KEYWORDS

FOCUS

1

Definition and branches of Accounting

·         What accountants do

·         Route to accountancy profession

·         Professional Bodies

2

Finance or accounting function

·         Evolution - changing role of the finance function

·         A support function

·         Pursuit of Competitive Excellence (May, 2001)

-          creation of shared service centres for internal outsourcing

-          the shift from management of functions to management of processes

·         Regulatory framework,

·         Professional Bodies

3

·         Decision Support Role

·         Value Adding Role

·         Accountants as dynamic financial professionals leading multi-disciplined teams engaged in strategic and tactical planning

·         The different roles of the management accountant in the finance function: as business consultants; as business analysts; as technical specialists

·         Job Description + Specification (May,2001)

1.        Business Consultants

2.        Business Analysts

3.        Technical Specialists

4.        Chief Finance Officer (CFO)

5.        Chief Business Officer (CBO)

6.        Chief Operating Officer (COO)

7.        Chief Information Officer (CIO)

8.        Chief Strategic Development Officer (CSDO)

·         Managerialism:

-          the expansion of the decision support role to include value adding role

-          the reduction in the financing and stewardship role through redesign

-          the reduction in the transaction processing and accounting operation roles as part of  low-cost strategy implementation

4

Perspectives

·         Changing environment - Technology led Business Environment

·         Factors driving change: (May, 2001)

-          changing business practices

-          rise in shareholder power

-          impact of government legislation

-          impact of globalization

-          impact of advances in IT on organizational structure and systems and the finance function

-          creation of shared service centres for internal outsourcing

-          the shift from management of functions to management of processes

5

Relevance

·         Decision-making at all levels

·         Support service function (May, 2001)

·         Types of decisions and information requirements of stakeholders

6

Stakeholders Needs and Expectations

·         Those interested in accounting information

·         The need for finance professionals to add to company-wide value

·         Changing risk-reward relationships

·         Financial literacy

7

Financial/accounting information

·         As a strategic resource

·         Knowledge Management

8

Management Initiatives

·         Best Practice - from management of functions to management of processes

·         Beyond Budgeting:

-          Priority-Based Budgeting (PBB)

-          Contingency planning

-          Risk/uncertainty management

-          Process management

-          Decision Support Systems

-          Value-Adding Systems

·         Risk/uncertainty management

9

Value-Adding Tools and Techniques

·         Value-Based management (VBM)

·         Best Value

·         Best Practice Benchmarking

·         EFQM Excellence Model, MBNQA, etc.

·         Activity-Based Costing (ABC)

·         Activity-Based Management (ABM)

·         Business Process Re-engineering (BPR)