BYP1-6 Wayne Terrago, controller for Robbin Industries, was reviewing production cost reports for the year. One amount in these reports continued to bother him–advertising. During the year, the company had instituted an expensive advertising campaign to sell some of its slower-moving products. It was still too early to tell whether the advertising campaign was successful. There had been much internal debate as how to report advertising cost. The vice president of finance argued that advertising costs should be reported as a cost of production, just like direct materials and direct labor. He therefore recommended that this cost be identified as manufacturing overhead and reported as part of inventory costs until sold. Others disagreed. Terrago believed that this cost should be reported as an expense of the current period, based on the conservatism principle. Others argued that it should be reported as Prepaid Advertising and reported as a current asset.

The president finally had to decide the issue. He argued that these costs should be reported as inventory. His arguments were practical ones. He noted that the company was experiencing financial difficulty and expensing this amount in the current period might jeopardize a planned bond offering. Also, by reporting the advertising costs as inventory rather than as prepaid advertising, less attention would be directed to it by the financial community.

Instructions

1.     Who are the stakeholders in this situation?

2.     What are the ethical issues involved in this situation?

3.     What would you do if you were Wayne Terrago?

1. (Analyzing inventory reductions at Supervalu) In a narrative format, answer all question presented in the case. Mention some ways other than cost cutting that will improve company operations.

b. Prepare revised product-line earnings statements based on the elimination of Sugar-Bits. It will be necessary to calculate some per-unit data to accomplish this.

2. How do managers go about making segment product line elimination decisions?

 

What is a job order cost system? Describe a situation in which you would use job order cost information. What type of information is useful in making your decision? In your initial response, please do not use citations to convey your understanding. Based on your reading, please communicate your own understanding of the requirements.

Discuss the principal objections to the use of the cash payback method for evaluating capital investment proposals. In your initial response, please do not use citations to convey your understanding. Based on your reading, please communicate your own understanding of the requirements.

1. Complete the information requested in parts (a) and (b) of the Self-Study Review Problem on pg 463.

a. Compute the net present value of each project. Which project should Advo adopt based on the net present value approach?

b. Use the incremental revenue summation method to compute the payback period for each project. Which project should Advo adopt based on the payback approach?

a) What is meant by the expression, time value of money?

b) Why should all capital investment proposals include time value of money (present value) calculations of future cash flows that are to be received from the alternative investments?
 

 

2. Some nonfinancial factors included in capital investment decisions are more important now than they were 20-25 years ago. Give some examples of the types of nonfinancial factors that managers would consider more important in today’s capital investment decisions than they were in the past.

3 .What level of management would be involved in making capital investment decisions? Why? Why are these decisions more critical than day-to-day decisions made by individuals and companies?

 

Week 1 Discussion Questions

                                                                            DQ1

What are the four basic financial statements? What is the primary purpose of each of the four basic financial statements? In your opinion, which financial statement is the most important? Explain why.

The four basic financial statements are income, retained earnings, balance, and statement of cash flows. Financial statements provide a means for the business to judge the results of their operational or financial performance over a period of time. Income statements provide investors and the business a description of how profitable the business is performing within a specific period in time. Retained earnings are income that is left in the company (reinvested) that was not distributed to the stockholders. This statement explains why the retained earnings increased or decreased during a specific period in time. Balance sheets relay the financial status of the business at a specific period in time. The balance sheet lists the business assets, liabilities, and stockholder equity or assets = liabilities + stockholder equity. Statement of cash flows shows the gross receipts and gross payments or liquidity, over a specific period in time..

What are the four basic financial statements? What is the primary purpose of each of the four basic financial statements? In your opinion, which financial statement is the most important? Explain why.

The four basic financial statements are income, retained earnings, balance, and statement of cash flows. Financial statements provide a means for the business to judge the results of their operational or financial performance over a period of time. Income statements provide investors and the business a description of how profitable the business is performing within a specific period in time. Retained earnings are income that is left in the company (reinvested) that was not distributed to the stockholders. This statement explains why the retained earnings increased or decreased during a specific period in time. Balance sheets relay the financial status of the business at a specific period in time. The balance sheet lists the business assets, liabilities, and stockholder equity or assets = liabilities + stockholder equity..

Unit 1 Discussion 2: Mainstream Media

1 1 unread reply. 1 1 reply.

Instructions

Popular media sources often report on research results, but they try to present the results in very general terms so that many people can understand. Sometimes, these popular media sources end up misrepresenting research results through their simplification or because they want to create a more sensational story. View the following video discussing a popular study that has even influenced the toy market for babies (Links to an external site.).

 (Links to an external site.)

Dr. Glenn Wilson, visiting professor of psychology at Gresham College, explains the effect of classical music – specifically Mozart – on the brain.
Studies from the 1990s claimed Mozart improved test scores, but replicated studies since then have failed.

Background: Sometimes misconceptions about scientific research come about because of how popular media sources representing research results. An initial study with provocative results may be widely publicized, while the later failed attempts to replicate may not be. Some research may be presented incompletely, or certain aspects of the study underemphasized. When you are examining scientific research, it’s a good idea to employ the LEARN approach introduced in Chapter 1, section 1.4:

  • Look for multiple influences: Are there factors not considered that could have influenced results?
  • Examine alternatives: Are there other possible causes for the outcome of a study than the stated one?
  • Analyze the evidence: Were there flaws in the experiment design or data collection?
  • Reasoned skepticism: What bias might exist on the part of the researchers?
  • Notice assumptions: Do you have any biases that may influence your attitude toward the research and conclusions?

Discussion Instructions: Find an example of psychological research reported in the mainstream media, or read one of the examples below. Write 2 to 3 paragraphs that include the following:

  • Summarize what results or conclusions are presented in the article.
  • Use the LEARN approach to identify any flaws you see in the research or conclusions. Remember that just because two factors are correlated does not mean that one caused the other.
  • Discuss how sensationalizing these research results could be harmful. If an article misrepresents or overemphasizes the conclusions of the research, what are some of the long-term problems this might cause?
  • Imagine and describe a scenario about how misinterpretation of the article you chose could be damaging to a person or a community.
  • What information could have been included that would have presented the information more responsibly?

Example Articles

 

Scientists can read your mind (Links to an external site.)

Weight-loss surgery and teens’ mental health (Links to an external site.)

Tetris can fight cravings? (Links to an external site.)

Imagination leads to obsessive-compulsive disorder (Links to an external site.)

 

When responding to your classmates, consider pointing out any influences or flaws in the research they present that they may have missed.

For more information about discussion grading criteria, visit the Undergraduate Discussion Participation Policies and Rubric page located in ECPI Resources.

 

Instructions

To post to the discussion, click on the “Reply” button above all the posts below. You may copy/paste the text of your assignment into the text box. Alternatively, you can choose to type directly into the text box. When you choose this option, please double check to make sure you have spelled everything correctly. Once you have finished crafting your post, please press the “Post Reply” button. This will complete the submission process for your post.

To respond to someone else’s post, click on the “Reply” button immediately below the discussion post you wish to respond to.

NOTE: PLEASE REVIEW THE YOU TUBE VIDEO LINK TO ANSWER THE QUESTIONS ABOVE.

How would the financial statements be useful to managers and employees? How would the financial statements be useful to investors and creditors?

Financial statements alert investors of the risk that is involved in investing in the company. The information from these reports also allow investors to judge what type of return they will receive on their investment and it also helps them to determine whether to hold, buy, or sell. Creditors are concerned with any statistical financial information that helps them to determine the financial stability of the organization and whether the business will repay the loan payments on time. Creditors also want to determine the stability of the organization and understand where the money is coming in and where it is going out.

Managers need financial statements so that they can determine what activities within the organization are profitable or not. Managers also use this information to guide decisions, resources, and if operations should continue in the present manner…

What are debits and credits? How are debits and credits used to record business transactions?  Why do accountants debit asset accounts to increase them but credit liability accounts to increase them? Why do accountants debit expenses to increase them but credit revenues to increase them?

A debit is an asset or increase in cash (left column). Debits normally increase assets and decrease liabilities and credits normally decrease assets and increase liabilities. A credit is a decrease in cash (right column). Debits and credits are used to record business transactions by the type of account that is used. Expense and assets are increased on the debit or left side and liability equity and revenue accounts are increased on the credit side. Every transaction must be balanced and in order to accomplish this, a transaction must be posted to an account on the left side as well as to an account on the right side…

Financial statements is a more common term used to refer to statements produced at the end of the accounting periods, such as the income statement, balance sheet, cash flow statement and the statement of owner’s equity. These four financial statements are sometimes known as the final accounts, which the business prepares.

The income statement also known as the trading and profit and loss account is a financial statement, which helps to calculate the gross profit and the net profit of the company for a particular year. Most of the businesses prepare the income statement because they compare revenues with expenses and check the performance. If the revenue exceeds the expenses, the business has earned a profit and vice versa. The information contained in the income statement is not only, but also useful for the internal users of the business such as the managers and owners but however it is also useful for the external users such as government, investors and creditors’.

For internal users, income statement helps to check the performance and profitability of the business. Owners invest their money merely to earn profits and thus it is necessary for them to check the amount of money they have earned in an accounting period. Similarly, manager’s status is directly linked with the profitability of the business. If the organization has able to achieve higher profits, manager’s salary and status often increases. Moreover, income statements also help to check the revenues and expenses of the business and thus managers can decrease their unnecessary expenses to earn more profits. In the same way, making of income statements is also useful for the external users such as investors, creditors and the government. Investors usually check the income statements of the organization to check the past financial performance of the business and to assess the capability of generating future cash flows. Moreover, creditors also take the help of the income statement to check whether the business has enough revenue to pay its dues on time. Finally, the government needs to check in order to calculate the taxes which the firm has to pay with respect to the profits earned over time.

The balance sheet is another financial statement which shows the assets, liabilities and the capital of the business. This document is prepared at the end of the accounting period, and it helps to check the liquidity position and the current health of the organization. It is based on an accounting model (e.g., assets = capital + liabilities). Internal users, such as managers and owners take the help of the balance sheet to check the liquidity of the business…

During week one I have learned much about recording basic financial transactions. The four basic financial statements include income, retained earnings, balance, and statement of cash flows. These are important because they provide a way for the organization to judge their financial performance. Income statements provide a description of how profitable the business is. Retained earnings reports what income was reinvested in the organization and was not distributed to the stockholders. Balance statements relay the assets and liabilities of the organization. Statement of cash flows shows the gross receipts and gross payments. A debit is an asset or increase in cash and a credit is a decrease in cash. Debits normally increase assets and decrease liabilities and credits normally decrease assets and increase liabilities. Debits and credits are used to record business transactions by the type of account that is used. Expenses and assets are listed on the left side and liabilities and revenue is listed on the right side of the T. Each time a transactions occurs they are listed in the journal and it will show which accounts are involved in the transactions and if they are debits or credits…

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Lester Scholl’s administrative assistant calls you on Monday afternoon to set up a conference call between you and the chairman tomorrow morning to discuss the board’s reaction to your list and to discuss your next task. You call the number she gave you, and Lester joins the call shortly after.

“I’m pleased with your work,” he says. The board was impressed with your list of factors. Your ranking made sense because your explanations were well-written. I suspect they read everything you sent because it was concise and clear. Good job.”

“Thanks,” you say, and you feel relieved that your first assignment was well-received.

“Your list provided the basis for a good conversation about the manufacturing operations,” he says. “We want to know more about the economy of both countries to further inform our decision-making process.”

“That makes sense,” you say. “The United States and South Korea hold many distinct economic factors that may affect AutoEdge’s long-term financial performance.”

“Right,” he says. “Your research on the two economies will give the board enough information so we can advise the new, incoming CEO.”

“What should my research include?” you ask.

“In your research, you must take into consideration several macroeconomic factors,” he says. “We want to see information about the gross domestic product (GDP), unemployment, interest rates, and inflation for both the United States and South Korea. Make sure your research is current; that is, no more than 6 months old.”

“I’ll get started right away,” you say.

“Very good,” he says. “Let me know if you have any questions, and I’ll put you in touch with some of the other members of the board if I can’t provide the answers you need.”

“Great,” you say. “Thank you.”