Our courses

In the summer term, we offer an introduction to methods and tools of value-based management. How can firms measure value creation? How can they incentivize people within the organization to create value?

We start by discussing stakeholder- and shareholder-orientation as different paradigms for managerial decision-making. We will then wrap up traditional financial ratios such as returns-on-investment or other profitability ratios and relate them to value concepts from finance and investment courses. You will learn to provide a ratio analysis from a firm’s financial statements.

We will then focus on the residual income as a value-based performance measure. The residual income is one of the most often employed accounting-based performance measures to capture value creation, and it can be used on a corporate- and a business-unit-level. You will learn how to calculate the residual income, including the most prominent accounting adjustments proposed in practice. We will discuss the strengths and perils of residual-income performance measures. In particular, we discuss under which conditions the residual income provides managers with incentives to make value-maximizing decisions, introducing the theory concept of goal congruence.

We discuss goals and trade-offs in setting up a management compensation system. We analyze the objectives that you will face when designing a manager’s compensation package and discuss potential goal conflicts. We consider different means of compensation that firms often use, like stocks, options, and bonus banks. Finally, we show how to complement residual-income measures with other financial and non-financial value drivers to implement a multi-dimensional performance measurement system.

• Course language: english
• Scope of course: 5 credit points
• Lecturer: Prof. Dr. Peter Schäfer 
• Dates: weekly from 09.04.2024, 13.00 - 14.30 p.m. (lecture) in room POT 351 U and 17.04.2024, 09.20 - 10.50 p.m. (exercise) in room SCH A252/U

You will find more information in our OPAL course.

We cordially invite you to our case study seminar in innovative and sustainable business. In the seminar, you will develop a solution to a current real-world business problem in innovative or sustainable business management. You will write a case study describing the problem and your solution. You will also get to know some practice partners, where you will solve a case study and discuss your solutions with managers from our partners.

• What will you learn in the seminar?

You will learn how to analyze a real-world business problem in a structured way, find solutions, and implement them. At the same time, you will develop your presentation and argumentation skills. How can I present strategy proposals concisely and convince people of my ideas?

• How does the seminar proceed?

We start with a kick-off session where we clarify organizational issues and identify best practices for your own case study. You will then have one week to submit three topic proposals for your case study. We will discuss your topic ideas with you in one-to-one meetings and make a selection together.

You will then work on your case study. You will prepare a presentation and develop a written case study. You will start by writing an executive summary, which you will discuss with us. You will use this feedback to develop your presentation. On two seminar days, you will present your case study to the group. You will then have approximately two weeks to submit the written case study (your seminar paper).

At the same time, corporate partners will invite you to spend three to four afternoons solving a case study and discussing your solution with managers from our partner companies.

Attendance at all events is compulsory.

• Dates:
  • Kick-Off: 18.04.2024, 9.20 - 16.20 Uhr
  • Topics discussion and selection: 07.05.2024, individual appointments
  • Intermediate presentation: 16.05.2024, all day
  • Final presentation:  08. und 09.07.2024, all day
• Course language: English and German.
• Scope of course: 5 credit points.
• Target Audience: The seminar is an elective module for the Master’s programs in Business Administration, Economics, Business Education and Management Training, Business Information Systems as well as for the main study period of the diploma programs in Business Information Systems and Industrial Engineering and Management.
• Instructors: Patrick Leistner, Dr. Philipp Richter, Prof. Dr. Peter Schäfer.
• Contact: Patrick Leistner .
• Evaluation: Active participation in all seminar days is compulsory. The grade of the module is the weighted average of the grades of the exams. The weight of the seminar paper is 60%, and the weight of the presentations is 40%.
• Enrollment: You can enroll for the seminar in OPAL from 03/21/2024 at 11 a.m. You find the OPAL course here.

We will discuss current issues of executive compensation in our summer term research seminar. We cordially invite students in the Master's programs to participate. The research seminar prepares for a possible master thesis at our chair.

• Course languages: German and English
• Target group: The seminar is part of the catalog for the module Research Seminar, which is a compulsory module in the Master's degree programs as well as in the main studies of the Diplom Business Information Systems and the Diplom Industrial Engineering and Management.
• No. of students: 10
• Lecturer: Prof. Peter Schäfer, M.Sc. Fabian Felser
• What is the topic of the seminar? The public debates the compensation of executives controversially. One important reason for this is certainly the high compensation that some executives receive. At the same time, the design of the compensation system is an important means for companies to align the actions of executives with the interests of the owners and other stakeholders. Do the compensation systems observed in practice provide efficient incentives? Or can executives exploit their position to influence compensation systems in their interest? How do certain elements of compensation, for example shares or options, influence executives' decisions? What role do sustainability goals play in this? We will discuss these and similar questions in the seminar based on current scientific studies.
• How does the seminar proceed? In a kick-off event, we will give you an overview of current research on executive compensation and present the topics for seminar papers. We will also give you advice on literature research and scientific writing. Afterwards, you will work with the literature on your seminar topic. On two seminar days, you will present your results and discuss them with other participants in the seminar.
• Basis literature: Edmans et al. (2017): Executive Compensation: A
  Survey of Theory and Evidence. We will provide you with addition literature at the kick-off for the seminar.
• Schedule:

  • Kick-Off: 10.04.2024, 13.00 a.m. - 18.10 p.m.

  • Consultation: 28.05.2024, individual appointments

  • Presentation days: tbd.

• Exam and grading:
  Active participation in all dates is mandatory. The grade results from your seminar paper and your presentation on the seminar days.
• Contact: M.Sc. Fabian Felser 
• Enrollment:
  You can enroll for the seminar in OPAL from 03/21/2024 at 11 a.m. You find additional information in the OPAL course.

For the course in Cost Accounting, which took place in the winter semester, we offer a bi-weekly repetition exercise in the summer.

• Dates:
  • Bi-weekly start 15.04.2024, 9.20 - 10.50 a.m. in room HSZ 304/Z

You can find the OPAL course from the winter term here.

We cordially invite you to our Case-Study Seminar in Management Accounting. With this seminar, you will deepen your knowledge in cost accounting and controlling by means of practice-oriented case studies. You will also learn solution strategies for case studies and how to present and justify your solution.

• Course language: English
• Scope of the course: 5 credit points ("Leistungspunkte")
• Target group: The seminar is a compulsory elective module ("Wahlpflichtmodul") in the Bachelor Business Administration and Economics and in the Bachelor Business Education and Management Training as well as in the main studies of the Diplom Business Information Systems and the Diplom Industrial Engineering and Management.
• No. of students: 16
• Lecturer: Prof. Peter Schäfer, M.Sc. Fabian Felser
• What will you learn in the seminar?
  In the seminar you will work on several case studies and discuss your solutions. You will apply and extend your knowledge from cost accounting and controlling. The goal of the seminar is to learn from practical problems and to sharpen your problem- and solution-oriented thinking. For example, we discussed cases on cost accounting systems, budgeting, transfer pricing or variance analyses.
• Schedule:

  • Kick-Off: 09.04.2024, 9.00 a.m. - 16.20 p.m.

  • Discussion of a training case: 30.04.2024, individual appointments

  • Presentation days: 02.07.2024, al day

• How does the seminar proceed?
  We start with a kick-off in which we develop solution strategies for case studies and practice them using an example. Afterwards, you will work in teams on a first, short case, which we will discuss together. Then, you will work on a more extensive case for which you will write a solution in the form of a seminar paper. You will also prepare a presentation. On one or two final seminar days, you will present your solutions, and we will discuss the solutions in the group.

• Exam and grading:
  Active participation in the seminar days is mandatory. In addition, the solution of the first, shorter case is mandatory. For assessment purposes, you will then provide two partial deliverables, a seminar paper (the written solution to your case) and its presentation.

• Contact: M.Sc. Fabian Felser 

• Enrollment:You can enroll for the seminar in OPAL from 03/21/2024 at 11 a.m. You find further information in the OPAL course.

How do companies and investors plan and evaluate the development of their business models? To answer this question, we cordially invite you to our seminar on financial modeling. In the seminar, you will learn the basics of modeling integrated financial plans and their evaluation. You will develop solution proposals for the modeling of two real business plans from the mobility and energy sectors. You will describe your assumptions and modeling in a seminar paper. You will also get to know our partner Mazars and present your proposed solution to managers from the Financial Modeling department.

• What will you learn in the seminar?

You will learn the basics of modeling and train the skills to use them in an application-oriented way. After the seminar, you will be able to develop an integrated financial plan in MS Excel for simple business models. At the same time, you will learn techniques for structuring and presenting your assumptions.

• How does the seminar proceed?

We start with a kick-off in which we clarify organizational questions and provide an overview of modeling and evaluation techniques as well as best practices. You will learn about various aspects of modeling in small exercises. You will then have around four weeks to work on a test case. You will take on the role of a consultant and model and evaluate a real business model for a start-up in Excel. We will discuss your results with you in individual meetings.

You will then receive a case study from our partner, the consulting firm Mazars, in the field of energy management. You will be given several weeks to work on the case. You will draw up a financial plan and evaluate the project on this basis. You will then present your results to our practice partner on-site and discuss your findings. With the help of this feedback, you will develop your documentation (i.e. your seminar paper) in which you describe and critically discuss the key assumptions and correlations. You then have around two weeks before you submit your seminar paper.

Participation in all events is compulsory.

• Dates:

  • 16.04.2024 Kick-off:  9.20 -16.20 Uhr (room SCH A104)

  • 14.05.2024 Discussion of exercise case: 9.20 -16.20 Uhr (room SCH A104) - individual appointments

  • 02.07.2024 Presentation: afternoon (Mazars Office in Leipzig)

• Course language: German.
• Scope of course: 5 credit points.
• Target Audience: The seminar is an elective module for the Bachelor’s programs in Business Administration, Economics, Business Education and Management Training, Business Information Systems as well as for the main study period of the diploma programs in Business Information Systems and Industrial Engineering and Management.
• Capacity: 12
• Instructors: Dr. Philipp Richter.
• Contact: Dr. Philipp Richter 
• Evaluation: Active participation in all seminar days is compulsory. The grade of the module is the weighted average of the grades of the seminar paper and presentation.
• Enrollment: You can enroll for the seminar in OPAL from 03/21/2024 at 11 a.m. You find the OPAL course here in OPAL.

In our bachelor seminar, we discuss current topics in management accounting and control. You will also learn how to work with current scientific literature and will be prepared for a bachelor thesis.

• Course language: German
• Scope of course: 5 credit points
• Capacity: 16 students
• Lecturer: Dr. Philipp Richter, Mr. Patrick Leistner
• What will you learn in the seminar?
  In the seminar, you will work on a seminar paper on a current topic of executive compensation. They will collect and evaluate data from published compensation reports.
• How does the seminar proceed?
  We start with a kick-off, where we develop the basics of literature research and give some tips on writing seminar papers. You will also get an introduction to the seminar topics. Afterwards, you will work in teams on your seminar topic. You will write a seminar paper and prepare a presentation. On a final seminar day, you will present your work and we will discuss it in the group.
• Dates:
  • Kick-off: 11.04.2024, 9.20 a.m. - 16.20 p.m.
  • Discussion of seminar topic: 16.05.2024, individual appointments
  • Presentation day: 04.07.2024, 9.00 a.m. - 18.10 p.m.
• Exam and grading: Active participation in the seminar days is mandatory. Grading will be based on the performance in your seminar paper.
• Enrollment:
  You can enroll for the seminar in OPAL from 03/21/2024 at noon. You find the OPAL course here in OPAL.

In the next winter term, we will hold the course in Kosten- und Leistungsrechnung ("Cost Accounting"). You find mor information here in the OPAL-course.

We cordially invite you to our Case-Study Seminar in Management Accounting. With this seminar, you will deepen your knowledge in cost accounting and controlling by means of practice-oriented case studies. You will also learn solution strategies for case studies and how to present and justify your solution.

• Course language: English
• Scope of the course: 5 credit points ("Leistungspunkte")
• Target group: The seminar is a compulsory elective module ("Wahlpflichtmodul") in the Bachelor Business Administration and Economics and in the Bachelor Business Education and Management Training as well as in the main studies of the Diplom Business Information Systems and the Diplom Industrial Engineering and Management.
• No. of students: 16
• Lecturer: Prof. Peter Schäfer
• What will you learn in the seminar?
  In the seminar you will work on several case studies and discuss your solutions. You will apply and extend your knowledge from cost accounting and controlling. The goal of the seminar is to learn from practical problems and to sharpen your problem- and solution-oriented thinking. For example, we discussed cases on cost accounting systems, budgeting, transfer pricing or variance analyses.
• Schedule:

  • Kick-Off: 16.10.2023, 9.20h - 16.20h

  • Discussion of a training case: 08.11.2023, individual appointments

  • Presentation days: 10. and 11.01.2024, 9.00h - 16.20h

• How does the seminar proceed?
  We start with a kick-off in which we develop solution strategies for case studies and practice them using an example. Afterwards, you will work in teams on a first, short case, which we will discuss together. Then, you will work on a more extensive case for which you will write a solution in the form of a seminar paper. You will also prepare a presentation. On one or two final seminar days, you will present your solutions, and we will discuss the solutions in the group.

• Exam and grading:
  Active participation in the seminar days is mandatory. In addition, the solution of the first, shorter case is mandatory. For assessment purposes, you will then provide two partial deliverables, a seminar paper (the written solution to your case) and its presentation.

• Enrollment:
  You can enroll for the seminar in OPAL from 15/09/2023 at noon. You find the OPAL course here.

In our bachelor seminar, we discuss current topics in management accounting. You will also learn how to work with current scientific literature and will be prepared for a bachelor thesis.

• Course language: German
• Scope of course: 5 credit points
• Capacity: 16 students
• Lecturer: Dr. Philipp Richter
• What will you learn in the seminar?
  In the seminar you will work on a seminar paper about a current topic of management accounting. For example, it will be about the use of management accounting systems in SMEs or in startups or about behavioral management accounting.
• How does the seminar proceed?
  We start with a kick-off, where we develop the basics of literature research and give some tips on writing seminar papers. You will also get an introduction to the seminar topics. Afterwards, you will work in teams on your seminar topic. You will write a seminar paper and prepare a presentation. On a final seminar day, you will present your work and we will discuss it in the group.
• Dates:
  • Kick-off: 19.10.2023, 9.20 - 16.20h.
  • Discussion of a practice case: 04.12.2023, individual appointments
  • Presentation day: 01/17/2024, 9:00 a.m. - 6:10 p.m.
• Exam and grading: Active participation in the seminar days is mandatory. Grading will be based on the performance in your seminar paper.
• Enrollment:
  You can enroll for the seminar in OPAL from 15.09.2023 at noon. You find the OPAL course here.

We will discuss current issues of executive compensation in our winter term research seminar. We cordially invite students in the Master's programs to participate. The research seminar prepares for a possible master thesis at our chair. If you have any questions, please contact Prof. Peter Schäfer.

• Course languages: German and English
• Target group: The seminar is part of the catalog for the module Research Seminar, which is a compulsory module in the Master's degree programs as well as in the main studies of the Diplom Business Information Systems and the Diplom Industrial Engineering and Management.
• No. of students: 10
• Lecturer: Prof. Peter Schäfer, Mr. Fabian Felser
• What is the topic of the seminar? The public debates the compensation of executives controversially. One important reason for this is certainly the high compensation that some executives receive. At the same time, the design of the compensation system is an important means for companies to align the actions of executives with the interests of the owners and other stakeholders. Do the compensation systems observed in practice provide efficient incentives? Or can executives exploit their position to influence compensation systems in their interest? How do certain elements of compensation, for example shares or options, influence executives' decisions? What role do sustainability goals play in this? We will discuss these and similar questions in the seminar based on current scientific studies.
• How does the seminar proceed? In a kick-off event, we will give you an overview of current research on executive compensation and present the topics for seminar papers. We will also give you advice on literature research and scientific writing. Afterwards, you will work with the literature on your seminar topic. On two seminar days, you will present your results and discuss them with other participants in the seminar.
• Basis literature: Edmans et al. (2017): Executive Compensation: A
  Survey of Theory and Evidence. We will provide you with addition literature at the kick-off for the seminar.
• Schedule:

  • Kick-Off: 16.10.2023, 9.20h - 16.20h

  • Consultation: 08.11.2023, individual appointments

  • Presentation days: 10. und 11.01.2024, 9.00h - 16.20h

• Exam and grading:
  Active participation in all dates is mandatory. The grade results from your seminar paper and your presentation on the seminar days.
• Enrollment:
  You can enroll for the seminar in OPAL from 15.09.2023 at noon.