Бизнес-планирование и анализ эффективности

Магистратура 2026/2027

ID 1130008

Статус: Курс по выбору (Международный бизнес в странах Азиатско-Тихоокеанского региона)

Кто читает: Департамент финансов

Где читается: Санкт-Петербургская школа экономики и менеджмента

Когда читается: 2-й курс, 2 модуль

Охват аудитории: для своего кампуса

Преподаватели: Сафронова Евгения Сергеевна

Язык: английский

Кредиты: 3

Контактные часы: 24

Full Syllabus Ask Question

Abstract

This course introduces non-financial Master's students to the financial and managerial logic of business planning and performance management. It explains how a business translates strategy into measurable objectives, operating plans, budgets, performance indicators and management actions. Students begin with the financial language required for managers: revenue, costs, profit, cash flow and the basic role of the three financial statements. They then study cost behaviour, contribution margin, break-even analysis, simple pricing and resource-allocation decisions. The course develops an integrated understanding of the performance-management cycle: strategy, targets, budgets, actual results, variance analysis, managerial review and corrective action. The course combines financial and non-financial performance measures. Students learn how to choose and interpret basic KPIs, distinguish controllable from uncontrollable factors, identify behavioral risks of poorly designed targets, and communicate conclusions using simple tables and charts. The course concludes with project budgeting. Using a provided template, students prepare, interpret and communicate a simplified project budget and cash-flow forecast. The course does not require the construction of advanced Excel models, three-statement financial models, Power BI dashboards or statistical software analysis.

Learning Objectives

The course aims to equip students with basic financial and analytical frameworks for strategic and operational decision-making in an enterprise. Upon completion, students should understand how management accounting information and performance-management tools support the implementation of strategy, planning, control and managerial decision-making. The course specifically aims to enable students to: • understand the basic financial language used by managers when discussing performance, including revenue, costs, profit, cash flow, assets, liabilities and equity; • assess operational profitability using simple cost, contribution-margin and break-even analysis; • distinguish a budget from a forecast and explain how budgets support planning, coordination, resource allocation and control; • interpret plan-versus-actual information, identify material variances and propose appropriate management actions; • design a basic set of financial and non-financial KPIs aligned with a business objective; • prepare and explain a simplified project budget and cash-flow forecast using a provided template.

Expected Learning Outcomes

1. Explain the difference between revenue, cost, expense, profit and cash flow, and identify the basic purpose of the statement of profit or loss, statement of financial position and cash-flow statement.
2. Classify costs for management purposes, including fixed, variable, direct, indirect, controllable and uncontrollable costs.
3. Calculate and interpret contribution margin, break-even point and simple changes in operational profit caused by changes in price, volume or variable cost.
4. Use basic business data appropriately: distinguish data sources and types, read simple tables and charts, and communicate a data-based conclusion clearly.
5. Explain the relationship between strategy, operational activities, responsibility centres, performance measures and management control.
6. Distinguish between a budget and a forecast; explain the sequence and purpose of basic budgets; and interpret a simple plan-versus-actual report.
7. Identify a meaningful variance, distinguish likely controllable and uncontrollable causes, and formulate a justified corrective action.
8. Select and justify a balanced set of financial and non-financial KPIs for a business objective, recognising risks of dysfunctional incentives and narrow performance measurement.
9. Prepare, interpret and present a simplified project budget and cash-flow forecast using a provided template and stated assumptions.
10. Communicate a short, evidence-based management recommendation in English to a non-financial audience.

Course Contents

Section 1. Financial language for managers
Section 2. Costs, contribution margin and operational profitability
Section 3. Cost-Volume-Profit analysis and simple operating decisions
Section 4. Business data for management decisions
Section 5. Strategy, responsibility and management control
Section 6. Budgeting, forecasting and plan-versus-actual control
Section 7. Performance measurement, KPIs and management communication
Section 8. Project budgeting and simplified cash-flow planning

Assessment Elements

Exam
Exam in written form, consists of multiple choice questions, calculative tasks and open questions tasks.
Project
Group project, field research on practical implementation of business analysis tools, interviewing business practitioners.
in-class activity
attendance and activity at lessons, in-class tasks & hometasks completion and presentations, initiating contentive knowledge-based discussions

Interim Assessment

2026/2027 2nd module
0.3 * Exam + 0.4 * Project + 0.3 * in-class activity

Bibliography

Recommended Core Bibliography

Business Plan Template And Example : How To Write A Business Plan: Business Planning Made Simple, Genadinik, A., 2015
Towards Digitally Transforming Accounting and Business Processes, Tankiso Moloi, Babu George, 2024, 978-3-031-46177-4

Recommended Additional Bibliography

Lean business planning : get what you want from your business, Berry, Tim, 2020
The Digitalization of Management Accounting: Use Cases from Theory and Practice, Imke Keimer, Ulrich Egle, 978-3-658-41524-2, 2023

Authors

Soloveva Ekaterina Evgenevna

Course Syllabus