ACC 202 Final Project Part II Guidelines and Rubric
Overview To be successful, all businesses must perform periodic assessments to determine the efficiency of operations. Whether you are an owner, a manager, or a front- line employee, at some time you will be affected by a budget. Preparing a budget and analyzing the results of operations in relation to the budget will help you understand how to use financial information to evaluate the effectiveness of an organization’s operations. The process will also help you determine the reasons operations do not always go as planned and make decisions on changes that might need to be made to make the organization, or just your own department, more efficient. In the budget report, you will use course-provided information to communicate the results of operations to internal parties. This assessment addresses the following course outcomes:
Communicate budget planning to internal stakeholders for strategic planning
Apply costing methods to production for supporting budget planning and decision making
Analyze financial information in identifying opportunities for operational efficiencies
Apply ethics within the accounting decision-making process for supporting responsible business activities
Prompt You are a manager for a pet supplies manufacturer. This responsibility requires you to create budgets, make pricing decisions, and analyze the results of operations to determine if changes need to be made to make the company more efficient. Using the workbooks you created for Final Project Part I, you will make decisions about possible changes that should be made to make the company more efficient. You will look at the possibility of making some components of one product instead of buying them, and you will determine how to evaluate the company as a whole and managers in particular. You will create a report detailing your findings. Specifically, the following critical elements must be addressed: Prepare a Report
a) Discuss the initial budget process, the variances, and potential reasons for the variances. b) Determine changes you think the company should make based on the variance analysis. What will the changes accomplish? c) What are the ethical considerations of the changes you have selected? Why are you recommending these particular changes? d) Decide whether you continue buying a particular component of one of your products or making the product in-house. Develop a recommendation on
the “make” or “buy” decision for the given component. What factors did you consider?
e) What are the ethical considerations of your decision? What implications could this decision have? f) Describe how your decision was reached. How will this impact the efficiencies of your operation? g) What suggestions would you make for nonfinancial performance measures that the company should adopt? What are the pros and cons of each? h) What are the ethical considerations of your suggestions? Explain the significance of each.
Final Project Part II Rubric
Guidelines for Submission: Your budget report should be 1–2 pages, double-spaced, with one-inch margins, 12-point Times New Roman font, and APA format.
Instructor Feedback: This activity uses an integrated rubric in Blackboard. Students can view instructor feedback in the Grade Center. For more information, review these instructions.
Critical Elements Exemplary (100%) Proficient (85%) Needs Improvement (55%) Not Evident (0%) Value
Prepare a Report: Budget Process
Meets “Proficient” criteria, and reasoning demonstrates awareness of potential business situations
Discusses the initial budget process and the variances and describes potential reasons for variances
Discusses the initial budget process and the variances, but does not describe potential reasons for variances
Does not describe initial budget process
11.5
Prepare a Memo: Changes
Meets “Proficient” criteria and demonstrates awareness of implications of making changes
Determines changes the company should make based on variance analysis and identifies what will be accomplished by making these changes
Determines changes the company should make based on variance analysis, but does not identify what will be accomplished by making these changes
Does not determine changes the company should make
11.5
Prepare a Report: Ethical
Considerations
Meets “Proficient” criteria, and justification is well supported with examples
Identifies ethical considerations of changes recommended and justifies recommendations
Identifies ethical considerations of changes recommended, but does not justify recommendations
Does not identify ethical considerations
11.5
Prepare a Report: Recommendation
Meets “Proficient” criteria, and recommendation is supported with evidence
Develops recommendation and describes factors that were taken into consideration
Develops recommendation, but does not describe factors that were taken into consideration
Does not develop a recommendation
11.5
Prepare a Report: Implications
Meets “Proficient” criteria and demonstrates a nuanced understanding of the relationship between ethical views and implications
Identifies ethical considerations and implications of decision
Identifies ethical considerations or implications of decision, but not both
Does not identify ethical consideration or implications of decision
11.5
Prepare a Report: Impact
Meets “Proficient” criteria and demonstrates awareness of business operations
Describes how decision was reached and how it will impact the efficiencies of operation
Describes how decision was reached, but does not address how it will impact efficiencies of operation
Does not describe how decision was reached
11.5
http://snhu-media.snhu.edu/files/production_documentation/formatting/rubric_feedback_instructions_student.pdf
Prepare a Report:
Suggestions
Meets “Proficient” criteria, and suggestions incorporate a well- rounded view of the business
Identifies suggestions for nonfinancial performance measures the company should adopt and lists the pros and cons of each
Identifies suggestions for nonfinancial performance measures the company should adopt, but does not list the pros and cons of each
Does not identify suggestions for nonfinancial performance measures the company should adopt
11.5
Prepare a Report: Considerations
Meets “Proficient” criteria, and explanation is exceptionally clear and contextualized
Identifies the ethical considerations of suggestions and explains the significance of each
Identifies the ethical considerations of suggestions, but does not explain the significance of each
Does not identify the ethical considerations of suggestions
11.5
Articulation of Response
Submission is free of errors related to citations, grammar, spelling, syntax, and organization and is presented in a professional and easy-to-read format
Submission has no major errors related to citations, grammar, spelling, syntax, or organization
Submission has major errors related to citations, grammar, spelling, syntax, or organization that negatively impact readability and articulation of main ideas
Submission has critical errors related to citations, grammar, spelling, syntax, or organization that prevent understanding of ideas
8
Earned Total 100%