By providing basic theoretical and practical knowledge in balance sheet analysis, cost accounting, and capital budget analysis this course complements the core technology-focused competences of industrial engineering. Economics and management skills provided in this course add to students’ inter-disciplinary learning path, encourage an understanding of professional problems that accounts for both engineering and managerial issues, and improve the ability to coordinate with multiple stakeholders in complex problem solving.
At the end of this course students should be able to evaluate the economic and financial performance of enterprises and organisational units, to select and implement the most suitable approach to cost accounting, and to set up and perform a capital budgeting analysis.
This course introduces the students to the basic principles and operative techniques of business management. Main topics include:
1) Balance sheet
2) Cost accounting
3) Capital budgeting
This course introduces the students to the basic principles and techniques of business management. Main topics include: a) Balance sheet: balance sheet principles; balance sheet and income statement; introduction to double-entry bookkeeping; balance sheet ratios: liquidity, profitability, financial equilibrium; b) Cost accounting: costs definition and classification; cost accounting and short-term decision making; marginal costs and break-even analysis; traditional cost accounting techniques; c) Capital budgeting: introduction to capital budgeting; differential cash flows; monetary value of time; main techniques of capital budgeting analysis.
Balance sheet
Anthony, R.N., Breitner, L.K., Macrì, D.M, Il bilancio - Analisi economiche per le decisioni e la comunicazione della performance, McGraw-Hill Italia, 2016 (ISBN 9788838615276)
Cost accounting and Capital budgeting
Anthony, R.N., Hawkins, D.F., Macrì, D.M., Merchant, K.A., Sistemi di controllo. Analisi economiche per le decisioni aziendali, 14ed, McGraw-Hill Italia, 2016 (ISBN 9788838615269)
Lectures, interactive practical exercises, self-study
The exam involves two written tests. The first test, which lasts 10 minutes, is a multiple-choice quiz on all the course topics. The second test, which begins immediately after the first test and lasts 90 minutes, includes one exercise for each of the three course main topics. The exam evaluation is based on the second test, which will be corrected only in case the candidate provides a correct answer to at least 60% of the items in the first test. To pass the exam 1) all the three exercises of the second test must achieve a minimum floor of 16/30; 2) the GPA of the three exercises is equal or higher than 18/30. The final grade is in a 0-30L scale.
Erasmus students and visiting students can take the final exam in Italian, English, or Portuguese. All remaining students will take the final exam in Italian.
Lecture handouts, text and solution of classroom exercises, additional exercises, and a selection of past exam texts and solutions are available at the course Internet web page, open to all UniBS students