Concept explainers
Ethics and budgetary slack (Learning Objectives 1, 2, 3, & 4)
ETHICS
Gutierrez Company, a publicly held corporation, operates a regional chain of large drugstores. Each drugstore is operated by a general manager and a controller. The general manager is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the store, while the controller is responsible for the budget and other financial tasks. The general manager, Trade Kappan, has been at Gutierrez Company for several years. Employee turnover is high at Gutierrez Company, just as it is in the retail industry in general. Kappan just hired a new controller, Min Yang.
Yang was asked to prepare the
When Yang was almost done preparing the budget, Kappan instructed him to increase the amounts budgeted for labor and supplies by 20%. When asked why, Kappan responded that this budgetary cushion gives store management flexibility in running the store. For example, because company headquarters tightly controls operating funds and capital improvement funds, any extra money budgeted for labor and supplies can be used to replace store furnishings or to pay bonuses to help to retain good employees. She explains that the chance of getting extra funds from company headquarters is not good; this “cushion” is usually the only opportunity to replace store decor or to pay bonuses to key employees. Kappan also needs extra funds occasionally to make “under the table” payments to employees as incentives to work extra hours or to keep them from leaving for a higher-paying job.
Yang feels conflicted. He is eager to please Kappan, and he is wondering what he should do in this situation.
Requirements
- 1. Using the IMA Statement of Ethical Professional Practice as an ethical framework, answer the following questions:
- a. What are the ethical issue(s) in this situation?
- b. What are Yang’s responsibilities as a
management accountant ? - 2. Would your answer differ if Gutierrez Company were instead owned by one individual instead of being publicly held? Why or why not?
- 3. Would anyone be harmed if slack were to be built into the budget? Why or why not?
- 4. Discuss the specific steps Yang should take in this situation. Refer to the IMA Statement of Ethical Professional Practice in your response.
Want to see the full answer?
Check out a sample textbook solutionChapter 9 Solutions
Managerial Accounting - With Helios Access
- Comprehensive; analysis cost control The financial results for the Business Education Department of Omega Educational Services Corporation for November are presented in the schedule at the end of this problem. Caroline Roper, president of Omega Educational Services, is pleased with the final results but has observed that the revenue and most of the costs and expenses of this department exceeded the budgeted amounts. Bret Shulman, vice president of the Business Education Department, has been requested to provide an explanation for any amount that exceeded the budget by 5 percent or more. Shulman has accumulated the following facts to assist in his analysis of the November results: -The budget for the clalndar year was finalized in December of the preceding year, and at that time, a full program of business education courses was scheduled to be held in St. Louis during the first week of November. The schedule allowed eight courses to be run on each of the five days during the week. The…arrow_forwardClassify costs and make a quality-initiative decision (Learning Objective 5) Sinclair Corp. manufactures radiation-shielding glass panels . Suppose Sinclair is consider-ing spending the following amounts on a new TOM program :Strength-testing one item from each batch of panels ......................... . Training employees in TOM ................................................................. . Training suppliers in TOM .................................................................... . Identifying preferred suppliers that commit to on-time delivery ofperfect quality materials ................................................................... .Sinclair expects the new program to save costs through the following:Avoid lost profits from lost sales due to disappointed customers ....... Avoid rework and spoilage ................................................................. .. Avoid inspection of raw materials ........................................................ . Avoid…arrow_forwardQuestion Content Area I AM NEEDING THE PICTURES ANWSERED THE PASSAGE IS JUST FOR ASSISTANCE TO ANSWER THE QUESTIONS Question Content Area LearnCo LearnCo manufactures and sells one product, an abacus for classroom use, with two models, the Basic model and the Deluxe model. The company began operations on January 1, 20Y1, and is planning for 20Y2, its second year of operations, by preparing budgets from its master budget. The company is trying to decide how many units to manufacture, how much it might spend on direct materials and direct labor, and what their factory overhead expenses might be. In addition, the company is interested in budgeting for selling and administrative costs, and in creating a budgeted income statement showing a prediction of net income for 20Y2. You have been asked to assist the controller of LearnCo in preparing the 20Y2 budgets. Sales Budget The sales budget often uses the prior year’s sales as a starting point, and then sales quantities are revised…arrow_forward
- Manny, a budget officer, conducted a class for non-accounting managers and program directors on the subject of budgets. Manny began the class discussion by asking, “What are some of the uses of a budget?” One manager replied, “Planning.” Another said, “Evaluating performance.” Still, another suggested “Coordinating activities.” “What about implementing plans?” inquired another. “Or communicating them?” added someone else. “Don’t forget motivation,” one manager warned from the rear of the room. “I’m on the school board,” commented another, “and we use it to authorize actions.” Finally, one manager asked, “Can budgets do all that?” Manny responded, “all that and more.” Select at least two of the uses suggested by the managers and explain how budgets accomplish those uses.arrow_forwarda. Prepare a revenue budget for the upcoming academic year.b. Determine the number of staff needed to cover classes.c. Assume there is a shortage of full-time academic staff. List at least five actions thatSouth Hampton might take to accommodate the growing student numbers.arrow_forwardRoberds Tech is a for-profit vocational school. The school bases its budgets on two measures of activity (i.e., cost drivers), namely student and course. The school uses the following data in its budgeting: Fixed element per month Variable element per student Variable element per course Revenue $ 0 $ 298 $ 0 Faculty wages $ 0 $ 0 $ 3,100 Course supplies $ 0 $ 52 $ 40 Administrative expenses $ 26,500 $ 27 $ 52 In March, the school budgeted for 1,910 students and 88 courses. The school's income statement showing the actual results for the month appears below: Roberds Tech Income Statement For the Month Ended March 31 Actual students 1,810 Actual courses 91 Revenue $ 411,340 Expenses: Faculty wages 214,950 Course supplies 62,590 Administrative expenses 84,562 Total expense 362,102 Net operating income $ 49,238 Required: Prepare a flexible budget performance report showing both the school's activity variances and revenue and spending…arrow_forward
- Audit Overtime. The performance evaluation of all accountants is based in part on theirability to do audit work efficiently and within the time budget planned for the engagement.New staff accountants, in particular, usually have some early difficulty learning speedywork habits, which demand that no time be wasted. Cynthia Elizabeth started work for Julieand Jacob CPAs in September. After attending the staff training school, she was assignedto the Rising Sun Company audit. Her first work assignment was to complete the extensiverecalculation of the inventory compilation using the audit test counts and audited unit pricesfor several hundred inventory items. Her time budget for the work was six hours. She startedat 4 P.M. and was not finished when everyone left the office at 6 P.M. Not wanting to stay downtown alone, she took all necessary audit documentation home. She resumed work at8 P.M. and finished at 3 A.M. The next day, she returned to the CPA offices, put the completed…arrow_forwardC7-73 Calculate breakeven and margin of safety after hotel renovation (Learning Objective 2) Cost-Volume-Profit Analysis 437 This case is a continuation of the Caesars Entertainment Corporation serial case that began in Chapter 1. Refer to the introductory story in chapter 1 (see page 43) for additional background. (The components of the Caesars serial case can be completed in any order.) Caesars Palace® Las Vegas made headlines when it undertook a $75 million renovation. In mid-September 2015, the hotel closed its then-named Roman Tower, which was last updated in 2001, and started a major renovation of the 567 rooms housed in that tower . On January 1, 2016, the newly renamed Julius Tower reopened, replacing the Roman Tower. In addition to renovating the existing rooms and suites in the former Roman Tower, 20 guest rooms were added to the Roman Tower. With the renovation completed, Caesars expects the Julius Tower room rate to average around $149 per night. This increase, a $25 or 20…arrow_forwardLearnCo PARAGRAPH IS FOR ASSISTANCE TO HELP WITH THE QUESTIONS IN THE IMAGES ONLY WANT THE IMAGES ANWSERED LearnCo manufactures and sells one product, an abacus for classroom use, with two models, the Basic model and the Deluxe model. The company began operations on January 1, 20Y1, and is planning for 20Y2, its second year of operations, by preparing budgets from its master budget. The company is trying to decide how many units to manufacture, how much it might spend on direct materials and direct labor, and what their factory overhead expenses might be. In addition, the company is interested in budgeting for selling and administrative costs, and in creating a budgeted income statement showing a prediction of net income for 20Y2. You have been asked to assist the controller of LearnCo in preparing the 20Y2 budgets. Sales Budget The sales budget often uses the prior year’s sales as a starting point, and then sales quantities are revised for various factors such as planned advertising…arrow_forward
- S15-8 Identify ethical standards violated (Learning Objectives 1, 2, & 3) For each of the situations listed, identify the primary standard from the IMA Statement of Ethical Professional Practice that is violated (competence, confidentiality, integrity, or credibility). Refer to Exhibit 1-7 for the complete standard. Chris is asked to prepare the GRI report for the year, but he has not attended GRI training. He decides to muddle his way through the report. George is frustrated because he feels that his company is not moving fast enough to adopt sustainable practices and GRI reporting. He talks to a reporter about some potential environmental fines the company might receive, thinking that if the company is embarrassed publicly, it will move faster on sustainability initiatives. Kayleigh does not disclose that her brother is the president of the consulting firm her organization is hiring for some GRI reporting work. Cynthia is a staff accountant at Briar Industries. Since Briar's GRI…arrow_forward**Please answers questions 2-4**You have just been hired as a new management trainee by Earrings Unlimited, a distributor of earrings to various retail outlets located in shopping malls across the country. In the past, the company has done very little in the way of budgeting and at certain times of the year has experienced a shortage of cash. Since you are well trained in budgeting, you have decided to prepare a master budget for the upcoming second quarter. To this end, you have worked with accounting and other areas to gather the information assembled below. The company sells many styles of earrings, but all are sold for the same price - $10 per pair. Actual sales of earrings for the last three months and budgeted sales for the next six months follow (in pairs of earrings): January (actual)..... 20,000 June (budget)..... 50,000 February (actual)..... 26,000 July (budget)..... 30,000 March (actual)..... 40,000 August (budget)..... 28,000 April (budget)..... 65,000…arrow_forwardDirect Labor Budget for Service The School of Accounting (SOA) at State University is planning its annual fundraising campaign for accounting alumni. This year, the SOA is planning a call-a-thon and will ask Beta Alpha Psi members to volunteer to make phone calls to a list of 7,000 alumni. The Dean's office has agreed to let Beta Alpha Psi use their offices from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. each weekday so that they will have access to phones. Each volunteer will be provided with a phone and a script with an introduction and suggested responses to various questions that had been asked in the past. Carol Johnson, Beta Alpha Psi faculty advisor, estimates the following: Of the 7,000 phone numbers, roughly 10 percent will be wrong numbers (because alumni change addresses and phone numbers without updating State University). In that case, the student is instructed to apologize to the answering party, hang up, and move on to the next phone number. Each of these calls takes about three minutes. Another…arrow_forward
- AccountingAccountingISBN:9781337272094Author:WARREN, Carl S., Reeve, James M., Duchac, Jonathan E.Publisher:Cengage Learning,Accounting Information SystemsAccountingISBN:9781337619202Author:Hall, James A.Publisher:Cengage Learning,
- Horngren's Cost Accounting: A Managerial Emphasis...AccountingISBN:9780134475585Author:Srikant M. Datar, Madhav V. RajanPublisher:PEARSONIntermediate AccountingAccountingISBN:9781259722660Author:J. David Spiceland, Mark W. Nelson, Wayne M ThomasPublisher:McGraw-Hill EducationFinancial and Managerial AccountingAccountingISBN:9781259726705Author:John J Wild, Ken W. Shaw, Barbara Chiappetta Fundamental Accounting PrinciplesPublisher:McGraw-Hill Education