You have two questions to complete. A short reading/link is also provided. Enter your answers into the textboxes on Part II Questions tab of the spreadsheet provided in the additional material. For each question, your answer should range between 200-300 words. References are should be used to support answers and claims.
Question One: Now that you have made it through the course, and learned several traditional managerial accounting and cost management techniques and concepts, the challenge in the future will be to use these concepts in your careers. The purpose of Module 4 is to give you reason to question some of these techniques and when they should be best used. Read the attached article entitled “Alphabet Soup: Good for You or an Indigestible Stew?” (PLEASE SEE ADDITIONAL MATERIALS) Consider the quote from “The Goal” – “Most people haven’t been managing according to the goal.” What do you think is meant by this statement?
Question Two: “The Goal” presents some examples of how managerial accounting information can be used poorly or ineffectively. Agency theory is an economics theory that looks at the relationship between principles and agents and potential issues that can arise. Economists refer to the “agency problem.” Here is a short link/article on Agency Theory. http://www.investopedia.com/terms/a/agencytheory.asp. After reviewing the link, identify an example situation in which managerial accounting could be misused in an unethical manner. How might you overcome that issue as a manager?