Advanced Diploma in Cost and Management Accounting

Associated Assessment Criteria for Exit Level Outcome 1:

• Evaluate and apply costing methods and their results.
• Explain and interpret the role of Material Requirements Planning and Enterprise Resource Planning systems.
• Understand and apply the principles of environmental costing and the purposes of forecasts, plans and budgets.
• Prepare information to support project appraisal, forecasts of financial results and budgets based on those forecasts.
• Evaluate project proposals and analyse the information to assess the impact on decisions of variables with uncertain values.
• Identify the working capital position of an enterprise, short-term funding and investment opportunities and areas for improvement.

Associated Assessment Criteria for Exit Level Outcome 2:

• Explain the accounting rules for current and deferred taxation and the principles that underlie the use of budgets in control.

Associated Assessment Criteria for Exit Level Outcome 3:

• Prepare full consolidated statements of a single company and the financial position and comprehensive income for a simple group.
• Research and apply the principles of accounting for capital schemes and foreign exchange rate changes.
• Understand and discuss accounting principles and their relevance to accounting issues of contemporary interest.
• Research and apply ratio analysis from financial statements and supporting information.
• Evaluate performance and position.
• Understand and discuss contemporary developments in financial and non-financial reporting.

Associated Assessment Criteria for Exit Level Outcome 4:

• Evaluate and apply long-term capital investment decisions and capital budgeting techniques.
• Evaluate the leasing decision and alternative sources of finance.
• Identify and apply the appropriate sources of long-term corporate capital.
• Evaluate and understand the dividend policy of a company and recommendations regarding the optimum pay-out and retention ratios.
• Calculate and interpret a company or a division's performance using ratio analysis.
• Calculate the value of the business operations using different valuation methods.

Associated Assessment Criteria for Exit Level Outcome 5:

• Discuss and apply concepts of cost and revenue relevant to pricing and product decisions.
• Analyse short-term pricing, pricing strategies and product decisions.
• Evaluate and apply the techniques for analysing and managing costs for a competitive advantage.
• Understand and apply the principles that underlie the use of budgets in control.
• Evaluate performance using budgets, alternative approaches and sensitivity to variable factors.
• Discuss the broader managerial issues arising from the use of budgets in control.
• Evaluate and understand the use of responsibility centres in devising organisational structure and management control.

Associated Assessment Criteria for Exit Level Outcome 6:

• Formulate the organisations mission, goals, aims and critical success factors.
• Identify and evaluate long and short-term objectives for the organisation and possible conflict between objectives.
• Differentiate between formal and less formal approaches to strategy formulation.
• Outline the process of strategy formulation.
• Explain the importance of competitive factors in reviewing the position of the organisation.
• Explain the international influences on the organisation and preparing SWOT and PEST analysis.
• Identify and evaluate international factors affecting the market place e.g. Porter's 5 forces model.
• Prepare reports to management on organisational resources.
• Benchmark performance against best practice organisations.
• Explain value chain analysis and its implications for the organisation.
• Explain the problems of strategic performance, the use of profit and cash measures.
• Explain non-financial measures and the interaction with financial measures.
• Explain multidimensional models of performance including the balanced scorecard.
• Explain strategic business performance: transfer pricing and reward systems.
• Explain the consequences of short and long-term planning with reference to research and development, changing technology, outsourcing and capital investment.

Associated Assessment Criteria for Exit Level Outcome 7:

• Define the research and explain the research process.
• Analyse various research approaches and understand the types of research methods are understood.
• Identify the research problem in an Accounting discipline.
• Develop a research design in terms of the type of research that will be conducted.
• Apply the format of the research report in terms of standard norms and requirements.
• State the research objectives in the research report.
• State the methodology used to collect information in the report.
• State the research findings and recommendations in the report.

Integrated Assessment:

• Three formative assessments constitute a course mark which contributes 40% of the final examination mark.
• A summative assessment (examination) is written at the end of the academic year and this contributes 60% of the final examination mark.