This is a half-semester (six week) course in management accounting. Its purpose is to provide an overview of how accounting information is used for decision-making within the firm. The course begins by introducing students to fundamental cost accounting concepts and terminology and then focuses on cost accounting topics most relevant to nonaccounting managers, including: Activity-Based Costing, transfer pricing and the link between cost accounting and financial reporting.

The exemption exam is appropriate for students with a strong background in accounting. A student who performed well in a full semester undergraduate course in Cost Accounting within the last five years should be able to pass the exemption with a reasonable amount of effort.

The exemption exam must be taken prior to the beginning of the second term. Any student wishing to exempt from this course who does not plan to exempt from B6015, Decision Models (the other half-semester course), should consult with Student Affairs regarding fees and credit requirements for graduation.

Closed book. 3.5 hours. Calculators are permitted.

The exemption exam is similar in coverage and difficulty to the material covered in the course. Topics covered are:

• Activity-Based Costing
• Absorption and Variable Costing
• Allocation of Overhead
• Standard Costing
• Flexible Budgeting
• Variance Analysis for Direct Costs and Variable Overhead
• Relevant Costs for Decision-Making and Transfer Pricing

These topics can be reviewed by consulting a graduate level introductory text such as
Horngren, Foster & Datar, Cost Accounting, A Managerial Emphasis;
Zimmerman, Accounting for Decision Making and Control; or
Atkinson, Banker, Kaplan & Young, Management accounting (2^nd Edition).

Copies of the textbook used in the course are available on reserve at the Business School Library. Also, a typical B6016 syllabus and recent exam are available from the Accounting Department's Administrative Coordinator, Chris Gordon Clark (854-3162).