Samenvatting 2 ASM 3 Enabling performance: a human capital and
nancial perspective (MM0223)
Onderdeel Master Managementwetenschappen OU
Deze samenvatting betreft het tweede deel van de cursus, a nancial perspective.
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, Financieel perspectief: Accounting
Accounting: het verzamelen, analyseren en communiceren van ( nanciële) gegevens.
• Financial Accounting: gericht op externe verslaggeving, zoals jaarrekeningen en
duurzaamheidsrapportages voor aandeelhouders, toezichthouders en andere stakeholders.
• Management Accounting: gericht op interne sturing en besluitvorming voor managers,
zoals kostenanalyse en budgettering.
Finance (ook wel Financieel Management): focust op het beheer van nanciële middelen en
waardecreatie. Dit omvat o.a. investeringsbeslissingen, nancieringsstructuur, risicobeheer en
kasstroom beheer. Finance gebruikt de output van accounting als input voor strategische
beslissingen over bijv. kapitaalallocatie of groeistrategieën.
Control: richt zich op het bewaken van prestaties en het sturen van gedrag binnen de organisatie.
Controllers signaleren afwijkingen, adviseren het management en helpen bij het opstellen van
begrotingen en forecasts.
Kortom: de Accounting-discipline draagt zorg voor de levering van betrouwbare, gestructureerde
en controleerbare informatie. De Finance-afdeling geeft op basis van deze informatie richting aan
de nanciële strategie en het lange-termijn succes van de organisatie. Controllers gebruiken de
accounting informatie om te analyseren of de organisatie op koers ligt ten opzichte van haar
doelstellingen. De disciplines zijn complementair.
Performance management: richt zich op het meten, monitoren en bijsturen van prestaties binnen
een organisatie. Daarmee vormt het, vanuit een nancieel perspectief, een verbinding tussen
Management Accounting (meten van prestaties) en Control (monitoren en bijsturen van prestaties).
Financiële informatie, zoals kosten en opbrengsten, blijft essentieel. Tegelijkertijd wint niet-
nanciële informatie, zoals klanttevredenheid, duurzaamheid en medewerkerstevredenheid, aan
belang, omdat die vaak vroegtijdige signalen geeft over toekomstige prestaties.
In deze cursus ligt de nadruk op het meten en monitoren van prestaties.
H1 Introduction to accounting and nance
Bron: Hoofdstuk 1 van McLaney, E., & Atrill, P. (2023). Accounting & nance: An
introduction (11th edition). Pearson.
Users of accounting information
For accounting information to be useful, the accountant must be clear for whom the information is
being prepared and for what purpose the information will be used. Main users of nancial
information relating to a business are owners, managers, employees and their representatives,
lenders, suppliers, investment analysts, community representatives, competitors, government and
customers.
There is also a risk that the interests of various user groups will collide. Owners may rely on
accounting information to see whether pay and bene ts received by managers are appropriate and
are in line with agreed policies. Lenders may rely on accounting information to see whether the
owners have kept to the terms of the loan agreement.
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, How useful is accounting information?
No one would seriously claim that accounting information fully meets all of the needs of each of the
various user groups. It is still a developing subject. Nevertheless, it should help users make
decisions relating to the business, reduce uncertainty about the nancial position and performance
of the business, etc.
There are arguments and convincing evidence that accounting information is at least perceived as
being useful to users. Such arguments and evidence, however, leave unanswered the question of
whether the information produced is actually used for decision-making purposes, that is: does it
affect behavior? There is one situation it can be observed and measured. This is where the shares
(portions of ownership of a business) are traded on a stock exchange.
Providing a service
One way of viewing accounting is as a form of service to user groups. It must be:
• Relevance. Accounting information should be capable of in uencing decisions made. It
must help to predict future events or help to con rm past events. It also must cross a
threshold of materiality. An item of information should be considered material or signi cant,
if its omission or misstatement would change the decisions that users make.
• Faithful representation. Accounting information should portray what it is supposed to
portray. To do so, the information provided must re ect the substance of what has occurred
rather than simply its legal form. The information provided should be complete. This will
normally include a description of its nature, some suitable numerical measurement and,
where necessary, explanations of important facts. Information should also be neutral, which
means it should be presented and selected without bias. Finally, it should be free from
error. This is not the same as perfectly accurate, which may not be possible.
Other qualities that cannot make accounting information useful, but can enhance the usefulness of
information that is already relevant and faithfully represented:
• Comparability: users may want to compare performance of the business over time or compare
certain aspects. Better comparisons can be made where the accounting system treats items that
are alike in the same way.
• Veri ability: it can be direct, such as checking a bank account balance, or indirect, such as
checking the underlying assumptions and methods used to derive an estimate of a future cost.
• Timeliness: accounting information should be made available in time for users to make
decisions. The later it is produced, the less useful it becomes.
• Understandability: it should be set out in as clear and as concise a form as possible.
Weighing up the costs and bene ts
In theory, a particular item of accounting information should only be produced if the costs of
providing it are less than the bene ts, or value, to be derived from its use. The question is, is it
worth the cost of nding out the price for producing the different kinds of accounting information? If
the cost of discovering the price is less than the potential bene t, it is worth having that information.
It can be dif cult to identify the costs. Direct, out-of-pocket costs, such as salaries of accounting
staff, are not usually a problem. Other costs such as the cost of users’ time spent on analyzing and
interpreting the information are much more to quantify and may well vary between users.
Accounting as an information system
The accounting information system should have certain features. These are:
fi fi fi fi fi fi fl fl fi fi fi
, • Identifying and capturing relevant information;
• Recording, in a systematic way, the information collected;
• Analyzing and interpreting the information collected;
• Reporting the information in a manner that suits the needs of users.
Management accounting and nancial accounting
Management accounting Financial accounting
Nature of the reports Tends to be speci c purpose Tends to be general purpose
produced
Level of detail Often very detailed Usually broad overview
Regulations Unregulated Usually subject to
accounting regulation
Reporting interval As short as required by Usually annual or bi-annual
managers
Time orientation Often based on projected Almost always historical
future information as well as
past information
Range and quality of Tend to contain nancial and Focus on nancial
information non- nancial information, information, with emphasis
often using non-veri able on objective, veri able
sources evidence
What is nance?
Finance plays a critical role in four key tasks that managers must undertake.
• Investment project appraisal. By providing managers with appraisals of the pro tability
and riskiness of investment project proposals, they can make more informed decisions
about whether to accept or reject them or in prioritizing investment projects that have
already been accepted.
• Managing and controlling resources. Managers may rely on various nancial tools
relating to resource management and performance monitoring to ensure that actual
performance corresponds to earlier planned performance.
• Financing decisions. An appropriate balance must be struck between long- and short-
term sources of nance and between the contribution of shareholders (owners) and that of
lenders. It requires careful consideration.
• Capital market operations. Managers will often week advice and guidance on how nance
can be raised trough the capital markets, how securities (shares and loan capital) are
priced, and how the markets are likely to react to proposed investment and nancing plans.
The relevance of accounting and nance
Managers make decisions concerning the allocation of resources. These decisions may concern
whether to:
• Continue with certain business operations;
• Invest in particular projects;
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nancial perspective (MM0223)
Onderdeel Master Managementwetenschappen OU
Deze samenvatting betreft het tweede deel van de cursus, a nancial perspective.
fi fi
, Financieel perspectief: Accounting
Accounting: het verzamelen, analyseren en communiceren van ( nanciële) gegevens.
• Financial Accounting: gericht op externe verslaggeving, zoals jaarrekeningen en
duurzaamheidsrapportages voor aandeelhouders, toezichthouders en andere stakeholders.
• Management Accounting: gericht op interne sturing en besluitvorming voor managers,
zoals kostenanalyse en budgettering.
Finance (ook wel Financieel Management): focust op het beheer van nanciële middelen en
waardecreatie. Dit omvat o.a. investeringsbeslissingen, nancieringsstructuur, risicobeheer en
kasstroom beheer. Finance gebruikt de output van accounting als input voor strategische
beslissingen over bijv. kapitaalallocatie of groeistrategieën.
Control: richt zich op het bewaken van prestaties en het sturen van gedrag binnen de organisatie.
Controllers signaleren afwijkingen, adviseren het management en helpen bij het opstellen van
begrotingen en forecasts.
Kortom: de Accounting-discipline draagt zorg voor de levering van betrouwbare, gestructureerde
en controleerbare informatie. De Finance-afdeling geeft op basis van deze informatie richting aan
de nanciële strategie en het lange-termijn succes van de organisatie. Controllers gebruiken de
accounting informatie om te analyseren of de organisatie op koers ligt ten opzichte van haar
doelstellingen. De disciplines zijn complementair.
Performance management: richt zich op het meten, monitoren en bijsturen van prestaties binnen
een organisatie. Daarmee vormt het, vanuit een nancieel perspectief, een verbinding tussen
Management Accounting (meten van prestaties) en Control (monitoren en bijsturen van prestaties).
Financiële informatie, zoals kosten en opbrengsten, blijft essentieel. Tegelijkertijd wint niet-
nanciële informatie, zoals klanttevredenheid, duurzaamheid en medewerkerstevredenheid, aan
belang, omdat die vaak vroegtijdige signalen geeft over toekomstige prestaties.
In deze cursus ligt de nadruk op het meten en monitoren van prestaties.
H1 Introduction to accounting and nance
Bron: Hoofdstuk 1 van McLaney, E., & Atrill, P. (2023). Accounting & nance: An
introduction (11th edition). Pearson.
Users of accounting information
For accounting information to be useful, the accountant must be clear for whom the information is
being prepared and for what purpose the information will be used. Main users of nancial
information relating to a business are owners, managers, employees and their representatives,
lenders, suppliers, investment analysts, community representatives, competitors, government and
customers.
There is also a risk that the interests of various user groups will collide. Owners may rely on
accounting information to see whether pay and bene ts received by managers are appropriate and
are in line with agreed policies. Lenders may rely on accounting information to see whether the
owners have kept to the terms of the loan agreement.
fi fi fi fi fi fi fi fi fi fi
, How useful is accounting information?
No one would seriously claim that accounting information fully meets all of the needs of each of the
various user groups. It is still a developing subject. Nevertheless, it should help users make
decisions relating to the business, reduce uncertainty about the nancial position and performance
of the business, etc.
There are arguments and convincing evidence that accounting information is at least perceived as
being useful to users. Such arguments and evidence, however, leave unanswered the question of
whether the information produced is actually used for decision-making purposes, that is: does it
affect behavior? There is one situation it can be observed and measured. This is where the shares
(portions of ownership of a business) are traded on a stock exchange.
Providing a service
One way of viewing accounting is as a form of service to user groups. It must be:
• Relevance. Accounting information should be capable of in uencing decisions made. It
must help to predict future events or help to con rm past events. It also must cross a
threshold of materiality. An item of information should be considered material or signi cant,
if its omission or misstatement would change the decisions that users make.
• Faithful representation. Accounting information should portray what it is supposed to
portray. To do so, the information provided must re ect the substance of what has occurred
rather than simply its legal form. The information provided should be complete. This will
normally include a description of its nature, some suitable numerical measurement and,
where necessary, explanations of important facts. Information should also be neutral, which
means it should be presented and selected without bias. Finally, it should be free from
error. This is not the same as perfectly accurate, which may not be possible.
Other qualities that cannot make accounting information useful, but can enhance the usefulness of
information that is already relevant and faithfully represented:
• Comparability: users may want to compare performance of the business over time or compare
certain aspects. Better comparisons can be made where the accounting system treats items that
are alike in the same way.
• Veri ability: it can be direct, such as checking a bank account balance, or indirect, such as
checking the underlying assumptions and methods used to derive an estimate of a future cost.
• Timeliness: accounting information should be made available in time for users to make
decisions. The later it is produced, the less useful it becomes.
• Understandability: it should be set out in as clear and as concise a form as possible.
Weighing up the costs and bene ts
In theory, a particular item of accounting information should only be produced if the costs of
providing it are less than the bene ts, or value, to be derived from its use. The question is, is it
worth the cost of nding out the price for producing the different kinds of accounting information? If
the cost of discovering the price is less than the potential bene t, it is worth having that information.
It can be dif cult to identify the costs. Direct, out-of-pocket costs, such as salaries of accounting
staff, are not usually a problem. Other costs such as the cost of users’ time spent on analyzing and
interpreting the information are much more to quantify and may well vary between users.
Accounting as an information system
The accounting information system should have certain features. These are:
fi fi fi fi fi fi fl fl fi fi fi
, • Identifying and capturing relevant information;
• Recording, in a systematic way, the information collected;
• Analyzing and interpreting the information collected;
• Reporting the information in a manner that suits the needs of users.
Management accounting and nancial accounting
Management accounting Financial accounting
Nature of the reports Tends to be speci c purpose Tends to be general purpose
produced
Level of detail Often very detailed Usually broad overview
Regulations Unregulated Usually subject to
accounting regulation
Reporting interval As short as required by Usually annual or bi-annual
managers
Time orientation Often based on projected Almost always historical
future information as well as
past information
Range and quality of Tend to contain nancial and Focus on nancial
information non- nancial information, information, with emphasis
often using non-veri able on objective, veri able
sources evidence
What is nance?
Finance plays a critical role in four key tasks that managers must undertake.
• Investment project appraisal. By providing managers with appraisals of the pro tability
and riskiness of investment project proposals, they can make more informed decisions
about whether to accept or reject them or in prioritizing investment projects that have
already been accepted.
• Managing and controlling resources. Managers may rely on various nancial tools
relating to resource management and performance monitoring to ensure that actual
performance corresponds to earlier planned performance.
• Financing decisions. An appropriate balance must be struck between long- and short-
term sources of nance and between the contribution of shareholders (owners) and that of
lenders. It requires careful consideration.
• Capital market operations. Managers will often week advice and guidance on how nance
can be raised trough the capital markets, how securities (shares and loan capital) are
priced, and how the markets are likely to react to proposed investment and nancing plans.
The relevance of accounting and nance
Managers make decisions concerning the allocation of resources. These decisions may concern
whether to:
• Continue with certain business operations;
• Invest in particular projects;
fi fi fi fififi fi fi fi fi fi fi fi
