The document provides instructions for a case study assignment on "Wendy's Chili: A Costing Conundrum" for an accounting class. Students are to: [1] purchase the case from the Harvard Business Review website; [2] read the relevant chapter on cost allocation to prepare; [3] answer posted questions as a group write-up due by February 27th; and [4] all group members must attend the class discussion on February 28th prepared to answer additional questions about Wendy's business.

1. Desautels Faculty of Management
McGill University
ACCT 362
Cost Accounting
Professor Jingjing Zhang
Instructions on obtaining the case
You can purchase the case “Wendy’s Chili: A Costing Conundrum” from the Harvard Business
Review website. The link is http://www.hbr.org. Type the case name in the search field.
Instructions on preparing for the case
You can read the Chapter 15 Cost Allocation: Joint Products and Byproducts to prepare for the
case. Skip the section on “Constant Gross Margin Percentage of NRV Method” from page 606 to
607.
Instructions on submitting the write-up
 You must answer the questions posted on myCourses (“Wendy’s Chili Case Questions”
under the folder “Case studies”).
 Your write-up should be clear, concise, and typed, and should provide both your answer and
a written justification. A typical write-up will consist of 1-3 pages of text outlining your
answers and the underlying assumptions, and a few exhibits detailing your empirical work.
The write-up should be converted to a PDF document.
 Only one write-up per group should be turned in for grading. List the names of all the group
members on the first page of the write-up.
 The write-up must be the original work of only the students in the group. You may not
discuss case assignments with individuals who are not members of your group. You may not
use any materials containing solutions or partial solutions to the case. All group members are
responsible for the material contained in the write-up.
 Deadline to email the write-up (PDF document) to the instructor (jingjing.zhang@mcgill.ca):
10 PM on February 27.
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2. Instructions on discussing the case
 We will discuss the case in class on February 28.
 All group members should show up in the same section when we discuss the case. If you
cannot attend the class on that day, you need to inform the instructor before class and provide
the supporting documents to show the absence is due to a valid reason.
 In addition to the questions you answer in your write-up, each group member should also be
prepared to answer some general questions regarding the Wendy’s business. Some examples
are:
o What is the original Wendy’s Way philosophy?
o How did Wendy’s implement its philosophy?
o Why did Wendy’s abandon the limited menu concept?
o What are the motivations for chili’s existence?
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