Financial Management & Control – IM07CC CEMS
Dr. Marcel van Rinsum Associate Professor RSM Erasmus University Department Accounting & Control mrinsum@rsm.nl Introduction Financial Management Control Systems (FMCS) form the bridge between the organization’s strategy and its operations. Their purpose is to align managerial behaviour and decision making with organizational goals. Although management controls are typically embedded in the organization’s financial management and accounting systems, their design and use should be based on a thorough understanding of how managerial behaviour is influenced by typical control system elements, such as target setting, performance measurement and rewarding. Indeed, while the proper design of management control systems is paramount for organizational performance, organizational failure can often be attributed to poor design of the organizations management control system. Such poor design may result from a limited understanding of the drivers of managerial behavior in complex organizations. Our challenge thus lies in understanding what are crucial design elements of control systems, what design options are feasible, and how the design and use of control systems should match the organizational context in which they operate. This understanding, rather than the straightforward arithmetic often associated with financial management, forms the core of this course. Course design in a nutshell This course consists of a combination of lectures, articles and cases. The lectures are intended to deal with the theory and concepts that are relevant to accounting and control. The reading material consists of a set of papers and readings that are all posted on Blackboard. The course may also require active use of the library and the internet (Google etc.). Additional materials may be posted on Blackboard as well. The course finishes with a