About Codan Limited
Dsicuss about the Creating Value In A Dynamic Business Environment.
The purpose of the report is to explain the top management of the Codan Limited about the ABC model of management accounting that can help them in managing the information and taking the appropriate decisions for the company. The effective way to make them understand the ABC model is an alignment of a model with the current corporate strategies of the company. Therefore, the report includes brief details related to ABC model and also about the organization. In the end, the report states the alignment of the strategies with the ABC model and recommendation while implementing Activity-based costing model.
Codan Limited is well-known manufacturer and suppliers of the communication, mining, detection technology. The company makes use of the technology with the help of which they can solve the problems related to the communications, safety, productivity, and security(Codan, 2018). The company came into existence in the year 1959 in Adelaide, South Australia. The company is one of the listed companies in Australian Securities Exchange. The company offers its products in more than 150 countries (Codan, 2018).
The activity-based costing method is one of the commonly used accounting methods that determine the activities that are performed by the business and helps the firms in assigning the indirect cost of the products or services. It helps the company in identifying the relationship between the cost, activities, and products. All these individual activities get combine like a group with some similar processes into a cost pool that relates to the single activity cost driver (Accounting tools, 2017). In simple words, it can be said that activity-based costing supports the company to allocate overhead expenses to jobs and products based on the amount of the activities that are needed to produce the goods. Kaplan and Cooper of Harvard business school have developed this new method of costing that can provide the assistance to the company to calculate product cost (Dale and Plunkett, 2017).
This is a fact that proper assignment of the cost is essential for any business in case of outsourcing or downsizing. For instance; if in a business the manager has assigned high cost then indirectly on paper this will appear as unprofitable for the company on paper. On the other hand, if a proper allocation of the cost is done by the company and then they are generating the profit from that activity which means that there is profitability on paper (Jarillo, 2013).
ABC model
ABC is an appropriate method which is used by the company to assign the cost of products, services, tasks on the basis of: –
- Activities that go into them
- Resources that are consumed by these activities of the organization.
This method offers different benefits to the company which includes: –
- This method allows the company to calculate the integral cost price of products more accurately.
- This method helps the manager to clear the cost drivers of the particular activity. This ultimately makes the department of a company to find out the improvement in the production process to make them act more cost-conscious (Drury, 2013).
- This method contributes to improve the cost price calculation of the activities performed by the company.
- ABC model always tells a true picture of the behavior and structure of the indirect costs.
- It reveals the unnecessary cost that is associated with the activity so that the manager of a company can eliminate those unnecessary costs (Garrison, et.al, 2010).
- ABC model contributes to improve the efficiency of a production process in an organization.
- The model identifies the accurate cost of the product which is essential to price products appropriately.
- This model helps the company in identifying the appropriate cost drivers that help the company in tracing the overhead to a product (Hilton and Platt, 2013).
Mission- The mission of the company is to offer the communication solution that allows the customers to be heard so that they can protect lives, generate security and can offer the support the peacekeeping worldwide (Codan, 2018). Moreover, with approx. 60 years the company has formed a reputation for the quality, reliability, and customer satisfaction by manufacturing the innovative and industry-leading technology solutions.
Objectives- The goal of the company is to achieve absolute customer satisfaction which is achievable through an unyielding focus on the innovative design, quality of product and the global customer experience which offers customers the uncompromising reliability that they require for their demanding missions (Codan, 2018). The objectives for the year 2018 are: –
- Emphasis on offering the high-value communication solutions to their customers.
- Forming alliances with the other companies to expand the business in the global market.
- Capitalizing new and innovative products in the new and existing markets.
- Making an investment in the development of new products and solutions (Codan, 2017).
The company corporate strategy is to an emphasis on the increasing the revenue vase by transitioning to complete communication solution to loyal customers and also expanding technology platforms into new attractive and adjacent markets. The company will complete this strategy through a market appeal with the introduction of the two new handheld tactical radios (Sentry-V™ and Sentry-H™) not for the customers but for the global military market. Moreover, the company is making an investment in the products that can help the company in increasing the range of military customers by offering them attractive and new solutions. Moreover, this strategy is fulfilled with the help of introduction of new product Cascade™ Land Mobile Radio (LMR).
For Minetec, the company is willing to pursue opportunities that will scale the business to accomplish the profitability and sales of Codan group. The company can easily accomplish this strategy by forming the strong relationships with the global miners and most important suppliers to the mining industry.
The key strategy that helps the company to accomplish its mission is its commitment to supplying high-quality electronic solutions along with the competitive pricing, excellent customer service, and on-time delivery. One of the major activities that are behind the success of the company is continuous improvement.
Codan Limited strategy for the minelab is to sustain the competitive advantage across the gold, recreational and countermine markets. This is possible with the help of constant investment in technology for bringing innovation in the products.
The Activity-based costing model supports the Codan limited to accomplish the corporate strategies. The company makes use of this method in identifying the accurate product cost. This is the fact that company has decided to bring the new products in the market which is the only way through which they can enhance the revenue. The ABC model helps the company in identifying the actual cost that is associated with the new products that company is willing to launch in the market. This is the only way through which the company can reduce the overhead cost and can generate the maximum revenue out of it. The reduction of the cost will help the company in either offering the products to the customers at low prices for setting a strong customer base or they can offer the products at a highly profitable price due to which they achieve their objectives.
Features of ABC model
ABC model helps codan in determining the real nature of the cost behavior that helps in reducing cost and determine the activities that do not add the value of a product. Moreover, this method allows the manager to control the fixed overhead cost by exercising more control over the activities which has led to these fixed overhead costs (Weygandt, Kimmel and Kieso, 2015). ABC model guides manager for tracing the overhead cost that the company will bear while producing and introducing a new product in the market. ABC traces the cost of managerial responsibilities, customers, processes and different departments besides the products cost. Moreover, this tracking of the cost helps the company while making the decisions as these decisions of the managers totally rely on the product cost data. These are the ways through which the company can reduce the cost that is associated with the new products or with the existing one. The activity-based costing model not only supports the company with the new product cost but also with the additional cost associated with existing products (Noreen, Brewer and Garrison, 2011).
This allows the Codan Company to offer the product at better prices due to which they will be able to make a strong position in the market. This reputation and position of the company will help them in forming the strong relationships with the global miners. This shows that the reduction in cost with the help of ABC model helps the company in accomplishing the Minetec strategy of a company. Moreover, the company will be able to maintain the competitive advantage in the market that is one of the ways through which they can easily deal with their competitors. Furthermore, the company will be able to improve its performance by investing the amount on other activities (Pinto, 2010). The amount will be generated by the company with the help of huge profits or revenue
The analysis related to the ABC model and Codan limited reflects that implementation of ABC model will support the higher level management while making the decisions related to the company. It is recommended to the company to hire an expert who can implement this tool in the company. Moreover, the company should ensure that the expert is aware of the operations of the business.
Along with this, it is recommended to the company to monitor and control the activities after the implementation of the ABC model in the organization as this is the only way through which Codan Limited can track the progress or improvement in the activities. Along with this, they will get to know the proper allocation of resources and cost has been done or not
ABC model supports goals and strategies of Codan Limited
The suitable management accounting tool that the company should use apart from activity-based costing is Target Costing. This method is one of the important methods of management accounting that is based on the pricing of the product. This method helps the company in reducing the large cost of the products at the time of the lifecycle of the product (Blocher, Stout and Cokins, 2010).
Target costing = Target cost assumption – Desired profit margin
Target costing method allows the companies to keep continuous monitoring of the manufacturing of the product and at that point, only the company make use of target costing to reduce the cost associated with the product in all the activities initiated from the manufacturing of a product. Therefore, this method is considered as one of the effective methods of management accounting.
Conclusion
In the end, it can be concluded that Codan limited should implement activity-based costing in their business operations as this will help the company in fulfilling its objective for the current year. Moreover, the achievement of objectives will contribute in the achieving mission of the company. ABC model helps the company in reducing the cost, effective allocation of cost, improving the profitability and effective decision making for the organization. Along with this, after the implementation of ABC, the existing and upcoming projects of the company will get a benefit. Moreover, the company will be able to make the good reputation and place in the market which will help to expand the business and to form new alliances with the other companies.
References
Accounting tools (2017) Activity-Based Costing [Online]. Available from: https://www.accountingtools.com/articles/2017/5/14/activity-based-costing [Accessed on 10th May 2018]
Blocher, E.J., Stout, D.E. and Cokins, G. (2010) Cost management: A strategic emphasis. Includes index.
Codan (2017) Codan Annual Report [Online]. Available from: https://codan.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/Annual-report-final.pdf [Accessed on 12th May 2018]
Codan (2018) About Codan Radio [Online]. Available from: https://www.codanradio.com/about-codan-radio/ [Accessed on 12th May 2018]
Codan (2018) History [Online]. Available from: https://codan.com.au/who-is-codan/history/ [Accessed on 12th May 2018]
Codan (2018) Our Businesses [Online]. Available from: https://codan.com.au/who-is-codan/our-businesses/ [Accessed on 12th May 2018]
Codan (2018) The Company [Online]. Available from: https://codan.com.au/who-is-codan/the-company/ [Accessed on 12th May 2018]
Dale, B.G. and Plunkett, J.J. (2017) Quality costing. New York: Routledge.
Drury, C.M. (2013) Management, and cost accounting. New york: Springer.
Garrison, R.H., Noreen, E.W., Brewer, P.C. and McGowan, A. (2010) Managerial accounting. Issues in Accounting Education, 25(4), pp.792-793.
Hilton, R.W. and Platt, D.E. (2013) Managerial accounting: creating value in a dynamic business environment. Germany: McGraw-Hill Education.
Jarillo, J.C. (2013) Strategic networks. New York: Routledge.
Noreen, E.W., Brewer, P.C. and Garrison, R.H. (2011) Managerial accounting for managers. Germany: McGraw-Hill Irwin.
Pinto, J. (2010) Achieving Competitive Advantage. Prentice-Hall, Upper Saddle River, NJ.
Weygandt, J.J., Kimmel, P.D. and Kieso, D.E. (2015) Financial & managerial accounting. New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons.