Janex PLC is a multi-divisional organisation manufacturing four different product lines. The directors of Janex are worried about its costing and performance management systems which are based around absorption costing and financial ratio analysis. Required: Draft a briefing note to the Directors of Janex that discusses: a. The benefits of replacing absorption costing with activity-based costing b. The weaknesses associated with traditional, financially focused performance measurement systems like ratio analysis

Janex PLC is a multi-divisional organisation manufacturing four different product lines. The directors of Janex are worried about its costing and performance management systems which are based around absorption costing and financial ratio analysis. Required: Draft a briefing note to the Directors of Janex that discusses: a. The benefits of replacing absorption costing with activity-based costing b. The weaknesses associated with traditional, financially focused performance measurement systems like ratio analysis

Managerial Accounting

15th Edition

ISBN:9781337912020

Author:Carl Warren, Ph.d. Cma William B. Tayler

Publisher:Carl Warren, Ph.d. Cma William B. Tayler

Chapter10: Evaluating Decentralized Operations

Section: Chapter Questions

Problem 2CMA

See similar textbooks

Similar questions

As manager of department B in MarIeys Manufacturing, based on the costs you identified in the previous exercise for further research, how does this impact the financial performance of your department, and what might be some questions you want to ask or solutions you might propose to Marleys management?
Profit Corp. has a subunit classified as a cost center that supports other parts of the firm but has reported costs higher than what the corporate office would like to see. Thus, the manager of this subunit is under pressure to cut operating costs without hurting the perceived quality of services provided. What general recommendations could you give to the manager of this cost center to achieve that goal?
You are the new cost accountant for ABX Corporation. After careful review of the company’s operations you have been tasked to determine the company’s break-even point in units and dollars, the numbers sold to meet the company’s target profit and contribution income statement for both outcomes.Management has also asked that you discuss the risk, uncertainty, changing variables and margin of safety regarding Cost Volume Profit Analysis. Based on your discussion and calculations what would be your recommendation if the company wanted to increase variable cost by 20% and sales price by 5%? Support your recommendation. ABX Corporation sold it's product for $600/unit. Fixed cost are $725,000 per year. Variable costs are $455 per unit. ABX Corporation desires a target profit of $1,250,000 per year.
Waterfield Company is looking for a way to help its executive managers assess how its three divisions are meeting the company’s goals and objectives for the performance of its purchasing department. Which of the following metrics might be used for this purpose? a. customer satisfaction rating b. the material price variance c. the amount of time employees spend in training d. operating income
When a company is decentralized, top management will have little time to focus on long-term strategy because they will be too focused on managing day to day operations. True O False Select all of the below that are advantages of decentralization. Decentralization allows companies to duplicate costs. Decentralization provides training. Decentralization improves customer and supplier relations. Decentralization improves motivation and retention.
You are the new cost accountant for ABX Corporation. After careful review of the company's operation you have been tasked to determine the company's break-even point in units and dollars, the numbers sold to meet the company's target profit and contribution income statement for both outcomes. Management has also asked that you discuss the risk, uncertainty, changing variables and margin of safety regarding Cost Volume Profit Analysis. Based on your discussion and calculations what would be your recommendation if the company wanted to increase variable cost by 20% and sales price by 5%? Support your recommendation. Company's Data: ABX Corporation sold it's production for %600/unit. Fixed cost are $725,000 per year. Variable costs are $455 per unit. ABX Corporation desires a target profit of $1,250,000 per year.
Consider the following series of independent situations in which a firm is about to make a strategic decision. LOADING... (Click the icon to view the decisions.) Requirements 1. For each decision, state whether the company is following a cost leadership or a product differentiation strategy. 2. For each decision, select what information the managerial accountant can provide about the source of competitive advantage for these firms. Requirement 1. For each decision, state whether the company is following a cost leadership or a product differentiation strategy. Decisions a. A running shoe manufacturer is weighing whether to purchase leather from a cheaper supplier in order to compete with lower-priced competitors. ▼ b. An office supply store is considering adding a delivery service that its competitors do not have. ▼ cost leadership strategy product differentiation strategy c. A regional retailer is deciding…
Discuss how allocation of customer-related overhead cost can lead to better decision making within firms with reference to the case below. ‘An insurance company, A-Insure Limited, decided to use CPA to identify profitable and non-profitable customers after it grew concerned about the poor financial performance of one of its policy options. A-Insure collected customer data through original policy proposal forms which were stored electronically in a customer database. It was able to conduct a complex cross correlation between known cost drivers and the demographic and other characteristics of policy holders. The cost drivers were: • commission payments to financial advisers who sold the policy • early surrender of the policy by the policy holder • changing of bank details and consequent chasing of missed premiums • responding to customer queries. The analysis identified that the policy was unprofitable when sold to recently retired clients but was profitable when sold to other client…
Differentiate between a cost center, profit center, and investment center. What is the major shortcoming of using operating income as a performance measure for investment centers? Why should the factors under the control of the investment center manager (revenues, expenses, and invested assets) be considered in computing the return on investment? In a decentralized company in which the divisions are organized as investment centers, how could a division be considered the least profitable, even though it earned the largest amount of operating income? Does the concept of decentralization--top managers allowing middle and lower-level managers to make decisions--have application to God's plan for us? In other words, does God make decisions for us or does he allow us to make decisions in our own lives? Is this good or bad? How does using the return on investment facilitate comparability between divisions of decentralized companies?
(Ch 8) Which departments in an organization produce services for external customers? Question 1 options: Support departments. Dual-rate departments. Operating departments. Sales departments. (Ch 8) When allocating support department costs, managers must identify cost pools. The choice of cost pools is: Question 2 options: not influenced by the allocation base. not important, because all support department costs will eventually be allocated anyway. influenced by the design of the accounting information system. determined by whether a company uses IFRS or ASPE.
You work for Alphabet Holdings Plc as a junior management accountant. The board of directors are considering ways to improve the suboptimal performance of an investment in a manufacturing company called DEF products Ltd. As you can see from the table below the directors are considering closing products Bozon and Carbon in an effort to improve overall profitability. You spot that marginal costing would show the results differently and may affect the directors’ decision. Requirements for Question 2 Use your knowledge of management accounting and marginal costing to calculate the contribution of each product Use your findings from part (a) and appropriate academic references to explain whether the company should stop making product Bozon Use your findings from part (a) and appropriate academic references to explain whether the company should stop making product Carbon Discuss how and why marginal costing calculates contribution to pay overheads and why this is…
Raider Corporation is planning to introduce a new product to its product line. 1. You are tasked with conducting a Cost - Volume - Profit (CVP) analysis for the new product. 2. Discuss the key components of CVP analysis, including the breakeven point, contribution margin, and margin of safety. 3. Additionally, explain how CVP analysis can assist Raider Corporation in making strategic decisions related to pricing, sales volume, and overall profitability for the new product. 4. Discuss any assumptions or limitations associated with CVP analysis that management should be aware of when using this tool for decision-making. 5. Finally, suggest potential strategies that Raider Corporation could employ to improve its CVP metrics and enhance the financial performance of the new product.