Management Control

Introduction

The management accounting or controller role has recently undergone drastic changes. The former “bean counter” has made room for the internal business consultant, acting as a translator of financial information into meaningful business scenarios for managerial decision making at senior and/or divisional or business-unit level.
The context of accounting has become one of flexible, decentralized organizations with a strong strategic and service orientation. The accounting toolkit itself has experienced similar changes, and now includes tools and approaches that explicitly incorporate competitive strategy arguments while adopting multiple levels of analysis. The active use of technology for analytical and reporting purposes has equally increased in importance, and is embedded in the various topical elements of this course.
This course addresses the knowledge and skills as necessary to fulfil a Controller or CFO role in organizations. It is related to the courses Project and Relationship Management (E2) and Advanced Management Accounting (P2) of the CIMA professional qualification as Chartered Global Management Accounting™.

Course content

Topics covered include:

• management control as a package of cultural, cybernetic, and administrative controls
• organisation design as a management control vehicle
• budgeting, forecasting, and 'beyond budgeting';
• control and performance management of responsibility centres;
• contemporary developments in management control (e.g., digitalisation, sustainability);
• F&A software systems and visual analytics as platforms for the CFO/Controller.