It has come to my attention that there is a general confusion about the role of accountants and accounting in business. Recently, a friend of mine pointed out that she was surprised that accountants did something other than handle the company’s taxes and books. In fact, she was under the impression that accountants only worked in the past after the business of the company had been conducted. Fortunately for those interested in pursuing a career in accounting, nothing could be further from the truth. Accounting is a broad field encompassing many aspects of business operations. Although it often works in the past, it is also forward-looking. Continue Reading »
The purpose of this meeting is to discuss the financial reports generated by the external accounting department and how the can be used by the Vice President of Operations and operations staff to make better decisions. It is understood that the external financial reports are not used by Operations at this time. The goal of this discussion is to understand what information is currently provided in these reports, and make recommendations to Operations regarding how information in these reports can be utilized to achieve the department’s goals of increased profitability, improved customer service, and business expansion. Continue Reading »
Company X has a number of goals for the upcoming year. These goals include expansion into other regions, increased profit margins, and new distribution centers. Prior to today’s status meeting, it was determined that profit margins are, in part, related to the costs associated with product manufacturing. Therefore, I have been tasked with making recommendations on how Company X can improve the efficiency and effectiveness of it’s various manufacturing sub-processes including design, material acquisition, assembly, and testing. Continue Reading »
Fictional multinational corporation BSSL has faced a lot of ethical questionable situations recently.
The Hon. Justice Potter Stewart defined ethics as “knowing the difference between what you have a right to do and what is right to do.” Blue Star Steamship Lines (BSSL) has recently found itself involved in several situations where their legal rights were overshadowed by the need to do what was ethically right. In making these decisions, BSSL has learned that the ethically right choice is often more difficult than simply doing what the company has the right to do.