Portfolio requirements

The portfolio answers are to be no longer than 5 pages (excluding cover page, references and appendices). The word processed document should meet the following requirements: font type of Times New Roman, font size 12, double spaced with 3cm margins. The portfolio answers are to be written in lay language but must indicate a sound conceptual understanding of the key issues. It is to contain:


• A word processed document; and,

• Completed Portfolio Cover Sheet and Portfolio Marking Guide attached to the front of the portfolio (available in the Assessments tab on FLECS-Blackboard).

• The work you submit must be your own. Significant penalties are imposed where assignments are found to be plagiarised. The University policy on Academic Integrity can be found on this webpage: http://academicintegrity.curtin.edu.au/home/

• If late submission of assignments or other work is accepted, students will be penalised by ten percent per calendar day for a late assessment submission (e.g. a mark equivalent to 10% of the total allocated for the assessment will be deducted from the marked value for every day that the assessment is late). The minimum mark after penalty is zero. An assessment more than seven calendar days overdue will not be marked.

• Extensions to the assignment due date will only be considered by the Unit Co-ordinator (Miss Eveline Indra) and will be granted only in extreme circumstance. Applications for extensions must be received in writing prior to the due date and be accompanied by supporting evidence.




Jack’s Outdoor World is a company that manufactures and sells garden furniture. They have been operating for the past ten years and have a comfortable share of the market. The company has four divisions, namely the garden shed division, the outdoor table division, the outdoor chair division and the garden swing division.
Jack Armstrong, the CEO of the company, has been reviewing the performance of the company. Jack has noticed that the outdoor swing division’s manager, Barry Wright, has consistently failed to attain his budget target, while the managers in the other three divisions have always successfully met their budgets targets. Jack is perplexed about Barry’s performance as Jack has known Barry since they were in high school and it was Barry who suggested that Jack should start this business. Without Barry’s help and support, Jack would not have been able to build the company into the successful business that it is today. To recognise Barry’s contribution to the business, Jack made Barry a shareholder in the company three years ago.
Concerned that his friendship with Barry might affect his judgement, Jack has called you into his office for an urgent meeting. As the Management Accountant, Jack has asked you to investigate the outdoor swing division’s performance.
Write a short report (a maximum of 5 pages) to Jack which addresses each of the following questions.
1) What are the different functions of a budget? Briefly explain each function.
2) Is a division that fails to meet its budget targets less successful than a division that does? Briefly explain your answer.
3) Referring back to your answers to Question One, how do you think Barry uses the budget in his division?
4) The managers in the other three divisions are always successfully meeting their budget targets. Is that a concern? What are the three methods used by managers to achieve their budgets that are harmful to the company?
5) What can you do to guard against the three methods identified above?
6) Write a recommendation to Jack on what he should do.