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This case requires the computation of both a flexible budget and some variances, but there is insufficient information to compute all of the traditional variances. Thus, students need to adjust their thinking somewhat and be a little creative. They also need to understand variance analysis enough to play with the data a little bit.

This is a relatively simple case on the subject of flexible budgeting, but it raises enough issues concerning the use of the reports that it can easily be used for an entire class session. It provides a nice lead-in to somewhat more complex variance analysis cases.

Supplement for TCG263

This is a pretty simple case in preparing a budget, with a couple of tricky spins to make it interesting. It is designed to be accompanied by Pacific Park School (B), in which the program ran a deficit, and students must calculate the relevant variances.

The note looks at operational budgeting through several lenses. The discussion begins with the nature of the operating budget, and the broad context in which budgeting takes place, distinguishing between budgeting's behavioral and mechanical aspects. It then looks at the components of the operating budget, and the steps involved in formulating a budget. An appendix to the note discusses some budgeting misfits, or areas where the budgeting phase may be poorly aligned with other organizational activities.

The note begins with a review of the idea that different costs are used for different purposes, and discusses the differences. It then summarizes the criteria for a good responsibility accounting system. Next, it illustrates the contingent nature of responsibility accounting systems by positioning them as one of several activities that interrelate and that must be well coordinated if an organization is to be successful. This is followed by a brief discussion of each of these activities. The note concludes by emphasizing the importance of senior management's role in designing the activities.

Supplement for TCG161

This case is helpful for illustrating the concept of cost drivers, and demonstrating how the use of cost drivers can help managers better understand the forces that govern the use of resources in their organizations. It also can be used to demonstrate that by changing a fundamental cost accounting decision (cost centers, in this instance), an organization can change the cost of its products or services.

This case is set in a multi-divisional company with sales offices in several European countries and manufacturing plants in several others. The management control system has been badly designed and students must figure out what is wrong with it and what to do in light of the accountant's recommendation that no changes be made.

This is a case on ABC but with a tricky differential cost decision of the keep/discontinue variety embedded in it. Students need to work with manufacturing overhead allocation, ABC, overhead variances, and variable costing. They also need to see the big picture, which includes a new product line that, while covering its manufacturing overhead, is contributing only about $5,000 to $58,000 of selling, general, and administrative costs.

This case covers a spectrum of management control issues, including the design of responsibility centers, budgeting, measurement and reporting, and behavioral considerations. It is been used successfully as a final exam in a course on management accounting.

This case is set in a health clinic in a Sub-Saharan African country, and requires (a) a fairly standard flexible budget and variance analysis and (b) a somewhat unusual variance analysis. The latter focuses first on variances in volume and mix/efficiency based on minutes per visit rather than cost, and then requires the student to translate this information into an analysis of staffing needs.

This case introduces some real-world complexities into a transfer pricing decision. Market price works when there is an unambiguous market price, but in this instance, it is not clear that the two jobs are the same, which means that the prices might legitimately differ. The case also includes some important behavioral issues.

This disguised case describes a Midwestern institution that had had remarkable successes in preparing to operate in a managed care environment. The case can be taught as part of a sequence on managing change and works well with the McKinsey 7S model.

This is a case on CVP with multiple products. Although relatively basic, it bridges into some alternative-choice decision making, requiring students to assess how they would manage costs, how they would make a choice under constraints, and whether they would eliminate a product line that is losing money on a full-cost basis.

This case allows an instructor to combine several important elements into an evaluation. Students are asked to first consider the organization's strategy, then to consider the question of incentives, and finally to assess the organization's management control system in the light of both.

This case contains a set of audited financial statements for a small community hospital, and requires the students to assess where there are accounting problems, and where there are financial management problems.

This is a relatively good summary case that raises a variety of basic financial accounting issues. It has been used as an exam for the first module of a course.

This case provides an excellent opportunity to discuss the limitations on the use of comparative data in assessing the performance of a nonprofit organization. Despite these limitations, data like these may be useful, and students must decide how.

Discusses the reasons that nonprofit organizations need to earn surpluses. The major focus is faced on asset replacement and cash needs.