For this module, you are required to complete a course project that reveals mastery in application of the management accounting and finance concepts emphasised in the course. This involves reporting on a specific organisation within an industry and the management accounting and finance practices that affect the value of the chosen firm or industry. This project should be a formal business report that provides both specific processes and strategies involving budgeting, costing, capital decision making, capital acquisition, and cost of capital structure of the chosen firm. These processes and strategies are to be supported with management accounting concepts. For this project, you will select a company that you are familiar with or work for.
This week you will continue to work on your Final Project for this module. The purpose of the Final Project is to apply the concepts and techniques of the module to the analysis of real-world situations or problems. Students are expected to use diverse sources of information and to carry out an original analysis rather than summarise or rehash existing work. Students are encouraged to use situations and data from their own experience where possible.
Your task for Week 7 is to hand in the outline of your Project Report and to begin revisions as soon as you receive feedback from your Instructor. The outline should not include detailed sections of the Final Project. Instead, it should be a specific and crisp overview of the contents that will comprise the final report, which will provide a detailed account of the five tasks listed below.
Remember that the tasks required for the Final Project that will be submitted in Week 8 are to:
Assess the budgeting process and procedures for the organisation with regards to preparation techniques, uses for evaluation, differences between business units/divisions, etc.
Analyse how the organisation collects, stores, and prepares management accounting information, particularly the use of a management accounting system (MAS) and how information is disseminated throughout the organisation.
Evaluate the costing process and procedures of the organisation with respect to method or approach utilised.
Assess the capital decision making process within the organisation with regards to what methods are utilised, how such methods are chosen, how projects are selected and managed, and what measures are employed to evaluate performance.
Evaluate the criteria or mechanisms used by the organisation for deciding how best to acquire capital and analyse the capital structure of the company.