Reference no: EM132416893

BSBFIM501 Manage budgets and financial plans - Australian Careers College

ASSESSMENT 1:

Question1
Why do organisations need accurate and timely financial information? What information is required to manage the organisation's finance? Who is usually responsible for an organisation's financial management?

Question 2
List 5 key elements to consider when developing cash flow budget

QUESTION 3
What is GST and how is it implemented? What is the legislation that governs GST?

Question 4
What are financial audits and why are they carried out?

Question 5
Why should employees be involved in setting and monitoring the budget?

Question 6
Why should team or work group members be actively involved in designing and analysing contingency plans?

Question 7
The General Ledger is where financial information from all aspects of your business is consolidated. Briefly explain the objective of a General Ledger.

Question 8
Briefly explain how ageing summaries and petty cash management could be used to evaluate financial management processes.

Question 9
What is your understanding of Planning financial management approaches

Question 10
What is your understanding of Monitoring and control finances

ASSESSMENT 2: PROJECT

Overview

Below are a number of practical tasks to be completed over a period of time in a real or simulated workplace where you will perform the duties of a manager.

The times for completion of the tasks are to be negotiated between yourself and the assessor. The tasks will reflect your ability to:

Project: Accounting Assignments

Your assessor will provide you with instructions and complete a checklist on which they will record your satisfactory performance of workplace tasks.

The Project Tasks table below identifies the documents that you are required to prepare and submit in your evidence portfolio. They may be presented in printed format in a folder or as an electronic copy.

Project Tasks 1

The following tasks may be completed as a workplace project based on your own organisation and job role, or as a simulated workplace project based on a fictitious organisation, or an organisation you are familiar with.

You are required to complete the following Accounting Tasks

QUESTION 1.

Tom Jones, an experienced optical surgeon, estimates that he usually sees six patients per hour. His working week consists of 6 hours per day from Tuesday to Friday and 2 hours on Saturday morning. He estimates that the number of working days in January and February are:

Month Working Days
Tues - Friday Saturday
January 15 5
February 20 4

His average optical bill is $120.00 per patient. However, due to cost increases in his public liability insurance, he must increase this to $175.00 per patient from 1 February.

You are required to prepare his Sales Budget for the months of January 2011 and February 2011 using Microsoft Excel.

QUESTION 2.

You have been provided with the sales budget of IBO Retailers in respect of their product, Quik'n'Ezy Meals:

To meet expected demand, IBO Retailers requires its inventory at the start of each month to be equal to 30% of that month's sales. It is expected that the inventory on hand at 1 July will agree with this requirement.

Currently, Quik'n'Ezy Meals costs $2.00 per item to purchase. However, the manufacturer has notified IBO Retailers of an expected cost increase of $1.50 from 1 September.

All stock is accounted for using FIFO (First-in-first-out).

You are required to prepare on Microsoft Excel spreadsheet:

(a) Purchases budget for the quarter ended 30th September 2011 showing full details of quantities and cost for each month;
(b) A Cost of Goods Sold budget and budgeted Trading Statement for the quarter ended 30th September 2011.

QUESTION 3.

You have been provided with the Trial Balance of Fast Motor Repairs as at 1 December 2011. Fast Motor Repairs has the following account balances:

Cash at Bank $6,000 debit
GST Payable/Accumulation $29,000 credit

As it is registered for GST, the balance in the GST Payable/Accumulation account is due to be remitted to the Australian Taxation Office by 21 December.

During December, the following transactions are expected to occur:
Total Sales 115,000
Wages (gross) 33,500
Rent to be paid 12,250
Cash inventory purchases 26,000
Credit inventory purchases 48,000
Depreciation 25,000
Mortgage Repayment 43,000
Monthly Mortgage Interest 9,750

Additional information:
1) Cash sales comprise 15% of total sales.
2) In terms of credit sales, the business generally collects 75% in the month following the sale and 25% in second month.
3) Credit sales for October and November are budgeted at $75,000 and $90,000 respectively.
4) In terms of credit purchases, the business generally pays 95% the month after they purchase the goods, and 5% two months afterwards.
5) Credit purchases for October and November are $30,000 and $70,000 respectively.
6) Input tax credits apply to rent and purchases of trade goods.
7) PAYG tax deductions are calculated at 20% of the month's gross wages paid. This amount is then remitted to the Australian Taxation Office on the 21st day of the following month. Gross wages paid in November equalled $30,000.

You are required to prepare a cash budget for the month of December 2011 on Microsoft Excel spreadsheet. Show GST on sales and input tax credits separately

QUESTION 4.

You have been provided with the balance sheet of It'll Be Right Accountancy Services as at 31 March 2010:

From discussions with staff and other interested parties, the owner has developed the following estimates for the year ending 31 March 2011:

1. When a client sees the owner for the first time, they are initially charged $75. If they then need to have any further appointments, they are charged $150 for each further appointment.
2. The owner expects to have 20 first appointments and 125 further appointments every week throughout the year.
3. The office operates for 52 weeks a year, though a replacement accountant is employed for $2,500 per week when the owner takes 6 weeks annual leave in April and May.
4. The annual wage of the receptionist is $23,250.
5. Marketing wages will be $15,000.

6. The owner estimates that the following payments will be made during the year:
Stationery $13,400
Electricity $8,200
Cleaning $3,900
Office rental $29,500
Telephone $9,900

7. It is estimated that the following accruals will need to be taken into account at the end of March 20XX:
Prepaid Rent $225
Accrued Electricity $370

8. ‘The Bank' will be paid $6,350 interest while an additional loan repayment of $8,000 will also be required.

9. Office equipment is depreciated at the rate of 10% per annum on cost while the marketing equipment is depreciated at 12.5% per annum on cost.

10. It is estimated that a new computer software package will need to be purchased during the year. The owner estimates that this will cost $25,000 and occur on the last day of September. This would be depreciated at a rate of 25% per annum on cost.
Prepare a budgeted Profit and Loss Statement for the year ended 31 March 2011 for the practice on Microsoft Excel spreadsheet.

QUESTION 5.

The manager of the Sharp's Entertainment Park has provided the following estimates in respect of the year ended 30 June 2011.

1. Entrance fee into the Entertainment Park is as follows:
Adults $25
Discount Rates $10

2. It operates for 360 days a year and can cater for the following maximum number of people per day:
Adults 300
Discount Rates 250

3. In addition to the entrance fees, the Park on average earns $12.50 per person (regardless of whether they are adult or discount) from the sale of refreshments within the Park.
4. Variable expenses:
a. Electricity $2.50 per person
b. Laundry $1.50 per person
c. Food and drinks 25% of refreshment sales
5. Fixed expenses:
a. Office wages $62,500
b. Insurance $21,000
c. Bank charges $35,000
d. Depreciation $75,000
6. Other expenses:
a. Entertainer wages $12,500
Plus $2.50 per person
b. Refreshment wages $12,500
Plus $1.50 per person

Assuming that the operators are able to obtain 40% and 90% of the maximum number of people per day into the Park, prepare a flexible budgeted Profit and Loss Statement for the year ended 30 June 2011.

QUESTION 6.
You have been provided with the performance report of Padawan's Authentic North American Dining Experience which provides fine North American foods, using both dine in and take away facilities. However, their accountants have informed them that although they prepare budgets, they do not necessarily compare what has happened over a period with the budgets that they set.

You are required to prepare a Performance Report based upon the following figures for the year ended 31 December 2011:

QUESTION 7.

A retail store is considering a completely computerised inventory system and its research have identified two viable alternatives. You are required to advise the owners which alternative they should select taking into account the net present value of the projects,.

Your answer should include a tabulation of values using Microsoft Excel.

ASSESSMENT 3 PROJECT

In particular, you will be required to demonstrate your skills and knowledge in relation to this unit of competency.

You may refer to your training materials and other research if required. The activity may be completed in the workplace or a simulated workplace.

Your assessor will use a checklist to record the assessment decision.

Overview

Below are a number of practical tasks to be completed over a period of time in a real or simulated workplace where you will perform the duties of a manager.

The times for completion of the tasks are to be negotiated between yourself and the assessor. The tasks will reflect your ability to:

Project: Case Study Reports

Your assessor will provide you with instructions and complete a checklist on which they will record your satisfactory performance of workplace tasks.

The Project Tasks table below identifies the documents that you are required to prepare and submit in your evidence portfolio. They may be presented in printed format in a folder or as an electronic copy.

Project Tasks 1

The following tasks may be completed as a workplace project based on your own organisation and job role, or as a simulated workplace project based on a fictitious organisation, or an organisation you are familiar with.

In order to successfully complete this section of the assessment, you are required to read the case study contained within the section.

After you have read the case study, either as an individual or in a group of not more than three people, identify three or more financial and non-financial budgets that the organisation may consider implementing as part -of its budgetary control system.

Next fully describe the budgets including the key inclusions, what they are attempting to measure, the key personnel involved and why these particular budgets are important. These budgets will form the basis of your response to the rest of the case study, in which you must address the criteria below.

You may need to conduct research in order to complete this assessment.

Your final response should be completed as a report, with all tools, templates, etc. developed to be included as an appendix. It is recommended that your report include separate sections for each element of the assessment.

CASE STUDY

Bray's Technical College is a national provider of training services that has been operating in this industry for the last ten years. During that time, management of the College has elected to primarily deliver those services to individuals who would like to enter into university study but who are unable to use the normal methods of entry. However, this does not mean to suggest that this is the only work undertaken by the College. Indeed, it does provide other training services in other situations.

Due to the location of the College near a major international airport, it is able to successfully market its services to both international and domestic students. At present, the ratio of international students to domestic students is approximately 1 international student for every 4 domestic students. However, upper management has heavily advertised its services in a large number of industrialised nations and thus this ratio may increase to 1 international student for every 2 domestic students within the next 18 months to 2 years.

To achieve the above, management has adopted a number of policies:

• It will only employ facilitators who either have active industry experience or have been involved within the university arena during the previous five years and who currently possess, or are studying towards, a degree or equivalent qualification.

In this fashion, upper management believes that students can be exposed either to the most recent industry practice or to the academic environment of a university. The disadvantage to this is that there is a frequent turnover of facilitators, either due to increasing study commitments or being poached by other similar organisations.

However, because of this policy, the College has been able to forge alliances with a number of universities throughout Australia. Such alliances mean that for certain courses, guest lecturers from university are frequently invited to speak to students about the latest academic or industry practices while graduates are given preferential entry into a range of university courses.

• Facilitators need to maximise the amount of time spent teaching as opposed to developing or refining courses.

This division between teaching and development hours is measured through the time sheets submitted by all staff upon a weekly basis to their Head of Department. Any claims for development hours should already have been approved prior to being undertaken and recorded in the College's training database.

To encourage this policy, management has adopted the practice that they pay facilitators their full hourly rate for every hour spent teaching classes but will only pay them for half of any time spent on development activities, up to a pre-determined maximum period of time in any twelve month period. If a trainer attempts to claim developmental time in excess of this limit, the Dean of the College and the Head of Department discuss this with the facilitator. Usually, such excessive claims are rejected.

The rationale for this approach derives from the common assumption held within upper management that once a particular course has been developed, facilitators do not need to refine or further enhance these.

• Ninety-five percent (95%) of all courses are required to be tied into university entry due to the greater availability of funds from both government and other sources to sponsor such courses. Management also expects that it can increase the fees charged to students for such courses due to the ability to directly enter into university study.

• All programs should use appropriate instructional technologies that enhance teaching and increase student/faculty contact. However, this must be balanced against the cost of providing such technologies.

At a recent leadership conference, the General Manager has heard that a number of other Colleges have developed Key Performance Indicators and embedded these into both their monetary budgets and other non-monetary budgets. From his studies, the General Manager knows that non-monetary budgets can be developed but to date, has not considered them worthwhile to develop. Accordingly, the College has only developed very rudimentary monetary budgets.

Accordingly, he is extremely curious about non-monetary budgets and would like to develop some that helps management achieve its aims and objectives. However, he also understands that no current member of upper management possesses the skills and abilities to develop these.

Furthermore, the course has identified for the General Manager the fact that the way the College has been establishing its budgets has been very haphazard and lacking in any coherent approach. Furthermore, employees are not given any input into such budgets and in fact, are rarely informed of either the outcomes or even the existence of the budgets. The General Manager seems to recall that this type of budgeting was not considered very effective but he is unsure how to change this or what to change in the process of developing budgets.

Required

Prepare a report to the management of the College, discussing the benefits of establishing a system of budgets within the College. At a minimum, you should clearly identify the budgets you are recommending to the management of this organisation to adopt as well as why these budgets are important. In relation to each budget, you will also need to discuss the following:

Creating the budgets

1.1 Identify the personnel responsible for establishing the budgets and explain their roles.

1.2 Identify when these budgets should be established.

1.3 Describe the process that should be taken to establish the budgets.

1.4 Identify the personnel responsible for reviewing the budget and describe their roles and when these reviews should occur.

1.5 Identify areas where risk management and contingency plans may be needed. Develop the plans to accommodate these risks / contingencies.

1.6 Identify and describe the roles of personnel involved in achieving the budget's objectives and implementing corrective action. Provide and justify guidelines on what would constitute favourable and unfavourable variances.

1.7 Develop a communication strategy that advises relevant personnel on the budgets themselves as well as the tolerance for, and action taken for variances.

1.8 Outline a training program that you could implement for users of these budgets. At a minimum, you will need to include the type of training, broad topics (e.g. defining terms and formats) as well as who would need to undergo the training.

1.9 Identify a strategy for ensuring that all affected personnel have received and understood the relevant sections of the budgets.

Managing the Budgets

1.10 Develop a strategy that management could use to confirm whether the budget communication methods provide clear understanding of the objectives, processes and accountabilities. Note: You will need to ensure that this strategy includes written confirmation between the affected parties.

1.11 Identify and describe the overall budget objectives and parameters. Compute the types of funds that will be required to achieve these objectives.

1.12 Develop strategies that the organisation can use to collect information on its actual performance. These strategies should also specify what needs to be recorded in the Management Information System (MIS) as well as when this recording should occur.

1.13 Describe strategies that the organisation can use to compare the financial impact of its performance to the budgeted levels. At a minimum, your strategies need to include the area being reported, party(ies) who need to be reported to, the most appropriate method(s) of communication, the timing and timeframe for these reports as well as who is responsible for preparing these reports. Note that more than one party may require information regarding that particular budget but the level of information may differ. It is suggested that you use a table or matrix to present this information.

1.14 Develop strategies that the organisation can use to compare the non-financial impact of its performance to the budgeted levels. Identify who this needs to be reported to and the communication techniques that could be used.

1.15 Investigate and outline any audit requirements and parameters within the organisation that the various recording systems and documentation need to comply with.

1.16 Develop tools that the organisation can use to monitor its actual performance and ensure that any variances are identified in a reasonable timeframe.

1.17 Develop policies to allow the organisation to implement changes to existing budgets based on performance.

1.18 Identify and justify the frequency that the budgets should be reviewed and updated to take into account the organisation's actual performance.

1.19 Develop a policy for Bray's to ensure that the funds and resources are allocated in accordance with approved budgets. This policy should refer back to the priorities based upon Bray's four core policies contained within the case background.

As this is a report to the General Manager and Board of Directors, it should be follow the general principles of a report, with an Executive Summary, Recommendations and Appendices detailing any additional relevant information for their perusal.

Attachment:- Manage budgets and financial plans.rar