Management Accounting Case Book

Cases from the IMA Educational Case Journal

Raef A. Lawson

• Publisher: Wiley
• Year: 2020
• ISBN:
  9781119724520
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Business
• Subtopic: Managerial Accounting
• Index: Business

Enlighten your students and improve your understanding of management accounting with this carefully curated collection of case studies

Management Accounting Case Book: Cases from the IMA Educational Case Journal offers a detailed account of real-world business cases accessible to a variety of business-savvy audiences. It provides comprehensive coverage of several areas relevant to students and professionals in business and finance, including:

• Strategic cost management (including product and service costing, cost allocation, and strategy implementation)
• Planning and decision making (including cost estimation, CVP analysis, budgeting, decision making, capital investments, target costing, and TOC)
• Operations, process management, and innovation (including flexible budgeting, standard costs, variance analysis, non-financial performance indicators, quality control, lean, and innovation governance)

Used by dozens of different universities, the Management Accounting Case Book contains cases reviewed and rigorously vetted by the Institute of Management Accountants. The book is perfect for anyone hoping to increase their understanding of management theory or facilitate lively discussion about the topics contained within.

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V.
Strategic Cost Management

The Gatekeepers: A Case on Allocations and Justifications

David Hurtt, Bradley Lail, Michael Robinson, and Martin Stuebs, Baylor University

THIS CASE CHALLENGES STUDENTS’ ABILITY TO JUSTIFY DIFFICULT accounting choices and subsequently consider the ramifications of those choices. We provide two different scenarios that examine the responsibilities, incentives, and issues faced by accountants—the gatekeepers in many reporting environments. The first scenario is a familiar academic reporting task in which students assess group performance and allocate points to members. The second is a similar task within the segment reporting environment in which costs are allocated to the reporting units. A summary exercise then requires students to link these scenarios. The open-ended nature of the case allows its use in multiple courses and at various levels of accounting education. Ultimately, the case will encourage students to behave more like managers, make tough choices where guidelines are vague, and assess the consequences of their actions.

The case is best suited for an upper-level, undergraduate managerial accounting course, although it could be modified for use in other courses.

Keywords: allocations, decision justification, ethical dilemmas, group projects, segment reporting, responsibility accounting.

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The Gatekeepers: A Case on Allocations and Justifications

David Hurtt
Associate Professor of Accounting
Baylor University

Bradley Lail
Assistant Professor of Accounting
Baylor University

Michael Robinson
Professor of Accounting
Baylor University

Martin Stuebs
Associate Professor of Accounting
Baylor University

INTRODUCTION

This case provides an opportunity for you to make accounting allocation choices, justify those choices, and subsequently consider their ramifications. In this case study, we present students with two different scenarios—one takes place in an academic setting, and one in a business setting—that examine the incentives and reporting issues faced by managers and accountants as gatekeepers of their reporting environments. For each scenario, you will read the case materials and then answer the “Questions for Analysis.” Each scenario presents you with an allocation task. In the first scenario, an allocation task in an academic setting, you will assess group members’ contributions to a project and allocate points across the group. These point allocations contribute to determining individual group member’s grades. The second scenario is also an allocation task but in a business setting—specifically the segment reporting environment. Here the task is to allocate indirect costs across report...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Table of Contents
• Preface
• I. Business Leadership and Ethics
• II. Operations, Process Management, and Innovation
• III. Planning and Decision Making
• IV. Risk Management and Internal Controls
• V. Strategic Cost Management
• End User License Agreement