FINA425-1201A-01: Budgeting Discussion Board The Assignment (YOU DO NOT HAVE TO DO THE ASSIGNMENT IT

FINA425-1201A-01:
Budgeting
Discussion Board
The Assignment (YOU DO NOT HAVE TO DO THE
ASSIGNMENT ITSELF, ONLY RESPOND TO STUDENT POSTS, BASED ON THE ASSIGNMENT!)
For this assignment, you must answer the following
questions:
• What is
the difference between forecasting and budgeting?
• What is
the difference between an operating budget and a cash budget?
• Explain
what zero-based budgeting is and how it can improve the efficiency of the
organization?
Remember to use the library or other credible resources to
support your argument. Be sure to cite your sources using the correct standard
of APA.
How to respond to students†posts:
Your DB assignment and your comments
to classmates should be critical and meaningful.
• Include detail and specific
content
• Illustrate critical thinking
• Relate the learning to the class
readings
• Create opportunities for
discussions that lead to fuller understanding of the subject matter
• Use credible sources to support
positions
• When agreeing with postings of
classmates, give specific information that supports the concept
• When disagreeing with postings of
classmates, give specific information illustrating the credibility of the
disagreement
• Constructive debate using proof to
support points
• Reflective thinking should be
displayed in responses
• Incorporate pertinent real-life
experiences (optional)
• The mechanics, grammar, spelling
and structure should be accurate, logical, and clear
Discussion Board Grading Criteria:
“A†– Answer the question fully and
intelligently, providing meaningful responses to classmates and use the text as
support. To earn a high A, you must site external research sources, make
reasonable inferences, and/or use a real world example. Responses are posted
within the allotted timeframe and are written at a college-level.

Student Posts:
Student#1
Forecasting & Budgeting
Forecasting is
predicting the outcome of events. It is an essential starting point for
budgeting. Budgeting is planning for a result and controlling to accomplish that
result. Budgeting is a tool, and its success depends on the effectiveness with
which staff use it(Shim,Shim& Siegel 2012). Forecasting can be looked at as
just looking ahead to the outcome of upcoming events, while budgeting on the
other hand is planning ahead one has more control over the results when
budgeting is done.
Operating & Cash Budget.
An operating budget
deals with the costs for merchandise or services produced. It covers income
statement items comprised of revenues and expenses. A cash budget is for
planning and control. It presents expected cash inflow and outflow for a
designated time period. The cash budget helps management keep cash balances in
reasonable relationship to its needs and aids in avoiding idle cash and
possible cash shortages. The cash budget typically consists of four major
sections:receipts, disbursement, cash, and financing sections.
Zero-Based Budgeting
Is a priority form
of budgeting, ranking activities such as products and services. It can be used
by financial managers to identify,plan, and control projects and programs. It
enhances effectiveness and efficiency and matches service levels to available
resources. It can lower production, service, and operating costs. This type of
budgeting can improve efficiency of an organization because justification is
needed in order to fund a project.
Ref:
Shim,Shim and Siegel-2012

Student#2
Misty Touchet
When a budget is created the business is essentially making
a plan and creating a formal statement that can be presented to the board that
shows what the company plans to do and how they plan to do it. The individual
projects that will take place during a specific time frame are carefully
planned out. The funds needs to complete the projects, as well as the funds
needed for the company to run, such as salaries and utility costs, are put
together in a budget so that there is a clear picture of what it is going to
take to achieve the goal.
A forecast on the other hand is a prediction of what might
happen. A forecast can show the changes
in costs due to inflation, the stock market, supply and demand, and other ever
changing aspects that cause prices to increase or decrease substantially.
Forecasts can help managers when they are looking at a project costs for
budgeting purposes.
The operating budget shows the income and expenses of a
company. It follows the costs of the supplies and the income generated by the
produces. The cash budget shows the inflow and outflow of the cash and helps
managers keep the cash balance in check. There are four major sections to the
cash budget, the receipt section which shows the beginning cash balance and
tracks the cash receipts collected from customers, the disbursement section
that tracks all the payments made, the cash surplus or deficit section which
shows the difference between collections and payments, and the financing
section which tracks money that is borrowed and repaid.
A zero-based budget (ZBB) is a budget that begins with a
zero balance. The budget must be reviewed and then determined if it will be
funded. If the budget is not funded it could affect other projects so
alternatives must be pursued. Non-profit organizations use zero-based budgets
frequently. ZBB forces an organization to prioritize its projects and look for
alternative ways to fund or do projects. ZBB also forces organizations to plan
over several years because of the time and cost required.
Reference
Shim, A. I., Shim, J. K., & Siegel, J. G. (2012).
Budgeting
Basics and Beyond. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons Inc .
Student#3
Chanta Johnson
AIU
January 11, 2012
Forecasting is the real prediction of your values and budget
projected into the future and sets an expected result within a specific time
frame; the objective of it is to reduce risk in decision making. On the other
hand budgeting is the process of systematizing your on hand earnings and
everyday expenditure for the idea of foretelling your financial values to
achieve desired outcome into the future. (Shim, Siegel, & Shim, 2012)
What is the
difference between an operating budget and a cash budget? Operating Budget is the process that provides
an overview of the operating expenses to organize or manage a business. It
includes the businesses daily fixed cost and income that gives them the chance
to analyze an expected income. In general in a government ran institute
entities included consist of wages, profit, rental fee, utilities, equipment,
and replacement of reduced price for tools in the operating plan.
Cash budget, also acknowledged as the cash flow budget is a
calculation or forecast of yet to come cash revenue and spending for a specific
time period, typically in the short-range future. This budget shows the
tangible standing of the company and foresees how the business will meet its
overheads without external financial support. (AIU, 2012)
Explain what zero-based budgeting is and how it can improve
theefficiency of the organization?
Zero-based budgeting is the process in which managers can plan an
educated guess of his or her projected expenses for a precise time period as if
the process were being completed for the initial time.
This process is essential because it enables mangers a
chance to start a budget cycle from a base of zero and forces them to take look
closely at all of the companies operating cost. The outcome of this process and
findings are then reviewed and validated to top executives. A process that aids
in improving to support and reduce any companies surplus which will increase
effectiveness of any organization.
References
AIU, (2012) FINA425 Unit 1: Fundamentals of Budgeting.
Multimedia Presentation [Course Material] Retrieved from AIU Online Virtual
Campus, FINA425-1201A-01: Budgeting
Shim, J. K., Siegel, J. G., & Shim, A. I. (2012).
Budgeting Basics and Beyond. (4thed.) Hoboken: John Wiley and Sons Inc.

ACCT311-1201A-01 : Principles of Financial
Accounting
The Assignment (YOU
DO NOT HAVE TO DO THE ASSIGNMENT ITSELF, ONLY RESPOND TO STUDENT POSTS, BASED
ON THE ASSIGNMENT!)

Companies often try to manage earnings by recognizing
revenue before it is actually earned according to GAAP, or by deferring
expenses that have been incurred. For example, to meet the targeted earnings
for a specific period. A company may capitalize a cost that should be expensed.
Read the following scenario and then decide how you would handle this
opportunity to manage earnings.
You are a division manager of a large public company. Your
bonus is calculated on your divisionâ€s net income targets that you must meet.
This year that target is $1.5 million. You are authorized to sign off on any
decision made within your division. You are faced with the following situation:
On November 15, your division of the company ordered
$150,000 worth of supplies in anticipation for the seasonal rush. Most of these
supplies will be used by year-end. These supplies were delivered on November
30. If you record this expense this year, your net income will be $1.45 million
and you will not meet the target, and therefore not receive your bonus of
$25,000 that you have worked hard for all year. What would you do and why? (1
to 2 paragraphs)
Suggestions for Responding to Peer
Posts
• Compare
and contrast your peerâ€s response to your own. Were there any similarities or
differences?
• Were
the reasons your peer gave for his or her decision ethical and professional?
How you should respond to studentsâ€
posts:
Your DB assignment and your comments
to classmates should be critical and meaningful.
• Include detail and specific
content
• Illustrate critical thinking
• Relate the learning to the class
readings
• Create opportunities for
discussions that lead to fuller understanding of the subject matter
• Use credible sources to support
positions
• When agreeing with postings of
classmates, give specific information that supports the concept
• When disagreeing with postings of
classmates, give specific information illustrating the credibility of the
disagreement
• Constructive debate using proof to
support points
• Reflective thinking should be
displayed in responses
• Incorporate pertinent real-life
experiences (optional)
• The mechanics, grammar, spelling
and structure should be accurate, logical, and clear
Discussion Board Grading Criteria:
“A†– Answer the question fully and intelligently, providing meaningful
responses to classmates and use the text as support. To earn a high A, you must
site external research sources, make reasonable inferences, and/or use a real
world example. Responses are posted within the allotted timeframe and are
written at a college-level.
Student#1
Accounting: Timing & Mechanics
Trisha Parish
Unit 2 DB
One of the
perks of being the division manager of a large company is the $25,000 bonus
that I receive if the division meets its target of $1.5 million by the end of
the year. A shipment of supplies worth
$150,000, which was ordered on the 15th of November in anticipation of a
seasonal rush, was delivered on the 30th of November. It is a given that these supplies are need
and most of the supplies will be use by the end of the year. The recording of this expense however, will not
help the division reach its target; the division will still be $.5 million
short of the target. As division manager
I need to decide on whether to include the expense or not.
Even
though, I would not receive my bonus of $25,000 I would do the ethical thing
and report the expense of the supplies.
As a division manager it is important to remain ethical and professional
at all times. According to
RushworthKidder,President of the Institute for Global Ethic (2009), “Ethics in
its broader sense, deals with human conduct in relation to what is morally good
and bad, right and wrong.†Using ethics
in decision making we need to apply values, such as honesty, fairness,
responsibility, respect, and compassion to our decisions (Kidder, 2009). Therefore, not reporting an expense as it
occurs would be an unethical behavior; it would be a display of un-honesty
among other things. The act of omitting
information on a financial statement is considered knowingly misrepresentation
of the preparation of a financial statement.
This is action is against an accountants code of ethics.
Another reason that I would not
falsify a financial statement is that altering the books can lead to more
deceit later on. Sure it would be nice to wait until January of the next year
to place the expense of the supplies that arrived in November, so that the next
yearâ€s financial statement would take of better. However, how would I explain the use of
supplies that are not even there, or the need to reorder an abundance of
supplies in the middle or end of January, when supposedly we just received
supplies at the beginning of the months. One little lie could lead to a
multiple amount of lies in no time.
Clearly, I see the act of falsifying information as a total
disaster. Besides the lies and deceit, I
would ruin my name as a reliable employer, which is something that I am willing
to do.
I would
take the fact that I missed the bonus this year as a lesson to be learned. Next year I would definitely need to be more
on top of things. I will need to plan ahead and look for ways to make the
company more productive, which in turn making more likely to achieve next
yearâ€s target sales. Life is about
making the right choices and striving for a better future, life is about
learning.
References
AIU Online. (2012). ACCT 311: Unit 2: Accounting: Timing
& Mechanics [Multimedia presentation]. Retrieved from AIU Online Virtual
Campus. Principles of Financial Accounting: ACCT311-1201A:01 website.
Kidder, R. (2009).Ethics in Accounting. Retrieved from
http://www.articlesbase.com/ethics-articles/ethics-in-accounting-1276428.html

Student #2
Financial Accounting Unit 2 Discussion Post
By Donielle Davis
Being that I am the
division manager of this large public company and I’ve been working hard all
year I would really be happy to get my $25,000 bonus for meeting the year
target of $1.5 million. If I place the
order for the supplies in anticipation of the seasonal rush for $150,000 my
bonus could very well be comprimised. I
have two choices either I can record the expense this year or I could hold out
and record it in January.
I feel like I would
need to be honest and record the expense because if I don’t that would be
unethical. You shouldn’t fix financial
statements especially for personal financial gain. This is one of the reasons I feel like
managers should have no knowledge of earning a bonus for meeting yearly target,
it should just be a surprise. Receiving
a personal bonus is never a good reason to postpone reporting financial
information. This is one of the reasons
the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 was created by Senator Paul Sarbanes and
Representative Michael Oxley. This act
eliminates corporate scandals like the scandals that came about with Enron,
WorldCom, and Tyco. (www.sox-online.com)
One way that I
possibly could meet the $1.5 million goal and still record the expense is I
could increase production. Even though
there is a chance that the items produced may not get sold they will still have
direct overhead assigned to them. What
this means is while they are sitting in inventory it will shift some of the
overhead expenses to the following year. Wild, J., Saw, K., Chiappetta, B.
(2009)
References
Sarbanes-Oxley Essential Information.(2006). Retrieved from
http://www.sox-online.com/basics.html.
Retrieved on 01-09-12 by Donielle Davis.
Wild, J.J., Shaw, K.W., Chiappetta, B. (2009).Fundamental
Accounting Principles. New York, NY:
McGraw-Hill.

Student#3
I would record the expense even though I will not receive my
bonus. My reasoning behind this is that it is the ethical thing to do. When a
person starts to manipulate expenses for personal gain, that is when the act
becomes unethical, illegal and against GAAP principles. If in the past the
company has accrued the expenses and recorded only the supplies used, then not
only is it ethical but depending on the other expenses and revenue received in
December, I could possibly still get my bonus for the year. I tend to err on
the side of caution and if there is any question about whether I should do
something, I will do the right thing and record it instead of taking the chance
of getting caught, causing my company to be audited or even losing my job. The
$25k bonus isn’t worth losing my job especially if I enjoy where I work and
have been there for a while (Horngren, Sundem, Elliott and Phil brick, 2006).
Another reason is that if I don’t record the expense, then
the balance sheet, income statement, and the statement of retained earnings
will all be incorrect. The income statement will overstate what the company net
income is by understating the expenses that have been incurred. This in turn
will affect the statement of retained earnings by overstating what the
company’s net retained earnings were. The balance sheet will be affected
because the stockholders equity will be overstated by the addition of the
retained earnings and supplies will be overstated as well. Another problem is
that if the decrease in supplies isnt recorded, then the company might question
why I would order supplies in January since nothing was recorded on the books.
They might believe that the supplies were being taken by the employees instead
of used by the company. Since all of these financials are looked at by the
stockholders, and the governing bodies, it is best to record the expense and
not receive my bonus then to cause the company and myself major embarrassment by
not recording the expense. The numbers being reported have to be neutral with
respect to the quality of information that is objective and free from basicÂ. (Horngren, Sundem, Elliott and Phil brick, 2006).
In the case of
recording an expense for financial gain on my part, this would violate the
principle of neutrality. It also would violate the principle of validity. This
principle states a correspondence between the accounting numbers and the
objects or events those numbers purport to represent (Horngren, Sundem, Elliott
and Phil brick, 2006).
If the expense isn’t recorded in the books, then the numbers
might be considered to be invalid and anyone looking at the financial
statements would question if any of the numbers reported are accurate or valid.
When dealing with financial statements and the cost not just internally but
also externally as to reliable and valid information, trust is critical. If
outsiders cannot trust that the information being reported is truthful, then
the will pull their money out of a company and it could cause the company to go
out of business. Once trust is lost in a company or the employees within a
company, it is very hard to earn that trust back from the public or the
consumer. For all of these reasons and many more, I would just bite the bullet,
lose my bonus and report the expense. It definitely would make me think twice
about how I would order and manage my department in the future and what steps I
would need to take to not make the same mistake again (Horngren, Sundem, Elliott
and Phil brick, 2006).