Management Accounting Research Component Assignment

Learning Outcomes

1. Explain the nature and importance of management accounting, and the current roles and responsibilities of management accountants in contemporary business organizations.

2. Identify and analyse ethical and organisational issues confronting contemporary management accountants.

Context:

The research component requires students to explore the current roles and responsibilities of management accountants in contemporary business organisations.

Instructions:

Students are required to search job advertisements for cost accountants and management accountants from diverse job websites, to identify selection criteria for cost and management accountant roles, and to reflect on the skill set required to fulfil the responsibilities of management accounting position in the work place.

The instructions for data collection, data analysis and final report are below.

1) Data Collection:

• You are required to collect data from the Australian job websites.
• Identify ten (10) cost accounting or management accounting positions advertised during the time period from 1 August 2017 to 12 November 2017. These positions must be based in Australia.
• You should exercise your best effort to ensure your positions differ substantially from the positions selected by any other student in class. Please submit your list of positions by midnight Sunday 12th November 2017 to the subject facilitator for interim feedback if necessary.
• Note: Please keep a record of your positions when first downloaded as the positions may be deleted from the websites. One way to do this is to copy, paste and save the job descriptions in Word.
• Record the collected data for the above positions in Table 1 below.

2) Data Analysis:

Complete Table 2 below.

3) Final Report:

Respond to the following requirements in your report. Note: References to Table 1 and Table 2 are required, where applicable.

Part 1: 200 words

1) Summarise the positions in the following areas

• The job websites where your positions are found
• The common sectors (industry or government organisations) of the positions
• Whether the positions are classified as 'cost accountants', 'management accountants', or other classifications (if so, what are these classifications?)
• The common requirements, selection criteria, responsibilities, and other detail of the positions
• The common requirements, selection criteria, responsibilities, and other detail, which relate to cost and management accounting knowledge and skills

Part 2: 600 words

2)

• Describe the most common cost and management accounting skills and knowledge required for the positions.
• Discuss why these knowledge and skills are required. You are expected to explain and justify your own opinions. You may refer to extra sources of references to support your arguments.

3)

• Identify the less common cost and management accounting skills and knowledge required for the positions.
• Discuss why these knowledge and skills are not as highly sought as those in Part 2 (2) above. You are expected to explain and justify your own opinions. You may refer to extra sources of references to support your arguments.

4) Draw practical implications from your research findings: Apart from cost and management accounting knowledge and skills, identify and explain any challenge(s) facing management accountants.

5) Explain and elaborate the alignments you have provided in last column of Table 2:

• What are the specific topics that you have learnt in ACCT 6004, which have helped you align the cost and management accounting knowledge and skills of the positions with the learning outcomes of ACCT 6004?
• To what extent do you think the subject learning outcomes are aligned to job requirements?

6) Reflect on your research:

• What cost and management accounting knowledge and skills required for the positions but not taught in ACCT 6004?
• Do you think these knowledge and skills should, or should not, be covered in this subject ACCT 6004? Why?

Fill table for Part 1 and 2 and 800 words for Part 3.

Attachment:- Assignment File.rar