Strategic Management Accounting is an elective segment offered in CPA Program.

Strategic Management Accounting is a constantly evolving discipline that aims to support managers in a variety of industries and sectors as they face the challenge of creating and managing value in an increasingly competitive and difficult operating environment.

This segment is designed to further develop your abilities in the Strategic Management Accounting area with a specific focus on strategy and value.

After completing this segment, your understanding of the need to create, manage and enhance value will be strengthened, and you will be equipped with a variety of techniques to support these tasks.

Module 1: management accounting: supporting the value creation process

Part A: the nature of management accounting

• accounting
• traditional management accounting defined and explained
• changes to the traditional management accounting role
• factors driving change
  • globalisation
  • technology
  • stakeholder focus
  • corporate governance
  • internal structures
• reaction to change: strategic management accounting

Part B: understanding and supporting management

• what is value?
• what managers do: creating and managing value
• management accounting and the strategic management process
• management accounting and operational management
• management accounting and line managers
• management accounting and the public sector

Part C: management accounting systems (MAS)

• the role of the management accounting system
• MAS and the internal controls
• problems with management accounting systems

Part D: the emerging role of the management accountant

• the role
• challenges
  • technology
  • managing resources
  • innovation
• skills

Module 2: creating organisational value

Part A: the value chain

• why do we have organisations
• what do organisations do
• customer or shareholder value?
• organisational value chain
• industry value chain
• transaction costs and the value chain
• management accounting and value analysis

Part B: strategic management

• strategic analysis
  • value analysis
  • strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats
  • internal analysis - products and services
  • external analysis
• strategic planning
• strategy choice
  • what should a good strategy achieve?
  • competitive strategy
  • choosing a generic strategy
• strategy implementation
  • the CPA and strategic management

Module 3: managing performance measures

Part A: why measure performance?

• decision making
  • variance
• motivating behaviour
• signalling
• performance measurement, strategy and management control systems
  • strategy
  • management control systems
  • organisational outcomes

Part B: characteristics of effective performance measures

• measurement criteria
  • validity
  • reliability
  • clarity
  • cost
  • timeliness
  • accessibility
  • controllability
  • gaming and manipulation

Part C: use of strategic and operational performance measures

• three types of scorecards
• implementing strategy
• strategy maps
• STEP
• target setting
• strategic learning
• evaluating the scorecard

Part D: benchmarking

• decisions on performance measures
• benchmarking partners 
• obtaining benchmarking measures
• using information for decisions, control and performance evaluation
• problems with benchmarking

Part E: organisational effects on performance measurement

• motivation and rewards
  • motivation
  • skills and knowledge
  • environment
  • compensation
  • agency theory
  • linking compensation to performance
  • timing
  • group and individual performance
• issues in performance measurement
  • technology
  • information technology
  • organisational outcomes

Module 4: techniques for managing value

Part A: supporting value chain improvements

• the need for relevant information
• value chain analysis
• information technology and the value chain
• performance measurement

Part B: applying the concepts and tools of strategic management accounting to the value chain

• setting a target cost for the new product
• the upstream value chain: supplier management
• value chain analysis and improved economic performance
• strategic cost-management concepts: life cycle, target and kaizen costing
• outsourcing and off-shoring
• total quality management
• focusing on downstream value chain activities: customer profitability analysis 
• linking the tools of strategic cost management

Module 5: Project management

Part A: Project management defined

• what is a project
• what is project management
• the steps in project management 
  • project selection
  • project planning
  • project implementation, monitoring and control
  • project completion and review

Part B: roles in project management

• project sponsor
• project manager
• strategic management accountant
• the project team

Part C: the SMA's role in project selection

• strategic fit
• risk assessment 
  • risk identification
  • risk classification
• financial analysis
  • net present value
  • internal rate of return
  • profitability index
  • payback
  • return on investment
  • residual income

Part D: the SMA's role in project planning

• project scheduling 
  • Gantt charts
  • project evaluation and review technique (PERT) 
  • critical path method and crashing projects
• project budgeting
• contracts

Part E: the SMA's role in project implementation control and monitoring

• monitoring costs
• the earned value method: time vs cost
• designing performance measures

Part F: the SMA's role in project completion and review

• the completion decision
• task list
• specification satisfaction consensus
• financial closure
  • final budget
  • closing the cost records
  • post-project expenditure
• resource dispersion
• final report
• knowledge management

Case studies

• case study 1: Terracotta Ltd
• case study 2: Banksia City Council