Deck 1: Accounting: Information for Decision Making

Question 1

Planning decisions relate to choices about acquiring and using resources to deliver products and services to customers.

Answer 1

True

Question 2

A for-profit business usually specifies organizational goals according to profit motive.

Answer 2

False

Question 3

Decisions that best attain individual goals may not necessarily agree with the organization's goal of maximizing profit.

Answer 3

True

Question 4

The Decision Framework applies to all business-related decisions, but not to personal decisions.

Question 5

To accomplish their goals, organizations not only need to allocate resources effectively, but also need to motivate employees to focus on organizational goals.

Question 6

The primary role of accounting is to help measure the costs and benefits of decision options.

Question 7

Understanding finance is not crucial to organizations when identifying the costs and benefits of funding operations in different ways.

Question 8

Managerial accounting aims to satisfy the information needs of decision makers outside the firm.

Question 9

The key difference between individual and business decisions relate to Step 2 of the four-step framework, that is, identifying options.

Question 10

Effective decision makers ensure that the value of the chosen decision option exceeds its opportunity cost.

Question 11

Firms satisfy the information needs of external makers by issuing a comprehensive set of financial statements at regular intervals that relate to the firm as a whole.

Question 12

In the United States, firms follow Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) as defined by the Financial Accounting Standards Board when preparing their financial statements.

Question 13

The planning and control cycle includes planning, implementing, evaluating, and revising.

Question 14

Unlike individuals whose goals might have several factors, organizations tend to have focused goals.

Question 15

Every option in making a decision presents a unique trade-off between benefits and costs.

Question 16

The value of an option must always be expressed in monetary terms.

Question 17

Control decisions relate to motivating, monitoring, and evaluating performance.

Question 18

Business decisions generally have few options.

Question 19

The planning and control cycle is a long-term cycle normally taking months to complete.

Question 20

Examining past performance is not involved in control decisions.

Question 21

The opportunity cost of any decision option is:

A) The value to the decision maker of the least-best option.
B) The total profit of the best option.
C) The total costs of the least option.
D) The value to the decision maker of the next best option.
E) None of the above.

Question 22

The concepts of value and opportunity cost emphasize that every decision involves:

A) Eliminating any risks of making the decision.
B) Estimating the time value of money.
C) Trading off what the decision maker gets with what the decision maker gives up.
D) Comparing the current period's opportunity costs with the previous period's opportunity costs.
E) None of the above.

Question 23

Which of the following is the best example of an opportunity cost?

A) The cost of filling up the company car with gasoline.
B) The time incurred in reviewing expense reports of key employees in the company.
C) Taking two days vacation at the end of the month instead of completing a project for a client.
D) Asking the President of the company for a raise.

Question 24

Greg, a college student, knows that the opportunity cost of taking a class this summer is $1,200. This means that:

A) Instead of taking the class, Greg could earn $1,200 by working instead.
B) Greg will need to pay $1,200 to take the class.
C) The difference between what he would earn working less the cost of the class is $1,200.
D) By taking the class, Greg will have the opportunity to earn $1,200 more in a job than he would without taking the class.

Question 25

The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 mandates that the executives and financial officers certify, in writing, the truthfulness of reports filed with the IRS.

Question 26

Firms promote goal congruence by:

A) Requiring all employees to participate in the budgeting process.
B) Assuring that all decisions have a small number of options.
C) Reducing opportunity cost to a minimum.
D) Tailoring policies and procedures to fit the organization's specific needs.
E) None of the above promotes goal congruence.

Question 27

Managerial accounting is a branch of accounting which:

A) Provides financial information to creditors and stockholders.
B) Summarizes financial information.
C) Assists in predicting future profits.
D) Assists in making business decisions.

Question 28

John has three options for summer work. He can do lawn work for $100 per week, babysit for $125 per week, or work at the local pool for $175 per week. All of the options would require approximately 20 hours of work per week. In addition, if he chooses to work at the pool, he will incur $20 in gas costs per week. The opportunity cost if he chooses to babysit is:

A) $100
B) $175
C) $155
D) $105

Question 29

Some firms impose ethical standards on their suppliers.

Question 30

Ethics relate primarily to the decision-making step of the Decision Framework.

Question 31

The value of an option equals its:

A) Benefits plus its costs.
B) Benefits less its costs.
C) Costs.
D) Profit.
E) None of the above.

Question 32

Which of the following is a reason for forming an organization?

A) To help individuals in need.
B) To increase one's wealth.
C) To maximize shareholder value.
D) To serve the public.
E) All of the above are reasons for forming an organization.

Question 33

The owner of a driving range is trying to determine the value of hiring additional part time help. If she is able to hire someone to work in the shop for 15 hours per week for $10 per hour, she estimates that she can teach approximately 10 additional lessons for which she charges $40 per lesson. The value of hiring a new employee is:

A) $400
B) $250
C) $150
D) $100

Question 34

Janice is traveling to see a friend in New York next month and she is trying to decide whether to fly or take the train. She found a round-trip airline ticket for $170. Janice feels that traveling on the train would be more convenient and she was able to find a ticket for $159, however the total trip time traveling by train will take two hours more than by plane. Janice should:

A) Take the train because it is the least expensive option.
B) Take the train because it is the most convenient option.
C) Take the plane if her goal is to spend as much time as possible with her friend.
D) Take the plane because it has been proven to be the safest mode of transportation.

Question 35

The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977 prohibits managers from giving or taking bribes unless such acts are part of the normal business practices in another country.

Question 36

Which of the following statements is false?

A) Decisions help us accomplish goals.
B) When determining their goals, individuals generally agree on the factors they consider and the importance they attach to the various factors.
C) Some decisions involve a small number of options.
D) For most businesses, identifying the set of options is one of the more important tasks of management.
E) Value is the contribution of an option to the decision maker's goals.

Question 37

What is the first step in the decision-making process?

A) Identify available options.
B) Specify the problem and goals.
C) Measure costs and benefits.
D) Make a final decision.

Question 38

Which of the following is not one of the four steps in the decision making process?

A) Specify the decision problem, including the decision maker's goals.
B) Identify options.
C) Separate routine decision
D) Measure benefits and costs to determine the value of each option.
E) Make the decision, choosing the option with the highest value.

Question 39

In applying the four-step decision-making framework, which of the following is a difference in individuals' and organizations' decision making process?

A) Individuals' goals might have several factors whereas organizations tend to have focused goals.
B) Individuals' goals tend to be clear, whereas organizations' goals tend to be unclear.
C) Individuals' goals tend to be long-term, whereas organizations' goals tend to be short-term.
D) Individuals' goals' may be monetary or nonmonetary, whereas organizations' goals are always monetary.
E) All of the above are differences in individual and organizational decisions.

Question 40

Many firms conduct surprise audits to increase the odds of detecting unethical behavior.

Question 41

Which of the following is not a decision maker outside the firm?

A) Employee.
B) Stockholder.
C) Potential Investor.
D) Bank.
E) Board of Directors.

Question 42

Which of the following best describes the nature of control decisions of the planning and control cycle?

A) Deciding which products to sell.
B) Evaluating future advertising based on the effectiveness of a past ad campaign.
C) Creating a management report that is typically not reviewed.
D) Giving employees pay increases without regard to performance.

Question 43

Which of the following is not a key difference between managerial accounting and financial accounting?

A) The emphasis of financial accounting is information reliability while the emphasis of managerial accounting is information relevance.
B) Financial accounting focuses on past financial data while managerial accounting uses all available data.
C) Financial accounting focuses on external users while managerial accounting focuses on internal users.
D) Financial accounting uses financial and non-financial data while managerial accounting only uses non-financial data.
E) Financial accounting reports are released periodically while managerial accounting reports are generated on an as-needed basis.

Question 44

Groceries R Us is considering two different options: install four self-service registers which would increase profits by $1,800, or install 2 additional full-service registers which would increase profits by $400. What is the value and opportunity cost of the option of installing the full-service registers?

Question 45

In order to make a good decisions, management must rely on:

A) The company's audited financial statements.
B) Historical documents such as bank statements.
C) Employee input.
D) The evaluation of the costs and benefits of each decision.

Question 46

In the planning and control cycle, the Implement stage deals with:

A) Products and services.
B) Best mix of products and services.
C) Motivate employees.
D) Actual results.
E) Reasons for deviations.

Question 47

Which one of the following is considered a stage of the planning and control cycle?

A) Analyze markets.
B) Revise.
C) Develop budgets.
D) Modify.

Question 48

Which of the following is not a stage in the planning and control cycle?

A) Implementing.
B) Evaluating.
C) Revising.
D) Measuring.
E) All of the above are stages in the planning and control cycle.

Question 49

In the planning and control cycle, the Plan stage deals with:

A) Use of resources to make products and deliver services.
B) Actual results.
C) Performance targets.
D) Products and services.
E) Reasons for deviations.

Question 50

Which one of the following is the best example of an organizational goal?

A) Ensuring that costs exceed benefits.
B) Maximizing shareholder value.
C) Paying significant dividends.
D) Launching a new product that is known to have potential defects.

Question 51

Which of the following is not associated with how organizations motivate employees to achieve their goals?

A) Policies and procedures.
B) Incentive schemes and performance evaluation.
C) Terminating employees.
D) Monitoring employees for enforcement of policies and procedures.

Question 52

An organization's employees use managerial accounting data to determine:

A) Who to hire and how to pay them.
B) Which products and services to offer.
C) The prices of products and services.
D) What equipment to purchase.
E) All of the above.

Question 53

The primary role of accounting is to:

A) Detect and prevent fraud.
B) Maintain employee pay records.
C) Measure the costs and benefits of decision options.
D) Prepare reports for the government.
E) None of the above.

Question 54

In the planning and control cycle, the Evaluate stage deals with:

A) Products and services.
B) Resources necessary.
C) Set performance targets.
D) Achievement of performance targets.
E) All of he above are part of the Evaluate stage.

Question 55

The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 requires that:

A) Executives of publicly-traded companies take responsibility for the accuracy of financial reports.
B) Publicly-traded companies release financial statements on a quarterly basis.
C) Publicly-traded companies notify stockholders if there is any turnover in executive positions.
D) Publicly-traded companies provide a dividend to stockholders at least every other year.

Question 56

Which part of the four step framework for making decisions is linked directly to the formulation of the decision maker's goals?

A) Step 1: Specify the decision problem.
B) Step 2: Identify options.
C) Step 3: Measure benefits and costs.
D) Step 4: Make the decision.

Question 57

The proper order for the steps in a planning and control cycle are:

A) Plan, revise, implement, and evaluate.
B) Implement, evaluate, revise, and plan.
C) Implement, revise, evaluate, and plan.
D) Plan, implement, evaluate, and revise.

Question 58

The organizational goal of management at Friedman Enterprises is to maximize profits. The goal of individual employees is to maximize their paychecks. One way in which management can try to align these goals would be to:

A) Increase employee pay, after all this should make employees more efficient.
B) Eliminate stringent policies and procedures, thus giving employees more freedom in their work.
C) Increase employee incentives for exceptional work.
D) Decrease the amount of supervision of the employees, as this can be distracting to employees.

Question 59

In the planning and control cycle, the Revise stage deals with:

A) Best mix of products and services.
B) Reasons for deviations.
C) Motivate employees.
D) Customer and prices.
E) None of the above is a part of the Revise stage.

Question 60

The two classes of decision makers who rely on accounting information are:

A) Managers and employees.
B) Stockholders and creditors.
C) Governmental agencies and owners.
D) Decision makers inside the firm and decision makers outside the firm.
E) Auditors and executives.

Question 61

Which one of the following is a primary user of managerial accounting?

A) An ex employee.
B) A county taxing authority.
C) A sales manager of one of the company's divisions.
D) A bank that loaned a company $2,000,000.

Question 62

The main responsibility for ethical behavior rests on:

A) Professional bodies.
B) The Government.
C) Employers.
D) The individuals involved.
E) The legal system.

Question 63

Which of the following is not an example of how companies provide guidance regarding ethical standards?

A) A company may mandate stiff penalties, including fines and jail time, for unethical conduct.
B) A company may provide each employee a handbooks which include statements of ethical standards.
C) A company may include statements of ethical standards in its employee rights and responsibilities documents.
D) A company may impose ethical standards on their suppliers.
E) All of the above.

Question 64

Which law mandates that the financial statements of the organization are accurate and complete when filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission?

A) The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.
B) The Financial Accountability Act.
C) Generally Accepted Accounting Principles.
D) The Sarbanes-Oxley Act.

Question 65

Ethical standards are often considered difficult to enforce. Which one of the following is a good approach to ensuring ethics are followed?

A) Randomly inquiring of certain employees whether they are being ethical or not.
B) Routinely check to ensure that applicants make truthful statement on their employment applications.
C) Ensuring the CEO always includes a comment on the newsletter that ethics are important and must be followed.
D) Ensuring that key employees sign conflict of interest statements.

Question 66

Which of the following is not a provision of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002?

A) It mandates that executives of publicly traded companies take individual responsibility for the accuracy and completeness of financial reports.
B) It requires executive and financial officers to certify, in writing, the truthfulness of quarterly and annual reports filed with the SEC.
C) It provides for penalties, including fines and jail time, for executives who knowingly alter, destroy, conceal or falsify records.
D) It prohibits managers from giving or taking bribes, even if such acts are part of the normal business practices in another country.
E) All of the above are provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.

Question 67

Which of the following outside forces stop an individual from unethical decision making?

A) Governments.
B) Societies.
C) Laws.
D) Organizations.
E) All of the above.

Question 68

Which one of the following is a characteristic of managerial accounting?

A) Involves only quantitative information.
B) Involves decision makers internal to the company.
C) Prepared based on fixed periods of reporting.
D) Required by GAAP.