CP Financial Director Expert (FD3 МВА)

1.1. Cost behavior

• Cost dynamics model and levels of business activity
• Determination of fixed and variable components within conditionally variable costs

1.2. Full absorption costing and marginal costing methods

• Principles of the marginal costing method
• Principles of full absorption costing method
• Impact of marginal costing method and full absorption costing method on financial profit and inventory valuation
• Comparison of marginal costing method and full absorption costing method
• Overhead cost issue

1.3 Process costing method

• Foundations for developing a process costing system
• General description of the process costing system
• Comparison between the full absorption costing system and the process costing system
• Marginal costing method and process costing system
• Implementation of the process costing system
• Advantages and disadvantages of the process costing system

1.4 Standard costing method

• Utilization of standard costing
• Establishment of standards for the manufacturing sector
• Establishment of standards for the service sector
• Updating/revision of standards
• Budget and standard comparison
• Critique of the standard costing system
• Cost-effectiveness, performance, and efficiency
• Costing of digital products
• Digital cost calculation

2.1 Variance analysis

• Variances
• Material direct cost variances
• Direct labor cost variances
• Variable overhead cost variances
• Fixed overhead cost variances
• Sales variances
• Non-production cost variances

2.2 Interpretation of variances

• To investigate or not to investigate?
• Models for investigating variances
• General variances: the principle of controllability
• Interpretation of variances
• Utilization of production capacities coefficients
• Benchmarking

2.3 Budget vs. actual profit reconciliation

• Operational reports
• Variances in the standard costing system for variable costs
• Approach to analyzing and computing variances "backward"
• Variances in material costs by item and yield
• Variances in the structure of direct labor costs and labor output
• Sales variances by assortment (structure) and quantity of products sold
• Detailed analysis of fixed production overhead variances
• Analysis of variances using the process costing method
• Planned and operational variances
• Service sector variances

3.1 Budgeting

• Budget planning and control systems
• Compilation of budgets
• Sales budget
• Production and related budgets
• Cash budget and consolidated budget
• Monitoring procedures
• Incremental budgeting

3.2 Budgeting process

• Fixed and flexible budgets
• Preparation of flexible budgets
• Flexible budgets and budgetary control
• Using spreadsheets to build business models
• Budgeting as a control system
• Feedback mechanisms and proactive control
• Cost accounting by responsibility centers

3.3. Responsibility center accounting system

• Behavioral aspects in budgeting
• Participation in the budgeting process
• Using budgets as plans
• Budgets and motivation

4.1 Pricing strategies

• Demand
• Other factors influencing pricing decisions
• Derivation of the demand curve
• Price maximizing profit/production level
• Pricing using the "full cost plus" method
• Pricing using the "marginal cost plus" method (markup method)
• Pricing based on markup on the unit of the limiting factor
• Pricing strategies for new products
• Pricing strategies based on market approach
• Product life cycle
• Price/quality ratio
• Marketing
• Income elasticity of demand
• Ethical considerations

5.1. Relevant information

• Relevant costs and revenues (revenue)
• Irrelevant costs and revenues
• Some rules for identifying relevant costs
• Assumptions in accounting for relevant costs
• Relationship to accounting concepts
• Qualitative factors in decision making

5.2. Short-term decision making

• Short-term decisions
• Contract acceptance/rejection
• Setting a minimum price
• Decisions regarding additional shifts and overtime
• "Make or buy" decisions
• Either/or decisions
• Business closure issues
• Choosing between alternatives
• Allocation of common costs

6.1 Investment decision-making process

• Investment decision-making process
• Post-completion audit (PCA)
• Payback period method
• Accounting Rate of Return (ARR)

6.2 Discounting cash flows in investment evaluation

• Net Present Value (NPV) method
• Internal Rate of Return (IRR) method
• Comparative analysis of NPV and IRR
• Discounted payback period
• DCF: additional aspects

6.3 Impact of taxes and inflation on investment decisions

• Impact of inflation
• Tax considerations

7.1 Mutually exclusive projects. Capital rationing

• Mutually exclusive projects with different implementation periods
• Asset substitution
• Capital rationing
• Project termination
• Sensitivity analysis
• Probabilistic analysis in long-term decision making

8.1 Management control and risks

• Key principles
• Two-dimensional outcome tables
• Risk attitude
• Decision tree. Multi-stage problem-solving
• Sensitivity analysis
• Conditional probabilities – Bayes' Theorem
• Perfect and imperfect information
• Utility theory

1.1. System of process management

• Nature of costs
• Process costing
• Activity-based management
• Direct product profitability
• Customer profitability analysis (CPA)
• Distribution channel profitability
• Profitability analysis by types of activities

1.2. Total quality management (TQM) methods

• Conditions for the formation of traditional and modern methods
• Just-in-Time (JIT) management concept
• Theory of Constraints (TOC)
• Process productivity accounting (TA)
• Cost management by kaizen method
• Continuous improvement
• Total Quality Management (TQM)
• Quality assurance costs and quality cost reports
• Business Process Reengineering (BPR)
• World Class Manufacturing (WCM)

2.1 Variance analysis

2.1 Methods for increasing long-term profit

• Life cycle cost accounting
• Target costing
• Cost analysis
• Functional analysis
• Quality Function Deployment (QFD)

2.2. Value creation chain

• Value creation chain
• Supply chain management
• Outsourcing
• Partnership, material incentives, and joint participation in profits

3.1 Decision making in responsibility centers

• Responsibility centers
• Behavioral aspects in budgeting
• Participation in the budgeting process
• Using budgets as plans
• Budgets and motivation

3.2 Budgetary control

• Financial performance indicators
• Return on Equity (ROE)
• Return on Investment (ROI) in decision-making
• Residual Income (RI)
• Economic Value Added (EVA)

3.3 Performance indicators

• Imperfections of financial performance indicators
• Non-financial performance indicators
• Benchmarking
• Balanced Scorecard
• Non-profit organizations. Non-budgetary management

4.1 Pricing strategies

• Demand
• Other factors influencing pricing decisions
• Derivation of the demand curve
• Price maximizing profit/production level
• Pricing using the "full cost plus" method
• Pricing using the "marginal cost plus" method (markup method)
• Pricing based on markup on the unit of the limiting factor
• Pricing strategies for new products
• Pricing strategies based on market approach
• Product life cycle
• Price/quality ratio
• Marketing
• Income elasticity of demand
• Ethical considerations

5.1 Transfer pricing systems

• Basic principles of transfer pricing
• General rules
• Using market price as the basis for transfer pricing
• Transfer pricing in an imperfect external market
• Transfer pricing in the absence of an external market for transferred goods
• Transfer pricing and changes in costs/prices
• Determining the optimal transfer price
• Contractual transfer prices
• International transfer pricing

6.1 Investment decision-making process

• Investment decision-making process
• Post-completion audit (PCA)
• Payback period method
• Accounting Rate of Return (ARR)

6.2 Discounting cash flows in investment evaluation

• Net Present Value (NPV) method
• Internal Rate of Return (IRR) method
• Comparative analysis of NPV and IRR
• Discounted payback period
• DCF: additional aspects

6.3 Impact of taxes and inflation on investment decisions

• Impact of inflation
• Tax considerations

7.1 Mutually exclusive projects. Capital rationing

• Mutually exclusive projects with different implementation periods
• Asset substitution
• Capital rationing
• Project termination
• Sensitivity analysis
• Probabilistic analysis in long-term decision making

8.1 Management control and risks

• Key principles
• Two-dimensional outcome tables
• Risk attitude
• Decision tree. Multi-stage problem-solving
• Sensitivity analysis
• Conditional probabilities – Bayes' Theorem
• Perfect and imperfect information
• Utility theory

9.1 Risk management

• Key principles
• Risk management strategy
• Risk management – TARA model
• Risk map
• Stress testing
• Ethical issues as sources of risk
• Social responsibility

9.2 Gathering and using information

• Information systems and their role in management
• Risks
• Risks and benefits of using the internet and intranet
• Value and cost of information
• Big Data (large datasets)

External crises. Crises in examples.

Ishikawa diagram

Internal crises.

Adizes Test

​​Factors influencing company resilience in a crisis:

Inventory management.

Investment and financial activities.

Motivational system.

Strategic decisions in crisis conditions.

Strategic analysis.

Risks of new economic conditions.

Major mistakes.