Assume that you have been asked to propose survival strategies to a manufacturing company that produce health care products and equipment. In the process of developing the proposal, you have read and noted that,

“The pandemic Covid-19 has impacted the world economy, financial markets and business operation of the companies in both manufacturing and service sectors all around the world. The pandemic is prompting companies to adopt different ways of doing business. For example, the widespread use of remote work from home and virtual online meetings has become far more common than before the pandemic. Many companies have learned to operate differently.

In this difficult environment, management accounting needs to be more closely linked with corporate strategy because the whole purpose of management accounting is to support management in the decision making of the company. Thus, it is expected that management accountants contribute to help their company choose and pursue the right strategy for their business to resume. For example, management accountants should be able to provide answers to questions such as, Is this strategy still going to work here? What do we need to alter?

Accordingly, companies need to innovate new products and services that will be needed now and beyond. That is, to ensure their business can still serve in the value chain during and post Covid- 19 pandemic. Clearly, management accountants must be able to recognise opportunities and contribute to the survival of their company.”

Further, as a university management accounting student, you have been taught that management accountants serve all key managers in their company as depicted in the diagram below.

REQUIRED:

1. (a) Discuss TWO (2) points that support the reading material that you have noted mentioning that “management accountants must be able to recognise opportunities and contribute to the survival of their company” because of the devastating impact on Covid-19 pandemic on manufacturing sector.

2. (b) As part of your proposal writing, explain THREE (3) survival strategies that will contribute towards sustaining the manufacturing company’s existence in the value chain while combating the impact of Covid-19 pandemic. Each strategy must be proposed in relation to any of the managers shown in the above diagram.