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• Module overview
• 1. Introduction to budgets
  • 1.1 Introduction to the Budget Process
  • 1.2 Budget types
    • 1.2.1 The Budget Guidelines
    • 1.2.2 The Sales Budget
    • 1.2.3 Budget for Operating Expenses
    • 1.2.4 Profit Budget
    • 1.2.5 Cash-Flow Budget
    • 1.2.6 The Financial Position Budget
    • 1.2.7 Additional Types of Budgets
    • 1.2.8 Additional Budgeting Techniques
  • 1.3 The budget process and its objectives
  • 1.4 Budgets for performance management
    • 1.4.1 Master budget

• 2. Planning the budget

  • 2.1 Planning the Budget
    • 2.1.1 Business income
    • 2.1.2 Visual representation of sales and budgets
    • 2.1.3 The break-even point
    • 2.1.4 Contribution margin

• 3. Controlling the budget

  • 3.1 Controlling budgets
    • 3.1.1 Variance analysis
    • 3.1.2 Taking action to achieve the objectives of the budget
    • 3.1.3 Resource acquisition and usage

• 4. Introduction to Financial Management

  • 4.1 Business Objectives
    • 4.1.1 Maximising profit
    • 4.1.2 Maximising wealth
  • 4.2 Ethics and conflicts in business
    • 4.2.1 The dilemma of ethics in finance, investment and accounting
  • 4.3 Financial Managers
    • 4.3.1 Financial information and objectives
    • 4.3.2 Accounting, the financial information system
  • 4.4 The finance function
    • 4.4.1 Business and financial calculations

• 5. Elements of Business and Financial Management

  • 5.1 Business Structures
    • 5.1.1 Sole proprietors
    • 5.1.2 Partnerships
    • 5.1.3 Corporations and companies
  • 5.2 Reporting financial data and information
  • 5.3 Financial reports
    • 5.3.1 Statement of financial performance (profit and loss statement)
  • 5.4 Capital Markets
    • 5.4.1 Capital Markets
  • 5.5 Regulation and financial institutions
    • 5.5.1 Interest rates, supply and demand and market efficiency
  • 5.6 An overview of taxation implications

• 6. Obtaining Funds: Sources of Long Term and Short Term Finance

  • 6.1 Finance from external sources
    • 6.1.1 Equity finance
  • 6.2 Debt
  • 6.3 Long-term debt
    • 6.3.1 Debentures and unsecured notes (bonds)
    • 6.3.2 Mortgage loans
  • 6.4 Hybrids of debt and equity
  • 6.5 Leasing
    • 6.5.1 Operating Lease
    • 6.5.2 Financial Lease
    • 6.5.3 Distinguishing between an operating lease and a financial lease
    • 6.5.4 Sale and Leaseback
    • 6.5.5 The issue of gearing
  • 6.6 Short-term debt
    • 6.6.1 Bank Overdrafts
    • 6.6.2 Fully drawn advance
  • 6.7 Retained Earnings, internal funds and depreciation

• 7. Managing Working Capital

  • 7.1 Managing current assets and current liabilities
    • 7.1.1 Appropriate level of working capital
  • 7.2 Managing inventories
    • 7.2.1 Reasons for holding inventories
    • 7.2.2 The economic order quantity (EOQ)
    • 7.2.3 Re-order point (ROP)
    • 7.3.4 Safety stock (SS)
    • 7.2.5 Quantity discounts
  • 7.3 Managing trade debtors (accounts receivable)
    • 7.3.1 Credit policies
    • 7.3.2 Collection period
    • 7.3.3 Managing cash and near-cash assets
    • 7.3.4 Managing trade creditors (accounts payable)

• 8. Job Costing

  • 8.1 Accounting information about product, service and project costs
    • 8.1.1 Full costing
    • 8.1.2 Single product/service line
    • 8.1.3 Multi product/service
    • 8.1.4 Direct and indirect costs
  • 8.2 How costs behave
    • 8.2.1 Allocating Overheads
  • 8.4 Cost drivers
    • 8.4.1 ABC and the service industry
  • 8.5 Conclusion

4.2 Ethics and conflicts in business

Ethics are principles (derived from moral values) used to guide and evaluate actions and policies. All of us have some sort of ethical standard that helps us make decisions about our personal behaviour. Although no code of conduct (set of ethical rules) can specify what is right in all situations, every individual develops a sense of morality and ethical behaviour based on his or her upbringing, religion, or other beliefs or values. There are no black and white, right or wrong answers to be derived by studying ethics, although the concept of ethical standards does imply a sense of 'doing the right thing'.

Every business entity, because individuals run it, has some ethical standards that determine some of the entity's behaviour. Many businesses develop their own ethics policies and codes of conduct for their employees.

For example, when accountants prepare annual financial reports, they are guided by specific codes of conduct set down by their professional bodies. When conducting their professional activities they must consider concepts such as integrity, objectivity, independence, confidentiality, technical standards, professional competence and ethical behaviour.

Because the concept of ethics implies a value judgement and a sense of 'rightness', there are situations in business where a conflict exists between the goal of the firm, its owners, wealth maximisation and moral concerns associated with some business activities.

Example
Two competing major supermarket chains may actually break the law if they actively collude to set identical prices that they will both charge for identical goods. However, if the managing directors of both chains agree not to sell at less than 35% profit margins (to maximise profit) they do not break the law. If in combination, the two chains have 75% of the available market (and have monopoly power), is that mutual decision ethical or not? What is the conflict of interest?

Write down three conflict of interest examples that you can think of.

The following reading gives an insight into the conflict between the goals of business management and personal standards of behaviour.

Reading 1.1

Carr, A.Z., 1989, Chapter 1 'Can an executive afford a conscience?'

In Contemporary Moral Controversies in Business. Edited by

A Pablo Iannone. New York : Oxford University Press, pages 23-29.

Summarise the main points in the reading

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