The syllabus covers fundamental issues including basic cost terms, concepts, and definitions before introducing costing systems such as full costing and Activity Based Costing. In addition to preparing basic budgets, the difficulties that are inherent within any budgeting system are presented. Students learn to analyse and explain the major causes of differences between budget and actual performance, including basic standard costs and variances. The relationship between accounting information and managers decisions in a competitive environment is demonstrated. Students learn to conduct a financial analysis to support a range of business decisions such as pricing, make v buy, limiting factor of production, discontinuation of product line, customer or market etc. Strategic management accounting is introduced. Techniques such as target costing, value chain analysis and total life-cycle costing are discussed in addition to tools for measuring performance such as the balanced scorecard.