Exam 1: The Accountants Vital Role in Decision Making

In most organizations, customer satisfaction is one of the top priorities. As such, attention to customers is necessary for success. Briefly describe the four types of key success factors essential to successful corporate performance.

Explain how a budget can help management implement strategy.

A report showing the actual financial results for a period compared to the budgeted financial results for that same period would most likely be called a

Cyclone Car Company tries to assign appropriate responsibilities to all of its managers. Production managers receive reports which accumulate information of the shop operations for each plant. Plant operations are further aggregated in the report received by the vice president of manufacturing. These reports show the budgeted and actual operating results for the current month and year-to-date. These, along with inventory status reports, provide the major source of production information for the next planning period. Managers evaluate the variances between actual and budgeted amounts and determine whether operations are in or out of control. If variances are large, appropriate action is taken, i.e., the plans are changed. The company's profits have been decreasing, and management has requested similar aggregate sales data from marketing. It is felt that this added information will suffice for its decision-making needs. Required: Do you agree? Why? Do you foresee any needs that will not be met by this information? If so, what additional information do you suggest that management be provided by the management accounting system?

The person(s) responsible for providing advice and assistance to line managers is/are

Describe management accounting and financial accounting.

Management accountants have important ethical responsibilities that are related to competence, duty of care, objectivity, and professionalism.

Value chain and supply chain are two (2) terms describing the same set of business functions.

Enterprise Resource Planning software (ERP)

The cost-benefit approach should be used to make resource allocation decisions.

Generally, companies follow one of two broad strategies: offering a quality product at a low price, or offering a unique product or service priced higher than the competition. Is it possible to follow a strategy that is "in the middle"?

Financial accounting

As users of the information produced by management accounting systems, managers are forced to understand the design and operation of these systems.

Control measures should

In the value chain, Research and Development generates and experiments with new ideas related to new products.

Jayhawk Basketballs manufactures and distributes rebounding equipment. The company is having a problem coordinating its marketing and production efforts. Every time marketing has a special promotion in a certain part of the country, production either cannot deliver the products or distribution has them in the wrong part of the country. In addition, the company has had several production stoppages due to insufficient raw material stock at the manufacturing plant. Required: In terms of the information system, what appears to be the main problems? What action can be taken to improve the situation?

Line management exists to provide advice and assistance to staff departments.

Developing a new web site to display and demonstrate the company's products would be part of which value chain function?

Management should evaluate the difference between planned and budgeted amounts.

List the Five-Step Decision-Making Process in order.