MBA 501 · Managerial Accounting
See which products and customers actually make you money
In about seven weeks at nine hours a week, learn the cost tools finance teams use, and price, cut and invest with numbers you can defend.
For managers and founders who set prices or budgets but can't say which products truly pay.
One-time paymentInstant access14-day money-back guarantee
What you will produce
Lululemon's Channel EconomicsA Managerial Accounting Analysis
You analyze Lululemon from its public information and write a channel-economics analysis built from its public filings. It is marked against this rubric, with written feedback on every criterion, usually within the hour. You finish with work you can show.
- 01Cost Classification and Behavior Analysis20%
- 02CVP and Contribution Analysis20%
- 03Relevant-Cost Decision Analysis20%
- 04Segment Profitability and Channel Pricing25%
- 05Format, APA 7, and Academic Integrity15%
Each criterion is judged Exemplary, Proficient, Developing or Beginning.
Who it is for
Sound familiar?
“Sales are up, but I honestly can't tell you which products make money.”
What changesYou'll build the cost view that shows where the profit really comes from.
“Finance keeps asking why we're over plan, and I don't have a good answer.”
What changesYou'll explain every variance line by line, and fix the ones that matter.
“We have to drop a product or bring work in-house, and everyone has a different number.”
What changesYou'll know which costs actually change, so the decision rests on the right number.
Not for you ifyou want live lectures or a study group. Everything here is self-paced.
What you will be able to do
By the end, you will be able to:
- 01
Predict your costs at any volume
Split fixed from variable costs with a simple cost equation, so budgets and quotes stop surprising you.
- 02
Find the products that quietly lose money
Activity-based costing shows which products absorb overhead they never pay for.
- 03
Know your break-even point
Contribution margin shows what each extra sale really adds, and how far sales can fall before you lose money.
- 04
Make keep-or-drop and make-or-buy calls
Use only the costs that change with the decision, so sunk costs stop steering you.
- 05
Plan cash, not just profit
Build a master budget that links the sales forecast to a month-by-month cash plan.
- 06
Explain why results missed the plan
Flexible budgets and variance analysis show exactly what went wrong, and who can fix it.
Look inside
See a class, a study card and the marking before you pay.
Watch the opening of class one, flip a real study card, and see exactly how your work is judged.
One of 48. Each returns just before you would forget it, so the course stays with you.
Case 2: Management Accounting Review. You see the rubric before you start, and get written feedback on every criterion.
The full textbook and the study guide written to it, so you can look anything up after you finish.
The ten classes
Ten classes, in the order you will need them.
01Managerial Accounting and Cost BehaviorSeparate fixed from variable costs and predict total cost at any volume with a cost equation.
- What managerial accounting actually does
- Plan, decide, learn
- Two audiences, different questions
- Cost, expense, and cash are different
- Cost of what?
02Product and Service CostingCost products and services with job-order, process and activity-based costing, and see how overhead distorts them.
- A report that points one way
- A real company learned this the hard way
- Every product cost makes a claim
- A job or a stream?
- The costs we can trace
03Contribution Margin and Profit PlanningCalculate contribution margin, break-even and margin of safety, and plan profit at any price or volume.
- A plant that looks fine, until it isn't
- When a bad year becomes a much worse year
- Profit doesn't move in a straight line
- A question the old report can't answer
- What's left after the variable cost
04Relevant Costs and Operating DecisionsMake keep-or-drop, make-or-buy and special-order calls using only the costs that change.
- A number that looks like an answer
- Why the wrong number is so easy to trust
- A cost belongs in a decision only if it can still change
- A decision that has already happened
- What actually differs between the two paths
05Profitability Reporting, Pricing, and Strategic Cost ManagementSee why absorption and variable costing report different profits from the same sales, and price from a cost you trust.
- Same sales, more profit
- A well documented way to move the number
- Two honest ways to answer one question
- The one number both methods agree on
- This quarter's facts
06Master Budgeting and Cash PlanningBuild a master budget that links the sales forecast to a month-by-month cash plan.
- A quarter that looks like nothing but good news
- Most small businesses have less cushion than you'd think
- One forecast, six connected schedules
- Everything starts with one forecast
- Selling isn't the same as making
07Flexible Budgets and Variance AnalysisUse flexible budgets and variance analysis to see exactly why results missed the plan.
- A win on one report, a loss on another
- Price isn't the whole cost of a purchase
- Two separate questions live inside one budget gap
- Comparing actual results to the original plan is misleading
- The static budget, at the planned volume
08Responsibility Accounting and Performance MeasurementJudge divisions fairly with ROI, residual income, transfer prices and a balanced scorecard.
- A return the company would gladly fund
- A problem real enough to reshape how a company measures success
- Measuring performance shapes the decisions that follow it
- A division judged like a small company
- This year's ROI: 20%
09Capital Investment DecisionsEvaluate capital investments with NPV and payback, and choose between competing projects.
- Income is not the same thing as cash
- Most large companies already insist on this
- A project has a beginning, a middle, and an end
- Two hundred thousand dollars, in two pieces
- Adding back what was never actually spent
10Course Synthesis and Exam PreparationBring every tool together on an integrated case and prepare for the final exam.
- The same symptom, nine different causes
- These tools showed up outside the classroom too
- Five questions, in order
- Before any number: what, exactly, are we costing?
- The same hinge, two honest costs
When you will see results
You will use it at work before you finish.
- After class 1
You can predict how total cost moves with volume and spot the fixed costs hiding in your numbers.
- After class 3
You know your break-even point and how much profit each extra sale really adds.
- After class 6
You have a master budget and cash plan, so profit and cash stop surprising you.
- After class 7
Variance analysis shows exactly why results differed from the plan, and what to fix next.
Your time
Built to fit around a full-time job.
About 56 hours in total, at whatever pace your week allows. Nothing is live, the portal remembers exactly where you stopped, and study cards take about five minutes a day.
Before you decide
You don't need an accounting degree, special software or a finance team. A spreadsheet is enough.
- Each class ends with a short quiz, so you know it stuck before you move on.
- Study cards bring back what you would forget, five minutes a day.
- The portal always shows your next step, so a busy week never becomes a lost month.
What $149 gets you
The complete MBA 501 module, sold on its own.
- Ten filmed classes you can fit around workPause anywhere and pick up on any device. Captions on every class, so you can study with the sound off.
- The full Managerial Accounting textbook, yours to keepPDF and EPUB, so you can look things up long after you finish.
- A study guide that covers every classThe key ideas, models and worked examples in one place, so you never write your own summary notes.
- 12 quizzes and exams, marked instantlyThe reasoning behind every answer, so you know what stuck and what to revisit.
- Two real-company cases with written feedbackStarting with Lululemon. You finish with analysis you can show, marked against a published rubric.
- 48 study cards that keep it freshFive minutes a day. Each card returns just before you would forget it.
- Your progress, saved everywhereThe portal remembers exactly where you stopped, so a busy week never sets you back.
- Lifetime access and updatesIt is there when the real decision arrives, including every future improvement to the course.
One payment. No subscription, no hidden fees.
What one better decision is worth
If costing shows one product line is underpriced by $2 a unit and you sell 1,000 units a month, fixing it is worth $24,000 a year. The course costs $149, once.
One-time paymentInstant access14-day money-back guarantee
Questions
What people ask before they buy.
How much time will it take?
About 56 hours in total: ten classes, the readings, 12 quizzes and exams, and two case assignments. At nine hours a week that is about seven weeks. Nothing is scheduled, so you set the pace.
Is this right for beginners?
You'll need spreadsheet skills and comfort with algebra. Managerial accounting is internal-facing and decision-focused, different from financial accounting. No accounting background required. Working through cost equations and real cases matters more.
What if I'm too busy?
Nothing is live and nothing expires. Each class stands on its own, the portal remembers exactly where you stopped, and your study cards take about five minutes a day. Pause for a month and pick up where you left off.
I've started online courses before and never finished. Why is this different?
It is built so you finish. Every class ends with a short quiz, study cards bring back what you would otherwise forget, and the portal always shows your next step. Two graded cases give you a reason to apply it, not just watch it.
When will I see results?
Class 1 gives you a cost equation you can use on your own numbers straight away. By class 3 you can find your break-even point, by class 4 you can make keep-or-drop calls, and by class 7 you can explain every variance.
Why is it worth $149?
You get the complete MBA 501 module: ten classes, the full textbook and study guide, twelve marked quizzes and exams, and two cases with written feedback. One better pricing or keep-or-drop decision can be worth far more than $149.
What if it isn't right for me?
If the course isn't right for you, ask within 14 days of buying for a full refund. It applies as long as you've watched fewer than three classes and haven't submitted an assignment.
Do I need accounting software?
No. The course uses spreadsheets to show every calculation. You learn the logic first, then apply it in whatever system you use, whether that is Excel, NetSuite, Dynamics or Sage.
Which tools can I use at work first?
Contribution margin in class 3 and relevant-cost analysis in class 4 are the fastest to use. Run them on your own products the same week you learn them.
How do I get access?
Straight after checkout you are signed in to the CBI student portal and can start class one. We also email you a sign-in link so you can come back from any device.
Is this the same as MBA 501 in the CBI MBA?
Yes. It is the same ten classes, textbook, study guide, exams and case assignments that MBA students take for MBA 501, sold on its own.
MBA 501 · Managerial Accounting
See which products and customers actually make you money
Start tonight. If it isn't right for you, ask within 14 days for a full refund.
One-time paymentInstant access14-day money-back guarantee