N1551: Advanced Management Accounting

Individual coursework

Weight: 40% of total marks.

Word count: 2,000 words excluding references and appendices.

By drawing on the academic and practitioner literature, sustainability reports and

relevant information in the public domain, you are required to write an essay which
critically examines how a supermarket of your choice has incorporated an issue
related to sustainability in its value chain processes.

Guidance notes:
1. You may choose any supermarket in the UK or overseas, or a fictitious one.
You may want to thoroughly read, drawn on, and refer to the following articles
which are in the module handbook, in addition to others, to get ideas for your
essay:
- Dekker, 2003. Value chain analysis in interfirm relationships: a field study.
Management Accounting Research, 14(1), pp.1-23.
- Spence, L.J. and Rinaldi, L., 2014. Governmentality in accounting and
accountability: A case study of embedding sustainability in a supply chain.
Accounting, Organizations and Society, 39(6), pp.433-452.
- Lanka, S., Khadaroo, I. and Boehm, S., 2017. Agroecology accounting:
biodiversity and sustainable livelihoods from the margins. Accounting,
Auditing & Accountability Journal.
- Agndal, H & Nilsson, U. 2009. Interorganizational cost management in the
exchange process, Management Accounting Research, Vol 20, No. 2, pp.
85-101.

2. You may write about an issue related to sustainability that involves working in
partnership (or engagement) with stakeholders, such as suppliers or customers
or government or non-government organisations or community groups or
charities, or a combination of these. Be creative!

3. Due to restriction in word limit, you may want to focus in depth on part of the
value chain, rather than write shallowly about all issues.

4. Your essay should ideally be structured as follows: It should have an

introduction, a main body (which may have sub-themes or sub-topics), a
conclusion and a list of references you have used.