October 15, 2012
Topic: Performance Management
Overview Welcome to Module 1. If you have not already done so, read the Program Manual located in the Reference Material section of the CMA Canada Professional Programs website. It provides you with important introductory information about the program. In Module 1 of the program, candidates are exposed to many functional competencies from the CMA Competency Map that involve decision making regarding performance management, performance measurement, risk management and governance, and financial reporting. For assistance when doing their assignments in these areas, candidates are expected to draw on many of their intermediate and advanced management and financial accounting concepts they learned in their university courses and/or in the Accelerated Program. For instance, in this assignment, one of the concepts involves Cost-Volume-Profit (CVP) analysis. In these types of analysis, candidates may be asked to look at how profits and costs change with a change in volume, or a change in such factors as variable costs, fixed costs, selling prices, and mix of products sold. By studying the relationships of costs, sales and net income, management is better able to cope with many planning decisions. Candidates who have difficulty doing this assignment or future assignments regarding CVP are encouraged to review Chapters 11 and 12 from the Horngren et al. required reading mentioned below. As candidates gain more work experience, they will be exposed to a number of organizational concerns in the topic areas outlined above. For instance, candidates may be asked to provide analysis on such items as: 1. Preparing reports on a product or geographic segment to determine where the organization generates cash and profits; 2. Evaluating strategic alternatives in one’s organization using cost-benefit and scenario/sensitivity analysis; 3. Determining the effectiveness of costing systems for their appropriateness
References: labels and audit trails are provided where appropriate (e.g. the report is easy to follow, provides direction to the reader). BE: Major problems such as ME: Some problems with distracting errors. Overall, the language use or content report is difficult to follow. expression, but they are not distracting; the report flows well and provides acceptable direction to the reader. Overall, the report is still easy to follow. ME+ ME ME6. c) The introduction, body and conclusion combined are no more than 750 words, and there are no more than five (5) pages of properly formatted appendices. Content that exceeds these length limits is not considered in the assessment of the response. The report is limited to one MS Word and one MS Excel file. AE: Few problems with language use or content expression; the report flows well and provides good direction to the reader. Overall, the report is easy to follow. CMA Canada 21