Please respond to the following discussion post:

The strategy that Avon president Andrea Jung began to pursue to turn grow the company’s wealth was to follow the same guidelines in international markets that the American companies used, which was to give country managers considerable autonomy. This policy allowed them to use the Avon brand name in a direct-sales format that was the company’s hallmark (Hill, 2015, p. 404). Once Jung realized that this business model was not working for Avon she transformed the company by hiring seasoned managers from well-known global consumer products companies such as Proctor & Gamble and Unilever to regain control over communications, performance visibility, and accountability of the company (Hill, 2015, p. 405).This move was the beginning of a positive growth performance of the company, and by 2007, this strategy was starting to yield dividends. Jung began using stars to promote the Avon products which resulted in higher product sales, and an increase in its sales force.

Avon soon took another tumble in market shares in the year 2010 and 2011 because of an increase of competition from rival companies like Proctor & Gamble. Problems arising from technology issues and bribes from government officials in China caused Avon to be charged with violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. After feeling the pressure from investors Jung relinquished her role as CEO in 2011. Sometimes CEO’s take risks that start out on a good path but after a while find that changes need to be made sooner than later in order to offset market changes that will affect company growth. Jung’s aggressive strategy proved to be a failure in the end and ultimately resulted in her ouster as CEO.

Suppose that Lorenzo, an economist from a university in Arizona, and Neha, an economist from a school of industrial relations, are arguing over government bailouts. The following dialogue shows an excerpt from their debate:

Neha: Thanks to recent financial crises, the concept of bailouts is a hot topic for debate among everyone these days.

Lorenzo: Indeed, it's gotten crazy! A government bailout of severely distressed financial firms is unnecessary because free markets will properly price assets.

Neha: I don't know about that. Without a bailout of severely distressed financial firms, the economy will experience a deep recession.

1. The disagreement between these economists is most likely due to

A. differences in scientific judgments

B. differences between perception versus reality

C. differences in values

2. Despite their differences, with which proposition are two economists chosen at random most likely to agree?

A. Minimum wage laws do more to harm low-skilled workers than help them.

B. Lawyers make up an excessive percentage of elected officials.

C. Tariffs and import quotas generally reduce economic welfare.

Somnath Ltd manufactures and sells product G. The company operates a standard marginal costing system, and the standard variable cost of production and selling price of product G is provided in the table below.

The variable production overhead is incurred in direct proportion to the direct labour hours worked and budgeted fixed manufacturing overheads are £1,200,000 annually.

In June 2020, Somnath Ltd budgeted to produce and sell 15,000 units of product G. The finance director projected a profit forecast of £350,000 for the month based on these sales level.

In June 2020 however, actual production and sales were 15,500 units and a profit of £417,125 was recorded. There were no inventories at the beginning and at the end the month.

The production and purchasing department managers stated that because of their hard work, they have been able to keep costs down and this is reflected in the increased profit for the company. They said they that they deserve to be rewarded with a bonus for their contribution to the increased profits.    

The CEO of the company asked the management accountant to produce the actual profit statement for June 2017, which is provided below:

Required

1. Calculate all the operating variances and sub-variances and present them in a statement which reconciles the budgeted contribution to the actual contribution and profit for the month of June 2020.  

The variances that you are expected to calculate are:

• Sales volume and Sales price variances;
• Material A cost, Material A price and Material A usage variances;
• Material B cost, Material B price and Material B usage variances;
• Labour cost, Labour rate and Labour efficiency variances;
• Variable production overhead cost, Variable production overhead expenditure and Variable production overhead efficiency variances;
• Fixed production overhead expenditure variance.

You should state clearly whether a variance is favourable (F) or adverse (A).                                                                                                                                                                     [11 marks]

2. Write a report to the CEO of Somnath Ltd evaluating the production and purchasing department managers claim that they have been able to keep costs down and should receive a bonus for their hard work. Your report should include a discussion of possible reasons for the variances that you have calculated in part (a) and any recommendations for the organisation to consider for the future.  (Maximum of 800 words)                                                               [14 marks]

Kansas Company acquired a building valued at $210,000 for property tax purposes in exchange for 12,000 shares of its $5 par common stock. The sKansas Company acquired a building valued at $210,000 for property tax purposes in exchange for 12,000 shares of its $5 par common stock. The stock is widely traded and selling for $15 per share. At what amount should the building be recorded by Kansas Company?

$180,000

$210,000

$120,000

$60,000

Background :
You are Sarah, CFO at PT Kembang Gula, a FMCG company which manufactures and sells products necessities of the day which consist of:
1. Foods like: Chili sauce, soy sauce, tea etc.
2. Personal Care such as: shampoo, soap, moisturizer, toothpaste, etc.
3. Home Care such as: detergent, fabric softener, washing kitchen soap, floor cleaners, etc.
Putri is the CEO of PT Kembang Gula.

Task :
One day Sarah received an email from Putri, and asked for a reply to the email.
Email content:
Dear Sarah,
Seeing more and more not sure the business situation, national and global economy, and also still the length of travel Pandemi COVID19, then please give reviews and recommendations on the subject matter as follows:

1. With many variables that continue to change rapidly and significantly, how do we regulate the profitability and fundamental financial conditions of the company (the balance of loss/profit, balance sheet, cash flow) so that we remain healthy in the company and at the same time can still take any opportunities that arise in the market?

2. Please provide what is the example of business action that can be done by each section: Consumer & Market Insight, Marketing, Sales, Supply Chain and R&D, which is a unity with the corporate action above?

Later this issue will be discussed in the management meeting next week, but I want both of us to be able to discuss this first so that it can get the prefix proposals to be brought to the wider forum in the management meeting.

Sales Returns

Which of the following statements is true relating to the allowance for sales returns?

a. Sales returns is treated as an expense in the income statement and, therefore, reduces profit for the period.

b. An excess of the amount by which the allowance for sales returns is increased compared with the actual returns for the period indicates the company may have inflated profit for the period.

c. The amount by which the allowance for sales returns is reduced during the period is recognized as a reduction of sales for the period, thus reducing profts.

d. Increasing the allowance for sales returns by an amount that is less than the actual returns recognized for the period may indicate either the company is attempting to increase profit for the period or its estimates that less of its products will be returned in the future.

Deferred Revenue
True or false: A reduction of the deferred revenue account can be interpreted as a leading indicator of lower future revenues. Explain

a. Fale. Revenue is recognized when the deferred revenue liability increases. If the deferred revenue account has decreased, more cash came in from customers and more revenue will be recgnized in the future.

b. True. Revenue is recognized when the deferred revenue liability decreases. If the deferred revenue account has decreased, less cash came in from customers and less revenue will be recognized in the future.

c. False. Revenue is recognized when the deferred revenue liability decreases. If the deferred revenue account has decreased, less cash came in from customers and more revenue will be recognized in the future.

d. True. Revenue is recognized when the deferred revenue liability decreases. If the deferred revenue account has decreased, more cash came in from customers and less revenue will be recognized in the future.

Foreign Exchange Effects on Sales  
True or false: A multinational company reports that a large amount of its sales is generated in foreign currencies that have strengthened vis-à-vis the $US. Consolidated revenues are likely lower than would have been reported in the absence of such a shift in exchange rates.

a. False. Strengthening foreign currencies implies a weakening $US. As the $US weakens, foreign currencies purchase less $US, resulting in an decrease in foreign currency-denominated sales, expense and profit. Consolidated revenues will therefore, likely be higher.

b. True. Strengthening foreign currencies implies a weakening $US. As the $US weakens, foreign currencies purchase less $US, resulting in an decrease in foreign currency-denominated sales, expense and profit. Consolidated revenues will therefore, likely be lower.

c. False. Strengthening foreign currencies implies a weakening $US. As the $US weakens, foreign currencies purchase more $US, resulting in an increase in foreign currency-denominated sales, expense and profit. Consolidated revenues will therefore, likely be higher.

d. True. Strengthening foreign currencies implies a weakening $US. As the $US weakens, foreign currencies purchase less $US, resulting in an increase in foreign currency-denominated sales, expense and profit. Consolidated revenues will therefore, likely be lower.

Stenberg plc is preparing its financial statements for the year ended 30 November 2020.
On 1 May 2020, the company purchased a factory for the manufacture of optical disks,
paying £24,000,000. The factory will be depreciated over its estimated life of 10 years
using the straight line method on a full year basis with no residual value.
The asking price for the factory had been £30,000,000. However, Stenberg plc estimated
the net present value of the factory’s future expected net cash flows at £28,500,000 and
the price eventually agreed with the vendor was £24,000,000.
During October 2020 a rival company announced that it had patented a new technology
which has been enthusiastically greeted by the major players in the industry. Stenberg
plc now feels that it may be necessary to revise downwards its expectations for the
factory. It now believes that the net present value of the expected net cash flows from the
factory as at 30 November 2020 was £20,500,000. The net realisable value of the factory
was estimated at £14,000,000 as at 30 November 2020.
Required:
Discuss whether or not there is evidence of impairment and describe how the factory
should be treated in the financial statements for the year ended 30 November 2020.

You are on an interview where the interview panel notices that you have taken the Marketing Analytics & Data Mining course. They ask you about what you learned there, and besides talking about nitty-gritty modeling stuff, you want to give a bigger picture.

a. Explain why it is important to think about the data mining project strategically, with respect to making internal investments. What sort of investments might you have to make? please give a logical answer with an explanation.

In a job interview for a new marketing position you are seeking the interview panel ask you whether they should adopt a customer engagement strategy. The business is an established wholesaler. How would you respond? Explain your reasoning and provide examples of what you would implement.