7AG516 Strategic and Financial Performance Management
Coursework 2
Individual coursework – management accounting – application of a budget approach and critical analysis of the results of the same in order to impact on performance, as well as analysis of the techniques themselves
Weighting: 50 %
Word limit: 2,000 words (plus or minus 10%). A 5% penalty will be applied for breaches of this range.
Assesses Learning Outcomes: 2 and 3.
In this assignment you are being asked to develop and analyse a budget for a new company.
Requirement:
You should assume that you are starting up a new company. You need to provide a budget (profit and loss accounts) and indeed evidence that the company “makes money”. The budget should respond to these key questions: How much should you charge for the products or service? How much money is needed to get the business started? Where will you get the financial resources to start your business?
Consider how realistic the results are for a start-up company, and how you might need to develop or modify this budget as the company becomes more established.
Your report should aim to:
- Provide an introduction to your company; for example, industry sector, product/service and geographic location and your overall strategic aim for the company in the future (e.g. to be number one in the industry, be the ‘best’ employer). It indicates the strategic focus of your company.
- Present the assumptions of the 3year budget (2020-2022) regarding the new services and products, the pricing policy, the cost, the required investment and the financing mechanism, the profit margins, etc. You should analyse how reliable the proposed assumptions are from an implementation point of view.
- Estimate and analyse the profit and loss accounts (from management accounting point of view) of the new company for the period 2020-2022 and present how the results you obtain from your budget will assist you in improving the performance of the company on the way to achieving your strategic aim. You should also consider how you might need to adapt your planning as the business becomes more established.
- Conclude with an overall appraisal of the budget process and do a critical analysis of the process, outcomes, and how it might improve performance against the strategic aims of the company.
There is no requirement for an executive summary.
All sources of information used must be reported according to the Harvard referencing system.
