introduction to management, the controller, and cost accounting
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Introduction to Management, the Controller, and Cost Accounting
Management
According to Henry Fayol's Industrial and General Administration, "to manage is to
forecast and to plan, organize, to command, to co-ordinate and to control". To an
organization, those various activity can be narrowed to Planning, Organizing and Control by
three groups of management: operating management, middle management and executive
management with different role in each level.
Planning is the process of sensing external opportunities and threats, determining
desirable objectives and employing resources to accomplish these objectives. Effective
planning takes the companys business (what, where, who), major policies (how), and timings
(when) into account. Organizing is the establishment of the framework within which
activities are to be performed. A company is usualy divided into two or more functional
units/divisions suited to the companys operation. Each units/divisions has specialized
job/function, but still parts of an interdependent system that works as a whole, thats where
organizing takes place. All those objectives, all factors affecting them, and companys
activity are monitored, compared, and followed through a systematic effort or what you call
control in management.
Although managements planning, organizing and control seems to be a separate
processes, in reality they sync together and can dynamicaly affects each other. Especially
planning and control, they occurs simultaneously at the same time, the planning of next cycle
of activity is being done while the activitys control takes place. Heres an illustration of
managements planning done by different level of management, all while organizing and
control the activities as materials for decisions of next cycle of planning.
Executive management :- decides what type of business (product(s) and costumer) a company will run;- what the company will be in the future
Middle management :- how to sustain companys operation in the near-future
Operating management :- focus on the operation of current and next budget period
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from the illustration we can conclude that the higher level of management have a longer
term/range decision. The least quantifiable one, handled by executive management is called
strategic plans, which affect the lowers long range and short range plans of management
level. The lowest level focus on smaller time frame in a more fixed intervals than its higher
component while operates in a more systematic process in accordance with the companys
policies that have been defined by middle and executive management. Operating and middle
management also have a very little influence on external environment as only executive
management has the potency to affect it, so middle and operating management can only focus
on the companys organization itself.
Authority, Responsibility, and Accountability
How and who planning and control are done can be different from one company to
another, usualy a bigger company let more people handle its planning and control function.
In that account, we should pay attention to authority, responsibility, and accountability.
Authority is the power to direct others. The highest authority is in the hand of
executive management, which delegates it to lower level without removing its responsibility.
Responsibility/obligation is closely related to authority, in which its output can be measured
from accountability-reporting result to higher authority.
An organization chart helps to define authority, responsibility, and accountability of
an entity. It leads to an aproach to accounting and reporting called responsibility accounting-a
structured accountability report.
The Controllers Participation in Planning and Controlling
The controller is the executive manager responsible for the accounting function. It
observe and coordinates planning and controlling of the company and strive for improvement
in them. The controller issuing performance report that emphasizes deviations from a
predetermined plan-management by exception.
Under the controllers direction, a cost department analyze cost and issuing
performance report and other dacision-making data. It gathers, compiles and communicates
information to managers for use in controlling and improving operations. Using cost
accounting, it helps management to accomplish the following tasks:
- Creating and executing plans and budget for operating under expected competitiveand economic conditions.
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- Establishing costing method that permit control of activities, reduction of costs,and improvement of quality.
- Controlling physical quantities of inventory and its cost for pricing andperformance evaluation.
- Determining company cost and profit for an accounting period- Choosing from two or more short-run or long-run alternatives that might alter
revenues or cost
Budgeting
The budget is the quantified, written expression of managements plan. Making a
budget should involve all levels of management. It plays an important role in influencing
management process. such as:
- Setting goals- Informing individuuals about what they should contribute to the accomplishment
of the goals
- Motivating desirable performance- Evaluating performance, and- Suggesting when a correction action should be taken.
In budgeting, the responsibility for cost control should be assigned to a specific
individuals who are also accountable for budgeting the cost under their control. Refers to
responsibiliy accounting system, each managers responsibility should be limited to to the
cost and revenues that are controllable by the manager.
Controlling cost can be aided by a predetermined cost ammount that can also be the
foundation for budget and cost reports. A complex production setting can result in non-value-
added activities (activities that do not add value to the output, ex: storage and invenory
transports). Reporting non-value-added activities is a first step of their reduction/elimination.
Pricing
Although demand-supply ussually are determining factors in pricing, ideally even under
adverse condition, its should assure long-run recovery of all cost and a profit. To determine
profit, cost accounting matching the costs and revenues. It involves identifying short-run and
long-run cost and variable and fixed (capacity) costs.
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Cost accounting also provides information concerning the different revenues and costs
that might result from alternative actions. It plays an essential role in idetifying, evaluating
and selecting strategies for the company.
Cost Accounting Certification, Ethics, and Standards Board
Management accountants or internal accountants are persons engaged in cost or other
accounting function within an organization. As in formal recognition proffesional
certification, they can be reffered to as Certified Management Accountant (CMA) and
Certified in Financial Management (CFM).
Standards of Ethical Conduct for Practitioners of Management Accounting and
Financial Management is issued by Institute of Management Accountants (first issued in
1983 then modified in 1997) as a code of ethics. In Indonesia, Accountants code of ethics is
issued by Ikatan Akuntan Indonesia (IAI). There are eight elements: a) resposibility, b)
public interest, c) integrity, d) objectivity, e) competence and professionals prudential, f)
secrecy, g) Professional Conduct, and h)technical standards.