ACCT 346 All Weeks Discussions

ACCT 346 All Weeks Discussions

Week 1 DQ 1

The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (SOX) has emphasized the importance of ethical behavior and codes of conduct. Discuss the costs and benefits of the ethical environment. If a poor ethical environment results in costs to an organization, what are they? Conversely, what are the benefits of a good ethical environment?

Week 2 DQ 2

Flexibility, timeliness, and forward looking is said to be the prominent trait of modern management accounting, whereas standardization and consistency describe financial accounting. Explain why the focus on these two accounting systems differs.

Week 2 DQ 1

The job cost sheet is used to accumulate the three product costs: direct material, direct labor, and factory overhead. Discuss the source documents for determining these amounts (that is, where do we get these numbers, and how we arrive at the overhead?). Why is overhead the most difficult to assign?

Week 2 DQ 2

Describe how the process costing system accumulates and assigns costs by comparing and contrasting to the job order costing system.

Week 3 DQ 1

Discuss the basic assumptions of CVP analysis and how we can use CVP analysis as mangers in making decisions.

Week 3 DQ 2

Discuss the difference between variable costing and full costing.  Why would income computed under full costing exceed income computed under variable costing if production exceeds sales?

Week 4 DQ 1

How does activity-based costing differ from the traditional costing approach? When would it give more accurate costs than traditional costing systems?

Week 4 DQ 2

Only those costs that change need be included in the decision making process. Evaluate this statement and discuss its merits or shortcomings?

Week 5 DQ 1

Compare target costing and cost-plus pricing. When is each the most appropriate method to use? Provide an example of each.

Week 5 DQ 2

Suppose a company has 5 different capital budgeting projects from which to choose, but has constrained funds and cannot implement all of the projects. Explain why comparing the projects’ NPVs is better than comparing their IRRs?

Week 6 DQ 1

How does a company effectively use budgets in the planning and control process?

Week 6 DQ 2

What role do standard costs play in controlling the operations of a business?

Week 7 DQ 1

Compare and contrast the three types of responsibility centers. What is the best way to evaluate a manager’s performance in each type of center?

Week 7 DQ 2

Why do managers analyze financial statements? What are they looking for?