44-S 3000 Words - Management Accounting - 24 hours

Part a. Organisations need to know the cost of products or services they provide for a variety of decision making situations. Critically evaluate the following three approaches to costing products or services. 1. Marginal or variable costing 2. Full or Absorption costing 3. Activity based costing (ABC) For each approach identify one managerial decision making situation where your preferred approach is more appropriate than the other two and justify why you have chosen that approach over the other two approaches in a particular decision making situation. Part b. ‘’Standard costing and Variance analysis are appropriate to any type and size of organisation’’. Critically evaluate this statement, indicating whether you agree with the statement or not. Guidance: Students are encouraged to be inquisitive and innovative in their approach as to what should be included in this report. The following may be of some use in providing guidance as to what could possibly be included, although this is in no way meant to be prescriptive. The aim of the assignment is to help you understand how key areas of strategic management accounting are demonstrated in practice by a variety of different sizes and types of organisations. This will include investigating topics from throughout the course linked to the above issues. Some of the principles, concepts and models will be more relevant to your chosen approach than others and so it is likely that different students will formulate different approaches to the problems. This is normal, it is not expected that all of the course content will be used in the analysis, concentrate on that which you feel is most important. As part of your work you might find it helpful to briefly explore the underlying theory behind the key areas of investigation that you identify before applying them to report. With a total of 3,000 words you do not have a lot of room for long introductions so assume you are writing to a sophisticated audience who has a working knowledge of strategic management accounting and is well versed in business theory. Numerical examples for illustrative purposes may be of use but should not be the main thrust of the work. If used they should be to provide evidence to support your findings from your other analysis of position and policies. If other sources are used remember to reference everything! Please avoid relying too heavily on descriptive sections reproducing information available from course material or the set text. It is your own logical, evaluation of the situation, the interpretation of course material and presentation, with critical analysis, of a coherent strategic plan that will attract high marks.