Introductory Managerial Accounting Syllabus

COURSE INFORMATION
Course title: Managerial Accounting
Course code: COMM 294 Credits: 3.0
Session and term: 2024 W2 Class location: M&W: HA098
Section(s): 201, 202, and 203 Class times: M&W: 9:30–11:00am;
11:00am–12:30pm; 2:00–3:30pm
Course duration: Jan 6 – April 7, 2025 Tutorials: Fri: 5-6:30 pm, HA492
Division: Accounting and Info Systems Pre-requisites: COMM 293

INSTRUCTOR INFORMATION
Instructor: Han Yan and AJ Chen
Course website: canvas.ubc.ca Office location: HA 364 (Han); HA 366 (AJ)
Email: [email protected] Office hours: Wednesday 4 pm – 6 pm (Han)
Wednesday 4 pm – 6 pm (AJ)

TAs: Kristian Fonacier, Aneeya Johal, and a team of other 11 TAs. Kristian and Aneeya are head TAs.

Office location: HA 384A or Zoom

Email: [email protected] Office hours: See Canvas for Office Hours

All course correspondence should be sent to [email protected].

Course correspondence sent to any other Sauder or UBC emails will not be answered.

COURSE DESCRIPTION
This course focuses on the use of accounting information in efficiently operating an organization. The
concepts are sufficiently general to be applicable in both profit and not-for-profit organizations, but most
of our discussion will deal with profit-oriented firms. Management accounting has two major roles:
Decision-Facilitating role: Managers have the responsibility and authority for making decisions with
respect to the use of the firm’s resources. To do this effectively they must identify the alternative actions
and strategies available to them, predict the possible consequences of those actions or strategies, and then
choose the strategy course of action that has the most preferred predicted outcome. Management
accounting systems can be effective tools both in providing financial information that is useful in predicting
the possible consequences of alternative actions and to identify where corrective action may be required.
Decision-Influencing role: A manager is sometimes the sole owner of a firm, but more generally managers
are employees or own the firm jointly with others. The choices made by a manager will depend on the
predicted consequences that are of personal concern to her/him and her/his preferences with respect to those
consequences. Consequently, the manager may not make the choices most preferred by the owners. To
mitigate this problem, the firm’s owners (or higher level managers) frequently establish formal or informal
incentive systems that are designed to motivate the manager to choose the actions that they prefer.
An organization's accounting records must provide the information necessary to prepare the financial
statements reported to investors, bankers, unions and others who are not part of the firm's management.
These statements must be prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP),
particularly if the statements are audited. However, the information reported to management need not be
prepared in accordance with GAAP. Management wants the information that is most useful in operating
their organization, and that may differ from the information used to satisfy GAAP.

1
 Introductory Managerial Accounting Syllabus

COURSE FORMAT
1. Lectures
• Class time will be used for a combination of lectures and solving sample problems. Attendance is
expected to accomplish the learning objectives below. Lectures and sample problems will assume
that students having pre-read the corresponding chapters as listed in the course schedule below.
• Students who miss a class are responsible for material covered in the missed class. Office hours are
intended to assist students who have attended class and who wish to seek additional help. It is not
meant for the transmission of missed class content.
2. iClicker
• For in-person classes, we will use the iClicker regularly in class lectures to answer sample problems.
Please ensure that you bring a device, create an account, and join this course in iClicker. For more
information, pls. visit: https://www.iclicker.com/students/apps-and-remotes/web.

3. Tutorials (5-6:30 pm on Fridays)

Friday tutorials are optional but highly recommended for this course. Experience has shown that within
these large class formats, student who attend tutorials will do much better in the course than if they did not
attend. Please pay attention to the Canvas announcement for tutorial sessions each week.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES
By the end of this course, students will be able to:
• Define and classify cost accounting concepts used by managers.
• Calculate and analyze costs incurred by organizations using various costing methods.
• Distinguish between types of cost behaviour and investigate the relationships between costs, volume
and profit.
• Apply techniques to prepare a budget and evaluate actual results compared to the budget.
• Identify standard costs and evaluate variances.
• Describe how management accounting utilizes financial accounting information for the measurement
of performance of individuals and business segments.
• Apply management accounting principles to facilitate the analysis of information that is relevant in
decision making.

ASSESSMENTS
Summary

Midterm examination 40%

Final examination 40%
Assignments (after class) 20%
Total: 100%

Details of Assessments
1. Examinations (Midterm 40% + Final exam 40%)
• Exams contain a combination of quantitative and qualitative problems that must be completed in a
specified time-period.
• Examinations will be delivered in-person through Canvas and the Respondus Lockdown Browser
and will require the use of a computer. Every student is expected to bring their own laptops to the exams.
If you do not have access to a personal laptop, you may borrow one from the Canaccord Learning
Commons (CLC).

2
 Introductory Managerial Accounting Syllabus

• Please bring your UBC Card with you to all exams. If you do not bring your ID, you will not be
permitted to write the exam.
• To pass the course you must achieve a passing grade on the combined average of the mid-term and
final examinations. [(MT%x40% + FINAL%x40%) >= 40% (i.e. 50% of the 80% allocated to the exam
component]. If you do not achieve a passing grade on the combined average of the mid-term and
final examinations, the highest mark attainable for the course is 47%. This is not negotiable.
• There will be one midterm exam held at 7-9 pm on February 25, 2025.
• The final exam will be scheduled by the University during the exam period (April 12– 27, 2025). The
exam schedule is typically released by the University in February. The final exam will focus on
content after the midterm cut-off and will not include directly cumulative questions.
• All students are expected to write the midterm/final exams at the scheduled times for the class in
which they are registered. Missing the midterm or final exam will result in a grade of zero.
Exceptions may be made only if advance approval is obtained from the Undergraduate Office (UGO).
• Completed exams will not be returned to the student.

• Do not plagiarize or commit academic dishonesty! We have a zero-tolerance policy. Plagiarism or

dishonesty will be reported to the Dean’s office, regardless of the excuse. Plagiarism and academic
dishonesty include (but not limited to):
o Handing in the work of others.
o Communicating with peers/others during an exam.
o Aiding others in the completion of their exam.
o Collaborating with others, including on any messenger apps (i.e. Whatsapp, Facebook/Meta,
Messenger, Wechat, and etc.) (This is not a group exam!)
o Googling/searching for answers on the Internet. (You will not find it).
o Hiring/paying/soliciting external help (i.e. Chegg, Coursehero, etc.).
• Please note that each student has unique values which will make it very easy to tie instances of
academic dishonesty back to you.

2. Assignments (20%)
• There will be 6 individual online assignments on Canvas (“Assignments” page). Your final
assignment grade will be calculated as the average of the 6 assignments.
• The purpose of the assignments is to keep you current with the material that we are covering. It is
unwise to leave the material to study the night before the examinations. The assignments help you
prepare for the examinations as they are primarily a self-study component where you practice your
knowledge and receive feedback.
• Each assignment is due at 11:59 pm (PST) on the due date. Students will receive two attempts
for each assignment. Answers will be posted after the deadline.
• I will not grant extensions to any assignment for any reason. Late assignments will not be
accepted and result in a grade of zero.

3. Attendance and Participation (0%)

You are not graded for attendance or participation, but participating enriches the learning experience and
provides you with an opportunity to share your thoughts and questions with the class. We will be using the
iClicker to participate in certain problem-solving exercises. Based on past experience, students that attend
lectures and are engaged during the lecture tend to achieve a significantly better mark in the course.
To maintain a positive learning environment, students who repeatedly disrupt the classroom (e.g., chatting
or making noise) will face a grade penalty.

3
 Introductory Managerial Accounting Syllabus

LEARNING MATERIALS
Reading Materials:

1. Textbook: “Managerial Accounting, 9th Edition” by Weygandt, Kimmel and

Mitchell (Wiley) (Digital ISBN: 978EEGRP43558), (Print ISBN:
9781394256969)
• We will use this textbook for the course. A digital version is available at the
UBC Bookstore, but purchasing it is not mandatory.

2. Slides/notes + In-class problems (posted on CANVAS, tab “Modules”):

The slides/notes and in-class problems are used throughout the course. You should have these documents
for each lecture with you starting the second day of class. We will use this package to collaboratively
develop an understanding of managerial accounting and its key decision-making tools. These documents
are designed for you to fill them in during the lectures, so please make sure to bring a hardcopy that
you can write on. You will be responsible for filling them in during lectures, and filled-in copies will
not be provided afterwards. Plan to attend lectures.

Other Learning Resources:

• canvas.ubc.ca:
The CANVAS site will contain the critical files for the course, including slides, in-class problems,
assignments, and other practices. Students are advised to check CANVAS prior to every class for
updates and announcements. Pls. turn on notification for when a new assignment is released and when
it is due.

• Review/Supplementary Problems:
Completing as many exercises and problems as possible is an integral part of the course requirements.
The exercises and problems provide examples of procedural and conceptual issues and are intended to
assist you in understanding and responding to technical and discussion/essay-type questions
encountered during the course and on examinations. The textbook provides a significant number of
end-of-chapter problems for you to practice. I will provide a list of recommended textbook problems
on CANVAS.

• "Practice" Examinations:
There will be one practice midterm and one practice final examination with solutions posted on the
CANVAS site. The assignments and supplementary review problems, in conjunction with your reading
and class discussions, will equip you to successfully complete the examinations. The examination
questions will be comprehensive in nature, requiring you to thoughtfully integrate your knowledge
providing quantitative and qualitative responses.

TECHNOLOGY REQUIREMENTS
1. Calculator
Students will require a calculator capable of adding, subtracting, multiplying, and dividing.

2. Proper Hardware
As outlined on UBC’s Keep Learning website, students are expected to have access to proper hardware
including a PC/laptop, audio output/input, webcam, and reliable internet connection. Non-compliance

4
 Introductory Managerial Accounting Syllabus

with the requirements listed on the above web site will not be considered as a valid ground for academic
concession.

COURSE-SPECIFIC POLICIES AND RESOURCES

Missed or late assignments, and regrading of assessments
• Missed or late assignments will receive a mark of zero. No late assignments will be accepted.
• Students who miss an assignment prior to joining the course (i.e. during the add/drop period) will
have their assignment weightings shifted to the other assignments.
• There will be no make-up assignments.
• Regrading Policy: If you feel that you have been wrongly assessed, please review your work against
the suggested solution. Then, prepare a written, e-mail request to the course email, indicating why
you feel the marking was not appropriate. Submit your request within one week of when the marked
assignment or exam was made available to you, or it will not be considered.
o Your work will be re-marked, as well as the entire document.
o This may result in an increase, decrease or no change in your total marks.
o You are also encouraged to keep the “magnitude” of marks in context.
o Any one question on an exam, or assignment will only account for a very small percentage of
your overall grade.
o Please note that I do not discuss assignment, or exam marks during office hours. You must
submit a written, e-mail request.

Academic Concessions
If you feel unwell or have other circumstances that prevent you from completing assessments, you should
send a courtesy email to [email protected]. The following should also be taken into
consideration, keeping in mind that there are specific deadlines to request academic concessions:

• If you miss assessments worth less than 15% of the overall course grade, or less than two weeks of
classes, you should email [email protected] directly to discuss options for missed assessments
or classes. Concessions in this scenario are granted by the instructor and do not need support from the
Sauder Undergraduate Office or your home advising office.
• If you miss assessments worth 15% or more of the overall course grade (including the midterm or final
exam), or two or more weeks of classes, you must request academic concession through the Sauder
Undergraduate Office at https://mybcom.sauder.ubc.ca/academic-concession.
o Midterm Exam: Should the UGO accept the documentation, the student may be given a
“makeup exam” toward the end of the term or, at the discretion of the instructor, the midterm
marks may be allocated to the final exam. If the documentation is not provided or is not
accepted, the student will receive a mark of zero on the midterm exam. If you know in advance
that you are unable to write the midterm exam on the scheduled date or time due to a UBC
course conflict, please email your course instructor for the midterm and the UGO
([email protected]). In this situation, you are expected to attend your class. The
UGO will work with your instructor to make alternate arrangements for the exam.

o Final Exam: Class members who miss the final examination will have their standing in the
course evaluated by the Sauder Undergraduate Office (UGO). If a deferred standing is granted
by the UGO, these members will be advised of their writing date set by the Registrar.

5
 Introductory Managerial Accounting Syllabus

Other Course Policies

Please treat each class as a business meeting. As such, it is important to act professionally:
• Be on time • Be courteous and attentive to fellow students
• Be prepared and attentive • Turn off all electronics, except as needed for class (no social media
permitted during class)
• Be ready to engage
• Be open to ideas • Prepare for each class (advance readings, bring slides, in-class problems)

• Please arrive on time for class. Lateness is a major disruption to the class. If I have begun speaking
when you enter the room, you are late – something that is not tolerated within the business world. If
you are late, please sit in the back row to minimize your disruption of the class. It is disrespectful to
the entire class to be regularly late.
• Please be aware that chatter is heard clearly at the front of the room. Please do not chat while I am
speaking as it is rude and disruptive. I may ask you to stop or even to leave the room.
• Talking on cell phones, texting and cell phone alerts of any type are all considered disruptions.
• Repeated disruption will affect your mark.
• We will be using the iClicker often during class.
• This is an accounting course involving quantitative problems and analysis. Therefore, you should
always have paper to write on, a pen or pencil and a calculator with you for class. Or, you may use a
tablet or laptop for taking notes.
• Listening, observing, participating and writing are the keys to internalizing the material for this
course. Taking notes during discussions and writing what is put on the screen / whiteboard is the best
way to learn.
• Always have a working calculator with you for exams!

UNIVERSITY POLICIES AND RESOURCES

UBC provides resources to support student learning and to maintain healthy lifestyles but recognizes that
sometimes crises arise and so there are additional resources to access including those for survivors of sexual
violence. UBC values respect for the person and ideas of all members of the academic community.
Harassment and discrimination are not tolerated nor is suppression of academic freedom. UBC provides
appropriate accommodation for students with disabilities and for religious observances. UBC values
academic honesty and students are expected to acknowledge the ideas generated by others and to uphold
the highest academic standards in all of their actions. Details of the policies and how to access support are
available on the UBC Senate website at https://senate.ubc.ca/policies-resources-support-student-success.

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY
The academic enterprise is founded on honesty, civility, and integrity. As members of this enterprise, all
students are expected to know, understand, and follow the university policies and codes of conduct
regarding academic integrity. At the most basic level, this means submitting only original work done by
you and acknowledging all sources of information or ideas and attributing them to others as required.

This also means you should not cheat, copy, or mislead others about what is your work; nor should you
help others to do the same. For example, it is prohibited to: share your past assignments and answers
with other students; work with other students on an assignment when an instructor has not expressly

6
 Introductory Managerial Accounting Syllabus

given permission; or spread information through word of mouth, social media, or other channels that
subverts the fair evaluation of a class exercise, or assessment.

ACADEMIC FREEDOM AND STUDENTS STUDYING FROM OUTSIDE CANADA

During this pandemic, the shift to online learning has greatly altered teaching and studying at UBC,
including changes to health and safety considerations. Keep in mind that some UBC courses might cover
topics that are censored or considered illegal by non-Canadian governments. This may include, but is not
limited to, human rights, representative government, defamation, obscenity, gender or sexuality, and
historical or current geopolitical controversies. If you are a student living abroad, you will be subject to the
laws of your local jurisdiction, and your local authorities might limit your access to course material or take
punitive action against you. UBC is strongly committed to academic freedom, but has no control over
foreign authorities (please visit http://www.calendar.ubc.ca/vancouver/index.cfm?tree=3,33,86,0 for an
articulation of the values of the University conveyed in the Senate Statement on Academic Freedom). Thus,
we recognize that students will have legitimate reason to exercise caution in studying certain subjects. If
you have concerns regarding your personal situation, consider postponing taking a course with manifest
risks, until you are back on campus or reach out to your academic advisor to find substitute courses. For
further information and support, please visit: Freedom of Expression

COPYRIGHT
All materials of this course (course handouts, lecture slides, assessments, course readings, etc.) are the
intellectual property of the instructor or licensed to be used in this course by the copyright owner.
Redistribution of these materials by any means without permission of the copyright holder(s) constitutes a
breach of copyright and may lead to academic discipline. Audio or video recording of classes are not
permitted and no photos are permitted of course content.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
UBC’s Point Grey Campus is located on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territory of the
xwməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam) people, who for millennia have passed on their culture, history, and
traditions from one generation to the next on this site

7
 Introductory Managerial Accounting Syllabus

COMM 294, Section 201,202,203 Schedule (subject to change)

Assignment
Lect. post or due
Week # # Date General Nature of the Topics To Read* week of
1 Mon. Jan. 6 Managerial accounting and the business env. CH1
1
2 Wed. Jan. 8 Cost Terms, Concepts and Classifications CH1

3 Mon. Jan. 13 Cost Terms, Concepts and Classifications CH1 Assign #1

2 CH2 (post: Jan 15;
4 Wed. Jan. 15 Job Order Costing due: Jan 29)
5 Mon. Jan. 20 Job Order Costing CH2
3
6 Wed. Jan. 22 Job Order Costing CH4
7 Mon. Jan. 27 Activity-Based Costing CH4 Assign #2
4 (post: Jan 30;
8 Wed. Jan. 29 Activity-Based Costing CH4 due: Feb 10)
9 Mon. Feb. 3 Cost-Volume-Profit Analysis CH5
5
10 Wed. Feb. 5 Cost-Volume-Profit Analysis CH5, CH6
11 Mon. Feb. 10 Cost-Volume-Profit Analysis CH5, CH6 Assign #3
6 (post: Feb 11;
12 Wed. Feb. 12 Budgeting CH9 due: Feb 23)
Mon. Feb. 17
NO CLASSES: Mid-term Break
Wed. Feb. 19
13 Tue. Feb. 25 No Lecture, Midterm Exam: 7pm – 9pm
7
14 Wed. Feb. 26 Standard Costs & Balanced Scorecard CH11
15 Mon. Mar. 3
8 Standard Costs & Balanced Scorecard CH11
16 Wed. Mar. 5 Assign #4
17 Mon. Mar. 10 Absorption & Variable Costing
Appendix 8A
9 Budgetary Control & Responsibility
CH10
18 Wed. Mar. 12 Accounting
Budgetary Control & Responsibility
19 Mon. Mar. 17 CH10
10 Accounting
20 Wed. Mar. 19 ROI vs. Residual Income Appendix 10A

21 Mon. Mar. 24 Transfer Pricing CH8 L04

11
22 Wed. Mar. 26 Transfer Pricing CH8 L04

23 Mon. Mar. 31 Incremental Analysis CH7

12 Assign #5
24 Wed. Apr. 2 Incremental Analysis CH7

25 Mon. Apr. 7 Incremental Analysis CH7

13 Assign #6

TBD FINAL EXAM – during exam period

*
The outline specifies dates on which each topic will be started. You are recommended to read the relevant material
before the topic is discussed in class so that you can maximize your in-class learning experience.

8
 Introductory Managerial Accounting Syllabus

TUTORIAL INFORMATION

Friday tutorials are entirely optional. During each tutorial, our TAs will cover materials related to the topics
recently covered. 1.5- hour tutorials will be offered most Fridays throughout the term. This is an excellent
way to practice problems and receive any help where needed from exceptional fourth year students.

Friday Tutorial Topics (subject to change)

Week # Date Tutorial # Topic
Wk 1 Jan. 10 No Tutorial
Wk 2 Jan. 17 1 Cost Terms, Concepts and Classifications
Wk 3 Jan. 24 2 Job Order Costing
Wk 4 Jan. 31 3 Activity-Based Costing
Wk 5 Feb. 7 4 Cost-Volume-Profit Analysis
Wk 6 Feb. 14 5 Midterm Exam Review
Feb. 21 No Tutorial
Wk 7 Feb. 28 6 Budgeting, Standard Costing & Variances
Wk 8 Mar. 7 7 Standard Costing & Variances
Wk 9 8 Variable vs absorption costing
Mar. 14
Reporting for Control
Wk 10 Mar. 21 9 Transfer Pricing
Wk 11 Mar. 28 10 Relevant Costs for Decision Making
Wk 12 Apr. 4 11 Final exam review

Topics subject to change. Students will be informed of any changes prior to the tutorial.

** END OF COURSE OUTLINE **