Questions and Answers of An Introduction To Accounting Accountability In Organisations And Society

What are some strategies that help you learn best? How could these be used in a regular and structured way to facilitate reflective practice?
Consider the times when you have felt frustrated by not having a ‘how to’ guide to social work practice. What benefits might have been gained from such a guide(if it existed) and what might have
Consider an organisation you know something about. What opportunities are there for increasing intra- and inter-organisational networking? How could increasing net working assist in increasing
What might be some challenges for social workers in their attempts to ‘run ahead’of bureaucratic processes?
Using Practice Example 7.2, what are the tensions for service users in forming these kinds of partnerships? What can be done to improve their experience of collaboration?
How can social workers adjust their practice so that they are more responsive to the experiences service users have when encountering human service organisations?
What factors can improve the workplace cultures and morale of human services?List your understanding of what can contribute to front-line workers’ and profes sionals’ well-being.
What are the factors that contribute to stress in the workplace of Practice Example 7.1? How can excessive stress and anxiety in social work services be reduced or overcome in staff development and
How can social workers improve sensitivity to cultural diversity among clients in service delivery? For example, what organisational structures and processes need to change to enable Dominelli’s
What dimension of upward, outward, inward and downward accountability do social workers need to be aware of in the lessons learned from the case outlined in Practice Example 6.2?
What values and intervention strategies across the micro, mezzo and macro lev els of practice will contribute to the effectiveness of smaller to medium organisa tions with their clients and local
How can codes of practice be linked to demonstrating effective and quality social service delivery in organisations?
What might be some internal pressures within a team as an organisation strives to work in partnership with other organisations?
Consider an organisation of which you have experience. How might a ‘community of practice’ be formed around a key issue (e.g. improving practice standards)within the organisation?
What skills do you think social workers have that can help manage conflict in human services organisations?
Consider a conflict situation you have been involved in or the situation outlined in Practice Example 5.1. What would have been the plusses and minuses of the dif ferent conflict resolution
Using the above situation or imagining another risk situation in social work (such as that outlined in Practice Example 4.2), what might be some errors that could be made? What are some examples of
Identify a risk situation that you have been involved in and where you were required to make a decision and take action. Who were the different people involved in this situation and how might they
Imagine working in a busy social services office. If under pressure, how easy would it be for you to engage in defensive practices? What sorts of supports would you need to try to prevent these from
Reflect on occasions where you have been a service user or consumer of health or welfare services. How did you participate in the decision making of front-line staff (e.g. counter or duty staff)? Did
Consider an organisational change situation (regardless of how minor) you have been involved in. How did you feel about the change at the time it was proposed and at the time of implementation? What
What do you think are some of the main reasons why employees might resist organisational change?
What might be some limitations with just having operational plans without a broader strategic plan?
Identify some form of organisational change that has occurred in an organisation with which you are familiar. How well planned was the change process? Were there unforeseen outcomes?
Given a stated commitment to social justice, what responsibilities does the social work profession have to challenge racist thinking? See also Chapters 6 and 8.
How do you think social workers and others within Avalon Care might construct clients as racially inferior? What might be some examples of structural prejudice or racism is such an organisation?
What risky situations does social work find itself in when dealing with potentially difficult or violent clients? What threat of harm or danger does social work place users in through intervention in
In the Avalon Care practice example, how might the organisation decide to allo cate resources to older people, the mentally ill and/or the homeless by prioritis ing those deemed most ‘at risk’?
Compare the strengths and weaknesses of critical and postmodern approaches to organisations. What is similar and what is different?
What perspective does critical theory bring to management practice in Avalon Care? See Chapter 1 on managerialism.
What are some weaknesses of the postmodern approach?
How does the postmodern metaphor of ‘unpacking’ help us understand the changing organisational conditions and practices in Avalon Care? Imagine, for example, unpacking Avalon Care or an
Observe a human service organisation to see what work is done and who does it. How is social meaning created within the organisation? For example, what are some common rituals?
In the Avalon Care practice example, how might inter-personal conflicts arise between management and professionals if there are significant differences in work conditions and salaries between the two
What interpersonal and group skills and processes, such as mediation (see Chapter 5), can lead to clearer communication in organisational cultures and boost morale?
In Avalon Care, how might the cultures of this organisation have shifted with the four different stages of development? What effect might these cultures have had on the care of clients or patients by
What are some of the weaknesses of adopting a systems and functionalist approach to human services?
How can a service organisation, such as Avalon Care, be understood as a sys tem? What might be some of its sub-systems?
What are some elements of an organisation that are not explained by managerial and technocratic thinking? For example, what about conflict between workers and managers or managers and professionals
In the Avalon Care example, the most recent development of this organisation involved a shift towards a corporate structure. This was seen as necessary to sustain service delivery and maximise
What are some alternative sources of knowledge which are essential for organi sational practice?
What do you think are the strengths and weaknesses of evidence-based practice, best practice and practice guidelines?
Think of a social issue (e.g. youth crime) and identify the different professions that have a stake in this issue. How might these professions construct the issue differently, develop alternative or
Review some job advertisements in social work and social care. How are recent labour-market reforms apparent in job titles, conditions, roles and duties?
How can I survive, maintain competency and integrity, and flourish, as a social worker and as a person, in this organisation?
Should I seek to influence the organisation in line with social work values and, if so, how should I go about this?
What happens when organisational practices conflict with my social work values?
How do I apply my social work knowledge, values and skills to the work of the organisation?
What contribution does social work make to the organisation and to its serv ice users?
How is what I do different from what other employees do?
Archer, Maddie and Dillon are unsure at this stage how far they should extend the reporting boundary of ASD. Maddie wishes to better understand the reporting boundary concept and how this might apply
Dillon studied introductory accounting as part of his marketing degree. Now that he, Archer and Maddie are moving ahead with the business, he is reviewing his study materials and notes a definition
Archer, Maddie and Dillon are looking ahead to their broader reporting responsibilities and are considering what type of information they might provide in the future in relation to their financial,
Sam has been busy planning the event and has asked if there is any data that ASD would like to collect on the day of the event. Dillon believes that it would be a good idea to report back to the
In relation to the potential restructure of ASD from a partnership to a company.a. Identify and discuss the differences between a partnership and a company.b. Prepare a brief list of items that
Archer, Maddie and Dillon each have an equal one-third share in ASD and as such they are keen to ensure that they are each contributing equal resources into the business.a. From the information
In relation to the email received from Hamish, you are required to:a. Reply to Hamish’s email and advise of the amount of any prepaid and/or accrued expenses related to insurance and/or wages for
Before you can commence finalising the annual financial statements, you are required to consider the impact of each of the missing June transactions and events on the financial statements.a. Briefly
Prepare the journal entries to record the transactions detailed on the following pieces of source documentation:a. Invoice issued by ASD to Waves Surf Shop (noting that the cost of the goods sold was
You are required to review the journal entries prepared by Hamish.a. Advise Hamish of any errors that he has made when recording the journal entries.b. For each error identified in part a, explain
Archer, Maddie and Dillon are considering preparing a social and environmental report to accompany the release of their financial statements but are unsure as to what specific information could be
Maddie has reviewed your proposal but is not convinced that an additional accountant is required. Explain to Maddie how ASD’s reporting requirements as a publicly listed company are now different
Archer, Maddie and Dillon became friends when they travelled together to Indonesia on a surfing trip organised by a local travel company. At the time of the trip they were each taking a break before
Archer, Maddie and Dillon have asked you to explain why their competitors might have decided to report information relating to their social and environmental performance. Explain to Archer, Maddie
Dillon has asked for your assistance to understand the product life cycle of a plastic bottle and for you to present your research at the upcoming Directors’ meeting. He is keen to ensure that
You have been asked to provide input at the Directors’ meeting regarding the Production Manager’s proposal in relation to the new machinery. In preparation for the meeting, you have decided to
Archer, Maddie and Dillon have asked you to start attending their monthly Directors’ meetings in order to keep them updated with an overall picture as to how the business is performing. From your
It is now some time since the original operating budgets for the beach towel line were prepared. As part of the ongoing budgeting process, you have been regularly comparing the budgeted results to
Part of the business plan is to pay a bonus to manufacturing staff based on the number of towels each staff member produces each quarter. Maddie has asked you if the reward system for manufacturing
From the information obtained during the meeting, prepare the following operating budgets (with a quarterly breakdown) for the new beach towel line for the year ending 30 June 20X5.a) Sales Budgetb)
Archer has arranged a meeting with you to discuss the recent criticisms regarding the surfboard manufacturing industry and why some of ASD’s competitors have decided to import surfboards rather
Congratulations! You got the job! Your first project is to work with Maddie to assess the feasibility of the special edition rash-vest line. You have been told that in order to produce the
You have been shortlisted for the accounting role and have secured an interview with Dillon and Archer. At the interview, Dillon seems reluctant to employ an accountant. He asks: ‘how can an
In preparation for your upcoming meeting, you are undertaking a review of ASD’s assets and resources.a. Based on your knowledge of ASD and the surfing industry generally, identify five assets that
In relation to the new machinery purchased on 1 June 20X8:a. Calculate the depreciation expense for the month of June 20X8 noting that the machinery will be used on a uniform basis throughout its
Archer, Maddie and Dillon have asked you for further information to assist them to make a decision regarding the delivery van. Specifically, you are required to:a. Calculate the annual depreciation
Identify any transactions or events during the month of June 20X8 that ASD should consider as having the potential to give rise to a contingent liability. Explain why the transaction or event may
In the balance sheet that you provided ahead of the meeting, Maddie noticed that ASD has a significant level of retained earnings and reserves. She has expressed concern that there may be idle cash
Archer, Maddie and Dillon are keen to make sure that the profit of the business has not been understated and so have asked you to undertake a review of the draft income statement prepared by Hamish.
In relation to the sports watches, determine the cost of sales and ending inventory amounts for the quarter ending 30 September 20X8 on the basis that ASD adopts a FIFO cost flow assumption and
Archer has noticed that the equity of ASD has increased during the last financial year.a. Identify two possible reasons that could explain this increase in equity.b. Explain to Archer how the
With reference to the operating cycle, explain two changes that ASD may be able to make in order to improve cash flow from operations, and discuss any associated implications which should be
Advise Dillon whether it is possible for the bank balance to go down during the month of August when the business has made a substantial profit during the same month. You should explain your answer
In order for Dillon to understand the reasons for the decrease in cash:a. Prepare a draft cash flow statement for the month of August 20X8. Show all workings. You are not required to prepare a
Explain why the cash balance per the balance sheet might be different from the cash balance per the bank statement. Describe the process you would use in order to reconcile this difference.
Discuss the risk of theft associated with the recent beach clean-up day. Your discussion should include specific examples of internal control weaknesses. Suggest how the internal controls could be
Archer, Maddie and Dillon have been told that if they wish to fully acquire Sea Salt Surf Ltd, it would cost approximately $50 million. From the balance sheet, they can see that the total assets of
During your meeting, Dillon asks about the sustainability of Sea Salt Surf Ltd. You had already provided him with a brief overview of the information contained in the Sustainability Report, but he
Archer, Maddie and Dillon have requested a meeting with you to discuss the potential investment in Sea Salt Surf Ltd. As part of your preparation for this meeting:a. Prepare a one-page report on the