ASSESSMENT OF

W HR STRATEGIES/
TOPICS OVERVIEW LEARNING
K. S. ACTIVITIES
OUTCOMES
Sharing of  Students to submit
INTRODUCTION TO THE Identify and comply with the policies expectations from reflection paper on
COURSE in Intermediate Accounting Ill to the teacher and the their realization from
maximize learning students the initial discussion

This topic overviews the concepts and

development of strategic planning in
modern business enterprises. The
traditional areas of corporate strategy;
such as strategic objectives and
strategic planning decision models are Lecture / discussion
first introduced to the student. The
1- 1- STRATEGIC THINKING state of strategic thinking in the Case Analysis
current environment is then Recitation
considered, especially in relation to
multiple approaches to analyzing
corporate strategy. The use of Big
Data in strategic planning and
thinking is specifically considered.
2- 2- STRATEGIC MARKETING Here the marketing concept is Lecture / discussion
ANALYSIS AND introduced and the links between Case Analysis
BUDGETING marketing and strategic business Recitation
analysis are illustrated; and the impact
of Big Data analytics in customer-
data driven marketing strategies is
considered. It is shown how concepts
such as the product life cycle and
product portfolio matrix are linked to
managerial accounting techniques
such as budgeting and life cycle
costing to provide relevant
information for strategic decision
 making. A comprehensive strategic
segmental marketing budget is
developed in this topic.
This topic looks at the interface
between management accounting and
marketing related “product or services
management” especially in
competitive environments. The
“product” is the first “P” in the 4-Ps
of marketing, the others being price,
promotion and place distribution,
which will be discussed in detail in
later topics. It is shown that as a
3- 3- FINANCIAL ANALYSIS IN Lecture / discussion
product/service moves through
PRODUCT PORTFOLIO Case Analysis
various stages of its life cycle, there
MANAGEMENT Recitation
are differing financial aspects that
need to be focused on for competitive
positioning. It is demonstrated that
the company’s management
accountant possesses the tools and
techniques required to provide the
product/service managers with
decision-orientated information,
especially in financing technological
innovation in the digital age.
4- 4- PRICING METHODS AND Here the various aspects of pricing Lecture / discussion
STRATEGIES decisions are covered, especially in Case Analysis
competitive environments. Pricing Recitation
methods and pricing strategies are
specifically contrasted, and the use of
such techniques as CVP analysis and
linear programming in the pricing
area are discussed. Risk averse
 pricing strategies and their limitations
are also covered in this topic.
This topic extends the discussion of
the previous topic on pricing, and
considers pricing within a competitive
international market. It is shown that
5- 5- FINANCIAL DIMENSIONS setting a selling price in a foreign
Lecture / discussion
OF PRICING IN market has, in addition to strategic
Case Analysis
INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS marketing considerations, some
Recitation
STRATEGIES unique international financial
dimensions, especially due to the
lengthening of the channels of
distribution and the impact of
multiple currencies.
Here the principal ways of
communicating with the market,
referred to collectively as the
“promotional mix” are overviewed.
The objective of this mix is to make a
sale, either by “pulling” customers
towards the product (using
6- 6- PROMOTION: PUSH Lecture / discussion
advertising) or by “pushing” the
STRATEGY AND HUMAN Case Analysis
product to the customer (using
RESOURCE MANAGEMENT Recitation
personal selling). It is shown that the
management accountant has a
significant role “push strategy”,
especially in the human resource
management areas of controlling field
sales operations and evaluating sales
force performance.
7- 7- PROMOTION: PULL This topic continues with the Lecture / discussion
STRATEGY AND discussion on promotion, and Case Analysis
INTEGRATED MARKETING specifically looks at “pull strategy” Recitation
 and integrated marketing
communication (IMC) with its heavy
reliance on advertising; especially via
digital marketing platforms. It is
demonstrated that the management
COMMUNICATION accountant has a significant role in
formulating advertising budgets,
especially using specific budget
models, and in the difficult areas of
controlling advertising outlays and
evaluating advertising effectiveness.
MIDTERM EXAMINATION
This topic considers the last “P” of
the 4-P’s of marketing; i.e. place (or
physical distribution). It is shown that
the control of the supply-chain
distribution function involves a
“trade-off” between maximizing
customer service and minimizing
8- 8- SUPPLY CHAIN
distribution costs, and that the Lecture / discussion
MANAGEMENT AND THE
management accountant has a Case Analysis
PLACE-DISTRIBUTION
significant role to play in achieving Recitation
DECISION
this balance. The tools and techniques
of distribution cost analysis and
control that are used in providing
customers value and maintaining
efficient cost management in the
digital world are highlighted in this
topic.
9- 9- PERFORMANCE This topic introduces Business Lecture / discussion
VALUATION AND Performance Measures and provides a Case Analysis
STRATEGIC FINANCIAL link as to how these measures are Recitation
STRUCTURES interrelated with the capital structure
 of the firm. The impact of financial
structure on planning performance
evaluation is considered, specifically
the relative measures (ratios) used in
financial statement analysis.
Investment and Financing issues are
separated; and capital structure and its
role in obtaining an appropriate
discount rate for capital projects is
particularly considered. The topic also
covers the more recent approaches to
project and corporate funding such as
venture capital and crowdfunding.
This topic overview the different
approaches to ‘value investing’; and
introduces the concept of Strategic
Value Analysis. The topic compares
this concept to the more traditional
concept of net present value; and
10- STRATEGIC VALUE
demonstrates the impact of ‘free-cash Lecture / discussion
ANALYSIS
flows’ on operational value, business Case Analysis
value, and shareholder value. It is Recitation
demonstrated that the concepts of
‘value’ and ‘strategic value’ can be
quantified for planning purposes, and
in valuing companies.
11- RISK MANAGEMENT – Here the concept of risk; and the Lecture / discussion
CORPORATE RADAR AND approaches to risk management using Case Analysis
EARLY WARNING SYSTEMS short-term (weekly) and long-term Recitation
(annual) corporate radar systems are
considered, in order to determine the
health of a business organization.
Popular bankruptcy prediction models
 (such as Z-scores) and their reliability
and relevance in the 2000s are
specifically considered.
This topic focuses on corporate
success, and the role of non-financial
indicators in measuring and
controlling this success. The
importance of monitoring both the
internal and external environment is
highlighted, especially in terms of a
firm’s ‘critical success factors’. The Lecture / discussion
12-STRATEGIC
strategic consequences of having Case Analysis
SCORECARDS
intangible assets such as Brands and Recitation
Human Capital on strategic
scorecards is also considered. Finally,
a strategic scorecard that recognizes
the seven underlying principles of
‘sustainable value creation’ in the
design and marketing of products and
services is highlighted.
FINAL EXAMINATION