ACC 224 PSU The Social Factors Affecting Almarai Company Questions

Prince Sultan University
‫وزارة التعليم العالي‬
‫قسم البنات بجامعة األمير سلطان‬
Group Assignment – Case Study
Term: 231/Semester 1, 2023
Course leader:
Prof. Zahirul Hoque
Course Code: ACC224
Course Title: Strategic Cost Analysis
Available from: Week 4, 24 September 2023 10:00 am via LMS
Submission Deadline: Week 14, 27 November 2023 before 11:59 pm via LMS.
Number of pages: 3 (including cover page)
Total marks: 5 (weight 5% of the overall assessment
Assignment Rules
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The student must submit this assignment as a group of 3 members each.
The student must include his/her Name and ID in the space below with the section number.
The assignment MUST be submitted in a single MSWORD document via LMS with the file name
using the Student ID number. For example, ACC224_Assignment1_ (ID #).
For the late submission penalty and academic integrity policy: refer to the course syllabus
document.
The PSU Honor Code
‫أتعهد أنا الطالب الموقع أدناه بأن أكون ملتزما ً باألمانة ومطبقا ً لجميع تعليمات وأنظمة االمتحانات في الجامعة‬
“I do hereby pledge to conduct myself with honesty and integrity during the examination and abide by the rules
and regulations of the University.” Don’t forget to sign the Honor Code pledge!
Name and ID:
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Grade achieved:
Question No.
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Total
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Group Assignment
Almarai Company
Designing an appropriate management accounting tool
Weight: 5%
Learning outcomes cover:
a. Discipline-specific knowledge
b. Critical thinking and analytical skills.
c. Perform group projects through a cooperative learning strategy.
Scenario
Your Group works for a highly respected firm of Management Consultants specializing in the
retail, industrial, and resources sectors.
The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Almarai Company of Saudi Arabia has invited your consulting
firm to develop a strategic cost management tool to assist its manufacturing divisional managers
in determining the cost of its various products and use it for strategic decisions. CEO has decided
to do this because he wishes to ensure his entire production divisional management knows the
growing importance of relevant cost information for a sustainable business operation in the long
run.
Founded in 1977, Almarai has become the Middle East’s largest food and beverage manufacturer
and distributor and the world’s largest vertically integrated dairy company. With headquarters in
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, the company’s production and distribution footprint covers the GCC states.
In addition to its farming operations in Saudi Arabia, the company also has arable farms primarily
located in Argentina and the United States of America. Through their direct control of the supply
chain, they have the unique ability to deliver safe, quality products to millions of consumers every
day. [Source: Almarai Website]
The Task [word limit – maximum 400 words]
Write a proposal to the CEO that addresses the weaknesses of the company’s current costing
system and recommend an innovative costing system that is in line with its mission, vision, and
strategic goals. Your report should contain the following specific information:
1. Briefly describe the company mission, vision and strategy. [Maximum 50 words] (1 mark)
2. Identify and list the socio-economic and environmental factors facing the company and
discuss the operational and reputational risks that the company would face if these issues
were not well managed and transparently reported. [Maximum 50 words] (1 mark)
3. Using the knowledge gained from your course, propose an appropriate costing system for the
company that could be implemented to meet the needs of Almarai production management.
Identify the key features of the systems and critically discuss its strengths and weaknesses
[Maximum 300 words] (3 marks)
Report Requirements
The company’s senior executives, like the CEO, are extremely busy. Therefore, your report should
be no more than 400 words, succinct, and to the point.
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To do well in the task and demonstrate a sound understanding of both traditional and
contemporary costing systems as covered in the learning activities, your report should show a
good understanding of any unique characteristics of the business and the relevance of strategic
cost management accounting to that industry sector. To do this, it will be necessary for you to
undertake considerable research. The best starting point for this research will be the study of
Almarai’s recent Annual Report and published web materials.
Submission
ONLY ONE REPORT (IN MS WORD) PER GROUP (3 members in each group) NEEDS TO BE
SUBMITTED VIA LMS BY THE DUE DATE. REFER TO THE COURSE LMS SITE FOR DETAILS.
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