The University of Texas at Dallas

School of Management

COST MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS [AIM 3341-521]

Summer 2005
Instructor: Jiangxia Liu
Office: SOM 4.421
Phone: (972) 883-4442
Fax: (972) 883-6811
E- mail: jxl010300@utdallas.edu
Office Hours: Tuesday 2:00-3:00 PM, or by appointment

Class meetings: Wednesday 6:00 – 10:00 PM (SOM 1.102)

Required Text:
Title: Cost Accounting: A Managerial Emphasis, 11th Edition
Authors: Horngren, Foster, and Datar
Publisher: Prentice Hall

Overview and Objectives

This course emphasizes the use of accounting information for internal planning and
control purposes, as opposed to the external disclosure focus of financial accounting.
The course builds upon the material from ACCT 2302, Introduction to Cost
Management. It is assumed that you have a thorough understanding of the major
concepts from ACCT 2302. It is also assumed that you have understanding of double-
entry accounting. We will cover the me chanics of cost accounting, the design of
internal accounting systems for different types of firms and manufacturing processes,
and the role of management accounting in firms.

The course has two major objectives: (1) To develop an understanding of

alternative methods of collating and preparing internal accounting information; and, (2)
to examine how this information is used in organizations for decision- making,
production management, product design and pricing, and for motivating and evaluating
employees. Unless you understand managerial accounting, you cannot have a thorough
understanding of a company’s internal operations. What you learn in this course will
help you understand the operations of your future employer (and enable you to be
successful at your job), and help you understand other companies you encounter in your
role as competitor, consultant, or inve stor.

Course Organization
We meet every Wednesday. For most of the lectures, half of the class time will be
spent for discussing the concepts and the other half for solving applied problems. In
addition to understanding what is discussed in the class and the class handouts, you also
need to read the textbook to reinforce the concepts discussed in the class. This can be
done effectively, only if you read the textbook on an ongoing basis without waiting for
the exams.
Learning is a complex process. Various aspects of this course have been designed
to help you with the learning process. I am giving below a set of guidelines, which may
help you to get the maximum benefit out of this course. Of course, the learning process
is highly individualistic and hence you may want to explore and find out what works
for you the best.
(i) Textbook: The textbook is meant to supplement the class discussion. I
will not discuss, in class, everything in the textbook. Nor should you
expect to find everything that was discussed in the class in your textbook.
I would strongly encourage you to read the textbook chapters ahead of the
class. This will familiarize you with what we will discuss in the class and
put you in a better position to participate in class discussions. For each
session, I have indicated the chapter from the textbook that will be
covered in the class. Please spend at least an hour reading the textbook
before each class.
(ii) Practice Problems: Pay attention to the problems solved in the class, the
problems included in your assignments, and suggested problems. Detailed
solution will be provided for all the homework problems and suggested
problems. It is a good idea to try to solve as many problems as possible.

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 Just like any mathematics course, the more problems you solve, and the
better you are in an accounting course!
(iii) Exams: You will have two exams in this course; the midterm exam and
the final exam. You are not allowed to refer to textbook or class notes
during the exams. If you miss an exam without my prior permission, you
will be given a grade of zero. If you have any valid reason for missing an
exam, you have to get in touch with me before the exam (through phone
or e- mail) in order to make alternate arrangements. If you have a personal
illness, a note from your physician should support it. As a general rule, no
make up exam will be given. The exams will determine 65% of your
course grade.
(iv) Assignments: In this course, you will work on three individual
assignments. All the assignments should be typed in Microsoft Word.
Handwritten assignments will not be graded. On the respective due dates I
will discuss the assignments in the class. You are required to turn in the
assignments at the beginning of the class. Make a copy of your
assignments for your own reference. Late assignments will not be
accepted. Each assignment will account for 10% in your final grade.
(v) Class handouts: I will post a copy of my lecture notes in WebCt. You
are required to download the notes and bring a printout to class. This
will save a lot of time that may otherwise be spent on notes taking.
My lecture notes are not intended to be self-explanatory and they are
probably not much of use unless you attend the lectures.
(vi) Grading Scheme: Your course grade will be computed based on the
following scheme:
Homework Assignments: 3 x 10% 30%
Midterm Exam 30% 30%
Final Exam 35% 35%
Participation 5% 5%
Total 100%

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The final letter grade will be determined based on your combined score from the
assignments, mid-term, final exam and participation.
Academic Honesty
All students in the class are expected to behave in accordance with academic integrity.
Strict adherence to the Policy on Cheating as stated in the Regents’ Rules and
Regulations, part one, Chapter VI, Section 3, Subsection 3.2, subdivision 3.22 is
expected. This policy reads:

Students are expected to be above reproach in all-scholastic activities. Students who

engage in scholastic dishonesty are subject to disciplinary penalties, including the
possibility of failure in the course and dismissal from the university. Scholastic
dishonesty includes but is not limited to cheating, plagiarism, collusion, the submission
for credit of any work or materials that are attributable in whole or in part to another
person, taking an examination for another person, any act designed to give unfair
advantage to a student or attempt to commit such acts.

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 Class Schedule

Week Date Topic Chapter

1 May 18,2005 Introduction to Management Accounting Chapter 1,2
2 May 25,2005 Cost Management Concepts and Cost Behavior Chapter 2
3 June 1,2005 Cost -Volume-Profit Analysis Chapter 3
Assignment 1 due in class
4 June 8,2005 Job Costing and Process Costing Chapter 4, 17
5 June 15,2005 Cost Allocation and Support Department Chapter 14, 15
Assignment 2 due in class
6 June 22,2005 Midterm Exam
7 June 29,2005 Activity -Based Cost System Chapter 5
8 July 6,2005 Joint Cost Allocation Chapter 16
9 July 13,2005 Master Budget and Variance Analysis I Chapter 6, 7
Assignment 3 due in class
10 July 20,2005 Variance Analysis II Chapter 7, 8
Review for Final Exam
11 July 27,2005 Final Exam

Note: This is a tentative schedule. Changes, if any, will be announced in class and will be put
on WebCt. You are responsible for all announcements made in the class.