Question 2 Bank Reconciliation
A. How can the bank reconciliation be used as a control device?
B. Create a spreadsheet model to show a bank reconciliation statement. Use the Smart Touch Learning example in Reading 5 for inspiration but create your own original data. Implement all the usual spreadsheet requirements.

 

 

 

Question 3 Introduction to management accounting
A. “The emphases of financial accounting and management accounting differ.” Explain.
B. Name the six primary business functions (excluding support functions) that make up the value chain, and briefly describe each.
C. "The problem with accounting is that accountants never get to become top managers such as CEOs.” Do you agree? Explain. Illustrate your explanation with examples. Use the internet as a resource.
D. “It is confusing to think of fixed costs on a per-unit basis.” Do you agree?
E. “Classification of costs into variable and fixed categories depends on the decision situation.”
Explain. Illustrate your explanation with examples.

 

 

 

Question 4 Ethical Issues
Suppose you are controller of a medium-sized gold exploration company in South Australia. You adhere to the standards for ethical conduct for management accountants. How would those standards affect your behaviour in each of the following situations?
1. Late one Friday afternoon you receive a geologist’s report on a newly purchased property. It indicates a much higher probability of gold than had previously been expected. You are the only one to read the report that day. At a party on Saturday night, a friend asks about the prospects for the property.
2. A gold industry stock analyst invites you and your wife to spend a week in Broome free of charge. All she wants in return is to be the first to know about any financial information your company is about to announce to the public.
3. It is time to make a forecast of the company’s annual earnings. You know that some additional losses will be recognized before the company prepares its final statements. The company’s CEO has asked you to ignore these losses in making your predictions because a lower-than-expected earnings forecast could adversely affect the chances of obtaining a loan that is being negotiated and that will be completed before actual earnings are announced.
4. You do not know whether a particular expense is deductible for income tax purposes. You are debating whether to research the tax laws or simply assume the item is deductible. After all, if you are not audited, no one will ever know the difference. If you are audited, you can plead ignorance of the law.

 

 

 

Question 5 Work Integrated Assessment case study
McDonald’s Annual Report
Learning Objectives: The subject you are studying is vocational. It is designed with the workplace in mind. Work integrated assessment provides opportunities for students to link theory and skills learned in a subject to a real work context. Students can use these opportunities to develop and practice the professional and academic skills they learn about in a subject or through the online environment and then be assessed on their capabilities in these simulated authentic environments. Work integrated assessment allows students to simulate and situate their learning in an authentic workplace that encourages them to explore their knowledge and apply it to practice. Integrating real world, authentic assessment tasks allows students to learn about the particular environments and culture of their chosen professions, while at the same time absorbing and practicing the skills they need to succeed. Doing these tasks can help students develop skills that can help their employability.

Resources for this task include the 2014 Annual Report for McDonald’s Corporation.

Go to www.mcdonalds.com to find the McDonald’s home page. Click on the “Corporate Info” heading under “Our Story”. Select the “Investors” heading. Then click on “Annual Reports” and select the 2014 report.
Your friend Tom is studying architecture at another University and knows very little about accounting and annual reports. Tom's uncle gave him $20,000 recently to invest. Tom knows you have studied accounting and is considering buying McDonald’s shares. Tom has looked at the McDonald’s annual report for 2014 and has some questions for you.

Present your answers concisely in a business report format.
Tom’s questions:
1. How many customers do McDonald’s have each year?
2. What are the total assets for 2014?
3. Find the Balance Sheet and identify the amounts and explain: Goodwill, Prepaid expenses, Income taxes and Accrued Payroll.
4. Calculate the Working Capital ratio.
5. Go to page 54 of the annual report. Input the data and create two different graphs in Excel. Paste the spreadsheet graph in your assignment.
6. Critically evaluate the Internet as a resource for financial information.
Question 6 Costing
A. What is the advantage of the contribution approach as compared with the absorption approach?
b. “Basing pricing on only the variable costs of a job results in suicidal under-pricing.” Critically evaluate this statement.

 

 

 

Question 7 Costing
A. “Accountants do not ordinarily record opportunity costs in the formal accounting records.” Why? Illustrate your explanation with examples.
B. Distinguish between an incremental cost and a differential cost. Illustrate your explanation with examples.