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BSBFIM501 Manage Budgets and Financial Plans Assignment

BSB51918 Diploma of Leadership and Management - Australian Centre of Further Education, ACFE, Melbourne, Australia

Assessment Task 1 - Questions

Purpose - To demonstrate the skills and knowledge required for BSBFIM501 Manage Budget and Financial Plans.

Task overview - You are required to complete 19 questions

Question 1: You are to prepare a document for a new member of staff joining your team that describes the various budgets operating in the company using the following template so that they know what budget to access for specific purpose.

a) Sales budget

b) Production Budget

c) Cash flow budget (Cash budget)

d) Marketing budget

e) Project Budget

f) Management budget

The description for each budget should be no less than two (2) sentences.

Question 2a: List three (3) stakeholders you would consult for clarifying the budget,

Question 2b: List three (3) areas will you check to ensure that documented outcomes of the budget are achievable, accurate and comprehensible

Question 3: Suppose an external safety audit has identified a number of safety measures with which your company must immediately comply. These changes will impact the whole company. Each manager is asked to look at their budget and see where it can be modified. Your budget includes costs for staffing, equipment maintenance, new personal protection equipment (goggles and gloves), new computers, training and promotional activities.

a. Explain two (2) items that you have to negotiate and discuss with your manager regarding the change of your budget?

b. Provide two (2) types of approaches of communication and discussion with your team regarding the changes of your budget.

Question 4: List three (3) examples of contingencies you may encounter when implementing safety measures, what actions or plans can you take to ensure the safety measures being implemented in the event of these contingencies? (briefly describe the strategy using one sentence) One example has been given to you to help you complete the question.

Question 5: List two (2) ways that you would use to inform your team members about the budget allocations.

Question 6: Identify and describe four (4) different types of support that you might provide to team members who have responsibilities in relation to implementing budgets or carrying out financial tasks. How is this support delivered and the effectiveness of it monitored to ensure that the team member can competently carry out the financial tasks? To help you answer the questions, one example has been provided to you in the following table.

Question 7: Budget management involves the acquisition and allocation of resources and determine systems in order to achieve the objectives of a budget.

How can you access and determine the allocation of resources and systems available in the organisation (e.g. financial resources, human resources etc.) to ensure the budget is met and financial operations are carried out effectively within the work team?

Question 8: Describe the eight (8) key steps a manager should take to monitor the actual expenses and control costs across the work team.

Question 9: In order to identify cost variations and expenditure overruns, you are required to conduct a monthly analysis of the variance report. This month, you found that sales figures and income are ahead of budget on the variance report, you informed the cost centre manager.

Why should a cost centre manager be informed and involved in this variance related to sales and income variance? (Give three (3) brief reasons-no more than two sentences for each reason)

Question 10: In what circumstances (give two examples) under which a contingency plan may be implemented and what are the purposes (list two (2) purposes) of monitoring and modification of the implementation of a contingency plan?

Question 11: According to BizOps' Budgeting and Financial Planning Procedures (Attachment 1), how should the Financial Manager monitor, and report on the budget and expenditure. Answers should be no less than 50 words

Question 12a: What constitutes an effective financial management process? (give five attributes of an effective financial management process).

Question 12b: How would you collect and collate data and information to decide that a financial management process is working effectively within your team? Answers should be no less than 50 words.

Question 13a: How would you analyse data and information collected to decide the effectiveness of a financial management process? Answers should be no less than 50 words.

Question 13b: Identify an area where an improvement is needed in the management of finance. Give recommendations on how the process should be documented and improved in order to achieve the outcome. Answers should be no less than three (3) sentences. The following example is given to you to help you complete this question.

Question 14: To improve the accuracy of financial reports, it has been agreed by the organisation that "Spot check against source data will be conducted on a regular basis. The number of errors identified in reports will be tracked and relevant staff who are responsible will be called for training to improve the accuracy".

How would you implement and monitor the agreed improvements in order to improve the accuracy of financial reports? Answer should be no less than three sentences.

Question 15: Describe each of the steps of the accounting process required to record all of the transactions that take place, and to organise and collate this information before finally producing financial reports that are analysed and used in decision making: Transactions, journals, general ledger, trial balance, balance-day adjustment and accounting reports. The answer for each of the above steps should be no less than two sentences.

Question 16: List three (3) financial regulatory requirements that businesses must comply with.

Question 17: Describe two (2) key requirements for financial record keeping and auditing.

Question 18: Explain why it is important to make balance-day adjustments at the close of an accounting period before preparing financial statements. (answers should be no less than 50 words)

Question 19: Explain the difference between the profit calculated in the trading account compared with the profit calculated in the profit and loss account. (Answers provided should be around 50 words)

Assessment Task 2 - Project and Case Studies

Purpose - To demonstrate the skills and knowledge required for BSBFIM501 Manage Budget and Financial Plans.

Task overview - You are required to complete to Part A and Part B in this assessment task.

Part A is a project which should be completed with a group of three.

Part B is two case studies which you have to complete individually.

Part A: Project: Group work (Group of three)

As the financial manager, you are responsible to provide support to new team members to ensure they are able to perform well in finance management. Work in a group of three, prepare a training document for new staff in your department which contain the following three topics: (three pages required)

(A1)Topic 1: Principles and techniques involved in:

- managing the budgeting process

- managing cashflow

- interpreting profit and loss statements

(A2)Topic 2: Accounting concepts and principles in:

- The difference between income, expenses, assets, liabilities and equity

- The use of the chart of accounts to categorise financial transactions

- The concept of a double entry financial system where every credit has a matching debit (examples of transactions will need to be provided to demonstrate this)

- The difference between a cash transaction and a non-cash transaction

- Petty cash

- Accrual accounting

- Changing asset values through depreciation

- The stock trading account

(A3)Topic 3: Legislation requirements explanation:

- Australian Taxation Office requirements for assessing revenue

- GST collection, payment and reconciliation

- Audit and record-keeping requirements for financial records

- Pay as you go (PAYG) tax

Part B: Case Studies

Questions 1-4 are based on case study 1 (attached). You are required to answer each question according to the requirements.

1. (B1) Brendon has asked you to devise a performance report for this department and the single product it produces based on the records he has kept. Determine the actual direct labour cost and direct material cost per unit produced and compare these against the budgeted amounts. Present as a spreadsheet. Suggest reasons for any variances from the budgeted amounts. (Give one reason for the variance in direct labour cost and one reason for the variance in the direct material cost. Reasons given must be only one sentence)

2. (B2) Brendon should have advised his supervisor of any cost issues during the production period. List one cost issue you think he should have advised his supervisor. (Answer should be no less than two sentences)

3. (B3) Brendon does not seem to have any contingency plans in place. In what areas would you consider Brendon should develop contingency plans and for what potential circumstances? Please provide three triggers and contingency plans in the following table. One example has been given to you to help you complete this task.

4. (B4) If Brendon were to discover that, in the next production period, the costs of the raw materials had increased by 10 per cent, what specific contingency plan or plans might be implemented, assuming that he cannot increase the sale price to counter the increased material cost. Please list two contingency plans that might be implemented. (Answers should be around 20 words)

Questions 5-8 are based on case study 2 (attached). Please answer the questions according to the requirements.

5. (B5) List three action plans that Mike could put in place to reduce cost overruns. (briefly list the actions may be taken using one or two sentences)

6. (B6) Draft a procedure (include a checklist if this is appropriate) to process documentation for data entry into the finance system for each of the following:

- Salary and wages

- Travel claims using an employee's own vehicle

- Ordering equipment

- Storage of source documentation including time frames for storing the records

7. (B7) Explain why having proper procedures to process documentation for data entry into the finance system improves financial management. (answers should be no less than 3 sentence)

8. (B8) Suggest two procedures or initiatives that Mike could introduce to improve his financial management of the officers across the country. (answers should be no less than 3 sentences)

Assessment Task 3- Simulated Observation (Practical)

Purpose - To demonstrate the skills and knowledge required for BSBFIM501 Manage Budget and Financial Plans.

Suppose you are the Outlet Manager for Store A of BizOps Enterprises, your sales data in the store for the last quarter is shown in table 1 (attached). You are given a sales budget for the following quarter for your store (Table 2 - attached) by the managing director in retail operations Ms. Nancy Tooket for review and then discuss with her to prepare for a proper budget. The objective for the coming quarter is to increase sales by 15%.

Part A: Role Play (Outlet Manager and Ms. Nancy)

The aim of this role play is demonstrate your skills in planning financial management approaches.

- You will be playing the role of the Outlet Manager

- Assessor is to play the role of Ms. Nancy- the managing director in retail operations.

This role play is based on scenario 1. Please read the scenario and complete the observation task 1 and 2 (O1 and O2) in the following Observation Outcome Checklist.

Scenario 1: Sales data is showing that Zings are expecting a 20 per cent fall in demand, and Pings are being removed from the sales catalogue. Hools are likely to be fashionable in winter, so it is possible to get a 50 per cent increase in sales. You have prepared an excel spreadsheet with the new budget as follows:

Product	Price/unit	Quantity	Sales
Widgets	$30	5,750	$172,500
Zings	$100	10,000	$1,000,000
Zacs	$200	4,313	$862,600
Hools	$70	11,250	$787,500
Nocs	$150	2,875	$431,250
Beels	$100	10,063	$1,006,300
Total Sales			$4,260,150

You are required to:

O1: Access and read the sales budget table 2, clarify the budget with the managing director Ms. Nancy Tooket (Played by Assessor) how the budget was come up.

O2: Explains to Ms. Nancy Tooket which sales goals are not accurate or not achievable and why, and negotiate with Nancy the changes required to the budget and sales outcome that is achievable and confirm with Ms. Nancy the new budget you have prepared.

Part B: Presentation: (Group of three)

Scenario 2: (Following the above information)

The BizOps Enterprises Operations Plan (Attachment 1) page 5 for the coming quarter (July - September) indicates that there is a marketing allocation of $3,000,000 for the whole organisation to help achieve the sales targets. Store A is allocated $30,000 for marketing expenditure. There is a risk that Hools may only sell with a 30 per cent increase in volume instead of the projected 50% increase over the winter. Therefore, a sales promotion may be required. You have prepared a contingency budget for a one week sale of Hools to increase Hools winter sales by 2,000 units by running a $30,000 advertising program and giving a 10% discount for the price of Hools.

As an outlet manager, you are required to prepare a presentation based on the above scenario (assisted by PowerPoint) to disseminate agreed budget to team member, ensure team members understand the budget and operational plan, so that they can use the resources available to achieve the sales goals: You have to work as a group of three and the presentation should be made by all the three of you within 15 minutes. The presentation should meet the following requirements. (Please read the details in BizOps Enterprises Operations Plan)

O3: Prepare a spreadsheet contingency budget

O4: Disseminate the details of the contingency plan to team members. Explain to them how the advertising, promotion and discount sale will assist in achieving the budget goals.

O5: Disseminate the details of the operational plan for quarter July-Sept to team members. Indicate what other expenditures(resources) will incur (be available) for the outlet to assist in achieving the sales budget goals. explain to them how the advertising, promotion and discount sale will assist in achieving the budget goals.

O6: Provide appropriate processes to monitor each expenditure mentioned in the operational plan on a cyclical basis.

O7: Predict a contingency circumstance for each expenditure that might cause variation, and give a brief back up action

O8: Presenting information about financial issues and requirements to audiences using structure and language to suit the audience.

Attachment:- Manage Budgets and Financial Plans Assignment File.rar