England
Where do you live?
Key features
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Learn practical skills that you can apply to your work straight away -
Designed for non-financial professionals to gain confidence in understanding and using management accounting terminology -
Interact with co-learners and a course mentor to further support your learning -
Created by academic experts from The Open University’s triple-accredited Business School (AACSB, AMBA and EQUIS) with input from industry experts -
The course has a global focus and delivers transferable skills for diverse sectors and organisations
What you will study
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Key business concepts, what accountancy is and the differences between management accounting and financial accounting -
Financial information from a number of different perspectives – who needs to understand financial information and why -
The role of budgeting in helping organisations plan for and manage their activities and operations -
The budget process, including relevant models of budgeting and practical experience in developing budgets for different organisations -
Fundamental cost concepts and their relevance for planning, control and decision-making -
The practical application of tools to help support a range of decisions in different organisations and businesses -
Exploring the challenges involved in accurately costing a product or service -
Using costing information in management decision-making and the importance of non-financial information in making the right decisions -
How costing systems contribute towards financial and operational decisions
You will learn
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identify the need for accounting information when managing organisations -
prepare a budget for planning and control purposes -
calculate the cost of different types of products, processes and services -
interpret a variety of different types of information from different information sources -
evaluate and implement appropriate costing methods to make financial decisions.
Skills you will gain
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Applying financial information to improve efficiency and effectiveness -
Developing budgets for planning and control -
Assessing the different types of cost for decision making -
Understanding management accounting principles -
Identifying the importance of management accounting in organisations -
Problem-solving using management accounting techniques -
Understanding the importance of contribution in decision-making -
Identifying the break-even level of output
Vocational relevance
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professionals who would like to progress to management level -
those who are new to an accounting role but lack formal qualifications -
senior professionals looking to develop their management accounting skills -
self-employed professionals looking to develop their skills and knowledge of management accounting.
Created by academic experts from The Open University’s triple-accredited Business School
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Sabine Tuckett is an associate lecturer in accountancy with the OU. She is a chartered accountant with experience working in practice and teaches at the University of Exeter. -
Paul Ranford is a chartered accountant and has authored many OU accounting module materials. He was awarded SFHEA for his teaching leadership in October 2017. -
Jay Naik is an associate lecturer at the OU. He has 16 years of experience with other institutions as a senior lecturer covering all business subjects at undergraduate, postgraduate, and professional levels. -
Mark Taylor is a consultant and educator whose interests include strategy, finance and management. In addition to teaching, he is involved in course design for companies and universities across the UK. -
Haider Ali is a senior lecturer in marketing at the OU. He has consulted and taught globally and has been published in the Journal of Marketing Management.
You will gain
Teaching and assessment
Study support
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Learn 100% online on the OU’s learning platform with a mix of video, audio and written materials -
Engage in interactive learning through self-assessment questions, polls, tasks and reflection -
Share ideas and experiences in discussion with other learners, building skills, confidence and knowledge -
Receive support from mentors who guide discussions and answer questions -
Study at a time that suits you with the flexibility to access the course from your desktop, tablet or mobile device
Assessment
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End-of-module assessment
Course length
What's included
Future availability
Regulations
Entry requirements
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The course material doesn’t assume learners are working. Past experiences will be just as relevant. -
All teaching is in English, and your English proficiency needs to be adequate for undergraduate study. As a guide, this corresponds to Level 5.5 of the International English Language Testing System (IELTS). However, you won’t need to provide a formal English language score to enrol.
Computing requirements
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Primary device – A desktop or laptop computer. It’s possible to access some materials on a mobile phone, tablet or Chromebook; however, they will not be suitable as your primary device. -
Our OU Study app operates on supported versions of Android and iOS. -
Operating systems – Windows 11 or the latest supported macOS. -
Internet access – Broadband or mobile connection.
If you have a disability
Course fee
| Start | End | Register by | England fee |
|---|---|---|---|
| 04 Jul 2026 | 31 Oct 2026 | 03 Jul 2026 | £550 |
