ACCY7101 Assessment Brief

Group Assignment

Title : Applying Cost Management Techniques to a New Zealand Company

In this assignment, you will collaborate in groups to apply cost management techniques to a real New Zealand company. Follow these steps to get started:

1. Group Formation:

• Form groups consisting of 3-5 students, ensuring a diverse range of skills and strengths to effectively balance the workload.
• Assign specific roles within your group to ensure each member contributes effectively to the project.

2. Company Selection:

• Choose a New Zealand company from the provided list or select another publicly listed company:
  ● Fonterra
  ● Air New Zealand
  ● The Warehouse Group
  ● Fletcher Building
  ● Spark New Zealand

3. Group Registration:

• Once your group is formed and roles are assigned, register your group and the chosen company with the tutor by 29^th of July 2024.

4. Resources and Analysis:

• Utilize a variety of resources for your analysis, including:
  ● Annual reports, financial statements and other relevant information of the selected company.
  ● Articles, case studies, and industry reports focusing on cost management techniques.
• Provide detailed examples and calculations to support your application of cost management techniques.
• Ensure your evaluation is analytical rather than purely descriptive, with a total report length of 3,000 words.
• Think critically about the recommendations and potential challenges.
• Proofread your work to eliminate spelling and grammatical errors.

5. Presentation and Referencing:

• Present your findings professionally, paying attention to clarity and professionalism.
• Create a clear and engaging presentation with visuals to support your findings.
• Use APA 7th edition style referencing to cite all sources and data used in your analysis.

This assignment aims to apply theoretical knowledge of cost management techniques to real-world business scenarios, fostering both collaborative skills and analytical thinking within your group.

Required

A. As a group, prepare a written report of your chosen company that includes the following:

 (70% of the allocated marks)

1. Company Overview: 

• Provide a brief overview of the chosen company, including its business model, key products or services, recent financial performance, and any significant recent developments.
• Use one of the strategic analysis techniques from the following list to evaluate the company.
  ● SWOT Analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats)
  ● PESTLE Analysis (Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Legal, Environmental)
  ● Porter’s Five Forces Analysis
  ● Value chain analysis

2. Cost Structure Analysis:

• Identify the major costs incurred by the company. Categorize them into fixed and variable costs.
• Determine the key cost drivers for the company.

3. Application of Cost Management Techniques:

• Choose three cost management techniques from the following list.
  ● Activity-based Management (ABM)
  ● Lean Manufacturing
  ● Just-In-Time (JIT) Inventory
  ● Six Sigma
  ● Outsourcing
  ● Economies of Scale
  ● Process Reengineering
  ● Benchmarking
  ● Target Costing
  ● Managing Quality
• Explain how each technique could be applied to the company to reduce costs.
• Provide specific examples and calculations to illustrate the potential cost savings.

4. Recommendations:

• Based on your analysis, provide recommendations on how the company can reduce its costs.
• Suggest potential challenges the company might face in implementing these cost-saving measures and how to overcome them.

5. Conclusion:

• Summarize your findings and the potential impact of the recommended cost management techniques on the company’s financial performance.

B. Group Presentation:

(20% of the allocated marks)

• As a group, create a presentation summarizing your findings and recommendations.
• Ensure your presentation is clear, concise, and professional.
• You may use a range of presentation methods, e.g., PowerPoint slides, posters, flip charts.
• Use visuals such as charts, graphs, and tables to support your analysis.
• Your presentation method must be uploaded to MOODLE within the due date.
• The time allocated for your presentation is 15 minutes, which includes 5 minutes for a Q&A session.

 C. For each member in the group, prepare an Individual Reflective Journal detail your contributions to the group work and collaboration throughout the project (approximately 500-700 words in length). Specifically, reflect on the following points:

(10% of the allocated marks)

● Contribution to Team Work: Describe the tasks you undertook within the team and how they contributed to the overall project goals. Include any challenges you encountered and how you addressed them.

● Organization of Meetings: Outline your role in organizing team meetings, including scheduling, agenda preparation, and ensuring participation. Reflect on the effectiveness of these meetings in achieving project milestones.

● Group Dynamics: Discuss your observations on the group dynamics, including communication styles, decision-making processes, and teamwork effectiveness. Reflect on any conflicts or issues that arose and how they were managed.

● Personal Learning: Identify the key lessons you have learned from participating in this team project. Consider how your understanding of teamwork and collaboration has evolved through this experience.

● Future Improvement: Propose strategies for improving teamwork and collaboration in future projects based on your reflections.