Learning Outcomes:

Introduction to financial and managerial  accounting its purposes and financial strategy  formulation. 

Cost systems:

• Cost classifications in terms of  object; function, product/service and behaviour;  opportunity cost, recording and analysing costs; job costing; batch costing; process costing; contract  costing; standard costing; variance calculations;  variance analysis and management by exception. 

Costing methods

• Absorption, marginal costing,  activity-based costing (ABC); use in calculating costs  and pricing policy and their relationship to cost controls and pricing. 

Cost control of systems

• Cost centre; profit  centres; investment centres; accountable  management; planning and control methods. 

Financial statements

• Estimates and assumptions  relating to the profit and loss account; balance sheet  and cash flow statement. 

Financial ratios analysis, interpretation,  decisions and limitations

• Employment of financial  ratios internally and externally; financial profiles of  organisations; calculation of key ratios reflecting  business liquidity; efficiency and profitability.

Budgets

• Types; flexible and fixed budgets; zero based budgeting, budgeting process from  subsidiary/functional to master budget; relationship  of budget to cost and quality control, resource  utilisation and profitability.

Budgets monitoring and evaluations:

• Budgeted  and actual figures, accounting for and investigating different kind of variances in budgetary controls;  corrective action; human behavioural issues relating  to budgeting. 

Sources of financial resources; types of funds

• Short term and long terms, sourcing funds internally  and externally; venture capitalists, leverages; risk, cost and control issues with types of funding;  techniques of selecting appropriate sources of funds  for different projects – comparison of costs, risk and  controls.

Managing working capitals and appraisal of  investment options

• Capital and revenue  expenditure, risk, cost and controls; cash flow  statements; time value of money; different methods  of project appraisal like accounting rate of return;  payback period and cash flows; discounted cash  flow – net present value and internal rate of return;  and allowance for inflation in money and real rates  of discount, taxation and project appraisal. 

Indicative reading list 

Core texts: 

• Atrill, P. and McLaney, E. (2006) Accounting & Finance for Non-specialists. (5th edition) Harlow: FT Prentice Hall.
• Chaffey, D., Bocij, P., Greasley, A. and Hickie, S. (2006) Business information systems: technology, development and management for the e-business, (3rd edition), Harlow: Financial Times Prentice Hall/Pearson Education. 

Additional reading: 

• Atrill, P. (2011) Financial management for decision makers. Harlow: FT Prentice Hall.
• Atrill, P. and McLaney, E. (2006) Management Accounting for Decision Makers. Harlow: Prentice Hall. 
• Berk, J. and DeMarzo, P. (2007) Corporate Finance. London: Pearson. 
• Brealey, R., Myers, S. and Marcus, A. (2007) Fundamentals of Corporate Finance. New York: McGraw Hill Irwin.
• Cox, D. and Fardon, M. (1997) Management of Finance. London: Osborne Books. 
• Dyson, J. R. (2004) Accounting for Non-Accounting Learners. 6th Edition. Harlow: FT Prentice Hall. 
• Drury, C. (2009) Management Accounting for Business. 4th Edition. London: Cengage Learning EMEA. 
• Lumby, S. and Jones, C. (2000) The Fundamentals of Investment Appraisal. London: Thomson Learning. 
• Laudon, K. and Laudon J. (2007) Management Information Systems – Managing the Digital Firm. 10th Edition. Harlow: Prentice Hall.
• Monden, Y. (1995) Cost Reduction Systems: Target Costing and Kaizen Costing. New York, Productivity Press.
• Marsh, C. (2009) Mastering Financial Management. Harlow: FT Prentice Hall. 
• Van Horne, J. and Wachewicz, J. (2009) Fundamentals of Financial Management. Harlow: FT Prentice Hall 
• White, G. I., Sondhi, A. C. and Fried, D. (2003) The Analysis and Use of Financial Statements. 3rd Edition. Hampshire: John Wiley and Sons.

Other indicative reading: 

• Peer reviewed academic journals as Financial Management, Journal of International Financial Management & Accounting, International Journal of Financial Management and related. 
• Online resources, corporate industry reports, the Institute of Certified Financial Managers publications and relevant.

Journals/newspapers: 

• The Financial Times; 
• Management Accounting Quarterly; 
• Financial Management; 
• International Journal of Financial Management; 
• Journal of International Financial Management & Accounting; 
• Management Today; 
• Strategic Finance;

Websites: 

• Most of the professional accounting bodies in the UK have their own websites (CIMA, ICA, CIPFA, AAT);
• www.aat.co.uk (Association of Accounting Technicians)
• www.cimaglobal.com (Chartered Institute of Management Accountants) 
• www.cipfa.org.uk (Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy) 
• www.companies-house.gov.uk (Companies House)

Entry requirements

To enroll the Doctoral Award, the learner must possess:

• Graduated with a Master’s degree from an accredited university or achieved a Level 7 Diploma according to the European Qualifications
• For a degree from non-global accredited universities; The learner should have followed Accreditation of Prior Experiential Learning for Qualifications (APELQ) policy of SIMI and/or University Partners.
• Learners must be over 24 years old.

The SIMI Swiss reserves the highest decision-making power for admission whether to accept or not accept after a specific review of each candidate’s profile to ensure that they can comprehend and gain benefits when participating. For the fake university or diploma mills, University Partners shall not be accepted.

English requirements

If a learner is not from a predominantly English-speaking country, proof of English language proficiency must be provided.

• Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) level B2 or equivalent
• Or A minimum TOEFL score of 101 or IELTS 6.5; Reading and Writing must be at 6.5 or equivalent

After graduating with Doctoral Award, students receive all certified documents from the SIMI Swiss.

Certified Documents:

• e-Certificate from the Swiss Information and Management Institute (SIMI Swiss).
• Hard copy certificate from the Swiss Information and Management Institute (SIMI Swiss) – Optional.
•  Accreditation of Prior Experiential Learning for Qualifications (APEL.Q) certified from University Partners for credit and tuition fee transfer.

Because the program is accredited and recognized, students can easily use certified in the working environment and have many opportunities for career advancement. In addition, in case if you want to study for a SIMI degree or university partner degree, students can convert all credits and the full paid tuition fee when participating in the program University Partners.

The SIMI Swiss’ Doctoral Award means:

SIMI Swiss Doctoral Award is the award at the doctoral level and is equivalent to:

• Level 8 certificate of Regulated Qualification Framework (RQF) of UK
• Level 11 certificate of Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework (SCQF)
• Level 8 certificate of Credit and Qualifications Framework (CQFW)
• Level 8 certificate of European Qualifications Framework (EQF)
• Level 10 certificates of the Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF)
• Level 8 certificate of ASEAN Qualifications Reference Framework (AQRF)
• Level 10 certificate of the African Continental Qualifications Framework (ACQF)

Students can convert all credits and the full tuition fee when participating in the SIMI Swiss and/or University Partners academic programs if they want to study for an academic degree.

Credits transfer:

Learners can accumulate 20 credits from the Doctoral Award program when participating in the Doctor of Business Administration (DBA) or PhD. Please see the credit transfer policy HERE

Tuition fee transfer:

When participating in the DBA/PhD program, students who have graduated 1 Doctoral Award will receive a discount of full tuition fee which you paid. Please see the tuition fee transfer HERE

The SIMI Swiss micro-credential program allows for the transfer of credits and tuition fees into full degree programs from SIMI Swiss and/or its university partners. SIMI Swiss reserves the right to limit admissions once the number of students exceeds the quotas.

Apply Policy:

• To participate in the SIMI Swiss micro-credential program, students need to meet the entry criteria corresponding to each level. Please see the “Entry” tab for more details.
• SIMI Swiss will not accept applicants if their entry qualifications are from diploma mill universities or schools/universities that are not accredited.
• For Doctoral Award programs, if an entry master is unavailable, students must demonstrate a minimum of 5 years of work experience in the relevant field. Please note that a master’s degree is required for the Doctoral program at SIMI Swiss and University Partners so that you could study Doctoral Award but could not move to the Doctoral program of SIMI and University Partners.
• English is not a mandatory entry requirement for short course programs, but candidates need to ensure that English is used in reading documents, listening to lectures, and doing assignments. Candidates should note that English is a mandatory requirement when switching to an academic program at SIMI Swiss and University Partners.

Apply Process:

1. Choose the program that suits your requirements. Note that applicants without a university degree will not be able to participate in the program at Master’s level, and applicants without a Master’s degree will not be able to participate in the program at the Doctoral level.
2. Email your application to support@simiswiss.ch with all the required documents. You could download the application form here.
3. Our admission department will contact you and guide you through further processes if the registration documents need to be supplemented.
4. SIMI Swiss will issue the Letter of Acceptant (LOA). You will proceed to the next steps according to the instructions and pay tuition fee.
5. SIMI Swiss will issue a student confirmation letter, login account to the e-learning system and related documents.
6. You have become an official SIMI Swiss student and enjoy your study journey.

The SIMI Swiss micro-credential program is fully online, allowing you to study anytime, anywhere. You have the option to attend live classes with SIMI Swiss. The final exam will be uploaded to the system and evaluated by the academic panel of SIMI Swiss. Students must submit assignments on time; failure to do so will result in the student being considered to have discontinued the program.