Student Assessment Manual
Manage Finances
Assessment Method Two – Planning Project
Task Summary
- This assessment task is in two parts.
- For Part A, the student is required to review existing financial information and prepare budgets.
- For Part B, the student is required to meet with the management team to discuss budgets, as well as reporting requirements and delegations.
Resources and equipment required to complete this assessment
- Computer and Microsoft Office
- Access to the internet for research and to access web sites such as the Australian Tax Office:
- Printer to print off meeting documents
- Meeting space
- 2014 – 2015 Profit and Loss Statement
- 2014 – 2015 Cash flow statements
- Financial performance report template
- Business Plan Grow Management Consultants
- Financial Management Policy and procedure
- Conference/e-book costs and income
When and where do I complete this task?
- This task may be done in your own time as homework or you may be given time to do this task in class (if applicable). Your assessor will advise.
- Write in the due date as advised by your assessor: ……………………………………..
What do I need to submit?
- A substantial submission financial performance report; plus
- Completed budgets for 2015 – 2016
What happens if I get something wrong?
- If your assessor sees that you have not completed all parts of this task satisfactorily, the details of resubmission will be discussed with you directly. You will only need to redo the parts that are not satisfactory, however you will need to resubmit the entire assessment.
Instructions
- Complete part A and then Part B of this assessment task.
| Part A: Analyze Finances and Prepare Budgets |
| Grow Management Consultants is a consultancy business specializing in leadership consultancy and has been operational for the last five years. The company offers a range of services to assist companies to assess leadership behavior of existing managers and performance metrics and to design and implement customized leadership programs based on the assessment. Services are offered Australia-wide.
The company employs a General Manager (you), two (2) Principal Consultants (who are also Directors), one (1) Senior Consultant, an Administration Officer and Receptionist. Over the last two years, the company has diversified and offers regular professional development workshops on all aspects of leading and managing staff. These workshops are conducted approximately every three (3) months in all major cities including Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne. In 2014 – 2015, the company ran a total of 36 workshops. The company has also recently produced an E-book about leadership techniques. The intention is to replace the workshops with the annual conference in the next financial year as the workshops were not well attended and client feedback indicates a personalized, company focused approach in the form of consulting services is the service of choice. The E-book has had reasonable sales but there needs to be a wider selection of books, as well as more marketing. The plan is to generate $10,000 worth of sales for the e-books during the next financial year and increasing over time. As the General Manager for the company and with responsibility for finances, you are currently completing the financial planning for the year ahead. This involves a review of the company’s business plan, previous year’s profit and loss statement, the current business plan and strategic directions and cash flow statements. Based on the review, you will be establishing budgets and allocating funds. In developing the budget, you are to assume a 5% increase in cost of sales, as well as a 10% increase in sales for consulting services and executive search. As per the business plan, the company plans to run an annual conference starting in 2016. The costs for the conference have been estimated by the Principal Consultant as set out in the Estimated Conference Costs document. Conference attendance is aimed at 100 people paying $750 each. The Principal Consultant has also asked you to review the current accounting software used by the business. The company is currently using MYOB but as it has grown, the Principal Consultant wishes to review whether this is the best accounting software for the business. He has also requested that the software have a cloud feature. |
- Complete the following activities:
- Conduct research in preparation for your financial performance report.
- Review the scenario information above and the 2014-2015 Profit and Loss Statements and the 201-2015 Cash Flow Statements provided to you. Using this information, identify areas of the business that have generated a profit and those that have generated a loss.
- Conduct research to establish why those areas have made a profit or loss. Your research should include a review of the financial data provided to you, economic conditions and business trends that may have resulted in the profit or loss. You will be required to report on your findings in the financial performance report as outlined below.
- Conduct research on financial software systems as per the scenario information. Make notes for use in your report.
- Prepare a financial performance report for the Principal Consultants using the template provided by your assessor that includes an:
- Overview of the purpose of the report.
- Analysis of the previous year’s (2014 – 2015) profit and loss statement for Grow Management Consultant, including revenue generated, cost of sales, gross profit/loss margin and net profit/loss margin.
- Analysis of overall business performance including the performance of each of the income streams for 2014 – 2015.
- Outline of reasons for profit or loss based on your analysis of the data and research on economic conditions and business trends.
- Analysis of the organizations goals and priorities for the upcoming financial year as documented in the Strategic Business Plan and financial resources required to achieve these goals, as well as key dates.
- An analysis of cash flow trends as per the cash flow statements.
- Review and analysis of at least three other financial software packages that the business could use, including the advantages and disadvantages of each, as well as the advantages and disadvantages of MYOB that is currently used.
- Develop budget forecasts for the next financial year.
- Ensure that the analysis of the previous year’s data and future plans as indicated in the business plan is taken into account in determining projected income and expenditure.
- As per the organizations financial management policy and procedure, the budget forecasts are to be submitted in Excel. Develop a suitable format within Excel for your budget.
- Ensure that your budget includes the estimated income and costs for the conference and e-book to be implemented in 2016. This is provided to you as a separate document.
- Assume a 5% increase in all general costs, as well as a 10% increase in income for consulting and executive recruitment service. Input costs and income for the conference and e-book as per the data indicated in the document.
- Circulate report and budgets
- Ensure your documents are accurate and error free and set out in a standard business format.
- Submit the completed report and budgets to the Principal Consultants (your assessor) for discussion at the meeting in Part B.
| Part B: Meet with Management Team |
| The Principal Consultant has approved the budget for the upcoming financial year of 2015 – 2016. You are now required to meet with the senior managers to communicate the budgets you have developed. You are also required to explain reporting requirements and financial delegations as outlined in the company’s financial policy and procedures, as well as explain the company’s compliance requirements and tax liabilities. |
- Complete the following activities:
- Prepare for your meeting. Conduct research and develop a report on key financial compliance requirements and liabilities for tax in preparation for your meeting.
- Develop a short report to provide to the management team at the meeting. The report should explain:
- GST reporting requirements (the company is required to report quarterly)
- PAYG withholding obligations
- PAYG income tax installment
- Payroll tax obligations (state government)
- Superannuation entitlements and requirement to comply with legislation regarding frequency of payment, choice of fund and reporting to staff.
- Review the financial management policy and procedure that sets out reporting requirements and financial delegations. Include your findings in your report.
- Ensure your report is accurate and error free and set out in a standard business format.
- Print copies of your report and your budget that you have developed for your meeting.
- Participate in the budget meeting.
- At the meeting you will need to discuss:
- Discuss the budget you have developed and the rationale for the budget
- Discuss the amounts allocated to activity, including the conference and the e-book.
- Provide an outline of the financial policy and procedure so as to ensure that roles and responsibilities are understood and risks of misappropriation of funds/incorrect recording of financial transactions is minimized.
- Explain the company’s key financial compliance requirements and tax liabilities.
- At the meeting ensure you provide your assessor with all required documentation and you will need to demonstrate effective communication skills by:
- Speaking clearly
- Providing concise information in a language that is appropriate for the audience
- Responding to questions as required
- Using active listening techniques to confirm or clarify information
Feedback for Assessment Method Two – Project |
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| Feedback to Student (Add pages as required) | |||
| Feedback from Student (Add pages as required) | |||
| The following signatures are to validate that the result and that feedback has been provided. They do not mean agreement with the outcome. | |||
| Result | ¨ Satisfactory | ¨ Not Yet Satisfactory | |
| Student Signature | Date | ||
| Assessor’s Signature | Date | ||
