Manage budgets and financial plans

Assessment Task 1: Written Questions

Task summary

This is an open book test.to be completed in the classroom.

A time limit of 1 hour to answer the questions is provided.

You need to answer all of the written questions correctly.

Your answers must be word processed and sent to the assessor as an email attachment.

Required
- Access to textbooks/other learning materials
- Computer and Microsoft Office
- Access to the internet

Assessment Task 1 Instructions

Provide answers to all of the questions below:

1. Explain the basic principle of double entry bookkeeping.

2. Describe the principle of cash accounting and one advantage and one disadvantage of this method of accounting.

3. Describe the principle of accrual accounting and one advantage and one disadvantage of cash accounting

4. Explain the two accounting principles on which the calculation and reporting of deprecation is based.

5. Identify and explain three key features of A New Tax System (GST) Act 1999.

6. Identify and then explain the four main taxation and superannuation obligations for a business. Briefly discuss each obligation.

7. According to GST legislation, list four items that do not attract GST.

8. Explain the process by which a business reports GST to the Australian tax office.

9. What is the penalty rate to be applied if a supplier does not provide an ABN?

10. A non-profit organisation needs to register for GST after it has a turnover of more than how much?

11. List the key information that must be included on a tax invoice for sales of $1,000 or more.

12. Identify and explain three types of financial statements and their purpose.

13. Describe the type of entity that is required to have financial reports audited.

14. Explain the purpose of a financial audit and auditor's report.

15. Describe why companies may choose to develop budgets.

16. Explain the main steps in the budgeting process.

17. List 5 ways to improve cash inflow and give examples.

18. Explain the use of electronic spreadsheets in developing budgets and give two of their key features.

19. Explain three key principles relating to the management of a chart of accounts.

20. Explain the purpose of a profit and loss statement and give two of its key features.

Assessment Task 2: Budget planning project

Task summary

This assessment task requires you in the role of the Marketing Manager for King Edward VII College to review the budget you have been assigned for the upcoming financial year and to participate in a meeting with the CEO (role-played by your assessor) to discuss and negotiate the budget.

You are then required to meet with your team to discuss the budget allocation for the year, as well as explain the key features of the company's financial policy and procedure.

This assessment is to be completed in the simulated work environment in your RTO.

Required
- Computer and Microsoft Office
- Access to the internet for research
- Marketing Budget Template
- Finance Policies and Procedures
- Space for a meeting
- Roleplay participants

Assessment Task 2 Instructions

Carefully read the following:

King Edward VII College has been operating for 5 years. The College is based in Melbourne CBD and has an additional campus in Sydney. The College offers a range of courses in management, marketing, human resources and international business. It currently has around has around 500 students enrolled across all of its courses. Courses are offered at all levels, from Certificate II to Graduate Diploma.

King Edward VII College is very popular due to its competitive pricing structure, innovative teaching methods and state of the art facilities.

The College currently employs 24 staff members that include the CEO, a Marketing Manager and Marketing Assistant, Promotions Officer, Human Resources Manager, Operations and Finance Manager, Administration Manager, Office Assistant, Receptionist, Academic Manager, Student Services Officer and approximately 14 trainers.

As the Marketing Manager for the company, you are allocated a budget each year to spend on marketing.

This year the budget you have been allocated is $25,000, which is approximately 10% of revenue. Your budget does not include salaries and wages of staff, which is accounted for through another cost centre.

Your marketing plan for the year includes the activities below. The amounts in brackets are your cost projections for each activity:
- Redesign web site to improve branding ($5,000)
- Design and implement an incentive scheme for referrals by students ($2,400)
- Conduct a radio advertising campaign ($10,000)
- Online communications: newsletters, websites. Blogs, Twitter (zero cost: staff time only)
- Stand at VCE Careers Expo 2016 (Stand package $3,300)
- Develop and publish 2016 promotional brochure ($1,500)
- Sponsor community organisation to improve local community profile ($2,000)
- Contingency amount ($800)

You would also like to conduct a TV advertising campaign, and have been quoted a price of $30,000 to run the campaign. As this is obviously well over the budget limit, you need to negotiate an increase in budget. In order to negotiate this increase, you will need to research and present an argument for using TV advertising and the benefits to the company.

Complete the following activities:

1. Develop a draft marketing budget

As the Marketing Manager for King Edward VII College, you are required to develop a budget for marketing for the year. Review the case study information provided to you and, based on amounts allocated to each marketing activity, develop a marketing budget using the Marketing Budget Template to discuss at a meeting with the CEO.

Save this document as Draft Marketing Budget.

Prior to the meeting, you are also required to research the benefits of television advertising in order to present a case for an increase in budget. Make notes to assist you at the meeting.

2. Send an email to the CEO (your assessor).

The text of the email should be in grammatically correct English, written in an appropriate (polite, business-like) style.
It should introduce and summarise the contents of the attachment, and ask for an appointment to discuss it with them.

Attach your draft marketing budget to the email.

Your assessor will advise you of the time and date of the meeting.

3. Participate in a budget meeting

The next part of the assessment requires you to participate in a meeting with the CEO (role-played by your assessor) to discuss the marketing budget. At the meeting, you will need to:

- Provide a copy of your completed budget to the CEO
- Explain each of the planned marketing activities
- Confirm the amount allocated to each of the marketing activities, including the amount allocated for contingencies.
- Negotiate to increase the budget to accommodate the TV advertising campaign you wish to run (as per the case study information, you will need to present the benefits of television advertising to convince the CEO).

During the meeting, demonstrate effective communication skills including:
- Speaking clearly and concisely
- Using non-verbal communication to assist with understanding
- Asking questions to identify required information
- Responding to questions as required
- Using active listening techniques to confirm understanding

4. Revise the marketing budget
Following the meeting, revise your marketing budget to incorporate feedback from the CEO.

Save this document as Revised Marketing Budget.

5. Send an email to the CEO (your assessor).

The text of the email should be in grammatically correct English, written in an appropriate (polite, business-like) style.
It should introduce and summarise the contents of the attachment, and seek their feedback and ask for the place, date and time of the meeting with your team.

Attach your revised marketing budget to the email.

6. Meet with your team to discuss the budget.

The final part of the assessment requires you to meet with your team to confirm the budget for the year.
You are also required to introduce the team to the company's Finance Policies and Procedures, so revise this before the meeting, and write a short summery of it to share with your team.

At the meeting, you will need to:
- Discuss the overall budget allocation
- Discuss the amounts allocated to each marketing activity
- Discuss the amount allocated for contingencies
- Provide an outline of the Finance Policies and Procedures.

During the meeting, demonstrate effective communication skills including:
- Speaking clearly and concisely
- Using non-verbal communication to assist with understanding
- Asking questions to identify required information
- Responding to questions as required
- Using active listening techniques to confirm understanding

Assessment Task 3: Monitor and control finances project

Task summary

This assessment task requires you to monitor and control finances for the marketing department for King Edward VII College and provide a budget and expenditure report to the CEO.

This assessment is to be completed in the simulated work environment in the RTO.

Required
- Access to textbooks/other learning materials
- Computer with Microsoft Office and internet access
- Marketing Expenditure

Assessment Task 3 Instructions

Carefully read the following:

As per company policy, you are responsible for monitoring and recording expenditure each month.

The finance department has provided you with Marketing Expenditure, a report on expenditure for 2015/16.
There will also be some notes included to assist you to complete this task.

Note: that the company deems a standard variance in budgets of up to 5% acceptable.

Complete the following activities:

1. Update the marketing budget.

Enter the amounts in Marketing Expenditure into your budget under actual expenses.

Save this document as Updated Marketing Budget.

2. Write a report on the budget and expenditure
Your budget report should include:
- Projected budget and actual budget and variations
- Overall level of variance, as well as variance for individual marketing activities
- Reasons for overruns
- Proposed solutions for following year's budget

3. Send an email to the CEO (your assessor).

The text of the email should be in grammatically correct English, written in an appropriate (polite, business-like) style.
It should introduce and summarise the contents of the attachments.

Attach your budget report and updated marketing budget to the email.

Assessment Task 4: Profit and loss review project

Task summary

This assessment task requires you to assume a different role as Operations Manager for King Edward VII College and to report on an interim profit and loss account.

This assessment is to be completed in the simulated work environment in the RTO.

Required
- Access to textbooks/other learning materials
- Computer and Microsoft Office
- Access to the internet
- Profit and Loss Account

Assessment Task 4 Instructions

Complete the following activities:

1. Write a report for the CEO on the College's performance for the last six months
Analyse the information provided in the interim Profit and Loss Account, and write a short report on this.

Your performance report should:
a. Outline financial performance based on the figures in the profit and loss account
b. Identify variances higher than 10%
c. Compare the performance of each campus
d. Recommend solutions in relation to expenditure items where variances are higher than 10%

2. Send an email to the CEO (your assessor).
The text of the email should be in grammatically correct English, written in an appropriate (polite, business-like) style.
It should introduce and summarise the contents of the attachment.

Assessment Task 5: Debtor management project

Task summary
This assessment task requires you to review and evaluate financial management processes.

This assessment is to be completed in the simulated work environment in the RTO.

Required
- Access to textbooks/other learning materials
- Computer and Microsoft Office
- Access to the internet
- Aged Debtor Summary
- Aged Debtor Monitoring Summary

Assessment Task 5 Instructions

Complete the following activities:

1. Write an Aged Debtor Report for the CEO.
Analyse the information in the Aged Debtor Summary.
Note that the company's usual terms are payment 14 days from invoice.

Research best practice debtor management and then an Aged Debtor Report.

Your report should include:
- An outline of the information in the Aged Debtor Summary.
- What this says about the company's aged debtor processes.
- At least 5 recommendations that could be adopted by the company in response to your analysis. This should be based on the debtor management research you conducted.

Your report should be approximately 1 page long.

2. Send an email to the CEO (your assessor).
The text of the email should be in grammatically correct English, written in an appropriate (polite, business-like) style.
It should introduce and summarise the contents of the attachment, and seek their approval to implement best practice debtor management processes.

Attach your aged debtor report to the email.

3. Implement debtor management procedures

Assume that the CEO advises that in response to your recommendations that a debtor management procedure should be developed and implemented in relation to customer invoices.

You are required to develop a simple debtor management procedure for customer payments. It should include a range of simple steps from a friendly reminder to sending a formal letter of demand. Your procedure should be approximately one page and be sent to the CEO (your assessor via email).

4. Monitor debtor management procedures

Assume it is six months later and you are required to review a summary of current aged debts to determine the effectiveness of the implementation of the debtor management procedure. Review the Aged Debtor Monitoring Summary. Compare it against the previous Aged Debtor Summary to determine the effectiveness of the procedure.

5. Send an email to the CEO (your assessor).
The text of the email should be in grammatically correct English, written in an appropriate (polite, business-like) style.
It should summarise your findings regarding your analysis of the Aged Debtor Monitoring Summary.