Qualities of a Leader free essay sample

Supervisor means a leader. So, you have to describe a qualities in a leader. Good leader is a strong-willed, have enough influence and respect to have people following him. Good leader is a team player. So think about  it and describe it. imagine you have a supervisor and think how would you wanted to be treated by him and write about it. 10Would you prefer to go on a long trip by car or by train? If i have to choose from car and train for long trip then i prefered to go by train only. first resone is that if i go by train then i do not have to drive. I simply use my this time in reading books or any other magazines. And after long driving may be i can not enjoye the place of my destination. And if i go by train then i feel like fresh so i enjoye my trip as well as the place of destination also. We will write a custom essay sample on Qualities of a Leader or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Second resone why i prefer train becouse, i meet with different peoples. And i talk with him and get involved in good discossion. And that way i improve my communication skills and mack new friend from different field. So in my oponoin for long trip i would go by train ruther then driving car. 15. Some students try to do moderate amounts of homework on a daily basis. Others prefer to get their homework done in one go over 1-2 days. Which do you prefer? Homework on a daily basis * can concentrate more on studies and easy to understand the lectures * less burden 33. Some people want to have specific instructions or directions when they try something new. Other people like to experiment and work things out for themselves. Which do you prefer? Experiment and work things out * easy to remember and long lasting * more satisfying and rewarding Hope this helps!! I think the person Id most like to travel overseas with would have to be my wife. (Uh) my wife and I have been married for about 6 years, and we have (uh) a family, with two young children. And (uh) the main probably the first main reason I would choose her is, I think shed really appreciate the chance to travel overseas; (uh) shes had limited travel experience,  (uh) for example, shes only  been really  to Australia and Thailand, outside her home country of Korea so, I think shed really appreciate the wider experience. (Um) and the second reason is I think itd be  great for our relationship. (Um) weve been so weighed  down with so many responsibilities, and (uh) I think itd be a chance to get some great new memories and experiences together.

The eNotes Blog Happy Birthday to the NationalArchives

Happy Birthday to the NationalArchives The National Archives houses our nations most important records   including [a]ll archives or records of the U.S. Government, legislative, executive, or judicial documents as well as motion-picture films and sound recordings illustrative of historical activities of the United States. If you had to guess how old such an important administration would be, what would you say? 200 years? More? Nope.   On June 19th of this year, the institution turned just seventy-nine years old. Proving that government has long moved at the speed of a handicapped slug, it took until the early twentieth century for legislators to think, Hmmmm. perhaps we need an official location for our treasured, important documents, and establish the National Archives. A historian named J. Franklin Jameson took up the cause of promoting such a facility in 1908. Eighteen years later, in 1926, he finally raised enough money to fund construction of the National Archives.   And then it took another eight years for legislation to come to Capitol Hill (by which time the building was already under construction). President Herbert Hoover laid the cornerstone in 1933, just a couple weeks before   Franklin Delano Roosevelt took office. And then things stalled again. FDR was perhaps understandably distracted by the enormous problems of the Great Depression. He waited another three months to enact legislation naming an archivist. The job finally went to a professor of history from North Carolina,  R.D.W. Connor, at a salary of $10,000 per year. What sort of historically important documents are housed at the National Archives? The Declaration of Independence The Articles of Confederation The Constitution The Bill of Rights The Louisiana Purchase The Emancipation Proclamation Just to name a few. You can few the entire list and see image of the documents at the National Archives Home Page here. (Source)

Course project Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Course project - Assignment Example and emblems on baby clothing that creates that old fashioned feeling and make it a distinct legacy that will be passed on from one generation to the next. In line with pull marketing, I will utilize a lot of advertising to boost consumer desire for the product. Aside from traditional advertising in print and visual media, I plan to make use of the Internet. Open Forums, Blogs, Twitter and social forums is the best way to let a lot of people know of my business. Creating my own web page would lead them to my store with one click. I can post pictures of my products. My target clientele of moms busy at work or those already waiting for the big day at home can easily contact me and even place orders through my website. This manner of reaching to the buying public and conducting business on-line is a part of eCommerce: Another part of eCommerce that can prove beneficial and advantageous for me is that I can make direct orders from suppliers. This is a fast, efficient and economical way to place orders and purchase at wholesale from suppliers anywhere abroad. This is also cost effective since there are no â€Å"middle men† who adds costs to the base price of manufacturers. These manufacturers are also doing their wholesale sales on line: DhGate provides over 3,000,000 products from verified wholesalers from China; B2B offers branded items from Italy; while GlobalSources showcases credible manufacturers and wholesale suppliers.iii They can even facilitate faster delivery of the merchandise directly to my customers. They will wrap the item in my stores name and send it to my customers’ home at no extra charge. This service is called â€Å"dropshipping.†iv There are other benefits that I have yet to uncover. As of now, I can say that eCommercev can contribute a lot to the success of my

Theories, models and techniques on Business Environment, Marketing and Assignment

Theories, models and techniques on Business Environment, Marketing and Human Resources - Assignment Example The growth of businesses in the modern market is depended on their ability to face the market’s pressures – as these pressures are reflected to the delays and the difficulties each organization faces when trying to secure its position towards its rivals. Current paper is important for the following reason: it explains the potential relationship among key organizational aspects, such as business environment, marketing and human resources. Moreover, it clarifies the terms under which the above frameworks can be developed. At this point, the reference to the theories and the techniques used for promoting organizational growth – especially in regard to the above frameworks – has been considered as necessary for highlighting the following issue: organization is a complex entity – meaning its processes but also its needs. For responding to the needs of organizations, as parts of the business environment in all markets worldwide, theorists and researchers have developed appropriate theoretical and practical models. It has been proved that the management of critical organizational factors can be based on tools and theories which have similar characteristics; however, the level at which these theories and techniques are effective is not standardized. The literature published in the specific organizational sectors, those mentioned above, has been carefully reviewed – as possible.... It has been proved that the management of critical organizational factors can be based on tools and theories which have similar characteristics; however, the level at which these theories and techniques are effective is not standardized. The literature published in the specific organizational sectors, those mentioned above, has been carefully reviewed – as possible. It has been proved that even if business operations are likely to be equally addressed – in terms of their needs – there are organizational sectors which are likely to attract more the attention of organization’s management team – for example HR needs are often set as a priority when designing the organizational plans while other aspects of the organization are not given equal attention, for example, the marketing of the firm’s products/ services. Such phenomenon is explained by the following fact: all firms are likely to be based on certain sectors/ operations. These sectors are not equal, in terms of their contribution in the development of daily organizational tasks. For instance, employees are traditionally considered as being the most important organizational asset; however, today, the role of employees within organizations has been changed – not only financially. The theories, models and techniques presented below reflect this inequality but at the same time they highlight the following problem: the monitoring on the firm’s practices is often problematic, meaning that employees are not always aware of their obligations towards the organization. The use of the theories, models and techniques suggested above could help to the increase of effectiveness of organizational plans – since the planners of the

History of the Republican Party in Texas Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

History of the Republican Party in Texas - Essay Example 105). Republicans struggle led to formal organization of the party, and they held their first state convention on July 4 at Houston. Republican leadership came from wartime Texas Unionists and antebellum, who were supporters of Sam Houston (scalawags), newly franchised blacks, and recent immigrants from the North (carpetbaggers) (Newell et al. 136). Texas Unionists controlled the party’s proceedings. The party’s first convention that was held in Houston was chaired by Elisha M. Pease, former governor, and Col. John L. Haynes, commander of the First Texas Cavalry, was the party’s fist executive-committee chairman (Newell et al. 141). Blacks are one of the groups that strongly supported the Republican Party in Texas in the early days. The GOP membership comprised of 90 percent African Americans, and about 44 African Americans served in the Texas legislature as Republicans (Newell et al. 147). Blacks strongly supported Republican Party because one of its main agendums was to abolish slavery. The Republican club of Texas was founded in 1947 by Captain J. F. Lucey of Dallas (Newell et al. 204). Through this club, a drive was initiated to establish a potent Republican Party in the Lone Star State (Newell et al. 204). The Republican Party of Texas entered transitional era between 1950 and 1978. During this period, this party increasingly gained strength and popularity. The number of Texans who identified themselves with the party at the state level increased significantly. Republican’s presidential candidates secured more than 48 percent of votes during 1960s and 1970s, except in 1964 and 1968 (Newell et al. 217). 1961 marked the party’s greatest achievement, when John G. Tower won the United States senate in a special election to replace Lyndon B. Johnson. This gave the party strong leadership, and its geographic and urban bases remained strong (Newell et al.

PESTEL Analysis of ADMAC

PESTEL Analysis of ADMAC A PESTEL analysis is a business measurement tool. PESTEL is a short form for Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Environment and Legislative factors, which are used to assess the market for a business or organisational unit. The PESTEL analysis is a useful tool for understanding the environmental influences in which organisation are operating, and the opportunities and threats that lie within it. By understanding the environment in which is operating can take advantage of the opportunities and minimise the threats. Specifically the PESTLE analysis is a useful tool for understanding risks associated with market growth or decline, and as such the position, potential and direction for a business or organisation. PESTLE analysis is in effect an audit of an organisations environmental influences with the purpose of using this information to guide strategic decision making. The assumption is that if the organisation is able to audit its current environment and assess potential changes, it will be better placed than its competitors to respond to changes. PESTLE analysis can be used for business and strategic planning, marketing planning, organisational change, business and product development and research reports. To be effective a PESTLE needs to be undertaken on a regular basis. Organisations that do analyses regularly and systematically often spot trends before others thus providing competitive advantage. The Purpose and Function of PESTEL Analysis The purpose of the PESTEL analysis to assess the industry which and company is in. The analysis is to help make decisions and to plan for future events which they operate in the organisation. In addition PESTEL analysis helps to understand the limited influence or impact and all factors that influence an organisation but are out of its direct control. An organisation on its own cannot affect these factors, nor can these factors directly affect the profitability of an organisation. But by understanding these environments, it is possible to take the advantage to maximise the opportunities and minimise the threats to the organisation. Businesses need to take a pro-active approach and be ahead of these changes, rather than hurriedly making alterations to products and processes in a reactive way. This can be achieved through a PESTEL analysis, i.e. an investigation of the Political, Economic, Social, Technological and Legal influences on a business. These forces are continually in a state of change. Political factors are how and to what degree a government intervenes in the economy. Political changes are closely tied up with legal changes and it continually being updated in a wide range of areas. Specifically, political factors include areas such as tax policy, environmental regulations, trade restrictions and reform, tariffs, and political stability. Political factors may also include Social and employment legislation and it will provide information about potential opportunities and threats around labour changes, for example skills shortages. Economic changes are closely related to social ones. The economy goes through a series of fluctuations associated with general booms and slumps in economic activity. In a boom nearly all businesses benefit and in a slump most lose out. Other economic changes that affect business include interest rate, exchange rates and the rate of inflation. In addition Stage of business cycle, Unemployment and labour supply, Labour costs likely changes in the economic environment. These factors have major impacts on how businesses operate and make decisions. Businesses will be more encouraged to expand and take risks when economic conditions are right. For example low interest rates and rising demand. Social factors include health consciousness and include the cultural aspects, career attitudes, population growth rate, age distribution and emphasis on safety. A major component of this is a change in consumer behaviour resulting from changes in fashions and styles. Trends in social factors affect the demand for an organisations products and how that organisation operates. Technological factors include technological aspects such as reduction in communications costs and increased remote working, automation and Impact of Internet. New technologies are continually being developed and the rate of change itself is increasing. The creation of databases and electronic communications have enabled vast quantities of information to be shared and quickly distributed in a modern company enabling vast cost reductions, and often improvements in service. They can determine barriers to entry, minimum efficient production level and influence outsourcing decisions. Furthermore, technological shifts can affect costs, quality, and lead to innovation. Environmental factors include ecological and environmental aspects such as weather, climate, and climate change, which may especially affect industries such as tourism, farming, and insurance. Furthermore, growing awareness of the potential impacts of climate change is affecting how companies operate and the products they offer, both creating new markets and diminishing or destroying existing ones. Legal factors include discrimination law, consumer law, antitrust law, labour law, and health and safety law. These factors can affect how a company operates, its costs, and the demand for its products. In addition this may impact access to materials, quotas, resources, taxation imports and exports etc. Discussion of most pressing issues of company currently facing on ADMAC is the well reputed Real Estate Management and construction company in UAE. Over the past 30years the company successfully completed number of real estate residential projects in UAE. Due to nature of the ADMAC with particular reference to how it has running itself and the current economic climate the assessment of external factors by a PESTEL analysis has been crucial in ADMAC success. This is becourse ADMAC has taken into account the implication for consumers, employees, associated organisation and the company mission statement. Each external factor would have been and continues to be examined and categorised in terms of whether its implication is negative or positive large or minor significance, continues impact so on. Whether the scanning of ADMAC, economy downturn in UAE is most pressing issue of the company has faced. Following discussion is to explain how it impacts the company. Past recent years there was economy boom at UAE, more development projects, infrastructure projects and real estate project was started and huge amount of money was invested. The sharp increase in construction, along with other key factors, has meant the industry was seeing a lack of skilled and unskilled construction staff. The demand for certain categories of employees and skill is also influenced by changes in social structure in an economy. Firms employing in construction have greatly enhanced the worth of technicians, surveyors and engineers during the last couple of years. In that time the firms are offer generally high salaries and wages due to competition of workforce of industry. The boom of economy now over, while the present it going to down little by little, therefore the climate of economic and labour market in UAE is low. Companies operating in fields like ADMAC have compelled to reduce their workforce due to high competition and short of new real estate construction projects. ADMAC have maintained excess workforce up to now but still excess labour turnover creates unnecessary expense and reduces efficiency to the firms. In some situations even after implementing some of the cost saving initiatives, redundancies can still become inevitable and this can pose significant challenges for an employer as many complex issues need to be address including legal, compensation, natural turnover of workers of the company and future economic changes of the region. Most property markets are certainly influenced by the forces of supply and demand. In the economy boom time thousands of new residents and workers are arriving in UAE causing demand for property to increase. In that time, many firms like ADMAC were having more than enough real estate construction projects. Unfortunately economy is now downturn, therefore many residential properties are not rented out or relinquish. The result of that is either ADMAC or other firms in the field are unable to get value for money from the residential properties where they were invested. On present economy climate of UAE, the investors are not investing a new residential project. Therefore competition between contractors are high due shortage of residential project. As a result ADMAC used to reduce their profit and risk markups to win the new contracts. In this reason the company profitability is squeezed or some financial losses due to unexpected risk in the construction. The above impacts are currently most pressing issue of ADMAC and those are occurring company financially unstable. 4.1.0 Example of PESTEL. POLITICAL The UAE Government has established a Federal Real Estate Regulatory Authority in order to co-ordinate regulatory efforts at the local and federal level. [source: EstateDubai.com] The main concern of the authority is about foreign property developers, who wholly finance their projects from local banks, without sufficient capital. Some foreign developers even depend on the local banks for complete funding, putting the lenders at risk of losing their finances, when the developer fails to complete their projects, or flee the country, leaving behind a huge debt. The government intention a regulation is to limit the finance being made available to foreign developers, who do not have a stake in the capital of their projects. So that regulation is help to keep real estate sector safe during the recession time. Over the last few years the UAEs real estate property market seen remarkable growth. The local burgeoning real estate property industry is anchoring the UAE governments economic diversification efforts. Favourable government policy frameworks and active participation of private sector have facilitated one of the worlds most desirable economy environments in terms of investments and revenue generation. Further, population growth, rapidly increasing economy, progressing service sector and promising travel and tourism sectors, rising purchasing power and strong consumer confidence are driving the industry. The modern shopping malls anchoring modern hypermarkets, highly developed free trade zones, shopping events and relaxed tax provision provide auxiliary growth thrust to the real estate sector. ECONOMY Economic conditions are influenced by political and government policy, being a major influence affecting government decisions. The UAEs central bank was keeping interest rates low to encourage economy growth in the country during the recession time. [www.arabianbusiness.com]. Interest rates play an important role in real estate activity. High interest rates tend to freeze the real estate market. If the interest rates are low, housing is more affordable and also is encourage homeowners to upgrade their houses. This will increase the demand of Real Estate market. In other hand interest rates affect the cost of capital and therefore to what extent a business grows and expands, it will be attractive for company to invest and grow with expectations of being profitable. Oil Company in UAE has decided to increase petrol prices by 11% which is highest percentage of gulf region.[source: Khaleej Times]. This price hike of the construction materials is attributed to the increase in fuel prices as they have directly impacted the construction and transportation costs, thus having a multiplied effects and a significant decrease in profit margins of the company. SOCIAL The UAE is very receptive to inflows of educated skilled people. The expatriate community is one of the largest in the world. However, for the most part the process for obtaining a visa is very simple and most applications are accepted. In this reason, UAE construction and real estate sector not expecting shortage of skilled workforce in the country near future. The UAE is a traditional Muslim country where the teaching of Islam plays a vital role in every aspect of life. From politics to education, from business to foreign relations, people look to Islam for direction. Thus the women have many more restriction as per their traditional teaching. Although, the society is slowly accepting women in the workplace. According to recent reports, now more than ever women are entering the workforce and even starting their own businesses, which is a significant improvement considering the restrictions women face. For the construction sector, women of the UAE and their continuing advancement mean a potential market with wide possibilities. TECHNOLOGY Technology is widely recognised by on strategic management as part of the organization and the industry part of the model as it is used for the creation of competitive advantage. Today, this means using computers wherever possible is to be easy organisation work process. Keep detailed record that can be accessed immediately, make financial transaction faster. Maintain the necessary level of stock factories or retail outlets or speed up communication via the Internet and emails. The effectiveness of companys advertising, marketing and promotional programs. The new technology of internet and television which use special effects for advertising through media. They make some products look attractive. ENVIRONMENT UAE new infrastructure facilitate plan including high speed metro projects and road project interconnecting with seven emirates will foster higher development and maturity in the real estate market. The prices of properties located close to metro stations and bus stations are already beginning to rise, marking the first signs of a transportation plan effect on the property market. The trend implies that with just three months left for the opening of Metros Red Line, home buyers are already beginning to take into consideration the ease of transport when choosing their home. This is a positive sign for real estate market, which has had a difficult year with the prices of flats and villas. One of the main reasons UAE is gaining popularity and attracting investors and visitors is the attractions it has to offer. Here the sun shines all around the year and the city offers a taste of exotic and exiting pleasures to all its visitors, irrespective of their age. All the modern facilities and infrastructure of the west combined with eastern hospitality and local customs make one feel like home in UAE. This has led to many people migrating here for work and living in the mild weathered heaven. This increased the demand for real estate and property and renowned developers and builders stepped in to adorn UAE with the worlds most exciting towers, shopping plazas, residential duplexes and business complexes. [source :BuyDubaiproperty] LEGAL Legislations pertaining to issuance of permanent resident status for foreigners purchasing a freehold property in select housing projects will further strengthen the real estate market in UAE. Recently, UAE government reviewing their property market regulation to assess the impact of the global financial crisis on current economy climate in the country, which has been hit due to an outflow of capital. According to the Gulf news The UAE federal government is reviewing the issue of freehold property visas linked to foreigners ownership of properties in different emirates. It is positive news and will bring a lot of faith and confidence in the market and freehold visas is to attract foreign investors to real estate sector in UAE. Mortgage Law No 14 for 2008, legalizing the housing finance sector in a 35-article law includes all procedures concerning a mortgage and its legal effects on the concerned bodies, as well as execution procedures on the mortgaged property, and the relations between the mortgage lender and borrower based on international best practices. The law will help better regulate the emirates growing real estate market, partly tainted by project delays and corruption probes. The law stipulates that mortgage contracts be registered with the Land Department, specifying the size of the loan, the repayment period and the value of the property. The law makes all mortgage deals that are not registered with the Land Department null and void, allowing the department to better regulate property and mortgage transactions. The law also requires that mortgages taken out on properties be sold by registered financial institutions, and be insured. It also regulates relations between both parties involved in the mortgage process, and the Land Department, which is responsible for implementing the law and ensuring the rights of both parties. Under the law, mortgage lender shall be a bank, financial institution or a finance company licensed by the UAE Central Bank to practice the activity of property finance. The law will definitely boost investor confidence in the real estate market of Dubai and expand the housing finance sector. 6.0.0 Conclusion Business planning at planned levels is a continuing process by which the long-term objectives of a company may be formulated, and subsequently attained, by means of long-terms planning actions designed to make their impact on the company as a whole. Corporate planning also involves deciding the policies of the company in pursuit of its objectives. Thus business aims and ethical considerations are brought together. PESTEL analysis looks at the external environment influence and is an appropriate strategic tool for understanding the environment in which business operates, enabling the company to take advantage of the opportunities and minimise the threats faced by their business activities. When strategic planning is done correctly, it provides a solid plan for a company to grow into the future. With a PESTEL analysis, the company can see a future of time, and be able to clarify strategic opportunities and threats that the organisation faces. By looking to the external environment to see the potential forces of change looming on the future, firms can take the strategic planning process out of the field of today and into the future.

Expressionism in The Black Swan Essay -- Film Analysis

The Black Swan is a psychological thriller that documents a prima ballerina’s descent into madness. Nina Sayers is a dancer at a New York City ballet company. Her mother is a very controlling, ex-ballerina whose career ended when she became pregnant with Nina. Having forced his current prima ballerina into retirement, Thomas Leroy, the company's director, is searching for someone worthy enough to play the Swan Queen in his next production. Despite his doubts about her ability to successfully dance the role of the Black Swan, he gives the role to Nina. However, Nina fears Lily is trying to steal the Swan Queen role from her especially when Leroy makes Lily Nina’s understudy. As they move further into the production, Nina's strive for perfection with the White and Black Swan roles causes a slow descent of her mental state. By using a variety of expressionistic techniques, Director Darren Aronofsky uncovers Nina’s worsening psychosis. (Huggo) Obsessive Compulsive Disorder is an â€Å"anxiety disorder characterized by uncontrollable, unwanted thoughts and repetitive, ritualized behaviors you feel compelled to perform† (Segal and Smith, â€Å"Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD): Symptoms, Behavior, and Treatment†). This disorder occurs when the brain becomes obsessed with a specific action or thought. Uncontrollable, recurring thoughts and images, known as obsessions, can take attention away from more important matters. Compulsions consist of actions and rituals that one is compelled to carry out multiple times. (Segal and Smith, â€Å"Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD): Symptoms, Behavior, and Treatment†) Nina's obsession is perfection. She states repeatedly that she â€Å"just wants to be perfect† (Aronofsky). Her compulsion is practice. No matter ho... ...sychiatrists-diagnose-natalie-portmans-portrayal-psychosis/story?id=12436873&page=1>. Schoenstadt, Arthur. "Bulimia." Bulimia. 23 Sept. 2008. Web. 22 May 2012. . Segal, Jeanne, and Melinda Smith. "Anorexia Nervosa: Signs, Symptoms, Causes, Effects, and Treatment." Helpguide.org. May 2012. Web. 15 May 2012. . Segal, Jeanne, and Melinda Smith. "Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD): Symptoms, Behavior, and Treatment." Helpguide.org: Understand, Prevent and Resolve Life's Challenges. Apr. 2012. Web. 10 May 2012. . Segal, Jeanne and Melinda Smith. "Understanding Schizophrenia." Helpguide.org. Jan. 2012. Web. 10 May 2012. .

A Case Study on Cost Estimation and Profitability Analysis

ISSUES IN ACCOUNTING EDUCATION Vol. 26, No. 1 2011 pp. 181–200 American Accounting Association DOI: 10. 2308/iace. 2011. 26. 1. 181 A Case Study on Cost Estimation and Pro? tability Analysis at Continental Airlines Francisco J. Roman ABSTRACT: This case exposes students to the application of regression analyses to be used as a tool pursuant to understanding cost behavior and forecasting future costs using publicly available data from Continental Airlines. Speci? cally, the case focuses on the harsh ? nancial situation faced by Continental as a result of the recent ? ancial crisis and the challenges it faces to remain pro? table. It then highlights the importance of reducing and controlling costs as a viable strategy to restore pro? tability and how regression analysis can assist in this pursuit. Students are next presented with quarterly data for various categories of costs and several potential cost drivers, which they must use to perform regressions on operating costs using a variety of cost drivers. They must then use their regression results to forecast operating costs and conduct a pro? tability analysis to project quarterly pro? ts for the upcoming ? scal year.Finally, students must summarize the main results of their analysis in a memorandum addressed to Continental’s management, providing recommendations to restore pro? ts. In particular, the concept of mixed cost functions is reinforced, as is the understanding of the steps required to perform regression analysis in Excel, interpreting the regression output, and the underlying standard assumptions in regression analysis. The case has been tested and well received in an intermediate cost accounting course and it is suitable for both undergraduate and graduate students. Keywords: cost estimation; pro? ability analysis; cost behavior; regression analyses; cost functions. Data Availability: All data are from public sources and are available in hard copy inside the case. Data are also availabl e in electronic form by the author upon request. INTRODUCTION n 2008, the senior management team at Continental Airlines, commanded by Lawrence Kellner, the Chairman and Chief Executive Of? cer, convened a special meeting to discuss the ? rm’s latest quarterly ? nancial results. A bleak situation lay before them. Continental had incurred an operating loss of $71 million dollars—its second consecutive quarterly earnings de-I Francisco J. Roman is an Assistant Professor at Texas Tech University. I thank Kent St. Pierre editor , Michael Costa, and two anonymous referees for their suggestions on previous versions of the case. Editor’s note: Accepted by Kent St. Pierre Published Online: February 2011 181 182 Roman cline that year. Likewise, passenger volume was signi? cantly down, dropping by nearly 5 percent from the prior year’s quarter. Continental’s senior management needed to act swiftly to reverse this trend and return to pro? tability. Being the fourth largest airline in the U.S. and eighth largest in the world, Continental was perceived as one of the most ef? ciently run companies in the airline industry. Nonetheless, 2008 brought unprecedented challenges for Continental and the entire industry as the United States and much of the world was heading into a severe economic recession. Companies cutting deeply into their budgets for business travel, the highest yielding component of Continental’s total revenue, together with a similar downward trend from the leisure and casual sector, combined to sharply reduce total revenue.Concurrent with this revenue decline, the price of jet fuel soared to record levels during 2008. 1 Thus, while revenue was decreasing, Continental was paying almost twice as much in fuel costs. Interestingly, fuel costs surpassed the ? rm’s salaries and wages as the highest cost in Continental’s cost structure. This obviously had a negative impact on the bottom line, squeezing even fur ther the already strained pro? t margins. The outlook for a quick recovery in the U. S. economy and, consequently, an upturn in the demand for air travel in the short term did not seem likely.Continental’s internal forecasts indicated that a further decline in passenger volume should be anticipated throughout 2009, with a recovery in travel possibly occurring by the middle of 2010. To summarize, adverse economic conditions in the U. S. , coupled with the rise in fuel costs, were dragging down Continental’s pro? ts and relief was unlikely through the foreseeable future. THE DECISION TO REDUCE FLYING CAPACITY AND THE IMPACT ON OPERATING COSTS Given the situation described above, management needed to act swiftly to restore pro? tability. Several strategic options were evaluated.Since the U. S. and much of the world was facing a severe recession, the prospect for growing revenues by either raising airfares or passenger volume seemed futile. Contrary to raising revenue, Con tinental’s managers believed that raising fares could potentially erode future revenues beyond the present level. Discounting fares did not seem a plausible solution either, because given the severity of the economic situation a fare cut could fall short in stimulating additional passenger demand and lead to lowering revenues. Thus, because management anticipated that revenues would remain ? t for most of the year, the only viable short-term solution to restoring pro? ts was a substantial and swift reduction in operating costs. This could most effectively be accomplished in two ways. First, through a reduction in ? ying capacity adjusted to match projected passenger demand. With this in mind, Continental’s management agreed to reduce ? ying capacity by 11 percent on domestic and international routes. 2 As a result of this action, Continental would eliminate the least pro? table or unpro? table ? ights and, accordingly, would ground several planes in the ? eet.Managemen t anticipated that this decision would reduce several of the ? rm’s operating costs. Apart from this, Continental could achieve further reductions in costs by implementing several cost-cutting initiatives and through operational ef? ciencies. For example, management pro- 1 2 To illustrate, jet fuel is tied to the price of oil and, over the past year, oil prices surged from about $70 to $135 per barrel. Consequently, the price of jet fuel increased markedly, from an average of $1. 77 per gallon to $4. 20 by the mid-summer of 2008. Speci? cally, on June 13, 2008, Continental Airlines announced that it planned to reduce its ? ght capacity by 11 percent. By shrinking capacity, Continental expected to reduce the number of domestic and international ? ights from its three major hubs in Houston, Cleveland, and Newark Maynard 2008 . Issues in Accounting Education American Accounting Association Volume 26, No. 1, 2011 A Case Study on Cost Estimation and Pro? tability Analysis at Conti nental Airlines 183 jected that it could achieve reductions in Passenger Services expenses by consolidating several tasks during passenger check-in and by reducing food and beverage waste served during ? ights. Additionally, the ? m could reduce various miscellaneous expenses through targeted cuts in discretionary spending. In sum, to close the gap in pro? tability, Continental’s strategy was geared toward slashing operating costs by cutting capacity and through aggressive identi? cation and implementation of cost-cutting initiatives. The next step would be for management to know precisely how their decision to downsize capacity would impact the ? rm’s future operating costs, and also identify speci? c areas in which the ? rm could achieve additional cost reductions. Additionally, the cost analysis would help forecast the ? m’s operating costs and projected pro? ts or losses for the upcoming ? scal year. However, before we can proceed with such analysis, an exam ination of how the various categories of Continental’s costs behave is in order. Before we begin, let us prepare with an overview of the airline industry and its competitive landscape, and an understanding of why cost behavior bears particular relevance in this case. Relative to other industries, airlines are a very dif? cult business to manage. In particular, they are exposed to tremendous risks brought by volatility inherent in their business model, as they deal with high ? ed costs, labor unions, instability in fuel prices, weather and natural disasters, passenger safety, and security regulations. These aspects bring a large burden to airlines’ cost structures. Moreover, competition within the industry is ? erce; the proliferation of discount carriers, such as Southwest Airlines and, most recently, Jet Blue, and the end of fare regulation in 1978, has hindered airlines’ pricing power and their ability to spur revenues. For these reasons, cost containment is a critically important aspect of pro? tability in this industry.In order for Continental to restore pro? tability in this harsh environment of weak demand for air travel, it must be able to contain its operating costs, especially its massive ? xed costs, which are visible in several ways. For example, salaries for pilots, ? ight attendants, and mechanics, as well as aircraft leasing costs, are typically ? xed, varying little with shifts in passenger volume. Because ? xed costs typically embody the amount of operating capacity of a ? rm, they are commonly referred as â€Å"capacity† costs. Since ? xed costs do not self-adjust to ? ctuations in passenger volume, the only way in which they can be decreased or increased is if management adjusts them in accordance to the level of operating capacity. In contrast, other costs, such as passenger services and reservation and distribution costs, behave as variable and would self-adjust with variations in volume or operating activity. He nce, to assess the impact of this strategic decision to alter Continental’s cost structure, and identify the areas that could achieve the greatest reduction in costs, we must resolve how Continental’s operating costs behave and what drives them.In what follows, we learn how to apply regression analyses to examine cost behavior and forecast future costs, and then use that knowledge to assess how the reduction in ? ying capacity would affect Continental’s operating costs and pro? tability in the near term. ESTIMATING COSTS USING REGRESSION ANALYSES The previous discussion highlighted the importance of examining the behavior of Continental’s operating costs to pave the way for a cost and pro? tability analysis using regression analysis. Regression analysis is a powerful statistical tool that is frequently used by ? ms to examine cost behavior and predict future costs. The idea behind regression analysis is straightforward: historical data for costs, and the various activities that could potentially drive operating costs, are inserted into a mathematical calculation which yields the average amount of change in that particular cost that has occurred over time. Average values provided by regression calculations may then be applied to estimate future change that will occur in that cost given a one-unit change in one or Issues in Accounting Education Volume 26, No. 1, 2011 American Accounting Association 184 Roman ore of the business activities which drive that cost. 3 More precisely, in a regression model, cost is a function of one or more business activities or factors underlying a business operation. Simply put, the business activities are the drivers of operating costs. Therefore, since activities drive costs, our ? rst step in the estimation of a cost function is to identify the underlying activities or other potential factors that drive the cost in question—the cost drivers. This requires extensive knowledge of the business ope ration. In the case of Continental Airlines, the potential drivers of operating costs vary greatly.For instance, as previously noted, the number of passengers that Continental ? ies may drive the costs related to Passenger Services. Likewise, Aircraft Maintenance and Repairs costs could be driven by the number of aircraft in the ? eet and by the level of ? ying capacity set by Continental i. e. , available seat miles . In synthesis, to predict how Continental’s operating costs would be affected by the decision to reduce capacity, and to identify those areas in which additional room is available for cost cutting, we need to identify which costs in this ? rm’s cost structure behave as variable, ? ed, or mixed in which elements of both variable and ? xed are observable . Equally important, we should also identify the speci? c drivers if any of each cost. Your job is to assist management in their quest to restore pro? tability at Continental Airlines. Speci? cally, you mus t conduct regression analyses to examine cost behavior and then use this information to forecast operating costs and pro? tability for the upcoming year. As part of your cost analysis, you should investigate how the decision to cut ? ying capacity would impact the ? rm’s future operating costs and, equally important, identify those speci? expense categories or operating areas in which this ? rm could attain additional costs saving by implementing cost-cutting initiatives. Your conclusions should be outlined in a memorandum directed to Continental’s Executive management team. You are provided next with a description of Continental’s operating costs and the potential drivers of costs so you can conduct regression analysis to estimate the corresponding cost functions. To help you in estimating the regressions, a comprehensive set of instructions for performing regression analysis using Microsoft Excel is provided in the Appendix.Immediately following the descriptio n of costs, a series of questions is provided that should help guide your analysis. Additionally, to help you estimate your regressions, Exhibit 1 presents past quarterly data for all of the above expenditures for the period of January 2000 through December 2008, while Exhibit 2 provides quarterly operations data for the same period of time. CONTINENTAL’S OPERATING COSTS AND POTENTIAL COST DRIVERS As shown in Exhibit 1, there are ten categories of operating costs.These include salaries and wages, aircraft fuel and related taxes, aircraft rentals, airport fees, aircraft maintenance and repairs, depreciation and amortization, distribution costs, passenger services, regional capacity purchases, and other expenses. Of these, some represent a single expense item. For example, the cost of aircraft rentals and airport fees together comprise a single cost item. Other costs represent cost pools comprising several cost items. Such is the case of passenger services and other expenses. T he following provides a detailed description of each cost, along with the potential cost drivers. 3 4 For ease in exposition, cost functions and regression analyses are discussed brie? y here. For further insight on cost functions and on the mechanics of regression analyses, I refer the reader to the Appendix. A cost driver represents a particular business activity, which usually tends to have a cause-and-effect relationship with a given cost. For example, for airlines, a typical cost driver for landing fees is the number of daily ? ights carried by the airline, as well as the number of passengers ? own. An increase decrease in the number of ? ights or passengers ? own would increase decrease landing fees.Issues in Accounting Education American Accounting Association Volume 26, No. 1, 2011 A Case Study on Cost Estimation and Pro? tability Analysis at Continental Airlines 185 EXHIBIT 1 REVENUES AND OPERATING COSTS DATA Obs. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 Obs. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Period 1Q-2000 2Q-2000 3Q-2000 4Q-2000 1Q-2001 2Q-2001 3Q-2001 4Q-2001 1Q-2002 2Q-2002 3Q-2002 4Q-2002 1Q-2003 2Q-2003 3Q-2003 4Q-2003 1Q-2004 2Q-2004 3Q-2004 4Q-2004 1Q-2005 2Q-2005 3Q-2005 4Q-2005 1Q-2006 2Q-2006 3Q-2006 4Q-2006 1Q-2007 2Q-2007 3Q-2007 4Q-2007 1Q-2008 2Q-2008 3Q-2008 Q-2008 Revenues Fuel Salaries and Wages Capacity Purchases Aircraft Rentals Landing Fees 2,277,000,000 334,000,000 672,000,000 — 206,000,000 2,571,000,000 313,000,000 719,000,000 — 210,000,000 2,622,000,000 354,000,000 748,000,000 — 215,000,000 2,429,000,000 392,000,000 736,000,000 — 213,000,000 2,451,000,000 345,000,000 758,000,000 — 214,000,000 2,556,000,000 349,000,000 800,000,000 — 223,000,000 2,223,000,000 322,000,000 779,000,000 — 230,000,000 1,739,000,000 213,000,000 684,000,000 — 236,000,000 1,993,000,000 208,000,000 732,000,000 — 228,000,000 2,192,000,000 254,000,000 746,000, 000 — 231,000,000 2,178,000,000 76,000,000 743,000,000 — 227,000,000 2,039,000,000 285,000,000 738,000,000 — 216,000,000 2,042,000,000 347,000,000 778,000,000 — 223,000,000 2,216,000,000 302,000,000 762,000,000 — 224,000,000 2,365,000,000 316,000,000 778,000,000 — 225,000,000 2,247,000,000 290,000,000 738,000,000 158,000,000 224,000,000 2,307,000,000 333,000,000 688,000,000 317,000,000 220,000,000 2,553,000,000 387,000,000 711,000,000 328,000,000 222,000,000 2,602,000,000 414,000,000 703,000,000 347,000,000 224,000,000 2,437,000,000 453,000,000 717,000,000 359,000,000 225,000,000 2,505,000,000 470,000,000 715,000,000 353,000,000 227,000,000 2,857,000,000 75,000,000 649,000,000 382,000,000 229,000,000 3,001,000,000 684,000,000 646,000,000 406,000,000 234,000,000 2,845,000,000 714,000,000 639,000,000 431,000,000 238,000,000 2,947,000,000 672,000,000 661,000,000 415,000,000 245,000,000 3,507,000,000 744,000,000 791,000,000 454,000,000 248,000,0 00 3,518,000,000 858,000,000 743,000,000 475,000,000 249,000,000 3,156,000,000 760,000,000 680,000,000 447,000,000 248,000,000 3,179,000,000 684,000,000 726,000,000 430,000,000 248,000,000 3,710,000,000 842,000,000 821,000,000 444,000,000 248,000,000 3,820,000,000 895,000,000 836,000,000 446,000,000 249,000,000 3,523,000,000 33,000,000 744,000,000 473,000,000 249,000,000 3,570,000,000 1,048,000,000 729,000,000 506,000,000 247,000,000 4,044,000,000 1,363,000,000 704,000,000 589,000,000 246,000,000 4,072,000,000 1,501,000,000 765,000,000 553,000,000 244,000,000 3,471,000,000 993,000,000 760,000,000 425,000,000 240,000,000 129,000,000 138,000,000 133,000,000 132,000,000 141,000,000 153,000,000 139,000,000 148,000,000 161,000,000 160,000,000 163,000,000 149,000,000 152,000,000 152,000,000 165,000,000 151,000,000 160,000,000 163,000,000 171,000,000 160,000,000 171,000,000 181,000,000 182,000,000 174,000,000 185,000,000 198,000,000 195,000,000 86,000,000 193,000,000 190,000,000 209,000,00 0 198,000,000 207,000,000 210,000,000 225,000,000 210,000,000 Period Distribution Costs Aircraft Maintenance Depreciation Passenger Services Other Expenses 1Q-2000 2Q-2000 3Q-2000 4Q-2000 1Q-2001 2Q-2001 248,000,000 261,000,000 255,000,000 217,000,000 243,000,000 230,000,000 159,000,000 171,000,000 167,000,000 149,000,000 160,000,000 162,000,000 95,000,000 98,000,000 102,000,000 107,000,000 105,000,000 111,000,000 85,000,000 91,000,000 97,000,000 89,000,000 91,000,000 96,000,000 286,000,000 284,000,000 288,000,000 277,000,000 318,000,000 295,000,000 (continued on next page)Issues in Accounting Education Volume 26, No. 1, 2011 American Accounting Association 186 Obs. 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 Obs. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Roman Period Distribution Costs Aircraft Maintenance Depreciation Passenger Services Other Expenses 3Q-2001 4Q-2001 1Q-2002 2Q-2002 3Q-2002 4Q-2002 1Q-2003 2Q-2003 3Q-2003 4Q-2003 1Q-2004 2Q-2004 3 Q-2004 4Q-2004 1Q-2005 2Q-2005 3Q-2005 4Q-2005 1Q-2006 2Q-2006 3Q-2006 4Q-2006 1Q-2007 2Q-2007 3Q-2007 4Q-2007 1Q-2008 2Q-2008 3Q-2008 4Q-2008 194,000,000 142,000,000 172,000,000 158,000,000 138,000,000 124,000,000 27,000,000 138,000,000 131,000,000 135,000,000 137,000,000 140,000,000 139,000,000 136,000,000 138,000,000 154,000,000 154,000,000 142,000,000 160,000,000 178,000,000 157,000,000 155,000,000 161,000,000 176,000,000 171,000,000 174,000,000 182,000,000 194,000,000 182,000,000 159,000,000 142,000,000 104,000,000 114,000,000 119,000,000 119,000,000 124,000,000 133,000,000 126,000,000 135,000,000 115,000,000 112,000,000 102,000,000 107,000,000 93,000,000 112,000,000 106,000,000 116,000,000 121,000,000 127,000,000 140,000,000 140,000,000 140,000,000 144,000,000 169,000,000 166,000,000 142,000,000 159,000,000 167,000,000 52,000,000 135,000,000 120,000,000 131,000,000 106,000,000 112,000,000 112,000,000 114,000,000 116,000,000 110,000,000 110,000,000 108,000,000 104,000,000 105,0 00,000 104,000,000 102,000,000 99,000,000 98,000,000 97,000,000 95,000,000 96,000,000 97,000,000 99,000,000 99,000,000 99,000,000 101,000,000 106,000,000 107,000,000 106,000,000 108,000,000 112,000,000 111,000,000 89,000,000 71,000,000 77,000,000 73,000,000 78,000,000 68,000,000 70,000,000 73,000,000 81,000,000 73,000,000 69,000,000 76,000,000 84,000,000 77,000,000 77,000,000 84,000,000 91,000,000 80,000,000 82,000,000 90,000,000 97,000,000 87,000,000 90,000,000 9,000,000 105,000,000 95,000,000 96,000,000 107,000,000 113,000,000 91,000,000 121,000,000 166,000,000 382,000,000 454,000,000 276,000,000 277,000,000 320,000,000 91,000,000 250,000,000 455,000,000 304,000,000 279,000,000 287,000,000 278,000,000 316,000,000 280,000,000 282,000,000 305,000,000 293,000,000 323,000,000 313,000,000 333,000,000 340,000,000 357,000,000 357,000,000 328,000,000 356,000,000 427,000,000 461,000,000 372,000,000 Period Total Aircraft 1Q-2000 2Q-2000 3Q-2000 4Q-2000 1Q-2001 2Q-2001 3Q-2001 4Q-2001 1Q-200 2 2Q-2002 3Q-2002 4Q-2002 1Q-2003 2Q-2003 514 522 535 522 548 557 501 522 538 570 570 554 562 70 OPERATIONS AND COST DRIVER DATA Leased Aircraft Flights Passengers Available Seat Miles 403 410 414 398 406 416 377 393 400 404 401 410 419 428 98,820 97,871 97,967 98,378 98,590 99,018 98,564 81,109 81,883 82,815 81,737 78,809 75,178 75,617 11,201,000 12,084,000 12,155,000 11,456,000 11,220,000 12,256,000 11,254,000 9,508,000 12,062,000 13,099,000 13,006,000 12,874,000 11,518,000 13,044,000 20,951,000,000 21,384,000,000 22,356,000,000 21,409,000,000 21,459,000,000 22,813,000,000 21,994,000,000 18,219,000,000 20,375,000,000 22,286,000,000 22,626,000,000 21,054,000,000 20,843,000,000 21,241,000,000 Available SeatMiles Regional — — — — — — — — — — — — 1,767,000,000 2,073,000,000 (continued on next page) Issues in Accounting Education American Accounting Association Volume 26, No. 1, 2011 A Case Study on Cos t Estimation and Pro? tability Analysis at Continental Airlines Obs. 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 Obs. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 Period Total Aircraft 3Q-2003 4Q-2003 1Q-2004 2Q-2004 3Q-2004 4Q-2004 1Q-2005 2Q-2005 3Q-2005 4Q-2005 1Q-2006 2Q-2006 3Q-2006 4Q-2006 1Q-2007 2Q-2007 3Q-2007 4Q-2007 1Q-2008 2Q-2008 3Q-2008 4Q-2008 187 OPERATIONS AND COST DRIVER DATALeased Aircraft Flights Passengers Available Seat Miles 570 579 586 587 592 594 598 604 611 622 630 634 648 648 630 625 631 628 641 630 653 632 428 434 437 440 445 448 453 459 466 477 483 484 482 480 446 418 415 415 414 390 412 397 76,297 75,650 74,859 75,816 74,211 74,443 71,494 74,651 74,630 75,886 74,962 77,729 77,468 79,030 78,601 82,582 81,118 80,850 76,719 76,096 78,599 76,000 Available Seat Miles Regional 13,727,000 13,769,000 12,810,000 14,558,000 14,862,000 14,252,000 14,122,000 15,540,000 15,905,000 15,448,000 15,594,000 17,596,000 17,328,000 16,601,0 00 16,176,000 18,120,000 17,901,000 16,733,000 16,440,000 7,108,000 17,962,000 15,183,000 22,819,000,000 21,907,000,000 22,670,000,000 24,150,000,000 24,674,000,000 23,588,000,000 23,585,000,000 25,482,000,000 26,833,000,000 25,720,000,000 26,117,000,000 28,259,000,000 29,262,000,000 27,280,000,000 27,250,000,000 29,592,000,000 30,346,000,000 28,550,000,000 28,376,000,000 30,304,000,000 30,383,000,000 26,448,000,000 1,605,000,000 2,980,000,000 2,400,000,000 2,603,000,000 1,999,000,000 3,408,000,000 2,740,000,000 3,026,000,000 3,112,000,000 3,095,000,000 3,082,000,000 3,374,000,000 3,503,000,000 3,292,000,000 3,126,000,000 3,177,000,000 3,193,000,000 3,104,000,000 3,098,000,000 ,450,000,000 3,390,000,000 3,046,000,000 Period Passenger Miles Flown Employees Fuel Price Fuel Consumed 1Q-2000 2Q-2000 3Q-2000 4Q-2000 1Q-2001 2Q-2001 3Q-2001 4Q-2001 1Q-2002 2Q-2002 3Q-2002 4Q-2002 1Q-2003 2Q-2003 3Q-2003 4Q-2003 1Q-2004 2Q-2004 3Q-2004 4Q-2004 1Q-2005 2Q-2005 15,005,000,000 16,491,000,000 17,325,000,000 15,340,000,000 15,114,000,000 17,053,000,000 16,206,000,000 12,767,000,000 14,867,000,000 16,489,000,000 16,960,000,000 17,252,000,000 14,352,000,000 16,129,000,000 18,041,000,000 16,412,000,000 16,255,000,000 18,735,000,000 19,922,000,000 18,239,000,000 18,112,000,000 20,292,000,000 45,000 45,500 46,000 5,944 38,396 39,000 39,500 39,461 40,229 41,011 41,809 40,244 38,960 39,000 39,500 39,000 38,240 37,496 36,766 38,255 41,831 45,742 $0. 829 $0. 797 $0. 865 $0. 885 $0. 856 $0. 815 $0. 824 $0. 826 $0. 644 $0. 723 $0. 760 $0. 740 $1. 029 $0. 881 $0. 857 $0. 872 $1. 041 $1. 787 $1. 199 $1. 190 $1. 453 $1. 670 377,000,000 386,000,000 398,000,000 372,000,000 369,000,000 391,000,000 373,000,000 369,000,000 308,000,000 332,000,000 340,000,000 316,000,000 305,000,000 308,000,000 330,000,000 314,000,000 320,000,000 347,000,000 345,000,000 321,000,000 324,000,000 344,000,000 (continued on next page) Issues in Accounting EducationVolume 26, No. 1, 2011 American Accounting Associ ation 188 Roman Period 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 Passenger Miles Flown Employees Fuel Price Fuel Consumed 3Q-2005 4Q-2005 1Q-2006 2Q-2006 3Q-2006 4Q-2006 1Q-2007 2Q-2007 3Q-2007 4Q-2007 1Q-2008 2Q-2008 3Q-2008 4Q-2008 Obs. 21,762,000,000 20,033,000,000 20,336,000,000 23,367,000,000 24,042,000,000 21,772,000,000 21,450,000,000 24,623,000,000 25,422,000,000 22,670,000,000 22,280,000,000 24,836,000,000 24,746,000,000 20,825,000,000 50,018 42,200 42,600 43,450 41,500 38,033 41,800 43,300 41,400 39,640 43,000 40,100 43,500 42,490 $1. 880 $1. 776 $1. 904 $2. 10 $2. 215 $2. 064 $1. 895 $2. 079 $2. 206 $2. 499 $2. 797 $3. 856 $3. 450 $2. 925 364,000,000 344,000,000 347,000,000 375,000,000 387,000,000 362,000,000 361,000,000 395,000,000 406,000,000 380,000,000 375,000,000 389,000,000 395,000,000 339,000,000 EXHIBIT 2 PROJECTIONS OF REVENUES AND OPERATING ACTIVITY FOR YEAR 2009 Variable Revenues Available seat miles Available regional seat miles Number of passengers Number of planes Number leased planes Price of fuel per gallon Gallons of fuel consumed Quarter 1 Quarter 2 Quarter 3 Quarter 4 $2,962,000,000 26,323,000,000 2,971,000,000 14,408,000 634 398 $1. 82 403,000,000 2,767,000,000 28,007,000,000 3,044,000,000 16,348,000 617 394 $2. 07 430,000,000 $2,947,000,000 28,933,000,000 3,130,000,000 16,795,000 604 380 $1. 99 369,000,000 $2,462,000,000 26,291,000,000 3,002,000,000 15,258,000 601 379 $1. 98 479,000,000 All ? nancial and operational data represent quarterly data for the quarter beginning January 2000 Observation 1 through December 2008. Data have been compiled from Continental’s 8-K and10-K reports, submitted to the Securities and Exchange Commission. De? nitions of Operations Variables: Available seat miles the number of seats available multiplied by the number of miles ? wn; Available regional seat miles available seat miles on regional routes; Number of passengers number of paying passengers ? own; Number of planes number of planes in the ? eet, including regional routes aircraft; Number of leased planes number of leased planes; Price of jet fuel average price per gallon of jet fuel in the respective quarter; and Gallons of fuel consumed number of gallons of fuel consumed in the respective quarter. Salaries and Wages This account represents costs related to salaries and wages, as well as fringe bene? ts, of Continental’s workers. These include salaries for pilots and wages for ? ght attendants and ground crew, as well as wages for Continental’s mechanics. Additionally, a signi? cant portion of this salary pool represents wages of reservation specialists, customer service representatives at airports, and the salaries for administrative and support personnel e. g. , ? ight schedulers, technology Issues in Accounting Education American Accounting Association Volume 26, No. 1, 2011 A Case Study on Cost Estimation and Pro? tability Analysis at Continental Airlines 189 personnel, accountants, and division managers . A possible cost driver of salaries is the available seat miles. Aircraft Fuel and Related Taxes This represents the cost of jet fuel and related fuel taxes. Jet fuel cost tends to be driven by the current price of jet fuel and gallons of jet fuel consumed. Aircraft Rentals These are expenses for capital leases of aircraft. The main driver is the number of leased planes in Continental’s ? eet, including regional jets operated on behalf of Continental by four regional airlines under various capacity purchase agreements. Airport Fees Represents landing fees and passenger security fees paid to the various domestic and international airports where Continental ? ies.Landing fees are driven by the number of passengers. Aircraft Maintenance and Repairs These are expenses associated with the service and maintenance of planes. These include expenses related to scheduled maintenance, spare parts and materials, and airframe and engine overhauls. The main drivers of these cost s are the number of planes in the ? eet and the number of miles ? own. Depreciation and Amortization This represents depreciation and amortization expenses of aircraft, ground equipment, buildings, and other property. It must be emphasized that the largest portion of depreciation expense relates to the depreciation of aircraft.Although depreciation expenses are driven by the acquisition cost of Continental’s capital assets, depreciation is greatly in? uenced by both company policy and accounting principles, such as the depreciation method, that a ? rm adopts. Distribution Costs These expenses represent credit card discount fees, booking fees, and travel agency commissions, all of which are affected by passenger revenue. Therefore, the driver of these costs is total revenue. Passenger Services This is also a cost pool that includes expenses related to processing and servicing passengers prior to take-off, during ? ight, and after arrival at their destination.A signi? cant port ion of these costs is generated by Continental’s Field Services Division, the main function of which is to provide service to planes prior to take-off. Some of these expenses relate to checking in passengers, handling luggage on and off planes, cleaning planes, stocking planes with beverage and food, and refueling the aircraft prior to take-off. The potential cost driver of these costs is the number of passengers. Regional Capacity Purchases These are costs related to the purchase of regional routes served by several regional airlines on behalf of Continental ExpressJet, Chautauqua, CommutAir, and Cogan .These costs are 5 Available seat miles is calculated as the number of seats available for passengers multiplied by the number of scheduled miles those seats are ? own. Issues in Accounting Education Volume 26, No. 1, 2011 American Accounting Association 190 Roman driven by the combined ? ying capacity of the four airlines: available regional seat miles. Other Expenses This is a cost pool that comprises many ancillary and discretionary expenditures, including technology expenses, security and outside services, general supplies, and advertising and promotional expenses.Further, this cost pool contains various special charges for gains and losses from the sale of retired aircraft and costs of future leases. Given the large variety of miscellaneous items, there is no clear driver of these expenses; however, a large portion of them, such as advertising and promotional expenses, are driven by total revenue. DISCUSSION QUESTIONS 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6 Using the quarterly data for operating costs and the various cost drivers of costs provided by Exhibits 1 and 2, estimate regression for cost category of costs.Then, write the appropriate cost function for each category of cost and then interpret your regression results. Based on your regression results, where do you see the largest reductions in costs if ? ying capacity is lowered by 11 percent? Also, in which areas d o you see opportunities to achieve further cost reductions and why? Exhibit 2 provides a quarterly forecast of revenues, jet fuel prices,6 and the projected operating activity for 2009. Using the information from your regressions and the forecast information provided in Exhibit 2, estimate Continental’s operating costs and expected pro? for the upcoming ? scal year. Based on the results of your pro? tability analysis, what can you say about the ? rm’s ? nancial outlook? Would Continental be earning an operating pro? t in 2009? If not, what should Continental’s management do to restore pro? tability in 2009? Summarize your conclusions in a memorandum addressed to Continental’s CEO. In the memo, you must clearly communicate your main ? ndings, emphasizing speci? c areas in which you see the greatest potential to achieve further reductions in costs and, based on your pro? tability analysis, sum up the ? nancial outlook for 2009.You should note that Continent al has entered into several future contracts to hedge the exposed risks of rising fuel prices. The projected costs for jet fuel on exhibit re? ects the value of the various future contracts which guarantee Continental a ? xed price for jet fuel at various maturity dates in 2009, as well the estimated gallons of fuel that Continental plans to use during the year. Issues in Accounting Education American Accounting Association Volume 26, No. 1, 2011 A Case Study on Cost Estimation and Pro? tability Analysis at Continental Airlines 191 CASE LEARNING OBJECTIVES AND IMPLEMENTATION GUIDANCECost estimation is a fundamental aspect of managerial/cost accounting Datar et al. 2008; Eldenburg and Wolcott 2005 . For example, cost estimation is critical for developing budgets, setting up cost standards, inventory valuation, product costing, and many other applications. Ultimately, ? rms’ ability to accurately predict production and operating costs has a profound impact on decision-making. A dditionally, given the frequency with which ? rms downsize or expand their operations in response to economic or market-wide conditions, knowing how this strategic decision of scaling output impacts ? ms’ future operating costs, and which tools can facilitate this task, has become increasingly relevant for ? rms. Nonetheless, despite its importance, cost estimation is a topic that merits further discussion in accounting textbooks. Although several managerial/cost accounting textbooks provide rich theoretical discussions of cost estimation, including cost behavior, cost functions, and, to some extent, regression analyses, the examples that are typically used to illustrate such an important concept often lack a sense of realism. Either ? titious data are commonly used in cost estimation, or the examples covered fail to capture realistic situations faced by ? rms in a â€Å"real world† context. Accordingly, this case aims to close this gap. The objective is to support stu dents in learning how to apply regression analyses to understand cost behavior and forecast future costs using real data from ? rms. The case focuses on the harsh ? nancial situation faced by Continental Airlines as a result of the recent ? nancial crisis and the challenges it faces to remain pro? table.It then highlights the importance of reducing and controlling costs as a viable strategy to restore pro? tability, and how regression analysis can assist in this pursuit. Students are next presented with quarterly data for various categories of costs and several potential cost drivers, which they must analyze and then perform regressions on operating costs using a variety of cost drivers. Based on these results, students have to examine how costs behave and then use the regression output to forecast the ? rm’s operating costs for year 2009. As part of the cost analysis, students must also identify speci? areas in which Continental could achieve the largest cost savings as a re sult of cutting capacity and implementing other cost-cutting measures. Apart from this, they must conduct a pro? tability analysis to project quarterly pro? ts for the upcoming ? scal year. The learning objectives of the case are as follows: 1. 2. 3. Students learn to conduct regression analysis in Excel and use this technique to study cost behavior and forecast future costs. Students also learn how to use actual ? rm-level data from public sources for estimating costs, and apply cost estimation in a â€Å"real world† context that involves a widespread decision among ? ms: downsizing capacity. Moreover, learning to use public ? nancial information in cost estimation could have implications that reach beyond accounting; learning to access public ? nancial information exposes students to the possibilities of applying regression analysis for business analysis in general, including cost and pro? tability analyses. The case requires students to synthesize their ? ndings in a memor andum addressed to Continental’s CEO; thus, students are also exposed to re? ning their writing skills in a business setting. Implementation GuidanceThis case is primarily designed for use in an intermediate managerial/cost accounting undergraduate class; however, it could also work well in a graduate-level managerial accounting course, at either the master’s level or M. B. A. Issues in Accounting Education Volume 26, No. 1, 2011 American Accounting Association 192 Roman The realistic nature of the setting everyone can easily identify with the business model of airlines makes a particularly appealing environment for students to learn how regression analyses can be applied in cost estimation in a real-world context.The questions presented in the case include both practical and theoretical questions. As an augmentation of the principles contained in the application of this case, instructors could enhance the student experience by devoting time to reviewing the concepts o f cost functions and cost estimation, as well as discussing the fundamentals of regression analyses, so students can be exposed to these concepts prior to receiving the case. Alternatively, students can review these concepts on their own.The Appendix provides a detailed explanation of cost functions and regression analysis and describes the steps to perform regression analysis in Excel. Additionally, it provides students with broad guidelines to write an effective memorandum. Student Feedback The case was administered to two sections of an upper-level intermediate undergraduate cost accounting class at a major U. S. university. Seventy-seven students responded to an evaluation survey to assess whether they improved their understanding of the concepts illustrated in the case, as well as to whether the case illustrated a â€Å"real world† application in predicting operating costs.As shown in Table 1, students agreed that the case enhanced their understanding of the use of regre ssion analyses in predicting future costs mean of 4. 17, based on a ? ve-point scale , the case encouraged them to think critically about the behavior of operating costs in a â€Å"real world† context mean of 4. 03, based on a ? ve-point scale ; plus, they found the case interesting and recommended it for use in teaching cost estimation via regression analyses mean of 4. 07, based on a ? ve-point scale; see also Table 2 . Similar positive responses are shown in Table 2. For example, Table 2 reports students’ knowledge on the use of regression

Project on Budgetary Control Essay Essays

Project on Budgetary Control Essay Essays Project on Budgetary Control Essay Paper Project on Budgetary Control Essay Paper 1. A budget is concerned for a definite future period. 2. A budget is a written papers. 3. A budget is a elaborate program of all the economic activities of a concern. 4. All the sections of a concern unit co-operate for the readying of a concern budget. 5. Budget is a mean to accomplish concern and it is non an terminal in itself. 6. Budget demands to be updated. corrected and controlled every clip when fortunes alterations. Therefore it is a uninterrupted procedure. 7. Budget helps in planning. coordination and control. 8. Different types of budgets are prepared by industries harmonizing to concern demands. 9. A budget acts a concern barometer. 10. Budget is normally prepared in the visible radiation of Past Experience. 11. Budget is a changeless enterprise of the Management. 2 Preparation OF BUDGETS 1. Definition of aims: A budget being a program for the accomplishment of certain operational aims. it is desirable that the same are defined exactly. The aims should be written out ; the countries of control demarcated ; and points of gross and outgo to be covered by the budget stated. This will give a clear apprehension of the program and its range to all those who must collaborate to do it a success. 2. Location of the key ( or budget ) factor: There is normally one factor ( sometimes there may be more than one ) which sets a bound to the entire activity. For case. in India today sometimes non-availability of power does non let production to increase inspite of heavy demand. Similarly. deficiency of demand may restrict production. Such a factor is known as cardinal factor. For proper budgeting. it must be located and estimated decently. 3. Appointment of accountant: Formulation of a budget normally requires wholeclip services of a senior executive ; he must be assisted in this work by a Budget Committee. dwelling of all the caputs of section along with the Managing Director as the Chairman. The Controller is responsible for co-ordinating and development of budget programmes and fixing the manual of direction. known as Budget manual. The Budget manual is a agenda. papers or brochure which shows. in written forms the budgeting administration and processs. The manual should be good written and indexed so that a transcript thereof may be given to each departmental caput for counsel. 3 4. Budget period: The period covered by a budget is known as budget period. There is no general regulation regulating the choice of the budget period. In pattern the Budget Committee determines the length of the budget period suited for the concern. Normally. a calendar twelvemonth or a period coextensive with the fiscal twelvemonth is adopted. The budget period is so sub-divided into shorter periods- it may be months or quarters or such periods as coincide with period of trading activity. 5. Standard of activity or end product: For fixing budgets for the hereafter. past statistics can non be wholly relied upon. for the past normally represents a combination of good and bad factors. Therefore. though consequences of the yesteryear should be studied but these should merely be applied when there is a likeliness of similar conditions reiterating in the hereafter. Besides. while puting the marks for the hereafter. it must be remembered that in a progressive concern. the accomplishment of a twelvemonth must transcend those of earlier old ages. Therefore what was good in the yesteryear is merely just for the current twelvemonth. In budgeting. repairing the budget of gross revenues and of capital outgo are most of import since these budgets determine the extent of development activity. For budgeting gross revenues. one must see the tendency of economic activity of the state. reactions of salesmen. clients and employees. consequence of monetary value alterations on gross revenues. the proviso for advertizement run program capacity etc. 4 Meaning of Budgetary Control: The Chartered Institute of Management Accountants of England and Wales has defined the footings ‘budgetary control’ as â€Å"Budgetary control is the constitution of budgets associating to theduties of executives of a policy and the uninterrupted comparing of the existent with the budgeted consequences. either to secure by single action the aim of the policy or to supply a footing for its alteration. † It is the system of direction control and accounting in which all the operations are forecasted and planned in progress to the extent possible and the existent consequences compared with the forecasted and planned 1s. Budgetary Control Involves: 1. Constitution of budgets 2. Continuous comparing of actuals with budgets for accomplishment of marks 3. Revision of budgets after sing changed fortunes 4. Puting the duty for failure to accomplish the budget marks. The outstanding characteristics of Budgetary Control System are as follows: 1. Determining the aims to be achieved. over the budget period. and the policy or policies that might be adopted for the accomplishment of these terminals. 2. Determining the assortment of activities that should be undertaken for the accomplishment of the aims. 3. Pulling up a program or a strategy of operation in regard of each category of activity. in physical every bit good as pecuniary footings for the full budget period and its parts. 5 4. Puting out a system of comparing of existent public presentation by each individual. subdivision or section with the relevant budget and finding of causes for the disagreements. if any. 5. Guaranting that disciplinary action will be taken where the program is non being achieved and. if that be non possible. for the alteration of the program. In brief. it is a system to help direction in the allotment of duty and authorization. to supply it with assistance for doing. gauging and be aftering for the hereafter and to ease the analysis of the fluctuation between estimated and existent public presentation. In order that budgetary control may work efficaciously. it is necessary that the concern should develop proper footing of measuring or criterions with which to measure the efficiency of operations. i. e. . it should hold in operation a system of standard costing. Besides this. the organisation of the concern should be so incorporate that all lines of authorization and duty are laid. allocated and defined. This is indispensable since the system of budgetary control postulates separation of maps and division of duties and therefore requires that the organisation shall be planned in such a modethat everyone. from the Managing Director down to the Shop Foreman. will hold his responsibilities decently defined. Aims of Budgetary Control System: 1. Portraying with preciseness the overall purposes of the concern and finding marks of public presentation for each subdivision or section of the concern. 2. Puting down the duties of each of the executives and other forces so that everyone knows what is expected of him and how he will be judged. Budgetary control is 6 one of the few ways in which an nonsubjective appraisal of executives or section is possible. 3. Supplying a footing for the comparing of existent public presentation with the preset marks and probe of divergence. if any. of existent public presentation and disbursals from the budgeted figures. This of course helps in following disciplinary steps. 4. Guaranting the best usage of all available resources to maximise net income or production. capable to the confining factors. Since budgets can non be decently drawn up without sing all facets normally there is good co-ordination when a system of budgetary control operates. 5. Co-coordinating the assorted activities of the concern. and centralising control and yet enabling direction to deconcentrate duty and delegate authorization in the overall involvement of the concern. 6. Engendering a spirit of careful premeditation. appraisal of what is possible and an effort at it. It leads to dynamism without foolhardiness. Of class. much depends on the aims of the house and the energy of its direction. 7. Supplying a footing for alteration of current and future policies. 8. Pulling up long scope programs with a just step of truth. 9. Supplying a yardstick against which existent consequences can be compared. Working of a budgetary control system: The duty for successfully presenting and implementing a Budgetary Control System rests with the Budget Committee moving through the Budget Officer. The Budget Committee would be composed of all functional caputs and a member from the Board to 7 preside over and steer the deliberations. The chief duties of the Budget Officer are: 1. To help in the readying of the assorted budgets by organizing the work of the histories section which is usually responsible to roll up the budgets- with the relevant functional sectionslike Gross saless. Production. Plant care etc. ; 2. To send on the budget to the persons who are responsible to adhere to them. and to steer them in get the better ofing any practical troubles in its working ; 3. To fix the periodical budget studies for circulation to the persons concerned ; 4. To follow-up action to be taken on the budget studies ; 5. To fix an overall budget working study for treatment at the Budget Committee meetings and to guarantee followup on the lines of action suggested by the Committee ; 6. To fix periodical studies for the Board meeting. Comparing the budgeted Net income and Loss Account and the Balance Sheet with the existent consequences attained. It is necessary that every budget shou ld be exhaustively discussed with the functional caput before it is finalized. It is the responsibility of the Budget Officer to see that the periodical budget studies are supplied to the receivers at frequent intervals every bit far as possible. The efficiency of the Budget Officer. and through him of the Budget Committee. will be judged more by the smooth working of the system and the understanding between the existent figures and the budgeted figures. Budgets are chiefly an inducement and a challenge for better public presentation ; it is up to the 8 Budget Officer to see that attending of the different functional caputs is drawn to it to confront the challenge in a successful mode. Advantages of Budgetary Control System: 1. The usage of budgetary control system enables the direction of a concern concern to carry on its concern activities in the efficient mode. 2. It is a powerful instrument used by concern houses for the control of their outgo. It in fact provides a yardstick for mensurating and measuring the public presentation of persons and their sections. 3. It reveals the divergences to direction. from the budgeted figures after doing a comparing with existent figures. 4. Effective use of assorted resources like- men. stuff. machinery and money is made possible. as the production is planned after taking them into history. 5. It helps in the reappraisal of current tendencies and framing of future policies. 6. It creates suited conditions for the execution of standard bing system in a concern organisation. 7. It inculcates the feeling of costconsciousness among workers. 8. It helps the principal of direction by exclusion to use. 9. Management which has devel oped a good ordered budget programs and which operate consequently. have greater favor from recognition bureaus. 9 Restrictions of Budgetary Control System: 1. Based on Estimates: Budgets may or may non be true. as they are based on estimations. 2. Time factor: Budgets can non be executed automatically. Accuracy in budgeting comes through experience. Management must non anticipate excessively much during the development period. 3. Cooperation Required: Staff co-operation is normally non available during budgetary control exercising. The success of the budgetary control depends upon willing co-operation and teamwork. 4. Expensive: Its execution is rather expensive. No budgetary programme can be successful unless equal agreements are made for supervising and disposal. 5. Not a replacement for direction: Budget is merely a managerial tool. It can non replace direction. 6. Rigid papers: Budgets are considered as stiff papers. But in world. firm’s personal businesss continuously change under inflationary force per unit area and altering authorities policies. 10 ZERO BASE BUDGETS The technique of zero base budgeting suggests that an administration should non merely do determinations about the proposed new programmes. but should besides reexamine the rightness of the bing programmes from clip to clip. Such a reappraisal should peculiarly be done of such duty Centres where there is comparatively high proportion of discretional costs. Costss of this type depend on the discretion or policies of the duty Centre or top directors. These costs have no direct relation to volume of activity. Hence. direction discretion typically determines the sum budgeted. Some illustrations are: outgo on research and development. forces disposal. legal consultative services. Zero base budgeting. as the term suggests. examines or reviews a programme or map or duty from ‘scratch’ . The referee returns on thepremise that nil is to be allowed. The director suggesting the activity has. hence. to warrant that the activity is indispensable and the assorted sum s asked for are sensible taking into history the end products or consequences or volume of activity envisaged. No activity or disbursal is allowed merely because it was being allowed or done in the past. Therefore harmonizing to this technique each programme. whether new or bing. must be justified in its entireness each clip a new budget is formulated. It involves: 1. Covering with peculiarly all elements of mangers’ budget requests 2. Critical scrutiny of on-going activities along with the freshly proposed activities 3. Supplying each trough a scope of pick in puting precedences in regard of different activities and in allocating resources. 11 Procedure of Zero Base Budgeting: The undermentioned stairss are involved in Zero base budgeting: Determining the aims of budgeting: The aim may be ‘to consequence cost decrease in staff operating expenses or it may be to drop. after careful analysis. undertakings which do non suit into accomplishment of the organisations objectives etc. Deciding on range of application: The extent to which zero base budgeting is to be introduced has to be decided. i. e. whether it will be introduced in all countries of the organisation’s activities or merely in a few selected countries on test footing. Developing determination units Decision units for which cost-benefit analysis is proposed hold to be developed so as to get at determinations whether they should be allowed to go on or to be dropped. Each determination unit. every bit far as possible should be independent of other units so that it can be dropped if the cost analysis proves to be unfavorable for it. Developing determinatio n bundles: A determination bundle for each unit should be developed. While developing a determination bundle. replies to the undermentioned inquiries would be desirable: Is it necessary to execute a peculiar activity at all? If the reply is in the negative. there is no demand to continue farther. How much has been the existent cost of the activity and what has been the existent benefit both in tangible every bit good as intangible signifiers? What should be the estimated cost of the degree of activity and the estimated benefit from 12 such activity? Should the activity be performed in the manner in which it is being performed. and what should be the cost? If the undertaking or activity is dropped. can the unit be replaced by an outside bureau? After finishing determination bundles for each unit. the units are ranked harmonizing to the findings of cost benefit analysis. Essential undertakings are identified and given the highest ranks. The last phase is that of implementing the determination taken in the visible radiation of the survey made. It involves the choice and credence of those undertakings which have a positive cost-benefit analysis or which are capable of run intoing the aims of the organisation. The above analysis shows that zero base budgeting is in a manner an extension of the method of cost benefit analysis to the country of the corporate budgeting. Advantages of Zero Base Budgeting: It provides the organisation with systematic manner to measure different operations and programmes undertaken. It en ables direction to apportion resources harmonizing to precedence of the programmes. It ensures that each and every programme undertaken by directors is truly indispensable for the organisation. and is being performed in the best possible manner. It enables the direction to O.K. departmental budgets on the footing of cost-benefit analysis. No arbitrary cuts or increase in budget estimations are made. It links budgets with the corporate aims. Nothing will be allowed merely because it was being done in the yesteryear. An activity may be shelved if it does non assist in accomplishing the ends of the endeavors. 13 It helps in placing countries of uneconomical outgo and. if desired. it can besides be used for proposing alternate classs of action. It facilitates the debut and execution of the system of `management by objectives’ . Thus it can be used non merely for fulfilment of the aims of traditional budgeting. but besides for a assortment of other intents. It is contended that zero base budgeting is clip devouring. Of class. it is true. but it happens merely in the initial phases when determination units have to be identified and determination bundles have to be developed or completed. Once this is done. and the methodological analysis is clear. zero base budgeting is likely to take less clip than the traditional budgeting. In any instance. till such clip the organisation is decently acclimatized to the technique of zero base budgeting. it may be done in a manner that allduty centre’s are covered at least one time in three or four old ages. Zero base budgeting as a construct h as become rather popular these yearss. The technique was foremost used by the U. S. Department of Agriculture in 1962. Texas Instruments. a transnational company. pioneered its usage in the private sector. Today. a figure of major companies such as Zerox. BASF. International Harvester and Easter Airlines in the United State are utilizing the system. Some sections of the Government of India have late introduced zero base budgeting with a position to doing the system of budgetary control more effectual. 14 PERFORMANCE BUDGETS Performance budgeting ( or programme budgeting ) has been designed to rectify the defects of traditional budgeting by stressing management’s considerations/ attacks. Both the fiscal and physical facets are incorporated into the budget. A public presentation budget presents the operations of an administration in footings of maps. programmes. activities. and undertakings. In public presentation budgeting. precise detention of occupation to be performed or services to be rendered is done. Second. the budget is prepared in footings of functional classs and their sub-division into programmes. activities. and undertakings. Third. the budget becomes a comprehensive papers. Since the fiscal and physical consequences are interwoven. it facilitates direction control. The Main aims of Performance Budgeting are: ( I ) to organize the physical and fiscal facets ; ( two ) to better the budget preparation. reappraisal and decision-making at all degrees of direction ( thre e ) to ease better grasp and reappraisal by commanding governments ( legislative assembly. Board of Trustees or Governors. etc ) as the presentation is more purposeful and apprehensible ; ( four ) to do more effectual public presentation audit possible ; and ( V ) to mensurate progress towards long-run aims which are envisaged in a development program. Performance budgeting involves rating of the public presentation of the administration in the context of both specific. every bit good as. overall aims of the administration. It presupposes a crystal clear perceptual experience of organizational aims in general. and short-run concern aims as stipulated in the budget. in peculiar by each employee of theadministration. irrespective of his degree. It therefore. provides a definite way to each employee and besides a control mechanism to higher direction. 15 Performance budgeting requires readying of periodic public presentation studies. Such studies compare budget and existent informations. and demo discrepancies. Their readying is greatly facilitated if the authorization and duty for the incurrence of each cost component is clearly defined within the firm’s organizational construction. In add-on. the accounting system should be sufficiently detailed and coordinated to supply necessary informations for studies designed for the peculiar usage of the persons or cost Centres holding primary duty for specific cost. The duty for fixing the public presentation budget of each section lies on the several Department Head. Each Department Head will be supplied with a transcript of the subdivision of the maestro budget appropriate to his domain. For illustration. the main purchaser will be supplied with the transcript of the stuffs purchase budget so that he may set up for purchase of necessary stuffs. Periodic studies from assorted subdivi sions of a section will be received by the departmental caput that will subject a drumhead study about his section to the budget commission. The study may be daily. hebdomadal or monthly. depending upon the size of concern and the budget period. These studies will be in the signifier of comparing of budgeted and existent figures. both periodic and cumulative. The intent of fixing these studies is to quickly inform about the divergences in existent and budgeted activity to the individual who has the necessary authorization and duty to take necessary action to rectify the divergences from the budget. 16 FUNCTIONAL BUDGET A functional budget is one which is related to map of the concern as for illustration. production budget relating to the fabrication map. Functional budgets are prepared for each map and they are subordinate to the maestro budget of the concern. The assorted types of functional budgets to be prepared will change harmonizing to the size and nature of the concern. The assorted normally used functional budgets are: Gross saless budget Production budget Plant use budget Direct-material usage budget Direct-material purchase budget Direct-labour ( forces ) budget Factory overhead budget Production cost budget Ending-inventory budget Cost-of-goods-sold budget Selling and distribution cost budget Administration disbursals budget Research and development cost budget ( xiv ) Capital outgo budget Cash budget 17 Illustration: Gross saless Budget: Gross saless forecast is the beginning of budgeting and hence gross revenues budget assumes primary importance. The measure which can be sold may be the chief budget factor in many concern projects. In any instance in order to chalk out a realistic budget programme. there must be an accurate gross revenues prognosis. The gross revenues budget indicates for each merchandise: 1. The measure of estimated gross revenues and 2. The expected unit merchandising monetary value. These informations are frequently reported by parts or by gross revenues representatives. In gauging the measure of gross revenues for each merchandise. past gross revenues volumes are frequently used as a starting point. These sums are revised for factors that are expected to impact future gross revenues. such as the factors listed below. 1. Backlog of unfilled gross revenues orders 2. Planned advertisement and publicity 3. Expected industry and general economic conditions 4. Productive capacity 5. Projected pricing 6. Findingss of market research surveies 7. Relative merchandise profitableness. 8. Competition. 18 Once an estimation of the gross revenues volume is obtained. the expected gross revenues gross can be determined by multiplying the volume by the expected unit gross revenues monetary value. the gross revenues budget represents the entire gross revenues in physical measures and values for a future budget period. Gross saless directors are invariably faced with job like expectancy of client demands. new merchandise demands. rival schemes and assorted alterations in distribution methods or promotional techniques. The intents ofgross revenues budget is non to try to gauge or think what the existent gross revenues will be. but instead to develop a program with clearly defined aims towards which the operational attempt is directed in order to achieve or transcend the nonsubjective. Hence. gross revenues budget is non simply a gross revenues prognosis. A budget is a planning and control papers which shows what the direction intends to carry through. Thus. the gross revenues budget is active instead than passive. A gross revenues prognosis. nevertheless. is a projection or estimation of the available client demand. A prognosis reflects the environmental or competitory state of affairs confronting the company whereas the gross revenues budget shows how the direction intends to respond to this enviro nmental and competitory state of affairs. A good budget flexible joints on aggressive direction control instead than on inactive credence of what the market appears to offer. If the company fails to do this differentiation. the budget will stay more a figure-work exercising than a on the job tool of dynamic direction control. 19 The gross revenues budget may be prepared under the undermentioned categorization or combination of categorizations: 1. Merchandises or groups of merchandises. 2. Areas. towns. salesmen and agents. 3. Types of clients as for illustration: ( I ) Government. ( two ) Export. ( three ) Home gross revenues. ( four ) Retail terminals. 4. Period of Gross saless Budget: XYZ Ltd. Gross saless Budget for the Year Ended 31 March XXXX Particulars Units Selling Price ( P. U ) Total Gross saless Value ( Rs. ) Product A Merchandise B Total 5000 10000 75 80 375000 800000 1175000 20 Lead TO THE PREPARATION OF THE MASTER BUDGET When all the necessary functional budgets have been prepared. the budget officer will fix the maestro budget which may dwell of budgeted net income and loss history and budgeted balance sheet. These are in fact the budget sum-ups. When the maestro budget is approved by the board of managers. it represents a criterion for the accomplishment of which all the sections will work. On the footing of the assorted budgets ( agendas ) prepared earlier in this survey. weprepare below budgeted income statement and budgeted balance sheet. Illustration: Floatglass Manufacturing Company requires you to show the Master budget for the 31 March 2012 from the undermentioned information: Gross saless: Toughened Glass Bent Glass Direct Material Cost Direct Wages Factory Overheads: Indirect Labour Works Manager Foreman Rs. 500 per month Rs. 400 per month 2. 5 % on Gross saless Rs. 600000 Rs. 200000 60 % of Gross saless 20 workers @ Rs. 150 per month 21 Shops and Spares Depreciation on Machinery Repairs and Maintenance Other Sundries Administration. merchandising and Distribution Expenses Rs. 12600 Rs. 3000 Rs. 8000 10 % on Direct Wages Rs. 36000 per twelvemonth Solution: Master Budget for the Year Ending 31 March 2012 Particulars Amount ( Rs. ) Gross saless: Toughened Glass Bent Glass Total Gross saless Less: Cost of Production: Direct Material Direct Wages Prime Cost ( A ) Fixed Factory Overhead: 480000 36000 516000 600000 200000 800000 Amount ( Rs. ) 22 Works Manager’s Salary Foreman’s Salary Depreciation Light and Power Total Fixed Factory Overhead ( B ) Variable Factory Overhead: Shops and Spares Repairs and Maintenance Sundry Expenses Total Variable Factory Overhead ( C ) Works Cost ( A+B+C ) Gross Profit ( Sales- Works Cost ) Less: Administration. Selling and Distribution Expenses Net Net income 6000 4800 12600 3000 26400 20000 8000 3600 31600 574000 226000 36000 190000 23 Capital EXPENDITURE BUDGET: The capital outgo budget represents theplanned spending on fixed assets like land. edifice. works and machinery. etc. during the budget period. This budget is capable to rigorous direction control because it entails big sum of outgo. The budget is prepared to cover a long period of old ages and it undertakings the capital costs over the period in which the outgo is to be incurred and the expected net incomes. The readying of this budget is based on the undermentioned considerations: 1. Operating expense on production installations of certain sections as indicated by the works use budget. 2. Future development programs to increase end product by enlargement of works installations. 3. Replacement petitions from the concerned sections 4. Factors like gross revenues possible to absorb the increased end product. possibility of monetary value decreases. increased costs of advertisement and gross revenues publicity to absorb increased end product. etc. Merits/Adv antages: 1. It outlines the capital development programme and estimated capital outgo during the budget period. 2. It enables the company to set up a system of precedences. When there is a deficit of financess. capital rationing becomes necessary. 3. It serves as a tool for commanding outgo. 4. It provides the sum of outgo to be incorporated in the hereafter budget 24 sum-ups for computation of estimated return on capital employed. 5. This enables the hard currency budget to be completed. With other hard currency committednesss capital outgo committedness should besides be considered for the completion of the budget. 6. It facilitates cost decrease programme. peculiarly when modernisation and redevelopment is covered by this budget. 25 FIXED AND FLEXIBLE BUDGETS Fixed Budget: Harmonizing to Chartered Institute of Management Accountants of England. â€Å"a fixed budget is a budget designed to stay unchanged irrespective of the degree of activity really attained† . A fixed budget shows the expected consequences of a duty centre for merely one activity degree. Once the budget has been determined. it is non changed. even if the activity alterations. Fixed budgeting is used by many servicecompanies and for some administrative maps of fabrication companies. such as buying. technology. and accounting. Fixed Budget is used as an effectual tool of cost control. In instance. the degree of activity attained is different from the degree of activity for budgeting intents. the fixed budget becomes uneffective. Such a budget is rather suited for fixed disbursals. It is besides known as a inactive budget. Essential conditions: 1. When the nature of concern is non seasonal. 2. There is no impact of external factors on the co ncern activities 3. The demand of the merchandise is certain and stable. 4. Supply orders are issued on a regular basis. 5. The market of the merchandise should be domestic instead than foreign. 6. There is no demand of particular labor or stuff in the production of the merchandises. 7. Supply of production inputs is regular. 8. There is a tendency of monetary value stableness. Generally. all above conditions are non found in pattern. Hence fixed budget is non of import 26 in concern concerns. Merits/advantages: 1. Very simple to understand 2. Less clip devouring Demerits/Disadvantages: 1. It is misdirecting. A hapless public presentation may stay undetected and a good public presentation may travel unfulfilled. 2. It is non suited for long period. 3. It is besides found unsuitable peculiarly when the concern conditions are altering invariably. 4. Accurate estimations are non possible. Flexible Budget Harmonizing to Chartered Institute of Management Accountants of England. †a flexible budget is defined as a budget which. by acknowledging the difference between fixed. semi-variable and variable costs is designed to alter in relation to the degree of activity attained. † Unlike inactive ( fixed ) budgets. flexible budgets show the expected consequences of a duty centre for several activity degrees. You can believe of a flexible budget as a series of inactive budgets for different degrees of activity. Such budgets are particularly utile in gau ging and commanding mill costs and operating disbursals. It is more realistic and operable because it gives due consideration 27 to be behavior at different degrees of activity. While fixing a flexible budget the disbursals are classified into three classs viz. 1. Fixed. 2. Variable. and 3. Semi-variable. Semi-variable disbursals are farther segregated into fixed and variable disbursals. Flexible budgeting may beresorted to under following state of affairss: 1. In the instance of new concern venture due to its typical nature it may be hard to calculate the demand of a merchandise accurately. 2. Where the concern is dependent upon the clemency of nature e. g. . a individual covering in wool trade may hold adequate market if temperature goes below the freeze point. 3. In the instance of labour intensive industry where the production of the concern is dependent upon the handiness of labor. Merits/ Advantages: 1. With the aid of flexible budget. the gross revenues. costs and net income may be calculated easy by the concern at assorted degrees of production capacity. 2. In flexible budget. accommodation is really s imple harmonizing to alteration in concern conditions. 3. It besides helps in finding of production degree as it shows budgeted costs with categorization at assorted degrees of activity along with gross revenues. Hence the direction can easy choose the degree of production which shows the net income predetermined by the proprietors of the concern. 4. It besides shows the measure of merchandise to be produced to gain determined net income. 28 Demerits/Disadvantages: 1. The preparation of flexible budget is possible merely when there is proper accounting system maintained. perfect cognition about the factors of production and assorted concern fortunes is available. 2. Flexible Budget besides requires the system of standard costing in concern. 3. It is really expensive and labour oriented. Need for flexible budget: 1. Seasonal fluctuations in gross revenues and/or production. for illustration in soft drinks industry ; 2. A company which keeps on presenting new merchandises or makes alterations in the design of its merchandises often ; 3. Industries engaged in make-to-order concern like ship edifice ; 4. An industry which is influenced by alterations in manner ; and 5. General alterations in gross revenues. 29 Illustration: A mill which expects to run 7. 000 hours. i. e. . at 70 % degree of activity. furnishes inside informations of disbursals as under: Particulars Variable Expenses Amount ( Rs. ) 1260 Semi- Variable Expenses 1200 Fixed Expenses 1800 The semi-variable disbursals go up by 10 % between 85 % and 95 % activity and by 20 % above 95 % activity. Construct a flexible budget for 80. 90 and 100 per cent activities. Solution: Particulars Budgeted Hours Variable Expenses Semi-Variable Expenses Fixed Expenses Total Expenses Recovery Rate Per Hour 70 % 7000 1260 1200 1800 4260 0. 61 80 % 8000 1440 1200 1800 4440 0. 55 90 % 9000 1620 1320 1800 4740 0. 53 100 % 10000 1800 1440 1800 5040 0. 50 30 Difference between Fixed and Flexible Budget: Fixed Budget Flexible Budget It does non alter with existent volume of It can be recasted on the footing of activity activity achieved. Thus it is known as stiff degree to be achieved. Thus it is non stiff. or inflexible budget. It operates on one degree of activity and under It consists of assorted budgets for one set of conditions. It assumes that there different degrees of activity. will be no alteration in the prevalent conditions. which is unrealistic. Here as all costs like – fixed. variable and Here analysis of discrepancy provides utile semi-variable are related to merely one degree information as each cost is analyzed of activity so variance analysis does give utile information. If the budgeted and existent activity degrees differ Flexible budgeting at different degrees of significantly. so the facets like cost activity facilitates the ascertainment of ascertainment and monetary value arrested development do non give a cost. arrested development of selling monetary value and tendering right image . of citations. a meaningful footing of non harmonizing to its behavior. Comparison of existent public presentation with It provides budgeted marks will be meaningless comparing of the existent public presentation with specially when there is a difference the budgeted marks. between the two activity degrees. 31 BIBLIOGRAPHY 1 ICAI Module on Cost Accounting 2 Newsletters and sentiments published by ICAI 3 hypertext transfer protocol: //en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Budget 4 World Wide Web. icai. org