Unit 9: Management Accounting, Costing and Budgeting Pearson BTEC Level 5

TASK 1

1.1 Classification of cost

Cost are classified into different types that is highly depends upon their nature and particular purpose. It has been categorised in terms of behaviour, function and nature that has been described as follows:-

By Behaviour

• Fixed cost: It is that type of expenses which cannot be vary with the increase or decrease in the level of production. In regard to this, fixed cost of ABC Company involves from the above all cost are rents and rates, insurance and depreciation of fixed assets etc.
• Variable cost: It is that type of cost that are associated with the units and it will be varied with the level of production changes increased or decreased. The variable expenses of a cited company includes are direct material and direct labour etc.
• Semi-variable cost: It is that type of cost in which particular portion of cost remains that is fixed and the other balancing portion is variable cost known as semi-variable cost (Scapens, 2016).

By Nature

• Direct expenses: It is that expenses that are connected with the purchase and production of goods or services of a business. It is mainly categorised into three parts which involves material, labour and overhead expenses. For example, in the manufacturing process of articles by a firm in which there is a needed to purchase material, employed labour and paid wages to workers. All these expenses are incurred directly for a particular commodity. From the above data of cost the direct expenses of ABC Company involves direct material, direct labour, purchase of computer and purchase of van etc.
• Indirect expenses: It is that type of cost that are incurred indirectly and these expenses has no relationship with the buying or products or services. It occurred at the time of operating a whole business that involves other overhead cost, insurance and rent etc.

By Function

• Production cost: It is that type of expenses that can be incurred by the ABC Company at the time of manufacturing a product or giving any kind of services (Grasso, 2016). The firm incurred variety of cost that includes raw material, consumable manufacturing supplies, direct material and direct labour etc.
• Marketing cost: It is an associated at the time of transferring products or services to their final consumers. The expenses are incurred at the time of promoting goods into the target market such as advertising expenses, selling and distribution expenses etc.

1.2 Use of costing methods

The ABC Company are adopting different types of costing methods which has been discussed as follows:-

• Job costing: The organisation used this method to determine the productions in terms of job completion. The costs are not concerned to the production units but it is related to the cost for a work order. The elements that are mainly involves in it are prime cost such as direct material and direct labour that are directly charges to the jobs (Greve, 2017).
• Batch costing: It is a form of job costing which is used at the time when an article are manufactured in batches. The ABC Company ascertained cost for the whole batch and after that cost of per unit is measured. It is also used by the various industries such as manufacturing industries, ready made garments and pharmaceuticals industry.
• Process costing: It is mainly used in cost accounting that helps in accumulates and traces direct expenses and allocating the indirect expenses of a production procedure. Thus, the cost are assigned to goods generally in a large batch that involves a whole month's production. It is mainly suitable for those industries who manufacture a homogeneous good and flow continuously.
• Contract costing: It is that type of costing method that are applied by ABC limited at the time of ascertaining cost construction work according to a specification of customers (Otley, 2016). It helps the builders, construction and mechanical engineering firms, construction contractors to measure the total contract cost. It is a similar to the job costing in which a separate numbers are allotted for a particular contract and records them separately.
• Service costing: It is that method of cost accounting in which it involves all types of cost that occurred in the manufacture of a service are combined together. It will be divided by the total number of units of services and the total expenses are divided through total units at per cost unit. It is mainly used in providing transports, hotels, public utility services such as telephone, water, electricity and telephone, hospitals, buses, railways and other association where there will be services rendered (Shields, 2016).

1.3 Calculation of closing stock

1) Cost of closing stock by FIFO method

Table 1: FIFO METHOD

2)Cost of Closing stock by LIFO Method

Table 2: LIFO

3)Cost of closing stock by AVCO

Table 3: AVCO

1.4 Analysis cost data by adopting appropriate method

From the above table cost data of ABC Company are taken into consideration at the time preparing an income statement. There are two most appropriate techniques available which involves absorption and marginal costing method to determining company's net profit. The cost are divided into fixed and variable expenses that are used by adopting appropriate techniques. It has been described below:-

Fixed and variable expenses: There is a needed to first bifurcating all cost into fixed expenses which involves rents and rates, insurance and depreciation of fixed assets etc. Thereafter, variable expenses includes direct material and direct labour (Shields, 2016).

Marginal costing technique: It is that type of method in which only the variable expenses will be charged to operation and excluded fixed cost from at the time of ascertainment of Net profit/ Loss to a firm.

Absorption costing techniques: It can be defined as full costing as it takes both types of cost are fixed and variable expenses to preparation of income statement of ABC Company.

TASK 2

2.1 Preparation and analysing routine cost

ABC Company

Routine cost Report

For the April year Ended 2016

2.2 Identification of potential improvements for a company by adopting performance indicators

The ABC Company adopts variance analysis method for this they identifying the favourable or unfavourable variance. It can be possible by comparison of actual and budgeted results for this they can able to understand the business actual performance. It has been described as follows:-

Benchmarking

The Company should implement the benchmarking that is the best performance indicator to identifying the potential improvement for their business (Labro, 2016). It is the method of monitoring and collecting key indicators to finding out performance gaps and also potential areas for the improvement of business levels.

• Favourable variance: It can be occurred when the actual results are increasing the budged results. Suppose, the ABC Company keeps the benchmarking of industry standard practices that is ROI 8%. The favourable variance occur when the firm exceed the ROI 8%. Thereafter, the companies can maintain their ROI at or above 8% by invest into potential areas. It can possible through product launch by grand opening, employee appreciation, increase customer loyalty, build brand awareness increase productivity, enhance employee morale and clients appreciation.
• Unfavourable variance: It is that type of variance in which the Company exceeds their actual result with the budgeted results. For example, the ABC Limited can attain the benchmarking of ROI 8% that is below the expected results that it occur unfavourable variance. Further, they performance gaps of a company is fulfilled by identification of their competitor's strategies. For this, they formulate its own policy and strategies that helps to satisfy their customers effectively. Apart from this, they should invest amount on marketing and promoting its goods or services into the potential target market (Atkinson, 2015).

2.3 Suggestion for improvements to minimize, improves values and quality to the firm.

In the competitive environment the accounting manager of ABC Company have to provide an accurate information by focus on enhance value and eliminate wastage to a firm. For this, they have to participated and observed an aspects by adding value for management accounting information. These are as discussed below:-

• Activity based costing: It should be used by management accountant of a Company to provide an actual cost information regards to business process and activities. Thus, the ABC system are mainly focused on the overall organisational activities for assessing its cost behaviour. For this, the manager effectively allocating cost as well as resource for the purpose of financial reporting. It is helpful for the ABC Company as the information is integrated with continuous profit improves its activities and able to enhance value.
• Balance score card: It is that type of approach in which it identifies overall new process that must necessary to attain the organisation's performance objectives (Atkinson, 2015). The company can enhance value and quality of management accounting information at each prospectives. There are four perspective that involves financial: in that they understand how the firm can create value for its shareholders. Customers: they identify the needs and desires of their newly as well as existing customers for which it able to enhance their value by satisfy them effectively. Internal process: the performance of organisation is viewed by the lenses of efficiency and quality regards to its products or services. Learning and growth: quality of an organisation can be improves through providing training to their employees.

TASK 3

3.1 Purpose and nature of budgeting process

Budgeting process are adopted by most of the firms that involves future planning of expenditure and revenues by managing a financial plan. The ABC Company used budget procedure that have some purpose and nature included in it. It has been discussed below:-

Purpose & Nature of budgeting process

• Forecasting business performance: It provides a financial framework of a business through which an effective decision can be made by managers. It helps the firms to determining their future business performance through comparison of actual and budgeting expenditure.
• Controlling and monitoring: The company applied budgeting procedure for an identification of variance occurred if it shows unfavourable then it is negative situation of a firm (Shields, 2016). For this, the manager control the activities that hinder the business performance and make necessary adjustments for further improvements.

3.2 Types of budgeting methods

The ABC Company adopts the budgeting techniques for the various needs and purposes. It can be of various types that has been described as follows:-

• Incremental budgeting: It is that budgeting techniques that can be also known as traditional method whereby it is prepared through undertaking the actual performance. It is a base with the incremental amounts that involves inflation or planned sales and cost increase etc. It will be added for the getting the new budget period and it is based upon the recent budgets. The benefits of incremental budgets for a ABC Company is that it allow them to prepare quickly, easy to understand, it takes less time and cost etc.
• Zero base budgeting: It is that type of budgeting techniques in which it begins from a zero base rather than previous budget period and incremental budgeting. It is always started as a new budget which is established at a zero point for which the company go through the each expenses during their course. The benefits from this process of budgeting is that it save cost and optimum utilization of resources (Shields, 2016).

3.3 Preparation of budgets

ABC Company

Sales Budget

Table 4: sales budget

ABC Company

Table 5: Production budget

ABC Company

Material purchase and usage budget

Table 6: Material usage budget

Table 7: Material purchase budget

Table 8: Plastic usage budget

Table 9: Plastic purchase budget

TASK 4

4.1 Calculation of variances

Material usage variance

Table 10: Material usage variance

Labour variance

Table 11: Labour variance

Labour idle time variance

Table 12: Labour idle time variance

Variable overhead variance

Table 13: Variable overhead variance

Fixed overhead variance

Table 14: Fixed overhead variance

4.2 Prepare an operating statement

4.3 Recommendation

The responsibility Centre is known as cost centre through which the management of a Company can control cost as well as revenues. The profit centre can be determine on the basis of budgeted profit and actual profit that is unfavourable. Thereafter, in cost centre the material variance, variable overhead variance and fixed overhead variance is unfavourable. From the above table the data shows that the ABC Company needs to adopt strategies to improvement in each profit and cost centre. The management should do planning and controlling that helps them to control cost by make comparison actual and budgeted results. Thereafter, by analysing business performance the company have to design control reports that shows the level of an activity from each decision unit.

Conclusion

Summarized the whole report it has been concluded that ABC Company business performance favourable as it the actual figures are than budgeted figures. Further, appropriate techniques such as marginal and absorption costing methods is adopted to use all cost fixed as well as variable taken. For this, it has been analysed that the absorption costing is the most appropriate method as it takes all type of cost that determine actual sales profit of a firm. The budgeted profit is ascertained that is 18090000 positive that shows that the company used all such business activities that attain the desired results and targets.

References

• Ax, C. and Greve, J., 2017. Adoption of management accounting innovations: Organizational culture compatibility and perceived outcomes. Management Accounting Research34.pp.59-74.
• Bogsnes, B., 2016. Implementing beyond budgeting: unlocking the performance potential. John Wiley & Sons.
• Burns, J. and Scapens, R. W., 2016. Conceptualizing management accounting change: an institutional framework. Management accounting research.11(1). pp.3-25.
• Cooper, D. J. and Qu, S., 2016. Popularizing a management accounting idea: The case of the balanced scorecard.
• Deyo, R. A., 2016. Watch Your Back! How the Back Pain Industry Is Costing Us More and Giving Us Less. Family medicine.48(10). p.821.
• Drake, A. and Allen-Ware, M. S., International Business Machines Corporation, 2016. Distributed power budgeting. U. S. Patent 9,298,247.
• Drake, A. and Allen-Ware, M. S., International Business Machines Corporation, 2016. Distributed power budgeting. U. S. Patent Application 14/994,733.
• Gallani, S. and Shields, M. D., 2016. Budgeting, Psychological Contracts, and Budgetary Misreporting(No. 16-017). Harvard Business School.
• Hemmer, T. and Labro, E., 2016. Productions and Operations Management & Management Accounting.

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