Group Research Project
Research Projects for Managerial Accounting - 90 points
Please choose one of the following topics to research
for your end of semester project. The analysis is due May 17, 2004.
Each paper should be approximately 3 - 4 pages in length. This project
is worth 90 points and should be done individually.
1. Rutgers University has a web site- RAW
(Rutgers Accounting Web) which is a repository of a voluminous accounting
data. The address is http://accounting.rutgers.edu.
Select two articles that appear on a managerial accounting topic,
read them, summarize and comment on them in your own words in a
critique approximately 3-4 pages long. Include the issues being
discussed and an analysis of the conclusions reached by the authors.
Be sure to properly identify and provide citations for the article
(including the web addresses accessed to read the article) in your
submission.
2. Many businesses accumulate costs for each job performed.
Examples of businesses that use a job order costing system include
print shops, car repair shops, insurance firms, health (medical/dental)
clinics, and kennels. Visit a local business that uses job order
costing, and interview the owner, manager, or accountant about the
process and the documents the business uses to accumulate product
costs. Write a paper that summarizes the information you obtained.
Include the following items in your written summary:
a. The name of the business and the type of operations performed.
b. The name and position of the individual you interviewed.
c. A description of the process of starting and completing a job.
a. How do you assign the cost of direct labor to each job?
b. How do you assign overhead to individual jobs?
c. How do you assign the cost of direct materials to each job?
d. How do you determine what to charge each customer?
d. A description of the accounting process and the documents used
to track a job.
e. Compare the documents discussed in the textbook to the documents
used in the company that you visited. How are they similar and how
are they different?
f. In your opinion, does the business record and accumulate its product
costs effectively? Explain. Do you have any suggestions for improving
the approach that you observed?
3. There are numerous examples of ABC applications in the
real world. A good source of ABC case studies for various industries
is found at http://www.abctech.com.
Access that site and select success stories. Within the process or
discrete manufacturing category, choose a firm and then read about
its experience with ABC. Next, select the services category, choose
a service firm, and read about its implementation of an ABC system.
Answer the following questions about the two cases:
a. What were the reasons offered for implementing ABC?
b. What implementation procedures were used?
c. How many activities were identified?
d. What types of benefits (results) were achieved by each company?
e. What problems were mentioned, if any?
f. What is the major cause of failure of many ABC implementations?
4. The usefulness of standard costing has been challenged
in recent years. Some claim that its use is an impediment to the
objective of continuous improvement (an objective that many feel
is vital in today's competitive environment). Write a short paper
that analyzes the role and value of standard costing in today's
manufacturing environment.
Address the following questions:
a. What are the major critcisms of standard costing?
b. Will standard costing disappear, or is there still a role for
it? If so what is the role?
c. Given the criticisms, can you explain why its use continues
to be so prevalent? Will this eventually change?
d. What are some suggestions for redesigning the standard cost
systems fo they are more relevant for advanced manufacturers?
e. How compatible are ABC and standard costing?
f. If standard costing is no longer suitable for some manufacturing
environments, what control approaches are being used to supplement
(replace) the functions-based control model?
5. In a similar sense as companies, the US government
must prepare a budget each year. However, unlike private, for-profit
companies, the budget and its details are available to the public.
The entire budgetary process is established by law. The government
makes available a considerable amount of information concerning the
federal budget. Most of this information can be found on the Internet.
Using the internet resources (e.g., consider accessing the Office
of Management and Budget) answer the following questions:
a. When is the federal budget prepared?
b. Who is responsible for preparing the federal budget?
c. How is the final federal budget determined? Explain in detail how
the government creates its budget.
d. What percentage of the gross domestic product (GDP) is represented
by the federal budget?
e. What are the revenue sources for the federal budget? Indicate the
percentage contribution of each of the major sources.
f. How does our spending as a percentage of the GDP compare to other
countries?
g. How are deficits financed?
6. The April 2000 issue of the Journal of Accountancy contains
an article by Lawrence B Macgregor Serven entitled "The Planning
Peril." You can find this article via the following website:
http://www.findarticles.com
Read the article and answer the following questions.
a. Describe the three reasons why revamping the planning process
can be perilous.
b. What four recommendations does the author provide to improve
the chances of success of efforts to revamp the planning and budgeting
process?
c. Review the sample survey. Identify what you believe are the three
most important questions in this survey, and explain why you think
they are important.
7. The February 2000 issue of the Journal of
Accountancy contains an article by Russ Banham entitled "Better
Budgets." You can find this article via the following website:
http://www.findarticles.com
Instructions:
Read the article and answer the following questions.
a. Why have some companies decided not to do major
overhauls of their budgeting systems after some initial investigations
into the possibility? What percentage of companies that attempt overhauls
give up before finishing?
b. What is the 'new planning paradigm'?
c. What does the author argue is the 'final link' necessary for successful
budgeting and planning?
8. The Government Performance and Results Act
of 1993 requires all federal agencies to establish strategic plans
and develop methods for measuring the performance of strategic initiatives.
In other words, federal agencies must implement a strategy based responsibility
accounting system. One possibility that is being explored for satisfying
this mandate is the use of the Balanced Scorecard. This strategic
management approach has been successfully used in the private sector.
However, in governmental settings, outcomes are based on mission success
rather than financial success. This fundamental difference creates
a number of interesting questions:
a. Can the Balanced Scorecard be adapted to fit a
governmental setting?
b. If so, how is it adapted (i.e., what are the changes)?
c. Are there any successful applications of the Balanced Scorecard
in state or federal government agencies?
d. What are examples of core measures? Of lead indicators?
e. What are the desired characteristics of measures in the government
sector?
f. What are the limitations or weaknesses of this approach for this
setting?
Search the internet to obtain information that will
allow you to answer the above questions. You might start with http://www.balancedscorecard.org,
the homepage of the Balanced Scorecard Institute. The Balanced Scorecard
Institute is a non-profit source of information about applications
of the Balanced Scorecard in government. Its mission is to serve as
a Web clearinghouse for government managers to exchange information,
ideas, and lessons learned in building strategic management systems
using the Balanced Scorecard approach.
9. Debate the relative merits of budgeting.
Discuss and define the difference between the operating and capital
budget. Identify and research three companies and discuss how they
use the budget to manage their business. How are the overall budget
goals set? What is the process used to build the budget? Who does
it? How much input do operating managers have in the process? How
long does it take to build a budget? What are the main benefits of
budgeting? How are budgets used? How has technology helped them to
budget? Why would a company not want to budget?
10. Research three companies that have adopted Just-In-Time
(JIT). Discuss the benefits, if any, that the companies expect
to derive from the system and benefits that the company has actually
realized thus far. Also discuss how JIT was implemented and any problems
that the firm encountered. What information is required from customers?
How did technology affect the decision to implement JIT? Your presentation
should include a discussion of what JIT is and the situations where
it is most successful. Why wouldn't a firm want to adopt JIT?
11. Identify three companies in your local area that are likely
to use standards such as a commercial bakery, auto repair shop,
chain restaurant, or manufacturer. After verifying that the company
uses standards, make an appointment to meet with the manager, controller,
or chief financial officer of the organization.
At the scheduled meeting, find out the answers to the following questions:
- How and by whom are standards set?
- Are standards practical or ideal?
- How are standards used?
- What are the consequences of unfavorable variances? Of favorable
variances?
- Do the standards and variances create any potential problems?
Your presentation should include a discussion of what standards are
and how they should be used.
Please site at your sources. Submit evidence of sources you
have identified.
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