Discussion Post 1
Option I
Your team has been assigned to design and launch of a new product or service. This could be an external product for sale or an internal service to support other departments. As you prepare for your first team meeting, you know that identifying and classifying costs will be an essential part of the project.
o Briefly explain what the new offering is (Note: this can be hypothetical or based on your current role at your company; you should not share any proprietary information)
o Identify and describe one fixed cost and one variable cost in your department, and explain whether they are controllable or non-controllable.
o Identify whether these costs are traceable to direct materials, direct labor, or overhead.
Option II
Consider your current organization, describe how costing is used or could be used to better understand the financial breakdown of products and/or services delivered. Would this information support you in your current role and/or aspired-to role? Have you seen instances where costing is not used effectively or could be better leveraged?
Discussion Post 2
Costing Systems and Analysis
Option I
Discuss the usage and creation of standard costs by an operation. How are these costs developed? How can they be used in the creation of a forecast? How can these be used in an individual or organizational measurement system?
Option II
Discuss a current business activity that you or your department does that could be improved by leveraging Variance Analysis. Discuss the perspective you could gain, and what a "favorable price" and a "favorable quantity" variance mean in this application.
The response should include a reference list. Double-space, using Times New Roman 12 pnt font, one-inch margins, and APA style of writing and citations.