Managerial Accounting: Cost Behaviors, Systems, and Analysis (Coursera)

Managerial Accounting: Cost Behaviors, Systems, and Analysis (Coursera)

In this course, you will learn how to use accounting to facilitate and align decisions made by owners, managers, and employees. You will learn how accountants create, organize, interpret, and communicate information that improves internal processes, and allows organizations to identify and leverage opportunities to create value within the supply chain and with customers.

Class Deals by MOOC List - Click here and see Coursera's Active Discounts, Deals, and Promo Codes.

Upon successful completion of this course, you will be able to:
• Understand what managerial accounting is and why it is important.
• Describe fundamental concepts of managerial accounting.
• Apply the financial perspective of accounting for costs.
• Identify problems associated with relying on financial accounting information for internal decision making.
• Organize cost information according to the decision-making needs of the organization.
• Apply activity-based costing (ABC) and recognize the influence of setting and decision characteristics on the relevance of ABC systems.
• Address common "what-if" questions using cost-volume-profit (CVP) analysis.
• Apply CVP analysis in a variety of scenarios.
Course 1 of 7 in the Value Chain Management Specialization.

Syllabus

Week 1
Course Overview and Introduction to Managerial Accounting
In this module, you will become familiar with the course, your instructor, your classmates, and our learning environment. Then, you will be introduced to Managerial Accounting and Costing Concepts.

Week 2
Costing Systems I - Elements and Design
Organizations can organize cost information however best suits their decisions. In this module, we introduce the role of costing systems, identify some example systems and settings in which they are most useful, and explore how accounting for overhead costs influences the value of cost information.

Week 3
Costing Systems II - Activity-Based Costing
Activity-based costing systems adopt a more refined view of the organization, and can increase the accuracy of cost information. In this module, we introduce the fundamentals of activity-based costing systems, identify related advantages and disadvantages, and demonstrate how such systems are implemented using an in-depth example.

Week 4
Cost-Volume-Profit (CVP) Analysis
Cost-volume-profit (CVP) analysis is the tool that managers can use to better understand the answers to "what-if" questions in order to make better decisions for their companies. In this module you will explore the power of CVP analysis

Go to Class
MOOC List is learner-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.

Related Courses

Introduction to Finance: The Role of Financial Markets (Coursera) Coursera
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Introduction to Finance: The Role of Financial Markets (Coursera)

In Introduction to Finance: The Role of Financial Markets, you will be introduced to the basic concepts and skills needed for financial managers to make informed decisions. With an overview of the structure and dynamics of financial markets and commonly used financial instruments, you will get crucial skills to make capital investment decisions.

Aug 17th 2026
4 Weeks
Advanced Trading Algorithms (Coursera) Coursera
Indian School of Business - ISB

Advanced Trading Algorithms (Coursera)

This course will provide back test results for all the strategies in developed and emerging markets. The learner will also be taught scientific ways of back testing without succumbing to either look ahead (or) survival bias. You will learn various methods of building a robust back testing system for the strategies discussed in the previous course. You will be taught how to differentiate between mere data mining and results based on solid empirical or theoretical foundation. Next, you will learn the ways and means of back testing the results and subjecting the back test results to stress tests. After which, you will learn the various ways in which transaction costs and other frictions could be incorporated in the back testing algorithm.

Aug 3rd 2026
4 Weeks
Trading Basics (Coursera) Coursera
Indian School of Business - ISB

Trading Basics (Coursera)

The purpose of this course is to equip you with the knowledge required to comprehend the financial statements of a company and understand the various transactions that take place in the stock market so that you can replicate the strategies discovered by the extant academic literature. The first part of the course provides a brief introduction to financial statements and various common filings of firms. You will learn how to obtain information regarding a company's performance from them and use the information to build trading strategies. Next, you are taught basic asset pricing theories so that you will be able to calculate the expected returns of a stock or a portfolio.

Aug 3rd 2026
4 Weeks
Financial Markets (Coursera) Coursera
Yale University

Financial Markets (Coursera)

An overview of the ideas, methods, and institutions that permit human society to manage risks and foster enterprise. Emphasis on financially-savvy leadership skills. Description of practices today and analysis of prospects for the future. Introduction to risk management and behavioral finance principles to understand the real-world functioning of securities, insurance, and banking industries. The ultimate goal of this course is using such industries effectively and towards a better society.

Aug 3rd 2026
5-12 Weeks
Finance of Mergers and Acquisitions: Designing an M&A Deal (Coursera) Coursera
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Finance of Mergers and Acquisitions: Designing an M&A Deal (Coursera)

This course focuses on the theory and practice of mergers and acquisitions (M&A), with a focus on the Finance. The Finance of M&A uses tools from different areas of Finance to help managers and investment bankers design successful M&A deals. In particular, we will learn to value and price M&A deals and how to choose the optimal financing mix for an M&A deal. The course focuses on all the major types of M&A deals including strategic M&A, private equity leveraged buyouts (LBOs), and restructuring deals such spinoffs and asset transfers.

Aug 10th 2026
4 Weeks
Costos para los Negocios (Coursera) Coursera
Universidad de Chile

Costos para los Negocios (Coursera)

Al completar el curso, los participantes podrán: a) Analizar los elementos, las estructuras, los métodos y los sistemas de costeo propios de una empresa, utilizando diversas herramientas, para identificar los posibles tipos de cálculos a generar. b) Calcular costos, utilizando diversos procedimientos acordes a los tipos de objetos de costos, estructuras, procesos y sistemas, con el propósito de obtener información relevante para la empresa que permitan una adecuada toma de decisiones. c) Elaborar e interpretar informes de costeos de objetos del costo, basándose en la información recabada y los datos obtenidos, con la finalidad de proponer diversas recomendaciones que permitan efectivas toma de decisiones.

Aug 17th 2026
5-12 Weeks
Finance For Everyone: Value (Coursera) Coursera
McMaster University

Finance For Everyone: Value (Coursera)

In Value, you will explore the most powerful generator of value in the world – ideas. Ideas are the engines of productivity, both in the private and public sectors. You will learn about the universal frameworks that determine how ideas and money interact, leading to the allocation of financial resources. We will identify components of cash flow for any project, business or venture as the most essential ingredients of value. We also assess the investment techniques used to give life to some ideas while killing others.

Aug 10th 2026
4 Weeks
Finance for Everyone: Debt (Coursera) Coursera
McMaster University

Finance for Everyone: Debt (Coursera)

In Debt, we take on one of the most challenging financial questions that remains unresolved: How much to borrow? We start by demonstrating why using debt has always been and continues to be a great temptation, particularly when borrowing costs are historically low. We identify conditions for selecting the optimal amount of debt for a corporation looking to maximize its value. You’ll become fluent in related concepts like norms and benchmarks.

Aug 17th 2026
4 Weeks
Finance for Everyone: Decisions (Coursera) Coursera
McMaster University

Finance for Everyone: Decisions (Coursera)

Finance for Everyone: Decisions will introduce you to the workings of the free markets and the foundations of finance. You will learn how free markets and their “creative destruction” provide the architecture for the global economy and how those same markets move money in ways that create and destroy wealth. Your financial toolkit will include timeless concepts like compounding, discounting, annuities, effective interest rates, and more.

Aug 10th 2026
4 Weeks
Finanzas personales (Coursera) Coursera
Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México

Finanzas personales (Coursera)

Este curso dotará a sus participantes con las herramientas que le permitirán llevar a cabo una planeación financiera personal y entender la necesidad de salvaguardar su patrimonio y recursos financieros, así como los requerimientos mínimos que se deben considerar para tomar buenas decisiones financieras.

Aug 10th 2026
3 Weeks
Financial Regulation in Emerging Markets and the Rise of Fintech Companies (Coursera) Coursera
University of Cape Town

Financial Regulation in Emerging Markets and the Rise of Fintech Companies (Coursera)

This course gives an overview of the changing regulatory environment since the 1997 Asian and 2008 global financial crisis. Following these two major crises, governments around the globe enacted a set of far-reaching new financial regulations that are aimed towards safeguarding financial stability. However, banks find it increasingly difficult to be profitable in this new regulatory environment.

Aug 17th 2026
4 Weeks