ACCY7101 Advanced Management Accounting Assessment Two

ACCY7101 Advanced Management Accounting

Semester Two, 2025

Assessment Two

Instructions

This assessment comprises ONE (1) case study.
Please answer all questions in a Word document.

Grading

• This assignment is worth 30% of your final grade.

• It will be marked out of 60.

Formatting

• Insert a title for your Word document using the format:
  First Name, Last Name – ACCY7101 – Assessment 2

• Reference external sources appropriately as required. Answer all questions in your own words. References should follow APA conventions. Plagiarism will be strictly dealt with as per School policy.

• Acceptable fonts: Times New Roman, Calibri, or other business fonts, size 12.

• Other formatting: 1.5 line spacing, with normal page margins.

• Your memo should be approximately 3,000–3,500 words, excluding references, tables, and figures.

Submission

• Due Date: Monday, 29 September 2025, by 11:59 pm

• Submit your assignment via Blackboard

Case Study

Introduction

Multinational businesses that rely on the global supply chain have been challenged by recent developments. The ongoing Russo-Ukraine war, the 2024/2025 Red Sea crisis, and the latest round of recessionary fears worldwide have posed problems for procurement, manufacturing, and distribution:

1. Shortages of crucial industrial inputs: rare earths, raw petroleum, minerals, etc.

2. Increased international shipping costs and very long lead times.

3. Decline in consumer demand due to increasing unemployment and a generally pessimistic economic outlook.

Globally, there has been a shortage of computer chips. Many consumer goods such as cars, computers, home appliances, and kitchenware incorporate specialised computer chips in their design. Suppliers such as TSMC and Samsung Korea have faced labour and materials shortages for the past three years and have been unable to ramp up production – to the extent that other nations such as America have declared these shortages to be an issue of national security.

In addition, unemployment continues to rise in many developed countries, leading to a loss of consumer demand and prompting fears of a prolonged recession.

Global businesses need to plan for what to do in the event of disruptions. This assignment puts you in the role of pandemic planning, using what you have learnt so far in this paper.

Scenario Instructions

You are an accounting junior working in the Asia-Pacific headquarters of a large multinational kitchen whiteware manufacturing and distribution company called Equester International.

Equester International manufactures and distributes:

• Washing machines and clothes dryers

• Dishwashers

• Refrigerators

• Microwave ovens

• Conventional stove ovens

Its brands include:

• The premium brand Percheron

• The discount brand Brumby Whiteware

Over the past three years, Equester International has faced challenges at every stage of the supply chain:

• Procurement has been heavily disrupted by shipping delays and computer chip shortages.

• A new manufacturing facility was completed in 2024, but labour shortages and pandemic shutdowns have limited production to 75% of projected capacity.

• Forecasts of consumer demand have dropped sharply, with a projected 60% decrease in Percheron global sales year-on-year in the 2025/2026 financial year.

Your boss, the Chief Management Accountant of the Asia-Pacific region, has asked you for a briefing memo on the following issues:

1. What should the organisation structure of the company look like during a crisis?

   • Include lines of reporting, authority, and responsibility.

2. What can the company do to ensure continued procurement during a crisis?

3. What can the company do to plan for changing market demands during a crisis?

   • Include manufacturing and distribution.

Notes:

• Details of the company’s current organisation structure, supply chain, and manufacturing/distribution are not given. You may use reasonable assumptions and add details as needed.

• You are required to write a briefing memo, not an essay. Follow standard business memo conventions.

Research Tip:
It may be useful to read newspapers and trade journals about challenges global companies faced during previous pandemics, as well as articles on supply chain disruptions, shortages in raw materials, and global economic outlooks.

Marking Schedule