Student guide Faculty of Economics A.Y. 2010/11

The aim of the course is to:
1. Identify the information that is necessary for a correct interpretation of business performance;
2. Develop the ability to calculate costs and evaluate the economic feasibility of alternative courses of action for the correct allocation of resources;
3. Show how planning and control activities, as parts of a broader and more complex managerial activity, are components of a single process;
4. Underline how the effective performance of planning and control activities demands structural and process solutions geared to the specific informational needs of the firm.

The course is divided into three parts:
1. The first part further examines the relations between business management and the determination, measurement and evaluation of operating results;
2. The second part presents the analysis and calculation tools that are used to implement economic control and the control of behaviours: cost accounting and analytical accounting, budget, reporting system and balanced scorecard;
3. The third part presents the structural and process solutions which enable the design of a planning and control system, based on a balanced scorecard type approach, that is able to meet the information needs of corporate managers.

The course will alternate lessons on the theoretical underpinnings (unified classes) with discussions of corporate case studies (with students divided into four groups). There will also be optional small-group sessions for further study on topics of particular interest and for tutorial exercises using personal computers.

In view of its learning objectives, the course will be assessed by written examination. In addition, for students who attend lectures, the final result will include credit for participation in classroom discussions on corporate case studies.

The recommended texts to prepare for the exam are:
Bubbio A., Il budget, Milano, Il Sole 24 Ore Libri, 1995.
Bubbio A., Calcolo dei costi e gestione d'impresa, Milano, Guerini e Associati, 2000.
Atkinson, A., Kaplan, R., Advanced management accounting, translation by C. Bianchi e A. Bubbio,ISEDI, Torino 2001.

For the economic calculation skills required in the written exam:
Ostinelli C.- Colombo S., Esercizi e casi svolti di Programmazione e Controllo di gestione, Milano, Guerini e Associati, 1999.

For students who do not attend lectures, the case studies and reading materials must be replaced with one of the following:
Horgren, C., Foster, G., Datar, S., Contabilità per la direzione, Torino, ISEDI-UTET, 1998.
Bubbio, A., Contabilità analitica per l'attività di direzione, Milano, Unicopli, 1989 [all, except for the five sections under paragraph 3.3].
Brunetti, G., Il controllo di gestione in condizioni ambientali perturbate, Milano, Franco Angeli, 1989.

Recommended reading:
Bergamin Barbato M., Il controllo di gestione nelle imprese italiane, Milano, Etas Libri, 1983.
Coda V., I costi standard nella programmazione e nel controllo di gestione, Milano, Giuffrè, 1969.
Horgren C. - Foster G., Cost Accounting. A managerial emphasis, Englewood Cliffs, Prentice Hall, 1997.
Kaplan e Norton, Balanced scorecard: tradurre la strategia in azione, ISEDI, 2000.
Newman W.H., Direzione e sistemi di controllo, Milano, Etas Libri, 1981.