ACCOUNTING FOR BUSINESS MANAGERS - 2024/5

Module Overview

This module introduces students to the main principles of accounting and cost management and demonstrates the importance of these to management decision making.

Module provider

Surrey Business School

Module Leader

GILL Jaitinder (SBS)

Number of Credits: 15

ECTS Credits: 7.5

Framework: FHEQ Level 4

Module cap (Maximum number of students): N/A

Module Availability

Semester 1

Prerequisites / Co-requisites

N/A

Module content

Indicative content includes:

• Measuring and reporting financial position and performance


• Analyzing and interpreting financial statements


• Cost analysis and product costing


• Principles of budgeting and control


• Capital investment appraisal

Assessment pattern

Alternative Assessment

N/A

Assessment Strategy

The assessment strategy is designed to provide students with the opportunity to demonstrate their knowledge of financial and management accounting techniques and their ability to use these to analyse and interpret financial information and make business decisions.

The Summative assessment for this module consists of: 

• A midterm test that addresses learning outcomes 1, 2 and 3


• A final term examination covering all learning outcomes.

Formative assessment and feedback:

Students will receive verbal feedback during lectures through direct questioning and also from class exercises which will challenge their understanding of the building blocks. The midterm test will provide a basis on which students can reflect on their knowledge and understanding of the subject and help them prepare for the final examination.

Module aims

• Provide the conceptual foundations for understanding, analysing and interpreting financial information.
• Apply accounting principles to decision making in business organisations.
• Apply accounting principles to business planning and develop skills used by businesses for management control.

Learning outcomes

Methods of Teaching / Learning

The learning and teaching strategy is designed to:

Give students the opportunity to gain knowledge and understanding of relevant financial and management accounting theory and apply that to different situations.

Equip students with a practical awareness of the use of accounting in decision making in the real world

The learning and teaching methods include seminars, workshops, captured content and guided learning including illustrative examples and practice exercises.

Indicated Lecture Hours (which may also include seminars, tutorials, workshops and other contact time) are approximate and may include in-class tests where one or more of these are an assessment on the module. In-class tests are scheduled/organised separately to taught content and will be published on to student personal timetables, where they apply to taken modules, as soon as they are finalised by central administration. This will usually be after the initial publication of the teaching timetable for the relevant semester.

Reading list

https://readinglists.surrey.ac.uk
Upon accessing the reading list, please search for the module using the module code: MAN1142

Other information

Surrey Business School is committed to developing graduates with strengths in Employability, Digital Capabilities, Global and Cultural Capabilities, Sustainability, and Resourcefulness and Resilience.

This module is designed to allow students to develop knowledge, skills, and capabilities particularly in the following areas:

Employability: The module aims to develop students' ability to produce and understand accounting statements and follow globally recognized accounting conventions. These skills are highly sought after by employers. As a result, students build and enhance individual and professional skills.

Global and Cultural Capabilities: The module covers understanding financial and management accounting concepts and their application which are applicable to companies across the globe. Students are given a detailed understanding of the concepts and reporting standards that are used all over the world with some variations depending on country regulation and/or cultural differences.

Digital Capabilities: Excel is used for practical demonstrations throughout the course and students are encouraged to use excel to perform detailed calculations and produce accounting statements. The excel skills enhance their digital capabilities.

Resourcefulness and Resilience: This module builds on concepts from basic accounting to complex adjustments. The module reinforces and further develops knowledge and skills related to financial and management accounting. Students solve problems as well as critically analyse the solutions, thereby fostering an openness to different perspectives. In addition, through the independent and guided learning, students develop attributes such as confidence, adaptability, self-regulation, self-efficacy, problem solving and decision-making abilities. They will have the opportunity to interact with fellow students and the teaching staff, ask questions and build on their communication skills while gaining a deeper understanding of the subject.

Sustainability: The module introduces stakeholders and ethical issues in the form of corporate governance, a key issue in environment, social and governance principles.

Programmes this module appears in

Please note that the information detailed within this record is accurate at the time of publishing and may be subject to change. This record contains information for the most up to date version of the programme / module for the 2024/5 academic year.