Case analysis : briefly summarize the case. Focus on main points include: what are the key roles of managerial accounting system in the projects introduced in the cases? 2. Why do you think the managerial accounting system is important in the projects?

Asda case study four Investment appraisal Asda's methodology for many projects is to seek capex for a small trial initially, which the finance team assist in preparing and presenting. Part of the 'return' of these trial projects is insights that help the team assess the viability for roll out across all stores, refining the solution and maximising the final returns. This methodology is being used for a trial at the Abbey Park store investigating the use of full glass door cabinets for chilled and frozen produce; and the relative success of LED and fluorescent lighting. The team sought $1.2m to run the trial, including provision for exit costs should the ideas prove unviable. The main return was a reduction in running costs. However there were also concerns about the risk to sales, any associated possible increase in waste, extra staff costs due to more time consuming shelf replenishment - and, ultimately, the possibility of customers being 'turned off'. There was therefore a commitment to providing monthly go live reporting of both quantitative pre and post trial performance data and objective colleague and customer feedback. The monthly trial report included sales participation, wages, waste, store energy performance, case energy performance, alongside feedback from customers and colleagues. The finance team is responsible for pulling together all this information and playing an active part in decisions regarding further roll out. 'One day it's likely that it will be something we will have to do, through legislation or because the costs of not doing so will get too high,' says Hemant Patel ACMA, Retail Finance Director Asda. 'However where there is an operator saying, "This is losing me money. ", part of the role that finance has to play is to mediate. Initial results and figures that might drive a short-term decision to remove the trial were not taking into consideration the longer-term need to fix the issue.' 'Part of our remit, then, was to mediate and to recommend that instead of ripping it out, it's worth having a small sales impact on one store to be able to measure the effect over time. If it's something we will have to do eventually, we should continue to monitor and learn. Having said that, we are also proposing that we shouldn't roll it out any further - we shouldn't put it into the model until we can prove it works. Finance's role there was to be an independent advisor.' Read CIMA's latest report Accounting for Climate Change at www.cimaglobal.com/sustainability The report includes case studies from other organisations and looks at how management accountants, their skills and their tools can provide business intelligence to support strategy and influence decision making, driving their organisations to mitigate and adapt to climate change. If you are interested in sharing your own insights and experiences in this area, we would be delighted to hear from you. Please email us at research@cimaglobal.com