of corporate decision making.

This course uses case study method to apply the concepts of business finance and management accounting to enhance corporate economic performance. For this purpose, this course uses group dynamics and Peer Assisted Learning (PAL) for lifelong learning wherein the students are required to work in a group of 3 (+/-1) to develop and use their social skills to enable them to work successfully and fairly in a team within the context of strategic performance management.

This course is delivered in five modules. Each module comprises of two components: 1. a lecture to present the course content; 2. a workshop for hands-on experience with strategic performance management by solving a case study using MS Excel to analyze for corporate decision making. While writing the case report, the students are encouraged to reflect upon governance, ethical, social, and environmental implications of their decisions for strategy planning and execution embracing stakeholders’ expectations to enhance corporate economic performance.

A selection of at least two case studies along with their suggested solutions will be provided for each module. In addition, at least one case study will be given for each workshop. The students are required to work in groups of 3 (+/-1) students to solve the given case study in the workshop.

No coursework requirements or compulsory activities

The exam in the course is a supervised exam of 4 hours.

The following aids are permitted:

• One notebook containing hand-written and/or printed notes.
• One dictionary Native language-English/English-native language or English/English

Please note that it is not allowed to bring any loose papers and post-it slips in the notebook.

Grade scale A - F

The exam papers are assessed by one internal and one external examiner.

At least 25% of the exam papers will be assessed by two examiners. The grades awarded for the papers assessed by two examiners form the basis for determining the level for all the exam papers.

Muhammad Azeem Qureshi