Cost Accounting

Duration

30h Th

Number of credits

Lecturer

Anne Chanteux

Language(s) of instruction

French language

Organisation and examination

Teaching in the second semester

Units courses prerequisite and corequisite

Prerequisite or corequisite units are presented within each program

Learning unit contents

• The company and its environment
• Relation between financial accounting & cost accounting
• Cost classification (variable/fixed, direct/indirect, full or not)
• Calculating full costs : traditional approaches & activity based costing
• Analysis of the pattern of a cost accounting network
• Break-even point
• Analysis of relevant costs for making decisions
• From cost accounting to management control

Learning outcomes of the learning unit

At the end of this course, students should be able to :

• explain aims of cost accounting
• define and classify costs in actual, standard, direct, indirect, fixed and variable costs
• calculate break-even-point and security margin
• describe the various cost calculation methods
• calculate costs with several methods and compare results
• understand that cost calculation methods should have been chosen and applied according to specific criteria
• analyse costs and margin and make decisions on that basis
• explain budgeting process
• calculate standard costs to prepare budgets
• calculate and analyse variances

• To strengthen knowledge and understanding of main management disciplines and its legal, policy and social context
• To understand, in management situations, the transversal tools of quantitative reasoning and information systems
• To build and propose viable solutions to management problems
• To develop a critical sense
• To develop a transversal and global vision
• Be able of a good written communication

Prerequisite knowledge and skills

Financial accounting

Planned learning activities and teaching methods

Theoretical concepts, tools and methods are constantly illustrated by concrete examples.
Moreover exercises based on actual cases are proposed to students during specific classes.

Mode of delivery (face-to-face ; distance-learning)

Face-to-face

Recommended or required readings

Course book : CHANTEUX Anne et NIESSEN Wilfried, les tableaux de bord et business plan, Editions des Chambres de Commerce et d'Industrie de Wallonie, 2005, 367 pages
Slides PPT & exercises :
--> available on the virtual campus Lol@

Additional bibliography (--> library) : - BESCOS P.-L. and MENDOZA C., "Le management de la performance, le premier bilan des applications en France des méhodes ABC et target costing", 1997, Ed. Molesherbes, Paris, 288 pages. - BOUQUIN Henri, "Comptabilité de gestion", 9th edition, 2010, Ed. Sirey, Paris. - DEHERRIPON Philippe, "Gestion par activités", 1999, Ed. d'Organisation, Paris, 168 pages. - GOUJET C. and RAULET C., "Comptabilité analytique et Contrôle de gestion", (tome 1 + corrigés), 7e édition, Dunod, 2007, 344 pages. - HORNGREN C. and FOSTER G., "Cost Accounting - A Managerial emphasis", Prentice Hall International, New Jersey, 2011, 14th edition. - LORINO P., "Le contrôle de gestion stratégique, la gestion par les activités", 1991, Paris, 213 pages. - RAVIGNON Laurent, BESCOS P-L & al, "La méthode ABC-ABM", Eyrolles, Paris, 3rd edition, 2007, 386 pages. - Reviews : Harvard Business Review, Revue Française de Comptabilité, Revue Française de Gestion.

Assessment methods and criteria

1st session : Individual written exam
2nd session : Individual written exam

Work placement(s)

Organizational remarks

Contacts

CHANTEUX Anne Lecturer UER Finance, Comptabilité et Droit HEC-Ecole de gestion de l'ULg Rue Louvrex, 14 4000 Liège Bât. N1 Tél: +32 4 2327261 Email: Anne.Chanteux@ulg.ac.be