Management Accounting and Control in Service (5cr)

Learning outcomes

The student is able to
- explain the importance of cost accounting and budgeting for decision making
- use key performance indicators in the service development context
- analyse customer profitability
- develop value-based pricing

Teaching methods

This course includes Zoom sessions, individual Excel assignments, and team work on a chosen topic.

Time and location

Online Zoom sessions:
26.02.2026 09.00 - 12.00
20.03.2026 09.00 - 12.00
02.04.2026 09.00 - 12.00
24.04.2026 09.00 - 12.00

Learning materials and recommended literature

Suggestions, Management Accounting books:
Drury, Colin. Management and Cost Accounting
Gowthorpe, Catherine. Management accounting
Atrill, Peter. Accounting and finance for non-specialists.
Find books on Management Accounting (not Financial Accounting). You need a basic book on management accounting for the orientation and module 1 assignments.

Articles, videos and podcast links will be given when the course starts.

Student workload

5 ECTS = 135 hours of student work
The course is divided into five modules. Estimated time required:

1. Orientation and Introduction to Management Accounting: 10 hours
2. Cost Accounting and Pricing (Excel assignments and discussion): 15 hours
3. Budgeting and Control (Excel budgets for case company): 35 hours
4. Essay: 40 hours
5. Team work, presentation, peer review: 35 hours

Content and scheduling

1 Orientation, management accounting basics, info about the assignments on cost accounting and budgeting
2 Workshop Cost accounting
3 Workshop Budgeting
4 Team presentations

Further information

This accounting course is for students studying in different master's programmes. Students who have no background in accounting are also welcome. This course is about learning to "speak the language of accounting" which is the language of the management.

You will learn to explain the importance of cost accounting and budgeting for decision making, and you will learn to make Excel budgets for a small company.You will learn about different key performance indicators in the service development context, how customer profitability can be analysed, and you will develop your skills in cost accounting and pricing.

Evaluation scale

H-5

Evaluation methods and criteria

The final grade for this course is a weighted average of your assignments. The weights are:
Individual assignments: 70%
Team work: 30%

Assessment criteria, satisfactory (1-2)

Student is able

Knowledge base:
To gather, process, produce and evaluate information widely. To use concepts of the area of expertise systematically.

Problem solving:
To solve problems in research, development and/or innovation activities.

Development:
To recognise and analyse focuses of development making use of the knowledge base.

Communication:
To communicate clearly both orally and in writing.

Assessment criteria, good (3-4)

Student is able

Knowledge base:
To gather, process, produce and evaluate information critically and widely making use of both national and international scientific sources. To use concepts of the area of expertise fairly.

Problem solving:
To solve problems in research, development and/or innovation activities by applying and combining information from different fields.

Development:
To create target-oriented, justified development plans considering the community.

Communication:
To communicate in a competent, clear and consistent manner both orally and in writing.

Assessment criteria, excellent (5)

Student is able

Knowledge base:
To create a consistent framework/knowledge base making use of both national and international scientific sources in a critical analytic fashion.

Problem solving:
To solve demanding problems in research, development and/or innovation activities where new knowledge and competence is created as well as to apply and combine information from different fields.

Development:
To develop the activities of the competence area in a target-oriented and communal fashion

Communication:
To communicate convincingly both orally and in writing to audiences within and exterior to the field.