ACCA Management Accounting (MA): study notes HPS notes for the current syllabus, area by area, with worked examples and quizzes.

1. 01A. The nature, source and purpose of management informationWhat management information is for, what makes it worth producing, and how it differs from financial accounting. The module then covers where data comes from (inside and outside the business, including big data), the vocabulary of cost classification that the rest of the syllabus depends on, and how to present information clearly in reports, tables and charts.5 lessons · 2h 30m+

   • Accounting for management35 min
   • Sources of data30 min
   • Cost classificationFree preview40 min
   • Presenting information30 min
   • Module 1 quiz15 min
2. 02B. Data analysis and statistical techniquesThe statistical tools a management accountant uses to turn data into forecasts and decisions: sampling, the high-low method, regression and correlation, time series, index numbers, averages and dispersion, expected values and the normal distribution. The module ends with spreadsheets, where most of this work is done in practice, including correct Excel formulas, what-if analysis and the risks of relying on spreadsheets.5 lessons · 3h+

   • Sampling methods30 min
   • Analytical techniques in budgeting and forecasting55 min
   • Summarising and analysing data45 min
   • Spreadsheets35 min
   • Module 2 quiz15 min
3. 03C. Cost accounting techniquesHow costs are recorded and attached to products and services: materials (economic order quantity, reorder levels, FIFO and AVCO), labour (pay schemes, labour turnover and the efficiency, capacity and production volume ratios) and overheads (allocation, apportionment, reapportionment, absorption, and under- and over-absorption). The module then compares absorption and marginal costing, covers job, batch, process and service costing, and introduces activity based costing, target costing, life-cycle costing and total quality management.5 lessons · 3h 40m+

   • Accounting for material, labour and overheads60 min
   • Absorption and marginal costingFree preview45 min
   • Cost accounting methods60 min
   • Alternative cost accounting principles40 min
4. 04D. BudgetingWhy organisations budget, how the budget process is run and which budget comes first, then the budgets themselves: functional budgets, the cash budget and the master budget. The module goes on to flexible budgets, capital budgeting with payback, NPV and IRR, budgetary control and responsibility reporting, and the effect budgets have on the people who must meet them.7 lessons · 4h 20m+

   • The nature and purpose of budgeting35 min
   • Budget preparation45 min
   • Flexible budgets35 min
   • Asset budgeting and investment appraisal55 min
   • Budgetary control and reporting40 min
5. 05E. Standard costingHow standard costs are set and what kinds of standard there are, then every variance in the MA syllabus: materials, labour, variable and fixed overheads, and sales, under absorption and marginal costing. The module ends with the operating statement that reconciles budgeted profit with actual profit, and with how to interpret variances, their causes and the links between them.4 lessons · 2h 30m+

   • The standard costing system35 min
   • Variance calculations and analysis55 min
   • Reconciling budgeted and actual profit45 min
   • Module 5 quiz15 min
6. 06F. Performance measurementHow organisations turn a mission into objectives, critical success factors and KPIs, and how the balanced scorecard combines financial and non-financial measures. The module then calculates and interprets financial ratios, ROI and residual income, and production ratios, covers cost reduction and value analysis, and ends with monitoring performance over the long term, in service organisations and in the not-for-profit and public sectors through value for money.5 lessons · 2h 50m+

   • Performance measurement: an overview35 min
   • Performance measurement in practice45 min
   • Cost reduction and value enhancement35 min
   • Monitoring performance and reporting40 min
   • Module 6 quiz

• AThe nature, source and purpose of management information
• BData analysis and statistical techniques
• CCost accounting techniques
• DBudgeting
• EStandard costing
• FPerformance measurement

Questions