HI5017 Managerial accounting assignment help

Assessment Details and Submission Guidelines
Trimester	T1 2019
Unit Code	HI5017
Unit Title	Managerial Accounting
Assessment Type	Individual Assignment
Assessment Title	Management Accounting Case Studies
Purpose of the assessment (with ULO Mapping)	Students are required to develop their understanding of cost concepts, and demonstrate their ability to apply their knowledge of cost concepts to a service-based company. Additionally, students are to critically evaluate a journal article to analyse the practical use of accounting information to real-life companies’ decision-making and achievement of business goals (ULO 1, 5, 6, 7, and 8)
Weight	30% of the total assessments
Total Marks	30
Word limit	Not more than 3,000 words. Please use “word count” and include in assignment.
Due Date	Week 10 Sunday at 11.59 p.m.
Submission Guidelines	All work must be submitted on Blackboard by the due date along with a completed Assignment Cover Page.The assignment must be in MS Word format, no spacing, 12-pt Arial font and 2 cm margins on all four sides of your page with appropriate section headings and page numbers.Reference sources must be cited in the text of the report, and listed appropriately at the end in a reference list using Harvard referencing style.It is the responsibility of the student who is submitting the work, to ensure that the work is in fact her/his own work. Incorporating another’s work or ideas into one’s own work without appropriate acknowledgement is an academic offence. Students should submit all assignments for plagiarism checking on Blackboard before final submission in the subject. For further details, please refer to the Unit Outline and Student Handbook.

Purpose:

Individual Assignment Specifications

This assignment aims at developing your understanding of cost concepts, and demonstrate your ability to apply your knowledge of cost concepts to a service-based company. Additionally, you are to critically evaluate a journal article to analyse the practical use of accounting information to real-life companies’ decision-making and achievement of business goals.

Assignment Structure should be as the following: Part A: Case Study Analysis (15 Marks)

You are to answer the 5 questions relating to the case study of a child care business. It includes both theory

and calculation type questions. Do show your working for the calculations.

Case Background

Douglas and Pamela Frank are a married couple. They both worked for a railroad company for 30 years. At age 57, Douglas and age 52, Pamela retired and moved to the small town of Ovilla, Texas, which has a population of approximately 3,500 residents. When the Franks moved to the town, they decided to start a child care business in their home called Nanna’s House. Nanna’s House is licensed by the state. The state charges an annual fee of $225 to maintain the license. Insurance is required at a cost of $3,840 annually. The facility is licensed to care for a maximum of six children. The Franks charge a fee of $800 per month for each child. The monthly fee is based on a full day of care, from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. If additional time is required beyond 4:00 p.m., parents must pay an additional charge of $15 per hour for each child. The couple provides two meals and a snack for the children. The cost of the meals and snack is $3.20 per child per day. There are six children currently enrolled.

The facility is very nice. It is an 820 square foot addition to their home that was built in 1964. The Franks purchased the home and completed the renovations for $79,500 and they believe the addition has a useful life of 25 years. The facility has a large open space for play, reading, and other activities. There is a section for sleeping which contains small cots. The facility is equipped with a small kitchen, two bathrooms and a small laundry area. The daycare increased the Franks’ utility cost by $50 each month.

During the first week of operations, the washer and dryer stopped working. Both appliances were old and had been used by the couple for many years. The old appliances cost a total of $440. While a laundry room was not initially a necessity, it became increasingly important for laundering the soiled clothes of the children, blankets, and sheets. A company nearby, Red Oak Laundry and Dry Cleaning, can launder clothing for the Franks, including pick-up and delivery, for $52 per month. Alternatively, the Franks can take clothes to the laundromat once a week, which is three miles away (one way). The applicable mileage rate is $0.56/mile. They can launder the clothes themselves at a cost of $8 per week. The self-service alternative does not include detergent or fabric sheets. The couple would need to purchase these items in order to use the laundromat. Purchasing laundry supplies in bulk from MegaMart would cost $35 every quarter. The final alternative is for the Franks to purchase a washer and dryer. The cost of the appliances is: washer $420 and dryer $380. The additional accessories for both appliances, needed for installation, cost $43.72. The store will deliver the appliances at a total cost of $35. The cost of installing the appliances is free. Both appliances are expected to last 8 years. According to the manufacturer the washer will increase energy costs by $120 per year. The dryer will increase energy costs by $145 per year.

The Franks need some assistance in decision making and evaluation. They have contacted you, their accountant, to provide some advice.

Required:

Respond to the following questions to help Douglas and Pamela make their decisions. (If necessary, the Franks will use straight line depreciation. For monthly calculations, use 4.33 weeks per month.)

1. Consider the different types of costs discussed in this unit. List any three (3) types of costs and provide one specific example of each cost from the case. (3 marks)

• Based on the information provided, what information is relevant to the decision to purchase the appliances? What information is irrelevant to the decision to purchase the appliances? Why? (3 marks)

• What could it cost the couple to launder clothes? Show your detailed calculations for each option. (3 marks)

• The Franks have a waiting list for their day care. They can hire an employee for $9 per hour for 40 hours each week. With the additional employee, the Franks can accept three additional children. Should the Franks hire the additional employee? Show your detailed calculations. (3 marks)

• The Franks home can accommodate a maximum of nine children. They can move the day care from their home to rented space in town, which can accommodate up to 14 children. The space will cost $650 per month and the utilities will cost $125 per month. Additionally, insurance will now cost the Franks $5,000 per year. Per state regulations, each adult can supervise no more than three children. As their accountant, prepare a letter to the Franks advising them on their space options. Should they continue to operate the facility at home or should they rent space in town? How many children should they accept? How many employees will they need to hire? Show your detailed calculations for each scenario. (3 marks)

Part B: Journal Article Critique (12 Marks)

You are to read the journal article by Nonaka and Kenney (1991), “Towards a new theory of innovation management: A case study comparing Canon, Inc. and Apple Computer, Inc.”, Journal of Engineering and Technology Management, 8, p. 67-83. The journal article is attached as a separate file in Blackboard under the folder <Assignment>.

Required:

Critically evaluate the role of management accounting systems and the provision of accounting information in the innovation process of these two companies by answering the 3 questions below:

1. Identify the components of the management accounting system in each of the two companies, and discuss their relevance in enabling decisions to be made efficiently and effectively. Include examples in your answer. (4 marks)

• The article describes the innovation process in a firm as ‘a process of information creation’, and a firm needs to organise themselves ‘to transmit the new information’. Explain how management accounting contributes to this innovation process. Include in your discussion two (2) specific examples from each of the two companies mentioned in the journal article. (4 marks)

• Provide four (4) specific outcomes or lessons learned from the article’s research findings that will be useful for management accountants in Australian companies to learn from, and justify your answer [i.e. provide 2 outcomes from each company]. (4 marks)

Marking Criteria

Marking Criteria	Weighting
Part A: Case Study Analysis
1. Consider the different types of costs discussed in this unit. List any three (3) types of costs and provide one specific example of each cost from the case.	3%
2. Based on the information provided, what information is relevant to the decision to purchase the appliances? What information is irrelevant to the decision to purchase the appliances? Why?	3%
3. What could it cost the couple to launder clothes? Show your detailed calculations for each option.	3%
4. The Franks have a waiting list for their day care. They can hire an employee for $9 per hour for 40 hours each week. With the additional employee, the Franks can accept three additional children. Should the Franks hire the additional employee? Show your detailed calculations.	3%
5. The Franks home can accommodate a maximum of nine children. They can move the day care from their home to rented space in town, which can accommodate up to 14 children. The space will cost $650 per month and the utilities will cost $125 per month. Additionally, insurance will now cost the Franks $5,000 per year. Per state regulations, each adult can supervise no more than three children. As their accountant, prepare a letter to the Franks advising them on their space options. Should they continue to operate the facility at home or should they rent space in town? How many children should they accept? How many employees will they need to hire? Show your detailed calculations for each scenario.	3%
Part B: Journal Article Critique
1. Identify the components of the management accounting system in each of the two companies, and discuss their relevance in enabling decisions to be made efficiently and effectively. Include examples in your answer.	4%
2. The article describes the innovation process in a firm as ‘a process of information creation’, and a firm needs to organise themselves ‘to transmit the new information’. Explain how management accounting contributes to this innovation process. Include in your discussion two (2) specific examples from each of the two companies mentioned in the journal article.	4%
3. Provide four (4) specific outcomes or lessons learned from the article’s research findings that will be useful for management accountants in Australian companies to learn from, and justify your answer [i.e. provide 2 outcomes from each company].	4%
Overall Presentation	3%
TOTAL Weight	30%

Marking Rubric

	Excellent	Very Good	Good	Satisfactory	Unsatisfactory
Part A: Case Study Analysis
1. Consider the different	(3 marks)	(2 mark)	(1.8 mark)	(1.5 mark)	(0 – 1 mark)
types of costs discussed	3 types of costs	3 types of costs	3 types of	3 types of costs	Unable to
in this unit. List any three	are clearly	are clearly	costs are	are identified	identify the 3
(3) types of costs and	identified and	identified with	clearly	with adequate	types of costs or
provide one specific	excellent	very good	identified with	example of each	provide
example of each cost	example of each	example of each	good example	cost from the	example of each
from the case. (3 marks)	cost from the	cost from the	of each cost	case provided.	cost.
	case provided.	case provided.	from the case
			provided.
2. Based on the	(3 marks)	(2 mark)	(1.8 mark)	(1.5 mark)	(0 – 1 mark)
information provided,	Demonstrate an	Demonstrate a	Demonstrate a	Demonstrate an	Unable to
what information is	excellent	very good	good	adequate	explain the
relevant to the decision to	explanation of	explanation of	explanation of	explanation of	relevant and
purchase the appliances?	the relevant and	the relevant	the relevant	the relevant and	irrelevant
What information is	irrelevant	and irrelevant	and irrelevant	irrelevant	information to
irrelevant to the decision	information to	information to	information to	information to	the decision to
to purchase the	the decision to	the decision to	the decision to	the decision to	purchase the
appliances? Why? (3	purchase the	purchase the	purchase the	purchase the	appliances.
marks)	appliances.	appliances.	appliances.	appliances.
3. What could it cost the	(3 marks)	(2 mark)	(1.8 mark)	(1.5 mark)	(0 – 1 mark)
couple to launder	Present an	Present a very	Present a good	Present	Unable to
clothes? Show your	excellent	good	calculation of	adequate	present proper
detailed calculations for	calculation of	calculation of	cost to launder	calculation of	calculation of
each option. (3 marks)	cost to launder	cost to launder	clothes.	cost to launder	cost to launder
	clothes.	clothes.		clothes.	clothes.
4. With the additional	(3 marks)	(2 mark)	(1.8 mark)	(1.5 mark)	(0 – 1 mark)
employee, the Franks can	Present an	Present a very	Present a good	Present an	Unable to
accept three additional	excellent	good	calculation on	adequate	present proper
children. Should the	calculation on	calculation on	whether the	calculation on	calculation on
Franks hire the additional	whether the	whether the	Franks should	whether the	whether the
employee? Show your	Franks should	Franks should	hire the	Franks should	Franks should
detailed calculations. (3	hire the	hire the	additional	hire the	hire the
marks)	additional	additional	employee.	additional	additional
	employee.	employee.		employee.	employee.
5. As their accountant,	(3 marks)	(2 mark)	(1.8 mark)	(1.5 mark)	(0 – 1 mark)
prepare a letter to the	Present an	Present a very	Present a good	Present a	Unable to
Franks advising them on	excellent	good analysis of	analysis of	reasonable	present a
their space options.	analysis of	space options.	space options.	analysis of	proper analysis
Should they continue to	space options.			space options.	of space
operate the facility at					options.
home or should they rent
space in town? How
many children should
they accept? How many
employees will they need
to hire? Show your
detailed calculations for
each scenario. (3 marks)

Part B: Journal Article Critique
1. Identify the	(4 marks)	(3.5 mark)	(3 mark)	(2.5 mark)	(0 – 1.5 mark)
components of the	Clear, concise,	A very good	A good	An adequate	Unable to
management accounting	compelling	discussion of	discussion of	discussion of	present a
system in each of the two	discussion of	components of	components of	components of	proper
companies, and discuss	components of	management	management	management	discussion of
their relevance in	management	accounting	accounting	accounting	components of
enabling decisions to be	accounting	systems and	systems and	systems and	management
made efficiently and	systems and	their relevance	their relevance	their relevance	accounting
effectively. Include	their relevance	with very good	with good	with adequate	systems or the
examples in your answer.	with excellent	examples.	examples.	examples.	discussion is not
(4 marks)	examples.				supported by
					examples.
2. The article describes	(4 marks)	(3.5 mark)	(3 mark)	(2.5 mark)	(0 – 1.5 mark)
the innovation process in	Clear, concise,	A very good	A good	Adequate	Unable to
a firm as ‘a process of	compelling	discussion of	discussion of	discussion of	present a
information creation’,	discussion of	ways that	ways that	ways that	proper
and a firm needs to	ways that	management	management	management	discussion of
organise themselves ‘to	management	accounting	accounting	accounting	ways that
transmit the new	accounting	contributes to	contributes to	contributes to	management
information’. Explain how	contributes to	innovation	innovation	innovation	accounting
management accounting	innovation	process with	process with	process with	contributes to
contributes to this	process with	very good	good	adequate	innovation
innovation process.	excellent	examples.	examples.	examples.	process or the
Include in your discussion	examples.				discussion is not
two (2) specific examples					supported by
from each of the two					examples.
companies mentioned in
the journal article.
(4 marks)
3. Provide four (4) specific	(4 marks)	(3.5 mark)	(3 mark)	(2.5 mark)	(0 – 1.5 mark)
outcomes or lessons	Clear, concise,	A very good	A good	An adequate	Unable to
learned from the article’s	compelling	discussion of 2	discussion of 2	discussion of 2	present a
research findings that will	discussion of 2	lessons learned	lessons	lessons learned	proper
be useful for	lessons learned	from each	learned from	from each	discussion of
management accountants	from each	company.	each company.	company.	lessons learned
in Australian companies	company.				from each
to learn from, and justify					company.
your answer [i.e. provide
2 outcomes from each
company]. (4 marks)

Overall Presentation	(3 marks)	(2 mark)	(1.8 mark)	(1.5 mark)	(0 – 1 mark)
marks	Include all	Include all	Include all	Include most	Lack key
(3 marks)	elements and is	elements and is	elements and	elements and is	elements and is
	very well	well presented.	is generally	adequately	poorly
	presented.	Writing flows	presented	presented.	presented.
	Writing flows	clearly and	appropriately.	Writing	Writing does
	clearly and	sections are	Writing mostly	sometimes does	not flow clearly
	sections are	linked	flows well and	not flow clearly	leaving the
	linked very	effectively.	sections are	leaving the	paper to seem
	effectively.	Referencing is	linked.	paper to seem	disjointed.
	Referencing is	of a high	Referencing is	disjointed in	Referencing is
	exemplary.	standard.	in accordance	areas.	not in
	English is used	English is used	with	Referencing is	accordance with
	very effectively	effectively with	guidelines.	somewhat in	relevant
	and error-free.	very few errors	English is used	accordance with	guidelines. Basic
		present.	effectively	guidelines. Basic	English is used
			with few	English is used	with errors
			errors present.	with some	present.
				errors present.
Total Marks (30)					/30