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Supplement for TCG263

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.

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.

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.

In the fall of 2011, activist investor, Sardar Biglari, has acquired nearly 10% ownership in the Cracker Barrel restaurant chain. He believes that the board and senior management have failed and the company has underperformed relative to its peers. When he is denied a seat on the board, Biglari initiates a proxy fight in an attempt to win a board position and change the direction of Cracker Barrel's strategy. Two leading proxy advisory firms, ISS and Glass Lewis, disagree on supporting Biglari. One advises shareholders to vote Biglari to the board, while the other advises against it. Shareholders must decide.

Set in 2008, the case details Tech Mahindra, an information technology (IT) company within the Mahindra Group, an Indian multi-industry company with a diverse stable of businesses including automotives, farm equipment, and financial services, and its decision to acquire controlling stake in Satyam Computer Services Ltd. (Satyam), a troubled Indian IT company managed since January 2009 by a six-member government-appointed caretaker board. Anand Mahindra, Chairman and Managing Director of the Mahindra Group, saw the acquisition of Satyam as a strategic opportunity to move to the next level of growth. The acquisition would allow the Group to diversify across verticals, customers, and geographies, market a wide range of services to Satyam's strong customer base, and capitalize on common support systems in order to reduce operating costs and secure operational synergies. His brief to Vineet Nayyar-the vice chairman and managing director of Tech Mahindra and the vice chairman of Satyam-and C.P Gurnani-the CEO of Mahindra Satyam-was based on a set of clear principles: rectify the issues related to corporate governance; ensure an environment of trust where ethical conduct was valued; manage reputation risks by meeting customers and demonstrating the Mahindra Group's commitment; and restore faith within customers through newfound business models of delivery and engagements. As Nayyar reflected on Anand Mahindra's words, he wondered what series of business decisions he would have to make in order to retain the good elements, throw out the bad pieces, regain trust, and trigger change within the newly anointed Mahindra Satyam.

Pick a Number: Internationalizing U.S. Accounting is a six-chapter book published by Business Expert Press in 2014 and written by Roger Hussey, former Dean of the Odette School of Business at the University of Windsor, and Audra Ong, Associate Professor of Accounting at the Odette School of Business at the University of Windsor. In this book, the authors explain how accounting rules can impact a business's financial statements and why the lack of global regulations can pose problems for business. They review how standards are set, the progress and obstacles in establishing international standards, and the differences in US accounting versus international. They explain how the Unites States has been involved in the international process and provide insight on the overall US strategy towards international accounting standards. In Chapter 1, U.S. Accounting Regulation, the authors outline the impact of accounting standards on a business's financial information and review the regulatory framework that governs these standards. They review core accounting concepts, such as Business Entity, Consistency, and Matching. They look at how companies find loopholes in standards that lead to fraudulent action and provide several real-world examples. They explain the formation and organization of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), list common activities that lead to an investigation by the SEC, and review the criteria for required documents from businesses. They provide similar information for the Financial Standards Accounting Board (FSAB), as well as an overview of the standards setting process. They review the financial information required from a business, such as a Form 10K and annual report.

Pick a Number: Internationalizing U.S. Accounting is a six-chapter book published by Business Expert Press in 2014 and written by Roger Hussey, former Dean of the Odette School of Business at the University of Windsor, and Audra Ong, Associate Professor of Accounting at the Odette School of Business at the University of Windsor. In this book, the authors explain how accounting rules can impact a business's financial statements and why the lack of global regulations can pose problems for business. They review how standards are set, the progress and obstacles in establishing international standards, and the differences in US accounting versus international. They explain how the Unites States has been involved in the international process and provide insight on the overall US strategy towards international accounting standards. Chapter 2, The Move Toward International Accounting, reviews the development of accounting standards adopted by multiple companies. The authors argue the importance of international standards by reviewing the development of national standards in Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom. They look at different influences on a nation's accounting standards, such as taxes, stock exchanges, and culture. They explore the development of the International Accounting Standards Committee (IASC), its original objectives and the inherent problems, and subsequent creation of the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB). They outline the IASB's 6-step standard setting process and system for enforcing regulations. They consider the progress of international standards and cite common issues as well as advantages. The chapter ends with analysis of the Council of Institutional Investors research on requirements for the US to adopt the international standards.

Pick a Number: Internationalizing U.S. Accounting is a six-chapter book published by Business Expert Press in 2014 and written by Roger Hussey, former Dean of the Odette School of Business at the University of Windsor, and Audra Ong, Associate Professor of Accounting at the Odette School of Business at the University of Windsor. In this book, the authors explain how accounting rules can impact a business's financial statements and why the lack of global regulations can pose problems for business. They review how standards are set, the progress and obstacles in establishing international standards, and the differences in US accounting versus international. They explain how the Unites States has been involved in the international process and provide insight on the overall US strategy towards international accounting standards. Chapter 3, The U.S. Engagement, provides a brief history of how the Unites States has forged a position in international standard setting. The authors review key moments in how the United States developed a path of convergence rather than acceptance, including analysis of the Norwalk Agreement and why the authors believe it was not successful. They frame the issues around the internationalization of accounting regulations by outlining the viewpoints of five key groups: regulatory bodies, United States corporates, foreign listers, investors, and accounting professionals. They also examine the issues around defining high-quality standards and argue that the Unites States will not fully adopt the International Accounting Standards Board's (IASB) regulations.

Pick a Number: Internationalizing U.S. Accounting is a six-chapter book published by Business Expert Press in 2014 and written by Roger Hussey, former Dean of the Odette School of Business at the University of Windsor, and Audra Ong, Associate Professor of Accounting at the Odette School of Business at the University of Windsor. In this book, the authors explain how accounting rules can impact a business's financial statements and why the lack of global regulations can pose problems for business. They review how standards are set, the progress and obstacles in establishing international standards, and the differences in US accounting versus international. They explain how the Unites States has been involved in the international process and provide insight on the overall US strategy towards international accounting standards. Chapter 4, Successes and Failures (22 pages), describes the last decade of progress towards international accounting standards. It analyzes examples of successful changes made to standards, such as politics, legislation, and technical accounting considerations. The authors review the Sarbannes-Oxley (SOX) Act of 2002, FASB statements on Share-Based Payments, inventory closure calculations, and intangible assets and goodwill. They review the differences that remain regarding share-based payments, inventory, and goodwill. They end the chapter by looking at three studies that compare United States GAAP and International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS).

Pick a Number: Internationalizing U.S. Accounting is a six-chapter book published by Business Expert Press in 2014 and written by Roger Hussey, former Dean of the Odette School of Business at the University of Windsor, and Audra Ong, Associate Professor of Accounting at the Odette School of Business at the University of Windsor. In this book, the authors explain how accounting rules can impact a business's financial statements and why the lack of global regulations can pose problems for business. They review how standards are set, the progress and obstacles in establishing international standards, and the differences in US accounting versus international. They explain how the Unites States has been involved in the international process and provide insight on the overall US strategy towards international accounting standards. In Chapter 5, The Disagreements, the authors examine three of the four current joint projects between the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) and International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) to reconcile differences on critical issues. These project topics are revenue recognition, accounting for leases, and financial instruments. They provide a detailed summary of each issue, explain the major differences between the two viewpoints, and explore how progress on each project could impact the ultimate success of the ongoing discussions.

Pick a Number: Internationalizing U.S. Accounting is a six-chapter book published by Business Expert Press in 2014 and written by Roger Hussey, former Dean of the Odette School of Business at the University of Windsor, and Audra Ong, Associate Professor of Accounting at the Odette School of Business at the University of Windsor. In this book, the authors explain how accounting rules can impact a business's financial statements and why the lack of global regulations can pose problems for business. They review how standards are set, the progress and obstacles in establishing international standards, and the differences in US accounting versus international. They explain how the Unites States has been involved in the international process and provide insight on the overall US strategy towards international accounting standards. In Chapter 6, The End and the Beginning (pages), the authors review the basic differences between the FASB and the IASB. They highlight the different foundations in assumptions and concepts between the organizations: one uses a rules-based approach and the other uses a principles-based approach. They compare the two approaches, using leasing as an example. They also analyze the differences in each group's conceptual framework and work done to attempt convergence, and provide similar overviews on the business entity concept and regulatory acceptance. The chapter ends with an examination of the internationalization options open to the United States, a summary of scenarios, and the argument that the US will most likely remain a separate entity.

The case looks at the board structure of Research in Motion Limited (RIM) since the probe of the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) and Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) into the company's stock option granting practices in late 2006. Institutional investors, more specifically Northwest & Ethical Investments LP (NEI), were concerned about RIM's leadership and board structure in 2011 not because of non-compliance with regulations or accounting errors, but because of the drastic fall of the company's share price (see TN-Exhibit 1). Indeed, 2011 was a challenging year for RIM (see TN-Exhibit 2 for a list of events affecting RIM in 2011) as its launch of its tablet PlayBook was not as successful as compared to Apple's iPad 2. There was also increasing competition from Apple's iPhone 4S and other smartphones using the Android platform. In addition, a number of executives left the company in summer and early fall. There was also a service disruption, due to a failure of core switch in RIM's infrastructure, which interrupted email messages and internet services for millions of BlackBerry users over five continents in October 2011. Apart from these serious strategic and operational issues, institutional investors, more specifically NEI, questioned the dominance of executives on RIM's Board and asked for a split of the Chair and Co-CEO roles. In order to avert a showdown with shareholders at the Annual General Meeting (AGM) on July 12, 2011, RIM made an agreement with NEI to establish "a committee of independent directors to study its board structure, the merits of a lead director versus a chair, and the 'business necessity' for the company's co-CEOs to hold 'significant' board-level titles". This sets the theme of the case, i.e., assess RIM's board structure in 2011 and recommend resolutions to be included in the report due on January 31, 2012 to address the governance issues raised by NEI.

A budding entrepreneur in India is planning to set up a fly ash brick manufacturing plant near a thermal power plant. Not only does making bricks out of the residue of coal power generation reduce the amount of fly ash waste dumped on the ground, but the government is actively supporting the fly ash brick industry as a way to meet the increasing demands for construction materials that are environmentally sustainable. On the basis of preliminary analysis, the entrepreneur decides to set up a plant that will have the capacity to manufacture four million bricks. Though actual production will depend on market demand, he and his potential partner estimate that 2.4 million bricks can be sold per year at an average Rs 7,000 per 1,000 bricks. He wants to ascertain the feasibility of the project using a cost-volume-profit analysis.

A budding entrepreneur in India is planning to set up a fly ash brick manufacturing plant near a thermal power plant. Not only does making bricks out of the residue of coal power generation reduce the amount of fly ash waste dumped on the ground, but the government is actively supporting the fly ash brick industry as a way to meet the increasing demands for construction materials that are environmentally sustainable. On the basis of preliminary analysis, the entrepreneur decides to set up a plant that will have the capacity to manufacture four million bricks. Though actual production will depend on market demand, he and his potential partner estimate that 2.4 million bricks can be sold per year at an average Rs 7,000 per 1,000 bricks. He wants to ascertain the feasibility of the project using a cost-volume-profit analysis.

Elaine White is an accountant advising two couples, the Carsons and the Bradleys, regarding their charitable giving options and related tax strategies. The Carsons are an upper-middle class family with $295,000 in income, a moderate amount of deductions, and straightforward charitable giving objectives. The Bradleys are a wealthy couple with substantial assets, a more complex tax situation, and a desire to control the timing and recipients of their charitable contributions. White must consider the objectives of these families in the context of several charitable giving vehicles, including Public Charities, Private Foundations, Charitable Remainder Trusts, Charitable Lead Trusts, Donor-Advised Funds, and Pooled Income Funds.

This brief follow-up complements the case on The LEGO Group: Stepping Up in Asia (9-113-054), and discusses the aftermath of the scenario planning session, in which LEGO managers contemplated the risks of their new Asian strategy. The scenario planning exercise played a role in managers' realization that the Group could not simply "copy-paste" its existing operating model across the diversity of Asian markets. LEGO invested significantly in Asia throughout 2012-2013 in order to adapt its playbook to the anticipated challenges. The case also describes how, in 2013, scenario planning became part of the business-planning process at the LEGO Group. It allows students to understand the difference between a tailored scenario planning exercise, and the tenuous future-gazing processes that generally fail to get traction among business managers.

The widespread cheating scandal that rocked the Atlanta public school system in 2010 and 2011 illustrates how high-stakes performance pressure, without sufficient risk controls, can drive dangerous behavior. After becoming superintendent of the low-income and academically struggling Atlanta, Georgia school system in 1999, Beverly Hall implemented new measurement systems-many of them derived from business best practices-to motivate and evaluate the performance of teachers and principals. Educators whose students performed well on standardized tests received bonuses and public recognition; educators whose students fell short received reprimands, warnings, and eventually termination. With so much riding on "meeting the numbers," teachers and principals began taking drastic steps, including collaborating to change students' test answers while intimidating colleagues who threatened to expose the deception. As Atlanta students' (fabricated) test scores soared, leaders in business and politics praised Beverly Hall's data-driven approach for transforming a lagging school system into a model of success. More than a decade into Hall's tenure, multiple investigations finally exposed the scandal in Atlanta-and its terrible impact on the district's students. (For instructors who want to inject some extra energy, and fun, in the classroom, this case study provides material for students to stage skits in front of the class to illustrate how and why the cheating occurred.)

Intangible assets represent an accounting challenge due to their lack of physical substance. This note discusses the accounting treatment of intangible assets under International Financial Reporting Standards. The note examines the necessary characteristics of intangible assets, specifically, identifiability, control and future economic benefit. Also detailed are the origins of intangible assets through separate acquisition, business combination and internal generation. The initial recognition and ongoing measurement of intangibles are discussed, using both the cost model and revaluation model.