θωερτψυιοπασδφγηϕκλζξχϖβνμθωερτψ 
υιοπασδφγηϕκλζξχϖβνμθωερτψυιοπασδ 
φγηϕκλζξχϖβνμθωερτψυιοπασδφγηϕκλζ 
ξχϖβνμθωερτψυιοπασδφγηϕκλζξχϖβνμ 
Management 
Accounting 
Control 
θωερτψυιοπασδφγηϕκλζξχϖβνμθωερτψ 
Philippe 
Smans 
υιοπασδφγηϕκτψυιοπασδφγηϕκλζξχϖβν 
Manon 
Cuylits 
μθωερτψυιοπασδφγηϕκλζξχϖβνμθωερτ 
ψυιοπασδφγηϕκλζξχϖβνμθωερτψυιοπα 
σδφγηϕκλζξχϖβνμθωερτψυιοπασδφγηϕκ 
λζξχϖβνμθωερτψυιοπασδφγηϕκλζξχϖβ 
νμθωερτψυιοπασδφγηϕκλζξχϖβνμθωερτ 
ψυιοπασδφγηϕκλζξχϖβνμθωερτψυιοπα 
σδφγηϕκλζξχϖβνμθωερτψυιοπασδφγηϕκ 
λζξχϖβνμρτψυιοπασδφγηϕκλζξχϖβνμθ 
ωερτψυιοπασδφγηϕκλζξχϖβνμθωερτψυι 
οπασδφγηϕκλζξχϖβνμθωερτψυιοπασδφγ 
ηϕκλζξχϖβνμθωερτψυιοπασδφγηϕκλζξ 
χϖβνμθωερτψυιοπασδφγηϕκλζξχϖβνμθ 
ωερτψυιοπασδφγηϕκλζξχϖβνμθωερτψυι 
οπασδφγηϕκλζξχϖβνμθωερτψυιοπασδφγ
Management 
Accounting 
Control 
2012-­‐2013 
Manon 
Cuylits 
2 
TABLE 
OF 
CONTENTS 
Exam 
....................................................................................................................................... 
3 
Chapter 
1: 
Introduction 
................................................................................................... 
4 
Some 
history 
................................................................................................................................. 
4 
1. 
Classical 
approach 
........................................................................................................................... 
4 
2. 
Cybernetic 
approach 
...................................................................................................................... 
5 
3. 
Systemic 
approach 
.......................................................................................................................... 
6 
SUMMARY 
.................................................................................................................................................... 
8 
the 
management 
controller 
.................................................................................................... 
8 
The 
role 
of 
Finance 
is 
changing 
....................................................................................................... 
11 
The 
role 
of 
the 
Management 
Controller 
is 
changing 
.............................................................. 
12 
Operational 
and 
strategic 
feedback 
............................................................................................... 
14 
What 
might 
be 
part 
of 
the 
Management 
Control 
Function 
................................................. 
16 
Required 
skills 
........................................................................................................................................ 
19 
Chapter 
2: 
Management 
accounting 
control 
......................................................... 
22 
LINK 
WITH 
FINANCIAL 
MANAGEMENT 
............................................................................ 
22 
LINK 
WITH 
MARKETING 
MANAGEMENT 
......................................................................... 
25 
Controlling 
the 
sales 
force 
.................................................................................................... 
25 
Forecasting 
sales 
................................................................................................................................... 
26 
Establishing 
sales 
territories 
and 
quotas 
.................................................................................... 
28 
Analysing 
expenses 
.............................................................................................................................. 
29 
THE 
LINK 
WITH 
HR 
MANAGEMENT 
................................................................................... 
31 
Chapter 
3: 
budgetting 
................................................................................................... 
32 
Successive 
steps 
for 
a 
budgeting 
process: 
.................................................................................. 
35 
Operational 
budgets 
............................................................................................................... 
37 
Financial 
budgets 
.................................................................................................................................. 
38 
Budget 
Process 
......................................................................................................................... 
42 
Incremental 
method 
............................................................................................................................. 
42 
Percentage 
method 
............................................................................................................................... 
43 
« 
Zero 
based 
» 
budget 
.......................................................................................................................... 
43 
Chapter 
4: 
Capital 
budgeting 
...................................................................................... 
45 
Key 
motives 
for 
making 
capital 
expenditures 
.......................................................................... 
45 
Steps 
in 
the 
capital 
budgeting 
process 
............................................................................. 
46 
Basic 
Terminology 
................................................................................................................... 
47 
Chapter 
5: 
cash 
flow 
....................................................................................................... 
49 
The 
relevant 
Cash 
Flows 
........................................................................................................ 
49 
Main 
components 
.................................................................................................................................. 
50 
Terminology 
............................................................................................................................................ 
51 
What 
are 
the 
key 
elements 
of 
the 
recent 
business 
evolution? 
.......................................... 
65 
Parallel 
Business 
tools 
evolution: 
.................................................................................................. 
66 
But… 
............................................................................................................................................................ 
67 
“Balances” 
................................................................................................................................................. 
69 
Linkage 
between 
causes 
and 
strategic 
activities 
..................................................................... 
75 
Perspective 
measurement 
.................................................................................................... 
79 
Financial 
perspective 
........................................................................................................................... 
80 
Customer 
perspective 
.......................................................................................................................... 
82
Management 
Accounting 
Control 
2012-­‐2013 
Manon 
Cuylits 
Internal 
process 
perspective 
............................................................................................................ 
86 
Learning 
and 
Growth 
perspective 
.................................................................................................. 
87 
Chapter 
7: 
Technique 
of 
cost 
accounting 
................................................................ 
97 
Allocation 
of 
costs 
.......................................................................................................... 
97 
producing 
department 
overhead 
................................................................................................. 
100 
Allocation 
of 
service 
department 
costs 
to 
producing 
department 
....................... 
103 
partial 
overhead 
absorption 
........................................................................................................... 
120 
Activity-­‐based 
costing 
(ABC) 
.......................................................................................................... 
124 
Activity-­‐based 
Costing 
system 
....................................................................................................... 
134 
CONCLUSION 
................................................................................................................... 
138 
3 
EXAM 
Case 
study: 
19 
pages 
to 
read, 
there 
will 
be 
questions 
about 
it. 
We 
can 
bring 
it 
to 
the 
exam, 
and 
he 
will 
test 
our 
understanding. 
We 
can 
bring 
the 
case 
study 
with 
some 
notes 
on 
it. 
Other 
questions: 
Mix 
of 
several 
types 
of 
questions: 
QCM 
– 
basic 
calculations 
(CF, 
Cost 
allocation, 
etc.) 
– 
questions 
aiming 
an 
understanding 
of 
the 
basic 
subjects 
(ex: 
explain 
the 
job 
of 
a 
MC) 
– 
close 
questions, 
etc. 
We 
don’t 
have 
to 
know 
the 
presentations 
but 
we 
have 
to 
know 
one 
or 
two 
messages 
per 
presentation.
Management 
Accounting 
Control 
2012-­‐2013 
Manon 
Cuylits 
4 
CHAPTER 
1: 
INTRODUCTION 
This 
course 
is 
designed 
for 
students 
with 
a 
Bachelor 
Degree 
in 
Management 
or 
Business 
Administration 
who 
want 
to 
develop 
their 
abilities 
to 
work 
more 
effectively 
within 
large 
and/or 
well-­‐structured 
companies 
and 
to 
deal 
with 
questions 
of 
management 
control 
in 
any 
type 
of 
company. 
Therefore, 
the 
course 
is 
developed 
from 
a 
company 
/ 
business 
point 
of 
view. 
Theoretical 
concepts 
on 
Management 
Control 
will 
be 
reviewed, 
and 
will 
constantly 
be 
illustrated 
through 
real-­‐life 
examples 
and 
case 
studies, 
in 
order 
to 
have 
the 
students 
familiarized 
with 
the 
main 
aspects 
of 
Management 
Control 
and 
especially 
to 
apply 
the 
methods 
of 
Management 
Accounting 
Control. 
Basic 
concepts: 
ð What 
is 
Management 
control? 
ð Why 
is 
it 
necessary? 
ð What 
are 
the 
basic 
tools? 
SOME 
HISTORY 
If 
we 
look 
back 
we 
can 
see 
that 
over 
time 
3 
types 
of 
management 
control: 
-­‐ Classical 
approach 
-­‐ Cybernetic 
approach 
-­‐ Systemic 
approach 
1. CLASSICAL 
APPROACH 
Fayol 
(theoretician): 
“management 
means 
a 
couple 
of 
things: 
-­‐ Planning, 
-­‐ Organizing, 
-­‐ Commanding, 
-­‐ Coordinating 
activities, 
-­‐ Controlling 
performances 
(NB: 
first 
time 
we 
see 
the 
word 
control) 
Most 
of 
these 
activities 
are 
task 
management 
oriented 
rather 
than 
people 
management 
oriented. 
This 
was 
typical 
of 
Taylor 
and 
the 
Scientific 
Management.
Management 
Accounting 
Control 
2012-­‐2013 
Manon 
Cuylits 
Contrôler 
(French) 
= 
to 
check 
something. 
(E.g.: 
to 
check 
the 
speed 
of 
a 
car) 
To 
control 
something 
(English) 
= 
Make 
sure 
that 
things 
“happens” 
correctly 
≠ 
to 
check. 
The 
“control” 
was 
perceived 
narrowly 
(“surveillance”) 
and 
not 
very 
explicit. 
ð Management 
controller: 
not 
somebody 
who’s 
just 
checking 
the 
management, 
it’s 
5 
something 
broader. 
This 
looks 
like 
something 
mechanic, 
really 
systematic, 
but 
the 
experience 
shows 
that 
you 
might 
not 
be 
efficient; 
you 
could 
fail 
even 
If 
you 
make 
many 
efforts 
to 
plan, 
organize, 
… 
Nowadays, 
things 
are 
moving 
really 
quickly. 
You 
have 
to 
be 
able 
to 
adapt 
to 
those 
changes. 
A 
better 
ability 
to 
adapt 
to 
a 
changing 
environment 
is 
needed. 
That 
leads 
to 
the 
cybernetic 
approach. 
After 
a 
while, 
if 
the 
output 
is 
not 
right 
in 
the 
case 
of 
the 
classical 
approach, 
you 
will 
change 
your 
approach 
to 
the 
cybernetic 
approach. 
2. CYBERNETIC 
APPROACH 
Without 
the 
right 
input 
it’s 
really 
difficult 
to 
have 
a 
good 
output. 
If 
my 
outputs 
seem 
not 
to 
be 
all 
right, 
it 
might 
be 
because 
of 
the 
inputs, 
or 
because 
of 
the 
system 
itself. 
Output 
= 
It’s 
something 
you 
want 
to 
reach, 
an 
objective. 
Every 
company 
has 
objectives. 
They 
will 
put 
a 
system 
in 
place 
and 
chose 
inputs. 
Examples:
Management 
Accounting 
Control 
2012-­‐2013 
Manon 
Cuylits 
Profit 
is 
a 
typical 
output 
of 
the 
company, 
but 
not 
the 
only 
one. 
Another 
example 
of 
output 
could 
be 
customers, 
market 
shares, 
customer 
satisfaction, 
and 
so 
on. 
But 
it’s 
never 
limited 
to 
profit. 
Most 
of 
the 
time 
they 
will 
first 
discover 
that 
the 
output 
is 
not 
good 
and 
they 
will 
make 
changes. 
It’s 
better 
than 
the 
previous 
approach 
but 
still 
no 
question 
about 
the 
relevance 
of 
6 
the 
goals 
and 
objectives. 
“Is 
this 
the 
right 
output 
that 
I 
want 
to 
achieve?” 
or 
“Is 
there 
another 
output 
which 
would 
be 
better?” 
If 
you 
start 
to 
question 
the 
relevance 
of 
your 
objectives, 
you 
arrive 
in 
the 
systemic 
approach. 
3. SYSTEMIC 
APPROACH 
You 
will 
consider 
any 
company 
as 
a 
system. 
That’s 
much 
more 
sophisticated, 
and 
closer 
to 
the 
reality, 
because 
nowadays, 
running 
a 
business 
is 
becoming 
more 
and 
more 
complex: 
(The 
following 
reasons 
bring 
problems 
but 
also 
opportunities) 
-­‐ More 
competitors 
on 
the 
market, 
globalization 
in 
the 
last 
decade, 
etc. 
-­‐ Regulation 
is 
increasing; 
environment 
of 
regulation 
is 
becoming 
tougher 
and 
tougher. 
The 
speed 
of 
change 
is 
increasing. 
-­‐ The 
economic 
situation 
(crisis), 
it’s 
currently 
not 
easy. 
But 
it 
also 
creates 
opportunities. 
-­‐ Technologies. 
Some 
companies 
are 
very 
successful 
thanks 
to 
their 
ability 
to 
adapt 
themselves 
really 
quickly 
to 
new 
technologies. 
In 
this 
model, 
a 
company 
is 
defined 
as 
a 
system 
with 
goals 
and 
able 
to 
adapt 
itself 
(continuously) 
The 
management 
control 
is 
no 
longer 
a 
process 
of 
“a 
posteriori” 
verification. 
“Control” 
means 
actually 
“keep 
control 
in 
order 
to 
adapt 
to 
the 
environment 
evolution”. 
Therefore 
the 
role 
of 
the 
control 
is: 
-­‐ To 
ensure 
the 
relevance 
of 
the 
system’s 
goal 
and 
objectives 
-­‐ To 
ensure 
that 
the 
relationships 
between 
subsystems 
allow 
to 
move 
towards 
the 
objectives 
Systemic 
control 
covers 
the 
2 
points 
of 
view: 
-­‐ External: 
the 
control 
system 
must 
ensure 
the 
relevance 
of 
the 
strategic 
choices 
and 
of 
the 
behaviors 
-­‐ Internal: 
the 
choice 
of 
control 
system 
is 
clearly 
linked 
to 
the 
organizational 
system
Management 
Accounting 
Control 
2012-­‐2013 
Manon 
Cuylits 
7 
Analytic 
approach 
Systemic 
approach 
AA 
isolates 
and 
then 
concentrates 
on 
the 
elements 
SA 
unifies 
and 
concentrates 
on 
the 
interaction 
between 
elements. 
Studies 
the 
nature 
of 
interactions 
Studies 
the 
effects 
of 
interactions 
Emphasizes 
the 
precision 
of 
details 
Emphasize 
global 
perception 
Modifies 
one 
variable 
at 
a 
time 
Modifies 
groups 
of 
variables 
simultaneously 
Remains 
independent 
of 
duration 
of 
time, 
the 
phenomena 
considered 
irreversible 
Integrates 
duration 
of 
time 
and 
irreversibility 
Validates 
facts 
by 
means 
of 
experimental 
proof 
within 
the 
body 
of 
a 
theory 
Validates 
facts 
through 
comparison 
of 
the 
behavior 
of 
the 
model 
with 
reality 
Uses 
precise 
and 
detailed 
models 
that 
are 
less 
useful 
in 
actual 
operation 
(example: 
econometric 
model) 
Uses 
models 
that 
are 
insufficiently 
rigorous 
to 
be 
used 
as 
bases 
of 
knowledge 
but 
are 
useful 
in 
decision 
and 
action 
Has 
an 
efficient 
approach 
when 
interactions 
are 
linear 
and 
weak 
Has 
an 
efficient 
approach 
when 
interaction 
are 
nonlinear 
and 
strong 
Leads 
to 
discipline-­‐oriented 
(juxtadisciplinary) 
education 
Leads 
to 
multidisciplinary 
education 
Leads 
to 
action 
programmed 
in 
detail 
Leads 
to 
action 
through 
objectives 
Possesses 
knowledge 
of 
details 
poorly 
defined 
goals 
Possesses 
knowledge 
of 
goals, 
fuzzy 
details 
1ST 
ELEMENT 
Analytic 
approach 
= 
“AA 
isolates 
and 
then 
concentrates 
on 
the 
elements” 
Systemic 
approach 
= 
“SA 
unifies 
and 
concentrates 
on 
the 
interaction 
between 
elements.” 
A 
company 
is 
a 
system 
(// 
human 
body: 
sum 
of 
different 
elements 
interacting 
a 
lot 
with 
each 
others). 
In 
this 
approach 
you 
will 
define 
a 
company 
by 
a 
series 
of 
elements. 
è 
Different 
parts, 
and 
for 
each 
part: 
one 
specialist. 
That’s 
typical 
of 
many 
companies. 
What 
may 
happen 
if 
you 
concentrate 
on 
those 
elements? 
Ex: 
You 
may 
have 
a 
purchasing 
department: 
the 
job 
of 
the 
purchasing 
manager 
is 
buying. 
If 
he’s 
a 
real 
specialist, 
he 
will 
be 
champion 
in 
bargaining 
for 
the 
minimum 
price. 
Sometimes 
it 
raises 
problems. 
Ex: 
I 
buy 
a 
car 
at 
the 
minimum 
purchasing 
price 
=> 
lower 
quality, 
so 
much 
more 
reparations, 
and 
the 
total 
cost 
of 
the 
car 
could 
be 
higher 
than 
it 
was 
supposed 
to. 
Sometimes 
it’s 
not 
a 
good 
idea 
to 
buy 
a 
car 
at 
the 
minimum-­‐ 
purchasing 
price. 
Systemic 
approach: 
It’s 
much 
more 
powerful 
than 
the 
analytic 
approach. 
Here 
you 
look 
at 
several 
elements 
and 
at 
their 
interactions! 
You 
never 
look 
just 
at 
the 
purchasing 
price 
but 
also 
at 
the 
quality 
etc. 
You 
concentrate 
on 
the 
interactions 
between 
the 
elements 
in 
this 
approach. 
Ex: 
as 
human 
resource 
manager, 
what 
do 
you 
expect? 
You 
want 
your 
people 
to 
be 
productive, 
so 
you 
want 
them 
to 
be 
motivated, 
and 
what 
drives 
motivation? 
Training 
possibilities, 
coaching, 
etc.
Management 
Accounting 
Control 
2012-­‐2013 
Manon 
Cuylits 
Good 
managers 
have 
to 
look 
at 
the 
interactions 
between 
human 
resources, 
finance 
department, 
purchasing 
department, 
etc. 
It’s 
necessary 
for 
the 
company 
to 
succeed 
8 
SUMMARY 
Classical 
approach: 
You 
focus 
on 
the 
output.è 
The 
only 
things 
you 
need 
to 
do 
are 
check, 
surveillance, 
look 
at 
the 
output. 
Cybernetic 
approach: 
Focus 
on 
the 
process 
that 
produces 
the 
output. 
If 
my 
output 
is 
wrong, 
it’s 
probably 
because 
something 
is 
wrong 
with 
the 
process.è 
Process 
audit. 
How 
does 
the 
process 
work? 
Systemic 
approach: 
Focus 
on 
the 
system1 
that 
produces 
the 
output. 
è 
System 
audit. 
I’m 
going 
to 
look 
at 
the 
system 
(//computer 
system). 
THE 
MANAGEMENT 
CONTROLLER 
In 
front 
of 
increasing 
business 
complexity, 
there 
are 
often 
too 
many 
activities 
for 
a 
single 
person. 
More 
and 
more 
activities 
are 
delegated 
to 
a 
management 
controller, 
who 
must 
keep 
the 
CEO 
informed 
about 
things 
like: 
-­‐ The 
various 
department’s 
performances 
-­‐ Sales 
-­‐ Costs, 
benefits 
-­‐ Control 
issues 
related 
to 
systems 
that 
operates 
transactions 
-­‐ The 
impact 
of 
new 
taxes 
and 
other 
national 
or 
international 
trade 
regulations 
-­‐ Etc. 
As 
a 
CEO 
you 
don’t 
have 
time 
to 
do 
that, 
so 
you 
ask 
someone 
to 
do 
it 
for 
you 
and 
to 
keep 
you 
informed, 
and 
then 
you 
take 
decisions, 
because 
it’s 
your 
job. 
That 
someone 
is 
the 
management 
controller. 
1 
System 
= 
a 
collection 
of 
processes. 
Of 
course 
it’s 
much 
more 
complicated 
than 
a 
process 
because
Management 
Accounting 
Control 
2012-­‐2013 
Manon 
Cuylits 
A 
management 
controller 
may 
be 
compared 
to 
a 
ship 
navigator, 
who 
keeps 
the 
captain 
aware 
of 
current 
or 
potential 
problems 
(icebergs, 
etc.) 
9 
The 
job 
of 
the 
management 
controller 
is 
to 
get 
the 
relevant 
data, 
to 
work 
them 
out, 
to 
translate 
them 
into 
useful 
information 
in 
order 
to 
give 
it 
to 
the 
CEO. 
He 
collects 
the 
information 
and 
summarizes 
it 
to 
give 
it 
to 
the 
CEO. 
The 
CEO 
will 
interpret 
those 
data 
and 
then 
use 
it 
to 
make 
decisions. 
Therefore, 
the 
Management 
Controller 
needs 
to 
be 
aware 
of 
the 
company’s 
strategy. 
His 
job 
is 
to 
get 
the 
relevant 
figures; 
therefore 
he 
needs 
to 
know 
the 
objectives, 
strategy, 
etc. 
of 
the 
company. 
Example: 
If 
the 
strategy 
of 
the 
company 
is 
to 
grow, 
the 
Management 
Controller 
knows 
some 
figures 
that 
are 
more 
important 
for 
the 
company 
to 
know. 
He 
can 
then 
select 
the 
relevant 
data 
depending 
on 
the 
direction 
that 
the 
company 
wants 
to 
take 
(its 
final 
destination, 
its 
strategy). 
Traditionally, 
in 
most 
companies, 
the 
Management 
controller 
reports 
to 
the 
financial 
manager 
and 
in 
many 
cases 
his 
job 
is 
not 
named 
management 
controller 
but 
financial 
controller. 
Summary: 
Get 
information 
è 
Analyze 
information 
è 
Provide, 
based 
on 
that 
information, 
a 
message 
to 
the 
CEO 
It 
might 
be 
financial 
data, 
but 
it 
could 
also 
be 
other 
types 
of 
data. 
It’s 
absolutely 
not 
only 
related 
to 
financial 
data, 
that’s 
why 
the 
name 
“financial 
controller” 
isn’t 
that 
good 
for 
this 
function. 
Life 
of 
a 
company 
is 
not 
limited 
to 
financial 
data. 
They 
also 
need 
customer 
satisfaction, 
company 
reputation, 
etc. 
you 
don’t 
get 
that 
sort 
of 
data 
as 
easily 
accessible 
as 
financial 
data. 
Financial 
data 
are 
the 
most 
easily 
accessible 
data 
for 
a 
company. 
SUMMARY 
OF 
EVERYTHING
Management 
Accounting 
Control 
2012-­‐2013 
Manon 
Cuylits 
10 
OPERATIONS 
MANAGEMENT 
Operations 
management 
= 
Day-­‐to-­‐day 
management 
In 
a 
company 
there 
is 
a 
difference 
between 
the 
people 
defining 
the 
strategies 
and 
the 
one 
applying 
them. 
Operations 
management 
is 
one 
type 
of 
management. 
Those 
managers 
are 
going 
to 
be 
concerned 
by 
what’s 
going 
to 
happen 
in 
the 
next 
days. 
E.g.: 
A 
project 
manager 
is 
an 
operational 
manager. 
A 
production 
manager 
too 
(you 
have 
to 
produce, 
not 
only 
to 
sell), 
same 
for 
logistic 
managers, 
etc. 
è 
Those 
are 
operational 
activities. 
You 
realize 
the 
day-­‐to-­‐day 
life 
of 
a 
company. 
STRATEGIC 
MANAGEMENT 
Strategic 
management 
= 
To 
ensure 
relevance 
of 
the 
long-­‐term 
objectives. 
Time 
horizon 
is 
longer 
for 
this 
type 
of 
management. 
What 
do 
I 
want 
to 
achieve 
within 
3 
years/ 
5 
years. 
Etc. 
è 
But 
it’s 
not 
only 
related 
to 
the 
time 
horizon: 
The 
aim 
is 
to 
define 
a 
strategy 
and 
to 
make 
sure 
that 
the 
strategy 
is 
going 
to 
happen, 
to 
manage 
the 
strategy 
in 
other 
words. 
Strategy: 
I 
want 
to 
achieve 
one 
goal, 
and 
this 
goal 
isn’t 
specific 
to 
one 
part 
of 
the 
company 
(e.g. 
not 
specific 
to 
sales).
Management 
Accounting 
Control 
2012-­‐2013 
Manon 
Cuylits 
There 
are 
2 
ways 
of 
communications 
between 
the 
strategy 
management 
and 
the 
operations 
management 
even 
if 
their 
job 
has 
a 
completely 
different 
nature. 
11 
MANAGEMENT 
CONTROL 
Management 
control 
è 
allows 
the 
definition 
of 
short-­‐term 
objectives, 
relevant 
feedback, 
and 
a 
(usually) 
one-­‐year 
time 
horizon 
management. 
Feedback 
is 
really 
important. 
Once 
you’ve 
defined 
the 
strategy, 
you’ll 
need 
regular 
feedbacks. 
There 
is 
another 
part 
in 
the 
job 
that 
we 
haven’t 
seen 
so 
far. 
Basic 
tool 
used 
by 
the 
management 
controller 
to 
translate 
the 
strategy 
into 
shorter 
objectives: 
a 
budget! 
The 
budgeting 
process 
that 
is 
one 
of 
the 
most 
painful 
processes 
in 
companies; 
it’s 
the 
responsibility 
of 
the 
management 
controller. 
And 
if 
he 
isn’t 
the 
main 
responsible, 
he 
will 
be 
strongly 
involved 
in 
the 
budgeting 
process. 
Budget 
is 
a 
tool, 
which 
is 
used 
to 
go 
from 
red 
to 
green. 
The 
dashboard 
also 
is 
a 
basic 
tool. 
The 
purpose 
of 
a 
management 
controller 
is 
to 
help 
the 
good 
communication 
between 
operational 
and 
strategic 
management. 
THE 
ROLE 
OF 
FINANCE 
IS 
CHANGING 
PAST
Management 
Accounting 
Control 
2012-­‐2013 
Manon 
Cuylits 
The 
first 
triangle 
was 
in 
the 
past. 
Most 
of 
the 
time 
spent 
by 
the 
people 
was 
in 
transaction 
processing, 
a 
little 
bit 
on 
reporting 
and 
control 
and 
a 
very 
little 
amount 
in 
decision 
support. 
12 
CURRENT 
Transaction 
processing 
takes 
less 
time 
(almost 
zero). 
It 
gives 
much 
more 
time 
to 
Decision 
Support. 
It’s 
the 
role 
of 
management 
accounting 
controller. 
è 
The 
management 
controller 
doesn’t 
take 
the 
decisions 
but 
collects 
data, 
etc. 
and 
it 
helps 
the 
CEO 
to 
take 
decisions. 
ERP 
Systems: 
Huge 
software 
(SAP 
for 
ex), 
basically 
they 
automate 
all 
that’s 
transaction 
processing. 
We 
enter 
one 
data 
in 
the 
system 
and 
it 
is 
going 
to 
check 
if 
there 
is 
enough 
raw 
materials 
for 
example, 
and 
if 
not, 
it 
will 
book 
some 
raw 
materials 
automatically, 
etc. 
Series 
of 
transactions 
are 
automatically 
performed. 
That’s 
why 
that 
part 
is 
really 
going 
down; 
which 
is 
a 
good 
new 
because 
it 
leaves 
more 
time 
for 
the 
other 
activities. 
Moreover, 
it’s 
a 
boring 
task. 
The 
finance 
people 
are 
no 
longer 
doing 
an 
accountancy 
job, 
but 
more 
and 
more 
decision 
support. 
THE 
ROLE 
OF 
THE 
MANAGEMENT 
CONTROLLER 
IS 
CHANGING 
ð Originally 
nothing 
more 
than 
a 
bookkeeper 
ð The 
function 
changed 
with 
the 
advent 
of 
computers 
ð In 
the 
1970s 
and 
1980s, 
CEOs 
became 
more 
concerned 
with 
the 
efficiency 
of 
all 
company 
departments, 
including 
the 
accounting 
function 
ð Used 
a 
great 
deal 
of 
process 
and 
financial 
analysis 
skill 
to 
assist 
all 
parts 
of 
the 
corporation 
in 
many 
ways. 
This 
is 
probably 
the 
most 
important 
skill 
for 
a 
management 
controller. 
Analysis: 
that’s 
what 
it 
is 
about. 
ð Over 
the 
course 
of 
one 
century, 
the 
controller’s 
function 
has 
risen 
from 
one 
of 
senior 
clerk 
to 
one 
of 
the 
most 
advanced, 
highly 
educated, 
and 
useful 
positions 
in 
the 
entire 
corporate 
structure.
Management 
Accounting 
Control 
2012-­‐2013 
Manon 
Cuylits 
13 
FROM 
CHECKING 
TO 
CONTROLLING 
Checking 
Controlling 
è 
Bureaucratic 
& 
Standard-­‐based 
It’s 
based 
on 
standards: 
e.g.: 
if 
I 
check 
the 
speed 
of 
a 
car 
that’s 
because 
there’s 
a 
speed 
limit. 
è 
Reactive 
& 
flexible 
Exactly 
like 
when 
you 
drive 
a 
car. 
The 
worst 
thing 
to 
do 
would 
be 
to 
be 
bureaucratic 
and 
standard-­‐obsessed, 
that 
wouldn’t 
be 
very 
effective. 
e.g. 
There 
are 
always 
going 
to 
be 
idiots 
that 
are 
not 
going 
to 
stop 
at 
a 
STOP 
panel, 
that 
are 
going 
to 
cross 
the 
streets 
when 
they 
are 
not 
supposed 
to. 
You 
have 
to 
be 
reactive 
and 
flexible. 
è 
“Surveillance” 
è 
“Cause-­‐and-­‐effects” 
relationships 
è 
No 
focus 
on 
relevance 
The 
policeman 
doesn’t 
address 
the 
relevance. 
è 
Focus 
on 
relevance 
The 
Management 
Controller 
focuses 
on 
relevance. 
It’s 
good 
for 
him 
to 
ask 
himself 
“does 
it 
make 
sense? 
Does 
that 
objective 
make 
sense?” 
è 
Resources 
management 
& 
allocation 
è 
Processes 
and 
competencies 
management 
è 
“Single-­‐loop” 
è 
“Double-­‐loop” 
è 
Reactive 
React 
to 
what’s 
happening. 
That’s 
not 
a 
good 
way 
to 
manage 
a 
company. 
è 
Proactive 
Think 
to 
WHAT 
COULD 
HAPPEN, 
that’s 
the 
good 
way 
to 
manage 
a 
company 
è 
Optimization 
è 
Adaptation 
They 
successfully 
adapt, 
and 
they 
do 
it 
quickly!!! 
è 
Use 
of 
theoretical 
models 
è 
Use 
of 
adequate 
behaviors 
è 
Failure 
trigger 
sanctions 
è 
Failure 
allow 
learning 
and 
development 
Failures 
are 
accepted, 
and 
they 
are 
necessary. 
It 
doesn’t 
mean 
that 
we 
like 
failure, 
but 
it 
is 
important 
because 
it 
allows 
learning. 
E.g.: 
it’s 
impossible 
to 
learn 
riding 
a 
bicycle 
without 
falling. 
There 
is 
nothing 
wrong 
at 
making 
mistakes, 
but 
you 
have 
to 
learn 
thanks 
to 
your 
mistakes. 
In 
most 
of 
the 
American 
Companies, 
failures 
are 
accepted, 
but 
you’re 
not 
allowed 
to 
make 
4 
times 
the 
same 
mistake. 
Anyway 
it’s 
obvious 
that 
nobody 
like 
failure.
Management 
Accounting 
Control 
2012-­‐2013 
Manon 
Cuylits 
14 
OPERATIONAL 
AND 
STRATEGIC 
FEEDBACK 
REALLY 
IMPORTANT 
SLIDE 
What 
it 
means 
to 
be 
between 
strategic 
management 
and 
operation 
management. 
OPERATIONAL 
FEEDBACK 
When 
you’re 
in 
the 
operational 
world, 
you’ll 
often: 
è 
Start 
with 
an 
operational 
plan 
(what 
are 
you 
going 
to 
produce, 
how 
much 
do 
I 
have 
to 
sell, 
etc.) 
èTranslate 
that 
into 
an 
operational 
budget 
è 
Translate/use 
the 
budget 
into 
operational 
activities 
(sell, 
buy, 
etc.). 
è 
At 
the 
end 
I 
have 
some 
outputs 
(number 
of 
units 
produced, 
bought, 
number 
of 
projects 
completed, 
new 
products 
developed, 
etc.). 
è 
I’m 
going 
to 
measure 
that 
(metrics) 
to 
close 
the 
loop, 
and 
è 
Compare 
that 
to 
my 
initial 
operational 
plan. 
E.g.: 
At 
the 
end 
of 
the 
first 
week 
you 
only 
have 
90 
cars 
(you 
were 
supposed 
to 
have 
100). 
If 
metrics 
show 
that 
your 
outputs 
are 
not 
as 
they 
were 
supposed 
to 
be 
in 
the 
initial 
plans, 
there 
are 
2 
options: 
Both 
are 
good, 
it 
depends 
of 
the 
circumstances, 
etc. 
-­‐ Change 
your 
plan 
(maybe 
it 
wasn’t 
appropriate) 
-­‐ Keep 
the 
plan 
but 
change 
something 
else 
(hire 
more 
people, 
etc.)
Management 
Accounting 
Control 
2012-­‐2013 
Manon 
Cuylits 
15 
STRATEGIC 
FEEDBACK 
Strategic 
plan 
that 
I 
translate 
in 
a 
strategic 
budget 
that’s 
going 
to 
be 
used 
for 
strategic 
actions. 
The 
difference 
I 
can 
do 
here 
is 
strategic 
actions 
(ex: 
mergers 
and 
acquisition, 
to 
launch 
a 
new 
product, 
… 
) 
è 
they’re 
not 
routine 
decisions. 
The 
purpose 
of 
those 
strategic 
actions 
is 
to 
impact 
the 
operational 
activities. 
Example: 
Mergers 
and 
acquisition: 
I 
buy 
a 
competitor 
and 
his 
activity 
becomes 
mine, 
and 
it’s 
going 
to 
impact 
the 
day-­‐to-­‐day 
activities. 
Same 
if 
I 
decide 
to 
launch 
a 
new 
product. 
I 
will 
select 
the 
outputs 
that 
are 
interesting, 
in 
relation 
with 
the 
plan. 
Outcome: 
by 
nature 
it’s 
nothing 
more 
than 
an 
output 
with 
a 
strategic, 
specific 
importance. 
I 
can 
measure 
those 
outcomes 
thanks 
to 
metrics 
and 
close 
the 
loop 
by 
returning 
to 
the 
strategic 
plan. 
EXAMPLE 
I 
run 
my 
business 
in 
BENELUX, 
I 
decide 
to 
take 
a 
strategic 
action, 
before 
I 
already 
had 
operational 
activities 
in 
place. 
I 
want 
to 
get 
more 
sales. 
ð Outputs 
could 
be 
things 
like 
the 
unit 
sold 
in 
Belgium, 
Netherlands 
or 
Luxemburg 
ð The 
sales 
expressed 
in 
Euro 
ð The 
market 
shares 
in 
Belgium/Netherlands/Luxemburg 
ð Etc. 
I 
can 
compare 
those 
outputs 
to 
your 
plan 
è 
what 
was 
my 
plan 
in 
relation 
with 
the 
market 
shares? 
è 
Strategic 
plan: 
to 
sell 
in 
Germany 
also! 
BASIC 
DIFFERENCES 
BETWEEN 
THE 
STRATEGIC 
LOOP 
AND 
THE 
OPERATIONAL 
LOOP 
The 
timing 
is 
very 
different 
between 
both 
loops. 
Ø Operational 
loop: 
It’s 
going 
very 
fast, 
day-­‐to-­‐day 
activities. 
Done 
on 
a 
daily 
basis. 
Ø Strategic 
loop: 
That’s 
not 
something 
that 
you 
can 
do 
quickly 
basically! 
It 
takes 
months. 
Budget 
is 
in 
Strategic 
actions. 
Budget 
is 
expressing 
into 
operation 
figures 
some 
strategic 
decisions 
that 
I 
took.
Management 
Accounting 
Control 
2012-­‐2013 
Manon 
Cuylits 
16 
Operation 
è 
strategic 
(job 
of 
the 
management 
controller): 
The 
management 
controller 
will 
pick 
up 
some 
figures 
from 
the 
operational 
world 
and 
I 
will 
use 
them 
to 
provide 
information 
to 
the 
CEO. 
è 
He 
will 
measure 
some 
of 
the 
outputs 
and 
provide 
information 
that 
are 
going 
to 
help 
the 
dashboard 
to 
take 
decisions. 
Therefore, 
a 
management 
controller 
needs 
to 
be 
perfectly 
aware 
of 
the 
strategic 
intent! 
We 
can 
see 
that 
it 
isn’t 
an 
easy 
job. 
It’s 
not 
always 
easy 
to 
translate 
something 
into 
a 
figure. 
Ex: 
customer 
loyalty 
is 
not 
really 
easy 
to 
translate 
into 
a 
figure 
(I 
can 
count 
the 
number 
of 
customers 
lost). 
Sometimes 
it’s 
easy; 
sometimes 
it’s 
less 
easy. 
“Strategically 
I 
want 
to 
have 
a 
better 
reputation”. 
Reputation 
is 
possible 
to 
measure 
but 
not 
that 
easy. 
Not 
easy 
to 
translate 
into 
figures. 
WHAT 
MIGHT 
BE 
PART 
OF 
THE 
MANAGEMENT 
CONTROL 
FUNCTION 
Might 
= 
in 
some 
companies 
it’s 
not 
part 
of 
the 
job, 
in 
other 
it 
is 
AUDITING 
Ø The 
scheduling 
and 
management 
of 
periodic 
internal 
audits, 
as 
well 
as 
the 
preparation 
of 
resulting 
audit 
reports 
and 
the 
communication 
of 
findings 
and 
recommendations 
to 
management 
and 
the 
board 
of 
directors. 
Ø The 
preparation 
of 
work 
papers 
for 
the 
external 
auditors 
and 
the 
rendering 
of 
any 
additional 
assistance 
needed 
by 
them 
to 
complete 
the 
annual 
audit 
NB: 
In 
some 
companies 
audit 
and 
management 
control 
are 
separated 
functions 
BUDGETING 
The 
coordination 
of 
the 
annual 
budgeting 
process, 
including 
maintenance 
of 
the 
company 
budget, 
and 
the 
transfer 
of 
final 
budget 
information 
into 
the 
financial 
statements. 
CONTROL 
SYSTEMS 
The 
establishment 
of 
a 
sufficiently 
broad 
set 
of 
controls 
to 
give 
management 
assurance 
that 
transactions 
are 
processed 
properly. 
COST 
ACCOUNTING 
(= 
comptabilité 
analytique) 
It’s 
almost 
systematically 
a 
part 
of 
the 
job 
! 
You 
have 
to 
have 
a 
good 
understanding 
of 
the 
figures.
Management 
Accounting 
Control 
2012-­‐2013 
Manon 
Cuylits 
Ø The 
coordination 
of 
periodic 
physical 
inventory 
counts 
Ø The 
periodic 
analysis 
and 
allocation 
of 
costs 
based 
on 
activity-­‐based 
costing 
pools 
17 
and 
allocation 
methods. 
Ø The 
continual 
cost 
review 
of 
products 
currently 
under 
development, 
using 
the 
principles 
of 
target 
costing. 
Ø The 
periodic 
compilation 
and 
evaluation 
of 
inventory 
costs. 
FINANCIAL 
ANALYSIS 
Ø The 
periodic 
comparison 
of 
actual 
to 
budgeted 
results 
and 
the 
communication 
of 
variances 
to 
management, 
along 
with 
recommendations 
for 
improvement. 
Ø The 
continuing 
review 
of 
revenue 
and 
expense 
trends 
and 
the 
communication 
of 
adverse 
trends 
results 
to 
management, 
along 
with 
recommendations 
for 
improvement 
Ø The 
periodic 
compilation 
of 
business 
cycle 
forecasting 
statistics 
and 
the 
communication 
of 
this 
information 
to 
management, 
along 
with 
predictions 
related 
to 
the 
impact 
on 
company 
operations. 
Ø The 
periodic 
calculation 
of 
a 
standard 
set 
of 
ratios 
for 
corporate 
financial 
performance 
and 
the 
formulation 
of 
management 
recommendations 
based 
on 
the 
results. 
FINANCIAL 
STATEMENTS 
Ø The 
preparation 
of 
all 
periodic 
financial 
statements, 
as 
well 
as 
their 
accompanying 
footnotes. 
Ø The 
preparation 
of 
an 
interpretive 
analysis 
of 
the 
financial 
statements. 
Ø The 
preparation 
and 
distribution 
of 
recurring 
and 
one-­‐time 
FIXED 
ASSETS 
Ø The 
annual 
audit 
of 
fixed 
assets 
to 
ensure 
that 
all 
recorded 
assets 
are 
present. 
Ø The 
periodic 
recording 
of 
fixed 
assets 
in 
the 
financial 
records 
and 
their 
proper 
recording 
under 
the 
correct 
asset 
categories 
and 
depreciation 
methods. 
Ø The 
proper 
analysis 
of 
all 
capital 
expenditure 
requests. 
POLICIES 
AND 
PROCEDURES 
Ø The 
creation 
and 
maintenance 
of 
all 
policies 
and 
procedures 
related 
to 
the 
control 
of 
company 
assets 
and 
the 
proper 
completion 
of 
financial 
transactions. 
Ø The 
training 
of 
department 
personnel 
in 
the 
use 
of 
accounting 
policies 
and 
procedures 
Ø The 
modification 
of 
existing 
policies 
and 
procedures 
to 
match 
the 
requirements 
of 
government 
regulations.
Management 
Accounting 
Control 
2012-­‐2013 
Manon 
Cuylits 
18 
PROCESS 
ANALYSIS 
Ø The 
periodic 
review 
of 
all 
processes 
involving 
financial 
analysis, 
to 
see 
if 
they 
can 
be 
completed 
with 
better 
controls, 
lower 
costs, 
or 
greater 
speed. 
RECORD 
KEEPING 
Ø The 
proper 
indexing, 
storage, 
and 
retrieval 
of 
all 
accounting 
documents. 
Ø The 
orderly 
planning 
for 
and 
scheduling 
of 
document 
destruction, 
in 
accordance 
with 
the 
corporate 
document 
retention 
policy. 
TAX 
PREPARATION 
Ø The 
timely 
preparation 
and 
filing 
of 
tax 
returns, 
as 
well 
as 
the 
supervision 
of 
all 
matters 
relating 
to 
corporate 
taxation, 
such 
as 
conducting 
an 
effective 
tax 
management 
program, 
and 
both 
providing 
and 
enforcing 
policies 
and 
procedures 
related 
to 
the 
compliance 
of 
all 
corporate 
personnel 
with 
applicable 
government 
tax 
laws. 
TRANSACTION 
PROCESSING 
Ø The 
timely 
completion 
of 
all 
accounting 
transactions 
at 
the 
intervals 
and 
in 
the 
manner 
specified 
in 
the 
accounting 
policies 
and 
procedures 
manual. 
Ø The 
proper 
completion 
of 
all 
transactions 
authorized 
by 
the 
board 
of 
directors 
or 
in 
accordance 
with 
the 
terms 
of 
all 
authorized 
contracts. 
Ø The 
proper 
approval 
of 
those 
transactions 
requiring 
them, 
in 
accordance 
with 
company 
policy. 
This 
list 
may 
appear 
overwhelming, 
but 
just 
because 
the 
controller 
is 
responsible 
for 
all 
of 
the 
listed 
areas 
does 
not 
mean 
that 
this 
person 
must 
actually 
do 
each 
one. 
In 
other 
words, 
the 
controller 
primarily 
manages 
the 
work 
of 
other 
people 
and 
ensures 
that 
they 
complete 
most 
of 
the 
tasks 
just 
listed. 
In 
particular, 
a 
controller 
can 
rely 
on 
the 
services 
of 
assistant 
controllers 
who 
are 
responsible 
for 
smaller 
portions 
of 
the 
accounting 
department.
Management 
Accounting 
Control 
2012-­‐2013 
Manon 
Cuylits 
19 
REQUIRED 
SKILLS 
ANALYSIS 
OF 
INFORMATION 
The 
controller 
must 
be 
sufficiently 
comfortable 
with 
financial 
information 
to 
readily 
understand 
the 
meaning 
of 
a 
variety 
of 
ratios 
and 
trends 
and 
what 
they 
portend 
for 
a 
company.è 
The 
figures 
and 
information: 
You 
don’t 
need 
to 
be 
a 
financial 
expert 
but 
a 
really 
good 
ability 
to 
analyze 
is 
required. 
COMMUNICATION 
ABILITY 
A 
key 
component 
of 
the 
controller’s 
function 
is 
compiling 
information 
and 
communicating 
it 
to 
management. 
If 
the 
compiling 
part 
of 
the 
job 
goes 
well, 
but 
management 
does 
not 
understand 
its 
implications, 
then 
the 
controller 
must 
improve 
his 
or 
her 
communication 
skills 
in 
order 
to 
better 
impart 
financial 
information 
to 
the 
management 
team 
Ø Those 
two 
are 
the 
most 
important 
skills 
COMPANY 
AND 
INDUSTRY 
KNOWLEDGE. 
No 
accounting 
system 
is 
completely 
“plain 
vanilla”, 
because 
the 
companies 
and 
industries 
in 
which 
it 
operates 
have 
a 
sufficient 
number 
of 
quirks 
to 
require 
some 
variation 
from 
the 
typical 
accounting 
system. 
Accordingly, 
the 
controller 
must 
have 
a 
good 
knowledge 
of 
both 
company 
and 
industry 
operations 
in 
order 
to 
know 
how 
they 
impact 
the 
operations 
of 
the 
accounting 
department 
Ø It’s 
better 
if 
you 
have 
some 
knowledge 
but 
not 
absolutely 
mandatory. 
MANAGEMENT 
SKILL. 
The 
controller 
presumably 
will 
have 
a 
staff 
and, 
if 
so, 
will 
have 
considerable 
control 
over 
the 
productivity 
of 
that 
group. 
Accordingly, 
the 
controller 
must 
have 
an 
excellent 
knowledge 
of 
the 
planning, 
organizational, 
directing, 
and 
measurement 
functions 
needed 
to 
manage 
the 
accounting 
department. 
PROVISION 
OF 
TIMELY 
AND 
COST-­‐EFFECTIVE 
SERVICES. 
The 
controller 
must 
run 
the 
accounting 
department 
as 
if 
it 
were 
a 
profit 
center, 
so 
that 
the 
most 
efficient 
methods 
are 
used 
to 
complete 
each 
task 
and 
the 
attention 
of 
the 
department 
is 
focused 
squarely 
on 
the 
most 
urgent 
tasks 
Ø A 
typical 
Management 
controller 
will 
have 
to 
create 
budget 
and 
dashboard. 
There’s 
a 
timing 
therefore 
(ex: 
budget 
needs 
to 
be 
ready 
on 
the 
first 
December). 
It’s 
important 
to 
be 
able 
to 
provide 
services 
on 
time.
Management 
Accounting 
Control 
2012-­‐2013 
Manon 
Cuylits 
20 
TECHNICAL 
KNOWLEDGE. 
Creating 
an 
accurate 
financial 
statement, 
especially 
one 
for 
a 
publicly 
held 
company, 
requires 
a 
considerable 
knowledge 
of 
accounting 
rules 
and 
regulations. 
Accordingly, 
a 
controller 
should 
be 
thoroughly 
versed 
in 
all 
generally 
accepted 
accounting 
principles 
(GAAP2, 
IAS3, 
IFRS4 
è 
Extremely 
technical 
standards.) 
Ø Not 
always 
mandatory. 
LET’S 
LOOK 
AT 
A 
VERY 
BASIC 
EXAMPLE 
OF 
IMC 
ISSUE 
Compared 
profitability 
of 
4 
subsidiaries: 
NB: 
figures 
between 
brackets 
= 
negative. 
è 
Key 
message: 
I 
am 
loosing 
money 
with 
one 
country 
(Country 
A). 
When 
I’m 
selling 
something, 
I 
throw 
money 
through 
the 
window. 
We’ve 
a 
problem. 
è 
Main 
reason: 
I’ve 
a 
problem 
because 
of 
customer 
delivery. 
WHY? 
Let’s 
make 
the 
ratio 
between 
customer 
delivery 
and 
sales, 
for 
the 
good 
companies 
and 
for 
the 
bad 
company. 
For 
nice 
looking 
company, 
customer 
delivery 
cost 
must 
be 
around 
5% 
of 
the 
sales. 
In 
country 
A, 
the 
cost 
is 
already 
a 
percentage 
of 
the 
sales. 
It’s 
10 
times 
more 
than 
for 
the 
good 
companies. 
Customer 
delivery 
costs 
are 
10 
times 
higher 
than 
in 
good 
working 
countries. 
2 
GAAP: 
Generally 
Accepted 
Accounting 
Principles 
3 
IAS: 
International 
Accounting 
Standards 
4 
IFRS: 
International 
Financial 
and 
Reporting 
Standards
Management 
Accounting 
Control 
2012-­‐2013 
Manon 
Cuylits 
21 
è 
Why 
are 
those 
costs 
so 
high? 
We 
can’t 
now 
thanks 
to 
the 
figures. 
There’s 
a 
limit. 
Those 
figures 
give 
information 
up 
to 
a 
certain 
limit. 
There’s 
a 
limit 
to 
the 
job 
of 
management 
controller. 
You 
have 
to 
talk 
with 
other 
people 
to 
have 
a 
better 
understanding 
of 
the 
problem. 
Role 
of 
the 
Management 
Controller: 
-­‐ Interface 
between 
strategic 
management 
and 
operational 
management 
-­‐ Getting 
data 
and 
being 
able 
to 
deliver 
those 
data 
as 
a 
message
Management 
Accounting 
Control 
2012-­‐2013 
Manon 
Cuylits 
22 
CHAPTER 
2: 
MANAGEMENT 
ACCOUNTING 
CONTROL 
LINK 
WITH 
FINANCIAL 
MANAGEMENT 
OPERATIONAL 
CYCLE 
When 
you 
start 
a 
company, 
you 
need 
first 
some 
money. 
You 
get 
that 
money 
thanks 
to 
Equity 
and 
LT 
Debts 
(Bank). 
LT 
debt 
means 
that 
you’ll 
have 
to 
pay 
it 
back 
within 
more 
than 
1 
year. 
That 
money 
is 
cash! 
I 
can 
use 
this 
cash 
to 
buy 
LT 
assets 
(car, 
truck, 
etc.). 
After 
that, 
you 
can 
start 
to 
operate. 
You 
find 
suppliers; 
you 
buy 
raw 
materials, 
etc. 
And 
you 
work 
to 
turn 
those 
raw 
materials 
into 
finished 
products. 
You 
sell 
those 
finished 
products 
in 
order 
to 
win 
cash. 
The 
aim 
of 
the 
game 
is 
to 
have 
CASH 
thanks 
to 
this 
operational 
cycle. 
Most 
of 
the 
bankruptcies 
start 
because 
companies 
don’t 
have 
money 
to 
pay 
the 
salaries. 
They 
borrow 
then 
money 
to 
the 
bank 
but 
with 
an 
interest 
rate, 
and 
when 
they 
have 
to 
refund 
the 
bank, 
they 
face 
a 
problem. 
The 
Management 
controller 
needs 
to 
reach 
a 
balance 
(both 
in 
amount 
and 
timing), 
and 
they 
reach 
it 
when 
they 
have 
a 
really 
low 
working 
capital 
requirement 
(or 
even 
negative, 
because 
it’s 
possible).
Management 
Accounting 
Control 
2012-­‐2013 
Manon 
Cuylits 
23 
Let’s 
have 
a 
look 
at 
the 
balance 
sheet: 
Ø WC 
= 
Working 
Capital 
Ø WCR 
= 
Working 
Capital 
Requirement 
Ø Left 
column: 
Assets 
(Actif) 
Ø Right 
column: 
Liabilities 
(Passif) 
LT 
Assets: 
(>1 
year): 
It’s 
an 
asset 
used 
for 
the 
production. 
It’s 
supposed 
to 
stay 
within 
the 
company 
more 
than 
1 
year. 
>< 
ST 
assets.
Management 
Accounting 
Control 
2012-­‐2013 
Manon 
Cuylits 
Difference 
between 
depreciation 
and 
the 
other 
categories 
of 
costs: 
Depreciation: 
That’s 
not 
money 
physically 
going 
out 
of 
the 
company. 
It’s 
something 
that 
you 
take 
into 
account 
as 
if 
it 
was 
a 
cost 
but 
actually 
there’s 
no 
money 
going 
out 
of 
the 
company 
24 
physically. 
Cash 
flow 
= 
net 
income 
+ 
depreciation. 
You 
may 
perfectly 
have 
situations 
with 
a 
positive 
cash 
flow 
but 
a 
negative 
profit. 
EXAMPLE 
NB: 
between 
brackets: 
negative 
figures 
You 
use 
raw 
materials, 
workers 
(that 
you 
will 
have 
to 
pay) 
to 
produce 
during 
a 
period 
of 
time. 
It 
means 
you’ll 
face 
cost 
for 
this 
production. 
At 
the 
end 
of 
the 
month, 
you 
have 
to 
add 
9450. 
The 
difference 
between 
the 
inventory 
at 
the 
end 
of 
the 
period 
and 
the 
beginning 
of 
the 
period 
is 
what 
has 
been 
sold. 
è 
Explanation 
in 
an 
easier 
way: 
I 
have 
1000. 
I 
produce 
3000. 
I 
can 
sell 
4000 
then. 
If 
at 
the 
end 
of 
the 
period 
I 
have 
2000, 
it 
means 
that 
I 
have 
sold 
for 
2000. 
(It’s 
exactly 
the 
same 
than 
previously 
but 
with 
easier 
figures).
Management 
Accounting 
Control 
2012-­‐2013 
Manon 
Cuylits 
25 
LINK 
WITH 
MARKETING 
MANAGEMENT 
All 
the 
rates 
have 
to 
be 
high 
in 
order 
to 
have 
a 
high 
market 
share. 
This 
is 
due 
to 
the 
fact 
that 
if 
awareness 
rate, 
contact 
rate 
and 
hit 
rate 
are 
high 
but 
consideration 
rate 
is 
low, 
your 
market 
share 
is 
going 
to 
be 
low. 
CONTROLLING 
THE 
SALES 
FORCE 
Two 
reasons 
for 
the 
control 
in 
the 
sales 
force: 
-­‐ Personal 
selling 
can 
be 
a 
large 
marketing 
expense 
component 
in 
the 
final 
price 
of 
the 
product 
or 
service. 
It’s 
worth 
to 
be 
controlled 
-­‐ It’s 
related 
to 
the 
efficiency. 
Sales 
force 
efficiency 
can’t 
be 
maximized 
unless 
it’s 
directed, 
motivated 
and 
audited 
on 
a 
continual 
basis.
Management 
Accounting 
Control 
2012-­‐2013 
Manon 
Cuylits 
26 
In 
order 
to 
have 
good 
results, 
there’s 
a 
need 
of 
controlling 
the 
sales 
force 
(directing 
them, 
motivating 
them, 
etc.) 
Controlling 
the 
sales 
force 
involves 
4 
key 
functions: 
1. Forecasting 
sales: 
It’s 
always 
the 
starting 
point 
2. Establishing 
sales 
territories 
and 
quotas. 
3. Analyzing 
expenses: 
Sales 
involve 
expenses. 
(E.g.: 
restaurants 
with 
prospects, 
clients, 
etc.). 
4. Motivating 
and 
compensating 
performance. 
FORECASTING 
SALES 
The 
sales 
forecast 
is 
an 
estimate 
of 
how 
much 
of 
the 
company’s 
output 
(€ 
or 
units) 
can 
be 
sold 
during 
a 
specified 
future 
period, 
under: 
It 
lies 
in 
sales 
planning 
for 
the 
next 
year 
or 
in 
the 
future. 
There’s 
always 
a 
forecast 
long 
term 
and 
short 
term: 
-­‐ Short 
Term: 
It’s 
basically 
a 
managing 
of 
the 
sales 
force. 
It’s 
the 
starting 
point 
of 
the 
budget 
process. 
The 
period 
of 
time 
is 
maximum 
1 
year. 
-­‐ Long 
Term: 
To 
make 
sure 
you 
have 
a 
capital 
to 
finance 
the 
business 
development 
and 
to 
have 
enough 
production 
capacity. 
It’s 
focused 
on 
financing, 
production 
and 
development. 
The 
sales 
forecast 
is 
an 
estimate 
of 
what 
we 
are 
going 
to 
sell 
next 
year. 
In 
other 
words, 
it’s 
how 
much 
of 
the 
company’s 
output 
can 
be 
sold 
during 
a 
specified 
future 
period. 
It’s 
not 
easy 
to 
calculate 
it 
and 
in 
order 
to 
minimize 
the 
risks 
we 
have 
to 
go 
through 
some 
steps: 
1. An 
assumed 
set 
of 
economic 
conditions: 
it’s 
the 
way 
the 
economy 
is 
going 
to 
be 
next 
year. 
About 
the 
global 
economic 
environment. 
2. A 
proposed 
marketing 
plan: 
what 
you 
plan 
to 
do 
in 
the 
future. 
Each 
marketing 
plan 
will 
deliver 
a 
specific 
impact 
on 
the 
product.
Management 
Accounting 
Control 
2012-­‐2013 
Manon 
Cuylits 
Ø Used 
to 
establish 
sales 
quotas 
Ø Used 
to 
plan 
personal 
selling 
efforts 
and 
other 
types 
of 
promotional 
activities 
in 
27 
the 
marketing 
mix. 
Ø Used 
to 
budget 
selling 
expenses 
Ø Used 
to 
plan 
and 
coordinate 
production, 
logistics, 
inventories, 
personnel, 
etc. 
SOME 
FORECASTING 
TECHNIQUES 
JURY 
OF 
EXECUTIVE 
OPINION 
METHOD 
I 
may 
ask 
to 
the 
top 
management 
what’s 
their 
opinion. 
“Next 
year, 
what 
do 
you 
think 
is 
going 
to 
happen?” 
The 
CEO 
and 
the 
operational 
management 
meet 
to 
discuss 
the 
decision 
of 
the 
company. 
Inconvenient: 
the 
top 
management 
is 
not 
in 
contact 
with 
the 
customers. 
So, 
their 
decision 
is 
not 
based 
on 
relevant 
decision 
or 
at 
least 
not 
concrete 
enough. 
So, 
they 
may 
not 
do 
the 
right 
choice. 
SALES 
FORCE 
COMPOSITE 
METHOD 
Ask 
the 
sales 
people. 
The 
sales 
force 
is 
directly 
involved 
with 
the 
customers. 
They 
can 
bring 
a 
good 
approach 
for 
the 
future 
decisions 
related 
to 
the 
performance 
of 
the 
company. 
Inconvenient: 
Not 
a 
secure 
method. 
If 
they 
know 
they 
are 
going 
to 
sell 
20% 
more 
they 
will 
never 
say 
that 
to 
their 
boss, 
cause 
something 
might 
happen. 
It’s 
better 
to 
say 
that 
they 
are 
going 
to 
sell 
10% 
more 
cause 
then 
we’ll 
give 
them 
that 
as 
an 
objective 
and 
if 
they 
sell 
more 
than 
10% 
more, 
the 
boss 
might 
give 
them 
a 
bonus. 
They 
underestimate 
what 
they 
think 
they 
will 
need 
for 
the 
future. 
The 
salesman 
is 
going 
to 
be 
careful 
in 
his 
statement 
concerning 
his 
objectives. 
He’s 
not 
going 
to 
tell 
the 
truth. 
It’s 
always 
an 
estimation; 
there 
is 
a 
filter 
of 
information 
As 
a 
boss 
you 
might 
say: 
“Instead 
of 
asking 
my 
sales 
people, 
why 
don’t 
I 
bypass 
them?” 
CUSTOMER 
EXPECTATIONS 
METHOD 
This 
method 
is 
used 
in 
case 
of 
the 
company 
doesn’t 
trust 
the 
salesman 
and 
suspects 
he 
filters 
the 
information 
he 
let 
the 
company 
know. 
Another 
solution 
is 
to 
ask 
directly 
the 
customer 
about 
his 
satisfaction. 
It 
concerns 
the 
raw 
information, 
untreated. 
Inconvenient: 
number 
of 
customer 
is 
too 
large 
to 
be 
analyzed. 
There 
is 
a 
need 
of 
samples, 
and 
as 
a 
result, 
a 
limitation 
of 
the 
information. 
Moreover, 
customers 
are 
not 
always 
willing 
to 
answer 
the 
questions. 
Customers 
are 
not 
always 
going 
to 
tell 
the 
truth. 
If 
we 
ask 
them 
how 
much 
they 
are 
going 
to 
buy 
next 
year, 
they 
might 
not 
give 
the 
good 
answer.
Management 
Accounting 
Control 
2012-­‐2013 
Manon 
Cuylits 
28 
è 
Those 
3 
first 
techniques 
are 
necessary 
for 
a 
good 
forecast 
even 
if 
they 
suffer 
from 
imperfections 
and 
give 
truncated 
information. 
It’s 
always 
better 
to 
run 
them 
because 
those 
techniques 
bring 
a 
direct 
input 
from 
direct 
contact 
with 
important 
actors 
of 
the 
business. 
The 
3 
next 
techniques 
are 
more 
technical 
and 
mathematic. 
TIME-­‐SERIES 
ANALYSIS 
You 
try 
to 
use 
the 
past 
to 
prevail 
the 
future. 
You 
look 
at 
the 
past 
evolution 
and 
try 
to 
extrapolate. 
Ex: 
during 
the 
last 
10 
years 
my 
sales 
have 
been 
increasing 
by 
2% 
every 
year… 
It’s 
not 
silly 
to 
extrapolate 
then. 
CORRELATION 
ANALYSIS 
You 
correlate 
something 
with 
another 
forecast. 
You 
correlate 
your 
forecast 
to 
other 
forecasts. 
A 
forecast 
can 
never 
be 
something 
100% 
accurate; 
it’s 
not 
possible 
to 
predict 
the 
future. 
OTHER 
QUANTITATIVE 
TECHNIQUES 
è 
Techniques: 
Statistical, 
mathematical, 
simulation 
models, 
etc. 
The 
forecasting 
techniques 
can 
become 
highly 
sophisticated, 
but 
they 
are 
never 
a 
substitute 
to 
sound 
business 
judgment. 
We 
have 
to 
take 
into 
consideration 
both 
means: 
techniques 
and 
business 
judgement. 
No 
single 
method 
provides 
uniformly 
accurate 
results 
with 
infallible 
precision 
ESTABLISHING 
SALES 
TERRITORIES 
AND 
QUOTAS 
SALES 
TERRITORY 
Represent 
the 
management’s 
need 
to 
match 
personal 
selling 
effort 
with 
the 
sales 
potential 
(or 
opportunity). 
Example: 
A 
first 
salesman 
contacts 
a 
customer 
to 
offer 
a 
special 
package. 
Afterwards, 
another 
salesman 
from 
the 
same 
company 
contacts 
the 
same 
customer 
but 
he’s 
more 
aggressive 
and 
wants 
to 
sell 
the 
same 
offer. 
There’s 
going 
to 
be 
a 
big 
problem: 
the 
image 
of 
the 
company 
will 
be 
affected 
because 
there 
is 
a 
bad 
management 
and 
control 
inside 
the 
company 
to 
make 
such 
a 
mistake.
Management 
Accounting 
Control 
2012-­‐2013 
Manon 
Cuylits 
29 
QUOTA 
It 
represents 
goals 
assigned 
to 
salespeople. 
As 
a 
result, 
it 
gives 
benefits 
to 
the 
company: 
it’s 
an 
incentive 
for 
salespeople, 
it 
allows 
to 
evaluate 
and 
control 
salespeople’s 
efforts 
and 
goals 
leads 
to 
quantitative 
standard 
different 
from 
the 
standards 
to 
measure 
performance. 
It 
means 
that 
it’s 
an 
additional 
way 
to 
measure 
performance. 
Nevertheless, 
it’s 
never 
easy 
to 
fix 
goals. 
There 
is 
always 
a 
discussion 
to 
define 
the 
goals. 
What 
is 
an 
objective? 
It 
requires 
those 
conditions 
“SMART”. 
- S: 
it 
has 
to 
be 
specific 
= 
a 
clear 
objective 
- M: 
It 
has 
to 
be 
measurable 
- A: 
the 
manager 
or 
the 
person 
in 
charge 
must 
agree 
it. 
- R: 
it 
has 
to 
be 
relevant 
and 
realistic 
(=réaliste). 
It 
has 
to 
be 
aggressive 
enough, 
but 
realistic. 
- T: 
it 
must 
be 
an 
objective 
defined 
in 
terms 
of 
time 
I 
want 
to 
measure 
a 
performance 
in 
the 
area 
of 
sales. 
I 
want 
to 
judge 
that 
performance. 
The 
list: 
different 
ways 
to 
measure 
that 
performance. 
They 
are 
some 
signs 
of 
good 
performance 
but 
you 
won’t 
use 
all 
those 
tools, 
you 
will 
have 
to 
select 
the 
best 
ones 
depending 
on 
your 
case. 
ANALYSING 
EXPENSES
Management 
Accounting 
Control 
2012-­‐2013 
Manon 
Cuylits 
Selling 
cost, 
expenses. 
You 
have 
to 
look 
at 
that, 
compare 
data 
between 
columns/lines… 
and 
then 
you 
can 
capture 
something. 
It’s 
important 
to 
take 
the 
time 
to 
have 
a 
look 
at 
that. 
30 
MOTIVATING 
AND 
COMPENSATING 
PERFORMANCE 
2 
basic 
types 
of 
compensation: 
Ø Salary: 
In 
main 
company, 
the 
base 
salary 
is 
known… 
(?) 
Ø Commission: 
Commonly 
used 
for 
the 
sales 
people 
=> 
the 
more 
you 
sell, 
the 
more 
money 
you 
will 
have. 
But 
numerous 
other 
forms 
of 
incentives: 
• Positive 
feedback 
on 
salesperson 
performance 
evaluation 
• Company 
praise 
(ex: 
recognition 
in 
a 
newsletter) 
• Bonus 
(ex: 
cash, 
merchandise, 
or 
travel 
allowances) 
• Salary 
increase 
• Pay 
for 
performance 
for 
specific 
new 
product 
idea 
• Paid 
educational 
allowance 
• Earned 
time 
off 
• Fringe 
benefits 
• Stock 
options 
• Vested 
retirement 
plan 
• Profit 
sharing
Management 
Accounting 
Control 
2012-­‐2013 
Manon 
Cuylits 
31 
è 
The 
incentive 
system 
is 
important 
in 
the 
motivation 
and 
the 
compensation 
in 
order 
to 
boost 
the 
workforce. 
In 
international 
business, 
we 
have 
to 
think 
about 
an 
international 
customer 
present 
in 
different 
countries. 
So 
the 
limitation 
of 
territory 
tends 
to 
disappear 
and 
multinational 
companies 
are 
growing. 
THE 
LINK 
WITH 
HR 
MANAGEMENT 
The 
idea 
is 
to 
make 
sure 
that 
the 
customer 
will 
receive 
what 
he 
asked 
for. 
Let’s 
remember 
that 
the 
simple 
aim 
of 
Management 
Control 
is 
to 
make 
sure 
that 
results 
conform 
to 
intentions. 
I 
want 
to 
make 
sure 
that 
what’s 
going 
to 
happen 
is 
what 
I 
expected. 
I 
want 
to 
have 
the 
measurement 
telling 
me 
whether 
I’m 
on 
the 
right 
track 
è 
do 
I 
have 
to 
change 
something 
or 
keep 
on 
doing 
like 
that? 
Applied 
to 
HR 
Management, 
this 
implies 
4 
steps: 
1) 
Deciding 
which 
behaviors 
or 
outcomes 
are 
desired. 
I 
have 
to 
decide 
what 
is 
the 
outcome 
that 
I 
expect, 
what 
do 
I 
want. 
The 
typical 
outcome 
expected 
when 
it 
comes 
to 
HR 
is 
“I 
expect 
the 
people 
to 
behave 
like 
that, 
to 
be 
creative/productive/able 
to 
work 
in 
team/customer 
focused/etc.”. 
You 
expect 
some 
specifics 
behaviors 
in 
the 
HR 
department. 
Another 
thing 
you 
could 
expect 
are 
the 
competences. 
You 
expect 
your 
people 
to 
be 
good 
at 
using 
computer. 
2) 
Establishing 
ways 
to 
measure 
behaviors 
or 
outcome. 
You 
need 
to 
have 
ways 
to 
measure 
in 
order 
to 
reach 
your 
objectives. 
If 
you 
don’t 
measure 
there’s 
no 
chance 
that 
you’ll 
achieve 
your 
objectives! 
Some 
measurement 
are 
easy 
to 
make, 
some 
others 
are 
not. 
How 
can 
we 
measure 
behaviors? 
Ex: 
thanks 
to 
feedback, 
or 
by 
asking 
people. 
3) 
Measuring 
what 
happens 
4) 
Allocating 
rewards 
based 
on 
achievement
Management 
Accounting 
Control 
2012-­‐2013 
Manon 
Cuylits 
32 
CHAPTER 
3: 
BUDGETING 
DEFINITION 
- A 
budget 
is 
a 
set 
of 
figures 
expressing 
money 
income 
and 
outcome, 
which 
shows 
whether 
a 
financial 
plan 
will 
help 
reaching 
organizational 
objectives. 
- Budgeting 
is 
the 
process 
of 
budget 
preparation. 
- The 
various 
Budgets 
provide 
a 
tool 
to 
communicate 
short-­‐term 
objectives. 
It 
is 
the 
way 
to 
communicate 
the 
budget 
inside 
the 
company 
BUDGETING 
TECHNIQUES 
Initially 
I 
have 
a 
strategy. 
I 
will 
translate 
that 
strategy 
into 
figures. 
Regardless 
of 
the 
business 
sector, 
the 
size 
of 
the 
company, 
etc. 
There 
are 
always 
three 
steps 
in 
every 
budgeting 
technique: 
1. Forecast 
2. Budget: 
I 
need 
to 
translate 
the 
forecast 
into 
figures 
3. Control: 
I 
need 
to 
follow 
that 
budget 
=> 
control 
activities/budget 
control. 
It 
doesn’t 
make 
sense 
to 
make 
a 
budget 
if 
you 
don’t 
follow 
it 
after. 
And 
you 
need 
to 
follow 
it 
on 
a 
regular 
basis. 
“On 
a 
regular 
basis” 
is 
different 
depending 
on 
the 
business. 
Every 
planning-­‐control 
system 
is 
based 
on 
the 
willingness 
to 
control 
the 
future, 
and 
therefore 
to 
accept 
the 
idea 
of 
forecasting
Management 
Accounting 
Control 
2012-­‐2013 
Manon 
Cuylits 
33 
This 
attitude 
must 
be 
team-­‐based, 
and 
active 
rather 
than 
passive. 
è 
If 
you 
take 
more 
than 
one 
point 
of 
view 
you 
will 
reduce 
the 
uncertainty! 
If 
you 
only 
take 
one 
point 
of 
view, 
the 
person 
could 
be 
wrong… 
Forecasting 
is 
more 
than 
just 
extrapolating 
the 
past 
on 
a 
predictable 
trajectory 
as 
if 
nothing 
was 
changed 
in 
the 
behaviors. 
Forecasting 
is 
necessary, 
since 
it 
is 
the 
starting 
point 
of 
many 
management 
tools. 
è 
Forecasting 
is 
the 
starting 
point 
of 
many 
things, 
that’s 
why 
it’s 
absolutely 
necessary! 
Knowing 
the 
future 
is 
impossible, 
you 
may 
describe 
what 
you 
think 
the 
future 
is 
going 
to 
look 
like 
but 
nothing’s 
sure. 
To 
know 
the 
future 
is 
impossible; 
however, 
the 
experience 
shows 
that 
available 
forecast 
data, 
even 
far 
from 
perfection, 
are 
always 
better 
than 
no 
forecast 
data 
at 
all 
Short 
term 
forecasting 
Mid 
and 
long 
term 
forecasting 
Prospective 
Time 
Horizon 
Close 
Far 
Very 
far 
Purpose 
Precise: 
sales 
forecast, 
raw 
materials 
pricing, 
salaries 
evolution, 
etc. 
Global 
capacities: 
production, 
distribution, 
etc. 
Future 
trends 
Degree 
of 
certainty 
High 
Medium 
Low 
Variables 
Based 
on 
current 
economic 
environment 
Based 
on 
economic 
trends 
Qualitatives 
Different 
times 
perspective 
for 
forecasts: 
Ø Short 
term 
forecasting: 
forecast 
for 
next 
year 
(1 
year) 
Ø Mid 
and 
long 
term 
forecasting: 
(3 
to 
5 
years) 
Ø Prospective: 
really 
long 
term 
(over 
5 
years) 
Short 
term 
forecasting: 
precise: 
how 
much 
• I 
need 
to 
be 
ready 
this 
year 
for 
what’s 
going 
to 
happen 
next 
year. 
I 
need 
to 
have 
some 
very 
precise 
information 
because 
based 
on 
that 
I 
will 
have 
to 
take 
some 
actions. 
• Very 
high 
degree 
of 
certainty 
• I 
am 
going 
to 
have 
a 
look 
at 
the 
current 
economic 
environment. 
Mid 
and 
long 
term 
forecasting: 
Ø Here 
we 
talk 
about 
global 
capacities. 
I 
have 
to 
think 
in 
term 
of 
global 
capacities, 
production 
capacities, 
etc. 
(strategic 
decision) 
Ø Medium 
degree 
of 
certainty 
Ø I 
will 
take 
a 
look 
at 
the 
economic 
trends
Management 
Accounting 
Control 
2012-­‐2013 
Manon 
Cuylits 
34 
EFFECTIVENESS 
OF 
TECHNIQUE 
1st 
basic 
technique: 
Extrapolations: 
I 
look 
at 
the 
past 
data’s 
and 
I 
extrapolate. 
I 
see 
that 
I’ve 
a 
2% 
increase 
in 
sales 
every 
year, 
I 
can 
extrapolate 
and 
prevail 
a 
2% 
increase 
in 
sales 
for 
next 
year. 
It’s 
very 
effective 
in 
the 
short 
term, 
less 
effective 
in 
the 
mid 
term 
and 
almost 
not 
effective 
on 
the 
long 
term. 
2nd 
technique: 
Models: 
Ex: 
Mathematical 
models, 
etc. 
Models 
are 
not 
effective 
for 
the 
short 
term 
but 
are 
most 
effective 
for 
the 
mid 
term 
(and 
not 
effective 
for 
the 
long 
term). 
They 
are 
only 
effective 
for 
the 
mid 
term 
then. 
It’s 
done 
through 
programs. 
3rd 
technique: 
Prospection: 
Prospections 
techniques 
are 
good 
for 
the 
long 
term 
but 
not 
for 
the 
short 
and 
mid 
term. 
You 
may 
have 
some 
simple 
prospection 
techniques 
like: 
get 
together 
a 
group 
of 
experts. 
This 
is 
the 
most 
common 
technique. 
You 
have 
some 
much 
more 
sophisticated 
prospection 
techniques 
like 
econometric 
methods.
Management 
Accounting 
Control 
2012-­‐2013 
Manon 
Cuylits 
35 
SUCCESSIVE 
STEPS 
FOR 
A 
BUDGETING 
PROCESS: 
PLANNING 
PHASE 
OF 
THE 
BUDGET 
è 
Long-­‐term 
plan: 
What 
do 
I 
expect 
in 
3 
to 
5 
years 
from 
now? 
That’s 
my 
long-­‐term 
plan. 
A 
company 
wants 
to 
know 
what 
are 
the 
long-­‐term 
objectives. 
It’ll 
reflect 
in 
the 
budget 
process. 
The 
purpose 
is 
to 
influence 
the 
future. 
It’s 
more 
active, 
than 
passive 
in 
order 
to 
make 
the 
business 
grow. 
è 
Functional 
periodic 
budgets: 
It 
concerns 
budgets 
established 
by 
function 
for 
a 
period 
of 
time. 
Ex: 
Marketing 
Budget, 
Financial 
Budget, 
R&D 
budget, 
etc. 
NB: 
Periodic 
implies 
a 
part 
of 
year: 
term, 
months, 
etc. 
è 
I 
split 
the 
budget 
into 
quarterly 
or 
monthly 
budgets: 
The 
budget 
has 
to 
be 
split 
into 
more 
precise 
framework 
of 
time 
for 
short-­‐term 
forecast. 
CONTROL 
ACTIVITIES 
è 
Once 
the 
planning 
set, 
the 
budget 
is 
available 
and 
departments 
will 
run 
their 
projects. 
Months 
by 
months 
the 
management 
controller 
will 
receive 
the 
results, 
real 
data. 
Once 
all 
data 
are 
available, 
a 
comparison 
with 
the 
actual-­‐forecast 
can 
be 
made. 
If 
results 
are 
not 
good, 
2 
options: 
Ø I’ve 
been 
far 
too 
optimistic 
with 
my 
budgets
Management 
Accounting 
Control 
2012-­‐2013 
Manon 
Cuylits 
36 
Ø My 
forecast 
was 
really 
good 
but… 
è 
Gap 
analysis: 
I 
will 
look 
at 
the 
gap 
(between 
forecast 
and 
real 
data’s), 
sometimes 
it’s 
not 
really 
big, 
and 
then 
I’ll 
just 
say 
that 
the 
gap 
is 
meaningless/not 
significant. 
That’s 
very 
tricky, 
not 
easy 
to 
do, 
but 
I 
need 
to 
do 
it 
for 
the 
next 
step 
è 
Assessment 
of 
gap 
relevance: 
Is 
the 
gap 
relevant 
or 
not? 
If 
it’s 
not 
relevant, 
no 
problem 
but 
if 
it 
is 
relevant 
that’s 
difficult. 
The 
results 
of 
the 
gap 
analysis 
will 
make 
place 
to 
an 
assessment 
of 
the 
gap 
relevance. 
The 
purpose 
is 
to 
know 
if 
the 
gap 
could 
have 
been 
forecast 
or 
if 
it 
depends 
on 
external 
variables. 
The 
origin 
of 
the 
problem 
is 
addressed. 
Ex: 
quality 
problems, 
problem 
of 
communication, 
crisis 
on 
the 
market. 
The 
origin 
of 
the 
problem 
is 
maybe 
not 
inclusively 
in 
the 
sales, 
but 
it 
can 
come 
from 
another 
department 
è 
Common 
understanding 
of 
the 
gap: 
You 
have 
to 
understand 
the 
reason 
of 
the 
gap. 
You 
may 
have 
many 
reasons 
combined 
together 
or 
one 
single 
reason 
difficult 
to 
find, 
etc. 
I 
have 
to 
understand 
what’s 
the 
gap. 
Only 
20% 
of 
the 
reasons 
will 
explain 
80% 
of 
the 
gap 
=> 
“80-­‐20 
rule”! 
I 
want 
to 
know 
the 
main 
reasons. 
E.g.: 
Because 
my 
customers 
are 
not 
happy 
è 
Corrective 
actions: 
Actions 
that 
I 
need 
to 
take 
to 
correct 
the 
situation. 
It 
may 
be: 
Ø “I 
will 
change 
my 
plans 
for 
the 
following 
period” 
=> 
I 
will 
train 
my 
sales 
people; 
I 
will 
change 
something 
for 
the 
next 
period 
of 
time. 
It’s 
an 
action 
that’s 
supposed 
to 
have 
an 
effect 
on 
the 
next 
period. 
Ø “I 
will 
change 
my 
budget” 
which 
means: 
I 
will 
change 
my 
objectives 
Ø “I 
will 
change 
my 
long-­‐term 
plan” 
è 
it 
means 
you 
really 
change 
your 
strategy, 
you 
have 
to 
be 
careful 
with 
that! 
Once 
the 
reasons 
of 
the 
gap 
are 
known, 
measures 
can 
be 
taken 
to 
handle 
the 
problem. 
They 
are 
likely 
to 
be 
made 
in 
the 
planning: 
long-­‐term 
plan 
of 
functional 
periodic 
budget 
or 
the 
split 
of 
budgets. 
And 
so, 
we 
close 
the 
loop! 
Another 
way 
to 
look 
at 
that:
Management 
Accounting 
Control 
2012-­‐2013 
Manon 
Cuylits 
37 
PLANNING: 
To 
identify 
short-­‐term 
objectives 
è 
To 
develop 
short-­‐term 
plans 
è 
To 
develop 
the 
budget 
CONTROL: 
To 
measure 
and 
assess 
the 
performance 
è 
Reassess 
objectives, 
goals, 
strategy, 
and 
plans. 
PLANNING 
AND 
CONTROL, 
ROLE 
OF 
BUDGETS 
Balance 
sheet 
expected 
at 
the 
end 
of 
the 
next 
year 
for 
example, 
cash 
flows, 
…è 
financial 
figures 
OPERATIONAL 
BUDGETS 
Usually 
6 
operational 
budgets: 
1. Sales 
budget: 
how 
much 
am 
I 
going 
to 
sell 
next 
year 
(1st 
month, 
2nd 
month… 
1st 
quarter, 
etc.) 
How 
many 
units 
am 
I 
going 
to 
sell? 
I 
may 
split 
the 
sales 
budget 
into 
more 
detailed 
budget. 
(per 
categories,…). 
It’s 
a 
forecast; 
it 
doesn’t 
need 
to 
be 
very 
précised. 
2. Investments: 
What’s 
the 
amount 
of 
money 
I’ll 
have 
to 
invest 
next 
year 
in 
order 
to 
be 
able 
to 
run 
my 
business… 
3. Production 
budget: 
taking 
into 
account 
what 
I 
plan 
to 
sell 
next 
year, 
and 
what 
I 
plan 
to 
invest, 
How 
much 
will 
I 
have 
to 
produce 
myself? 
It 
depends 
on 
the 
sales 
forecast 
and 
on 
the 
investment. 
4. Purchasing 
budget: 
taking 
into 
account 
all 
the 
previous 
element, 
how 
much 
will 
I 
have 
to 
purchase 
next 
year 
5. Personal 
and 
training: 
How 
much 
will 
I 
have 
to 
pay?
Management 
Accounting 
Control 
2012-­‐2013 
Manon 
Cuylits 
38 
6. Administration 
and 
other 
(advertising, 
R 
and 
D,etc.): 
basket 
where 
you 
put 
all 
the 
rest. 
You 
define 
those 
operational 
budgets 
in 
the 
order 
above, 
because 
some 
of 
them 
depend 
on 
the 
previous 
ones. 
FINANCIAL 
BUDGETS 
3 
usual 
financial 
budgets: 
Ø Projected 
cash 
flows 
Ø Projected 
(pro 
forma) 
balance 
sheet 
Ø Projected 
(pro 
forma) 
profit-­‐and-­‐loss 
statement 
A 
budget 
is 
a 
set 
of 
figures 
expressing 
money 
income 
and 
outcome, 
which 
shows 
whether 
a 
financial 
plan 
will 
help 
reaching 
organizational 
objectives. 
Ø If 
a 
budget 
doesn’t 
contain 
any 
figures, 
it’s 
not 
a 
budget: 
it’s 
something 
else. 
Most 
of 
the 
time 
it’s 
expressed 
in 
“money” 
=> 
Money 
income 
and 
outcome 
(but 
not 
always). 
The 
figures 
are 
not 
necessarily 
financial 
figures. 
E.g.: 
a 
company 
usually 
wants 
to 
achieve 
a 
very 
high 
reputation/ 
brand 
reputation/… 
it 
would 
make 
sense 
to 
put 
that 
into 
the 
budget, 
even 
if 
it’s 
not 
easy 
to 
measure 
and 
it’s 
not 
a 
financial 
figure. 
Other 
objectives 
you 
could 
have: 
You 
want 
to 
reach 
a 
certain 
number 
of 
market 
shares/ 
you 
want 
to 
have 
“happy” 
customers/ 
you 
want 
to 
have 
a 
given 
level 
of 
competencies/ 
you 
want 
to 
launch 
a 
certain 
amount 
of 
new 
products 
(innovation 
aim). 
Budgeting 
is 
the 
process 
of 
budget 
preparation 
The 
various 
Budgets 
provide 
a 
tool 
to 
communicate 
short-­‐term 
objectives 
Ø There 
are 
several 
budgets 
(sales 
budget, 
purchasing 
budget, 
etc.) 
Ø May 
be 
a 
motivational 
tool: 
it 
can 
motivate 
to 
know 
that 
you 
have 
to 
sell 
a 
certain 
number 
of 
products. 
BUDGETS 
FLOW-­‐CHART 
FOR 
SALES
Management 
Accounting 
Control 
2012-­‐2013 
Manon 
Cuylits 
39 
CLASSICAL 
FLOW-­‐CHART 
Sales 
forecast: 
I 
start 
here. 
ð Long 
term 
forecast: 
3 
to 
5 
years 
ð Mid 
& 
Short 
term 
forecast: 
next 
year 
Starting 
with 
a 
sales 
forecast 
is 
always 
an 
obligation. 
It’s 
really 
difficult 
unless 
you 
are 
in 
a 
really 
stable 
business, 
but 
that 
happens 
less 
and 
less. 
You 
have 
to 
take 
plenty 
of 
things 
into 
account. 
Based 
on 
the 
mid 
& 
short 
term 
forecast, 
I 
will 
look 
at 
what 
I 
have 
to 
produce 
(production). 
That’s 
not 
necessarily 
the 
same 
amount 
as 
the 
number 
of 
products 
I 
have 
to 
sell. 
Why? 
BMW 
plans 
to 
sell 
100.000 
cars 
next 
year; 
do 
they 
have 
to 
produce 
100.000 
cars 
next 
year? 
No 
because 
they 
might 
have 
cars 
in 
the 
inventory. 
It 
depends 
on 
the 
amount 
in 
inventory 
then. 
Maybe 
they 
will 
subcontract; 
it 
means 
they 
don’t 
have 
to 
produce 
themselves. 
Ø Sales 
è 
Estimation 
Ø Production 
èCalculation 
based 
on 
the 
estimation.
Management 
Accounting 
Control 
2012-­‐2013 
Manon 
Cuylits 
40 
è 
Purchasing: 
If 
I 
know 
what 
I 
have 
to 
produce, 
I 
know 
what 
I 
will 
have 
to 
buy 
(raw 
materials 
and 
so 
on). 
If 
BMW 
knows 
they 
have 
to 
produce 
70.000 
cars, 
they 
know 
how 
much 
steel 
they 
have 
to 
buy 
therefore. 
è 
Investment 
and 
financing: 
There’s 
an 
investment 
budget 
(see 
above), 
it 
depends 
on 
2 
elements: 
Long-­‐term 
sales 
forecast 
& 
mid-­‐ 
& 
short-­‐term 
sales 
forecast. 
Investment 
means 
I 
will 
invest 
in 
assets 
that 
are 
going 
to 
stay 
more 
than 
1 
year 
in 
the 
company 
(Long-­‐term 
assets). 
If 
I 
look 
at 
my 
long-­‐term 
sales 
forecast, 
I 
might 
see 
that 
within 
3 
years 
I 
won’t 
be 
able 
to 
produce 
enough, 
and 
I 
can 
then 
decide 
to 
invest 
in 
something 
to 
improve 
the 
production. 
è 
Sales 
means 
there’s 
money 
coming 
in 
=> 
cash 
flow 
è 
Production, 
purchasing, 
investment 
means 
there’s 
money 
going 
out 
è 
Every 
part 
means 
there’s 
an 
influence 
on 
my 
cash 
flow. 
If 
I 
have 
a 
good 
idea 
of 
my 
forecast, 
I 
can 
deduct 
my 
cash 
budget, 
what’s 
going 
to 
be 
my 
cash 
production 
over 
time. 
Once 
I 
have 
that, 
I 
can 
derive 
to 
“what’s 
my 
P&L 
Statement 
forecast 
going 
to 
look 
like 
month 
by 
month 
and 
at 
the 
end 
of 
the 
year, 
and 
same 
for 
the 
balance 
sheet 
forecast, 
I 
will 
know 
what 
it’s 
going 
to 
look 
like 
month 
by 
month 
and 
at 
the 
end 
of 
the 
year. 
On 
the 
long-­‐term 
: 
The 
investment 
and 
finance 
of 
the 
company 
are 
also 
affected 
by 
the 
long-­‐ 
term 
sales 
forecast. 
Indeed, 
as 
the 
long-­‐term 
concerns 
the 
future, 
the 
company 
can 
plan 
the 
new 
investments 
they’ll 
have 
to 
make/buy 
in 
order 
to 
support 
the 
future 
activities 
of 
the 
company. 
All 
the 
upper 
part 
of 
the 
chart 
allows 
defining 
the 
budget 
and 
the 
balance 
sheet. 
COMPLEX 
FLOW-­‐CHART
Management 
Accounting 
Control 
2012-­‐2013 
Manon 
Cuylits 
41 
Based 
on 
the 
slide 
above, 
I 
may 
decide 
on 
an 
Investment 
project. 
I 
will 
translate 
my 
investment 
projects 
into 
investment 
budgets 
(a 
budget 
is 
a 
set 
of 
figures). 
This 
has 
an 
impact 
on 
the 
cash 
budget, 
some 
cash 
money 
is 
going 
out. 
I 
will 
also 
decide 
my 
short-­‐term 
objectives 
=> 
Sales 
budget, 
production 
budget 
Production 
budget: 
In 
some 
case 
you 
may 
have 
to 
precise 
the 
purchasing 
budget, 
the 
direct 
labor 
budget 
and 
the 
production 
overhead 
budget. 
Those 
are 
the 
elements 
that 
impacts 
on 
the 
cash 
budget. 
I 
divide 
the 
production 
budget 
into 
those 
3 
elements. 
I 
may 
derive 
a 
budgeted 
product 
cost. 
è 
Direct 
impact 
on 
the 
cash 
budget: 
It 
helps 
me 
to 
define 
the 
budgeted 
P&L. 
The 
difference 
with 
the 
classical 
flow-­‐chart 
concerns 
the 
beginning: 
we 
first 
start 
with 
the 
objectives 
and 
the 
strategic 
plans 
instead 
of 
the 
forecast 
on 
a 
long 
and 
short 
term 
like 
before. 
This 
first 
step 
will 
impact 
two 
dimensions. 
- First 
dimension: 
The 
objectives 
and 
strategic 
plans 
will 
be 
reflected 
in 
the 
investment 
projects 
that 
will 
directly 
define 
the 
investment 
budget 
leading 
to 
a 
specific 
cash 
budget. 
- Second 
dimension: 
The 
objectives 
and 
plans 
will 
lead 
to 
the 
short-­‐term 
objectives 
defining 
the 
sales 
and 
production 
budgets.
Management 
Accounting 
Control 
2012-­‐2013 
Manon 
Cuylits 
We 
always 
have 
to 
read 
the 
graph 
from 
top 
to 
bottom 
to 
see 
the 
relations 
and 
the 
consequences. 
You 
get 
the 
bottom 
level 
if 
you 
fulfil 
the 
bottom 
level. 
We’ll 
know 
analyse 
in 
details 
one 
budget 
through 
an 
example. 
42 
You 
may 
divide 
your 
budget 
into 
variable 
expenses. 
Ø Variable 
expenses 
= 
commission 
on 
sales. 
The 
more 
I 
sell, 
the 
more 
I 
get. 
Ø Fixed 
expenses 
= 
salaries, 
depreciation, 
advertising. 
BUDGET 
PROCESS 
Starting 
point: 
always 
a 
sales 
forecast. 
The 
budget 
process 
lies 
in 
3 
steps: 
1) 
Estimate 
projected 
sales 
revenue 
level 
è 
ESTIMATION 
Ø Historical 
data 
(You 
may 
try 
to 
forecast 
the 
sales 
looking 
at 
the 
historical 
sales), 
Current 
factors, 
Economic 
variables, 
Other 
factors, 
Specific 
points 
of 
focus 
2) 
Determine 
profit 
requirements 
è 
DETERMINATION 
3) 
Calculate 
projected 
expenses 
values 
è 
CALCULATION 
based 
on 
the 
elements 
above. 
There 
are 
several 
ways 
to 
calculate 
that: 
Ø Incremental 
method 
Ø Method 
based 
on 
a 
percentage 
Ø « 
Zero-­‐based 
» 
budget 
INCREMENTAL 
METHOD
Management 
Accounting 
Control 
2012-­‐2013 
Manon 
Cuylits 
43 
Ø Estimate 
future 
expenses 
based 
on 
current 
expenses: 
I 
take 
every 
expenses 
and 
I 
increase/decrease 
them 
by 
5% 
for 
example 
(always 
same 
percentage); 
which 
means 
that 
the 
various 
expenses 
remain 
the 
same 
proportion. 
I 
keep 
the 
same 
costs 
like 
they 
were 
last 
year 
and 
I 
will 
just 
adapt 
them. 
Ø Current 
expenses 
levels 
are 
incremented/decremented 
for 
the 
new 
budget 
Ø Based 
on 
the 
assumption 
that 
past 
year’s 
cost 
were 
justified 
and 
reasonable 
Ø Any 
inefficiency 
may 
be 
reproduced 
in 
the 
new 
budget! 
If 
an 
expense 
wasn’t 
necessary, 
it 
will 
still 
be 
there 
next 
year. 
The 
problem 
with 
that 
method 
is 
that 
I 
base 
it 
on 
the 
assumption 
that 
every 
expense 
was 
necessary; 
which 
may 
be 
false. 
If 
I 
lost 
money 
last 
year 
because 
of 
inefficiency, 
I 
will 
still 
loose 
money 
this 
year. 
Example 
of 
the 
incremental 
method: 
- For 
the 
sales: 
If 
we 
want 
to 
increase 
our 
sales 
by 
10%, 
we 
have 
to 
increase 
all 
the 
elements 
in 
the 
chain 
by 
10% 
to 
reach 
the 
decision. 
And, 
we’ll 
have 
the 
increase 
in 
the 
future 
- For 
the 
expenses: 
If 
last 
year, 
there 
were 
excessive 
expenses, 
the 
new 
budget 
will 
take 
on 
this 
charge. 
The 
expenses 
can’t 
be 
deleted. 
They 
are 
transferred 
to 
the 
next 
year. 
It’ll 
be 
less 
efficient 
and 
it’s 
going 
to 
be 
wrong 
in 
the 
future. 
PERCENTAGE 
METHOD 
This 
method 
is 
similar 
to 
the 
previous 
one, 
but 
we 
increment/decrement 
a 
percentage 
of 
the 
expenses 
each 
year. 
Ø Based 
on 
the 
current 
% 
of 
each 
expense 
compared 
to 
total 
expenses 
Ø Uses 
the 
same 
% 
for 
next 
year. 
I 
keep 
the 
cost 
structure 
identical 
for 
the 
next 
year. 
Ø Based 
on 
the 
assumption 
that 
past 
year’s 
costs 
were 
justified 
and 
reasonable. 
Ø Any 
inefficiency 
may 
be 
reproduced 
in 
the 
new 
budget! 
« 
ZERO 
BASED 
» 
BUDGET 
Ø Build 
the 
expenses 
of 
the 
new 
budget 
« 
from 
scratch 
» 
Ø Previous 
year’s 
% 
are 
ignored 
Ø Each 
expense 
must 
be 
justified 
Ø Don’t 
produce 
inefficiencies 
in 
the 
new 
budget 
Ø But 
is 
really 
time 
and 
energy 
demanding 
Idea: 
I 
don’t 
want 
to 
look 
at 
what 
was 
happening 
last 
year, 
I 
want 
to 
start 
with 
a 
blank 
paper, 
I 
start 
from 
scratch. 
I 
don’t 
look 
at 
the 
figures 
from 
last 
year 
and 
increase/decrease
Management 
Accounting 
Control 
2012-­‐2013 
Manon 
Cuylits 
them. 
Each 
expense 
has 
to 
be 
justified 
then 
(>< 
2 
previous 
methods). 
Here 
I 
don’t 
reproduce 
inefficiencies. 
It 
takes 
a 
lot 
of 
time 
and 
a 
lot 
of 
energy 
to 
proceed 
like 
this. 
What 
would 
you 
recommend? 
Starting 
from 
scratch 
again 
might 
not 
be 
a 
bad 
idea 
from 
time 
to 
time. 
Zero 
based-­‐budget 
every 
year 
is 
not 
the 
good 
solution, 
but 
you 
might 
do 
it 
every 
couple 
of 
year 
or 
every 
3 
years. 
Every 
year 
is 
a 
bit 
too 
much. 
During 
2 
or 
3 
years, 
use 
then 
the 
easiest 
method: 
percentage 
method 
or 
incremental 
method. 
How 
many 
years? 
It 
depends 
from 
the 
business 
and 
from 
the 
volatility 
of 
the 
budget. 
44
Management 
Accounting 
Control 
2012-­‐2013 
Manon 
Cuylits 
45 
CHAPTER 
4: 
CAPITAL 
BUDGETING 
In 
the 
Management 
Control 
function 
you 
will 
have 
to 
make 
the 
good 
decisions 
and 
one 
of 
the 
usual 
decisions 
is 
an 
investment 
decision. 
Is 
it 
a 
good 
idea 
to 
invest 
in 
that 
machine? 
To 
invest 
in 
that 
company? 
To 
invest 
money 
there…? 
I 
will 
have 
to 
help 
the 
top 
management 
to 
take 
the 
right 
decision, 
the 
right 
investment 
decision. 
Whenever 
I 
need 
to 
invest 
money, 
not 
as 
current 
expenses, 
it’s 
going 
to 
be 
called 
capital 
budgeting. 
Capital 
Budgeting 
is 
the 
process 
of 
identifying, 
evaluating, 
and 
implementing 
a 
firm’s 
investment 
opportunities. 
It 
seeks 
to 
identify 
investments 
that 
will 
enhance 
a 
firm’s 
competitive 
advantage 
and 
increase 
shareholder 
wealth. 
You 
don’t 
invest 
in 
something 
if 
you 
don’t 
get 
a 
“payment” 
(?) 
The 
typical 
capital 
budgeting 
decision 
involves 
a 
large 
up-­‐front 
investment 
followed 
by 
a 
series 
of 
smaller 
cash 
inflows. 
If 
I 
want 
to 
use 
a 
robot 
in 
a 
factory, 
that’s 
a 
huge 
up-­‐front 
investment. 
Purchasing 
price 
+ 
installation 
+ 
training 
and 
so 
on, 
but 
why 
do 
I 
want 
to 
use 
a 
robot 
in 
a 
company? 
Because 
I 
will 
save 
some 
money, 
I 
want 
to 
automate 
some 
activities. 
Those 
smaller 
benefits 
I 
will 
get 
them 
on 
a 
long 
period 
of 
time. 
During 
10 
years 
for 
example 
I 
will 
save 
an 
amount 
of 
money, 
and 
that 
amount 
of 
money 
is 
the 
profit 
that 
I’ll 
get 
from 
that 
investment. 
I 
will 
then 
compare. 
In 
some 
cases 
the 
total 
profits 
are 
going 
to 
be 
higher 
but 
not 
always. 
If 
they 
are 
going 
to 
be 
higher, 
it’s 
a 
good 
idea 
to 
invest. 
Poor 
capital 
budgeting 
decisions 
can 
ultimately 
result 
in 
company 
bankruptcy. 
If 
I 
don’t 
look 
carefully 
enough 
to 
the 
figures, 
I 
might 
have 
problems. 
KEY 
MOTIVES 
FOR 
MAKING 
CAPITAL 
EXPENDITURES 
Expansion, 
Replacement, 
Renewal, 
Other 
purposes: 
- Replacing 
worn 
out 
or 
obsolete 
assets 
: 
machines, 
investments, 
equipment. 
- Improving 
business 
efficiency: 
new 
products 
up 
to 
date. 
- Acquiring 
assets 
for 
expansion 
into 
new 
products 
or 
market: 
most 
of 
the 
time, 
we 
need 
additional 
assets 
to 
enter 
into 
a 
new 
market. 
- Buying 
a 
new 
business 
- Comply 
with 
legal 
requirements: 
less 
emission, 
more 
ecological, 
trade 
union. 
- Satisfying 
workforce 
demands 
- Environmental 
requirements
Management 
Accounting 
Control 
2012-­‐2013 
Manon 
Cuylits 
46 
EXAMPLES 
OF 
MOTIVES 
FOR 
CAPITAL 
EXPENDITURES 
STEPS 
IN 
THE 
CAPITAL 
BUDGETING 
PROCESS
Management 
Accounting 
Control 
2012-­‐2013 
Manon 
Cuylits 
Overall 
process: 
I 
will 
ask 
people 
(everybody/the 
managers/etc.) 
to 
make 
proposals: 
“would 
you 
need 
some 
specific 
investments?” 
“Is 
there 
something 
you 
need?” 
They 
will 
then 
47 
generate 
proposals. 
Those 
proposals 
are 
not 
always 
going 
to 
be 
accepted. 
They 
will 
review 
and 
analyze 
those 
proposals 
in 
order 
to 
make 
a 
decision: 
which 
one 
am 
I 
going 
to 
accept/decline. 
They 
will 
then 
implement 
the 
investment 
and 
there’s 
going 
to 
be 
a 
follow-­‐up. 
BASIC 
TERMINOLOGY 
MUTUALLY 
EXCLUSIVE 
VS 
INDEPENDENT 
Ø Mutually 
Exclusive 
Projects 
are 
investments 
that 
compete 
in 
some 
way 
for 
a 
company’s 
resources. 
A 
firm 
can 
select 
one 
or 
another 
but 
not 
both. 
Ø Independent 
Projects, 
on 
the 
other 
hand, 
do 
not 
compete 
with 
the 
firm’s 
resources. 
A 
company 
can 
select 
one, 
or 
the 
other, 
or 
both 
-­‐ 
so 
long 
as 
they 
meet 
minimum 
profitability 
thresholds. 
UNLIMITED 
FUNDS 
VS 
CAPITAL 
Ø If 
the 
firm 
has 
unlimited 
funds 
for 
making 
investments, 
then 
all 
independent 
projects 
that 
provide 
returns 
greater 
than 
some 
specified 
level 
can 
be 
accepted 
and 
implemented. 
Ø However, 
in 
most 
cases 
firms 
face 
capital 
rationing 
restrictions 
since 
they 
only 
have 
a 
given 
amount 
of 
funds 
to 
invest 
in 
potential 
investment 
projects 
at 
any 
given 
time. 
You 
know 
that 
next 
year 
you 
will 
have 
to 
invest 
up 
to 
1.000.000 
euros… 
The 
total 
may 
not 
go 
beyond… 
ACCEPT-­‐REJECT 
VS 
RANKING
Management 
Accounting 
Control 
2012-­‐2013 
Manon 
Cuylits 
48 
Ø The 
accept-­‐reject 
approach 
involves 
the 
evaluation 
of 
capital 
expenditure 
proposals 
to 
determine 
whether 
they 
meet 
the 
firm’s 
minimum 
acceptance 
criteria. 
I 
may 
decide 
to 
look 
at 
every 
project 
with 
very 
specific 
acceptance 
criteria! 
My 
investment 
has 
to 
be 
profitable. 
Ø The 
ranking 
approach 
involves 
the 
ranking 
of 
capital 
expenditures 
on 
the 
basis 
of 
some 
predetermined 
measure, 
such 
as 
the 
rate 
of 
return. 
I 
could 
decide 
to 
keep 
the 
top 
3, 
or 
top 
5. 
If 
I 
accept 
to 
keep 
the 
top 
3, 
the 
3rd 
one 
might 
only 
have 
a 
3% 
return 
on 
investment, 
and 
I 
have 
to 
accept 
that. 
JUSKICI
Management 
Accounting 
Control 
2012-­‐2013 
Manon 
Cuylits 
49 
CHAPTER 
5: 
CASH 
FLOW 
Cash 
inflows: 
income 
specifically 
related 
to 
the 
project. 
In 
this 
case 
it’s 
always 
2000 
$, 
we 
don’t 
need 
to 
calculate 
to 
know 
if 
it’s 
profitable. 
The 
initial 
investment 
is 
10.000 
$ 
and 
we 
earn 
2000 
$ 
every 
year 
during 
8 
years. 
If 
we 
only 
had 
cash 
inflows 
during 
5 
years, 
would 
it 
be 
an 
interesting 
investment? 
No 
I 
prefer 
to 
have 
10.000 
$ 
now 
than 
in 
1 
year. 
Is 
it 
much 
profitable 
or 
not 
so 
much? 
If 
I 
want 
the 
answer 
I 
will 
have 
to 
make 
calculations. 
It’s 
not 
an 
income, 
it’s 
not 
a 
profit: 
it’s 
a 
cash 
flow! 
It’s 
not 
the 
same. 
In 
the 
example 
above 
we 
have 
cash 
flows 
every 
year. 
(Inflows 
and 
outflows) 
THE 
RELEVANT 
CASH 
FLOWS 
INCREMENTAL 
CASH 
FLOWS 
Incremental 
cash 
flows 
are 
cash 
flows 
specifically 
associated 
with 
the 
investment, 
and their 
effect 
on 
the 
firms 
other 
investments 
(both 
positive 
and 
negative) 
must 
also 
be 
considered.
Management 
Accounting 
Control 
2012-­‐2013 
Manon 
Cuylits 
For 
example, 
if 
a 
day-­‐care 
center 
decides 
to 
open 
another 
facility, 
the 
impact 
of 
customers 
who 
decide 
to 
move 
from 
one 
facility 
to 
the 
new 
facility 
must 
be 
considered. 
IKEA: 
They 
have 
a 
store 
in 
Zaventem 
& 
want 
to 
open 
a 
new 
store 
in 
Anderlecht. 
They 
open 
a 
new 
store 
in 
order 
to 
attract 
new 
customers. 
Nevertheless 
they 
will 
also 
attract 
existing 
customers 
of 
Zaventem: 
Cannibalization. 
50 
ð It 
will 
have 
to 
be 
taken 
into 
account. 
If 
I 
expect 
1.000.000 
euros 
sales, 
maybe 
in 
my 
calculation 
here 
that’s 
not 
1.000.000 
euros 
that 
I 
need 
to 
take 
into 
account. 
è 
Incremental 
cash 
flow. 
Maybe 
800.000 
will 
come 
from 
existing 
customers 
from 
other 
stores. 
Incremental 
= 
I 
decide 
to 
launch 
a 
project 
and 
because 
of 
that 
project, 
this 
cash 
flow 
shows 
up. 
MAIN 
COMPONENTS 
ð Initial 
Investment
Management 
Accounting 
Control 
2012-­‐2013 
Manon 
Cuylits 
ð Operating 
Cash 
inflows 
ð Terminal 
cash 
flow: 
I 
might 
have 
it 
the 
next 
year 
because 
some 
things 
could 
happen. 
51 
Typical 
way: 
Outflow 
(= 
initial 
investment) 
then 
series 
of 
inflows 
(= 
operating 
cash 
inflows 
and 
terminal 
cash 
flow) 
TERMINOLOGY 
APD 
ICI 
NOTES 
A 
LA 
MAIN 
EXPANSION 
VS 
REPLACEMENT 
CASH 
FLOWS 
EXPANSION 
CASH 
FLOWS 
è 
Ex: 
creating 
a 
new 
plant 
(a 
fourth 
one) 
No 
problem: 
Estimating 
incremental 
cash 
flows 
is 
relatively 
straightforward 
in 
the 
case 
of 
expansion 
projects, 
but 
not 
so 
in 
the 
case 
of 
replacement 
projects. 
è 
Cash-­‐flow 
specifically 
coming 
from 
the 
project/ 
specific 
to 
the 
project 
REPLACEMENT 
CASH 
FLOWS 
è 
Ex: 
you 
want 
to 
replace 
something 
(machine, 
pc, 
etc.) 
With 
replacement 
projects, 
incremental 
cash 
flows 
must 
be 
computed 
by 
subtracting 
existing 
project 
cash 
flows 
from 
those 
expected 
from 
the 
new 
project. 
Incremental 
cash 
flows 
must 
be 
calculated 
by 
subtracting 
everything 
that’s 
coming 
from 
the 
old 
equipment 
because 
it 
might 
generate 
cash 
flows 
when 
existing.
Management 
Accounting 
Control 
2012-­‐2013 
Manon 
Cuylits 
52 
Those 
are 
the 
formulas 
that 
we 
are 
going 
to 
use. 
SUNK 
COSTS 
VS 
OPPORTUNITY 
COSTS 
• Note 
that 
cash 
outlays 
already 
made 
(sunk 
costs) 
are 
irrelevant 
to 
the 
decision 
process. 
• However, 
opportunity 
costs, 
which 
are 
cash 
flows 
that 
could 
be 
realized 
from 
the 
best 
alternative 
use 
of 
the 
asset, 
are 
relevant. 
INTERNATIONAL 
CAPITAL 
BUDGETING 
• International 
capital 
budgeting 
analysis 
differs 
from 
purely 
domestic 
analysis 
because: 
o Cash 
inflows 
and 
outflows 
occur 
in 
a 
foreign 
currency, 
and 
o Foreign 
investments 
potentially 
face 
significant 
political 
risks 
• Despite 
these 
risk, 
the 
pace 
of 
foreign 
direct 
investment 
has 
accelerated 
significantly 
since 
the 
end 
of 
WWII. 
EXAMPLES 
OF 
RELEVANT 
CASH 
FLOWS 
ü Cash 
inflows, 
outflows, 
and 
opportunity 
costs 
ü Changes 
in 
working 
capital 
ü Installation, 
removal 
and 
training 
costs
Management 
Accounting 
Control 
2012-­‐2013 
Manon 
Cuylits 
53 
ü Terminal 
values 
ü Depreciation 
CATEGORIES 
OF 
CASH 
FLOWS: 
• Initial 
Cash 
Flows 
are 
cash 
flows 
resulting 
initially 
from 
the 
project. 
These 
are 
typically 
net 
negative 
outflows. 
• Operating 
Cash 
Flows 
are 
the 
cash 
flows 
generated 
by 
the 
project 
during 
its 
operation. 
These 
cash 
flows 
typically 
net 
positive 
cash 
flows. 
• Terminal 
Cash 
Flows 
result 
from 
the 
disposition 
of 
the 
project. 
These 
are 
typically 
positive 
net 
cash 
flows. 
FINDING 
THE 
INITIAL 
INVESTMENT 
The 
basic 
format 
for 
determining 
initial 
investment: 
EXAMPLE: 
TAX 
TREATMENT 
ON 
SALES 
OF 
ASSETS
Management 
Accounting 
Control 
2012-­‐2013 
Manon 
Cuylits 
Powell 
Corporation, 
a 
large 
diversified 
manufacturer 
of 
aircraft 
components, 
is 
trying 
to 
determine 
the 
initial 
investment 
required 
to 
replace 
an 
old 
machine 
with 
a 
new, 
more 
sophisticated 
model. 
The 
machine’s 
purchase 
price 
is 
$380,000 
and 
an 
additional 
$20,000 
will 
be 
necessary 
to 
install 
it. 
It 
will 
be 
depreciated 
under 
MACRS 
using 
a 
6-­‐year 
recovery 
period. 
The 
firm 
has 
found 
a 
buyer 
willing 
to 
pay 
$280,000 
for 
the 
present 
machine 
and 
remove 
it 
at 
the 
buyers 
expense. 
The 
firm 
expects 
that 
a 
$35,000 
increase 
in 
current 
assets 
and 
an 
$18,000 
increase 
in 
current 
liabilities 
will 
accompany 
the 
replacement. 
Both 
ordinary 
income 
and 
capital 
gains 
are 
taxed 
at 
40%. 
54
Management 
Accounting 
Control 
2012-­‐2013 
Manon 
Cuylits 
55 
FINDING 
THE 
OPERATING 
CASH-­‐FLOW
Management 
Accounting 
Control 
2012-­‐2013 
Manon 
Cuylits 
Powell 
Corporation’s 
estimates 
of 
its 
revenues 
and 
expenses 
(excluding 
depreciation), 
with 
and 
without 
the 
new 
machine 
described 
in 
the 
preceding 
example, 
are 
given 
in 
next 
slide. 
Note 
that 
both 
the 
expected 
usable 
life 
of 
the 
proposed 
machine 
and 
the 
remaining 
usable 
life 
of 
the 
existing 
machine 
are 
5 
years. 
The 
amount 
to 
be 
depreciated 
with 
the 
proposed 
machine 
is 
calculated 
by 
summing 
the 
purchase 
price 
of 
$380,000 
and 
the 
installation 
costs 
of 
$20,000. 
56
Management 
Accounting 
Control 
2012-­‐2013 
Manon 
Cuylits 
57
Management 
Accounting 
Control 
2012-­‐2013 
Manon 
Cuylits 
58
Management 
Accounting 
Control 
2012-­‐2013 
Manon 
Cuylits 
59 
FINDING 
THE 
TERMINAL 
CASH-­‐FLOW 
Continuing 
with 
the 
Powell 
Corporation 
example, 
assume 
that 
the 
firm 
expects 
to 
be 
able 
to 
liquidate 
the 
new 
machine 
at 
the 
end 
of 
its 
5-­‐year 
useable 
life 
to 
net 
$50,000 
after 
paying 
removal 
and 
cleanup 
costs. 
The 
old 
machine 
can 
be 
liquidated 
at 
the 
end 
of 
the 
5 
years 
to
Management 
Accounting 
Control 
2012-­‐2013 
Manon 
Cuylits 
net 
$0 
because 
it 
will 
then 
be 
completely 
obsolete. 
The 
firm 
expects 
to 
recover 
its 
$17,000 
net 
working 
capital 
investment 
upon 
termination 
of 
the 
project. 
Again, 
the 
tax 
rate 
is 
40%. 
60 
SUMMARIZING 
THE 
RELEVANT 
CASH 
FLOWS 
HOW 
TO 
HANDLE 
UNCERTAINTY 
• Sensitivity 
Analysis 
-­‐ 
Analysis 
of 
the 
effects 
of 
changes 
in 
sales, 
costs, 
etc. 
on 
a 
project. 
• Scenario 
Analysis 
-­‐ 
Project 
analysis 
given 
a 
particular 
combination 
of 
assumptions. 
• Simulation 
Analysis 
-­‐ 
Estimation 
of 
the 
probabilities 
of 
different 
possible 
outcomes.
Management 
Accounting 
Control 
2012-­‐2013 
Manon 
Cuylits 
61 
• Break 
Even 
Analysis 
-­‐ 
Analysis 
of 
the 
level 
of 
sales 
(or 
other 
variable) 
at 
which 
the 
company 
breaks 
even. 
SENSITIVITY 
ANALYSIS 
EXAMPLE 
Given 
the 
expected 
cash 
flow 
forecasts 
listed 
on 
the 
next 
slide, 
determine 
the 
NPV 
of 
the 
project 
given 
changes 
in 
the 
cash 
flow 
components 
using 
an 
8% 
cost 
of 
capital. 
Assume 
that 
all 
variables 
remain 
constant, 
except 
the 
one 
you 
are 
changing. 
POSSIBLE 
OUTCOMES
Management 
Accounting 
Control 
2012-­‐2013 
Manon 
Cuylits 
62 
NPV 
calculations 
for 
pessimistic 
investment 
scenario 
NPV 
Possibilities 
SCENARIO 
ANALYSIS 
EXAMPLE 
(CONTINUED) 
Cash-­‐flow 
(year 
1-­‐12)
Management 
Accounting 
Control 
2012-­‐2013 
Manon 
Cuylits 
63 
BREAK 
EVEN 
ANALYSIS 
EXAMPLE 
Given 
the 
forecasted 
data 
on 
the 
next 
slide, 
determine 
the 
number 
of 
planes 
that 
the 
company 
must 
produce 
in 
order 
to 
break 
even, 
on 
an 
NPV 
basis. 
The 
company’s 
cost 
of 
capital 
is 
10%. 
ANSWER 
Ø The 
break 
even 
point, 
is 
the 
# 
of 
Planes 
Sold 
that 
generates 
a 
NPV=$0. 
Ø The 
present 
value 
annuity 
factor 
of 
a 
6 
year 
cash 
flow 
at 
10% 
is 
4.355 
Thus,
Management 
Accounting 
Control 
2012-­‐2013 
Manon 
Cuylits 
64 
Solving 
for 
“Planes 
Sold” 
Planes 
sold 
= 
63
Management 
Accounting 
Control 
2012-­‐2013 
Manon 
Cuylits 
65 
CHAPTER 
6: 
BUSINESS 
EVOLUTION 
WHAT 
ARE 
THE 
KEY 
ELEMENTS 
OF 
THE 
RECENT 
BUSINESS 
EVOLUTION? 
How 
can 
we 
collect 
info 
from 
operations? 
It’s 
difficult 
to 
measure 
things 
especially 
in 
this 
environment. 
ð More 
cross-­‐functionality 
Take 
large 
processes 
that 
analyze 
more 
process. 
ð Stronger 
relationships 
with 
Customers 
& 
suppliers 
Relationship 
with 
the 
customer 
is 
much 
stronger, 
same 
for 
the 
suppliers. 
Today 
many 
automobile 
manufacturers 
say 
to 
the 
suppliers: 
we’ll 
five 
you 
access 
to 
all 
computer 
systems, 
you 
will 
look 
when 
we 
need 
raw 
materials 
and 
you 
will 
bring 
them 
to 
the 
manufacturing 
place, 
so 
that 
we 
don’t 
interfere 
with 
you. 
You 
enter 
the 
manufacturing 
place 
and 
you 
bring 
it 
to 
the 
place 
where 
it’s 
needed. 
ð The 
market 
requirements 
ð Globalization 
ð More 
need 
for 
innovation: 
o Shorter 
life 
cycles 
(much 
shorter, 
especially 
in 
electronic 
equipment). 
o Time-­‐to-­‐market 
more 
critical: 
time 
it 
takes 
to 
bring 
to 
the 
market 
a 
new 
product 
or 
service. 
ð Competencies 
are 
enhanced
Management 
Accounting 
Control 
2012-­‐2013 
Manon 
Cuylits 
66 
Level 
of 
needed 
competencies 
is 
much 
higher 
PARALLEL 
BUSINESS 
TOOLS 
EVOLUTION: 
ð TQM 
= 
Total 
Quality 
Management. 
Focus 
on 
customer 
helps. 
Way 
to 
secure 
the 
output 
of 
the 
process 
and 
not 
only 
it 
is 
good 
but 
it’s 
exactly 
what 
the 
customers 
expect 
to 
have. 
In 
many 
cases 
company 
from 
the 
apst 
were 
ready 
to 
accept 
... 
the 
right 
output. 
TQM 
doesn’t 
accept 
that 
idea. 
95% 
of 
the 
customers 
are 
good 
but 
it 
means 
that 
5% 
that’s 
not 
good 
and 
that 
costs 
a 
lot 
of 
money. 
ð JIT 
Just 
In 
Time: 
work 
without 
intermediate 
inventories. 
… 
Whenever 
there’s 
a 
problem 
the 
full 
line 
has 
to 
stop, 
that’s 
what 
Toyota 
developed. 
ð TBC 
= 
Time 
Based 
Competition 
All 
the 
tools 
that 
will 
help 
the 
company 
to 
shorten 
le 
life 
cycle, 
the 
production 
cycle, 
etc. 
ð Lean 
production 
A 
production 
with 
a 
minimum 
of 
overrates 
Minimum 
production 
overate: 
minimum 
administration 
and 
so 
on.
Management 
Accounting 
Control 
2012-­‐2013 
Manon 
Cuylits 
67 
ð Customer-­‐focused 
organization 
No 
explanation 
ð Re-­‐engineering 
Completely 
re-­‐inventing 
an 
existing 
process 
because 
we 
are 
not 
happy 
with 
this 
process. 
Replace 
a 
process 
with 
a 
new 
one. 
Just 
a 
human 
improvement 
isn’t 
enough, 
there’s 
a 
need 
to 
change 
the 
process. 
Ex: 
manually 
=> 
by 
computer. 
Process 
have 
a 
cost, 
it 
takes 
a 
while 
and 
has 
some 
cost. 
In 
90 
to 
95% 
of 
the 
cases, 
the 
process 
cost 
was 
higher 
than 
the 
repair 
cost. 
If 
it’s 
higher, 
that’s 
non-­‐sense, 
something 
is 
wrong 
with 
that 
process, 
need 
to 
change 
this 
process, 
to 
use 
a 
new 
one. 
ð ABC 
Quite 
recent. 
ð Empowerment 
Giving 
authority 
to 
people. 
BUT… 
ð Results 
sporadic 
or 
disappointing. 
Results 
are 
not 
really 
good. 
Many 
companies 
are 
not 
happy 
with 
that. 
There 
has 
been 
some 
improvement 
but… 
ð Weak 
cause-­‐and-­‐effect 
relationship 
with 
the 
strategy 
ð Limitations 
of 
finance 
and 
accounting 
tools 
and 
methods. 
For 
example, 
how 
to 
measure 
the 
financial 
value 
of: 
(Standard 
accounting 
methods 
=> 
very 
clear 
limitations) 
o New 
products 
« 
in 
the 
pipe-­‐line 
»?
Management 
Accounting 
Control 
2012-­‐2013 
Manon 
Cuylits 
You 
have 
money 
you 
want 
to 
invest 
(?), 
let’s 
imagine 
you 
want 
to 
invest 
in 
pharmaceutical 
company, 
you 
hesitate 
between 
2, 
the 
figures 
are 
the 
same 
for 
both 
companies 
(Balance 
Sheet, 
Profit 
and 
Loss 
statement, 
… 
everything 
based 
on 
the 
financial 
information 
is 
the 
same!) 
but 
you 
know 
that 
one 
company 
has 
20 
products 
under 
development, 
while 
the 
second 
one 
has 
only 
10! 
Which 
of 
the 
two 
are 
you 
going 
to 
chose? 
Which 
one 
is 
more 
likely 
to 
succeed? 
The 
first 
one 
! 
20 
products 
in 
the 
pipe-­‐line. 
68 
o Process 
capability? 
What’s 
the 
process 
is 
capable 
of 
doing 
or 
not? 
When 
you 
take 
two 
identical 
production 
lines 
(same 
machines, 
process, 
etc.), 
you 
start 
one 
production 
line 
in 
Europe 
and 
the 
other 
in 
Japan. 
Systematically 
after 
a 
couple 
of 
years, 
one 
production 
line 
is 
doing 
better 
than 
the 
other. 
Its 
capability 
has 
been 
improved, 
but 
no 
investment 
has 
been 
made. 
Financially 
it’s 
impossible 
to 
detect 
that 
smth 
has 
been 
changed. 
Changing 
in 
some 
of 
the 
production 
steps, 
… 
something 
happened 
that’s 
not 
possible 
to 
detect 
from 
a 
financial 
point 
of 
view. 
Better 
company 
but 
again, 
impossible 
to 
see 
that 
from 
a 
financial 
point 
of 
view. 
o Personnel 
competency? 
Not 
smth 
that 
you 
can 
measure 
based 
on 
the 
financial 
and 
accounting 
data? 
You 
can 
pay 
someone 
more, 
but 
it 
doesn’t 
mean 
he’s 
better 
or 
works 
better. 
o Customer 
loyalty? 
More 
able 
to 
invest 
if 
I 
see 
a 
better 
loyalty 
from 
customers. 
o Quality 
of 
the 
databases? 
ð No 
systematic 
feedback 
process 
on 
the 
effectiveness 
of 
the 
strategy. 
MAC 
is 
about 
giving 
a 
good 
visibility 
to 
take 
good 
decisions.
Management 
Accounting 
Control 
2012-­‐2013 
Manon 
Cuylits 
69 
LIMITS 
OF 
FINANCIAL 
MEASUREMENTS 
OF 
PERFORMANCE 
ð Focus 
on 
the 
short 
term, 
less 
on 
long-­‐term 
investments 
ð The 
system 
favours 
tangible 
investments, 
with 
an 
easy-­‐to-­‐ 
measure 
return 
ð Too 
much 
emphasis 
on 
investments 
that 
can 
easily 
be 
valued 
ð Companies 
with 
high 
amounts 
of 
assets 
can 
operate 
unefficiently 
as 
long 
as 
short-­‐ 
term 
results 
are 
good. 
Investing 
in 
training, 
reputation 
of 
a 
company… 
Whenever 
a 
company 
wants 
to 
invest 
in 
a 
huge 
machine 
or 
smth 
else, 
you 
will 
find 
a 
financial 
analysis 
with 
details… 
A 
BALANCE 
IS 
NEEDED 
BETWEEN: 
ð Traditional 
financial 
measurements: 
you 
need 
to 
complement 
them 
with 
other 
types 
of 
measurement: 
ð The 
specific 
needs 
of 
the 
new 
business 
environnement 
AND 
YOU 
ALSO 
NEED 
A 
BALANCE 
BETWEEN: 
ð Short-­‐term 
constraints 
ð Long-­‐term 
goal 
Complement 
traditional 
financial 
measurements 
(focused 
on 
the 
past) 
with 
measurements 
on 
« 
drivers 
» 
of 
future 
performance. 
“BALANCES”
Management 
Accounting 
Control 
2012-­‐2013 
Manon 
Cuylits 
Balance 
between 
the 
financial 
type 
of 
measurement 
and 
the 
non 
financial 
type 
of 
measurement. 
More 
and 
more, 
for 
a 
Management 
Controller, 
the 
reporting 
will 
be 
made 
by 
a 
mix 
of 
those 
2 
elements. 
A 
good 
reporting 
is 
not 
linked 
to 
… 
it’s 
a 
mix 
of 
financial 
information 
and 
non-­‐financial 
information. 
Cost, 
profitability, 
sales, 
amount 
of 
sales, 
… 
etc. 
all 
those 
examples 
are 
financial 
pieces 
of 
information. 
Non-­‐financial 
information: 
(necessary 
for 
business 
to 
take 
decisions) 
Customer 
loyalty, 
customer 
satisfaction, 
employee’s 
motivation, 
etc. 
are 
not 
financial! 
It’s 
crucial 
for 
the 
business 
but 
you 
don’t 
measure 
it 
financially. 
Non-­‐financial 
information 
are 
much 
more 
oriented 
towards 
the 
future. 
It 
doesn’t 
mean 
we 
can 
measure 
the 
future, 
that’s 
impossible. 
Customer 
satisfaction: 
why 
do 
we 
pay 
attention 
to 
that? 
Probably 
because 
if 
you 
get 
satisfied 
customers 
you 
will 
get 
more 
sales. 
When 
I 
measure 
it, 
it’s 
because 
IN 
THE 
FUTURE 
I 
hope 
to 
have 
more 
sales. 
If 
I 
see 
an 
increase, 
I 
may 
expect, 
in 
the 
future, 
to 
have 
increased 
sales. 
70 
This 
is 
sometimes 
called 
a 
driver 
of 
financial 
reasons. 
And 
it’s 
good 
to 
pay 
attention 
to 
what’s 
the 
driver 
of 
financial 
reasons. 
Sometimes 
the 
driver 
is 
going 
to 
be 
non 
financial 
reason. 
EXERCISE 
ð Provide 
a 
definition 
of 
« 
strategy» 
ð Provide 
3 
attributes 
of 
a 
sound 
strategy
Management 
Accounting 
Control 
2012-­‐2013 
Manon 
Cuylits 
71 
ð Name 
5 
company’s 
areas 
that 
might 
be 
impacted 
by 
a 
strategy 
4 
categories 
of 
measurement: 
-­‐ CUSTOMERS: 
information 
related 
to 
customers: 
financial 
or 
not. 
But 
when 
it 
relates 
to 
customer, 
I 
put 
the 
measurements 
inot 
that 
category 
-­‐ FINANCIAL: 
that’s 
where 
I’ll 
put 
all 
my 
financial 
measurements 
(ROI, 
etc.). 
-­‐ INTERNAL 
BUSINESS 
PROCESSES: 
production 
processes, 
logistic 
processes, 
distribution 
processes, 
etc. 
whenever 
a 
measurement 
is 
related 
to 
that, 
I 
will 
put 
it 
into 
that 
category. 
-­‐ LEARNING 
& 
GROWTH: 
Where 
I 
will 
put 
any 
measurement 
related 
to 
the 
people, 
generally 
speaking. 
Personal 
development. 
Learning 
(training, 
etc.). 
Any 
measurement 
related 
to 
the 
development 
of 
the 
needed 
competencies. 
Things 
like 
measurement 
of 
the 
competencies 
needed, 
employee 
satisfaction/moral/retention/turnover 
etc., 
training 
level, 
training 
effort, 
training 
cost. 
All 
those 
things. 
It 
has 
to 
be 
related 
to 
personal. 
Any 
important 
business 
measurement 
can 
be 
put 
into 
one 
of 
those 
4 
categories. 
When 
you 
want 
to 
define 
and 
manage 
a 
strategy, 
you 
have 
to 
translate 
your 
strategy 
into 
those 
4 
categories. 
I 
can’t 
imagine 
that 
it’s 
possible 
to 
have 
a 
strategy 
that 
doesn’t 
have 
an 
impact 
on 
those 
4 
categories. 
A 
strategy 
impact 
on 
the 
categories!
Management 
Accounting 
Control 
2012-­‐2013 
Manon 
Cuylits 
72 
A 
very 
good 
reporting 
system 
will 
have 
to 
address 
at 
minimum 
measurement 
in 
those 
4 
categories. 
If 
not, 
bad. 
In 
terms 
of 
finance, 
the 
basic 
question 
you 
have 
to 
answer 
to: 
“how 
do 
we 
look 
to 
shareholders?” 
=> 
Maximum 
profit? 
Regular 
profit? 
Secured 
profit? 
What 
do 
they 
want? 
It 
might 
change 
from 
one 
shareholder 
to 
another! 
They 
don’t 
want 
necessarily 
the 
maximum. 
The 
answer 
to 
that 
question 
will 
tell 
you 
what 
you 
need 
to 
put 
in 
term 
of 
measurement. 
The 
measurement 
is 
going 
to 
provide 
the 
right 
visibility. 
One 
I 
answered 
the 
previous 
question: 
In 
a 
customer 
perspective: 
“how 
do 
customers 
see 
us?”. 
Ex: 
for 
Ryanair: 
they 
want 
to 
be 
seen 
as 
the 
cheapest 
flying 
company. 
It 
depends 
on 
who 
are 
your 
customers. 
In 
an 
internal 
business 
process 
perspective: 
“what 
must 
we 
excel 
at?”. 
Where 
you 
need 
to 
be 
excellent, 
to 
perform 
really 
well? 
It 
may 
be 
a 
distribution 
process, 
a 
marketing 
process, 
a 
R&D 
process. 
It 
depends 
on 
the 
question 
above: 
how 
you 
want 
to 
be 
perceived. 
Not 
all 
your 
business 
processes 
need 
to 
be 
top, 
only 
some 
of 
them. 
Given 
the 
processes 
where 
I 
need 
to 
be 
very 
good, 
I 
can 
ask 
me 
the 
following 
question.
Management 
Accounting 
Control 
2012-­‐2013 
Manon 
Cuylits 
In 
an 
innovation 
& 
Learning 
perspective: 
“Can 
we 
continue 
to 
improve 
our 
employees 
skills 
and 
create 
value 
for 
our 
clients?” 
73 
… 
We’ll 
start 
to 
look 
into 
each 
of 
those 
categories. 
Measurements 
are 
not 
enough. 
Companies 
need 
a 
strategy 
management 
system, 
aiming 
at: 
ð Clarify 
and 
translate 
vision 
and 
strategy 
ð Communicate 
strategic 
objectives 
and 
measurements, 
and 
make 
a 
clear 
link 
between 
them. 
ð Plan 
and 
align 
strategic 
initiatives 
stratégiques, 
and 
assign 
them 
objectives. 
ð Improve 
the 
feedback 
and 
the 
learning 
process. 
OPERATIONAL 
AND 
STRATEGIC 
FEEDBACK 
Operational 
loop 
– 
strategic 
loop 
(cf. 
previous 
course).
Management 
Accounting 
Control 
2012-­‐2013 
Manon 
Cuylits 
Strategic 
measurement 
=> 
4 
categories: 
finance, 
customers, 
employees, 
internal 
processes. 
It’s 
going 
to 
help 
to 
translate 
strategy 
into 
measurement. 
Measurement 
of 
outcome 
and 
Outcome 
= 
operational 
output. 
A 
mix 
of 
financial 
and 
non-­‐financial 
key 
indicators: 
is 
that 
enough 
to 
have 
a 
sound 
measurement 
system? 
Is 
it 
enough? 
NO 
! 
Why? 
Because 
you 
need 
to 
have 
measurements 
but 
also 
objectives. 
When 
I 
see 
a 
measurement 
without 
an 
objective, 
… 
it 
doesn’t 
make 
sense. 
Do 
you 
achieve 
this 
objective? 
If 
a 
measurement 
not 
related 
to 
an 
objective: 
why 
do 
you 
measure 
that? 
74 
For 
example, 
a 
BSC 
(Balanced 
ScoreCard) 
is 
made 
out 
of 
a 
serie 
of 
objectives 
and 
measurements 
with 
a 
clear 
link 
between 
them, 
consistant 
and 
mutually 
reinforcing. 
Think 
about 
flight 
simulator... 
Focus 
on 
the 
cause-­‐and-­‐effect 
relationship: 
ð A 
strategy 
is 
a 
set 
of 
assumptions 
about 
cause-­‐ 
and-­‐effect 
relationships. 
ð These 
relationships 
must 
be 
explicit, 
so 
that 
they 
can 
be 
managed...and 
validated. 
ð They 
must 
cover 
4 
perspectives. 
The 
flow 
of 
cause 
and 
effect 
is 
always 
the 
same. 
Start 
from 
the 
top. 
New 
definition 
of 
a 
strategy.
Management 
Accounting 
Control 
2012-­‐2013 
Manon 
Cuylits 
75 
LINKAGE 
BETWEEN 
CAUSES 
AND 
STRATEGIC 
ACTIVITIES
Management 
Accounting 
Control 
2012-­‐2013 
Manon 
Cuylits 
76 
An 
example 
of 
a 
cause 
and 
effect 
relationship 
can 
be 
outlined 
as 
follows: 
ð IF 
we 
improve 
Leadership 
Capability 
AND 
give 
employees 
the 
Skills 
and 
Training 
they 
need 
to 
perform 
their 
jobs, 
THEN 
we 
will 
improve 
Employee 
Satisfaction 
& 
Motivation 
ð Consequently, 
IF 
we 
improve 
Employee 
Satisfaction 
& 
Motivation, 
THEN 
Productivity 
will 
increase 
since 
Employee 
Satisfaction 
& 
Motivation 
is 
a 
driver 
of 
Productivity 
ð IF 
we 
increase 
Productivity, 
THEN 
Cost 
will 
Decrease 
which 
will 
ultimately 
result 
in 
an 
Increased 
Return 
on 
Investment
Management 
Accounting 
Control 
2012-­‐2013 
Manon 
Cuylits 
77 
BSC 
= 
Balanced 
ScoreCard. 
Are 
there 
positive 
aspects 
to 
that? 
1 
without 
2: 
Lagging 
indicators 
without 
Leading 
indicators 
ð Is 
silent 
about 
how 
to 
achieve 
results 
ð Does 
not 
provide 
early 
feedback 
on 
the 
success 
of 
strategy 
implementation 
2 
without 
1: 
Leading 
indicators 
without 
Lagging 
indicators 
ð May 
well 
provide 
short-­‐term 
operational 
improvement 
ð But 
is 
silent 
about 
whether 
this 
is 
translated 
into 
sales 
increase, 
new 
customers, 
market 
shares, 
financial 
results, 
...
Management 
Accounting 
Control 
2012-­‐2013 
Manon 
Cuylits 
78 
It’s 
good 
to 
start 
with 
generic 
measurements: 
First 
you 
will 
plan. 
When 
am 
I 
going 
to 
start? 
You 
don’t 
have 
to 
panic 
cause 
you 
can 
always 
start 
with 
generic 
measurement. 
… 
Generic 
measurement: 
you 
need 
to 
look 
at 
it 
when 
you 
start 
from 
scratch, 
when 
you 
start 
with 
a 
white 
sheet 
of 
paper. 
Financial: 
Most 
of 
the 
time 
you 
will 
measure 
2 
or 
3 
financial 
elements, 
like 
ROI. 
Customer
Management 
Accounting 
Control 
2012-­‐2013 
Manon 
Cuylits 
Internal 
processes: 
you 
need 
to 
have 
an 
idea 
about 
the 
output. 
You 
need 
a 
quality 
measurement. 
Those 
3 
elements 
are 
absolutely 
necessary. 
Why? 
If 
you 
only 
want 
a 
good 
quality, 
it 
might 
be 
really 
expensive 
(cost). 
You 
should 
say 
“I 
want 
a 
good 
quality 
but 
not 
at 
any 
cost”. 
… 
Learning 
and 
growth: 
Important 
to 
have 
satisfied 
employees. 
You 
have 
to 
find 
a 
way 
to 
make 
your 
employees 
happy. 
Salary 
is 
not 
the 
best 
way, 
but 
empowerment, 
team 
spirit 
etc. 
are. 
… 
A 
balanced 
set 
of 
measurement 
will 
be 
set 
between 
a 
balance 
in 
those 
4 
categories??? 
… 
High 
correlation 
between 
some 
of 
those 
elements: 
ex: 
difficult 
to 
ask 
a 
non-­‐satisfied 
employee 
to 
be 
innovative. 
79 
Now 
we 
need 
to 
get 
more 
specific 
measurements, 
related 
to 
a 
given 
strategy. 
Examples 
of 
strategic 
focus: 
ð Business 
growth 
– 
one 
aspect 
may 
be 
the 
BG. 
My 
strategy 
is 
“I 
want 
to 
grow 
my 
business”. 
It 
can 
be 
growth 
through 
acquisition, 
or 
another 
type 
of 
growth. 
Not 
all 
strategies 
are 
growth-­‐oriented. 
ð To 
lower 
the 
risk 
for 
example 
through 
diversification. 
It 
can 
also 
be 
another 
strategic 
focus. 
ð To 
increase 
the 
productivity 
or 
to 
lower 
the 
cost. 
ð Etc. 
Most 
of 
the 
time 
the 
MC 
is 
not 
part 
of 
the 
team 
who’s 
going 
to 
decide 
on 
the 
strategy. 
He 
is 
in 
the 
middle 
management, 
not 
in 
the 
top 
management. 
=> 
The 
clearer 
the 
strategic 
focus, 
the 
less 
measurement 
needed. 
<= 
PERSPECTIVE 
MEASUREMENT
Management 
Accounting 
Control 
2012-­‐2013 
Manon 
Cuylits 
80 
FINANCIAL 
PERSPECTIVE 
On 
which 
critical 
factors 
depend 
the 
relevant 
financial 
objectives? 
ON 
THE 
LIFE 
CYCLE 
Growth: 
Example 
of 
the 
CD. 
It 
has 
been 
invented 
25 
years 
ago 
(+/-­‐). 
Sales 
boomed 
for 
some 
years 
and 
then 
it 
became 
stable 
and 
now 
it’s 
decreasing 
because 
it’s 
the 
end 
of 
the 
CD’s 
life. 
It’s 
the 
same 
for 
any 
product. 
ROCI 
= 
Return 
On 
Capital 
Investment. 
Sustrain: 
That’s 
where 
you 
really 
need 
to 
have 
a 
great 
profitability. 
ROCE 
= 
Return 
On 
Capital 
Employed. 
… 
depending 
on 
where 
I 
am 
I 
will 
get 
more 
attention 
to 
some 
of 
the 
financial 
measurement 
& 
objectives 
(?) 
MAIN 
STRATEGIC 
THEMES
Management 
Accounting 
Control 
2012-­‐2013 
Manon 
Cuylits 
I 
may 
want 
to 
growth 
my 
revenue, 
to 
reduce 
my 
cost, 
or 
else. 
E.g.: 
In 
some 
businesses, 
like 
the 
printing 
companies 
(newspapers), 
it’s 
quite 
impressive 
cause 
sales 
are 
huge, 
and 
one 
of 
the 
printers 
is 
a 
100-­‐meter 
long, 
and 
is 
really 
expensive. 
That 
asset 
has 
to 
run 
all 
the 
time; 
it 
may 
not 
stop, 
in 
such 
a 
business. 
Whenever 
it 
stops, 
I 
loose 
a 
lot 
of 
money. 
The 
asset 
HAS 
to 
work. 
(Asset 
usage). 
Ryanair 
wants 
to 
minimize 
the 
time 
the 
plane 
is 
on 
the 
ground, 
that’s 
what 
they 
pay 
attention 
to! 
Planes 
are 
staying 
25 
minutes 
on 
the 
ground 
between 
two 
flights. 
81
Management 
Accounting 
Control 
2012-­‐2013 
Manon 
Cuylits 
82 
I 
have 
all 
possible 
combinations. 
Depending 
on 
where 
you 
are, 
you 
will 
probably 
favour 
specific 
measurements. 
CUSTOMER 
PERSPECTIVE 
Represent 
the 
sources 
of 
the 
« 
revenues 
» 
that 
are 
part 
of 
the 
financial 
objectives. 
Customers 
are 
going 
to 
bring 
me 
money 
=> 
Sources 
of 
revenues. 
If 
they 
are 
happy 
to 
do 
business 
with 
me, 
first 
they 
will 
come 
back, 
and 
second 
they 
might 
be 
ready 
to 
pay 
some 
more 
money. 
If 
they 
are 
not 
happy 
they 
might 
leave 
to 
go 
to 
the 
competitor. 
GENERIC 
MEASUREMENTS 
Some 
generic 
measurement 
related 
to 
customers 
: 
- Customer 
satisfaction 
: 
a 
company 
wants 
to 
have 
the 
answers 
to 
the 
question 
of 
satisfaction. 
If 
a 
product 
fulfills 
the 
customer 
needs 
and 
expectations. 
If 
a 
customer 
is 
highly 
satisfied, 
he’ll 
be 
loyal 
to 
the 
company 
and 
we’ll 
have 
a 
high 
level 
of 
customer 
retention. 
The 
way 
to 
measure 
it 
is 
to 
run 
a 
customer 
survey. 
The 
customer 
satisfaction 
is 
driver 
of 
the 
customer 
retention 
and 
customer 
profitability 
because 
customers 
will 
be 
ready 
to 
buy 
a 
product 
at 
a 
very 
high 
price. 
- Customer 
acquisition 
: 
the 
mouth-­‐to-­‐mouth 
effect 
is 
an 
essential 
element 
to 
acquire 
new 
customers. 
Rien 
suivi. 
ð Measured 
by 
most 
of 
companies. 
It’s 
not 
because 
it’s 
generic 
that 
it’s 
not 
good 
for 
us. 
It 
probably 
is.
Management 
Accounting 
Control 
2012-­‐2013 
Manon 
Cuylits 
83 
BEYOND 
GENERIC 
MEASUREMENTS 
Measurements 
on 
attributes 
(factors) 
Beyond 
generic 
measurement, 
there 
are 
measurements 
on 
attributes 
(factors) 
: 
Value 
= 
product/Service 
attributes 
+ 
image 
+ 
relations 
- Product/service 
attributes: 
it 
lies 
in 
functionality, 
quality, 
price 
and 
time. 
- Image: 
the 
image 
of 
a 
brand 
can 
influence 
customer’s 
choice 
(ex 
: 
Abercrombie, 
Ferrari). 
It 
will 
pass 
a 
message. 
- Relation: 
the 
relations 
with 
the 
customer 
can 
play 
a 
role 
! 
Each 
product 
of 
service 
represent 
a 
value 
… 
It 
may 
come 
from 
the 
image 
or 
frome 
a 
specific 
relationship 
you 
have 
with 
a 
company. 
Attributes: 
-­‐ Functionality 
-­‐ Quality 
-­‐ Price 
-­‐ Time 
E.g.: 
Ferrari: 
… 
How 
to 
measure 
customer 
satisfaction? 
Best 
way 
= 
survey. 
A 
customer 
survey 
is 
run 
to 
know 
the 
global 
satisfaction. 
It 
must 
be 
carefully 
realize 
because 
the 
answers 
are 
crucial 
for 
the 
company. 
So 
the 
questions 
must 
be 
specific 
and 
pertinent. 
Questions 
concern 
different 
element 
of 
the 
company 
strategy 
: 
product 
quality, 
delivery 
terms 
offered, 
on 
time 
delivery, 
ease 
of 
contact. 
All 
these 
elements 
help 
to 
measure 
global 
satisfaction. 
The 
answers 
will 
range 
between 
very 
unsatisfied, 
unsatisfied, 
neutral, 
satisfied
Management 
Accounting 
Control 
2012-­‐2013 
Manon 
Cuylits 
and 
very 
satisfied. 
It’s 
important 
to 
ask 
the 
main 
question 
at 
the 
beginning 
of 
the 
survey 
: 
Are 
you 
globally 
satisfied 
? 
Firstly, 
the 
customer 
will 
answer 
the 
question 
and 
then 
underline 
the 
reasons. 
84 
Survey 
where 
you 
ask 
a 
couple 
of 
question: 
1) question 
about 
the 
global 
satisfaction 
a. About 
the 
Product 
quality 
b. About 
the 
delivery 
terms 
offered 
c. About 
the 
“on 
time 
delivery” 
d. … 
e. About 
the 
ease 
of 
contact 
Ø Plenty 
of 
questions. 
You 
don’t 
want 
to 
have 
twenty 
measurements, 
you 
only 
want 
one, 
If 
you 
have 
to 
choose 
one, 
which 
one 
would 
it 
be? 
You 
have 
to 
take 
the 
measurements, 
analyze 
them 
and 
interpret 
them. 
Interpretation 
of 
the 
survey 
We 
can 
see 
that 
the 
global 
satisfaction 
is 
about 
95% 
and 
the 
factor 
“ease 
of 
contact” 
is 
completely 
unsatisfied 
(98%). 
So, 
we 
can 
conclude 
that 
this 
factor 
plays 
no 
role 
and 
doesn’t 
have 
any 
incidence 
on 
the 
global 
satisfaction. 
As 
a 
result, 
a 
company 
can 
decide 
to 
focus 
on 
the 
three 
other 
factors 
: 
product 
quality, 
delivery 
terms 
and 
on 
time 
delivery 
which 
are 
more 
relevant. 
So, 
in 
a 
nutshell, 
we 
can 
increase 
our 
global 
satisfaction 
by 
focusing 
on 
a 
small 
series 
of 
factors 
instead 
of 
analyzing 
plenty 
factors.
Management 
Accounting 
Control 
2012-­‐2013 
Manon 
Cuylits 
85 
Ø 95% 
of 
the 
customers 
are 
unsatisfied. 
o 90% 
are 
satisfied 
with 
the 
product 
quality. 
o etc. 
If 
you 
are 
a 
MC, 
your 
job 
is 
to 
interpret 
that 
and 
to 
deliver 
a 
message 
to 
the 
top 
management 
(?). 
Interpretation: 
we’re 
not 
in 
a 
good 
situation. 
There 
might 
be 
a 
couple 
of 
reason 
therefore 
but 
the 
main 
reason 
obviously 
is 
the 
“on 
time 
delivery” 
here, 
because 
for 
all 
the 
other 
aspects 
don’t 
make 
the 
customers 
unsatisfied. 
So 
it 
means 
there’s 
a 
need 
to 
improve 
the 
on 
time 
delivery.
Management 
Accounting 
Control 
2012-­‐2013 
Manon 
Cuylits 
Here 
the 
problem 
clearly 
is 
the 
ease 
of 
contact. 
However, 
it 
doesn’t 
seem 
to 
play 
a 
role 
in 
the 
global 
satisfaction 
(Very 
Satisfied). 
It’s 
not 
a 
driver. 
It’s 
not 
linked 
to 
the 
global 
satisfaction. 
Trying 
to 
improve 
the 
ease 
of 
contact 
would 
be 
useless 
cause 
it 
wouldn’t 
improve 
anything 
else, 
even 
the 
global 
satisfaction 
because 
it’s 
not 
linked. 
It 
would 
only 
be 
a 
lost 
of 
time 
and 
money. 
That 
wouldn’t 
be 
a 
good 
management 
decision! 
Looking 
at 
the 
relationship 
between 
the 
figures 
would 
lead 
to 
good 
management 
decisions. 
Looking 
at 
that 
is 
a 
must. 
You 
might 
need 
to 
keep 
on 
calculating 
that 
(do 
I 
keep 
this 
question 
in 
the 
survey 
or 
not?). 
86 
INTERNAL 
PROCESS 
PERSPECTIVE 
In 
this 
perspective, 
we 
identify 
the 
key 
processes 
(critical 
for 
customers 
and 
financial 
results) 
Ex: 
product 
equipment, 
R&D, 
billing 
processes. 
It 
typically 
comes 
in 
third 
logical 
steps 
Generic 
measurements 
range 
from 
quality, 
cost, 
cycle 
time 
and 
“throughput”(don’t 
pay 
attention 
to 
this 
one).
Management 
Accounting 
Control 
2012-­‐2013 
Manon 
Cuylits 
87 
EXAMPLE 
OF 
MEASUREMENTS 
The 
internal 
process 
starts 
with 
the 
customer 
need 
identified 
and 
ends 
with 
the 
customer 
need 
satisfied. 
Within 
this 
framework, 
other 
processes 
take 
place: 
- Innovation 
process: 
it 
allows 
to 
identify 
the 
market 
and 
to 
create 
the 
Profit 
and 
Sale 
(P/S) 
offering. 
The 
measurements 
are 
It 
concerns 
% 
sales 
from 
new 
products, 
new 
production 
introduction 
vs. 
competition 
(are 
we 
going 
to 
introduce 
more 
products 
than 
the 
competitors), 
process 
capability 
and 
time 
to 
market 
(the 
time 
it 
takes 
between 
the 
identification 
and 
the 
operation 
process), 
BET 
metric 
(Break 
even 
time 
metric 
: 
it 
measures 
the 
time 
it 
takes 
to 
reach 
the 
break 
eve). 
- Operation 
process 
: 
it 
allows 
to 
build 
and 
deliver 
the 
profit 
and 
sales. 
The 
product 
will 
be 
produced 
and 
sold. 
The 
measurements 
are 
MCE 
(Manufacturing 
Cycle 
Efficiency 
-­‐ 
it 
concerns 
the 
difference 
between 
the 
moment 
we 
start 
producing 
a 
product 
and 
the 
moment 
the 
product 
is 
finished), 
FPY 
(First 
Past 
Yield 
– 
it 
concerns 
the 
first 
control. 
After 
the 
realization 
fo 
the 
product, 
they 
are 
controlled 
and 
the 
amount 
of 
products 
controlled 
positive 
represent 
the 
first 
past 
yied. 
The 
faulties 
are 
returned. 
If 
after 
the 
first 
step 
in 
control, 
80% 
of 
the 
products 
are 
OK, 
we 
don’t 
need 
to 
adjust 
it. 
80% 
of 
FPY), 
ABC 
process 
cost. 
- Postsale 
service 
process 
LEARNING 
AND 
GROWTH 
PERSPECTIVE
Management 
Accounting 
Control 
2012-­‐2013 
Manon 
Cuylits 
Are 
the 
people 
happy 
to 
work 
in 
my 
company? 
If 
yes 
it 
will 
probably 
improve 
the 
employee 
productivity 
and 
the 
employee 
retention. 
=> 
Results… 
88 
Driver 
of 
employee 
satisfaction 
- Competencies: 
two 
possible 
situations 
o You 
have 
a 
high 
degree 
of 
competencies 
and 
the 
company 
doesn’t 
use 
those 
competencies. 
You 
don’t 
feel 
happy, 
even 
though 
the 
salary 
is 
really 
good. 
o You 
don’t 
have 
that 
much 
competencies 
and 
you 
have 
hard 
work 
to 
achieve. 
Best 
way 
to 
measure 
competencies: 
… 
- Technology 
& 
infrastructure 
Tools 
that 
are 
given 
to 
you 
to 
achieve 
your 
work 
- Climate 
for 
action 
(am 
I 
part 
of 
a 
team, 
is 
my 
relationship 
with 
my 
boss… 
etc.) 
Core 
measurements
Management 
Accounting 
Control 
2012-­‐2013 
Manon 
Cuylits 
Concurrently 
with 
the 
customer 
satisfaction, 
employee 
satisfaction 
brings 
employee 
productivity 
and 
retention. 
Happy 
employee 
will 
be 
motivated 
to 
work 
and 
more 
productive. 
On 
the 
other 
hand, 
they’ll 
have 
no 
reason 
to 
leave 
the 
company. 
They 
gave 
good 
results. 
How 
to 
measure 
these 
elements 
? 
A 
good 
measure 
is 
a 
employee 
survey 
to 
get 
a 
right 
feedback 
and 
to 
take 
action. 
The 
purpose 
is 
to 
ask 
the 
main 
question 
(are 
you 
globally 
satisfied 
?) 
and 
then 
move 
on 
to 
more 
detailed 
and 
precise 
questions 
to 
bring 
up 
the 
main 
reasons. 
89 
Enablers 
- Competencies 
are 
important 
to 
know 
if 
employees 
fulfill 
the 
requirement 
for 
the 
job. 
The 
solution 
will 
be 
to 
offer 
training 
to 
employee 
in 
order 
to 
reach 
their 
self 
accomplishment. 
Measurement 
rely 
on 
strategic 
skills, 
training 
levels 
and 
skill 
leverage. 
- Technology 
structure: 
this 
aspect 
can 
be 
relevant 
to 
know 
if 
the 
equipment 
employees 
have 
at 
their 
disposal 
are 
efficient. 
Measurement 
can 
concern 
strategic 
technologies 
(computers), 
strategic 
databases, 
experience 
capture 
and 
patent, 
copyrights. 
- Climate 
for 
action 
: 
the 
company 
wants 
that 
its 
employees 
perform 
well 
in 
a 
good 
work 
sphere. 
If 
employees 
don’t 
have 
objecive, 
there 
is 
no 
action. 
Measurement 
consist 
in 
motivation, 
empowerment 
and 
alignment. 
How 
to 
link 
measurements 
to 
the 
strategy?
Management 
Accounting 
Control 
2012-­‐2013 
Manon 
Cuylits 
90 
- Cause 
and 
effect 
relationships: 
Measurements 
has 
to 
be 
mixed 
to 
show 
their 
consequences 
and 
causes. 
Without 
cause 
and 
effect 
relationship, 
we’ll 
get 
a 
random 
sample 
of 
results 
unrelated 
with 
the 
relevant 
information. 
- Use 
of 
performance 
drivers 
- Link 
with 
financial 
indicators 
Group: 
assignment 
- list 
all 
of 
the 
possible 
management 
control 
issues. 
And 
pick 
up 
the 
more 
relevant. 
- Rank 
the 
issues 
by 
importance 
the 
first 
one 
is 
the 
most 
important 
- For 
the 
top 
3 
issues, 
what 
are 
the 
solutions 
? 
What 
are 
you 
going 
to 
do? 
- To 
outline 
what 
would 
be 
a 
good 
set 
of 
measurements 
based 
on 
the 
4 
perspectives. 
- Based 
on 
the 
information 
that 
we 
have, 
what 
would 
be 
a 
good 
example 
of 
effective 
balance 
score. 
Be 
very 
specific.
Management 
Accounting 
Control 
2012-­‐2013 
Manon 
Cuylits 
91 
OTD 
is 
of 
critical 
importance, 
this 
is 
my 
top 
priority, 
if 
pressure, 
“please 
improve 
on 
time 
delivery, 
achieve 
a 
good 
level 
of 
OTD” 
that’s 
your 
objective, 
if 
you 
don’t 
reach 
it: 
consequences. 
Whenever 
one 
put 
a 
serious 
pressure 
on 
you, 
you’ll 
find 
a 
way 
to 
achieve 
your 
objective. 
That 
might 
be 
dangerous 
for 
the 
company. 
Why? 
Not 
a 
good 
idea 
to 
have 
huge 
level 
of 
inventory. 
If 
I 
tell 
you 
my 
only 
priority 
is 
to 
improve 
OTD, 
you’ll 
find 
a 
way 
to 
achieve 
it, 
for 
example 
by 
having 
a 
huge 
inventory, 
but 
that’s 
not 
what 
I 
want. 
I 
want 
an 
improvement 
in 
OTD 
without 
having 
an 
inventory 
going 
to 
the 
roof 
! 
My 
message 
must 
be 
a 
little 
bit 
more 
sophisticated 
than 
“improve 
the 
OTD”, 
it 
musts 
be: 
“improve 
the 
OTD 
without 
increasing 
the 
inventory”. 
Time 
to 
market 
=> 
objective 
= 
to 
decrease 
it. 
The 
things 
I 
put 
pressure 
on 
(OTD 
& 
Time 
to 
market) 
are 
Strategic 
measurements: 
reflect 
what 
I 
want 
to 
achieve, 
part 
of 
my 
strategy. 
The 
reactions 
are 
not 
part 
of 
the 
strategy! 
+ 
Diagnostic 
measurement 
(reactions). 
SOME 
FIGURES 
Results 
of 
survey: 
• 59 
% 
of 
top 
managers 
have 
a 
clear 
understanding 
of 
how 
to 
implement 
a 
vision. 
• ...and 
only 
7 
% 
of 
middle 
managers 
o 74 
% 
of 
top 
managers 
have 
bonuses 
linked 
to 
yearly 
objectives
Management 
Accounting 
Control 
2012-­‐2013 
Manon 
Cuylits 
92 
o < 
33 
% 
of 
top 
managers 
have 
bonuses 
linked 
to 
long-­‐term 
strategic 
objectives 
o < 
10 
% 
of 
middle 
managers 
have 
bonuses 
linked 
to 
long-­‐term 
strategic 
objectives 
Typical 
symptom: 
the 
use 
of 
different 
processes 
for: 
• Long 
term 
strategic 
planning 
• Short-­‐term 
annual 
budget 
EXAMPLE 
OBJECTIVE 
MEASUREMENT 
TARGET 
INITIATIVE 
Value 
for 
money 
as 
Customer 
survey 
#1 
by 
75% 
of 
perceived 
by 
Customers 
Customers 
Focus 
Group 
… 
In 
a 
reporting 
system, 
just 
a 
figure 
is 
meaningless. 
If 
I 
know 
that 
net 
profit 
is 
8%, 
I 
tells 
me 
something 
but 
not 
much… 
There’s 
a 
need 
for 
words. 
“I 
want 
to 
be 
perceived 
by 
my 
customers 
like 
someone 
…”, 
once 
I 
know 
my 
objective, 
I 
have 
to 
decide 
how 
to 
measure 
it. 
Then 
I’ll 
define 
the 
target, 
with 
a 
figure. 
And 
then 
I 
may 
decide 
on 
a 
strategic 
initiative 
to 
achieve 
this 
objective. 
In 
the 
previous 
system, 
deviations 
against 
established 
plans 
were 
considered 
as 
defects, 
which 
is 
not 
an 
incentive 
to 
check 
whether: 
• Objectives 
were 
relevant 
• The 
method 
used 
to 
reach 
them 
was 
appropriate 
Strategy 
is 
a 
process, 
and 
strategic 
ideas 
may 
origin 
from 
the 
whole 
organization.
Management 
Accounting 
Control 
2012-­‐2013 
Manon 
Cuylits 
93 
Three 
basic 
elements 
for 
a 
strategic 
learning 
process: 
• A 
shared 
strategic 
structure, 
that 
communicates 
strategy 
and 
allows 
everyone 
to 
see 
how 
his 
own 
activities 
contributes 
to 
strategy 
achievement. 
• A 
feedback 
process 
that 
collects 
data 
and 
allows 
to 
test 
assumptions 
made 
on 
links 
between 
objectives 
and 
initiatives. 
• A 
team-­‐based 
problem 
solving 
process, 
that 
analyse 
the 
data, 
draw 
conclusions 
and, 
when 
necessary, 
adapt 
strategy. 
§ Correlation 
analysis 
§ Scenario 
analysis 
§ Initiatives 
review 
§ External 
review 
§ Anecdotes 
reports 
• Step 
1: 
3 
months, 
a 
team 
of 
top 
managers 
• Step 
2: 
6 
months, 
from 
n 
to 
n-­‐2. 
• Step 
3: 
1 
month: 
elimination 
of 
non-­‐strategic 
investments 
and 
start 
of 
change 
programs 
• Step 
4: 
3 
months, 
review 
of 
various 
BSC’s
Management 
Accounting 
Control 
2012-­‐2013 
Manon 
Cuylits 
94 
• Step 
5: 
« 
refine 
» 
the 
BSC 
• Step 
6: 
after 
1 
year, 
communication 
to 
the 
whole 
organisation. 
n 
to 
n-­‐3 
have 
their 
individual 
objectives 
linked 
to 
BSC 
• Step 
7: 
3-­‐5 
year 
objectives 
settings 
for 
each 
measurement 
in 
the 
BSC. 
Identification 
of 
needed 
investments. 
The 
first 
year 
becomes 
the 
annual 
budget. 
• Step 
8: 
Monthly 
& 
Quarterly 
reviews 
• Step 
9: 
Annual 
strategic 
review 
with 
update 
• Step 
10: 
Each 
employee 
must 
link 
his 
individual 
objectives 
to 
those 
in 
the 
BSC. 
WHY 
IS 
THAT 
NOT 
SIMPLE? 
• Structure 
defects 
(ex. 
only 
« 
lagging 
measurements 
») 
• Organizational 
defects 
o Unappropriate 
delegation 
o Copy-­‐paste 
of 
« 
best-­‐in-­‐class 
» 
o Wait 
too 
long 
for 
the 
perfect 
BSC 
3 
CRITICAL 
ROLES 
• Architect 
• Change 
agent 
• Communicator 
IT 
SUPPORT 
TOOLS
Management 
Accounting 
Control 
2012-­‐2013 
Manon 
Cuylits 
95 
In 
many 
of 
the 
recent 
ERP 
systems, 
you 
have 
balanced 
scorecard 
tools.
Management 
Accounting 
Control 
2012-­‐2013 
Manon 
Cuylits 
96 
You 
may 
really 
double 
click 
on 
those 
sections 
and 
have 
the 
following 
screen 
: 
This 
is 
a 
practical 
tool; 
balanced 
scorecard 
isn’t 
a 
theoretical 
tool. 
A 
company 
uses 
it.
Management 
Accounting 
Control 
2012-­‐2013 
Manon 
Cuylits 
97 
CHAPTER 
7: 
TECHNIQUE 
OF 
COST 
ACCOUNTING 
ALLOCATION 
OF 
COSTS 
Why 
is 
that 
important? 
When 
we 
talk 
about 
cost 
allocation, 
we 
talk 
about 
allocation 
of 
indirect 
costs; 
we 
don’t 
allocate 
direct 
costs. 
Remember 
that 
Indirect 
Costs 
of 
a 
particular 
cost 
object 
are 
costs 
that 
are 
related 
to 
that 
cost 
object 
but 
cannot 
be 
traced 
to 
it 
in 
an 
economically 
feasible 
(cost-­‐effective) 
way. 
These 
costs 
often 
comprise 
a 
large 
percentage 
of 
the 
overall 
costs 
assigned 
to 
such 
cost 
objects 
as 
products, 
services, 
customers, 
and 
distribution 
channels. 
Why 
do 
managers 
allocate 
indirect 
costs 
to 
these 
cost 
objects? 
Example 
of 
direct 
costs: 
- Raw 
materials: 
I 
can 
link/trace 
it 
directly 
to 
a 
unit 
being 
produced, 
the 
cost 
of 
that 
raw 
material 
I 
can 
trace 
it 
to 
the 
unit 
produced. 
Salary: 
can 
be 
direct 
or 
indirect, 
it 
depends 
on 
the 
cost 
object. 
I 
want 
to 
relate 
that 
cost 
to 
a 
given 
cost 
object. 
Salary 
of 
a 
supervisor: 
if 
the 
cost 
object 
is 
the 
unit 
produced 
by 
the 
manufacturing 
plant, 
if 
that’s 
the 
cost 
object, 
is 
the 
cost 
direct 
or 
not? 
Indirect, 
because 
not 
easy 
to 
link 
to 
the 
production 
of 
1 
unit. 
Salary 
of 
the 
plant 
manager, 
supervisor: 
how 
can 
you 
link 
it? 
On 
the 
basis 
of 
what 
are 
you 
going 
to 
allocate 
it? 
It’s 
not 
easy 
to 
allocate, 
so 
it’s 
indirect. 
It’s 
never 
impossible 
to 
relate 
a 
cost, 
but 
it’s 
direct 
or 
indirect 
depending 
on 
the 
fact 
that 
it’s 
easy 
or 
difficult 
to 
relate 
to… 
So 
DIRECT 
or 
INDIRECT 
is 
a 
first 
classification 
in 
COSTS. 
Second 
classification: 
FIXED 
or 
VARIABLE. 
You 
look 
at 
the 
behavior 
over 
time, 
is 
it 
fix 
or 
does 
it 
vary 
over 
time? 
No 
cost 
is 
really 
fixed 
over 
a 
long 
period 
of 
time. 
Ex: 
the 
rent 
of 
a 
building 
is 
going 
to 
change, 
but 
is 
typically 
going 
to 
be 
fixed 
for 
1 
year. 
Costs 
problematic 
for 
a 
company 
are 
not 
the 
variable 
costs. 
If 
you 
only 
have 
variable 
costs 
in 
a 
company, 
you’re 
not 
going 
to 
go 
bankrupt. 
Running 
a 
company 
with 
only 
variable 
costs 
is 
really 
comfortable. 
Fixed 
costs 
are 
staying 
the 
same. 
Management 
controller 
will 
like 
to 
look 
at 
fixed 
costs 
because 
they 
are 
dangerous, 
and 
they 
are 
going 
to 
look 
at 
the 
indirect 
costs 
(direct 
costs 
are 
never 
a 
problem).
Management 
Accounting 
Control 
2012-­‐2013 
Manon 
Cuylits 
I 
want 
to 
have 
a 
real 
idea 
of 
my 
TOTAL 
COST. 
If 
I 
have 
a 
very 
precise 
idea, 
I 
can 
take 
the 
right 
decisions. 
How 
do 
we 
compute 
that 
total 
cost? 
For 
direct 
cost 
it’s 
easy 
but 
what 
about 
indirect 
costs! 
How 
do 
I 
distribute 
it 
to 
each 
unit, 
what 
are 
the 
rules? 
That’s 
what 
we 
are 
going 
to 
cover 
here. 
It’s 
very 
often 
quite 
significant, 
20-­‐35% 
of 
the 
total 
cost 
of 
a 
company! 
Why 
do 
we 
watch 
those 
costs? 
May 
influence 
the 
total 
cost. 
If 
my 
cost 
allocation 
base 
doesn’t 
make 
sense, 
some 
of 
my 
products 
might 
be 
overcosted 
of 
undercosted 
(receive 
more 
or 
less 
costs 
in 
indirect 
costs 
that 
they 
should 
receive). 
… 
Some 
allocation 
rules 
make 
sense, 
some 
other 
don’t. 
IT 
Costs: 
costs 
of 
the 
IT 
department: 
what 
would 
be 
a 
good 
cost 
allocation 
base? 
Distribution 
on 
the 
basis 
of 
what 
? 
We 
don’t 
have 
to 
pay 
anything 
if 
we 
don’t 
use 
any 
PC 
for 
example. 
We 
should 
use 
the 
number 
of 
PC 
for 
example, 
as 
a 
basis. 
If 
no 
computer, 
no 
IT 
costs. 
… 
Problem 
in 
many 
companies: 
the 
reliability 
of 
the 
data. 
=> 
using 
timesheet 
data. 
Once 
a 
month, 
use 
the 
timesheet 
and 
try 
to 
remember 
what 
they 
did 
3 
weeks 
ago… 
It’s 
not 
going 
to 
provide 
reliable 
data. 
… 
98
Management 
Accounting 
Control 
2012-­‐2013 
Manon 
Cuylits 
99 
If 
I 
know 
the 
total 
cost 
and 
the 
income 
of 
that, 
I 
just 
look 
at 
the 
difference 
between 
that, 
and 
I 
know 
if 
it’s 
profitable. 
If 
it’s 
not 
I 
could 
think 
about 
deleting 
it. 
Comparison 
between 
income 
and 
cost. 
It’s 
not 
because 
it’s 
not 
profitable 
that 
you 
will 
directly 
stop 
the 
product 
line. 
You 
might 
keep 
it 
for 
strategic 
reasons. 
Sometimes 
you 
loose 
money 
on 
one 
part 
of 
the 
activity, 
but 
you 
earn 
money 
in 
another 
part, 
which 
compensates 
the 
loss. 
I’m 
in 
a 
research 
company, 
and 
I 
work 
on 
4 
projects. 
One 
of 
them 
is 
subsidized. 
… 
Is 
the 
photocopy 
machine 
SPECIFICALLY 
allocated 
to 
the 
project? 
Justify 
!!! 
This 
is 
my 
cost 
object 
(ex: 
a 
product 
which 
I 
produce 
and 
sell, 
a 
project, 
a 
customer, 
a 
department, 
anything 
about 
which 
you 
want 
to 
have 
information 
about 
the 
costs). 
Direct 
costs: 
directly 
linked, 
traced 
to 
the 
cost 
object. 
Indirect 
costs: 
2 
categories. 
They 
are 
not 
traced, 
they 
are 
allocated, 
and 
I 
need 
to 
define 
an 
allocation 
method/base. 
- producing 
department 
indirect 
costs 
- supporting 
(service) 
department 
costs 
(HR, 
IT, 
General 
services 
department, 
etc.)
Management 
Accounting 
Control 
2012-­‐2013 
Manon 
Cuylits 
100 
I 
have 
to 
make 
a 
clear 
distinction 
between 
those 
department 
where 
action 
takes 
place. 
PRODUCING 
DEPARTMENT 
OVERHEAD 
The 
cost 
of 
direct 
labor 
and 
direct 
materials 
can 
easily 
be 
identified 
and 
charged 
to 
specific 
jobs. 
All 
other 
costs, 
such 
as 
indirect 
materials, 
indirect 
labor, 
and 
other 
entity 
expenses 
which 
cannot 
be 
identified 
with 
or 
charged 
directly 
to 
specific 
jobs, 
are 
called 
producing 
department 
overhead. 
These 
indirect 
costs 
are 
categorized 
as 
fixed, 
variable 
or 
semi-­‐ 
variable. 
Direct 
material: 
used 
to 
build 
the 
car 
for 
example. 
Indirect 
materials: 
paper 
for 
the 
photocopy 
machine, 
stitches, 
etc. 
Direct 
labor: 
made 
out 
of 
the 
cost 
for 
the 
people 
working 
directly 
Indirect 
labor: 
secretaries, 
supervisor, 
IT 
people, 
etc. 
Other 
costs, 
not 
direct 
or 
indirect, 
we 
call 
that 
sometimes 
PDO 
(see 
title). 
… 
The 
name 
« 
factory 
overhead 
» 
(« 
factory 
» 
meaning 
actually 
« 
producing 
department 
») 
is 
widely 
used 
instead 
of 
« 
producing 
department 
overhead 
». 
We 
will 
also 
use 
it 
here, 
but 
please 
keep 
in 
mind 
it 
is 
not 
just 
for 
manufacturing: 
it 
is 
equally 
applicable 
to 
service 
businesses 
such 
as 
audit 
companies, 
research 
laboratories, 
project 
companies, 
etc.... 
… 
No 
distinction 
between 
a 
company 
with 
a 
production 
department 
producing 
cars 
(tangible 
element) 
and 
for 
example 
an 
audit 
company, 
where 
they 
produce 
audit, 
which 
is 
a 
service 
(intangible 
element). 
=> 
Producing 
department. 
Factory 
department 
has 
the 
same 
meaning 
but 
it’s 
better 
to 
use 
producing 
department 
because 
it 
doesn’t 
make 
a 
distinction 
between 
tangible 
and 
intangible 
elements 
produced. 
11/12/12:
Management 
Accounting 
Control 
2012-­‐2013 
Manon 
Cuylits 
Direct 
cost 
+ 
allocated 
indirect 
cost 
= 
TOTAL 
COST 
=> 
Basic 
information 
that 
you 
need 
(but 
not 
the 
only 
one). 
Costs 
that 
are 
not 
direct 
are 
indirect. 
Salary 
of 
the 
company’s 
boss 
is 
going 
to 
be 
spread 
… 
this 
is 
called 
the 
allocation 
of 
indirect 
cost. 
How 
is 
it 
possible 
to 
allocate 
those 
costs? 
I 
need 
to 
allocate 
it 
to 
know 
the 
total 
costs 
of 
the 
aircraft 
being 
produced. 
Direct 
cost: 
no 
problem 
because 
direct 
link, 
easily 
traced. 
Producing 
department 
and 
the 
other 
ones 
(the 
ones 
related 
to 
the 
support 
department). 
101 
APPLIED 
FACTORY 
OVERHEAD 
An 
estimate 
of 
the 
next 
period's 
factory 
overhead 
costs 
is 
made 
which 
is 
then 
divided 
by 
a 
base, 
such 
as 
labor 
hours, 
machine 
hours, 
etc., 
and 
expressed 
as 
a 
predetermined 
rate. 
This 
predetermined 
rate 
helps 
management 
measure 
unit 
costs. 
If 
no 
predetermined 
rate 
is 
used, 
management 
would 
have 
to 
wait 
until 
the 
end 
of 
the 
period 
to 
know 
the 
amount 
of 
factory 
overhead 
costs 
and, 
therefore, 
the 
total 
cost 
per 
unit. 
BASE 
TO 
BE 
USED 
The 
base 
used 
to 
compute 
the 
predetermined 
factory 
overhead 
rate 
should 
be 
closely 
related 
to 
functions 
represented 
by 
the 
factory 
overhead 
cost 
being 
applied. 
The 
five 
bases 
generally 
used 
to 
calculate 
the 
factory 
overhead 
rate 
are:
Management 
Accounting 
Control 
2012-­‐2013 
Manon 
Cuylits 
Generally: 
5 
bases. 
I 
could 
allocate 
on 
the 
basis 
of 
units 
of 
production: 
if 
a 
given 
department 
produces 
2 
times 
more 
than 
an 
other 
or 
else… 
I 
will 
take 
the 
total 
of 
indirect 
costs 
(factory 
overhead, 
producing 
department 
overhead) 
and 
divide 
it 
by 
the 
units 
of 
production. 
It 
gives 
me 
a 
ratio 
??? 
Example: 
we 
have 
a 
car 
manufacturing, 
we 
assemble 
2 
models 
(A 
& 
B), 
and 
if 
I 
use 
the 
number 
of 
units 
produced, 
what 
I 
will 
do, 
the 
total 
of 
the 
units 
produced 
(of 
the 
2) 
is 
for 
example 
1000. 
I 
produce 
1000 
totally. 
Total 
of 
my 
indirect 
cost 
for 
that 
factory: 
1000 
euros. 
Calculation 
is 
easy, 
I 
have 
to 
allocate 
1000 
euros 
to 
each 
of 
the 
models. 
It 
means 
whenever 
I 
produce 
1 
car, 
I 
have 
to 
put 
to 
the 
top 
of 
the 
indirect 
cost: 
1 
euro. 
Whenever 
a 
car 
is 
being 
produced, 
I 
will 
put 
on 
that 
car 
2 
euros 
of 
indirect 
costs 
if 
indirect 
costs 
= 
2000 
euros. 
On 
the 
basis 
of 
that, 
I 
can 
make 
any 
type 
of 
calculation. 
102 
Use 
the 
direct 
material 
cost. 
Computation: 
total 
indirect 
cost 
(factoruy 
overhead) 
divided 
by 
the 
direct 
material 
cost 
x 
100. 
If 
I 
multiply 
by 
100, 
I 
can 
get 
it 
as 
a 
percentage. 
This 
is 
applicable 
purely 
to 
Manufacturing 
company. 
You 
don’t 
use 
it 
in 
a 
service 
company.
Management 
Accounting 
Control 
2012-­‐2013 
Manon 
Cuylits 
103 
… 
Direct 
labor 
hours, 
we 
talk 
about 
labor 
hours 
and 
not 
labor 
costs! 
… 
Which 
of 
those 
5 
methods 
should 
we 
choose? 
He’s 
going 
to 
describe 
a 
business 
situation 
and 
we’ll 
have 
to 
decide 
which 
method 
to 
use. 
Company 
with 
a 
… 
it’s 
produced 
by 
a 
robot. 
There 
is 
almost 
no 
human 
working 
there. 
Which 
method 
should 
we 
use 
to 
allocate 
indirect 
costs? 
Machine 
hours. 
We’ll 
put 
more 
costs 
on 
the 
products 
requiring 
more 
working 
hours. 
All 
the 
costs 
are 
going 
to 
be 
driven 
by 
the 
machine. 
… 
I 
need 
an 
engineer 
checking 
the 
quality 
of 
… 
=> 
this 
is 
an 
indirect 
cost! 
…? 
Above: 
Typical 
list 
of 
allocation 
base. 
You 
will 
allocate 
based 
on 
the 
models 
in 
the 
first 
column. 
Ex: 
Maintenance 
cost: 
indirect 
cost, 
I 
may 
decide 
to 
allocate 
it 
based 
on 
the 
number 
of 
machines 
(???) 
It 
is 
because 
I 
need 
more 
machine 
hours 
that 
I 
need 
more 
maintenance 
costs 
(… 
?) 
Ex: 
Supervision 
costs: 
what’s 
the 
cost 
driver 
of 
supervision 
cost? 
Why 
do 
I 
need 
supervision? 
To 
supervise 
persons 
working 
on 
the 
product. 
Amount 
of 
direct 
labour 
hours. 
If 
a 
product 
requires 
2 
times 
more 
… 
for 
this 
product 
I 
will 
need 
more 
supervision 
and 
then 
more 
supervision 
costs. 
ALLOCATION 
OF 
SERVICE 
DEPARTMENT 
COSTS 
TO 
PRODUCING 
DEPARTMENT 
There 
are 
two 
basic 
types 
of 
departments 
in 
any 
company: 
producing 
departments 
and 
service 
departments. 
A 
producing 
department 
is 
one 
where 
the 
conversion 
or 
production
Management 
Accounting 
Control 
2012-­‐2013 
Manon 
Cuylits 
takes 
place. 
A 
service 
department 
(e.g., 
personnel 
or 
maintenance) 
provides 
support 
to 
the 
producing 
departments. 
Since 
the 
producing 
departments 
are 
directly 
benefited 
by 
service 
departments, 
the 
expenses 
of 
a 
service 
department 
should 
be 
allocated 
to 
the 
appropriate 
producing 
departments 
(as 
part 
of 
factory 
overhead 
costs). 
One 
of 
the 
following 
methods 
may 
be 
used 
to 
allocate 
service 
department 
costs 
to 
producing 
departments: 
104 
(1) 
Direct 
method 
(2) 
Step 
method 
(3) 
Algebraic 
method 
Other 
type 
of 
indirect 
cost. 
I 
talk 
about 
service 
department, 
support 
department 
(not 
production 
department 
!!!). 
We’ll 
look 
at 
3 
methods. 
DIRECT 
METHOD 
This 
is 
the 
most 
common 
method 
of 
allocating 
service 
department 
costs 
to 
producing 
departments 
because 
of 
its 
mathematical 
simplicity 
and 
ease 
of 
application. 
It 
involves 
allocation 
of 
service 
department 
costs 
directly 
to 
producing 
departments 
and 
ignores 
any 
services 
provided 
by 
one 
service 
department 
to 
another. 
The 
problem 
is 
just 
to 
choose 
the 
most 
appropriate 
allocation 
base, 
as 
it 
was 
in 
the 
allocation 
of 
producing 
department 
overhead. 
This 
is 
the 
most 
common 
method 
of 
allocating 
service 
department 
costs 
to 
producing 
departments 
because 
of 
its 
mathematical 
simplicity 
and 
ease 
of 
application. 
It 
involves 
allocation 
of 
service 
department 
costs 
directly 
to 
producing 
departments 
and 
ignores 
any 
services 
provided 
by 
one 
service 
department 
to 
another. 
The 
problem 
is 
just 
to 
choose 
the 
most 
appropriate 
allocation 
base, 
as 
it 
was 
in 
the 
allocation 
of 
producing 
department 
overhead. 
Situation: 
a 
company 
works 
on 
different 
project 
(i.e 
building, 
…)and 
they 
have 
to 
classical 
supporting 
departments 
(i.e. 
HR 
department 
and 
IT 
department). 
The 
company 
may 
make 
the 
assumption 
that 
the 
IT 
costs 
will 
be 
allocate 
to 
the 
different 
projects 
based 
on 
something. 
What 
about 
the 
HR 
department, 
to 
allocate 
the 
costs, 
we 
have 
to 
allocate 
the 
costs 
on 
the 
basis 
of 
person. 
The 
cost 
object 
is 
the 
project, 
the 
cost 
driver 
(= 
it’s 
a 
variable 
which 
impacts 
the 
cost 
object) 
is 
the 
workforce 
(the 
more 
people 
we 
have, 
the 
more 
activities 
we’ll 
use 
from 
the 
HR 
department). 
The 
idea 
behind 
the 
direct 
cost 
is 
to 
say 
that 
HR 
people 
only 
work 
for 
the 
customer, 
the 
costs 
object. 
But, 
that’s 
not 
really 
true 
because 
the 
HR 
people 
also 
work 
for 
other 
department 
(i.e. 
IT, 
financial,….). 
But, 
in 
the 
direct
Management 
Accounting 
Control 
2012-­‐2013 
Manon 
Cuylits 
105 
method, 
we 
make 
here 
the 
assumption 
that 
the 
entire 
workforce 
is 
allocated 
to 
the 
HR 
department 
and 
the 
same 
thing 
for 
the 
IT 
department. 
As 
a 
result, 
it’s 
not 
close 
to 
the 
reality 
and 
it 
ignores 
the 
reciprocal 
element. 
Most 
common 
method: 
I 
take 
the 
total 
cost 
of 
a 
given 
support 
department 
(ex 
total 
cost 
of 
human 
resources). 
I 
record 
the 
costs 
and 
whenever 
there’s 
a 
cost 
I 
will 
put 
it 
in 
a 
department. 
I 
take 
the 
total 
cost 
of 
the 
department 
and 
I 
put 
it 
on 
the 
cost 
object 
directly. 
Problem: 
allocation 
of 
the 
service 
cost 
is 
made 
directly 
to 
the 
… 
but 
I 
completely 
ignore 
the 
fact 
that 
support 
department 
may 
be 
working 
for 
each 
other’s. 
HR 
dep 
works 
directly 
for 
the 
producing 
department, 
and 
idem 
for 
IT 
etc. 
IT’s 
an 
assumption 
but 
in 
the 
real 
life 
it’s 
not 
the 
case, 
because 
HR 
department 
also 
works 
for 
the 
IT 
department 
etc. 
for 
example!!! 
In 
this 
method 
I 
ignore 
that, 
it’s 
the 
limitation 
of 
the 
method. 
Otherwise, 
this 
method 
is 
really 
easy. 
But 
it 
has 
limitations. 
STEP 
METHOD 
The 
idea 
is 
to 
take 
into 
account 
some 
reciprocal 
services 
among 
the 
department 
on 
a 
limited 
way. 
Based 
on 
the 
graph, 
we 
start 
with 
the 
building 
maintenance 
which 
provide 
services 
to 
all 
other 
department 
and 
will 
put 
this 
service 
on 
the 
top 
of 
the 
graph. 
Then, 
the 
other 
steps 
will 
concern 
the 
other 
department 
ranking 
by 
the 
decreasing 
importance 
of 
the 
allocation 
: 
facility 
management, 
other 
services, 
main 
cost 
pools. 
For 
the 
step 
method, 
we’ll 
take 
the 
first 
step 
and 
allocate 
the 
costs 
to 
all 
the 
other 
steps. 
That’s 
the 
first 
allocation, 
under 
the 
step 
method, 
we 
make 
the 
assumption 
that 
nothing 
is 
going 
back. 
The 
other 
steps 
can 
give 
something 
to 
the 
firs 
step. 
The 
next 
step 
is 
to 
take 
the 
total 
costs 
of 
the 
facility 
management 
which 
the 
original 
total 
costs 
+ 
what 
has 
been 
allocated 
and 
will 
be 
allocate 
to 
the 
lower 
steps. 
Actually, 
the 
first 
step 
become 
“facility 
management” 
and 
allocate 
the 
costs 
to 
the 
other 
costs. 
This 
method 
is 
more 
accurate 
than 
the 
direct 
method 
when 
services 
are 
provided 
to 
other 
service 
departments. 
The 
allocation 
of 
service 
department 
costs 
is 
performed 
by 
a 
series 
of 
steps: 
1. The 
costs 
of 
the 
service 
department 
that 
provides 
services 
to 
the 
greatest 
number 
of 
other 
service 
departments 
are 
usually 
allocated 
first.
Management 
Accounting 
Control 
2012-­‐2013 
Manon 
Cuylits 
2. The 
costs 
of 
the 
service 
department 
that 
provides 
services 
to 
the 
next 
greatest 
number 
of 
service 
departments 
are 
then 
allocated. 
Any 
costs 
added 
to 
this 
department 
from 
step 
1 
are 
included. 
Note 
that 
under 
this 
method, 
the 
costs 
of 
subsequent 
service 
departments 
will 
not 
be 
allocated 
to 
the 
preceding 
service 
departments: 
thus 
any 
reciprocal 
services 
among 
service 
departments 
are 
ignored. 
3. The 
sequence 
outlined 
above 
is 
continued. 
step 
by 
step, 
until 
all 
the 
service 
106 
department 
costs 
have 
been 
allocated 
to 
producing 
departments. 
Graphical 
example 
of 
the 
step 
method: 
Second 
Method: 
Step 
method 
You 
will 
list 
all 
the 
support 
department 
and 
you 
will 
put 
in 
the 
first 
position 
the 
one 
delivering 
services 
to 
the 
most 
of 
the 
others. 
Ex: 
building 
maintenance 
is 
offering 
serices 
to 
all 
the 
other 
department, 
it’s 
the 
most 
universal. 
I 
will 
then 
put 
the 
following 
one, 
facility 
management. 
And 
so 
on, 
I 
put 
that 
gradually. 
I 
start 
wirth 
the 
one 
on 
the 
top 
position. 
I 
take 
the 
total 
of 
its 
cost. 
That 
amount 
of 
money 
I 
will 
allocate 
it 
to 
all 
the 
other 
departments. 
I 
wil 
take 
an 
allocation 
base 
to 
allocate 
that 
cost 
to 
all 
the 
others. 
I 
perform 
the 
allocation 
of 
the 
cost. 
One 
that 
step 
is 
completed, 
that 
bloc 
is 
empty 
cause 
all 
the 
costs 
have 
been 
allocated 
to 
other 
departments. 
I 
will 
then 
do 
exactly 
the 
same 
with 
the 
second 
one 
BUT 
I 
CAN’T 
GO 
BACK. 
I 
will 
empty 
that 
amount 
on 
money 
on 
the 
FOLLOWING 
one 
but 
won’t 
go 
back 
=> 
I 
won’t 
allocate 
to 
the 
one 
backwards, 
on 
the 
top 
(here: 
building 
maintenance 
in 
comparison 
to 
facility 
management). 
Assumption: 
In 
this 
case 
facility 
management 
doesn’t 
provide 
services 
to 
the 
building 
maintenances. 
Only 
downwards, 
not 
upwards. 
But 
in 
the 
real 
life 
it’s 
not 
the 
case, 
there 
are
Management 
Accounting 
Control 
2012-­‐2013 
Manon 
Cuylits 
allocations 
between 
those 
departments. 
It’s 
better 
than 
the 
first 
method 
but 
there 
are 
still 
limitations. 
I 
ignore 
that 
there 
are 
reciprocal 
departments. 
If 
I 
want 
to 
take 
that 
into 
account 
I 
will 
need 
to 
use 
the 
3rd 
method, 
the 
most 
accurate 
one. 
107 
ALGEBRAIC 
METHOD 
This 
is 
the 
most 
accurate 
of 
the 
three 
methods 
when 
reciprocal 
services 
are 
provided 
among 
the 
service 
departments. 
With 
the 
algebraic 
method, 
simultaneous 
equations 
are 
used 
to 
allocate 
service 
department 
costs 
to 
service 
departments 
and 
producing 
departments. 
The 
number 
of 
simultaneous 
equations 
is 
proportional 
to 
the 
number 
of 
service 
departments. 
The 
use 
of 
a 
computer 
(excel 
sheet) 
facilitates 
the 
computations 
when 
many 
service 
departments 
exist. 
It 
takes 
into 
consideration 
all 
the 
reciprocal 
services. 
(IT 
to 
HR 
and 
HR 
to 
IT). 
Based 
on 
the 
graph, 
we 
start 
with 
the 
cost 
by 
nature 
arriving 
in 
a 
company 
(i.e. 
material, 
labor, 
services, 
amortization 
costs). 
Those 
costs 
are 
standard 
for 
large 
categories 
in 
company 
= 
origin. 
The 
purpose 
is 
to 
find 
the 
mechanism 
to 
allocate 
those 
costs 
to 
the 
cost 
object 
= 
destination. 
Between 
there 
are 
different 
mechanism 
: 
- direct 
cost 
: 
it 
goes 
directly 
from 
the 
origin 
to 
destination. 
They 
are 
traced 
directly 
to 
the 
cost 
object. 
Ex 
: 
- indirect 
cost 
: 
We 
allocate 
them 
through 
(first 
step) 
cost 
pools 
(it’s 
a 
grouping 
of 
indirect 
costs 
before 
final 
allocation 
of 
the 
cost 
object). 
Normally, 
it’s 
just 
a 
department. 
It’s 
very 
easy 
for 
the 
department 
to 
collect 
all 
the 
indirect 
costs 
related 
to 
the 
department. 
We 
will 
identify 
some 
cost 
pools 
and 
we’ll 
first 
allocation 
the 
costs 
by 
nature 
to 
the 
cost 
pools 
which 
is 
the 
intermediate 
cost 
object. 
There 
are 
two 
ways 
to 
allocate 
indirect 
costs 
to 
the 
cost 
pools 
: 
o Measurement 
method 
: 
it’s 
easy 
to 
allocate 
costs 
if 
there 
is 
a 
measurement 
(time 
sheet, 
electricy 
counter, 
…. 
) 
we 
have 
a 
specific 
base 
to 
know 
at 
which 
we 
have 
to 
calculate 
the 
costs. 
o Allocation 
base: 
in 
case 
of 
no 
measure 
method, 
for 
electricy, 
we 
can 
see 
that 
if 
an 
area 
is 
dubbled 
than 
another 
one, 
we 
can 
assume 
there 
will 
be 
a 
double 
consumption. 
We 
need 
to 
have 
a 
referencial 
data. 
We 
don’t 
allocate 
directly 
to 
the 
cost 
object 
because 
we 
need 
to 
take 
into 
consideration 
the 
reciprocal 
services 
among 
(second 
step) 
service 
department. 
When 
it’s 
done, 
we 
can 
us 
the 
cost-­‐allocation 
base 
to 
allocate 
pools 
of 
indirect 
costs 
to 
cost 
objects. 
Besides, 
cost 
pools 
can 
be 
allocated 
to 
other 
cost 
pools 
before 
ending 
in 
the 
cost 
object.
Management 
Accounting 
Control 
2012-­‐2013 
Manon 
Cuylits 
Algebraic 
Method: 
I’ll 
have 
to 
solve 
mathematical 
equations. 
At 
the 
beginning 
I 
can 
identify 
some 
costs, 
I 
will 
identify 
the 
costs 
by 
nature. 
I 
will 
look 
at 
the 
bill 
and 
identify 
if 
it’s 
a 
cost 
for 
a 
service, 
a 
material 
bought 
to 
a 
supplyer 
etc. 
4 
types 
of 
cost 
nature: 
108 
- labour 
- service 
(bought 
to 
a 
supplier 
ex 
cleaning 
service) 
- material 
- amortization 
Those 
cost 
I 
can 
identify 
them 
and 
the 
only 
thing 
I 
know 
is 
the 
nature 
of 
those 
costs. 
At 
the 
end 
I 
want 
those 
costd 
allocated 
to 
the 
final 
product 
or 
service. 
Whenever 
you 
buy 
a 
PC 
a 
fraction 
of 
that 
cost 
is 
coming 
from 
the 
salary 
of 
the 
CEO 
of 
the 
company 
for 
example. 
Process 
to 
go 
from 
origin 
(cost 
by 
nature) 
to 
destination 
(cost 
object). 
If 
the 
cost 
is 
direct 
it 
goes 
directly 
to 
the 
cost 
object, 
no 
problem. 
Indrect 
cost: 
cost 
which 
can’t 
be 
traced 
easily 
to 
the 
cost 
object, 
cost 
which 
is 
not 
direct. 
1st 
I 
will 
group 
them 
in 
cost 
pools 
(= 
traditional 
department 
in 
a 
company 
ex: 
HR, 
IT, 
marketing, 
Sales, 
production,e 
tc.). 
We’ll 
have 
main 
cost 
pools 
and 
auxiliary 
cost 
pools 
… 
Main 
cost 
Pools: 
where 
procution 
is 
made. 
Production 
deoartment 
Auxiliary 
cost 
pool: 
support 
department. 
That’s 
not 
where 
the 
action 
takes 
place 
(that’s 
main 
cost 
ppols). 
I 
group 
my 
costd 
into 
the 
right 
cost 
bools 
thanks 
to 
a 
MEASUREMENT 
METHOD 
(time 
sheet 
etc.) 
or 
using 
AN 
ALLOCATION 
BASE 
(number 
of 
square 
meters, 
of 
people, 
of 
PCs, 
etc.). 
It’s 
alxways 
one 
of 
those 
2 
methods. 
The 
best 
one 
is 
the 
first 
one, 
when 
you 
have 
a 
measurement 
tool 
available. 
… 
If 
I 
use 
more 
square 
meters 
I 
will 
have 
to 
heat 
(chauffer) 
more. 
Heating 
costs. 
…
Management 
Accounting 
Control 
2012-­‐2013 
Manon 
Cuylits 
Each 
room 
has 
its 
own 
calory 
meter. 
For 
each 
room 
you 
know 
the 
exact 
number 
of 
calories 
used. 
(possibility 
to 
work 
with 
pull 
overs 
etc.) 
IT 
costs: 
You 
may 
decide 
to 
allocate 
IT 
cost 
based 
on 
a 
number 
of 
PCs. 
It 
makes 
sense. 
We’ll 
allocate 
twice 
more 
IT 
when 
twice 
more 
PCs 
for 
example. 
We’ll 
ask 
technicians 
to 
use 
time 
sheet 
(fill 
them), 
whenever 
they 
repair 
a 
PC 
they 
need 
to 
write 
it 
on 
a 
time 
sheet. 
Measurement 
= 
time 
sheet. 
I 
have 
the 
information 
on 
which 
I 
can 
make 
my 
cost 
allocation. 
If 
no 
measurement, 
find 
a 
way 
to 
allocate, 
based 
on 
an 
allocation 
method. 
109 
That 
was 
the 
first 
step. 
Put 
the 
costs 
in 
the 
right 
cost 
pool. 
(main 
and 
auxiliary). 
I 
will 
solve 
the 
issue 
of 
reciprocal 
services. 
There 
are 
services 
from 
one 
service 
department 
to 
another 
one. 
Once 
that 
done, 
I 
will 
be 
able 
to… 
All 
indirect 
cost 
will 
first 
be 
group 
into 
cost 
pools. 
After 
that: 
either 
transferred 
to 
other 
cost 
pools 
or 
allocated 
to 
the 
cost 
object. 
At 
a 
given 
moment 
I 
wan 
to 
have 
all 
the 
auxiliary 
cost 
pools 
exmpty 
(transfer 
to 
the 
main 
cost 
pools) 
and 
then 
from 
the 
main 
cost 
pools 
to 
the 
cost 
objects. 
Final 
destination: 
I 
want 
to 
have 
all 
the 
costs 
allocated 
to 
the 
cost 
object. 
PRIMARY 
ALLOCATION 
and 
then 
SECONDARY 
ALLOCATION. 
OVERVIEW 
OF 
THE 
FULL 
COSTING 
PROCESS
Management 
Accounting 
Control 
2012-­‐2013 
Manon 
Cuylits 
110 
All 
indirect 
costs 
will 
first 
be 
grouped 
in 
cost 
pools, 
and 
after 
that 
they 
will: 
• Either 
be 
transferred 
to 
other 
cost 
pools; 
• Or 
allocated 
to 
cost 
objects, 
which 
is 
always 
the 
final 
destination. 
In 
order 
to 
do 
this, 
two 
successive 
allocation 
steps 
will 
take 
place: 
primary 
allocation 
and 
secondary 
allocation. 
PRIMARY 
ALLOCATION 
All 
indirect 
costs 
to 
cost 
pools. The 
total 
of 
the 
costs 
regrouped 
in 
one 
cost 
pool 
is 
the 
cost 
of 
this 
cost 
pool. 
There 
are 
2 
categories 
of 
cost 
pool: 
• Main 
cost 
pools 
: 
their 
costs 
will 
be 
almost 
fully 
transferred 
to 
cost 
objects; 
• Auxiliary 
cost 
pools: 
they 
provide 
services 
to 
other 
cost 
pools 
(main 
or 
auxiliary). 
Auxiliary 
cost 
pools 
are 
sometimes 
called 
« 
service 
centers» 
or 
« 
support 
centers 
», 
because 
they 
don’t 
have 
direct 
link 
with 
what 
is 
being 
produced, 
but 
they 
contribute 
to 
the 
internal 
organization 
by 
providing 
services 
to 
other 
centers. 
Typical 
examples: 
payroll 
admin, 
IT, 
maintenance, 
HR. 
Primary 
allocation 
: 
we 
allocate 
all 
the 
indirect 
costs 
to 
cost 
pools. 
These 
indirect 
costs 
come 
from 
supporting 
service 
and 
producing 
department 
that 
will 
be 
reflected 
in 
auxiliary 
and 
main 
pools. 
The 
auxiliary 
pools 
will 
still 
influence 
the 
department 
and 
still 
provide 
costs
Management 
Accounting 
Control 
2012-­‐2013 
Manon 
Cuylits 
to 
other 
services. 
. 
That’s 
why 
we’ll 
need 
to 
allocate 
them 
in 
the 
main 
pools 
to 
cover 
all 
the 
indirect 
costs. 
111 
PUTIN 
INDIRECT 
COST 
AND 
PUT 
IT 
IN 
THE 
RIGHT 
POOL. 
Main 
cost 
pool: 
cost 
pool 
whose 
cost 
will 
be 
almost 
fully 
transferred 
to 
the 
cost 
object. 
… 
I 
start 
with 
my 
indreict 
cost 
when 
they 
happen 
and 
I 
will 
put 
them 
in 
the 
right 
cost 
pool, 
main 
or 
auxiliary. 
This 
is 
the 
primary 
allocation. 
Any 
indirect 
cost 
will 
be 
transferred 
to 
one 
of 
the 
pools. 
SECONDARY 
ALLOCATION 
The 
purpose 
is 
to 
allocate 
the 
costs 
of 
the 
auxiliary 
pools 
to 
the 
main 
pools. 
Secondary 
allocation 
: 
we’ll 
observe 
what 
happens 
inside 
the 
cost 
pools. 
The 
purpose 
is 
to 
allocate 
the 
auxiliary 
pools 
to 
the 
main 
pools. 
We 
want 
to 
have 
all 
the 
auxiliary 
costs 
empty. 
Then 
I 
will 
have 
to 
perform 
a 
secondary 
allocation. 
The 
aim 
is 
to 
allocate 
the 
costs 
to 
the 
main 
pools. 
I 
take 
all 
my 
auxiliary 
cost 
and 
the 
aim 
is 
to 
empty 
them 
and 
put 
them 
in 
the 
main 
pools. 
That’s 
what 
I 
want 
by 
the 
end 
of 
the 
step: 
empty 
auxiliary 
pools 
and 
amounts 
transferred 
to 
the 
main 
pools. 
I 
do 
it 
USING 
AN 
ALLOCATION 
BASE 
that 
we’ll 
have 
to 
choose. 
Sometimes 
it’s 
going 
to 
be 
3 
times 
1/3, 
it 
depends 
on 
the 
allocation 
base.
Management 
Accounting 
Control 
2012-­‐2013 
Manon 
Cuylits 
112 
REPROGICAL 
SERVICES 
ALGEBRAIC 
METHOD 
The 
reciprocal 
method 
allocates 
support-­‐department 
costs 
to 
operating 
departments 
by 
fully 
recognizinng 
the 
mutual 
services 
provided 
among 
all 
support 
departments. 
This 
is 
of 
course 
contradictory 
with 
the 
step 
method, 
since 
there 
are 
services 
« 
simultaneously 
» 
provided 
between 
support 
departments. 
Pool 
A 
provides 
services 
to 
pool 
B, 
and 
simultaneously 
pool 
B 
provides 
services 
to 
pool 
A. 
We’ll 
use 
that 
method 
to 
deal 
with 
the 
reciprociacal 
method.
Management 
Accounting 
Control 
2012-­‐2013 
Manon 
Cuylits 
We 
have 
Pool 
A 
and 
B, 
auxiliary 
pools, 
fulfilled 
with 
indreict 
costs 
and 
them 
made 
empty, 
transfer 
of 
the 
amounts 
to 
main 
pools?. 
SIMULTANEOUSLY 
Problem 
! 
113 
EXAMPLE 
A 
research 
laboratory 
works 
on 
4 
projects, 
named 
P1 
to 
P4. 
The 
operations 
are 
supported 
by 
a 
HR 
department, 
and 
another 
department 
in 
charge 
of 
the 
IT 
equipment 
maintenance. 
All 
the 
costs 
are 
allocated 
by 
using 
the 
table 
on 
the 
next 
slide. 
Obviously 
the 
project 
is 
my 
cost 
object, 
I 
want 
to 
know 
what’s 
the 
total 
cost 
of 
the 
project 
(cost 
object). 
4 
projects 
then 
4 
costs 
objects. 
The 
operations, 
are 
supported 
by 
HR 
department 
and 
another 
one 
in 
charge 
with 
maintenance 
of 
the 
computers. 
One 
department 
is 
in 
charge 
with 
work 
on 
the 
project 
P1, 
another 
one 
with 
project 
P2 
etc. 
How 
many 
departments? 
At 
least 
4, 
one 
per 
project. 
But 
on 
the 
top 
of 
that 
I 
have 
a 
human 
resource 
department 
and 
an 
IT 
maintenance 
department: 
6 
departments 
then. 
How 
many 
dep 
might 
be 
considered 
as 
main 
departments 
and 
how 
many 
as 
support? 
MAIN: 
4, 
the 
4 
working 
on 
the 
projects 
and 
2 
support 
departments. 
That’s 
the 
basis 
for 
our 
analysis. 
Different 
departments 
in 
the 
table. 
Example 
: 
A 
research 
laboratory 
works 
on 
4 
projects, 
named 
P1 
to 
P4.The 
operations 
are 
supported 
by 
a 
HR 
department, 
and 
another 
department 
in 
charge 
of 
the 
IT 
equipment 
maintenance. 
All 
the 
costs 
are 
allocated 
by 
using 
the 
table 
on 
the 
next 
slide.
Management 
Accounting 
Control 
2012-­‐2013 
Manon 
Cuylits 
Let’s 
assume 
that 
for 
a 
given 
period 
of 
time, 
I 
will 
record 
a 
total 
of 
3 
billion 
euros, 
total 
of 
all 
my 
costs. 
I 
will 
perform 
the 
primary 
allocation 
(allocating 
those 
costs 
to 
all 
the 
different 
cost 
pools, 
primary 
or 
auxiliary). 
Why 
is 
it 
10% 
? 
No 
idea, 
that’s 
given. 
That’s 
a 
specifi 
allocation 
base. 
2 
basic 
ways 
to 
allocate 
that 
cost 
to 
the 
various 
cost 
pools: 
114 
- Measuremnt 
(time 
sheet, 
accounter) 
- Allocation 
base 
Those 
are 
the 
results 
of 
the 
primary 
allocation. 
It 
might 
be 
the 
result 
of 
time 
sheets 
or 
anything 
else 
but 
now 
I’m 
just 
having 
a 
look 
at 
the 
results, 
not 
at 
the 
reasons. 
After 
the 
primary 
allocation 
we 
need 
to 
go 
through 
the 
secondary 
allocation. 
= 
What 
do 
I 
want 
to 
do 
with 
that 
allocation? 
Empty 
the 
auxiliary 
cost 
pools 
down 
to 
the 
main 
cost 
pools. 
At 
the 
end 
of 
that 
allocation 
I 
want 
to 
have 
HR 
and 
IT 
cost 
pools 
EMPTY 
and 
all 
the 
costs 
transferred 
to 
the 
4 
main 
cost 
pools. 
In 
order 
to 
do 
that 
I 
need 
an 
allocation 
base. 
Here 
it’s 
given. 
TO 
allocate 
HR 
costs, 
you 
need 
an 
allocation 
base 
for 
example. 
30% 
is 
for 
IT, 
20% 
for 
P1, 
P2 
and 
P3, 
and 
10% 
for 
P4. 
Etc. 
People 
from 
HR 
management 
for 
30% 
of 
their 
time 
(or 
spend 
30% 
of 
their 
resources) 
for 
IT 
department 
(it”s 
the 
same 
rto 
say 
that). 
I 
will 
do 
exactly 
the 
same 
for 
IT 
department.
Management 
Accounting 
Control 
2012-­‐2013 
Manon 
Cuylits 
What 
do 
I 
want 
then? 
To 
empty 
the 
total 
cost 
of 
human 
resource. 
What’s 
the 
problem 
with 
reciprocal 
services? 
TOTAL 
OF 
HR 
Management: 
164.000 
+ 
10% 
of 
IT 
TOTAL 
OF 
IT 
maintenance: 
300.000 
+ 
30% 
of 
the 
total 
amount 
of 
HR 
management. 
It 
looks 
like 
I 
am 
turning 
around. 
HR 
amount 
of 
money 
refers 
to 
IT 
and 
IT 
amount 
refers 
to 
HR 
!!!!! 
To 
know 
the 
amount 
of 
money 
in 
HR 
I 
need 
to 
know 
the 
one 
in 
IT 
and 
to 
know 
the 
amount 
of 
money 
in 
IT 
I 
need 
to 
know 
the 
amount 
of 
money 
in 
HR. 
Mathematically 
it’s 
really 
easy 
to 
solve. 
115 
The 
total 
of 
all 
indirect 
costs 
is 
3 
000 
000. 
- The 
primary 
allocation 
: 
is 
to 
allocate 
the 
indirect 
costs 
to 
the 
other 
entities 
(P1,P2,P3,P4). 
How 
was 
it 
been 
allocated 
: 
either 
measurement 
method 
or 
allocation 
base 
or 
a 
combination 
of 
that. 
- The 
secondary 
allocation 
: 
we’ll 
use 
an 
allocation 
base 
to 
express 
the 
percentage 
of 
costs 
related 
to 
each 
project 
for 
each 
department. 
The 
figures 
is 
calculated 
internally 
and 
are 
given 
for 
the 
table. 
However, 
during 
the 
secondary 
allocation, 
we 
didn’t 
take 
into 
consideration 
the 
reciprocal 
services. 
The 
problem 
is 
that 
IT 
department 
is 
providing 
services 
to 
HR 
department 
and 
“inversément”. 
The 
total 
allocation 
for 
the 
HR 
management 
is 
30% 
+ 
costs 
allocated 
for 
the 
IT 
department 
and 
the 
same 
for 
the 
IT 
department. 
But 
we 
don’t 
know 
the 
amount 
of 
costs 
for 
the 
respective 
department 
(HR 
for 
IT 
management, 
and 
IT 
for 
HR 
management). 
The 
solution 
so 
is 
to 
use 
“x” 
to 
be 
the 
unknown 
total 
of 
the 
HR 
department, 
and 
“y” 
the 
unknown 
total 
of 
the 
IT 
department. 
We 
have 
the 
following: 
HR 
department 
: 
X 
= 
164000 
+ 
0.10Y 
IT 
department 
: 
Y 
= 
300 
000+ 
0.30X 
leading 
to 
x 
=200 
000 
et 
y 
=360 
000, 
which 
allows 
to 
finish 
the 
allocation 
table 
(see 
following 
slide). 
Let’s 
go 
ahead 
with 
the 
secondary 
allocation. 
There 
are 
reciprocal 
services 
between 
HR 
and 
IT 
department.
Management 
Accounting 
Control 
2012-­‐2013 
Manon 
Cuylits 
116 
Let 
x 
be 
the 
unknown 
total 
of 
the 
HR 
department, 
and 
y 
the 
unknown 
total 
of 
the 
IT 
department. 
We 
have 
the 
following: 
Way 
to 
solve 
mathematically 
X 
= 
164.000 
+ 
10% 
of 
Y 
Y 
= 
300.000 
+ 
30% 
of 
X. 
2 
equations 
with 
two 
unknown 
variables. 
Easy 
to 
solve 
then. 
Why 
2 
equations 
with 
two 
unknown 
variables? 
Because 
2 
auxiliary. 
If 
I 
had 
3 
auxiliaries, 
I 
would 
have 
3 
equations 
with 
3 
unknown 
values. 
How 
are 
we 
going 
to 
solve 
that? 
We 
take 
the 
value 
“X 
=” 
and 
replace 
it 
in 
the 
second 
equation, 
and 
then 
we 
just 
solve. 
Therefore, 
we 
have 
the 
equations 
systems: 
• 164000 
+ 
0,10 
y 
= 
x 
• 300 
000 
+ 
0,30 
x 
= 
y 
Leading 
to 
x 
=200 
000 
et 
y 
=360 
000, 
which 
allows 
to 
finish 
the 
allocation 
table 
(see 
following 
slide):
Management 
Accounting 
Control 
2012-­‐2013 
Manon 
Cuylits 
There 
are 
no 
indirect 
costs 
left 
in 
the 
two 
departments, 
all 
the 
indirect 
costs 
have 
been 
allocated 
to 
the 
projects 
: 
P1,P2,P3 
and 
P4. 
(for 
Hr 
department 
: 
164.000 
– 
200.000 
+ 
36.000 
= 
0). 
In 
some 
case, 
highly 
different 
assumption 
can 
lead 
to 
minor 
difference 
in 
the 
calculation. 
So, 
the 
method 
is 
not 
sensitive 
to 
the 
assumption. 
117 
This methodology allows even further refinement: 
BUT= 
HUMAN 
RESOURCES 
IS 
ALSO 
WORKING 
FOR 
ITSELF 
!!!
Management 
Accounting 
Control 
2012-­‐2013 
Manon 
Cuylits 
here 
we 
see 
that 
HR 
work 
10% 
of 
their 
time 
for 
itself, 
and 
IT 
5% 
of 
their 
time 
for 
itself, 
so 
we 
put 
a 
percentage 
in 
the 
right 
case 
here. 
Let’s 
go 
ahead 
again 
with 
the 
secondary 
allocation. 
There 
are 
reciprocal 
services 
between 
HR 
and 
IT 
department, 
and 
self-­‐provided 
services. 
Let 
x 
be 
the 
unknown 
total 
of 
the 
HR 
department, 
and 
y 
the 
unknown 
total 
of 
the 
IT 
department. 
We 
have 
now 
the 
following: 
118 
Exactly 
the 
same 
method 
to 
solve 
the 
equation 
Therefore, 
we 
have 
the 
equations 
systems: 
• 164000 
+ 
0,05 
y 
+ 
0,1 
x 
= 
x 
• 300 
000 
+ 
0,20 
x 
+ 
0,05 
y 
= 
y 
leading 
to 
x 
= 
202 
130 
and 
y 
= 
358 
343, 
which 
allows 
to 
finish 
the 
allocation 
table 
(see 
following 
slide): 
There’s 
no 
big 
difference 
after 
the 
refinement, 
we 
see 
that 
sometimes 
the 
refinement 
is 
worthless.
Management 
Accounting 
Control 
2012-­‐2013 
Manon 
Cuylits 
119
Management 
Accounting 
Control 
2012-­‐2013 
Manon 
Cuylits 
Sometimes, 
subsidiaries 
can 
perfom 
better 
than 
other 
in 
th 
full 
costing 
method, 
but 
we 
need 
to 
take 
into 
consideration 
if 
there 
are 
over/undercosted 
and 
what 
kind 
of 
allocation 
method 
is 
used. 
It 
can 
change 
figures 
and 
cannot 
reflect 
the 
reality. 
Differences in pourcentage. Using one allocation base and another one. The effect in 
percentage is almost not changing. Message: don’t over sophisticate the method, 
sometimes you won’t see the real result using a more sophisticated method. In this 
case, using one method or the other, there’s no big difference so no more effort 
needed. 
As management controller you don’t look for the 100% accurate solution/ 100% 
visibility. You look for the good visibility (?). You have to be carefull with all those 
sophisticated method, you’re not looking for the PERFECT method. 
120 
PARTIAL 
OVERHEAD 
ABSORPTION
Management 
Accounting 
Control 
2012-­‐2013 
Manon 
Cuylits 
121 
You 
may 
look 
to 
some 
partial 
costs. 
We 
won’t 
cover 
this 
part, 
we 
should 
read 
it 
but 
no 
question 
at 
the 
exam. 
The 
allocation, 
sometimes 
made 
on 
a 
more 
or 
less 
arbitrary 
basis, 
of 
the 
overhead 
and 
structure 
costs 
to 
the 
products 
or 
services 
sold 
during 
the 
time 
period 
is 
not 
always 
the 
most 
relevant 
method 
allowing 
to 
take 
sound 
decisions 
(pricing, 
etc...) 
Actually, 
it 
is 
sometimes 
better 
to 
calculate 
a 
“margin” 
that 
simply 
measures 
the 
contribution 
of 
the 
different 
products 
and 
services 
to 
the 
common 
costs. 
In 
this 
case, 
it 
is 
better 
to 
use 
partial 
overhead 
absorption 
method, 
that 
will 
absorb 
only 
a 
well 
defined 
portion 
of 
the 
total 
costs, 
rather 
than 
calculate 
the 
total 
cost. 
The 
methods 
that 
are 
used 
in 
practice 
are 
: 
• Margin 
on 
direct 
cost 
• Margin 
on 
variable 
cost 
• Margin 
on 
specific 
cost 
The 
allocation, 
sometimes 
made 
on 
a 
more 
or 
less 
arbitrary 
basis, 
of 
the 
overhead 
and 
structure 
costs 
to 
the 
products 
or 
services 
sold 
during 
the 
time 
period 
is 
not 
always 
the 
most 
relevant 
method 
allowing 
to 
take 
sound 
decisions 
(pricing, 
etc...) 
Actually, 
it 
is 
sometimes 
better 
to 
calculate 
a 
“margin” 
that 
simply 
measures 
the 
contribution 
of 
the 
different 
products 
and 
services 
to 
the 
common 
costs. 
In 
this 
case, 
it 
is 
better 
to 
use 
partial 
overhead 
absorption 
method, 
that 
will 
absorb 
only 
a 
well 
defined 
portion 
of 
the 
total 
costs, 
rather 
than 
calculate 
the 
total 
cost 
The 
methods 
that 
are 
used 
in 
practice 
are 
: 
- Margin 
on 
direct 
cost 
: 
is 
the 
opposite 
of 
variable 
costs 
- Margin 
on 
variable 
cost 
: 
is 
the 
opposite 
of 
direct 
costs 
- Margin 
on 
specific 
cost 
: 
the 
most 
used 
method 
in 
practice. 
It 
concerns 
all 
variable 
costs 
(direct 
and 
indirect) 
+ 
fixed 
direct 
costs. 
The 
four 
possible 
is 
fixed, 
variable, 
direct 
and 
indirect. 
Under 
that 
method, 
only 
the 
fixed 
indirect 
costs 
are 
not 
taken 
into 
account 
because 
it’s 
the 
most 
difficult 
to 
allocate. 
The 
other 
costs 
are 
easy 
to 
allocate. 
MARGIN 
ON 
DIRECT 
COST
Management 
Accounting 
Control 
2012-­‐2013 
Manon 
Cuylits 
122 
MARGIN 
ON 
VARIABLE 
COSTS 
MARGIN 
ON 
SPECIFIC 
COSTS 
This 
method 
is 
much 
more 
used 
in 
practice.
Management 
Accounting 
Control 
2012-­‐2013 
Manon 
Cuylits 
Applying 
this 
method 
allows 
therefore 
the 
separation 
of 
specific 
fixed 
costs 
from 
common 
fixed 
costs. 
It 
allows 
the 
calculation 
of 
a 
« 
margin 
on 
specific 
costs», 
also 
called 
«contribution». 
The 
specific 
cost 
is 
not 
a 
full 
cost, 
but 
it 
is 
often 
very 
close, 
since 
the 
gap 
is 
only 
related 
to 
the 
common 
part 
of 
structure 
costs, 
which 
is 
often 
useless 
to 
allocate 
distinctly 
to 
every 
product. 
Building 
the 
margin 
on 
specific 
cost 
is 
described 
the 
following 
way 
(for 
a 
company 
having 
3 
activities 
A, 
B 
et 
C) 
: 
This 
method 
shows 
the 
same 
type 
of 
advantage 
as 
the 
margin 
on 
variable 
costs; 
it 
is 
a 
« 
natural 
» 
enhancement. 
In 
particular, 
all 
issues 
related 
to 
keeping 
or 
leaving 
an 
activity 
may 
be 
adressed 
through 
specific 
costs. 
Compared 
to 
margin 
on 
variable 
costs, 
it 
shows 
more 
clearly 
the 
contribution 
of 
each 
product, 
service 
or 
activity 
to 
the 
structure 
costs. 
This 
allows 
to 
identify 
which 
portion 
would 
remain 
if 
the 
decision 
is 
taken 
to 
leave 
the 
product, 
service 
or 
activity. 
123
Management 
Accounting 
Control 
2012-­‐2013 
Manon 
Cuylits 
124 
ACTIVITY-­‐BASED 
COSTING 
(ABC) 
Different 
approach. 
ABC 
is 
an 
approach 
to 
costing 
that 
focuses 
on 
individual 
activities 
as 
the 
fundamental 
cost 
objects. 
It 
uses 
the 
costs 
of 
these 
activities 
as 
the 
basis 
for 
assigning 
costs 
to 
other 
costs 
objects 
such 
as 
the 
products 
or 
services. 
An 
activity 
is 
an 
event, 
task 
or 
unit 
of 
work 
with 
a 
specified 
purpose 
(for 
example 
designing 
products, 
setting 
up 
machines, 
...) 
More 
informally: 
activities 
are 
verbs; 
they 
are 
things 
that 
a 
company 
does. 
We 
focus 
on 
activities 
as 
cost 
object. 
We 
just 
use 
the 
activities 
for 
the 
cost 
allocation. 
It’s 
another 
method 
of 
cost 
allocation 
and 
it’s 
more 
accurate. 
The 
basis 
idea 
is 
to 
avoid 
any 
over 
or 
undercosting. 
A 
cost 
object 
can 
be 
overcosted 
or 
undercosted. 
If 
indirect 
cost 
is 
too 
high, 
we’ll 
talk 
about 
overcosted 
Ex 
(1): 
We 
have 
three 
people 
going 
to 
the 
restaurant. 
The 
total 
bill 
is 
60€. 
If 
we 
are 
good 
friends, 
we 
take 
the 
bill 
divided 
by 
three 
= 
20. 
Who’s 
overcosted 
and 
undercosted 
?Jose 
and 
Nancy 
are 
overcosted 
whereas 
Roberta 
is 
undercosted. 
In 
a 
business 
language, 
this 
situation 
can 
be 
translated 
by 
: 
we 
have 
a 
total 
cost 
we 
want 
to 
allocate 
to 
different 
cost 
objects 
(=three 
persons). 
The 
result 
of 
the 
cost 
allocation 
is 
20 
on 
each 
cost 
object. 
The 
allocation 
cost 
process 
is 
allocated 
equally 
to 
the 
cost 
objects. 
In 
this 
case, 
I 
perform 
an 
allocation 
of 
the 
total 
cost 
and 
we 
allocate 
a 
cost 
to 
the 
cost 
objects 
based 
on 
the 
allocation 
base. 
It’s 
far 
from 
the 
reality. 
Ex 
(2): 
Kole 
corporation 
is 
manufacturing 
a 
normal 
lens 
and 
complex 
lens. 
I 
assume 
that 
the 
company 
uses 
a 
single 
indirect-­‐cost 
rate 
job 
costing 
system. 
The 
cost 
objects 
are 
the 
lens: 
80NL 
+ 
20CL. 
The 
normal 
lens 
includes 
direct 
materials 
and 
direct 
mfg 
labor. 
The 
direct 
cost 
per 
unit 
is 
29€. 
For 
the 
complex 
lens, 
the 
direct 
cost 
per 
unit 
is 
59€. 
For 
the 
indirect 
costs, 
we 
have 
2.900. 
000. 
We 
have 
to 
allocate 
that 
to 
the 
final 
cost 
objects 
in 
order 
to 
do 
that 
we’ll 
have 
to 
define 
an 
allocation 
base. 
Since 
it’s 
a 
manufacturing 
company, 
it’s 
a 
good 
idée 
to 
allocate 
that 
in 
function 
of 
the 
manufacturing 
labor-­‐hours. 
Logic 
= 
if 
we 
need 
more 
lens, 
we’ll 
need 
more 
workforce. 
Per 
unit, 
it 
is 
58€ 
per 
direct 
manufacturing 
labor-­‐hours.
Management 
Accounting 
Control 
2012-­‐2013 
Manon 
Cuylits 
Ex(3) 
: 
We 
have 
a 
total 
of 
50 
000 
costs, 
and 
the 
division 
is 
: 
Kole 
uses 
36,000 
direct 
manufacturing 
labor-­‐hours 
to 
make 
NL 
and 
14,000 
direct 
manufacturing 
labor-­‐hours 
to 
make 
CL. 
How 
much 
indirect 
cost 
are 
allocated 
ot 
each 
product 
? 
NL 
:36.000 
x 
58 
= 
2.088.000 
(=indirect 
cost 
allocated) 
CL 
: 
14.000 
x58€ 
= 
812.000 
The 
total 
costs 
of 
the 
normal 
lense 
is 
direct 
costs 
+ 
allocated 
indirect 
costs 
(2.320.000 
+ 
2.088.000) 
and 
th 
complexe 
lense 
is 
similar 
((1.992.000). 
125 
è 
this 
is 
the 
traditional 
allocating 
method 
using 
the 
allocation 
method 
base 
= 
direct 
manufacturing 
labour 
hours. 
ABC 
is 
an 
approach 
to 
costing 
that 
focuses 
on 
individual 
activities 
as 
the 
fundamental 
cost 
objects. 
It 
uses 
the 
costs 
of 
these 
activities 
as 
the 
basis 
for 
assigning 
costs 
to 
other 
costs 
objects 
such 
as 
the 
products 
or 
services. 
An 
activity 
is 
an 
event, 
task 
or 
unit 
of 
work 
with 
a 
specified 
purpose 
(for 
example 
designing 
products, 
setting 
up 
machines, 
...) 
More 
informally: 
activities 
are 
verbs; 
they 
are 
things 
that 
a 
company 
does. 
Activity-­‐Based 
Costing 
(ABC) 
is 
another 
method 
of 
allocating 
costs 
to 
products 
and 
services. 
It 
is 
generally 
used 
as 
a 
tool 
for 
planning 
and 
control. 
It 
was 
developed 
as 
an 
approach 
to 
address 
problems 
associated 
with 
traditional 
cost 
management 
systems, 
that 
tend 
to 
have 
the 
inability 
to 
accurately 
determine 
actual 
production 
and 
service 
costs, 
or 
provide 
useful 
information 
for 
operating 
decisions. 
With 
these 
deficiencies, 
managers 
can 
be 
exposed 
to 
making 
decisions 
based 
on 
inaccurate 
data. 
The 
higher 
exposure 
is 
for 
companies 
with 
multiple 
products 
or 
services. 
ABC 
allows 
managers 
to 
attribute 
costs 
to 
activities 
and 
products 
more 
accurately 
than 
traditional 
cost 
accounting 
methods. 
The 
activities 
responsible 
for 
the 
costs 
can 
be 
identified 
and 
passed 
on 
to 
users 
only 
when 
the 
product 
or 
service 
uses 
the 
activity. 
Some 
of 
the 
advantages 
ABC 
offers 
is 
an 
improved 
means 
of 
identifying 
high 
overhead 
costs 
per 
unit 
and 
finding 
ways 
to 
reduce 
the 
costs.
Management 
Accounting 
Control 
2012-­‐2013 
Manon 
Cuylits 
126 
The 
way 
it 
works 
is: 
• First 
major 
activities 
are 
identified 
in 
the 
process 
system. 
• Next 
cost 
pools 
are 
created 
for 
groups 
of 
activities 
that 
can 
be 
allocated 
together. 
• Following 
this 
cost 
drivers 
are 
identified. 
The 
number 
of 
cost 
drivers 
used 
vary 
depending 
on 
the 
balance 
between 
accuracy 
and 
complexity. 
• After 
determining 
the 
cost 
drivers, 
rates 
are 
calculated. 
• The 
rates 
are 
then 
applied 
to 
the 
respective 
cost 
drivers 
for 
each 
product 
or 
service 
that 
is 
being 
considered. 
• The 
overhead 
cost 
per 
unit 
is 
then 
derived 
by 
dividing 
the 
total 
cost 
for 
the 
product 
by 
the 
total 
product 
units. 
Learning 
Objective 
1: 
Explain 
undercosting 
and 
overcosting 
of 
products 
and 
services. 
Undercosting 
and 
Overcosting 
Example 
Undercosting 
and 
overcosting 
problematic 
(products 
and 
service) 
There’s 
a 
risk 
of 
putting 
to 
much 
or 
not 
enough 
money 
when 
allocating, 
depending 
on 
the 
method 
I 
use.
Management 
Accounting 
Control 
2012-­‐2013 
Manon 
Cuylits 
What’s 
likely 
to 
happens 
when 
you’re 
a 
good 
friend? 
You 
divide 
it 
by 
3: 
20. 
Everybody’s 
going 
to 
pay 
20. 
That 
person 
is 
obviously 
undercosted. 
(?) 
One 
perso 
undercosted 
and 
2 
are 
overcosted. 
But 
no 
problem 
in 
this 
case 
cause 
we 
can 
assume 
that 
those 
eprsons 
are 
good 
friends. 
But 
it 
might 
be 
a 
problem 
in 
other 
problematics. 
If 
it 
costs 
to 
much 
because 
of 
a 
mistake 
in 
my 
process 
and 
I 
decide 
to 
stop 
the 
production 
because 
It 
seems 
to 
be 
overciosted, 
it 
might 
be 
a 
bad 
decision. 
Learning 
Objective 
2: 
Present 
guidelines 
for 
refining 
a 
costing 
system 
127 
EXISTING 
SINGLE 
INDIRECT-­‐ 
COST 
POOL 
SYSTEM 
EXAMPLE 
We 
have 
a 
company 
manufacturing 
lenses 
(for 
microscopes).
Management 
Accounting 
Control 
2012-­‐2013 
Manon 
Cuylits 
128 
2 
types 
of 
lenses: 
normal 
and 
complex 
I 
will 
produce 
80.000 
normal 
lenses 
and 
20.000 
complex 
lenses. 
Each 
normal 
lense 
produced 
has 
a 
direct 
cost 
of 
29 
euros. 
Each 
complex 
lens 
produced 
has 
a 
direct 
cost 
of 
59 
euro.
Management 
Accounting 
Control 
2012-­‐2013 
Manon 
Cuylits 
Now 
we 
are 
going 
to 
deal 
with 
the 
indirect 
costs. 
Total 
costs 
= 
indirect 
+ 
direct 
(basic). 
I 
will 
pool 
all 
the 
indirect 
cost 
in 
a 
cost 
pool. 
Total 
amount 
of 
2.900.00 
euros. 
I 
need 
to 
allocate 
that 
to 
the 
different 
lenses, 
normal 
and 
complexes. 
I 
decide 
to 
allocate 
it 
on 
the 
basis 
of 
direct 
hours. 
(see 
different 
methods 
above). 
If 
I 
want 
to 
allocate 
2.900.000 
on 
the 
basis 
of 
50.000 
direct 
labor 
hours: 
58 
euros 
of 
indirect 
cost 
per 
direct 
manufacturing 
labor 
hour. 
(?) 
In 
this 
case 
what’s 
the 
meaning 
of 
that 
amount 
of 
money? 
Whenever 
a 
lens 
is 
going 
to 
use 
1 
hour 
of 
direct 
labor 
hour, 
I 
will 
count 
on 
the 
top 
of 
that 
58 
euros 
of 
indirect 
cost. 
If 
a 
lens 
requires 
10 
direct 
labor 
hours, 
I 
will 
add 
580 
euros 
of 
indirect 
cost. 
58 
euros 
of 
indirect 
cost 
per 
direct 
manufacturing 
hour. 
Now 
I 
can 
compute 
the 
total 
cost: 
direct 
and 
indirect 
costs. 
Here 
I 
can 
compute 
the 
total 
costs. 
For 
a 
given 
lens 
I 
will 
look 
at 
the 
number 
of 
direct 
hours 
needed 
to 
produce 
it 
and 
then 
multipliate. 
129 
LET 
S 
WORK 
THAT 
OUT.
Management 
Accounting 
Control 
2012-­‐2013 
Manon 
Cuylits 
CL 
= 
complex 
lenses 
NL 
= 
normal 
lenses 
That 
amount 
of 
money 
is 
spread 
between 
the 
2 
types 
of 
lenses. 
I 
perform 
the 
allocation 
of 
the 
total 
indirect 
costs 
to 
my 
different 
cost 
objects. 
The 
allocation 
base 
(labor 
hours) 
is 
ok 
because 
the 
more 
hours 
I 
use, 
the 
more 
it 
costs 
(?). 
Direct 
cost 
that 
has 
been 
computed 
earlier 
+ 
the 
indirect 
= 
4.408.000 
euros. 
The 
cost 
per 
unit 
= 
55,10 
euros. 
130
Management 
Accounting 
Control 
2012-­‐2013 
Manon 
Cuylits 
131 
TOTAL 
UNIT 
COST 
of 
a 
complex 
lens 
= 
99,60 
euros. 
Let’s 
imagine 
we 
can 
sell 
the 
normal 
lenses. 
We 
have 
a 
8,2% 
margin. 
We 
can 
see 
that 
complex 
lenses 
are 
more 
profitable 
than 
normal 
lenses. 
REFINING 
A 
COSTING 
SYSTEM 
We’ll 
look 
at 
one 
of 
the 
basis 
activities 
of 
the 
company. 
1. Design 
of 
products 
and 
process 
: 
2. Manufacturing 
operations 
3. Shipping 
and 
distribution
Management 
Accounting 
Control 
2012-­‐2013 
Manon 
Cuylits 
In 
ABC, 
we’ll 
start 
with 
the 
fundamental 
cost 
objects. 
The 
starting 
point 
inside 
the 
fundamental 
is 
the 
activities 
and 
their 
costs. 
That 
will 
lad 
to 
the 
assignments 
of 
other 
cost 
objects 
(cost 
of 
products, 
service, 
customer). 
The 
most 
complicated 
task 
is 
to 
define 
the 
most 
relevant 
activities. 
We 
have 
to 
find 
the 
right 
balance 
between 
the 
total 
list 
of 
activities 
and 
not 
enough 
activities. 
Inside 
the 
company, 
the 
corporation 
identified 
key 
activities 
: 
132 
§ Design 
products 
and 
processes. 
§ Set 
up 
molding 
machine. 
§ Operate 
machines 
to 
manufacture 
lenses. 
§ Maintain 
and 
clean 
the 
molds. 
§ Set 
up 
batches 
of 
finished 
lenses 
for 
shipment. 
§ Distribute 
lenses 
to 
customers. 
§ Administer 
and 
manage 
all 
processes.
Management 
Accounting 
Control 
2012-­‐2013 
Manon 
Cuylits 
In 
order 
to 
refin 
I 
will 
look 
at 
my 
operation. 
I 
see 
that 
I 
have 
some 
important 
activities 
(shipping 
and 
distribution, 
manufacturing, 
etc.). 
Difference 
with 
the 
ABC 
method 
is 
that 
here 
I 
will 
look 
at 
the 
activities. 
I 
will 
look 
at 
my 
operations, 
my 
activities, 
and 
calculate 
the 
cost 
of 
my 
activities 
and 
based 
on 
that 
I 
will 
… 
My 
Cost 
allocation 
base 
(CAB) 
is 
the 
cost 
of 
the 
basic 
activities 
of 
the 
company. 
I 
will 
allocate 
indirect 
cost 
based 
on 
the 
cost 
of 
the 
activities. 
133 
Learning 
Objective 
3: 
Distinguish 
between 
the 
traditional 
and 
the 
activity-based costing approaches 
to 
designing 
a 
costing 
system.
Management 
Accounting 
Control 
2012-­‐2013 
Manon 
Cuylits 
134 
ACTIVITY-­‐BASED 
COSTING 
SYSTEM 
All 
my 
company 
is 
summarized 
by 
describing 
those 
7 
activities. 
People 
have 
to 
agree 
on 
what 
are 
the 
key 
activities. 
Find 
a 
right 
balance 
between 
not 
to 
many 
activities 
and 
1 
or 
2 
activities 
on 
the 
other 
hand 
might 
be 
not 
enough. 
Example 
of 
3 
of 
those 
activities:
Management 
Accounting 
Control 
2012-­‐2013 
Manon 
Cuylits 
Those 
are 
activities. 
Fundamental 
cost 
object 
= 
cost 
activities. 
I 
have 
activities. 
I 
will 
use 
those 
activities 
as 
cost 
pools. 
Indirect 
costs 
related 
to 
set 
up 
activities 
I 
will 
group 
them 
here, 
etc. 
Allocation 
to 
the 
final 
cost 
object. 
But 
I 
need 
to 
find 
a 
way 
to 
allocate 
that. 
For 
the 
shipment 
I 
will 
allocate 
the 
shipping 
indirect 
cost 
based 
on 
the 
number 
of 
shipment. 
If 
1 
Single 
lens 
requires 
more 
shipment, 
I 
will 
allocate 
more 
shipment 
(costs?)???. 
Clear 
cause 
and 
effect 
relationship. 
The 
cause= 
fact 
that 
I 
have 
many 
shipment 
and 
effect 
= 
I 
need 
more 
indirect 
shipping 
costs. 
Set 
up 
cost. 
Allocate 
indirect 
set 
up 
cost 
based 
on 
the 
number 
of 
set 
up 
hours. 
The 
more 
set 
up 
hours 
I 
need, 
the 
more 
set 
up 
indirect 
costs 
I 
will 
have. 
Design: 
design 
indirect 
costs 
are 
going 
to 
be 
allocated 
on 
the 
basis 
of 
the 
number 
of 
parts 
per 
square 
feet 
(?). 
… 
I 
will 
probably 
avoir 
under 
and 
overcosting. 
135 
- Shipping 
: 
We 
want 
to 
assign 
the 
total 
costs 
of 
the 
shipping 
activities 
to 
the 
lense 
list 
: 
either 
NL, 
or 
CL 
or 
other. 
Which 
allocation 
method 
are 
we 
using 
? 
On 
the 
number 
of 
lenses? 
On 
the 
number 
of 
shippers 
? 
Yes, 
it 
makes 
sense. 
In 
other 
word, 
if 
the 
lenses 
NL 
require 
two 
times 
more 
shipping 
than 
lenses 
CL, 
it 
will 
require 
two 
times 
more 
shipping 
costs. 
- Setup 
: 
For 
the 
setup 
of 
the 
machines, 
we’ll 
use 
an 
allocation 
base 
as 
the 
number 
of 
setup 
hours. 
If 
a 
lence 
NL 
needs 
two 
times 
more 
setup 
hours 
than 
lence 
CL, 
the 
cost 
will 
be 
dubbled. 
Another 
example 
with 
the 
batch: 
What 
I 
will 
do 
here: 
illustrate 
that 
method 
for 
indirect 
set 
up 
costs 
(1 
category 
of 
indirect 
costs) 
I 
will 
use 
the 
2 
methods 
for 
the 
same 
amount 
of 
money 
and 
we 
will 
compare.
Management 
Accounting 
Control 
2012-­‐2013 
Manon 
Cuylits 
136 
640 
= 
320 
* 
2hours 
I 
will 
produce 
the 
NL 
in 
320 
batches 
of 
250 
units 
(?) 
Whenever 
I 
start 
a 
batch 
I 
need 
5 
hours. 
Since 
I 
need 
5 
hours 
for 
any 
batch, 
it 
gives 
me 
a 
total 
of 
640 
setup 
hours 
(???) 
Total 
set 
up 
costs 
= 
409.200 
euro 
that 
I 
will 
allocate 
to 
my 
2 
cost 
objects 
(NL 
and 
CL) 
8.184 
is 
the 
cost 
bear 
by 
each 
direct 
manufacturing 
labor-­‐hour 
unit. 
I 
can 
compute 
the 
cost 
of 
1 
single 
set 
up 
hour. 
Each 
set 
up 
hour 
cost 
me 
155 
euros. 
/labour 
hour? 
(see 
previous 
method). 
8.184 
euros 
We 
have 
409200 
amount 
of 
indirect 
costs 
that 
we 
want 
to 
allocate 
the 
final 
product 
using 
the 
first 
method, 
the 
biggest 
portion 
the 
costs 
is 
on 
the 
Normal 
lense. 
We 
have 
36000 
x 
8184. 
Actually, 
the 
real 
situation 
is 
exactly 
the 
reverse. 
But, 
based 
on 
the 
ABC 
activity, 
the 
biggest 
portion 
is 
for 
the 
Complex 
lense. 
If 
a 
company 
would 
have 
based 
its 
decision 
on 
the 
first 
method, 
it 
would 
have 
been 
a 
wrong 
decision. 
If 
we 
allocate 
on 
the 
setu-­‐hours, 
it
Management 
Accounting 
Control 
2012-­‐2013 
Manon 
Cuylits 
reflects 
the 
good 
image 
of 
the 
reality. 
The 
second 
method, 
ABC, 
is 
the 
good 
method. 
The 
normal 
lenses 
are 
overcosting 
and 
the 
complex 
lense 
are 
undercosted 
for 
the 
first 
method. 
We’ll 
stop 
producing 
the 
overcosted 
products 
because 
less 
we 
produce, 
more 
we 
have 
profit. 
Allocation 
using 
the 
direct 
labour 
hur: 
I 
will 
count 
8,184euros 
allocated 
to 
… 
We 
do 
it 
for 
each 
method. 
One 
is 
the 
opposite 
of 
the 
other. 
In 
the 
first 
one 
I 
allocate 
75% 
to 
the 
complex 
lenses 
and 
25% 
to 
the 
normal 
lenses 
and 
here 
it’s 
the 
exact 
contrary, 
75% 
to 
the 
NL 
and 
25% 
to 
the 
CL 
!! 
Obviously 
I 
have 
a 
serious 
overcosting 
or 
undercosting 
problem. 
Which 
method 
is 
the 
most 
accurate? 
(TYPICAL 
137 
EXAM 
QUESTION) 
Which 
method 
would 
be 
the 
best 
one, 
which 
one 
would 
you 
recommend 
and 
why? 
Allocating 
set 
up 
indirect 
cost: 
it 
make 
sense 
to 
allocate 
the 
set 
up 
indirect 
cost 
on 
the 
basis 
of 
the 
set 
up 
hours. 
If 
a 
product 
requires 
more 
set 
up 
hours 
I 
will 
put 
on 
that 
product 
more 
set 
up 
hours. 
Does 
it 
make 
sense 
to 
allocate 
set 
up 
indirect 
costs 
based 
on 
the 
number 
of 
direct 
labour 
hours? 
No. 
… 
ALLOCATING 
USING 
SET 
UP 
HOURS: 
which 
product 
would 
be 
overcosted? 
Normal 
Lenses
Management 
Accounting 
Control 
2012-­‐2013 
Manon 
Cuylits 
We’re 
talking 
about 
3 
times 
more. 
Normal 
lenses 
are 
going 
to 
be 
overcosted 
and 
automatically 
the 
CL 
are 
going 
to 
be 
undercosted 
(if 
2 
products, 
if 
one 
is 
overcosted, 
automatically 
the 
other 
one 
is 
going 
to 
be 
undercosted). 
If 
I 
decide 
to 
stop 
the 
NL 
because 
the 
cost 
is 
to 
high, 
it’s 
a 
bad 
decision 
because 
I 
base 
my 
decision 
on 
a 
bad 
number. 
Benefit 
of 
Activity 
based 
costing 
= 
method 
providing 
the 
most 
accurate 
results. 
138 
CONCLUSION 
Written 
exam: 
- 10% 
for 
the 
presentation 
- 90% 
1 
question 
related 
to 
the 
case 
study 
(READ 
IT!!!!) 
He 
wants 
to 
use 
it 
to 
test 
our 
understanding 
of 
some 
basic 
concepts. 
No 
shmet 
questions. 
We 
have 
to 
understand 
the 
global 
environment 
of 
the 
case 
study, 
and 
then 
one 
question 
related 
to 
that 
case 
study 
Ex: 
use 
it 
to 
show 
an 
example 
of 
what 
might 
be 
a 
measurement 
of 
something 
Ok 
using 
the 
case 
study 
if 
I 
ask 
you 
to 
draft, 
give 
an 
example 
of 
a 
balance 
score 
card, 
what 
element 
would 
you 
put 
in 
it 
(?????) 
That 
question 
has 
not 
ONE 
RIGHT 
ANSWER. 
Multiple 
choice 
questions 
One 
or 
two 
calculation 
questions 
Ex: 
Indirect 
cost 
allocation 
exercice 
(see 
last 
course)
Management 
Accounting 
Control 
2012-­‐2013 
Manon 
Cuylits 
One 
ore 
two 
general 
questions, 
open-­‐ended 
questions 
(definition 
of 
a 
concept, 
or 
else). 
He 
expects 
from 
us 
to 
give 
our 
own 
perception 
of 
the 
concept. 
Let’s 
not 
copy 
paste 
the 
slides. 
Ex: 
best 
definition 
of 
the 
job 
of 
a 
management 
controller. 
139 
We 
can 
take 
everything 
we 
want 
with 
us 
at 
the 
exam. 
Our 
answers 
have 
to 
be 
PERSONALS!!! 
Copy 
pasting 
the 
slides 
isn’t 
the 
right 
choice. 
We 
need 
to 
show 
that 
we 
understood 
the 
basic 
concepts. 
Express 
it 
simply. 
There’s 
going 
to 
be 
some 
very 
vague, 
general 
questions. 
Way 
to 
test 
wether 
we 
got 
a 
good 
understanding 
of 
the 
basic 
concepts 
and 
if 
we 
can 
go 
directly 
to 
what’s 
essential/crucial.

Management accounting control

  • 1.
    θωερτψυιοπασδφγηϕκλζξχϖβνμθωερτψ υιοπασδφγηϕκλζξχϖβνμθωερτψυιοπασδ φγηϕκλζξχϖβνμθωερτψυιοπασδφγηϕκλζ ξχϖβνμθωερτψυιοπασδφγηϕκλζξχϖβνμ Management Accounting Control θωερτψυιοπασδφγηϕκλζξχϖβνμθωερτψ Philippe Smans υιοπασδφγηϕκτψυιοπασδφγηϕκλζξχϖβν Manon Cuylits μθωερτψυιοπασδφγηϕκλζξχϖβνμθωερτ ψυιοπασδφγηϕκλζξχϖβνμθωερτψυιοπα σδφγηϕκλζξχϖβνμθωερτψυιοπασδφγηϕκ λζξχϖβνμθωερτψυιοπασδφγηϕκλζξχϖβ νμθωερτψυιοπασδφγηϕκλζξχϖβνμθωερτ ψυιοπασδφγηϕκλζξχϖβνμθωερτψυιοπα σδφγηϕκλζξχϖβνμθωερτψυιοπασδφγηϕκ λζξχϖβνμρτψυιοπασδφγηϕκλζξχϖβνμθ ωερτψυιοπασδφγηϕκλζξχϖβνμθωερτψυι οπασδφγηϕκλζξχϖβνμθωερτψυιοπασδφγ ηϕκλζξχϖβνμθωερτψυιοπασδφγηϕκλζξ χϖβνμθωερτψυιοπασδφγηϕκλζξχϖβνμθ ωερτψυιοπασδφγηϕκλζξχϖβνμθωερτψυι οπασδφγηϕκλζξχϖβνμθωερτψυιοπασδφγ
  • 2.
    Management Accounting Control 2012-­‐2013 Manon Cuylits 2 TABLE OF CONTENTS Exam ....................................................................................................................................... 3 Chapter 1: Introduction ................................................................................................... 4 Some history ................................................................................................................................. 4 1. Classical approach ........................................................................................................................... 4 2. Cybernetic approach ...................................................................................................................... 5 3. Systemic approach .......................................................................................................................... 6 SUMMARY .................................................................................................................................................... 8 the management controller .................................................................................................... 8 The role of Finance is changing ....................................................................................................... 11 The role of the Management Controller is changing .............................................................. 12 Operational and strategic feedback ............................................................................................... 14 What might be part of the Management Control Function ................................................. 16 Required skills ........................................................................................................................................ 19 Chapter 2: Management accounting control ......................................................... 22 LINK WITH FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT ............................................................................ 22 LINK WITH MARKETING MANAGEMENT ......................................................................... 25 Controlling the sales force .................................................................................................... 25 Forecasting sales ................................................................................................................................... 26 Establishing sales territories and quotas .................................................................................... 28 Analysing expenses .............................................................................................................................. 29 THE LINK WITH HR MANAGEMENT ................................................................................... 31 Chapter 3: budgetting ................................................................................................... 32 Successive steps for a budgeting process: .................................................................................. 35 Operational budgets ............................................................................................................... 37 Financial budgets .................................................................................................................................. 38 Budget Process ......................................................................................................................... 42 Incremental method ............................................................................................................................. 42 Percentage method ............................................................................................................................... 43 « Zero based » budget .......................................................................................................................... 43 Chapter 4: Capital budgeting ...................................................................................... 45 Key motives for making capital expenditures .......................................................................... 45 Steps in the capital budgeting process ............................................................................. 46 Basic Terminology ................................................................................................................... 47 Chapter 5: cash flow ....................................................................................................... 49 The relevant Cash Flows ........................................................................................................ 49 Main components .................................................................................................................................. 50 Terminology ............................................................................................................................................ 51 What are the key elements of the recent business evolution? .......................................... 65 Parallel Business tools evolution: .................................................................................................. 66 But… ............................................................................................................................................................ 67 “Balances” ................................................................................................................................................. 69 Linkage between causes and strategic activities ..................................................................... 75 Perspective measurement .................................................................................................... 79 Financial perspective ........................................................................................................................... 80 Customer perspective .......................................................................................................................... 82
  • 3.
    Management Accounting Control 2012-­‐2013 Manon Cuylits Internal process perspective ............................................................................................................ 86 Learning and Growth perspective .................................................................................................. 87 Chapter 7: Technique of cost accounting ................................................................ 97 Allocation of costs .......................................................................................................... 97 producing department overhead ................................................................................................. 100 Allocation of service department costs to producing department ....................... 103 partial overhead absorption ........................................................................................................... 120 Activity-­‐based costing (ABC) .......................................................................................................... 124 Activity-­‐based Costing system ....................................................................................................... 134 CONCLUSION ................................................................................................................... 138 3 EXAM Case study: 19 pages to read, there will be questions about it. We can bring it to the exam, and he will test our understanding. We can bring the case study with some notes on it. Other questions: Mix of several types of questions: QCM – basic calculations (CF, Cost allocation, etc.) – questions aiming an understanding of the basic subjects (ex: explain the job of a MC) – close questions, etc. We don’t have to know the presentations but we have to know one or two messages per presentation.
  • 4.
    Management Accounting Control 2012-­‐2013 Manon Cuylits 4 CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION This course is designed for students with a Bachelor Degree in Management or Business Administration who want to develop their abilities to work more effectively within large and/or well-­‐structured companies and to deal with questions of management control in any type of company. Therefore, the course is developed from a company / business point of view. Theoretical concepts on Management Control will be reviewed, and will constantly be illustrated through real-­‐life examples and case studies, in order to have the students familiarized with the main aspects of Management Control and especially to apply the methods of Management Accounting Control. Basic concepts: ð What is Management control? ð Why is it necessary? ð What are the basic tools? SOME HISTORY If we look back we can see that over time 3 types of management control: -­‐ Classical approach -­‐ Cybernetic approach -­‐ Systemic approach 1. CLASSICAL APPROACH Fayol (theoretician): “management means a couple of things: -­‐ Planning, -­‐ Organizing, -­‐ Commanding, -­‐ Coordinating activities, -­‐ Controlling performances (NB: first time we see the word control) Most of these activities are task management oriented rather than people management oriented. This was typical of Taylor and the Scientific Management.
  • 5.
    Management Accounting Control 2012-­‐2013 Manon Cuylits Contrôler (French) = to check something. (E.g.: to check the speed of a car) To control something (English) = Make sure that things “happens” correctly ≠ to check. The “control” was perceived narrowly (“surveillance”) and not very explicit. ð Management controller: not somebody who’s just checking the management, it’s 5 something broader. This looks like something mechanic, really systematic, but the experience shows that you might not be efficient; you could fail even If you make many efforts to plan, organize, … Nowadays, things are moving really quickly. You have to be able to adapt to those changes. A better ability to adapt to a changing environment is needed. That leads to the cybernetic approach. After a while, if the output is not right in the case of the classical approach, you will change your approach to the cybernetic approach. 2. CYBERNETIC APPROACH Without the right input it’s really difficult to have a good output. If my outputs seem not to be all right, it might be because of the inputs, or because of the system itself. Output = It’s something you want to reach, an objective. Every company has objectives. They will put a system in place and chose inputs. Examples:
  • 6.
    Management Accounting Control 2012-­‐2013 Manon Cuylits Profit is a typical output of the company, but not the only one. Another example of output could be customers, market shares, customer satisfaction, and so on. But it’s never limited to profit. Most of the time they will first discover that the output is not good and they will make changes. It’s better than the previous approach but still no question about the relevance of 6 the goals and objectives. “Is this the right output that I want to achieve?” or “Is there another output which would be better?” If you start to question the relevance of your objectives, you arrive in the systemic approach. 3. SYSTEMIC APPROACH You will consider any company as a system. That’s much more sophisticated, and closer to the reality, because nowadays, running a business is becoming more and more complex: (The following reasons bring problems but also opportunities) -­‐ More competitors on the market, globalization in the last decade, etc. -­‐ Regulation is increasing; environment of regulation is becoming tougher and tougher. The speed of change is increasing. -­‐ The economic situation (crisis), it’s currently not easy. But it also creates opportunities. -­‐ Technologies. Some companies are very successful thanks to their ability to adapt themselves really quickly to new technologies. In this model, a company is defined as a system with goals and able to adapt itself (continuously) The management control is no longer a process of “a posteriori” verification. “Control” means actually “keep control in order to adapt to the environment evolution”. Therefore the role of the control is: -­‐ To ensure the relevance of the system’s goal and objectives -­‐ To ensure that the relationships between subsystems allow to move towards the objectives Systemic control covers the 2 points of view: -­‐ External: the control system must ensure the relevance of the strategic choices and of the behaviors -­‐ Internal: the choice of control system is clearly linked to the organizational system
  • 7.
    Management Accounting Control 2012-­‐2013 Manon Cuylits 7 Analytic approach Systemic approach AA isolates and then concentrates on the elements SA unifies and concentrates on the interaction between elements. Studies the nature of interactions Studies the effects of interactions Emphasizes the precision of details Emphasize global perception Modifies one variable at a time Modifies groups of variables simultaneously Remains independent of duration of time, the phenomena considered irreversible Integrates duration of time and irreversibility Validates facts by means of experimental proof within the body of a theory Validates facts through comparison of the behavior of the model with reality Uses precise and detailed models that are less useful in actual operation (example: econometric model) Uses models that are insufficiently rigorous to be used as bases of knowledge but are useful in decision and action Has an efficient approach when interactions are linear and weak Has an efficient approach when interaction are nonlinear and strong Leads to discipline-­‐oriented (juxtadisciplinary) education Leads to multidisciplinary education Leads to action programmed in detail Leads to action through objectives Possesses knowledge of details poorly defined goals Possesses knowledge of goals, fuzzy details 1ST ELEMENT Analytic approach = “AA isolates and then concentrates on the elements” Systemic approach = “SA unifies and concentrates on the interaction between elements.” A company is a system (// human body: sum of different elements interacting a lot with each others). In this approach you will define a company by a series of elements. è Different parts, and for each part: one specialist. That’s typical of many companies. What may happen if you concentrate on those elements? Ex: You may have a purchasing department: the job of the purchasing manager is buying. If he’s a real specialist, he will be champion in bargaining for the minimum price. Sometimes it raises problems. Ex: I buy a car at the minimum purchasing price => lower quality, so much more reparations, and the total cost of the car could be higher than it was supposed to. Sometimes it’s not a good idea to buy a car at the minimum-­‐ purchasing price. Systemic approach: It’s much more powerful than the analytic approach. Here you look at several elements and at their interactions! You never look just at the purchasing price but also at the quality etc. You concentrate on the interactions between the elements in this approach. Ex: as human resource manager, what do you expect? You want your people to be productive, so you want them to be motivated, and what drives motivation? Training possibilities, coaching, etc.
  • 8.
    Management Accounting Control 2012-­‐2013 Manon Cuylits Good managers have to look at the interactions between human resources, finance department, purchasing department, etc. It’s necessary for the company to succeed 8 SUMMARY Classical approach: You focus on the output.è The only things you need to do are check, surveillance, look at the output. Cybernetic approach: Focus on the process that produces the output. If my output is wrong, it’s probably because something is wrong with the process.è Process audit. How does the process work? Systemic approach: Focus on the system1 that produces the output. è System audit. I’m going to look at the system (//computer system). THE MANAGEMENT CONTROLLER In front of increasing business complexity, there are often too many activities for a single person. More and more activities are delegated to a management controller, who must keep the CEO informed about things like: -­‐ The various department’s performances -­‐ Sales -­‐ Costs, benefits -­‐ Control issues related to systems that operates transactions -­‐ The impact of new taxes and other national or international trade regulations -­‐ Etc. As a CEO you don’t have time to do that, so you ask someone to do it for you and to keep you informed, and then you take decisions, because it’s your job. That someone is the management controller. 1 System = a collection of processes. Of course it’s much more complicated than a process because
  • 9.
    Management Accounting Control 2012-­‐2013 Manon Cuylits A management controller may be compared to a ship navigator, who keeps the captain aware of current or potential problems (icebergs, etc.) 9 The job of the management controller is to get the relevant data, to work them out, to translate them into useful information in order to give it to the CEO. He collects the information and summarizes it to give it to the CEO. The CEO will interpret those data and then use it to make decisions. Therefore, the Management Controller needs to be aware of the company’s strategy. His job is to get the relevant figures; therefore he needs to know the objectives, strategy, etc. of the company. Example: If the strategy of the company is to grow, the Management Controller knows some figures that are more important for the company to know. He can then select the relevant data depending on the direction that the company wants to take (its final destination, its strategy). Traditionally, in most companies, the Management controller reports to the financial manager and in many cases his job is not named management controller but financial controller. Summary: Get information è Analyze information è Provide, based on that information, a message to the CEO It might be financial data, but it could also be other types of data. It’s absolutely not only related to financial data, that’s why the name “financial controller” isn’t that good for this function. Life of a company is not limited to financial data. They also need customer satisfaction, company reputation, etc. you don’t get that sort of data as easily accessible as financial data. Financial data are the most easily accessible data for a company. SUMMARY OF EVERYTHING
  • 10.
    Management Accounting Control 2012-­‐2013 Manon Cuylits 10 OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT Operations management = Day-­‐to-­‐day management In a company there is a difference between the people defining the strategies and the one applying them. Operations management is one type of management. Those managers are going to be concerned by what’s going to happen in the next days. E.g.: A project manager is an operational manager. A production manager too (you have to produce, not only to sell), same for logistic managers, etc. è Those are operational activities. You realize the day-­‐to-­‐day life of a company. STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT Strategic management = To ensure relevance of the long-­‐term objectives. Time horizon is longer for this type of management. What do I want to achieve within 3 years/ 5 years. Etc. è But it’s not only related to the time horizon: The aim is to define a strategy and to make sure that the strategy is going to happen, to manage the strategy in other words. Strategy: I want to achieve one goal, and this goal isn’t specific to one part of the company (e.g. not specific to sales).
  • 11.
    Management Accounting Control 2012-­‐2013 Manon Cuylits There are 2 ways of communications between the strategy management and the operations management even if their job has a completely different nature. 11 MANAGEMENT CONTROL Management control è allows the definition of short-­‐term objectives, relevant feedback, and a (usually) one-­‐year time horizon management. Feedback is really important. Once you’ve defined the strategy, you’ll need regular feedbacks. There is another part in the job that we haven’t seen so far. Basic tool used by the management controller to translate the strategy into shorter objectives: a budget! The budgeting process that is one of the most painful processes in companies; it’s the responsibility of the management controller. And if he isn’t the main responsible, he will be strongly involved in the budgeting process. Budget is a tool, which is used to go from red to green. The dashboard also is a basic tool. The purpose of a management controller is to help the good communication between operational and strategic management. THE ROLE OF FINANCE IS CHANGING PAST
  • 12.
    Management Accounting Control 2012-­‐2013 Manon Cuylits The first triangle was in the past. Most of the time spent by the people was in transaction processing, a little bit on reporting and control and a very little amount in decision support. 12 CURRENT Transaction processing takes less time (almost zero). It gives much more time to Decision Support. It’s the role of management accounting controller. è The management controller doesn’t take the decisions but collects data, etc. and it helps the CEO to take decisions. ERP Systems: Huge software (SAP for ex), basically they automate all that’s transaction processing. We enter one data in the system and it is going to check if there is enough raw materials for example, and if not, it will book some raw materials automatically, etc. Series of transactions are automatically performed. That’s why that part is really going down; which is a good new because it leaves more time for the other activities. Moreover, it’s a boring task. The finance people are no longer doing an accountancy job, but more and more decision support. THE ROLE OF THE MANAGEMENT CONTROLLER IS CHANGING ð Originally nothing more than a bookkeeper ð The function changed with the advent of computers ð In the 1970s and 1980s, CEOs became more concerned with the efficiency of all company departments, including the accounting function ð Used a great deal of process and financial analysis skill to assist all parts of the corporation in many ways. This is probably the most important skill for a management controller. Analysis: that’s what it is about. ð Over the course of one century, the controller’s function has risen from one of senior clerk to one of the most advanced, highly educated, and useful positions in the entire corporate structure.
  • 13.
    Management Accounting Control 2012-­‐2013 Manon Cuylits 13 FROM CHECKING TO CONTROLLING Checking Controlling è Bureaucratic & Standard-­‐based It’s based on standards: e.g.: if I check the speed of a car that’s because there’s a speed limit. è Reactive & flexible Exactly like when you drive a car. The worst thing to do would be to be bureaucratic and standard-­‐obsessed, that wouldn’t be very effective. e.g. There are always going to be idiots that are not going to stop at a STOP panel, that are going to cross the streets when they are not supposed to. You have to be reactive and flexible. è “Surveillance” è “Cause-­‐and-­‐effects” relationships è No focus on relevance The policeman doesn’t address the relevance. è Focus on relevance The Management Controller focuses on relevance. It’s good for him to ask himself “does it make sense? Does that objective make sense?” è Resources management & allocation è Processes and competencies management è “Single-­‐loop” è “Double-­‐loop” è Reactive React to what’s happening. That’s not a good way to manage a company. è Proactive Think to WHAT COULD HAPPEN, that’s the good way to manage a company è Optimization è Adaptation They successfully adapt, and they do it quickly!!! è Use of theoretical models è Use of adequate behaviors è Failure trigger sanctions è Failure allow learning and development Failures are accepted, and they are necessary. It doesn’t mean that we like failure, but it is important because it allows learning. E.g.: it’s impossible to learn riding a bicycle without falling. There is nothing wrong at making mistakes, but you have to learn thanks to your mistakes. In most of the American Companies, failures are accepted, but you’re not allowed to make 4 times the same mistake. Anyway it’s obvious that nobody like failure.
  • 14.
    Management Accounting Control 2012-­‐2013 Manon Cuylits 14 OPERATIONAL AND STRATEGIC FEEDBACK REALLY IMPORTANT SLIDE What it means to be between strategic management and operation management. OPERATIONAL FEEDBACK When you’re in the operational world, you’ll often: è Start with an operational plan (what are you going to produce, how much do I have to sell, etc.) èTranslate that into an operational budget è Translate/use the budget into operational activities (sell, buy, etc.). è At the end I have some outputs (number of units produced, bought, number of projects completed, new products developed, etc.). è I’m going to measure that (metrics) to close the loop, and è Compare that to my initial operational plan. E.g.: At the end of the first week you only have 90 cars (you were supposed to have 100). If metrics show that your outputs are not as they were supposed to be in the initial plans, there are 2 options: Both are good, it depends of the circumstances, etc. -­‐ Change your plan (maybe it wasn’t appropriate) -­‐ Keep the plan but change something else (hire more people, etc.)
  • 15.
    Management Accounting Control 2012-­‐2013 Manon Cuylits 15 STRATEGIC FEEDBACK Strategic plan that I translate in a strategic budget that’s going to be used for strategic actions. The difference I can do here is strategic actions (ex: mergers and acquisition, to launch a new product, … ) è they’re not routine decisions. The purpose of those strategic actions is to impact the operational activities. Example: Mergers and acquisition: I buy a competitor and his activity becomes mine, and it’s going to impact the day-­‐to-­‐day activities. Same if I decide to launch a new product. I will select the outputs that are interesting, in relation with the plan. Outcome: by nature it’s nothing more than an output with a strategic, specific importance. I can measure those outcomes thanks to metrics and close the loop by returning to the strategic plan. EXAMPLE I run my business in BENELUX, I decide to take a strategic action, before I already had operational activities in place. I want to get more sales. ð Outputs could be things like the unit sold in Belgium, Netherlands or Luxemburg ð The sales expressed in Euro ð The market shares in Belgium/Netherlands/Luxemburg ð Etc. I can compare those outputs to your plan è what was my plan in relation with the market shares? è Strategic plan: to sell in Germany also! BASIC DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE STRATEGIC LOOP AND THE OPERATIONAL LOOP The timing is very different between both loops. Ø Operational loop: It’s going very fast, day-­‐to-­‐day activities. Done on a daily basis. Ø Strategic loop: That’s not something that you can do quickly basically! It takes months. Budget is in Strategic actions. Budget is expressing into operation figures some strategic decisions that I took.
  • 16.
    Management Accounting Control 2012-­‐2013 Manon Cuylits 16 Operation è strategic (job of the management controller): The management controller will pick up some figures from the operational world and I will use them to provide information to the CEO. è He will measure some of the outputs and provide information that are going to help the dashboard to take decisions. Therefore, a management controller needs to be perfectly aware of the strategic intent! We can see that it isn’t an easy job. It’s not always easy to translate something into a figure. Ex: customer loyalty is not really easy to translate into a figure (I can count the number of customers lost). Sometimes it’s easy; sometimes it’s less easy. “Strategically I want to have a better reputation”. Reputation is possible to measure but not that easy. Not easy to translate into figures. WHAT MIGHT BE PART OF THE MANAGEMENT CONTROL FUNCTION Might = in some companies it’s not part of the job, in other it is AUDITING Ø The scheduling and management of periodic internal audits, as well as the preparation of resulting audit reports and the communication of findings and recommendations to management and the board of directors. Ø The preparation of work papers for the external auditors and the rendering of any additional assistance needed by them to complete the annual audit NB: In some companies audit and management control are separated functions BUDGETING The coordination of the annual budgeting process, including maintenance of the company budget, and the transfer of final budget information into the financial statements. CONTROL SYSTEMS The establishment of a sufficiently broad set of controls to give management assurance that transactions are processed properly. COST ACCOUNTING (= comptabilité analytique) It’s almost systematically a part of the job ! You have to have a good understanding of the figures.
  • 17.
    Management Accounting Control 2012-­‐2013 Manon Cuylits Ø The coordination of periodic physical inventory counts Ø The periodic analysis and allocation of costs based on activity-­‐based costing pools 17 and allocation methods. Ø The continual cost review of products currently under development, using the principles of target costing. Ø The periodic compilation and evaluation of inventory costs. FINANCIAL ANALYSIS Ø The periodic comparison of actual to budgeted results and the communication of variances to management, along with recommendations for improvement. Ø The continuing review of revenue and expense trends and the communication of adverse trends results to management, along with recommendations for improvement Ø The periodic compilation of business cycle forecasting statistics and the communication of this information to management, along with predictions related to the impact on company operations. Ø The periodic calculation of a standard set of ratios for corporate financial performance and the formulation of management recommendations based on the results. FINANCIAL STATEMENTS Ø The preparation of all periodic financial statements, as well as their accompanying footnotes. Ø The preparation of an interpretive analysis of the financial statements. Ø The preparation and distribution of recurring and one-­‐time FIXED ASSETS Ø The annual audit of fixed assets to ensure that all recorded assets are present. Ø The periodic recording of fixed assets in the financial records and their proper recording under the correct asset categories and depreciation methods. Ø The proper analysis of all capital expenditure requests. POLICIES AND PROCEDURES Ø The creation and maintenance of all policies and procedures related to the control of company assets and the proper completion of financial transactions. Ø The training of department personnel in the use of accounting policies and procedures Ø The modification of existing policies and procedures to match the requirements of government regulations.
  • 18.
    Management Accounting Control 2012-­‐2013 Manon Cuylits 18 PROCESS ANALYSIS Ø The periodic review of all processes involving financial analysis, to see if they can be completed with better controls, lower costs, or greater speed. RECORD KEEPING Ø The proper indexing, storage, and retrieval of all accounting documents. Ø The orderly planning for and scheduling of document destruction, in accordance with the corporate document retention policy. TAX PREPARATION Ø The timely preparation and filing of tax returns, as well as the supervision of all matters relating to corporate taxation, such as conducting an effective tax management program, and both providing and enforcing policies and procedures related to the compliance of all corporate personnel with applicable government tax laws. TRANSACTION PROCESSING Ø The timely completion of all accounting transactions at the intervals and in the manner specified in the accounting policies and procedures manual. Ø The proper completion of all transactions authorized by the board of directors or in accordance with the terms of all authorized contracts. Ø The proper approval of those transactions requiring them, in accordance with company policy. This list may appear overwhelming, but just because the controller is responsible for all of the listed areas does not mean that this person must actually do each one. In other words, the controller primarily manages the work of other people and ensures that they complete most of the tasks just listed. In particular, a controller can rely on the services of assistant controllers who are responsible for smaller portions of the accounting department.
  • 19.
    Management Accounting Control 2012-­‐2013 Manon Cuylits 19 REQUIRED SKILLS ANALYSIS OF INFORMATION The controller must be sufficiently comfortable with financial information to readily understand the meaning of a variety of ratios and trends and what they portend for a company.è The figures and information: You don’t need to be a financial expert but a really good ability to analyze is required. COMMUNICATION ABILITY A key component of the controller’s function is compiling information and communicating it to management. If the compiling part of the job goes well, but management does not understand its implications, then the controller must improve his or her communication skills in order to better impart financial information to the management team Ø Those two are the most important skills COMPANY AND INDUSTRY KNOWLEDGE. No accounting system is completely “plain vanilla”, because the companies and industries in which it operates have a sufficient number of quirks to require some variation from the typical accounting system. Accordingly, the controller must have a good knowledge of both company and industry operations in order to know how they impact the operations of the accounting department Ø It’s better if you have some knowledge but not absolutely mandatory. MANAGEMENT SKILL. The controller presumably will have a staff and, if so, will have considerable control over the productivity of that group. Accordingly, the controller must have an excellent knowledge of the planning, organizational, directing, and measurement functions needed to manage the accounting department. PROVISION OF TIMELY AND COST-­‐EFFECTIVE SERVICES. The controller must run the accounting department as if it were a profit center, so that the most efficient methods are used to complete each task and the attention of the department is focused squarely on the most urgent tasks Ø A typical Management controller will have to create budget and dashboard. There’s a timing therefore (ex: budget needs to be ready on the first December). It’s important to be able to provide services on time.
  • 20.
    Management Accounting Control 2012-­‐2013 Manon Cuylits 20 TECHNICAL KNOWLEDGE. Creating an accurate financial statement, especially one for a publicly held company, requires a considerable knowledge of accounting rules and regulations. Accordingly, a controller should be thoroughly versed in all generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP2, IAS3, IFRS4 è Extremely technical standards.) Ø Not always mandatory. LET’S LOOK AT A VERY BASIC EXAMPLE OF IMC ISSUE Compared profitability of 4 subsidiaries: NB: figures between brackets = negative. è Key message: I am loosing money with one country (Country A). When I’m selling something, I throw money through the window. We’ve a problem. è Main reason: I’ve a problem because of customer delivery. WHY? Let’s make the ratio between customer delivery and sales, for the good companies and for the bad company. For nice looking company, customer delivery cost must be around 5% of the sales. In country A, the cost is already a percentage of the sales. It’s 10 times more than for the good companies. Customer delivery costs are 10 times higher than in good working countries. 2 GAAP: Generally Accepted Accounting Principles 3 IAS: International Accounting Standards 4 IFRS: International Financial and Reporting Standards
  • 21.
    Management Accounting Control 2012-­‐2013 Manon Cuylits 21 è Why are those costs so high? We can’t now thanks to the figures. There’s a limit. Those figures give information up to a certain limit. There’s a limit to the job of management controller. You have to talk with other people to have a better understanding of the problem. Role of the Management Controller: -­‐ Interface between strategic management and operational management -­‐ Getting data and being able to deliver those data as a message
  • 22.
    Management Accounting Control 2012-­‐2013 Manon Cuylits 22 CHAPTER 2: MANAGEMENT ACCOUNTING CONTROL LINK WITH FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT OPERATIONAL CYCLE When you start a company, you need first some money. You get that money thanks to Equity and LT Debts (Bank). LT debt means that you’ll have to pay it back within more than 1 year. That money is cash! I can use this cash to buy LT assets (car, truck, etc.). After that, you can start to operate. You find suppliers; you buy raw materials, etc. And you work to turn those raw materials into finished products. You sell those finished products in order to win cash. The aim of the game is to have CASH thanks to this operational cycle. Most of the bankruptcies start because companies don’t have money to pay the salaries. They borrow then money to the bank but with an interest rate, and when they have to refund the bank, they face a problem. The Management controller needs to reach a balance (both in amount and timing), and they reach it when they have a really low working capital requirement (or even negative, because it’s possible).
  • 23.
    Management Accounting Control 2012-­‐2013 Manon Cuylits 23 Let’s have a look at the balance sheet: Ø WC = Working Capital Ø WCR = Working Capital Requirement Ø Left column: Assets (Actif) Ø Right column: Liabilities (Passif) LT Assets: (>1 year): It’s an asset used for the production. It’s supposed to stay within the company more than 1 year. >< ST assets.
  • 24.
    Management Accounting Control 2012-­‐2013 Manon Cuylits Difference between depreciation and the other categories of costs: Depreciation: That’s not money physically going out of the company. It’s something that you take into account as if it was a cost but actually there’s no money going out of the company 24 physically. Cash flow = net income + depreciation. You may perfectly have situations with a positive cash flow but a negative profit. EXAMPLE NB: between brackets: negative figures You use raw materials, workers (that you will have to pay) to produce during a period of time. It means you’ll face cost for this production. At the end of the month, you have to add 9450. The difference between the inventory at the end of the period and the beginning of the period is what has been sold. è Explanation in an easier way: I have 1000. I produce 3000. I can sell 4000 then. If at the end of the period I have 2000, it means that I have sold for 2000. (It’s exactly the same than previously but with easier figures).
  • 25.
    Management Accounting Control 2012-­‐2013 Manon Cuylits 25 LINK WITH MARKETING MANAGEMENT All the rates have to be high in order to have a high market share. This is due to the fact that if awareness rate, contact rate and hit rate are high but consideration rate is low, your market share is going to be low. CONTROLLING THE SALES FORCE Two reasons for the control in the sales force: -­‐ Personal selling can be a large marketing expense component in the final price of the product or service. It’s worth to be controlled -­‐ It’s related to the efficiency. Sales force efficiency can’t be maximized unless it’s directed, motivated and audited on a continual basis.
  • 26.
    Management Accounting Control 2012-­‐2013 Manon Cuylits 26 In order to have good results, there’s a need of controlling the sales force (directing them, motivating them, etc.) Controlling the sales force involves 4 key functions: 1. Forecasting sales: It’s always the starting point 2. Establishing sales territories and quotas. 3. Analyzing expenses: Sales involve expenses. (E.g.: restaurants with prospects, clients, etc.). 4. Motivating and compensating performance. FORECASTING SALES The sales forecast is an estimate of how much of the company’s output (€ or units) can be sold during a specified future period, under: It lies in sales planning for the next year or in the future. There’s always a forecast long term and short term: -­‐ Short Term: It’s basically a managing of the sales force. It’s the starting point of the budget process. The period of time is maximum 1 year. -­‐ Long Term: To make sure you have a capital to finance the business development and to have enough production capacity. It’s focused on financing, production and development. The sales forecast is an estimate of what we are going to sell next year. In other words, it’s how much of the company’s output can be sold during a specified future period. It’s not easy to calculate it and in order to minimize the risks we have to go through some steps: 1. An assumed set of economic conditions: it’s the way the economy is going to be next year. About the global economic environment. 2. A proposed marketing plan: what you plan to do in the future. Each marketing plan will deliver a specific impact on the product.
  • 27.
    Management Accounting Control 2012-­‐2013 Manon Cuylits Ø Used to establish sales quotas Ø Used to plan personal selling efforts and other types of promotional activities in 27 the marketing mix. Ø Used to budget selling expenses Ø Used to plan and coordinate production, logistics, inventories, personnel, etc. SOME FORECASTING TECHNIQUES JURY OF EXECUTIVE OPINION METHOD I may ask to the top management what’s their opinion. “Next year, what do you think is going to happen?” The CEO and the operational management meet to discuss the decision of the company. Inconvenient: the top management is not in contact with the customers. So, their decision is not based on relevant decision or at least not concrete enough. So, they may not do the right choice. SALES FORCE COMPOSITE METHOD Ask the sales people. The sales force is directly involved with the customers. They can bring a good approach for the future decisions related to the performance of the company. Inconvenient: Not a secure method. If they know they are going to sell 20% more they will never say that to their boss, cause something might happen. It’s better to say that they are going to sell 10% more cause then we’ll give them that as an objective and if they sell more than 10% more, the boss might give them a bonus. They underestimate what they think they will need for the future. The salesman is going to be careful in his statement concerning his objectives. He’s not going to tell the truth. It’s always an estimation; there is a filter of information As a boss you might say: “Instead of asking my sales people, why don’t I bypass them?” CUSTOMER EXPECTATIONS METHOD This method is used in case of the company doesn’t trust the salesman and suspects he filters the information he let the company know. Another solution is to ask directly the customer about his satisfaction. It concerns the raw information, untreated. Inconvenient: number of customer is too large to be analyzed. There is a need of samples, and as a result, a limitation of the information. Moreover, customers are not always willing to answer the questions. Customers are not always going to tell the truth. If we ask them how much they are going to buy next year, they might not give the good answer.
  • 28.
    Management Accounting Control 2012-­‐2013 Manon Cuylits 28 è Those 3 first techniques are necessary for a good forecast even if they suffer from imperfections and give truncated information. It’s always better to run them because those techniques bring a direct input from direct contact with important actors of the business. The 3 next techniques are more technical and mathematic. TIME-­‐SERIES ANALYSIS You try to use the past to prevail the future. You look at the past evolution and try to extrapolate. Ex: during the last 10 years my sales have been increasing by 2% every year… It’s not silly to extrapolate then. CORRELATION ANALYSIS You correlate something with another forecast. You correlate your forecast to other forecasts. A forecast can never be something 100% accurate; it’s not possible to predict the future. OTHER QUANTITATIVE TECHNIQUES è Techniques: Statistical, mathematical, simulation models, etc. The forecasting techniques can become highly sophisticated, but they are never a substitute to sound business judgment. We have to take into consideration both means: techniques and business judgement. No single method provides uniformly accurate results with infallible precision ESTABLISHING SALES TERRITORIES AND QUOTAS SALES TERRITORY Represent the management’s need to match personal selling effort with the sales potential (or opportunity). Example: A first salesman contacts a customer to offer a special package. Afterwards, another salesman from the same company contacts the same customer but he’s more aggressive and wants to sell the same offer. There’s going to be a big problem: the image of the company will be affected because there is a bad management and control inside the company to make such a mistake.
  • 29.
    Management Accounting Control 2012-­‐2013 Manon Cuylits 29 QUOTA It represents goals assigned to salespeople. As a result, it gives benefits to the company: it’s an incentive for salespeople, it allows to evaluate and control salespeople’s efforts and goals leads to quantitative standard different from the standards to measure performance. It means that it’s an additional way to measure performance. Nevertheless, it’s never easy to fix goals. There is always a discussion to define the goals. What is an objective? It requires those conditions “SMART”. - S: it has to be specific = a clear objective - M: It has to be measurable - A: the manager or the person in charge must agree it. - R: it has to be relevant and realistic (=réaliste). It has to be aggressive enough, but realistic. - T: it must be an objective defined in terms of time I want to measure a performance in the area of sales. I want to judge that performance. The list: different ways to measure that performance. They are some signs of good performance but you won’t use all those tools, you will have to select the best ones depending on your case. ANALYSING EXPENSES
  • 30.
    Management Accounting Control 2012-­‐2013 Manon Cuylits Selling cost, expenses. You have to look at that, compare data between columns/lines… and then you can capture something. It’s important to take the time to have a look at that. 30 MOTIVATING AND COMPENSATING PERFORMANCE 2 basic types of compensation: Ø Salary: In main company, the base salary is known… (?) Ø Commission: Commonly used for the sales people => the more you sell, the more money you will have. But numerous other forms of incentives: • Positive feedback on salesperson performance evaluation • Company praise (ex: recognition in a newsletter) • Bonus (ex: cash, merchandise, or travel allowances) • Salary increase • Pay for performance for specific new product idea • Paid educational allowance • Earned time off • Fringe benefits • Stock options • Vested retirement plan • Profit sharing
  • 31.
    Management Accounting Control 2012-­‐2013 Manon Cuylits 31 è The incentive system is important in the motivation and the compensation in order to boost the workforce. In international business, we have to think about an international customer present in different countries. So the limitation of territory tends to disappear and multinational companies are growing. THE LINK WITH HR MANAGEMENT The idea is to make sure that the customer will receive what he asked for. Let’s remember that the simple aim of Management Control is to make sure that results conform to intentions. I want to make sure that what’s going to happen is what I expected. I want to have the measurement telling me whether I’m on the right track è do I have to change something or keep on doing like that? Applied to HR Management, this implies 4 steps: 1) Deciding which behaviors or outcomes are desired. I have to decide what is the outcome that I expect, what do I want. The typical outcome expected when it comes to HR is “I expect the people to behave like that, to be creative/productive/able to work in team/customer focused/etc.”. You expect some specifics behaviors in the HR department. Another thing you could expect are the competences. You expect your people to be good at using computer. 2) Establishing ways to measure behaviors or outcome. You need to have ways to measure in order to reach your objectives. If you don’t measure there’s no chance that you’ll achieve your objectives! Some measurement are easy to make, some others are not. How can we measure behaviors? Ex: thanks to feedback, or by asking people. 3) Measuring what happens 4) Allocating rewards based on achievement
  • 32.
    Management Accounting Control 2012-­‐2013 Manon Cuylits 32 CHAPTER 3: BUDGETING DEFINITION - A budget is a set of figures expressing money income and outcome, which shows whether a financial plan will help reaching organizational objectives. - Budgeting is the process of budget preparation. - The various Budgets provide a tool to communicate short-­‐term objectives. It is the way to communicate the budget inside the company BUDGETING TECHNIQUES Initially I have a strategy. I will translate that strategy into figures. Regardless of the business sector, the size of the company, etc. There are always three steps in every budgeting technique: 1. Forecast 2. Budget: I need to translate the forecast into figures 3. Control: I need to follow that budget => control activities/budget control. It doesn’t make sense to make a budget if you don’t follow it after. And you need to follow it on a regular basis. “On a regular basis” is different depending on the business. Every planning-­‐control system is based on the willingness to control the future, and therefore to accept the idea of forecasting
  • 33.
    Management Accounting Control 2012-­‐2013 Manon Cuylits 33 This attitude must be team-­‐based, and active rather than passive. è If you take more than one point of view you will reduce the uncertainty! If you only take one point of view, the person could be wrong… Forecasting is more than just extrapolating the past on a predictable trajectory as if nothing was changed in the behaviors. Forecasting is necessary, since it is the starting point of many management tools. è Forecasting is the starting point of many things, that’s why it’s absolutely necessary! Knowing the future is impossible, you may describe what you think the future is going to look like but nothing’s sure. To know the future is impossible; however, the experience shows that available forecast data, even far from perfection, are always better than no forecast data at all Short term forecasting Mid and long term forecasting Prospective Time Horizon Close Far Very far Purpose Precise: sales forecast, raw materials pricing, salaries evolution, etc. Global capacities: production, distribution, etc. Future trends Degree of certainty High Medium Low Variables Based on current economic environment Based on economic trends Qualitatives Different times perspective for forecasts: Ø Short term forecasting: forecast for next year (1 year) Ø Mid and long term forecasting: (3 to 5 years) Ø Prospective: really long term (over 5 years) Short term forecasting: precise: how much • I need to be ready this year for what’s going to happen next year. I need to have some very precise information because based on that I will have to take some actions. • Very high degree of certainty • I am going to have a look at the current economic environment. Mid and long term forecasting: Ø Here we talk about global capacities. I have to think in term of global capacities, production capacities, etc. (strategic decision) Ø Medium degree of certainty Ø I will take a look at the economic trends
  • 34.
    Management Accounting Control 2012-­‐2013 Manon Cuylits 34 EFFECTIVENESS OF TECHNIQUE 1st basic technique: Extrapolations: I look at the past data’s and I extrapolate. I see that I’ve a 2% increase in sales every year, I can extrapolate and prevail a 2% increase in sales for next year. It’s very effective in the short term, less effective in the mid term and almost not effective on the long term. 2nd technique: Models: Ex: Mathematical models, etc. Models are not effective for the short term but are most effective for the mid term (and not effective for the long term). They are only effective for the mid term then. It’s done through programs. 3rd technique: Prospection: Prospections techniques are good for the long term but not for the short and mid term. You may have some simple prospection techniques like: get together a group of experts. This is the most common technique. You have some much more sophisticated prospection techniques like econometric methods.
  • 35.
    Management Accounting Control 2012-­‐2013 Manon Cuylits 35 SUCCESSIVE STEPS FOR A BUDGETING PROCESS: PLANNING PHASE OF THE BUDGET è Long-­‐term plan: What do I expect in 3 to 5 years from now? That’s my long-­‐term plan. A company wants to know what are the long-­‐term objectives. It’ll reflect in the budget process. The purpose is to influence the future. It’s more active, than passive in order to make the business grow. è Functional periodic budgets: It concerns budgets established by function for a period of time. Ex: Marketing Budget, Financial Budget, R&D budget, etc. NB: Periodic implies a part of year: term, months, etc. è I split the budget into quarterly or monthly budgets: The budget has to be split into more precise framework of time for short-­‐term forecast. CONTROL ACTIVITIES è Once the planning set, the budget is available and departments will run their projects. Months by months the management controller will receive the results, real data. Once all data are available, a comparison with the actual-­‐forecast can be made. If results are not good, 2 options: Ø I’ve been far too optimistic with my budgets
  • 36.
    Management Accounting Control 2012-­‐2013 Manon Cuylits 36 Ø My forecast was really good but… è Gap analysis: I will look at the gap (between forecast and real data’s), sometimes it’s not really big, and then I’ll just say that the gap is meaningless/not significant. That’s very tricky, not easy to do, but I need to do it for the next step è Assessment of gap relevance: Is the gap relevant or not? If it’s not relevant, no problem but if it is relevant that’s difficult. The results of the gap analysis will make place to an assessment of the gap relevance. The purpose is to know if the gap could have been forecast or if it depends on external variables. The origin of the problem is addressed. Ex: quality problems, problem of communication, crisis on the market. The origin of the problem is maybe not inclusively in the sales, but it can come from another department è Common understanding of the gap: You have to understand the reason of the gap. You may have many reasons combined together or one single reason difficult to find, etc. I have to understand what’s the gap. Only 20% of the reasons will explain 80% of the gap => “80-­‐20 rule”! I want to know the main reasons. E.g.: Because my customers are not happy è Corrective actions: Actions that I need to take to correct the situation. It may be: Ø “I will change my plans for the following period” => I will train my sales people; I will change something for the next period of time. It’s an action that’s supposed to have an effect on the next period. Ø “I will change my budget” which means: I will change my objectives Ø “I will change my long-­‐term plan” è it means you really change your strategy, you have to be careful with that! Once the reasons of the gap are known, measures can be taken to handle the problem. They are likely to be made in the planning: long-­‐term plan of functional periodic budget or the split of budgets. And so, we close the loop! Another way to look at that:
  • 37.
    Management Accounting Control 2012-­‐2013 Manon Cuylits 37 PLANNING: To identify short-­‐term objectives è To develop short-­‐term plans è To develop the budget CONTROL: To measure and assess the performance è Reassess objectives, goals, strategy, and plans. PLANNING AND CONTROL, ROLE OF BUDGETS Balance sheet expected at the end of the next year for example, cash flows, …è financial figures OPERATIONAL BUDGETS Usually 6 operational budgets: 1. Sales budget: how much am I going to sell next year (1st month, 2nd month… 1st quarter, etc.) How many units am I going to sell? I may split the sales budget into more detailed budget. (per categories,…). It’s a forecast; it doesn’t need to be very précised. 2. Investments: What’s the amount of money I’ll have to invest next year in order to be able to run my business… 3. Production budget: taking into account what I plan to sell next year, and what I plan to invest, How much will I have to produce myself? It depends on the sales forecast and on the investment. 4. Purchasing budget: taking into account all the previous element, how much will I have to purchase next year 5. Personal and training: How much will I have to pay?
  • 38.
    Management Accounting Control 2012-­‐2013 Manon Cuylits 38 6. Administration and other (advertising, R and D,etc.): basket where you put all the rest. You define those operational budgets in the order above, because some of them depend on the previous ones. FINANCIAL BUDGETS 3 usual financial budgets: Ø Projected cash flows Ø Projected (pro forma) balance sheet Ø Projected (pro forma) profit-­‐and-­‐loss statement A budget is a set of figures expressing money income and outcome, which shows whether a financial plan will help reaching organizational objectives. Ø If a budget doesn’t contain any figures, it’s not a budget: it’s something else. Most of the time it’s expressed in “money” => Money income and outcome (but not always). The figures are not necessarily financial figures. E.g.: a company usually wants to achieve a very high reputation/ brand reputation/… it would make sense to put that into the budget, even if it’s not easy to measure and it’s not a financial figure. Other objectives you could have: You want to reach a certain number of market shares/ you want to have “happy” customers/ you want to have a given level of competencies/ you want to launch a certain amount of new products (innovation aim). Budgeting is the process of budget preparation The various Budgets provide a tool to communicate short-­‐term objectives Ø There are several budgets (sales budget, purchasing budget, etc.) Ø May be a motivational tool: it can motivate to know that you have to sell a certain number of products. BUDGETS FLOW-­‐CHART FOR SALES
  • 39.
    Management Accounting Control 2012-­‐2013 Manon Cuylits 39 CLASSICAL FLOW-­‐CHART Sales forecast: I start here. ð Long term forecast: 3 to 5 years ð Mid & Short term forecast: next year Starting with a sales forecast is always an obligation. It’s really difficult unless you are in a really stable business, but that happens less and less. You have to take plenty of things into account. Based on the mid & short term forecast, I will look at what I have to produce (production). That’s not necessarily the same amount as the number of products I have to sell. Why? BMW plans to sell 100.000 cars next year; do they have to produce 100.000 cars next year? No because they might have cars in the inventory. It depends on the amount in inventory then. Maybe they will subcontract; it means they don’t have to produce themselves. Ø Sales è Estimation Ø Production èCalculation based on the estimation.
  • 40.
    Management Accounting Control 2012-­‐2013 Manon Cuylits 40 è Purchasing: If I know what I have to produce, I know what I will have to buy (raw materials and so on). If BMW knows they have to produce 70.000 cars, they know how much steel they have to buy therefore. è Investment and financing: There’s an investment budget (see above), it depends on 2 elements: Long-­‐term sales forecast & mid-­‐ & short-­‐term sales forecast. Investment means I will invest in assets that are going to stay more than 1 year in the company (Long-­‐term assets). If I look at my long-­‐term sales forecast, I might see that within 3 years I won’t be able to produce enough, and I can then decide to invest in something to improve the production. è Sales means there’s money coming in => cash flow è Production, purchasing, investment means there’s money going out è Every part means there’s an influence on my cash flow. If I have a good idea of my forecast, I can deduct my cash budget, what’s going to be my cash production over time. Once I have that, I can derive to “what’s my P&L Statement forecast going to look like month by month and at the end of the year, and same for the balance sheet forecast, I will know what it’s going to look like month by month and at the end of the year. On the long-­‐term : The investment and finance of the company are also affected by the long-­‐ term sales forecast. Indeed, as the long-­‐term concerns the future, the company can plan the new investments they’ll have to make/buy in order to support the future activities of the company. All the upper part of the chart allows defining the budget and the balance sheet. COMPLEX FLOW-­‐CHART
  • 41.
    Management Accounting Control 2012-­‐2013 Manon Cuylits 41 Based on the slide above, I may decide on an Investment project. I will translate my investment projects into investment budgets (a budget is a set of figures). This has an impact on the cash budget, some cash money is going out. I will also decide my short-­‐term objectives => Sales budget, production budget Production budget: In some case you may have to precise the purchasing budget, the direct labor budget and the production overhead budget. Those are the elements that impacts on the cash budget. I divide the production budget into those 3 elements. I may derive a budgeted product cost. è Direct impact on the cash budget: It helps me to define the budgeted P&L. The difference with the classical flow-­‐chart concerns the beginning: we first start with the objectives and the strategic plans instead of the forecast on a long and short term like before. This first step will impact two dimensions. - First dimension: The objectives and strategic plans will be reflected in the investment projects that will directly define the investment budget leading to a specific cash budget. - Second dimension: The objectives and plans will lead to the short-­‐term objectives defining the sales and production budgets.
  • 42.
    Management Accounting Control 2012-­‐2013 Manon Cuylits We always have to read the graph from top to bottom to see the relations and the consequences. You get the bottom level if you fulfil the bottom level. We’ll know analyse in details one budget through an example. 42 You may divide your budget into variable expenses. Ø Variable expenses = commission on sales. The more I sell, the more I get. Ø Fixed expenses = salaries, depreciation, advertising. BUDGET PROCESS Starting point: always a sales forecast. The budget process lies in 3 steps: 1) Estimate projected sales revenue level è ESTIMATION Ø Historical data (You may try to forecast the sales looking at the historical sales), Current factors, Economic variables, Other factors, Specific points of focus 2) Determine profit requirements è DETERMINATION 3) Calculate projected expenses values è CALCULATION based on the elements above. There are several ways to calculate that: Ø Incremental method Ø Method based on a percentage Ø « Zero-­‐based » budget INCREMENTAL METHOD
  • 43.
    Management Accounting Control 2012-­‐2013 Manon Cuylits 43 Ø Estimate future expenses based on current expenses: I take every expenses and I increase/decrease them by 5% for example (always same percentage); which means that the various expenses remain the same proportion. I keep the same costs like they were last year and I will just adapt them. Ø Current expenses levels are incremented/decremented for the new budget Ø Based on the assumption that past year’s cost were justified and reasonable Ø Any inefficiency may be reproduced in the new budget! If an expense wasn’t necessary, it will still be there next year. The problem with that method is that I base it on the assumption that every expense was necessary; which may be false. If I lost money last year because of inefficiency, I will still loose money this year. Example of the incremental method: - For the sales: If we want to increase our sales by 10%, we have to increase all the elements in the chain by 10% to reach the decision. And, we’ll have the increase in the future - For the expenses: If last year, there were excessive expenses, the new budget will take on this charge. The expenses can’t be deleted. They are transferred to the next year. It’ll be less efficient and it’s going to be wrong in the future. PERCENTAGE METHOD This method is similar to the previous one, but we increment/decrement a percentage of the expenses each year. Ø Based on the current % of each expense compared to total expenses Ø Uses the same % for next year. I keep the cost structure identical for the next year. Ø Based on the assumption that past year’s costs were justified and reasonable. Ø Any inefficiency may be reproduced in the new budget! « ZERO BASED » BUDGET Ø Build the expenses of the new budget « from scratch » Ø Previous year’s % are ignored Ø Each expense must be justified Ø Don’t produce inefficiencies in the new budget Ø But is really time and energy demanding Idea: I don’t want to look at what was happening last year, I want to start with a blank paper, I start from scratch. I don’t look at the figures from last year and increase/decrease
  • 44.
    Management Accounting Control 2012-­‐2013 Manon Cuylits them. Each expense has to be justified then (>< 2 previous methods). Here I don’t reproduce inefficiencies. It takes a lot of time and a lot of energy to proceed like this. What would you recommend? Starting from scratch again might not be a bad idea from time to time. Zero based-­‐budget every year is not the good solution, but you might do it every couple of year or every 3 years. Every year is a bit too much. During 2 or 3 years, use then the easiest method: percentage method or incremental method. How many years? It depends from the business and from the volatility of the budget. 44
  • 45.
    Management Accounting Control 2012-­‐2013 Manon Cuylits 45 CHAPTER 4: CAPITAL BUDGETING In the Management Control function you will have to make the good decisions and one of the usual decisions is an investment decision. Is it a good idea to invest in that machine? To invest in that company? To invest money there…? I will have to help the top management to take the right decision, the right investment decision. Whenever I need to invest money, not as current expenses, it’s going to be called capital budgeting. Capital Budgeting is the process of identifying, evaluating, and implementing a firm’s investment opportunities. It seeks to identify investments that will enhance a firm’s competitive advantage and increase shareholder wealth. You don’t invest in something if you don’t get a “payment” (?) The typical capital budgeting decision involves a large up-­‐front investment followed by a series of smaller cash inflows. If I want to use a robot in a factory, that’s a huge up-­‐front investment. Purchasing price + installation + training and so on, but why do I want to use a robot in a company? Because I will save some money, I want to automate some activities. Those smaller benefits I will get them on a long period of time. During 10 years for example I will save an amount of money, and that amount of money is the profit that I’ll get from that investment. I will then compare. In some cases the total profits are going to be higher but not always. If they are going to be higher, it’s a good idea to invest. Poor capital budgeting decisions can ultimately result in company bankruptcy. If I don’t look carefully enough to the figures, I might have problems. KEY MOTIVES FOR MAKING CAPITAL EXPENDITURES Expansion, Replacement, Renewal, Other purposes: - Replacing worn out or obsolete assets : machines, investments, equipment. - Improving business efficiency: new products up to date. - Acquiring assets for expansion into new products or market: most of the time, we need additional assets to enter into a new market. - Buying a new business - Comply with legal requirements: less emission, more ecological, trade union. - Satisfying workforce demands - Environmental requirements
  • 46.
    Management Accounting Control 2012-­‐2013 Manon Cuylits 46 EXAMPLES OF MOTIVES FOR CAPITAL EXPENDITURES STEPS IN THE CAPITAL BUDGETING PROCESS
  • 47.
    Management Accounting Control 2012-­‐2013 Manon Cuylits Overall process: I will ask people (everybody/the managers/etc.) to make proposals: “would you need some specific investments?” “Is there something you need?” They will then 47 generate proposals. Those proposals are not always going to be accepted. They will review and analyze those proposals in order to make a decision: which one am I going to accept/decline. They will then implement the investment and there’s going to be a follow-­‐up. BASIC TERMINOLOGY MUTUALLY EXCLUSIVE VS INDEPENDENT Ø Mutually Exclusive Projects are investments that compete in some way for a company’s resources. A firm can select one or another but not both. Ø Independent Projects, on the other hand, do not compete with the firm’s resources. A company can select one, or the other, or both -­‐ so long as they meet minimum profitability thresholds. UNLIMITED FUNDS VS CAPITAL Ø If the firm has unlimited funds for making investments, then all independent projects that provide returns greater than some specified level can be accepted and implemented. Ø However, in most cases firms face capital rationing restrictions since they only have a given amount of funds to invest in potential investment projects at any given time. You know that next year you will have to invest up to 1.000.000 euros… The total may not go beyond… ACCEPT-­‐REJECT VS RANKING
  • 48.
    Management Accounting Control 2012-­‐2013 Manon Cuylits 48 Ø The accept-­‐reject approach involves the evaluation of capital expenditure proposals to determine whether they meet the firm’s minimum acceptance criteria. I may decide to look at every project with very specific acceptance criteria! My investment has to be profitable. Ø The ranking approach involves the ranking of capital expenditures on the basis of some predetermined measure, such as the rate of return. I could decide to keep the top 3, or top 5. If I accept to keep the top 3, the 3rd one might only have a 3% return on investment, and I have to accept that. JUSKICI
  • 49.
    Management Accounting Control 2012-­‐2013 Manon Cuylits 49 CHAPTER 5: CASH FLOW Cash inflows: income specifically related to the project. In this case it’s always 2000 $, we don’t need to calculate to know if it’s profitable. The initial investment is 10.000 $ and we earn 2000 $ every year during 8 years. If we only had cash inflows during 5 years, would it be an interesting investment? No I prefer to have 10.000 $ now than in 1 year. Is it much profitable or not so much? If I want the answer I will have to make calculations. It’s not an income, it’s not a profit: it’s a cash flow! It’s not the same. In the example above we have cash flows every year. (Inflows and outflows) THE RELEVANT CASH FLOWS INCREMENTAL CASH FLOWS Incremental cash flows are cash flows specifically associated with the investment, and their effect on the firms other investments (both positive and negative) must also be considered.
  • 50.
    Management Accounting Control 2012-­‐2013 Manon Cuylits For example, if a day-­‐care center decides to open another facility, the impact of customers who decide to move from one facility to the new facility must be considered. IKEA: They have a store in Zaventem & want to open a new store in Anderlecht. They open a new store in order to attract new customers. Nevertheless they will also attract existing customers of Zaventem: Cannibalization. 50 ð It will have to be taken into account. If I expect 1.000.000 euros sales, maybe in my calculation here that’s not 1.000.000 euros that I need to take into account. è Incremental cash flow. Maybe 800.000 will come from existing customers from other stores. Incremental = I decide to launch a project and because of that project, this cash flow shows up. MAIN COMPONENTS ð Initial Investment
  • 51.
    Management Accounting Control 2012-­‐2013 Manon Cuylits ð Operating Cash inflows ð Terminal cash flow: I might have it the next year because some things could happen. 51 Typical way: Outflow (= initial investment) then series of inflows (= operating cash inflows and terminal cash flow) TERMINOLOGY APD ICI NOTES A LA MAIN EXPANSION VS REPLACEMENT CASH FLOWS EXPANSION CASH FLOWS è Ex: creating a new plant (a fourth one) No problem: Estimating incremental cash flows is relatively straightforward in the case of expansion projects, but not so in the case of replacement projects. è Cash-­‐flow specifically coming from the project/ specific to the project REPLACEMENT CASH FLOWS è Ex: you want to replace something (machine, pc, etc.) With replacement projects, incremental cash flows must be computed by subtracting existing project cash flows from those expected from the new project. Incremental cash flows must be calculated by subtracting everything that’s coming from the old equipment because it might generate cash flows when existing.
  • 52.
    Management Accounting Control 2012-­‐2013 Manon Cuylits 52 Those are the formulas that we are going to use. SUNK COSTS VS OPPORTUNITY COSTS • Note that cash outlays already made (sunk costs) are irrelevant to the decision process. • However, opportunity costs, which are cash flows that could be realized from the best alternative use of the asset, are relevant. INTERNATIONAL CAPITAL BUDGETING • International capital budgeting analysis differs from purely domestic analysis because: o Cash inflows and outflows occur in a foreign currency, and o Foreign investments potentially face significant political risks • Despite these risk, the pace of foreign direct investment has accelerated significantly since the end of WWII. EXAMPLES OF RELEVANT CASH FLOWS ü Cash inflows, outflows, and opportunity costs ü Changes in working capital ü Installation, removal and training costs
  • 53.
    Management Accounting Control 2012-­‐2013 Manon Cuylits 53 ü Terminal values ü Depreciation CATEGORIES OF CASH FLOWS: • Initial Cash Flows are cash flows resulting initially from the project. These are typically net negative outflows. • Operating Cash Flows are the cash flows generated by the project during its operation. These cash flows typically net positive cash flows. • Terminal Cash Flows result from the disposition of the project. These are typically positive net cash flows. FINDING THE INITIAL INVESTMENT The basic format for determining initial investment: EXAMPLE: TAX TREATMENT ON SALES OF ASSETS
  • 54.
    Management Accounting Control 2012-­‐2013 Manon Cuylits Powell Corporation, a large diversified manufacturer of aircraft components, is trying to determine the initial investment required to replace an old machine with a new, more sophisticated model. The machine’s purchase price is $380,000 and an additional $20,000 will be necessary to install it. It will be depreciated under MACRS using a 6-­‐year recovery period. The firm has found a buyer willing to pay $280,000 for the present machine and remove it at the buyers expense. The firm expects that a $35,000 increase in current assets and an $18,000 increase in current liabilities will accompany the replacement. Both ordinary income and capital gains are taxed at 40%. 54
  • 55.
    Management Accounting Control 2012-­‐2013 Manon Cuylits 55 FINDING THE OPERATING CASH-­‐FLOW
  • 56.
    Management Accounting Control 2012-­‐2013 Manon Cuylits Powell Corporation’s estimates of its revenues and expenses (excluding depreciation), with and without the new machine described in the preceding example, are given in next slide. Note that both the expected usable life of the proposed machine and the remaining usable life of the existing machine are 5 years. The amount to be depreciated with the proposed machine is calculated by summing the purchase price of $380,000 and the installation costs of $20,000. 56
  • 57.
    Management Accounting Control 2012-­‐2013 Manon Cuylits 57
  • 58.
    Management Accounting Control 2012-­‐2013 Manon Cuylits 58
  • 59.
    Management Accounting Control 2012-­‐2013 Manon Cuylits 59 FINDING THE TERMINAL CASH-­‐FLOW Continuing with the Powell Corporation example, assume that the firm expects to be able to liquidate the new machine at the end of its 5-­‐year useable life to net $50,000 after paying removal and cleanup costs. The old machine can be liquidated at the end of the 5 years to
  • 60.
    Management Accounting Control 2012-­‐2013 Manon Cuylits net $0 because it will then be completely obsolete. The firm expects to recover its $17,000 net working capital investment upon termination of the project. Again, the tax rate is 40%. 60 SUMMARIZING THE RELEVANT CASH FLOWS HOW TO HANDLE UNCERTAINTY • Sensitivity Analysis -­‐ Analysis of the effects of changes in sales, costs, etc. on a project. • Scenario Analysis -­‐ Project analysis given a particular combination of assumptions. • Simulation Analysis -­‐ Estimation of the probabilities of different possible outcomes.
  • 61.
    Management Accounting Control 2012-­‐2013 Manon Cuylits 61 • Break Even Analysis -­‐ Analysis of the level of sales (or other variable) at which the company breaks even. SENSITIVITY ANALYSIS EXAMPLE Given the expected cash flow forecasts listed on the next slide, determine the NPV of the project given changes in the cash flow components using an 8% cost of capital. Assume that all variables remain constant, except the one you are changing. POSSIBLE OUTCOMES
  • 62.
    Management Accounting Control 2012-­‐2013 Manon Cuylits 62 NPV calculations for pessimistic investment scenario NPV Possibilities SCENARIO ANALYSIS EXAMPLE (CONTINUED) Cash-­‐flow (year 1-­‐12)
  • 63.
    Management Accounting Control 2012-­‐2013 Manon Cuylits 63 BREAK EVEN ANALYSIS EXAMPLE Given the forecasted data on the next slide, determine the number of planes that the company must produce in order to break even, on an NPV basis. The company’s cost of capital is 10%. ANSWER Ø The break even point, is the # of Planes Sold that generates a NPV=$0. Ø The present value annuity factor of a 6 year cash flow at 10% is 4.355 Thus,
  • 64.
    Management Accounting Control 2012-­‐2013 Manon Cuylits 64 Solving for “Planes Sold” Planes sold = 63
  • 65.
    Management Accounting Control 2012-­‐2013 Manon Cuylits 65 CHAPTER 6: BUSINESS EVOLUTION WHAT ARE THE KEY ELEMENTS OF THE RECENT BUSINESS EVOLUTION? How can we collect info from operations? It’s difficult to measure things especially in this environment. ð More cross-­‐functionality Take large processes that analyze more process. ð Stronger relationships with Customers & suppliers Relationship with the customer is much stronger, same for the suppliers. Today many automobile manufacturers say to the suppliers: we’ll five you access to all computer systems, you will look when we need raw materials and you will bring them to the manufacturing place, so that we don’t interfere with you. You enter the manufacturing place and you bring it to the place where it’s needed. ð The market requirements ð Globalization ð More need for innovation: o Shorter life cycles (much shorter, especially in electronic equipment). o Time-­‐to-­‐market more critical: time it takes to bring to the market a new product or service. ð Competencies are enhanced
  • 66.
    Management Accounting Control 2012-­‐2013 Manon Cuylits 66 Level of needed competencies is much higher PARALLEL BUSINESS TOOLS EVOLUTION: ð TQM = Total Quality Management. Focus on customer helps. Way to secure the output of the process and not only it is good but it’s exactly what the customers expect to have. In many cases company from the apst were ready to accept ... the right output. TQM doesn’t accept that idea. 95% of the customers are good but it means that 5% that’s not good and that costs a lot of money. ð JIT Just In Time: work without intermediate inventories. … Whenever there’s a problem the full line has to stop, that’s what Toyota developed. ð TBC = Time Based Competition All the tools that will help the company to shorten le life cycle, the production cycle, etc. ð Lean production A production with a minimum of overrates Minimum production overate: minimum administration and so on.
  • 67.
    Management Accounting Control 2012-­‐2013 Manon Cuylits 67 ð Customer-­‐focused organization No explanation ð Re-­‐engineering Completely re-­‐inventing an existing process because we are not happy with this process. Replace a process with a new one. Just a human improvement isn’t enough, there’s a need to change the process. Ex: manually => by computer. Process have a cost, it takes a while and has some cost. In 90 to 95% of the cases, the process cost was higher than the repair cost. If it’s higher, that’s non-­‐sense, something is wrong with that process, need to change this process, to use a new one. ð ABC Quite recent. ð Empowerment Giving authority to people. BUT… ð Results sporadic or disappointing. Results are not really good. Many companies are not happy with that. There has been some improvement but… ð Weak cause-­‐and-­‐effect relationship with the strategy ð Limitations of finance and accounting tools and methods. For example, how to measure the financial value of: (Standard accounting methods => very clear limitations) o New products « in the pipe-­‐line »?
  • 68.
    Management Accounting Control 2012-­‐2013 Manon Cuylits You have money you want to invest (?), let’s imagine you want to invest in pharmaceutical company, you hesitate between 2, the figures are the same for both companies (Balance Sheet, Profit and Loss statement, … everything based on the financial information is the same!) but you know that one company has 20 products under development, while the second one has only 10! Which of the two are you going to chose? Which one is more likely to succeed? The first one ! 20 products in the pipe-­‐line. 68 o Process capability? What’s the process is capable of doing or not? When you take two identical production lines (same machines, process, etc.), you start one production line in Europe and the other in Japan. Systematically after a couple of years, one production line is doing better than the other. Its capability has been improved, but no investment has been made. Financially it’s impossible to detect that smth has been changed. Changing in some of the production steps, … something happened that’s not possible to detect from a financial point of view. Better company but again, impossible to see that from a financial point of view. o Personnel competency? Not smth that you can measure based on the financial and accounting data? You can pay someone more, but it doesn’t mean he’s better or works better. o Customer loyalty? More able to invest if I see a better loyalty from customers. o Quality of the databases? ð No systematic feedback process on the effectiveness of the strategy. MAC is about giving a good visibility to take good decisions.
  • 69.
    Management Accounting Control 2012-­‐2013 Manon Cuylits 69 LIMITS OF FINANCIAL MEASUREMENTS OF PERFORMANCE ð Focus on the short term, less on long-­‐term investments ð The system favours tangible investments, with an easy-­‐to-­‐ measure return ð Too much emphasis on investments that can easily be valued ð Companies with high amounts of assets can operate unefficiently as long as short-­‐ term results are good. Investing in training, reputation of a company… Whenever a company wants to invest in a huge machine or smth else, you will find a financial analysis with details… A BALANCE IS NEEDED BETWEEN: ð Traditional financial measurements: you need to complement them with other types of measurement: ð The specific needs of the new business environnement AND YOU ALSO NEED A BALANCE BETWEEN: ð Short-­‐term constraints ð Long-­‐term goal Complement traditional financial measurements (focused on the past) with measurements on « drivers » of future performance. “BALANCES”
  • 70.
    Management Accounting Control 2012-­‐2013 Manon Cuylits Balance between the financial type of measurement and the non financial type of measurement. More and more, for a Management Controller, the reporting will be made by a mix of those 2 elements. A good reporting is not linked to … it’s a mix of financial information and non-­‐financial information. Cost, profitability, sales, amount of sales, … etc. all those examples are financial pieces of information. Non-­‐financial information: (necessary for business to take decisions) Customer loyalty, customer satisfaction, employee’s motivation, etc. are not financial! It’s crucial for the business but you don’t measure it financially. Non-­‐financial information are much more oriented towards the future. It doesn’t mean we can measure the future, that’s impossible. Customer satisfaction: why do we pay attention to that? Probably because if you get satisfied customers you will get more sales. When I measure it, it’s because IN THE FUTURE I hope to have more sales. If I see an increase, I may expect, in the future, to have increased sales. 70 This is sometimes called a driver of financial reasons. And it’s good to pay attention to what’s the driver of financial reasons. Sometimes the driver is going to be non financial reason. EXERCISE ð Provide a definition of « strategy» ð Provide 3 attributes of a sound strategy
  • 71.
    Management Accounting Control 2012-­‐2013 Manon Cuylits 71 ð Name 5 company’s areas that might be impacted by a strategy 4 categories of measurement: -­‐ CUSTOMERS: information related to customers: financial or not. But when it relates to customer, I put the measurements inot that category -­‐ FINANCIAL: that’s where I’ll put all my financial measurements (ROI, etc.). -­‐ INTERNAL BUSINESS PROCESSES: production processes, logistic processes, distribution processes, etc. whenever a measurement is related to that, I will put it into that category. -­‐ LEARNING & GROWTH: Where I will put any measurement related to the people, generally speaking. Personal development. Learning (training, etc.). Any measurement related to the development of the needed competencies. Things like measurement of the competencies needed, employee satisfaction/moral/retention/turnover etc., training level, training effort, training cost. All those things. It has to be related to personal. Any important business measurement can be put into one of those 4 categories. When you want to define and manage a strategy, you have to translate your strategy into those 4 categories. I can’t imagine that it’s possible to have a strategy that doesn’t have an impact on those 4 categories. A strategy impact on the categories!
  • 72.
    Management Accounting Control 2012-­‐2013 Manon Cuylits 72 A very good reporting system will have to address at minimum measurement in those 4 categories. If not, bad. In terms of finance, the basic question you have to answer to: “how do we look to shareholders?” => Maximum profit? Regular profit? Secured profit? What do they want? It might change from one shareholder to another! They don’t want necessarily the maximum. The answer to that question will tell you what you need to put in term of measurement. The measurement is going to provide the right visibility. One I answered the previous question: In a customer perspective: “how do customers see us?”. Ex: for Ryanair: they want to be seen as the cheapest flying company. It depends on who are your customers. In an internal business process perspective: “what must we excel at?”. Where you need to be excellent, to perform really well? It may be a distribution process, a marketing process, a R&D process. It depends on the question above: how you want to be perceived. Not all your business processes need to be top, only some of them. Given the processes where I need to be very good, I can ask me the following question.
  • 73.
    Management Accounting Control 2012-­‐2013 Manon Cuylits In an innovation & Learning perspective: “Can we continue to improve our employees skills and create value for our clients?” 73 … We’ll start to look into each of those categories. Measurements are not enough. Companies need a strategy management system, aiming at: ð Clarify and translate vision and strategy ð Communicate strategic objectives and measurements, and make a clear link between them. ð Plan and align strategic initiatives stratégiques, and assign them objectives. ð Improve the feedback and the learning process. OPERATIONAL AND STRATEGIC FEEDBACK Operational loop – strategic loop (cf. previous course).
  • 74.
    Management Accounting Control 2012-­‐2013 Manon Cuylits Strategic measurement => 4 categories: finance, customers, employees, internal processes. It’s going to help to translate strategy into measurement. Measurement of outcome and Outcome = operational output. A mix of financial and non-­‐financial key indicators: is that enough to have a sound measurement system? Is it enough? NO ! Why? Because you need to have measurements but also objectives. When I see a measurement without an objective, … it doesn’t make sense. Do you achieve this objective? If a measurement not related to an objective: why do you measure that? 74 For example, a BSC (Balanced ScoreCard) is made out of a serie of objectives and measurements with a clear link between them, consistant and mutually reinforcing. Think about flight simulator... Focus on the cause-­‐and-­‐effect relationship: ð A strategy is a set of assumptions about cause-­‐ and-­‐effect relationships. ð These relationships must be explicit, so that they can be managed...and validated. ð They must cover 4 perspectives. The flow of cause and effect is always the same. Start from the top. New definition of a strategy.
  • 75.
    Management Accounting Control 2012-­‐2013 Manon Cuylits 75 LINKAGE BETWEEN CAUSES AND STRATEGIC ACTIVITIES
  • 76.
    Management Accounting Control 2012-­‐2013 Manon Cuylits 76 An example of a cause and effect relationship can be outlined as follows: ð IF we improve Leadership Capability AND give employees the Skills and Training they need to perform their jobs, THEN we will improve Employee Satisfaction & Motivation ð Consequently, IF we improve Employee Satisfaction & Motivation, THEN Productivity will increase since Employee Satisfaction & Motivation is a driver of Productivity ð IF we increase Productivity, THEN Cost will Decrease which will ultimately result in an Increased Return on Investment
  • 77.
    Management Accounting Control 2012-­‐2013 Manon Cuylits 77 BSC = Balanced ScoreCard. Are there positive aspects to that? 1 without 2: Lagging indicators without Leading indicators ð Is silent about how to achieve results ð Does not provide early feedback on the success of strategy implementation 2 without 1: Leading indicators without Lagging indicators ð May well provide short-­‐term operational improvement ð But is silent about whether this is translated into sales increase, new customers, market shares, financial results, ...
  • 78.
    Management Accounting Control 2012-­‐2013 Manon Cuylits 78 It’s good to start with generic measurements: First you will plan. When am I going to start? You don’t have to panic cause you can always start with generic measurement. … Generic measurement: you need to look at it when you start from scratch, when you start with a white sheet of paper. Financial: Most of the time you will measure 2 or 3 financial elements, like ROI. Customer
  • 79.
    Management Accounting Control 2012-­‐2013 Manon Cuylits Internal processes: you need to have an idea about the output. You need a quality measurement. Those 3 elements are absolutely necessary. Why? If you only want a good quality, it might be really expensive (cost). You should say “I want a good quality but not at any cost”. … Learning and growth: Important to have satisfied employees. You have to find a way to make your employees happy. Salary is not the best way, but empowerment, team spirit etc. are. … A balanced set of measurement will be set between a balance in those 4 categories??? … High correlation between some of those elements: ex: difficult to ask a non-­‐satisfied employee to be innovative. 79 Now we need to get more specific measurements, related to a given strategy. Examples of strategic focus: ð Business growth – one aspect may be the BG. My strategy is “I want to grow my business”. It can be growth through acquisition, or another type of growth. Not all strategies are growth-­‐oriented. ð To lower the risk for example through diversification. It can also be another strategic focus. ð To increase the productivity or to lower the cost. ð Etc. Most of the time the MC is not part of the team who’s going to decide on the strategy. He is in the middle management, not in the top management. => The clearer the strategic focus, the less measurement needed. <= PERSPECTIVE MEASUREMENT
  • 80.
    Management Accounting Control 2012-­‐2013 Manon Cuylits 80 FINANCIAL PERSPECTIVE On which critical factors depend the relevant financial objectives? ON THE LIFE CYCLE Growth: Example of the CD. It has been invented 25 years ago (+/-­‐). Sales boomed for some years and then it became stable and now it’s decreasing because it’s the end of the CD’s life. It’s the same for any product. ROCI = Return On Capital Investment. Sustrain: That’s where you really need to have a great profitability. ROCE = Return On Capital Employed. … depending on where I am I will get more attention to some of the financial measurement & objectives (?) MAIN STRATEGIC THEMES
  • 81.
    Management Accounting Control 2012-­‐2013 Manon Cuylits I may want to growth my revenue, to reduce my cost, or else. E.g.: In some businesses, like the printing companies (newspapers), it’s quite impressive cause sales are huge, and one of the printers is a 100-­‐meter long, and is really expensive. That asset has to run all the time; it may not stop, in such a business. Whenever it stops, I loose a lot of money. The asset HAS to work. (Asset usage). Ryanair wants to minimize the time the plane is on the ground, that’s what they pay attention to! Planes are staying 25 minutes on the ground between two flights. 81
  • 82.
    Management Accounting Control 2012-­‐2013 Manon Cuylits 82 I have all possible combinations. Depending on where you are, you will probably favour specific measurements. CUSTOMER PERSPECTIVE Represent the sources of the « revenues » that are part of the financial objectives. Customers are going to bring me money => Sources of revenues. If they are happy to do business with me, first they will come back, and second they might be ready to pay some more money. If they are not happy they might leave to go to the competitor. GENERIC MEASUREMENTS Some generic measurement related to customers : - Customer satisfaction : a company wants to have the answers to the question of satisfaction. If a product fulfills the customer needs and expectations. If a customer is highly satisfied, he’ll be loyal to the company and we’ll have a high level of customer retention. The way to measure it is to run a customer survey. The customer satisfaction is driver of the customer retention and customer profitability because customers will be ready to buy a product at a very high price. - Customer acquisition : the mouth-­‐to-­‐mouth effect is an essential element to acquire new customers. Rien suivi. ð Measured by most of companies. It’s not because it’s generic that it’s not good for us. It probably is.
  • 83.
    Management Accounting Control 2012-­‐2013 Manon Cuylits 83 BEYOND GENERIC MEASUREMENTS Measurements on attributes (factors) Beyond generic measurement, there are measurements on attributes (factors) : Value = product/Service attributes + image + relations - Product/service attributes: it lies in functionality, quality, price and time. - Image: the image of a brand can influence customer’s choice (ex : Abercrombie, Ferrari). It will pass a message. - Relation: the relations with the customer can play a role ! Each product of service represent a value … It may come from the image or frome a specific relationship you have with a company. Attributes: -­‐ Functionality -­‐ Quality -­‐ Price -­‐ Time E.g.: Ferrari: … How to measure customer satisfaction? Best way = survey. A customer survey is run to know the global satisfaction. It must be carefully realize because the answers are crucial for the company. So the questions must be specific and pertinent. Questions concern different element of the company strategy : product quality, delivery terms offered, on time delivery, ease of contact. All these elements help to measure global satisfaction. The answers will range between very unsatisfied, unsatisfied, neutral, satisfied
  • 84.
    Management Accounting Control 2012-­‐2013 Manon Cuylits and very satisfied. It’s important to ask the main question at the beginning of the survey : Are you globally satisfied ? Firstly, the customer will answer the question and then underline the reasons. 84 Survey where you ask a couple of question: 1) question about the global satisfaction a. About the Product quality b. About the delivery terms offered c. About the “on time delivery” d. … e. About the ease of contact Ø Plenty of questions. You don’t want to have twenty measurements, you only want one, If you have to choose one, which one would it be? You have to take the measurements, analyze them and interpret them. Interpretation of the survey We can see that the global satisfaction is about 95% and the factor “ease of contact” is completely unsatisfied (98%). So, we can conclude that this factor plays no role and doesn’t have any incidence on the global satisfaction. As a result, a company can decide to focus on the three other factors : product quality, delivery terms and on time delivery which are more relevant. So, in a nutshell, we can increase our global satisfaction by focusing on a small series of factors instead of analyzing plenty factors.
  • 85.
    Management Accounting Control 2012-­‐2013 Manon Cuylits 85 Ø 95% of the customers are unsatisfied. o 90% are satisfied with the product quality. o etc. If you are a MC, your job is to interpret that and to deliver a message to the top management (?). Interpretation: we’re not in a good situation. There might be a couple of reason therefore but the main reason obviously is the “on time delivery” here, because for all the other aspects don’t make the customers unsatisfied. So it means there’s a need to improve the on time delivery.
  • 86.
    Management Accounting Control 2012-­‐2013 Manon Cuylits Here the problem clearly is the ease of contact. However, it doesn’t seem to play a role in the global satisfaction (Very Satisfied). It’s not a driver. It’s not linked to the global satisfaction. Trying to improve the ease of contact would be useless cause it wouldn’t improve anything else, even the global satisfaction because it’s not linked. It would only be a lost of time and money. That wouldn’t be a good management decision! Looking at the relationship between the figures would lead to good management decisions. Looking at that is a must. You might need to keep on calculating that (do I keep this question in the survey or not?). 86 INTERNAL PROCESS PERSPECTIVE In this perspective, we identify the key processes (critical for customers and financial results) Ex: product equipment, R&D, billing processes. It typically comes in third logical steps Generic measurements range from quality, cost, cycle time and “throughput”(don’t pay attention to this one).
  • 87.
    Management Accounting Control 2012-­‐2013 Manon Cuylits 87 EXAMPLE OF MEASUREMENTS The internal process starts with the customer need identified and ends with the customer need satisfied. Within this framework, other processes take place: - Innovation process: it allows to identify the market and to create the Profit and Sale (P/S) offering. The measurements are It concerns % sales from new products, new production introduction vs. competition (are we going to introduce more products than the competitors), process capability and time to market (the time it takes between the identification and the operation process), BET metric (Break even time metric : it measures the time it takes to reach the break eve). - Operation process : it allows to build and deliver the profit and sales. The product will be produced and sold. The measurements are MCE (Manufacturing Cycle Efficiency -­‐ it concerns the difference between the moment we start producing a product and the moment the product is finished), FPY (First Past Yield – it concerns the first control. After the realization fo the product, they are controlled and the amount of products controlled positive represent the first past yied. The faulties are returned. If after the first step in control, 80% of the products are OK, we don’t need to adjust it. 80% of FPY), ABC process cost. - Postsale service process LEARNING AND GROWTH PERSPECTIVE
  • 88.
    Management Accounting Control 2012-­‐2013 Manon Cuylits Are the people happy to work in my company? If yes it will probably improve the employee productivity and the employee retention. => Results… 88 Driver of employee satisfaction - Competencies: two possible situations o You have a high degree of competencies and the company doesn’t use those competencies. You don’t feel happy, even though the salary is really good. o You don’t have that much competencies and you have hard work to achieve. Best way to measure competencies: … - Technology & infrastructure Tools that are given to you to achieve your work - Climate for action (am I part of a team, is my relationship with my boss… etc.) Core measurements
  • 89.
    Management Accounting Control 2012-­‐2013 Manon Cuylits Concurrently with the customer satisfaction, employee satisfaction brings employee productivity and retention. Happy employee will be motivated to work and more productive. On the other hand, they’ll have no reason to leave the company. They gave good results. How to measure these elements ? A good measure is a employee survey to get a right feedback and to take action. The purpose is to ask the main question (are you globally satisfied ?) and then move on to more detailed and precise questions to bring up the main reasons. 89 Enablers - Competencies are important to know if employees fulfill the requirement for the job. The solution will be to offer training to employee in order to reach their self accomplishment. Measurement rely on strategic skills, training levels and skill leverage. - Technology structure: this aspect can be relevant to know if the equipment employees have at their disposal are efficient. Measurement can concern strategic technologies (computers), strategic databases, experience capture and patent, copyrights. - Climate for action : the company wants that its employees perform well in a good work sphere. If employees don’t have objecive, there is no action. Measurement consist in motivation, empowerment and alignment. How to link measurements to the strategy?
  • 90.
    Management Accounting Control 2012-­‐2013 Manon Cuylits 90 - Cause and effect relationships: Measurements has to be mixed to show their consequences and causes. Without cause and effect relationship, we’ll get a random sample of results unrelated with the relevant information. - Use of performance drivers - Link with financial indicators Group: assignment - list all of the possible management control issues. And pick up the more relevant. - Rank the issues by importance the first one is the most important - For the top 3 issues, what are the solutions ? What are you going to do? - To outline what would be a good set of measurements based on the 4 perspectives. - Based on the information that we have, what would be a good example of effective balance score. Be very specific.
  • 91.
    Management Accounting Control 2012-­‐2013 Manon Cuylits 91 OTD is of critical importance, this is my top priority, if pressure, “please improve on time delivery, achieve a good level of OTD” that’s your objective, if you don’t reach it: consequences. Whenever one put a serious pressure on you, you’ll find a way to achieve your objective. That might be dangerous for the company. Why? Not a good idea to have huge level of inventory. If I tell you my only priority is to improve OTD, you’ll find a way to achieve it, for example by having a huge inventory, but that’s not what I want. I want an improvement in OTD without having an inventory going to the roof ! My message must be a little bit more sophisticated than “improve the OTD”, it musts be: “improve the OTD without increasing the inventory”. Time to market => objective = to decrease it. The things I put pressure on (OTD & Time to market) are Strategic measurements: reflect what I want to achieve, part of my strategy. The reactions are not part of the strategy! + Diagnostic measurement (reactions). SOME FIGURES Results of survey: • 59 % of top managers have a clear understanding of how to implement a vision. • ...and only 7 % of middle managers o 74 % of top managers have bonuses linked to yearly objectives
  • 92.
    Management Accounting Control 2012-­‐2013 Manon Cuylits 92 o < 33 % of top managers have bonuses linked to long-­‐term strategic objectives o < 10 % of middle managers have bonuses linked to long-­‐term strategic objectives Typical symptom: the use of different processes for: • Long term strategic planning • Short-­‐term annual budget EXAMPLE OBJECTIVE MEASUREMENT TARGET INITIATIVE Value for money as Customer survey #1 by 75% of perceived by Customers Customers Focus Group … In a reporting system, just a figure is meaningless. If I know that net profit is 8%, I tells me something but not much… There’s a need for words. “I want to be perceived by my customers like someone …”, once I know my objective, I have to decide how to measure it. Then I’ll define the target, with a figure. And then I may decide on a strategic initiative to achieve this objective. In the previous system, deviations against established plans were considered as defects, which is not an incentive to check whether: • Objectives were relevant • The method used to reach them was appropriate Strategy is a process, and strategic ideas may origin from the whole organization.
  • 93.
    Management Accounting Control 2012-­‐2013 Manon Cuylits 93 Three basic elements for a strategic learning process: • A shared strategic structure, that communicates strategy and allows everyone to see how his own activities contributes to strategy achievement. • A feedback process that collects data and allows to test assumptions made on links between objectives and initiatives. • A team-­‐based problem solving process, that analyse the data, draw conclusions and, when necessary, adapt strategy. § Correlation analysis § Scenario analysis § Initiatives review § External review § Anecdotes reports • Step 1: 3 months, a team of top managers • Step 2: 6 months, from n to n-­‐2. • Step 3: 1 month: elimination of non-­‐strategic investments and start of change programs • Step 4: 3 months, review of various BSC’s
  • 94.
    Management Accounting Control 2012-­‐2013 Manon Cuylits 94 • Step 5: « refine » the BSC • Step 6: after 1 year, communication to the whole organisation. n to n-­‐3 have their individual objectives linked to BSC • Step 7: 3-­‐5 year objectives settings for each measurement in the BSC. Identification of needed investments. The first year becomes the annual budget. • Step 8: Monthly & Quarterly reviews • Step 9: Annual strategic review with update • Step 10: Each employee must link his individual objectives to those in the BSC. WHY IS THAT NOT SIMPLE? • Structure defects (ex. only « lagging measurements ») • Organizational defects o Unappropriate delegation o Copy-­‐paste of « best-­‐in-­‐class » o Wait too long for the perfect BSC 3 CRITICAL ROLES • Architect • Change agent • Communicator IT SUPPORT TOOLS
  • 95.
    Management Accounting Control 2012-­‐2013 Manon Cuylits 95 In many of the recent ERP systems, you have balanced scorecard tools.
  • 96.
    Management Accounting Control 2012-­‐2013 Manon Cuylits 96 You may really double click on those sections and have the following screen : This is a practical tool; balanced scorecard isn’t a theoretical tool. A company uses it.
  • 97.
    Management Accounting Control 2012-­‐2013 Manon Cuylits 97 CHAPTER 7: TECHNIQUE OF COST ACCOUNTING ALLOCATION OF COSTS Why is that important? When we talk about cost allocation, we talk about allocation of indirect costs; we don’t allocate direct costs. Remember that Indirect Costs of a particular cost object are costs that are related to that cost object but cannot be traced to it in an economically feasible (cost-­‐effective) way. These costs often comprise a large percentage of the overall costs assigned to such cost objects as products, services, customers, and distribution channels. Why do managers allocate indirect costs to these cost objects? Example of direct costs: - Raw materials: I can link/trace it directly to a unit being produced, the cost of that raw material I can trace it to the unit produced. Salary: can be direct or indirect, it depends on the cost object. I want to relate that cost to a given cost object. Salary of a supervisor: if the cost object is the unit produced by the manufacturing plant, if that’s the cost object, is the cost direct or not? Indirect, because not easy to link to the production of 1 unit. Salary of the plant manager, supervisor: how can you link it? On the basis of what are you going to allocate it? It’s not easy to allocate, so it’s indirect. It’s never impossible to relate a cost, but it’s direct or indirect depending on the fact that it’s easy or difficult to relate to… So DIRECT or INDIRECT is a first classification in COSTS. Second classification: FIXED or VARIABLE. You look at the behavior over time, is it fix or does it vary over time? No cost is really fixed over a long period of time. Ex: the rent of a building is going to change, but is typically going to be fixed for 1 year. Costs problematic for a company are not the variable costs. If you only have variable costs in a company, you’re not going to go bankrupt. Running a company with only variable costs is really comfortable. Fixed costs are staying the same. Management controller will like to look at fixed costs because they are dangerous, and they are going to look at the indirect costs (direct costs are never a problem).
  • 98.
    Management Accounting Control 2012-­‐2013 Manon Cuylits I want to have a real idea of my TOTAL COST. If I have a very precise idea, I can take the right decisions. How do we compute that total cost? For direct cost it’s easy but what about indirect costs! How do I distribute it to each unit, what are the rules? That’s what we are going to cover here. It’s very often quite significant, 20-­‐35% of the total cost of a company! Why do we watch those costs? May influence the total cost. If my cost allocation base doesn’t make sense, some of my products might be overcosted of undercosted (receive more or less costs in indirect costs that they should receive). … Some allocation rules make sense, some other don’t. IT Costs: costs of the IT department: what would be a good cost allocation base? Distribution on the basis of what ? We don’t have to pay anything if we don’t use any PC for example. We should use the number of PC for example, as a basis. If no computer, no IT costs. … Problem in many companies: the reliability of the data. => using timesheet data. Once a month, use the timesheet and try to remember what they did 3 weeks ago… It’s not going to provide reliable data. … 98
  • 99.
    Management Accounting Control 2012-­‐2013 Manon Cuylits 99 If I know the total cost and the income of that, I just look at the difference between that, and I know if it’s profitable. If it’s not I could think about deleting it. Comparison between income and cost. It’s not because it’s not profitable that you will directly stop the product line. You might keep it for strategic reasons. Sometimes you loose money on one part of the activity, but you earn money in another part, which compensates the loss. I’m in a research company, and I work on 4 projects. One of them is subsidized. … Is the photocopy machine SPECIFICALLY allocated to the project? Justify !!! This is my cost object (ex: a product which I produce and sell, a project, a customer, a department, anything about which you want to have information about the costs). Direct costs: directly linked, traced to the cost object. Indirect costs: 2 categories. They are not traced, they are allocated, and I need to define an allocation method/base. - producing department indirect costs - supporting (service) department costs (HR, IT, General services department, etc.)
  • 100.
    Management Accounting Control 2012-­‐2013 Manon Cuylits 100 I have to make a clear distinction between those department where action takes place. PRODUCING DEPARTMENT OVERHEAD The cost of direct labor and direct materials can easily be identified and charged to specific jobs. All other costs, such as indirect materials, indirect labor, and other entity expenses which cannot be identified with or charged directly to specific jobs, are called producing department overhead. These indirect costs are categorized as fixed, variable or semi-­‐ variable. Direct material: used to build the car for example. Indirect materials: paper for the photocopy machine, stitches, etc. Direct labor: made out of the cost for the people working directly Indirect labor: secretaries, supervisor, IT people, etc. Other costs, not direct or indirect, we call that sometimes PDO (see title). … The name « factory overhead » (« factory » meaning actually « producing department ») is widely used instead of « producing department overhead ». We will also use it here, but please keep in mind it is not just for manufacturing: it is equally applicable to service businesses such as audit companies, research laboratories, project companies, etc.... … No distinction between a company with a production department producing cars (tangible element) and for example an audit company, where they produce audit, which is a service (intangible element). => Producing department. Factory department has the same meaning but it’s better to use producing department because it doesn’t make a distinction between tangible and intangible elements produced. 11/12/12:
  • 101.
    Management Accounting Control 2012-­‐2013 Manon Cuylits Direct cost + allocated indirect cost = TOTAL COST => Basic information that you need (but not the only one). Costs that are not direct are indirect. Salary of the company’s boss is going to be spread … this is called the allocation of indirect cost. How is it possible to allocate those costs? I need to allocate it to know the total costs of the aircraft being produced. Direct cost: no problem because direct link, easily traced. Producing department and the other ones (the ones related to the support department). 101 APPLIED FACTORY OVERHEAD An estimate of the next period's factory overhead costs is made which is then divided by a base, such as labor hours, machine hours, etc., and expressed as a predetermined rate. This predetermined rate helps management measure unit costs. If no predetermined rate is used, management would have to wait until the end of the period to know the amount of factory overhead costs and, therefore, the total cost per unit. BASE TO BE USED The base used to compute the predetermined factory overhead rate should be closely related to functions represented by the factory overhead cost being applied. The five bases generally used to calculate the factory overhead rate are:
  • 102.
    Management Accounting Control 2012-­‐2013 Manon Cuylits Generally: 5 bases. I could allocate on the basis of units of production: if a given department produces 2 times more than an other or else… I will take the total of indirect costs (factory overhead, producing department overhead) and divide it by the units of production. It gives me a ratio ??? Example: we have a car manufacturing, we assemble 2 models (A & B), and if I use the number of units produced, what I will do, the total of the units produced (of the 2) is for example 1000. I produce 1000 totally. Total of my indirect cost for that factory: 1000 euros. Calculation is easy, I have to allocate 1000 euros to each of the models. It means whenever I produce 1 car, I have to put to the top of the indirect cost: 1 euro. Whenever a car is being produced, I will put on that car 2 euros of indirect costs if indirect costs = 2000 euros. On the basis of that, I can make any type of calculation. 102 Use the direct material cost. Computation: total indirect cost (factoruy overhead) divided by the direct material cost x 100. If I multiply by 100, I can get it as a percentage. This is applicable purely to Manufacturing company. You don’t use it in a service company.
  • 103.
    Management Accounting Control 2012-­‐2013 Manon Cuylits 103 … Direct labor hours, we talk about labor hours and not labor costs! … Which of those 5 methods should we choose? He’s going to describe a business situation and we’ll have to decide which method to use. Company with a … it’s produced by a robot. There is almost no human working there. Which method should we use to allocate indirect costs? Machine hours. We’ll put more costs on the products requiring more working hours. All the costs are going to be driven by the machine. … I need an engineer checking the quality of … => this is an indirect cost! …? Above: Typical list of allocation base. You will allocate based on the models in the first column. Ex: Maintenance cost: indirect cost, I may decide to allocate it based on the number of machines (???) It is because I need more machine hours that I need more maintenance costs (… ?) Ex: Supervision costs: what’s the cost driver of supervision cost? Why do I need supervision? To supervise persons working on the product. Amount of direct labour hours. If a product requires 2 times more … for this product I will need more supervision and then more supervision costs. ALLOCATION OF SERVICE DEPARTMENT COSTS TO PRODUCING DEPARTMENT There are two basic types of departments in any company: producing departments and service departments. A producing department is one where the conversion or production
  • 104.
    Management Accounting Control 2012-­‐2013 Manon Cuylits takes place. A service department (e.g., personnel or maintenance) provides support to the producing departments. Since the producing departments are directly benefited by service departments, the expenses of a service department should be allocated to the appropriate producing departments (as part of factory overhead costs). One of the following methods may be used to allocate service department costs to producing departments: 104 (1) Direct method (2) Step method (3) Algebraic method Other type of indirect cost. I talk about service department, support department (not production department !!!). We’ll look at 3 methods. DIRECT METHOD This is the most common method of allocating service department costs to producing departments because of its mathematical simplicity and ease of application. It involves allocation of service department costs directly to producing departments and ignores any services provided by one service department to another. The problem is just to choose the most appropriate allocation base, as it was in the allocation of producing department overhead. This is the most common method of allocating service department costs to producing departments because of its mathematical simplicity and ease of application. It involves allocation of service department costs directly to producing departments and ignores any services provided by one service department to another. The problem is just to choose the most appropriate allocation base, as it was in the allocation of producing department overhead. Situation: a company works on different project (i.e building, …)and they have to classical supporting departments (i.e. HR department and IT department). The company may make the assumption that the IT costs will be allocate to the different projects based on something. What about the HR department, to allocate the costs, we have to allocate the costs on the basis of person. The cost object is the project, the cost driver (= it’s a variable which impacts the cost object) is the workforce (the more people we have, the more activities we’ll use from the HR department). The idea behind the direct cost is to say that HR people only work for the customer, the costs object. But, that’s not really true because the HR people also work for other department (i.e. IT, financial,….). But, in the direct
  • 105.
    Management Accounting Control 2012-­‐2013 Manon Cuylits 105 method, we make here the assumption that the entire workforce is allocated to the HR department and the same thing for the IT department. As a result, it’s not close to the reality and it ignores the reciprocal element. Most common method: I take the total cost of a given support department (ex total cost of human resources). I record the costs and whenever there’s a cost I will put it in a department. I take the total cost of the department and I put it on the cost object directly. Problem: allocation of the service cost is made directly to the … but I completely ignore the fact that support department may be working for each other’s. HR dep works directly for the producing department, and idem for IT etc. IT’s an assumption but in the real life it’s not the case, because HR department also works for the IT department etc. for example!!! In this method I ignore that, it’s the limitation of the method. Otherwise, this method is really easy. But it has limitations. STEP METHOD The idea is to take into account some reciprocal services among the department on a limited way. Based on the graph, we start with the building maintenance which provide services to all other department and will put this service on the top of the graph. Then, the other steps will concern the other department ranking by the decreasing importance of the allocation : facility management, other services, main cost pools. For the step method, we’ll take the first step and allocate the costs to all the other steps. That’s the first allocation, under the step method, we make the assumption that nothing is going back. The other steps can give something to the firs step. The next step is to take the total costs of the facility management which the original total costs + what has been allocated and will be allocate to the lower steps. Actually, the first step become “facility management” and allocate the costs to the other costs. This method is more accurate than the direct method when services are provided to other service departments. The allocation of service department costs is performed by a series of steps: 1. The costs of the service department that provides services to the greatest number of other service departments are usually allocated first.
  • 106.
    Management Accounting Control 2012-­‐2013 Manon Cuylits 2. The costs of the service department that provides services to the next greatest number of service departments are then allocated. Any costs added to this department from step 1 are included. Note that under this method, the costs of subsequent service departments will not be allocated to the preceding service departments: thus any reciprocal services among service departments are ignored. 3. The sequence outlined above is continued. step by step, until all the service 106 department costs have been allocated to producing departments. Graphical example of the step method: Second Method: Step method You will list all the support department and you will put in the first position the one delivering services to the most of the others. Ex: building maintenance is offering serices to all the other department, it’s the most universal. I will then put the following one, facility management. And so on, I put that gradually. I start wirth the one on the top position. I take the total of its cost. That amount of money I will allocate it to all the other departments. I wil take an allocation base to allocate that cost to all the others. I perform the allocation of the cost. One that step is completed, that bloc is empty cause all the costs have been allocated to other departments. I will then do exactly the same with the second one BUT I CAN’T GO BACK. I will empty that amount on money on the FOLLOWING one but won’t go back => I won’t allocate to the one backwards, on the top (here: building maintenance in comparison to facility management). Assumption: In this case facility management doesn’t provide services to the building maintenances. Only downwards, not upwards. But in the real life it’s not the case, there are
  • 107.
    Management Accounting Control 2012-­‐2013 Manon Cuylits allocations between those departments. It’s better than the first method but there are still limitations. I ignore that there are reciprocal departments. If I want to take that into account I will need to use the 3rd method, the most accurate one. 107 ALGEBRAIC METHOD This is the most accurate of the three methods when reciprocal services are provided among the service departments. With the algebraic method, simultaneous equations are used to allocate service department costs to service departments and producing departments. The number of simultaneous equations is proportional to the number of service departments. The use of a computer (excel sheet) facilitates the computations when many service departments exist. It takes into consideration all the reciprocal services. (IT to HR and HR to IT). Based on the graph, we start with the cost by nature arriving in a company (i.e. material, labor, services, amortization costs). Those costs are standard for large categories in company = origin. The purpose is to find the mechanism to allocate those costs to the cost object = destination. Between there are different mechanism : - direct cost : it goes directly from the origin to destination. They are traced directly to the cost object. Ex : - indirect cost : We allocate them through (first step) cost pools (it’s a grouping of indirect costs before final allocation of the cost object). Normally, it’s just a department. It’s very easy for the department to collect all the indirect costs related to the department. We will identify some cost pools and we’ll first allocation the costs by nature to the cost pools which is the intermediate cost object. There are two ways to allocate indirect costs to the cost pools : o Measurement method : it’s easy to allocate costs if there is a measurement (time sheet, electricy counter, …. ) we have a specific base to know at which we have to calculate the costs. o Allocation base: in case of no measure method, for electricy, we can see that if an area is dubbled than another one, we can assume there will be a double consumption. We need to have a referencial data. We don’t allocate directly to the cost object because we need to take into consideration the reciprocal services among (second step) service department. When it’s done, we can us the cost-­‐allocation base to allocate pools of indirect costs to cost objects. Besides, cost pools can be allocated to other cost pools before ending in the cost object.
  • 108.
    Management Accounting Control 2012-­‐2013 Manon Cuylits Algebraic Method: I’ll have to solve mathematical equations. At the beginning I can identify some costs, I will identify the costs by nature. I will look at the bill and identify if it’s a cost for a service, a material bought to a supplyer etc. 4 types of cost nature: 108 - labour - service (bought to a supplier ex cleaning service) - material - amortization Those cost I can identify them and the only thing I know is the nature of those costs. At the end I want those costd allocated to the final product or service. Whenever you buy a PC a fraction of that cost is coming from the salary of the CEO of the company for example. Process to go from origin (cost by nature) to destination (cost object). If the cost is direct it goes directly to the cost object, no problem. Indrect cost: cost which can’t be traced easily to the cost object, cost which is not direct. 1st I will group them in cost pools (= traditional department in a company ex: HR, IT, marketing, Sales, production,e tc.). We’ll have main cost pools and auxiliary cost pools … Main cost Pools: where procution is made. Production deoartment Auxiliary cost pool: support department. That’s not where the action takes place (that’s main cost ppols). I group my costd into the right cost bools thanks to a MEASUREMENT METHOD (time sheet etc.) or using AN ALLOCATION BASE (number of square meters, of people, of PCs, etc.). It’s alxways one of those 2 methods. The best one is the first one, when you have a measurement tool available. … If I use more square meters I will have to heat (chauffer) more. Heating costs. …
  • 109.
    Management Accounting Control 2012-­‐2013 Manon Cuylits Each room has its own calory meter. For each room you know the exact number of calories used. (possibility to work with pull overs etc.) IT costs: You may decide to allocate IT cost based on a number of PCs. It makes sense. We’ll allocate twice more IT when twice more PCs for example. We’ll ask technicians to use time sheet (fill them), whenever they repair a PC they need to write it on a time sheet. Measurement = time sheet. I have the information on which I can make my cost allocation. If no measurement, find a way to allocate, based on an allocation method. 109 That was the first step. Put the costs in the right cost pool. (main and auxiliary). I will solve the issue of reciprocal services. There are services from one service department to another one. Once that done, I will be able to… All indirect cost will first be group into cost pools. After that: either transferred to other cost pools or allocated to the cost object. At a given moment I wan to have all the auxiliary cost pools exmpty (transfer to the main cost pools) and then from the main cost pools to the cost objects. Final destination: I want to have all the costs allocated to the cost object. PRIMARY ALLOCATION and then SECONDARY ALLOCATION. OVERVIEW OF THE FULL COSTING PROCESS
  • 110.
    Management Accounting Control 2012-­‐2013 Manon Cuylits 110 All indirect costs will first be grouped in cost pools, and after that they will: • Either be transferred to other cost pools; • Or allocated to cost objects, which is always the final destination. In order to do this, two successive allocation steps will take place: primary allocation and secondary allocation. PRIMARY ALLOCATION All indirect costs to cost pools. The total of the costs regrouped in one cost pool is the cost of this cost pool. There are 2 categories of cost pool: • Main cost pools : their costs will be almost fully transferred to cost objects; • Auxiliary cost pools: they provide services to other cost pools (main or auxiliary). Auxiliary cost pools are sometimes called « service centers» or « support centers », because they don’t have direct link with what is being produced, but they contribute to the internal organization by providing services to other centers. Typical examples: payroll admin, IT, maintenance, HR. Primary allocation : we allocate all the indirect costs to cost pools. These indirect costs come from supporting service and producing department that will be reflected in auxiliary and main pools. The auxiliary pools will still influence the department and still provide costs
  • 111.
    Management Accounting Control 2012-­‐2013 Manon Cuylits to other services. . That’s why we’ll need to allocate them in the main pools to cover all the indirect costs. 111 PUTIN INDIRECT COST AND PUT IT IN THE RIGHT POOL. Main cost pool: cost pool whose cost will be almost fully transferred to the cost object. … I start with my indreict cost when they happen and I will put them in the right cost pool, main or auxiliary. This is the primary allocation. Any indirect cost will be transferred to one of the pools. SECONDARY ALLOCATION The purpose is to allocate the costs of the auxiliary pools to the main pools. Secondary allocation : we’ll observe what happens inside the cost pools. The purpose is to allocate the auxiliary pools to the main pools. We want to have all the auxiliary costs empty. Then I will have to perform a secondary allocation. The aim is to allocate the costs to the main pools. I take all my auxiliary cost and the aim is to empty them and put them in the main pools. That’s what I want by the end of the step: empty auxiliary pools and amounts transferred to the main pools. I do it USING AN ALLOCATION BASE that we’ll have to choose. Sometimes it’s going to be 3 times 1/3, it depends on the allocation base.
  • 112.
    Management Accounting Control 2012-­‐2013 Manon Cuylits 112 REPROGICAL SERVICES ALGEBRAIC METHOD The reciprocal method allocates support-­‐department costs to operating departments by fully recognizinng the mutual services provided among all support departments. This is of course contradictory with the step method, since there are services « simultaneously » provided between support departments. Pool A provides services to pool B, and simultaneously pool B provides services to pool A. We’ll use that method to deal with the reciprociacal method.
  • 113.
    Management Accounting Control 2012-­‐2013 Manon Cuylits We have Pool A and B, auxiliary pools, fulfilled with indreict costs and them made empty, transfer of the amounts to main pools?. SIMULTANEOUSLY Problem ! 113 EXAMPLE A research laboratory works on 4 projects, named P1 to P4. The operations are supported by a HR department, and another department in charge of the IT equipment maintenance. All the costs are allocated by using the table on the next slide. Obviously the project is my cost object, I want to know what’s the total cost of the project (cost object). 4 projects then 4 costs objects. The operations, are supported by HR department and another one in charge with maintenance of the computers. One department is in charge with work on the project P1, another one with project P2 etc. How many departments? At least 4, one per project. But on the top of that I have a human resource department and an IT maintenance department: 6 departments then. How many dep might be considered as main departments and how many as support? MAIN: 4, the 4 working on the projects and 2 support departments. That’s the basis for our analysis. Different departments in the table. Example : A research laboratory works on 4 projects, named P1 to P4.The operations are supported by a HR department, and another department in charge of the IT equipment maintenance. All the costs are allocated by using the table on the next slide.
  • 114.
    Management Accounting Control 2012-­‐2013 Manon Cuylits Let’s assume that for a given period of time, I will record a total of 3 billion euros, total of all my costs. I will perform the primary allocation (allocating those costs to all the different cost pools, primary or auxiliary). Why is it 10% ? No idea, that’s given. That’s a specifi allocation base. 2 basic ways to allocate that cost to the various cost pools: 114 - Measuremnt (time sheet, accounter) - Allocation base Those are the results of the primary allocation. It might be the result of time sheets or anything else but now I’m just having a look at the results, not at the reasons. After the primary allocation we need to go through the secondary allocation. = What do I want to do with that allocation? Empty the auxiliary cost pools down to the main cost pools. At the end of that allocation I want to have HR and IT cost pools EMPTY and all the costs transferred to the 4 main cost pools. In order to do that I need an allocation base. Here it’s given. TO allocate HR costs, you need an allocation base for example. 30% is for IT, 20% for P1, P2 and P3, and 10% for P4. Etc. People from HR management for 30% of their time (or spend 30% of their resources) for IT department (it”s the same rto say that). I will do exactly the same for IT department.
  • 115.
    Management Accounting Control 2012-­‐2013 Manon Cuylits What do I want then? To empty the total cost of human resource. What’s the problem with reciprocal services? TOTAL OF HR Management: 164.000 + 10% of IT TOTAL OF IT maintenance: 300.000 + 30% of the total amount of HR management. It looks like I am turning around. HR amount of money refers to IT and IT amount refers to HR !!!!! To know the amount of money in HR I need to know the one in IT and to know the amount of money in IT I need to know the amount of money in HR. Mathematically it’s really easy to solve. 115 The total of all indirect costs is 3 000 000. - The primary allocation : is to allocate the indirect costs to the other entities (P1,P2,P3,P4). How was it been allocated : either measurement method or allocation base or a combination of that. - The secondary allocation : we’ll use an allocation base to express the percentage of costs related to each project for each department. The figures is calculated internally and are given for the table. However, during the secondary allocation, we didn’t take into consideration the reciprocal services. The problem is that IT department is providing services to HR department and “inversément”. The total allocation for the HR management is 30% + costs allocated for the IT department and the same for the IT department. But we don’t know the amount of costs for the respective department (HR for IT management, and IT for HR management). The solution so is to use “x” to be the unknown total of the HR department, and “y” the unknown total of the IT department. We have the following: HR department : X = 164000 + 0.10Y IT department : Y = 300 000+ 0.30X leading to x =200 000 et y =360 000, which allows to finish the allocation table (see following slide). Let’s go ahead with the secondary allocation. There are reciprocal services between HR and IT department.
  • 116.
    Management Accounting Control 2012-­‐2013 Manon Cuylits 116 Let x be the unknown total of the HR department, and y the unknown total of the IT department. We have the following: Way to solve mathematically X = 164.000 + 10% of Y Y = 300.000 + 30% of X. 2 equations with two unknown variables. Easy to solve then. Why 2 equations with two unknown variables? Because 2 auxiliary. If I had 3 auxiliaries, I would have 3 equations with 3 unknown values. How are we going to solve that? We take the value “X =” and replace it in the second equation, and then we just solve. Therefore, we have the equations systems: • 164000 + 0,10 y = x • 300 000 + 0,30 x = y Leading to x =200 000 et y =360 000, which allows to finish the allocation table (see following slide):
  • 117.
    Management Accounting Control 2012-­‐2013 Manon Cuylits There are no indirect costs left in the two departments, all the indirect costs have been allocated to the projects : P1,P2,P3 and P4. (for Hr department : 164.000 – 200.000 + 36.000 = 0). In some case, highly different assumption can lead to minor difference in the calculation. So, the method is not sensitive to the assumption. 117 This methodology allows even further refinement: BUT= HUMAN RESOURCES IS ALSO WORKING FOR ITSELF !!!
  • 118.
    Management Accounting Control 2012-­‐2013 Manon Cuylits here we see that HR work 10% of their time for itself, and IT 5% of their time for itself, so we put a percentage in the right case here. Let’s go ahead again with the secondary allocation. There are reciprocal services between HR and IT department, and self-­‐provided services. Let x be the unknown total of the HR department, and y the unknown total of the IT department. We have now the following: 118 Exactly the same method to solve the equation Therefore, we have the equations systems: • 164000 + 0,05 y + 0,1 x = x • 300 000 + 0,20 x + 0,05 y = y leading to x = 202 130 and y = 358 343, which allows to finish the allocation table (see following slide): There’s no big difference after the refinement, we see that sometimes the refinement is worthless.
  • 119.
    Management Accounting Control 2012-­‐2013 Manon Cuylits 119
  • 120.
    Management Accounting Control 2012-­‐2013 Manon Cuylits Sometimes, subsidiaries can perfom better than other in th full costing method, but we need to take into consideration if there are over/undercosted and what kind of allocation method is used. It can change figures and cannot reflect the reality. Differences in pourcentage. Using one allocation base and another one. The effect in percentage is almost not changing. Message: don’t over sophisticate the method, sometimes you won’t see the real result using a more sophisticated method. In this case, using one method or the other, there’s no big difference so no more effort needed. As management controller you don’t look for the 100% accurate solution/ 100% visibility. You look for the good visibility (?). You have to be carefull with all those sophisticated method, you’re not looking for the PERFECT method. 120 PARTIAL OVERHEAD ABSORPTION
  • 121.
    Management Accounting Control 2012-­‐2013 Manon Cuylits 121 You may look to some partial costs. We won’t cover this part, we should read it but no question at the exam. The allocation, sometimes made on a more or less arbitrary basis, of the overhead and structure costs to the products or services sold during the time period is not always the most relevant method allowing to take sound decisions (pricing, etc...) Actually, it is sometimes better to calculate a “margin” that simply measures the contribution of the different products and services to the common costs. In this case, it is better to use partial overhead absorption method, that will absorb only a well defined portion of the total costs, rather than calculate the total cost. The methods that are used in practice are : • Margin on direct cost • Margin on variable cost • Margin on specific cost The allocation, sometimes made on a more or less arbitrary basis, of the overhead and structure costs to the products or services sold during the time period is not always the most relevant method allowing to take sound decisions (pricing, etc...) Actually, it is sometimes better to calculate a “margin” that simply measures the contribution of the different products and services to the common costs. In this case, it is better to use partial overhead absorption method, that will absorb only a well defined portion of the total costs, rather than calculate the total cost The methods that are used in practice are : - Margin on direct cost : is the opposite of variable costs - Margin on variable cost : is the opposite of direct costs - Margin on specific cost : the most used method in practice. It concerns all variable costs (direct and indirect) + fixed direct costs. The four possible is fixed, variable, direct and indirect. Under that method, only the fixed indirect costs are not taken into account because it’s the most difficult to allocate. The other costs are easy to allocate. MARGIN ON DIRECT COST
  • 122.
    Management Accounting Control 2012-­‐2013 Manon Cuylits 122 MARGIN ON VARIABLE COSTS MARGIN ON SPECIFIC COSTS This method is much more used in practice.
  • 123.
    Management Accounting Control 2012-­‐2013 Manon Cuylits Applying this method allows therefore the separation of specific fixed costs from common fixed costs. It allows the calculation of a « margin on specific costs», also called «contribution». The specific cost is not a full cost, but it is often very close, since the gap is only related to the common part of structure costs, which is often useless to allocate distinctly to every product. Building the margin on specific cost is described the following way (for a company having 3 activities A, B et C) : This method shows the same type of advantage as the margin on variable costs; it is a « natural » enhancement. In particular, all issues related to keeping or leaving an activity may be adressed through specific costs. Compared to margin on variable costs, it shows more clearly the contribution of each product, service or activity to the structure costs. This allows to identify which portion would remain if the decision is taken to leave the product, service or activity. 123
  • 124.
    Management Accounting Control 2012-­‐2013 Manon Cuylits 124 ACTIVITY-­‐BASED COSTING (ABC) Different approach. ABC is an approach to costing that focuses on individual activities as the fundamental cost objects. It uses the costs of these activities as the basis for assigning costs to other costs objects such as the products or services. An activity is an event, task or unit of work with a specified purpose (for example designing products, setting up machines, ...) More informally: activities are verbs; they are things that a company does. We focus on activities as cost object. We just use the activities for the cost allocation. It’s another method of cost allocation and it’s more accurate. The basis idea is to avoid any over or undercosting. A cost object can be overcosted or undercosted. If indirect cost is too high, we’ll talk about overcosted Ex (1): We have three people going to the restaurant. The total bill is 60€. If we are good friends, we take the bill divided by three = 20. Who’s overcosted and undercosted ?Jose and Nancy are overcosted whereas Roberta is undercosted. In a business language, this situation can be translated by : we have a total cost we want to allocate to different cost objects (=three persons). The result of the cost allocation is 20 on each cost object. The allocation cost process is allocated equally to the cost objects. In this case, I perform an allocation of the total cost and we allocate a cost to the cost objects based on the allocation base. It’s far from the reality. Ex (2): Kole corporation is manufacturing a normal lens and complex lens. I assume that the company uses a single indirect-­‐cost rate job costing system. The cost objects are the lens: 80NL + 20CL. The normal lens includes direct materials and direct mfg labor. The direct cost per unit is 29€. For the complex lens, the direct cost per unit is 59€. For the indirect costs, we have 2.900. 000. We have to allocate that to the final cost objects in order to do that we’ll have to define an allocation base. Since it’s a manufacturing company, it’s a good idée to allocate that in function of the manufacturing labor-­‐hours. Logic = if we need more lens, we’ll need more workforce. Per unit, it is 58€ per direct manufacturing labor-­‐hours.
  • 125.
    Management Accounting Control 2012-­‐2013 Manon Cuylits Ex(3) : We have a total of 50 000 costs, and the division is : Kole uses 36,000 direct manufacturing labor-­‐hours to make NL and 14,000 direct manufacturing labor-­‐hours to make CL. How much indirect cost are allocated ot each product ? NL :36.000 x 58 = 2.088.000 (=indirect cost allocated) CL : 14.000 x58€ = 812.000 The total costs of the normal lense is direct costs + allocated indirect costs (2.320.000 + 2.088.000) and th complexe lense is similar ((1.992.000). 125 è this is the traditional allocating method using the allocation method base = direct manufacturing labour hours. ABC is an approach to costing that focuses on individual activities as the fundamental cost objects. It uses the costs of these activities as the basis for assigning costs to other costs objects such as the products or services. An activity is an event, task or unit of work with a specified purpose (for example designing products, setting up machines, ...) More informally: activities are verbs; they are things that a company does. Activity-­‐Based Costing (ABC) is another method of allocating costs to products and services. It is generally used as a tool for planning and control. It was developed as an approach to address problems associated with traditional cost management systems, that tend to have the inability to accurately determine actual production and service costs, or provide useful information for operating decisions. With these deficiencies, managers can be exposed to making decisions based on inaccurate data. The higher exposure is for companies with multiple products or services. ABC allows managers to attribute costs to activities and products more accurately than traditional cost accounting methods. The activities responsible for the costs can be identified and passed on to users only when the product or service uses the activity. Some of the advantages ABC offers is an improved means of identifying high overhead costs per unit and finding ways to reduce the costs.
  • 126.
    Management Accounting Control 2012-­‐2013 Manon Cuylits 126 The way it works is: • First major activities are identified in the process system. • Next cost pools are created for groups of activities that can be allocated together. • Following this cost drivers are identified. The number of cost drivers used vary depending on the balance between accuracy and complexity. • After determining the cost drivers, rates are calculated. • The rates are then applied to the respective cost drivers for each product or service that is being considered. • The overhead cost per unit is then derived by dividing the total cost for the product by the total product units. Learning Objective 1: Explain undercosting and overcosting of products and services. Undercosting and Overcosting Example Undercosting and overcosting problematic (products and service) There’s a risk of putting to much or not enough money when allocating, depending on the method I use.
  • 127.
    Management Accounting Control 2012-­‐2013 Manon Cuylits What’s likely to happens when you’re a good friend? You divide it by 3: 20. Everybody’s going to pay 20. That person is obviously undercosted. (?) One perso undercosted and 2 are overcosted. But no problem in this case cause we can assume that those eprsons are good friends. But it might be a problem in other problematics. If it costs to much because of a mistake in my process and I decide to stop the production because It seems to be overciosted, it might be a bad decision. Learning Objective 2: Present guidelines for refining a costing system 127 EXISTING SINGLE INDIRECT-­‐ COST POOL SYSTEM EXAMPLE We have a company manufacturing lenses (for microscopes).
  • 128.
    Management Accounting Control 2012-­‐2013 Manon Cuylits 128 2 types of lenses: normal and complex I will produce 80.000 normal lenses and 20.000 complex lenses. Each normal lense produced has a direct cost of 29 euros. Each complex lens produced has a direct cost of 59 euro.
  • 129.
    Management Accounting Control 2012-­‐2013 Manon Cuylits Now we are going to deal with the indirect costs. Total costs = indirect + direct (basic). I will pool all the indirect cost in a cost pool. Total amount of 2.900.00 euros. I need to allocate that to the different lenses, normal and complexes. I decide to allocate it on the basis of direct hours. (see different methods above). If I want to allocate 2.900.000 on the basis of 50.000 direct labor hours: 58 euros of indirect cost per direct manufacturing labor hour. (?) In this case what’s the meaning of that amount of money? Whenever a lens is going to use 1 hour of direct labor hour, I will count on the top of that 58 euros of indirect cost. If a lens requires 10 direct labor hours, I will add 580 euros of indirect cost. 58 euros of indirect cost per direct manufacturing hour. Now I can compute the total cost: direct and indirect costs. Here I can compute the total costs. For a given lens I will look at the number of direct hours needed to produce it and then multipliate. 129 LET S WORK THAT OUT.
  • 130.
    Management Accounting Control 2012-­‐2013 Manon Cuylits CL = complex lenses NL = normal lenses That amount of money is spread between the 2 types of lenses. I perform the allocation of the total indirect costs to my different cost objects. The allocation base (labor hours) is ok because the more hours I use, the more it costs (?). Direct cost that has been computed earlier + the indirect = 4.408.000 euros. The cost per unit = 55,10 euros. 130
  • 131.
    Management Accounting Control 2012-­‐2013 Manon Cuylits 131 TOTAL UNIT COST of a complex lens = 99,60 euros. Let’s imagine we can sell the normal lenses. We have a 8,2% margin. We can see that complex lenses are more profitable than normal lenses. REFINING A COSTING SYSTEM We’ll look at one of the basis activities of the company. 1. Design of products and process : 2. Manufacturing operations 3. Shipping and distribution
  • 132.
    Management Accounting Control 2012-­‐2013 Manon Cuylits In ABC, we’ll start with the fundamental cost objects. The starting point inside the fundamental is the activities and their costs. That will lad to the assignments of other cost objects (cost of products, service, customer). The most complicated task is to define the most relevant activities. We have to find the right balance between the total list of activities and not enough activities. Inside the company, the corporation identified key activities : 132 § Design products and processes. § Set up molding machine. § Operate machines to manufacture lenses. § Maintain and clean the molds. § Set up batches of finished lenses for shipment. § Distribute lenses to customers. § Administer and manage all processes.
  • 133.
    Management Accounting Control 2012-­‐2013 Manon Cuylits In order to refin I will look at my operation. I see that I have some important activities (shipping and distribution, manufacturing, etc.). Difference with the ABC method is that here I will look at the activities. I will look at my operations, my activities, and calculate the cost of my activities and based on that I will … My Cost allocation base (CAB) is the cost of the basic activities of the company. I will allocate indirect cost based on the cost of the activities. 133 Learning Objective 3: Distinguish between the traditional and the activity-based costing approaches to designing a costing system.
  • 134.
    Management Accounting Control 2012-­‐2013 Manon Cuylits 134 ACTIVITY-­‐BASED COSTING SYSTEM All my company is summarized by describing those 7 activities. People have to agree on what are the key activities. Find a right balance between not to many activities and 1 or 2 activities on the other hand might be not enough. Example of 3 of those activities:
  • 135.
    Management Accounting Control 2012-­‐2013 Manon Cuylits Those are activities. Fundamental cost object = cost activities. I have activities. I will use those activities as cost pools. Indirect costs related to set up activities I will group them here, etc. Allocation to the final cost object. But I need to find a way to allocate that. For the shipment I will allocate the shipping indirect cost based on the number of shipment. If 1 Single lens requires more shipment, I will allocate more shipment (costs?)???. Clear cause and effect relationship. The cause= fact that I have many shipment and effect = I need more indirect shipping costs. Set up cost. Allocate indirect set up cost based on the number of set up hours. The more set up hours I need, the more set up indirect costs I will have. Design: design indirect costs are going to be allocated on the basis of the number of parts per square feet (?). … I will probably avoir under and overcosting. 135 - Shipping : We want to assign the total costs of the shipping activities to the lense list : either NL, or CL or other. Which allocation method are we using ? On the number of lenses? On the number of shippers ? Yes, it makes sense. In other word, if the lenses NL require two times more shipping than lenses CL, it will require two times more shipping costs. - Setup : For the setup of the machines, we’ll use an allocation base as the number of setup hours. If a lence NL needs two times more setup hours than lence CL, the cost will be dubbled. Another example with the batch: What I will do here: illustrate that method for indirect set up costs (1 category of indirect costs) I will use the 2 methods for the same amount of money and we will compare.
  • 136.
    Management Accounting Control 2012-­‐2013 Manon Cuylits 136 640 = 320 * 2hours I will produce the NL in 320 batches of 250 units (?) Whenever I start a batch I need 5 hours. Since I need 5 hours for any batch, it gives me a total of 640 setup hours (???) Total set up costs = 409.200 euro that I will allocate to my 2 cost objects (NL and CL) 8.184 is the cost bear by each direct manufacturing labor-­‐hour unit. I can compute the cost of 1 single set up hour. Each set up hour cost me 155 euros. /labour hour? (see previous method). 8.184 euros We have 409200 amount of indirect costs that we want to allocate the final product using the first method, the biggest portion the costs is on the Normal lense. We have 36000 x 8184. Actually, the real situation is exactly the reverse. But, based on the ABC activity, the biggest portion is for the Complex lense. If a company would have based its decision on the first method, it would have been a wrong decision. If we allocate on the setu-­‐hours, it
  • 137.
    Management Accounting Control 2012-­‐2013 Manon Cuylits reflects the good image of the reality. The second method, ABC, is the good method. The normal lenses are overcosting and the complex lense are undercosted for the first method. We’ll stop producing the overcosted products because less we produce, more we have profit. Allocation using the direct labour hur: I will count 8,184euros allocated to … We do it for each method. One is the opposite of the other. In the first one I allocate 75% to the complex lenses and 25% to the normal lenses and here it’s the exact contrary, 75% to the NL and 25% to the CL !! Obviously I have a serious overcosting or undercosting problem. Which method is the most accurate? (TYPICAL 137 EXAM QUESTION) Which method would be the best one, which one would you recommend and why? Allocating set up indirect cost: it make sense to allocate the set up indirect cost on the basis of the set up hours. If a product requires more set up hours I will put on that product more set up hours. Does it make sense to allocate set up indirect costs based on the number of direct labour hours? No. … ALLOCATING USING SET UP HOURS: which product would be overcosted? Normal Lenses
  • 138.
    Management Accounting Control 2012-­‐2013 Manon Cuylits We’re talking about 3 times more. Normal lenses are going to be overcosted and automatically the CL are going to be undercosted (if 2 products, if one is overcosted, automatically the other one is going to be undercosted). If I decide to stop the NL because the cost is to high, it’s a bad decision because I base my decision on a bad number. Benefit of Activity based costing = method providing the most accurate results. 138 CONCLUSION Written exam: - 10% for the presentation - 90% 1 question related to the case study (READ IT!!!!) He wants to use it to test our understanding of some basic concepts. No shmet questions. We have to understand the global environment of the case study, and then one question related to that case study Ex: use it to show an example of what might be a measurement of something Ok using the case study if I ask you to draft, give an example of a balance score card, what element would you put in it (?????) That question has not ONE RIGHT ANSWER. Multiple choice questions One or two calculation questions Ex: Indirect cost allocation exercice (see last course)
  • 139.
    Management Accounting Control 2012-­‐2013 Manon Cuylits One ore two general questions, open-­‐ended questions (definition of a concept, or else). He expects from us to give our own perception of the concept. Let’s not copy paste the slides. Ex: best definition of the job of a management controller. 139 We can take everything we want with us at the exam. Our answers have to be PERSONALS!!! Copy pasting the slides isn’t the right choice. We need to show that we understood the basic concepts. Express it simply. There’s going to be some very vague, general questions. Way to test wether we got a good understanding of the basic concepts and if we can go directly to what’s essential/crucial.