Performance objective
The candidate will demonstrate the ability to implement financial management approaches.
Assessment description
In response to the scenario provided, you will access and communicate details of budget to a team member (assessor). You will then support the team member to perform their required role with respect to software resources and systems.
Procedure
1. Consider the scenario provided and tasks A and B
2. Prepare to meet with your team member (assessor) to communicate budget and then coach and train them in new role:
a. access required budget information from assessor
b. determine organisational needs
c. identify coaching/training needs of team member
d. plan coaching/ training session:
i. Outcome : team member produces spreadsheet to meet management requirements
ii. Include activities/elements to instruct, practice, test, motivate
e. Set up a time with your team member to have coaching/training session
3. Meet with your team member (assessor) to coach them in role:
a. Explain budget and relevance to team member’s accountabilities
b. Use appropriate coaching techniques or models such as grow
c. Use appropriate motivational theory
d. Train learner in required spreadsheet techniques. Include elements of instruction, practice and testing/feedback
4. Submit all documents required in the specifications below to your assessor. Ensure you keep a copy of all work submitted for your records.
Specifications
You must:
● meet with your assessor to role-play support of team member
● submit coaching/training plan.
Your assessor will be looking for:
● numeracy skills to read and understand a budget and to communicate a budget
● technology skills to use software associated with financial record keeping
● knowledge of basic accounting principles to identify and use account balances in communication and training
● knowledge of organisational requirements related to financial management such as contained in organisational policies and procedures
● requirements for organisational record keeping and auditing with respect to petty cash
● knowledge principles and techniques involved in budgeting and electronic spreadsheets.
Adjustment for distance-based learners
● No variation of the task is required.
● Documentation can be submitted electronically or posted in the mail.
Appendix 1 – Scenario
Big Red Bicycle is a bicycle manufacturer based in Bendigo Victoria. The company produces bicycles which it sells to retailers for on-sale in the domestic Australian market.
The senior management structure of the company appears below:
Person Position
Michelle Yeo CEO
Tom Copeland Managing Director
John Black CFO
Stuart LaRoux Operations General Manager
Pat Roberts Senior Accountant
Sam Gellar Sales General Manager
Charles Pierce Production Manager
Holly Burke HR Manager
According to company strategic plans, the company aims to achieve a net profit before tax of $1,000,000. The chief risks to this goal are:
● poor sales due to economic downturn
● increases in expenses such as wage expenses.
In addition to Australian operations, the company is considering manufacturing overseas to take advantage of reduced costs. The company is also considering diversifying its product range to reduce exposure to poor sales of one product.
Role
You are the manager of Sales Team A. You manage a small team of sales team members. Your duties include accessing budget information for your team, explaining relevant aspects of budgets and features of budget documents to your team, and supporting team members to achieve performance goals.
Task A
You have determined that you will need to access budget information from the Senior Accountant to explain to your team. You will explain the overall financial objective of the business, provide an overview of the budget and explain how the budget translates to expense allocations for the team.
Task B
You have determined that one team member, Bill Goodale, will be responsible for tracking expenses and petty cash throughout the financial year. To meet organisational needs, this duty will need to be performed in accordance with policies and procedures.
You have determined that expenses will need to be divided equally and tracked by quarter. Bill will need to develop a spreadsheet to keep track of actual expenditure by account. To help you control expenses, the spreadsheet will need to provide an ongoing tally of expense by account.
Bill’s skills include basic accounting. Bill needs to be informed of Big Red Bicycle policies and procedures for petty cash. Bill is familiar with Microsoft Excel but does not know how to use formula and functions to sum columns or rows of figures.