UNIVERSITY OF ESWATINI

FACULTY OF COMMERCE
DEPARTMENT OF ACCOUNTING & FINANCE

Academic Year: 2024/2025

Introduction to Cost and Management Accounting Course Outline

Programme : Bachelor of Commerce degree

Course Title : Introduction to Cost and Management Accounting
Course Code : ACF 213/ IDE ACF 213
Period : November 2021 to April 2022
Lecturer : Mr. Mfundo Msibi CA (SA) ; CA(SD)
Email : [email protected]
Contact Number : 7675 1525
Office Number : 233, Faculty of Commerce Building

COURSE DESCRIPTION
COURSE DESCRIPTION
THIS INTRODUCTORY COURSE IN COST AND MANAGEMENT ACCOUNTING PROVIDES A
FOUNDATIONAL UNDERSTANDING OF THE PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICES THAT UNDERPIN THE
ROLE OF MANAGEMENT ACCOUNTING WITHIN ORGANIZATIONS. MANAGEMENT ACCOUNTING IS
A CRUCIAL DISCIPLINE THAT SUPPORTS INTERNAL DECISION-MAKING BY PROVIDING RELEVANT
FINANCIAL AND NON-FINANCIAL INFORMATION TO MANAGERS. UNLIKE FINANCIAL ACCOUNTING,
WHICH FOCUSES ON REPORTING TO EXTERNAL STAKEHOLDERS, MANAGEMENT ACCOUNTING
EMPHASIZES THE INTERNAL NEEDS OF THE ORGANIZATION, PARTICULARLY IN AREAS SUCH AS
PLANNING, CONTROLLING, AND DECISION-MAKING.
THE COURSE BEGINS WITH AN EXPLORATION OF THE DISTINCTIONS BETWEEN MANAGEMENT
ACCOUNTING, FINANCIAL ACCOUNTING, AND COST ACCOUNTING, HELPING LEARNERS TO
UNDERSTAND THE UNIQUE OBJECTIVES AND METHODS OF EACH DISCIPLINE . LEARNERS WILL
DELVE INTO THE CRITICAL ROLE THAT MANAGEMENT ACCOUNTANTS PLAY IN THE DECISION -
MAKING PROCESS, INCLUDING THEIR CONTRIBUTION TO SETTING AND ACHIEVING STRATEGIC
OBJECTIVES, OPTIMIZING RESOURCE ALLOCATION, AND ENHANCING OPERATIONAL
EFFICIENCY.
A SIGNIFICANT FOCUS OF THE COURSE IS ON UNDERSTANDING AND ANALYZING COST
BEHAVIOR, WHICH IS ESSENTIAL FOR EFFECTIVE BUDGETING, FORECASTING, AND
PERFORMANCE MEASUREMENT. LEARNERS WILL EXPLORE VARIOUS COST CLASSIFICATIONS ,
INCLUDING DIRECT VS. INDIRECT COSTS, FIXED VS. VARIABLE COSTS, AND RELEVANT VS.
IRRELEVANT COSTS. THESE CONCEPTS FORM THE FOUNDATION FOR MORE ADVANCED TOPICS
SUCH AS COST-VOLUME-PROFIT (CVP) ANALYSIS, WHICH LEARNERS WILL USE TO ASSESS THE
IMPACT OF CHANGES IN COSTS, PRICES, AND VOLUMES ON AN ORGANIZATION'S PROFITABILITY.
AS THE COURSE PROGRESSES, LEARNERS WILL BE INTRODUCED TO DIFFERENT COSTING
SYSTEMS, INCLUDING ACTIVITY-BASED COSTING (ABC) AND JOB COSTING. THESE SYSTEMS
ARE VITAL FOR ACCURATELY ASSIGNING COSTS TO PRODUCTS AND SERVICES , ALLOWING

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MANAGERS TO MAKE INFORMED PRICING AND PRODUCTION DECISIONS . THE COURSE ALSO
COVERS PROCESS COSTING, WHICH IS USED IN INDUSTRIES WHERE PRODUCTION IS
CONTINUOUS, AND JOINT AND BY-PRODUCT COSTING, WHICH ADDRESSES THE COMPLEXITIES
OF ALLOCATING COSTS IN SCENARIOS WHERE MULTIPLE PRODUCTS ARE DERIVED FROM A
COMMON INPUT.
THROUGHOUT THE COURSE, LEARNERS WILL ENGAGE WITH REAL-WORLD SCENARIOS AND
CASE STUDIES THAT ILLUSTRATE THE PRACTICAL APPLICATION OF MANAGEMENT ACCOUNTING
TECHNIQUES IN VARIOUS BUSINESS CONTEXTS. BY THE END OF THE COURSE, LEARNERS WILL
BE EQUIPPED WITH THE KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS NECESSARY TO SUPPORT MANAGEMENT IN
MAKING DATA-DRIVEN DECISIONS THAT ENHANCE ORGANIZATIONAL PERFORMANCE AND
CONTRIBUTE TO ACHIEVING LONG-TERM STRATEGIC GOALS.

LEARNING OUTCOMES
BY THE END OF THIS COURSE, LEARNERS WILL BE ABLE TO:
• DIFFERENTIATE BETWEEN MANAGEMENT ACCOUNTING AND FINANCIAL ACCOUNTING ,
UNDERSTANDING THE UNIQUE PURPOSES AND PROCESSES OF EACH.
• IDENTIFY AND EXPLAIN THE ELEMENTS INVOLVED IN DECISION-MAKING, PLANNING,
AND CONTROL IN A BUSINESS CONTEXT, AND DESCRIBE THE ROLE OF MANAGEMENT
ACCOUNTANTS IN THESE PROCESSES.
• CLASSIFY AND EXPLAIN COST BEHAVIOR, INCLUDING FIXED, VARIABLE, AND MIXED
COSTS, AND HOW THESE COSTS IMPACT DECISION-MAKING.
• ESTIMATE COSTS USING VARIOUS TECHNIQUES SUCH AS HIGH-LOW METHOD,
REGRESSION ANALYSIS, AND ACCOUNT ANALYSIS.
• APPLY COST-VOLUME-PROFIT (CVP) ANALYSIS TO ESTIMATE PROFITS AND ASSESS
THE IMPACT OF CHANGES IN COST, VOLUME, AND PRICING ON BUSINESS
PROFITABILITY.
• DIFFERENTIATE BETWEEN DIRECT AND ABSORPTION COSTING METHODS AND
EVALUATE THEIR IMPACT ON FINANCIAL REPORTING AND DECISION-MAKING.
• ACCOUNT FOR COSTS IN A JOB COSTING SYSTEM, INCLUDING THE RECORDING AND
ALLOCATION OF MATERIAL, LABOR, AND OVERHEAD COSTS, AND CALCULATE JOB-
SPECIFIC PROFITS.
• APPLY PROCESS COSTING TECHNIQUES TO ALLOCATE COSTS IN ENVIRONMENTS
WHERE PRODUCTION PROCESSES ARE CONTINUOUS, AND HANDLE PARTIALLY
COMPLETED UNITS AND LOSSES.
• DIFFERENTIATE BETWEEN JOINT AND BY-PRODUCT COSTING SYSTEMS, ALLOCATE
JOINT COSTS USING VARIOUS METHODS, AND ACCOUNT FOR THE NET PROCEEDS OF
BY-PRODUCTS.

WEEK-BY-WEEK COURSE CONTENT

WEEK 1:
• INTRODUCTION TO MANAGEMENT ACCOUNTING
o DEFINITIONS AND COMPARISONS: MANAGEMENT VS. FINANCIAL ACCOUNTING
o ROLE OF MANAGEMENT ACCOUNTANTS IN DECISION-MAKING
WEEK 2:
• NATURE AND BEHAVIOR OF COSTS

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 o COST OBJECTS, DIRECT AND INDIRECT COSTS, PERIOD AND PRODUCT COSTS
o COST BEHAVIOR: FIXED, VARIABLE, AND MIXED COSTS
WEEK 3:
• COST CLASSIFICATION AND ESTIMATION
o RELEVANT AND IRRELEVANT COSTS, SUNK COSTS, OPPORTUNITY COSTS
o TECHNIQUES FOR ESTIMATING COSTS: HIGH-LOW METHOD, REGRESSION
ANALYSIS
WEEK 4:
• COST-VOLUME-PROFIT (CVP) ANALYSIS
o CVP RELATIONSHIPS, PROFIT-VOLUME RATIO, MARGIN OF SAFETY
o CONSTRUCTING AND INTERPRETING BREAK-EVEN CHARTS
WEEK 5:
• COST ASSIGNMENT FOR INVENTORY VALUATION
o ASSIGNMENT OF DIRECT AND INDIRECT COSTS
o COST-BENEFIT ANALYSIS AND COST SYSTEM DESIGN
WEEK 6:
• ACTIVITY-BASED COSTING (ABC)
o DIFFERENCES BETWEEN TRADITIONAL AND ABC SYSTEMS
o IMPLEMENTING ABC FOR ACCURATE PRODUCT COSTING
WEEK 7:
• JOB COSTING SYSTEM
o ACCOUNTING FOR MATERIAL, LABOR, AND OVERHEAD IN JOB COSTING
o INVENTORY VALUATION METHODS: FIFO, LIFO, WEIGHTED AVERAGE
WEEK 8:
• PROCESS COSTING (PART 1)
o FLOW OF PRODUCTION AND COSTS IN PROCESS COSTING SYSTEMS
o HANDLING PARTIALLY COMPLETED UNITS AND LOSSES
WEEK 9:
• PROCESS COSTING (PART 2)
o PROCESS COSTING IN SERVICE ORGANIZATIONS
o BATCH/OPERATING COSTING
WEEK 10:
• JOINT AND BY-PRODUCT COSTING
o IDENTIFYING AND ALLOCATING JOINT COSTS
o ACCOUNTING FOR BY-PRODUCTS AND CALCULATING PROFITS
WEEK 11:
• REVIEW AND INTEGRATION
o REVIEW OF KEY CONCEPTS AND TECHNIQUES
o CASE STUDIES AND PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS
WEEK 12:
• FINAL PREPARATION
o COMPREHENSIVE REVIEW AND PRACTICE EXAMS
o ADDRESSING ANY REMAINING QUESTIONS AND CLARIFICATIONS
COURSE IMPLEMENTATION
THE COURSE WILL BE CONDUCTED OVER 12 WEEKS, WITH 3 HOURS PER WEEK DEDICATED
TO LECTURES AND TUTORIALS. IN ADDITION, LEARNERS ARE EXPECTED TO ENGAGE IN 4

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HOURS OF SELF-STUDY EACH WEEK, INCLUDING REVIEWING COURSE MATERIALS ,
COMPLETING QUIZZES, AND WORKING ON ASSIGNMENTS. WEEKLY QUIZZES AND ASSIGNMENTS
WILL REINFORCE THE MATERIAL COVERED IN LECTURES AND ENSURE CONTINUOUS
ENGAGEMENT WITH THE CONTENT.
ASSESSMENT
• COURSEWORK: 33.33% (BASED ON ASSIGNMENTS, QUIZZES, AND TESTS)
• FINAL EXAMINATION: 66.67% (COMMENCING IN THE 3RD WEEK OF NOVEMBER)
• PASS MARK: 50% OVERALL
MAIN TEXTS
• DRURY C., COST AND MANAGEMENT ACCOUNTING, LATEST EDITION
• SEAL W., ROHDE C., GARRISON R., AND NOREEN E., MANAGEMENT ACCOUNTING,
LATEST EDITION

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