...Cost, Budgets and Strategic Decision Making in Management Accounting Answer (a) Budgets can be characterized as a quantitative explanation, for a certain time period, which may incorporate arranged incomes, cash flow, costs, resources, and liabilities. Budgeting alludes to the procedure of outlining, actualizing, and working budgets. Budgeting, as a control device, gives an activity plan to guarantee that the association's real exercises are slightest digressed from the planned exercises. Budgets are utilized to give an outline of the organization and procedures performed in it. They are helpful in asset allocation where assets are distributed in such a route, to the point that the techniques, which are relied upon to give the most astounding returns, receive top priority (Libby and Murray, 2010). Budgets are additionally forecast instruments and bring about a significant improvement readied to adjust to changes in business atmosphere. They ought to be produced in such a route, to the point that they consider the key necessities of each of the functions. Budget detailing comprises of an arrangement of exercises: a budget department is created in which a budget controller is appointed, strategies are developed for budget readiness, budget recommendations are created at the department level, the budget is developed for the whole company, financial backing period and key budget elements are decided, the budget is evaluated and approved, growth is observed, and the budget...
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...317 Introduction Costs are linked with all types of organizations- business, nonbusiness, manufacturing, retail and service. Cost behavior, Cost accounting & allocation, and Budget- these are the three key requirements to run any business nowadays. Measuring cost behavior (cost measurement) is associated with understanding and calculating how activities of an organization affect different levels of cost. On the other hand, cost accounting is a kind of accounting method that targets to capture an organization’s costs of production by evaluating the input costs of each step of production as well as fixed costs. Then, cost allocation is the allocating of a common cost to several cost substances. Additionally, budget is an estimate of earnings and expenses for a set period of time. These are commonly used terms in financial accounting information as well as in any business. My company is called The EBag Co. Ltd, which is in business for more than 5 years in the production sector of the market. This profitable business is earning its profits by manufacturing affordable bags for consumers of all ages. My company will use these three requirements of this assignment to make business more profitable in coming days. I will use the five methods (will talk about only 3) of measuring cost function for my company to identify which costs will change and which will remain the same with changes in sales volume. Then, I will use cost allocation chart to help me to identify...
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...have from unmonitored costs and budgets. In this assignment I will talk about why costs and budgets need to be controlled and the advantages and disadvantages of controlling costs and budgets. I will also explain what can happen to a business if costs and budgets are unmonitored. Importance of costs and budgets controlling: It is very important for an organisation to control its costs so that it can manage its financial resources effectively. The reason organisation needs to control their costs properly would be that it would end up saving money on expenses and increase its revenue. This will help the company to increase its revenues and this would allow the company to invest more money if required. For example, the business should control its costs so that it saves money and by having the right amount of stock the business can then have the full benefits of selling those stocks and receiving cash which could be used for other areas of the business. In a business organisation, a budget represents an estimate of future costs and budgets. Budgets may be divided into two basic classes: Capital Budgets and Operating Budgets. Capital budgets are directed towards proposed expenditures for new projects and often require special financing the operating budgets are directed towards achieving short term operational goals of the organisation, for instance, production or profit goals in a business firm. its crucial for a business to control its budget. budgets help the business...
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...Unit 5 Introduction to Accounting D1 L & S Ltd When experiencing cash flow problems there are a few recommendations to make, these problems include: • Being overdrawn on consecutive months. • Having too much money • Difficulty in predicting costs When being overdrawn on consecutive months you should look to cut back on immediate expenses such as insurance, suppliers, rent and employees. You could also increase product prices however you have to bare in mind whether the customers will pay that little bit extra to pay for the product. Another option, but more risky, is to gain more credit from creditors but this will bring interest costs and adds another liability for the future. When having too much money in a cash flow you should reinvest the capital back into the business in order to advance in technology, assets or staff. This will help the company move forward and improve the service offered to consumers. Another option is to put the money in a savings account, premium bonds or shares. This will provide more interest on your money and let it grow instead of letting it just sit around gathering dust. The final problem, difficulty in predicting cash flow costs, should be resolved by asking your sale assistants, doing market research or asking an experienced accountant for guidance. You should ask your sale assistants because they are the people on the ground floor and know what’s going on, what the customers like and what products fly off the shelf...
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...why costs need to be controlled to budget? Introduction: For this task I will be analysing the advantages and disadvantages about the business that Brad owns which involves transporting business people to and from airports using luxury cars and limousines. Addition to this I will also be explaining what the words budget, fixed, variable and total costs mean. One of the main topics that I will be covering is the fact that if Brad does nothing with his costs what the implication would be on the business as well as him and what encounters it will have. Budget: So what is budget? Budget is a financial document which is used to project future income and expenses. Budgeting is used by everyone who owns a business whether it’d be a large or small business; it is a crucial part of the finance side of the business. The process may be carried out by individuals or by companies to estimate whether the company is keeping within their budget and not over spending. The process for preparing a monthly budget includes: * Listing of all sources of monthly income. * Fixed expenses such as rent/mortgage, utilities, phone bills. * Listing of other possible and variable expenses. A business will always choose how much they are to spend on their resources etc from their budget which is calculated when the business starts. A budget may be prepared simply using paper and pencil, or on computer using a spreadsheet program like Excel. Fixed: Fixed cost is a cost that...
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...Budgets & Break-even analysis. P6 Illustrate the use of budgets as a means of exercising financial control of a selected company Fixed Costs- The running costs of a business such as rent and wages. Variable Costs- Costs that varies with the level of output or sales.An example of a variable cost would be direct labor costs. The breakeven point to two decimal places is 6.12 (£68) | Fixed Cost | Variable Costs | Total | Revenue | Profit/Loss | 0 | 416 | 0 | 416 | 0 | -416 | 1 | 416 | 12 | 428 | 80 | -348 | 2 | 416 | 24 | 440 | 160 | -280 | 3 | 416 | 36 | 452 | 240 | -212 | 4 | 416 | 48 | 464 | 320 | -144 | 5 | 416 | 60 | 476 | 400 | -76 | 6 | 416 | 72 | 488 | 480 | -8 | 7 | 416 | 84 | 500 | 560 | 60 | 8 | 416 | 96 | 512 | 640 | 128 | 9 | 416 | 108 | 524 | 720 | 196 | 10 | 416 | 120 | 536 | 800 | 264 | Three ways in which the Hotel Excellent can attract more customers for 2011 and reasons why the method would be effective: 1) Cut down on the variable and fixed costs. The hotel’s costs have risen which has resulted in more loss than profit, therefore if the hotel lower their costs there may be more room for profit. The hotel could get their supplies from cheaper suppliers, could switch companies for their electricity, gas, water and lay off staff if a high volume of staff is not essential. 2) To increase sales the Hotel Excellent could advertise and promote themselves more; this will bring publicity and attention to the hotel. Advertising...
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...THE BUDGET COST AND EFFECTS OF PRISONS IN THE UNITED STATES Christina Adonia Turner June 15, 2013 Introduction to Public Administration TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. Table Of Contents…………………………………………………………2 2. Executive Summary………………………………………………………..3 3. Scope and Statement of the Problem………………………………………4 4. Literature Review………………………………………………………….5 5. Methodology………………………………………………………………7 6. Analytical Results………………………………………………………....8 7. Discussion………………………………………………………………...10 8. Bibliography………………………………………………………………16 9. Appendix………………………………………………………………....17 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY In summary, the cost of housing an incarcerated inmate does affect the budget of the United States. Whether, the inmate is sentenced to life imprisonment or the death penalty. The facts in this research paper leans heavily in favor of life imprisonment as a cheaper form of punishment verses an inmate being sentenced to death row. The judicial system and politicians have formed several alternatives to assist our country with the ability to lower the cost of housing an inmate in our prison system. For example, the United States detaining systems are concentrating more on issuing a fair sentence to nonviolent offenders, such as, substance abusers and prostitutes. They realize that the majority of the inmates are in need of drug rehabilitation and have a mental illness. Also, the research shows that women offenders are the most affected with drug addiction...
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...Table of contents Introduction 12 Body 13 3.1 Explain the purpose and nature of budgeting process which should normally be taken in the preparation of budgets for Glentruan Furniture Ltd. 13 Budget 13 Purpose and nature of budget 15 Purpose 15 Nature 15 3.2 Select appropriate budgeting methods for new product line and its need. 16 Incremental budget 16 Zero based budget 16 Different between zero based budgeting and incremental budget 16 Fixed budget 17 Flexible budget 17 Different between fixed and flexible budget 17 Functional budget 18 Sales budget 18 Production budget 18 Direct material usage budget 18 Direct material purchase budget 18 Direct labor budget 18 Factory overhead budget 18 Selling and administration budget 18 Cash budget 19 Master budget 19 3.3 Prepare budgets according to the chosen budgeting methods based on the given information in the scenario. 20 Sales budget 20 Production budget 22 Direct material usage budget 23 Direct material purchase budget 26 Direct labor budget 28 Factory overhead budget 30 Selling and administration budget 34 Departmental budget 35 3.4 Also prepare a cash budget. 38 Cash budget 38 Master budget 42 Budgeted profit and loss 42 Budgeted balance sheet 43 Final review 46 Budget committee 47 Working capital 47 Liquidity ratio 47 ROCE 47 4.1 Calculate variances, identify possible causes and recommend corrective action. 48 4.2 Prepare and operating statement...
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...because financial control was covered in detail in chapters one and two. Budgetary control is defined by the Institute of Cost and Management Accountants (CIMA) as: "The establishment of budgets relating the responsibilities of executives to the requirements of a policy, and the continuous comparison of actual with budgeted results, either to secure by individual action the objective of that policy, or to provide a basis for its revision". Chapter objectives This chapter is intended to provide: marketing as a key marketing control technique An overview of the advantages and disadvantages of budgeting Structure of the chapter Of all business activities, budgeting is one of the most important and, therefore, requires detailed attention. The chapter looks at the concept of responsibility centres, and the advantages and disadvantages of budgetary control. It then goes on to look at the detail of budget construction and the use to which budgets can be put. Like all management tools, the chapter highlights the need for detailed information, if the technique is to be used to its fullest advantage. Budgetary control methods a) Budget: activities in a given period of time. -ordinate the activities of the organisation. An example would be an advertising budget or sales force budget. b) Budgetary control: can either exercise control action or revise the original budgets. Budgetary control and responsibility centres; These enable managers to monitor organisational functions. A responsibility...
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...Kenya Ratcliff American Intercontinental University FINA425 – Budgeting January 24, 2016 Abstract This is a research paper about financial budgets. This research paper talks about a management director would establish policies and system for a business and/or organization. This research paper will help to explain the different style of budgets, budget cycles and the guidelines rules for set up a financial budget for a business and/or organization. Unit 3 Individual Project Introduction This is a report from the management director to establish policies and systems for the new business, I Can Business Incorporated (ICBI). This report will be delivered to the board of directors of ICBI. This report will describe what a financial reporting system is and explain how management for ICBI should use an activity based budget instead of an operating budget. This report also gives examples of budget guidelines for ICBI. Describe the meaning and the components of a financial reporting system Financial reporting is the process of compiling statements that shows a glimpse of an organization’s financial “health” or status to management, investors and the government. There are four basic reports that are included in a financial report. There is a balance sheet, an income statement or sometimes called the profit & loss statement, a cash flow statement and a statement of shareholder’s equity. The balance sheet gives a detailed picture of the financial condition of a business at...
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...in which managers are not judged based on accounting figures but qualitative factors. The second one is profit style, which means that managers would focus on maximising profit and reducing cost in the long term. Explain more about the Hopwood style: 1. Profit conscious style: focus on increasing profit and reducing cost in the long term. The possible managers’ behaviours for this style are that managers would not be put under pressure, which would enable them to create a friendly working atmosphere between colleagues. Furthermore, they only focus on long term profit but not short term performance, therefore they would not have motivation to manipulate the accounting data. 2/ Non-accounting style: the performance is evaluated based mostly on qualitative factors such as consumer satisfaction, quality and timeliness. As this style is similar to the profit conscious style (both emphasise the profit in long run), thus the managers’ behaviours is similar as well. The main difference is that managers would take the accounting information less seriously and pay more attention on the qualitative factors. 3/ Budget constrained style: managers are required to follow the pre-set budgets, which means that they are evaluated on short term performance. Because of the pressure to reduce cost as much as possible within a short period of time, managers are often more stressful and so lead to causing employees not working well together. The focus on short-term profit also encourages...
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...Budget Management Analysis John Thorpe HCS/571 April 13, 2014 Professor: Amy Reed Budget Management and Variance Analysis Healthcare organizations are faced with severe financial pressures resulting in extreme budget cuts. Consequently, nurse managers and financial managers are tasked with the responsibility of doing more with less while maintaining the high quality of care offered to its consumers. To accomplish the aforementioned tasks, managers use budgetary tools to help them focus on controlling cost while running an efficient operation. Budgeting gives managers the tools necessary to ensure the availability of required resources to meet the organization’s goals and objectives, communicate strategies and monitor results (Cleverly, Song & Cleverly, 2007). Finkler, Kovner & Jones (2007) offer that budgeting should be used to make the organization become more effective and efficient. It is not a tool for maintaining the status quo. Organizations use different approaches to introducing the budgetary process. Some organizations take the current year's budget update it for inflation and projected revenue growth. Others take a clean slate approach; compel managers to justify their expenses and staffing needs on an annual basis. Still other organizations forecast revenue and profit and assign expense rates to departments. However, the most effective budget is one that reflects the true financial position of the organization, provides flexibility and monitored...
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...A budget is a financial plan for the future concerning the revenues and costs of a business. However, a budget is about much more than just financial numbers. Budgetary control is the process by which financial control is exercised within an organisation. Budgets for income/revenue and expenditure are prepared in advance and then compared with actual performance to establish any variances. Managers are responsible for controllable costs within their budgets and are required to take remedial action if the adverse variances arise and they are considered excessive. There are many management uses for budgets. For example, budgets are used to: * Control income and expenditure (the traditional use) * Establish priorities and set targets in numerical terms * Provide direction and co-ordination, so that business objectives can be turned into practical reality * Assign responsibilities to budget holders (managers) and allocate resources * Communicate targets from management to employees * Motivate staff * Improve efficiency * Monitor performance Whilst there are many uses of budgets, there are a set of guiding principles for good budgetary control in a business. In an effective budget system: * Managerial responsibilities are clearly defined – in particular the responsibility to adhere to their budgets * Individual budgets lay down a plan of action * Performance is monitored against the budget * Corrective action is taken if results...
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...Supply Budget Cranston INF 336 Project Procurement Management (BQ01208A) Instructor: Kurt Earnhart 9/21/2012 A wide-ranging budget is serious to organizational success. However, the importance of the material supply budget cannot be overlooked. Established after the predicting of supply needs and resourcing has been completed, the supply budget defines how the business can meet its upcoming goals and targets and do so in cost-efficient and cost-effective ways. Separated into 4 distinct budgets, the materials, MRO, Capital and administrative/operating budget, the supply budget offers the business the means to meet its goals and objectives. * The Materials (operations) purchase budget, is based on the group’s forecasted operations, sales and plans classifies cash flow labels and problems well in advance. Because of this task, the materials (operations) purchase budget separates problems and gives the organization ways to avoid predicament. * The MRO Budget, which normally covers a purchase plan over 12 month periods, outlines budgetary provisions for maintenance, repair and operating supplies. Due to the intricacy of the MRO budget and the line items it contains, the MRO budget is really thought-provoking. For clear reasons, it might be impossible to forecast some repairs. * The Capital Budget fine points the money outflows based on the strategic plans of product lines and production needs. Because of this, some companies may plan the wealth outflows for one...
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...Manage budgets and financial plans Assessment activity 1 1. Accurate records management is the first important task in the process of sound financial management or any small business operator. Accurate and regular financial information allows you to monitor the success or failure of a business and provides them with information to evaluate the consequences of their financial decisions. To be successful it is essential that you know the precise financial condition of your business. Accurate and regular financial information allows you to monitor the success or failure of your business and provides you with information to evaluate the consequences of your financial decisions. Regularly monitoring your business activities will help you operate more efficiently control your cash flow and increase your profitability. Solid information about your business depends completely accurate and timely record keeping practices. Accurate financial records will allow you to •identify your income and expenses to create a profit and loss statement •identify your business assets and liabilities to create a balance sheet •identify the timing of income and expenses to create a cash flow forecast •compare your business operations with industry benchmarks * prepare accurate business activity statements and tax returns so you don’t over or underpay your taxes 3. * identify the data that needs to be collected * identify the appropriate source of data * ensure currency, reliability...
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