157.216 Management, Analytics and Decision Making Assessment Brief 2026

157.216 Assessment Brief

Learning Outcomes

LO1 – Examine decision-making situations and strategies within organisations.

LO2 – Analyse the implications of security requirements, data ownership, regulatory constraints, industry standards and cultural and ethical issues for the use of data in business decision making.

LO3 – Evaluate methods and tools for processing, manipulating, analysing and visualising data in support of organisational decision making.

Instructions

Time allowed is THREE Hours. The Examination Question Paper is not to be removed from the exam room. Write your answers in the Blue Script Book supplied. Please ensure you answer all Questions This exam paper will be available at the library after the exam period. Non Programmable Calculators are permitted.

Total : 100 Marks

Question 1: Costing and Strategy

The use of costing figures is an important part of strategic management accounting and yet is often overlooked in the discussion of how to produce costing figures. Costing figures can be used for far more than just cost plus pricing.

Required:

a) Briefly explain what strategic management accounting is. (2 marks)

b) Briefly describe the significance of the value chain for strategic management accounting. (3 marks)

c) Briefly describe how the value chain concept can contribute to the management of costs. (3 marks)

d) Identify and briefly explain the steps involved in Target Costing. (4 marks)

e) Explain how Kaizen Costing can be used to reduce costs in a product approaching the maturity stage of its lifecycle. (4 marks)

[Total: 16 marks]

Question 2 : Non-Manufacturing Settings

Management accounting tools are applicable to a wide range of entity types not just for profit businesses. The terminology and focus may change but the key features of management accounting remain the need to provide useful information for decision makers.

Required:

a) Briefly describe two features of public sector organisations that may require adjustments in how management accounting techniques/tools are applied. (4 marks)

b) Briefly describe two (2) benefits of adopting program budgeting in a non-profit entity. (6 marks)

[Total: 10 marks]

Question 3 : Non Routine Decision Making

Oru Eggs Ltd (Oru) is reviewing its egg production processes. Oru produce a range of barn raised and free-range eggs that are sold under its own brand. Oru is evaluating how to increase the production of free-range eggs and has two proposals under consideration:

(i) Remove the sheds previously used for cage eggs production to increase the pasture available for free-range hens or

(ii) Outsource the additional production to another producer. Oru believes it can sell all the free-range eggs that it can supply.

Information for the two options is:

(i) Increase own production of free-range eggs:

• The costs to remove the existing unused cage egg production sheds is $360,000. These sheds will be removed later in the year at the same cost even if production is outsourced.
• The provision of land, new sheds and fences will increase fixed costs by $252,000 per year.
• The costs of feed and managing the hens will result in a variable cost of $3.00 per dozen.
• Quality control, packing, packaging and shipping costs will be $1.50 per dozen.
• Total additional production can be up to 360,000 dozen per year.

(ii) Outsource additional production:

• The identified supplier can provide up to 350,000 dozen eggs per year. The agreement will mean Oru is required to purchase a minimum of 300,000 dozen eggs a year.
• The purchase price will be $3.40 per dozen.
• Oru will put the purchased eggs through the same quality control, packing and delivery processes using the same packaging as eggs produced by Oru.
• Oru will incur a fixed monitoring cost of $28,000 to ensure the supplier meets Oru’s required production and welfare standards. Oru will sell the free range eggs at $8.00 per dozen to a range of wholesale customers.

Required:

a) Calculate the relevant cost per dozen eggs for both proposals. Ensure you show your workings. (4 marks)

b) Recommend to Oru Eggs which option they should select. Justify your recommendation including any important non-financial aspects. (4 marks)

[Total: 8 marks]

Question 4: Performance Management

Performance management is an aspect of management accounting that often causes conflict within entities as it provides information for performance evaluations and influences the rewards managers and staff receive.

Required:

a) Identify and briefly explain the four perspectives of the Balanced Scorecard (6 marks)

b) Briefly explain two (2) advantages and two (2) disadvantages of the balanced scorecard as a performance measure. (4 marks)

c) Explain two types of equity rewards that are commonly used as performance incentives. (4 marks)

d) Explain the advantages and disadvantages of using Relative Performance Evaluation to evaluate an entity’s performance. (4 marks)

e) Briefly explain why it is important to consider a firm’s mission and strategic objectives when designing performance measures. (2 marks)

[Total: 20 marks]

Question 5: Budgeting

Budgeting is seen by many organisations as an absolute necessity to provide control over spending but some organisations see budgeting as an unnecessary process that restricts performance so do not produce budgets.

Required:

a) Briefly explain the key features of Beyond Budgeting. (3 marks)

b) Briefly describe the negative impacts that can occur when the variance from a static annual budget is used as the only measure of performance. (3 marks)

c) Briefly explain the benefits of Rolling Budgets compared to a static annual budget. (3 marks)

d) Briefly explain the key features of Activity Based Budgets. (3 marks)

[Total: 12 marks]

Question 6: Decision Making under Uncertainty

Central Events Ltd (CEL) is planning two alternative events for the first weekend in November. One is a car show that will be held in a local indoor arena and is not weather dependent. The predicted profit is $150,000 regardless of the weather conditions.

The other event is an agricultural field day that will be held in a combination of the local indoor arena and the surrounding sports fields. This is weather dependent. If the weather is poor the field day will lose $50,000. If the weather is moderate the field day will make a $50,000 profit, and if the weather is fine profits are predicted to be $300,000. Based on past weather records the probability of poor weather is 20%, probability of moderate weather is 30% and the probability of good weather is 50%.

Required:

a) Based only on the information above recommend to CEL which event they should select. Give detailed reasons for your recommendation and support these with calculations. (4 marks)

b) Metservice can provide you a highly specific weather prediction (being 100% accurate) for the first weekend in November (e.g. poor, moderate or fine) for a fee of $60,000. Recommend if CEL should purchase this report or not. Support your reasons with
calculations. (4 marks)

c) Another option for CEL is to plan for the agricultural field day to be completely indoors.This will involve hiring additional space in the events center and additional setup time at a cost of $75,000. An indoor only event will not be as attractive to the rural community so revenue is also predicted to fall by $25,000 from the good weather result. Briefly explain if this is a more attractive option than the original agricultural field day without the weather forecast. Support your explanation with calculations. (4 marks)

d) Using all of the information above recommend to CEL what option they should choose. Justify your answer. (2 marks)

[Total : 14 Marks]

Question 7: Costing Framework

Discussions of alternative costing systems often focus on one component of the costing system and assume the remaining components are understood by the audience leaving the discussion incomplete. Full discussion of costing systems requires all components to be stated and explained.

Required:

Identify and briefly outline the components that should be explained when outlining a costing system. Ensure your outline explains the purpose of each component described.

[Total: 8 marks]

Question 8: Short Answer Questions

Required:

a) Identify two (2) limitations of multiproduct CVP analysis. (2 marks)

b) Briefly explain the advantages and disadvantages of using regression to calculate cost equations. (3 marks)

c) Briefly explain why ethical behaviour is important for management accountants. (2 marks)

d) Briefly explain what sustainability is. (2 marks)

e) Briefly explain one sustainability management accounting tool and how it can assist in managing the sustainability of an entity. (3 marks)

[Total: 12 marks]

The post 157.216 Management, Analytics and Decision Making Assessment Brief 2026 appeared first on Students Assignment Main.