5K5Z0011 Management Accounting & Business Operations (MABO) Individual Coursework, Assignment

Key task and word count (or equivalent)

This assignment is 50% of the Unit assessment.  
This assignment is an individual submission.  You are a Management Accountant for Proper Plant Milk Limited.  You will record a presentation covering one agenda item for the next Executive Board meeting.

Skills assessed:

1.    Identify and interrogate relevant data and literature sources using methods appropriate to level of study and to discipline (PLO 1.1.1)
2.    Apply theory to discussion and analysis (PLO 1.1.2a)
3.    Organise work in a logical structure in order to draw conclusions that follow from line of argument. (PLO 2.1.1)
4.    Demonstrate digital skills appropriate to level and to discipline. (PLO 2.1.3)
5.    Identify and explain professional and commercial/corporate issues. (PLO 4.1.1)
6.    Apply consistent and appropriate referencing and in text citations (PLO 2.1.2)

Assignment Details and Instructions

Proper Plant Milk Limited manufacture and sell alternative milks, such as oat milk and soy milk, in the UK. Their customer base consists of businesses such as restaurants and cafes, as well as individuals. They do not currently sell to supermarkets. They are a relatively young company but have been steadily growing over the last two years. All sales are made online, via their website and mobile app.
You are a management accountant at Proper Plant Milk, and you have been invited by the new Finance Director to present at the next Executive Board Meeting.  You have five minutes for your presentation.

Additional information

The Finance Director is concerned that the sources of data and methods currently used within the organisation to support planning and decision-making are limiting growth.
Currently, Proper Plant Milk uses limited sources of data and an element of judgement to formulate the standard cost cards for each of their products and predict sales volumes at the start of each quarter, with revisions to the standards made only when necessary. 

Examples of sources of data and methods currently used:

- Budgeted sales volumes are based on actual sales volumes from the previous quarter.
- Selling prices are predicted mainly based on a mark-up on cost.
- To predict manufacturing costs, historic data from the manufacturing planning system is used, this includes supplier contracts and employment contracts as well as average materials usage and labour time.

The Finance Director would like to utilise digital tools to allow the business to operate more effectively. For example, the business sells only online but does not use any of the customer data collected via their website and mobile app to support their operations.

The Finance Director has asked you to present to the other directors on the following:
•   Provide examples of various sources of data and digital tools which could be used by the business to predict their sales revenue and manufacturing costs more accurately.
•   Explain how using a wider range of data and digital tools could benefit the business, alongside any reservations your team has regarding the proposed switch.Unit

Learning Outcomes:

1.    Explain the existing and emerging roles of information, technologies, and systems within Management Accounting.
2.    Make recommendations using Management Accounting
3.    Communicate recommendations using strategies that are suitable for the intended audience.
4.    Apply Business, People and Leadership Skills to solve Management Accounting problems.

Your presentation should be supported by research, and this should be cited in your presentation.

Additional Details

•   You should use Microsoft PowerPoint to create a professional presentation.  Marks will be awarded for the layout, clarity and overall professionalism of your work.
•   Your presentation should be professional, using Business English.  Take care to ensure that your spelling, word choice and grammar are appropriate for the audience for whom you are presenting (the Executive Board) and reflective of your role as a Management Accountant.
•   You are required to submit TWO files for this assignment.
  o   A PowerPoint video recording of your presentation. You should be visible in the recording of your presentation.
  o   A PDF file of your powerpoint that has your script included in the notes pages.
•   As with all academic assignments, you are expected to read and research from various appropriate sources in addition to your unit material. You should summarise and paraphrase what you have read to demonstrate your critical appraisal and level of understanding. You should provide references at the end of your assignment listing all materials used in your assignment – this should be in Cite Them Right Harvard format.

Resources/Further Reading
ACCA (no date) Information systems. Available at: Information systems  (Accessed: 5 September 2024)

ACCA (no date) How companies use big data. Available at: How companies use big data (Accessed: 5 September 2024)

AICPA and CIMA (no date) Digital costing. Available at: Technical articles for study planner (Accessed: 5 September 2024)

Wynn, R. (2023) Big Data, Big Risks: How Startups Can Safeguard Their Customers’ Information. Available at: Big data big risks how startups can safeguard their customers information (Accessed: 5 September 2024)