Research & Analysis Teamwork

Learning Outcome:

Analyse the issues or problems (in a given scenario) using management accounting techniques and tools, and formulate recommended solutions.

Required:

Work in teams (groups) of 3 (4 with prior approval from your lecturer - if your lecturer has not approved a team of 4 the work you do will not be considered/marked) and write a memorandum ("memo") to the board of directors (assume the members of the board have varying degrees of accounting knowledge or understanding) and then present your findings addressing the issues noted in the assignment details.

Your team presentation will be limited to 10 minutes (13 minutes for 4 members if applicable) and each member of the team must present a part of it demonstrating individual oral presentation skills. A separate mark will be given to each member of the team for individual presentation skills. You must discuss the selection of teams with your lecturer who may decide to allocate you into teams or form teams using a random process.

The Assignment is designed to test the following skills:

1. Your knowledge and ability to research the issues and apply information appropriately using judgement
2. Your communication skills and teamwork: team presentations and written: memo writing.

Part A Memo - This mark covers the technical content of your advice in the memo and the explanation on each of the issues, any calculations and the sources and references used, and the format of the memo.

Part B Professional Competency Skills: Oral presentations - This mark covers the presentation skills of the individual student, the group overall as well as the technical content of the presentation.

Assignment details:

Assume you work in a team of graduates for a large consulting firm. Many of the firm's clients are service businesses. As part of your professional development, you have been asked to select a service business and advise that business on how to calculate the costs of providing the relevant services to clients as well as possible approaches to price setting that may suit the business. You are providing conceptual advice and whilst some calculations from example situations may aid your explanations, detailed calculations are not required.

Write a memorandum ("memo") (answers in report format may not be marked) addressed to the board of directors of the organisation chosen that covers these costing and pricing issues. You then need to prepare a presentation that could be used to persuade the board of directors of that organisation to hire your consulting company's services. You should deliver the presentation as if the board of directors is your primary audience.

Your analysis should include (focusing most on parts 2 & 3):

1) A brief overview of the difficulties of calculating the costs of services (for all service organisations)

2) Consideration of the particular difficulties in the calculation of the costs of services and of price setting in the business that you have chosen

3) Consideration of management accounting techniques or tools which may help overcome these costing and pricing difficulties. Remember you are trying to persuade the board of directors that your consulting firm can really add value to their business

4) Any other relevant matter that you believe will be of use to the board of directors

A presentation of 7-10 minutes to the class (in week 11) summarising your findings is required. The presentation is a collaborative effort, but part of the mark will be awarded on an individual basis

Team Meetings
The team should have a minimum of three meetings (the team may have as many meetings as they need to) and should maintain minutes of those meetings which should be included with the team assignment as an attachment. The minutes of meetings should (at the very least) contain -

1) Where and when the meeting was held

2) People present; absent; apologies

3) What was discussed, any disagreements/conflicts, points that were agreed on;

4) The follow up action relating to each member of the team;

5) Any other relevant matters, anything else that is significant to the successful completion of the assignment.