Topic 1: Case Study
A family in Cambridge received their Christmas presents from friends in Paris this week - 50 days after their parcel was posted. French posties sent it to Cambodia, and the near-20,000-kilometre trip, via several other countries, is estimated to have cost delivery firm ParcelForce $240 to deliver three children's books.
1. How do you think the cost of $240 would have been calculated?
2. Regardless of the exact method used to calculate the cost of delivering the lost parcel, in what way or ways would such a calculation be subjective? Give examples to illustrate your answer.
3. If the parcel delivery firm did not lose the parcel, would this necessarily mean that its profit would have been $240 higher? Justify your answer.
4. If the parcel delivery firm did not lose the parcel, would this necessarily mean that it would have $240 more cash? Justify your answer.
5. Under what circumstances might it be contended that there was no cost associated with losing the parcel?
6. Might it reasonably be contended that the cost of losing the parcel could be much more than $240? (You may wish to consider here that the incident has been reported in a newspaper article that includes the name of the delivery firm.) Is this a valid way to calculate the cost of losing the parcel?
7. If you were asked to calculate the cost of losing the parcel, what approach would you adopt? Justify your approach and state any assumptions that you have made.
Topic 2: Essay
The management accountant plays a number of key roles in:
(a) Assisting an organisation achieve its objectives; and,
(b) Ensuring that the organisation is ethical in its pursuit of those objectives.
Discuss this statement within the context of each of the following types of organisation:
• A business organisation that is a manufacturer; and,
• A not-for-profit organisation, such as a charity.
In each case, ensure that you provide illustrations of how the management accountant can contribute to ensuring that organisational objectives are achieved and ethical integrity maintained.