BU7403– Cost Accounting

Group Assessment

Submission date: 4pm, Monday 1st January 2018

Weighting: 30% (out of 100%)
Type: Group
Submission: On Moodle via Turnitin
Groups: Maximum 4 Students per group

Learning Outcomes:

1. Demonstrate a broad knowledge of the defining features and main areas of cost accounting.
2. Explain the nature and purpose of cost accounting.
3. Discuss the purpose, classification and behaviour of cost.

Word Count: 3000 words (Max)

Assessment Tasks:

Each of the following questions is to be answered independently following the guidelines

provided below.

Question No 1 (LO 1, 2, 3):

A new client has asked for your assistance, Khaleej BSC, which has just started manufacturing
operations in GCC. The company produces a particular variety of meat related products. The
CEO, Ali ACA, is aware that other meat producers and sellers use process costing and has
requested you to provide information relating to this method of assigning costs to production
and inventory.

REQUIREMENT:

Prepare a report for Ali ACA which:

(a) Differentiates process costing from job costing in particular reference to the meat industry.
(10 marks)
(b) Describes how a process costing system operates and provides examples of other industries
in comparison to meat industry where process costing is appropriate. (10 marks)

(c) Outlines the meaning of the following terms in the meat industry.
- Actual loss
- Normal loss
- Abnormal loss (10 marks)

(d) Explains two different approaches that may be used where a company has opening work in
progress as part of its inventory. (10 marks)

Question No 2(LO 2, 3):

Meat Supplies limited, an importer of livestock, has paid its workers on a time basis since the
company commenced operations eight years ago. Due to the recession, the company is
experiencing financial difficulties and is keen to cut costs wherever possible. A recent article in
an accountancy journal suggested that alternative remuneration methods could help to reduce
costs and improve productivity. You have been asked to provide more information to Meat
Supplies limited.

REQUIREMENT:
Draft a memorandum for the management of Meat Supplies limited that:

(a) Explain the advantages and disadvantages of piece rate remuneration systems. (10 marks)

(b) Describes the various incentive schemes. (10 marks)

(c) Outlines the conditions necessary for successful operation of incentive schemes. (10 marks)

Question No 3 (LO 2, 3): Why or why not should we discontinue any product or service with a
negative contribution? (15 marks)

Question No 4 (LO 2, 3): What other factors, apart from costs, should you take into account in
make or buy decisions? (15 marks)

Your assignment should demonstrate the following qualities:

 A critical understanding of relevant literature and its use in supporting an argument, and
other aspects of the assignment.
 Taking ownership of the content, being prepared to debate and argue a personal position,
and providing evidence of evaluative skills. A submission made up of extracts from
 published sources which are descriptive or simply just theoretical regurgitation is not
acceptable. Your submission must have interpretation and consideration of the challenges
and issues of taking theory into practice.
 Logical flow of ideas and treatment; appropriate selection of real world factors.
 Evidence of additional personal research, and the ability to analyse material from a variety
of appropriate relevant perspectives
 Presentation, structure, appropriateness of methodology, breaking into section
headings/subheadings, tidiness
 Appropriate acknowledgement of sources, including correct referencing, in order to avoid
being found guilty of plagiarism.

Marking Rubric: (For each of the Four Questions)

Grading Criteria Excellent Very Good Good Pass Fail

Comprehensive Very Good
Generic skills: and correctly Well structured report in most Good report in Very poor
Communication structured report which aspects but most report
and assessment. follows suffers from few aspects but which is
presentation Style of writing appropriate variations in suffers from incorrectly
10% is very fluent format but some quality and the variations in structured and
and develops a aspects of layout contains quality and the contains major
coherent and layout and few layout contains errors and
logical referencing inadequacies. some omissions. Style
argument. could be Style of writing is inadequacies. of writing lacks
Excellent improved. Style generally Style of writing is coherence and
referencing. of writing is fair. satisfactory. fluency. Poor
(9-10) fairly fluent. Referencing Referencing referencing.
Good needs needs (0-5)
referencing. improving. improving.
(8) (7) (6)
Knowledge & Demonstrates Wide range of Very Good range Good range of Very poor range
Understanding excellent knowledge of knowledge of
20% knowledge of demonstrated knowledge demonstrated knowledge
theory and and evidence of demonstrated but weaknesses demonstrated
provides critical good but shown in key areas. and there are
theoretical understanding of weaknesses in Some major
underpinning. the topic. some areas. understanding weaknesses
Very good Ability to Reasonable displayed of the evident in
interpretations interpret and understanding topic. interpretation
and summarise displayed of the Summary and and
summarising of succinctly. (16- topic. interpretation understanding.
main themes. 17) Summary and are satisfactory. No clear
(18-20) interpretation (12-13) interpretation
 are generally of main themes.
fine. (14-15) (0-11)
Analysis Excellent use of Use of concepts Use of theory
30% theoretical and Very good use of and theories are and concepts Very poor use of
conceptual the theoretical good and limited but theory and very
models linked and conceptual relevant. relevant. little application
with a critical models with Application Application of concepts.
discussion of good critical could be slightly could be Very little
main themes. discussion and improved and improved and description with
Deconstructs the application. there is a there is a not much
major themes Good evidence tendency tendency evidence of
used in the of towards towards analysis.
argument. (27- deconstruction. description. description. (0-17)
30) (23-26) Must provide Must provide
slightly more more evidence
evidence of of
deconstruction. deconstruction.
(19-22) (18)

Logical Very poor

Synthesis/ presentation of Very good Good account of Satisfactory account of main
Creativity/ themes with account of main main themes account of main themes with
Application appropriate themes with with some themes with little or no
20% examples being sound attempt at some attempt at application. No
demonstrated. application. application. application. Very links between
Very good Good attempt at Limited evidence Limited evidence models and
demonstration applying models of synthesis. of synthesis. argument. (0-
of synthesis. to the argument. (14-15) (12-13) 11)
Models have Fairly good
been clearly attempt at
applied to the synthesising the
argument. (18- salient points.
20) (16-17)

Evaluation Shows clear Shows evidence Shows Shows some Shows little or
20% evidence of in- of critical reasonable evidence of no evidence of
depth critical reflection and evidence of critical reflection critical
reflection and evaluation and a critical reflection but could have reflection and
evaluation of the fairly cohesive but could have been developed. needs to be
argument by defence of the been developed. (12-13) much more
providing a argument. (16- (14-15) developed.
robust defence 17) There is no
of the opinions defence of the
presented in the opinions
assessment. presented. (0-
(18-20) 11)