Whitecotton 5e Integrated Analytics Case – Implementation Guide All Chapters Solutions Included
Chapter 1 to 13 ✅
Part 1: Understanding the Business (Chapter 1)
In Part 1, students will consult with Taylor on the start-up of her business, including identifying the business
strategy, determining the business model, understanding the role of accounting information and other data for
making management decisions, classifying the different costs that the business will incur, and identifying target
markets.
Because it has a dual mission, Bene Petit serves two important stakeholder groups: customers/clients and
community partners/homeless families.
∙ Target customers or clients are busy, socially conscious professionals and families with high disposable
income who live in areas with a high rate of homelessness.
∙ Partners are local nonprofit organizations that will distribute meals to families in need. Taylor would
like to focus on families living in transitional or temporary housing, as this is an important bridge
between homelessness and permanent housing.
Taylor’s first task in launching her business is to gain a better understanding of each of these stakeholder
groups. The analytics assignment will require students to analyze household income and other demographic
data from the U.S. Census Bureau and combine it with homelessness statistics provided by the U.S.
Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Students will then create data visualizations to
communicate the business problem to potential investors.
Part 1 Discussion Questions
The following questions could be discussed in class. You could also put students in teams and assign
each team to answer 1-2 questions and report back to the class.
Chapter 1: Introduction to Managerial Accounting
Suggested Answers to Discussion Questions:
∙ Is Bene Petit a manufacturing company, a merchandising company, a service company, or some combination of the
three? Explain.
Bene Petit is a hybrid business that blends elements of service and manufacturing. Producing the meal
kits is similar to manufacturing a physical product, but providing the meals to customers to make their
lives easier has some elements of a service business.
∙ Why does Taylor need to understand both financial accounting and managerial accounting?
Taylor needs to understand both managerial and financial accounting because she will need information
to run the business and make decisions (managerial accounting) but will also need to determine how to
finance her business and report to investors (financial accounting), particularly as the business begins to
grow.
∙ What are the three major functions Taylor will perform as the owner and manager of Bene Petit? Give an example
of a decision she would make for each function.
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,Whitecotton 5e Integrated Analytics Case – Implementation Guide
The three major functions are planning (e.g., deciding how many meal options to provide to customers),
implementing (e.g., hiring workers), and control (e.g., reviewing cost results to see where the company
could improve)
∙ How does the production and delivery process differ between the meals provided to paying customers (called
purchased meals) versus the meals that are donated (called donated meals)?
The customer meals have much more variety in terms of menu offerings and serving sizes. These meals
are produced in smaller batches and weekly orders are delivered to customers’ doorsteps. These meals
are prepared fresh (not frozen), so the cycle time between production and delivery must be fairly short.
The donated meals are more standardized, with only three recipes and one size. The material and labor
requirements for the donated meals are also similar. The donated meals can be prepared in much larger
batch sizes and are delivered in bulk to community partners. These meals are frozen and allow for a
longer cycle time. Overall, the production and delivery process for donated meals is much more efficient
that the purchased meals. These differences have implications for the costing of these two types of meals.
∙ Describe how Taylor would incorporate sustainability and corporate social responsibility into Bene Petit’s
business strategy. Who are the stakeholders? How does it relate to the triple bottom line?
The social responsibility aspect of sustainability is at the core of Bene Petit’s business strategy. The
company has pledged to donate one meal for every meal purchased in an effort to help address to
homelessness. The environmental aspect of the triple bottom line is less obvious, but could be
incorporated in the types of material used for packaging and efforts to recycle delivery supplies, etc.
∙ What are the three types of decision analytics that Taylor could use to make data-driven decisions for Bene Petit?
Where would Taylor find this information and how would she use it to make decisions?
The three types of analytics are descriptive analytics (e.g., a chart showing the relationship between
number of orders and fuel expense), predictive analytics (e.g., predicting fuel expense based on the
number of deliveries), and prescriptive analytics (e.g., using technology to find the most efficient delivery
route in order to reduce fuel expense).
∙ Give examples of the following costs for Bene Petit:
• Direct costs: Main ingredients included in the meals and wages for workers who prepare the meals.
• Indirect costs: Kitchen equipment, supervisor salaries, advertising.
• Manufacturing costs: Ingredients, waged, kitchen equipment, packaging costs.
• Nonmanufacturing costs: Website, marketing, customer delivery.
• Product costs: See manufacturing costs.
• Period costs: See nonmanufacturing costs.
• Relevant costs: Depends on the decision scenario. Fuel expense would be relevant to the decision of
whether to hire delivery drivers or outsource to UPS.
• Irrelevant costs: Depends on the decision, but most fixed costs will be incurred regardless.
• Out of pocket costs: All payments for ingredients, wages, utilities, fuel, etc.
• Opportunity costs: Taylor will be giving up time she could be spending with her family. Every
donated meal represents a meal that could be sold to a paying customer.
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,Whitecotton 5e Integrated Analytics Case – Implementation Guide
Part 1 Multiple Choice or Select-All Questions (Auto-graded in Connect)
The following questions are pre-built in Connect and could be assigned as a low-stakes quiz before or
after the case is discussed in class. Correct answers (and explanations) are highlighted below.
Part 1 MC Qu. 01
Is Bene Petit a manufacturing company, a merchandising company, a service company, or a
hybrid/combination of the three?
Manufacturing Company
Merchandising Company
Service Company
Hybrid Company
Bene Petit is a hybrid company that is a blend of service and manufacturing. Preparing the meals
kits has elements of manufacturing, but providing the meals to customers to make their lives easier
has some elements of a service business.
Part 1 MC Qu. 02
Which of the following decisions would require Taylor to utilize financial accounting information?
Getting a loan from the bank.
Making a presentation to angel investors.
Preparing a year-end profit and loss (P&L) statement.
All of these are correct.
All of these are examples of the use of financial accounting information to external users.
Part 1 MC Qu. 03
Which of the following decisions would require Taylor to utilize financial accounting information?
Creating a budget.
Setting the price of a product.
Deciding whether to lease or buy kitchen equipment.
None of these.
All of these are examples of the use of managerial (not financial) accounting information to internal
users.
Part 1 MC Qu. 04
Which of the following decisions would require Taylor to utilize managerial accounting information?
Getting a loan from the bank.
Making a presentation to angel investors.
Creating a budget.
All of these are correct.
Creating a budget is an example of an internal use of managerial accounting information.
Part 1 MC Qu. 05
Which of the following actions will Taylor perform as part of the planning function of management?
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, Whitecotton 5e Integrated Analytics Case – Implementation Guide
Hiring employees.
Preparing a monthly budget for labor expenses.
Computing variances that compare actual labor costs to the budget.
All of these are correct.
Preparing budgets is part of the planning (forward looking) function of management.
Part 1 MC Qu. 06
Which of the following actions will Taylor perform as part of the implementing function of
management?
Hiring employees.
Preparing a monthly budget for labor expenses.
Computing variances that compare actual labor costs to the budget.
All of these are correct.
Hiring employees is part of the implementing (or taking action) function of management.
Part 1 MC Qu. 07
Which of the following actions will Taylor perform as part of the control function of management?
Hiring employees.
Preparing a monthly budget for labor expenses.
Computing variances that compare actual labor costs to the budget.
All of these are correct.
Computing variances is part of the control (backward-looking) function of management.
Part 1 MC Qu. 08
Which of the following is a true statement regarding the differences between the meals purchased by
customers and the meals donated to the homeless?
The customer meals are more standardized than the donated meals.
The customer meals are produced in larger batch sizes than the donated meals.
The customer meals require more deliveries than the donated meals.
All of these are correct.
The customer meals are more customized, are produced in smaller batches, and are delivered to
customers’ doorsteps. The donated meals are more standardized, are prepared in large batch sizes,
and are delivered in bulk to community partners.
Part 1 CA Qu. 09
Which of the following action(s) could Taylor take to improve the financial aspect of the triple bottom
line?
Note: Select all that apply.
Hire local workers to reduce the unemployment rate in the community.
Purchase ingredients from local suppliers to support local businesses and reduce the amount of
energy expended throughout the supply chain.
Purchase hybrid delivery vehicles to reduce fuel expense.
Hire less skilled workers to reduce labor expenses.
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Chapter 1 to 13 ✅
Part 1: Understanding the Business (Chapter 1)
In Part 1, students will consult with Taylor on the start-up of her business, including identifying the business
strategy, determining the business model, understanding the role of accounting information and other data for
making management decisions, classifying the different costs that the business will incur, and identifying target
markets.
Because it has a dual mission, Bene Petit serves two important stakeholder groups: customers/clients and
community partners/homeless families.
∙ Target customers or clients are busy, socially conscious professionals and families with high disposable
income who live in areas with a high rate of homelessness.
∙ Partners are local nonprofit organizations that will distribute meals to families in need. Taylor would
like to focus on families living in transitional or temporary housing, as this is an important bridge
between homelessness and permanent housing.
Taylor’s first task in launching her business is to gain a better understanding of each of these stakeholder
groups. The analytics assignment will require students to analyze household income and other demographic
data from the U.S. Census Bureau and combine it with homelessness statistics provided by the U.S.
Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Students will then create data visualizations to
communicate the business problem to potential investors.
Part 1 Discussion Questions
The following questions could be discussed in class. You could also put students in teams and assign
each team to answer 1-2 questions and report back to the class.
Chapter 1: Introduction to Managerial Accounting
Suggested Answers to Discussion Questions:
∙ Is Bene Petit a manufacturing company, a merchandising company, a service company, or some combination of the
three? Explain.
Bene Petit is a hybrid business that blends elements of service and manufacturing. Producing the meal
kits is similar to manufacturing a physical product, but providing the meals to customers to make their
lives easier has some elements of a service business.
∙ Why does Taylor need to understand both financial accounting and managerial accounting?
Taylor needs to understand both managerial and financial accounting because she will need information
to run the business and make decisions (managerial accounting) but will also need to determine how to
finance her business and report to investors (financial accounting), particularly as the business begins to
grow.
∙ What are the three major functions Taylor will perform as the owner and manager of Bene Petit? Give an example
of a decision she would make for each function.
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1
,Whitecotton 5e Integrated Analytics Case – Implementation Guide
The three major functions are planning (e.g., deciding how many meal options to provide to customers),
implementing (e.g., hiring workers), and control (e.g., reviewing cost results to see where the company
could improve)
∙ How does the production and delivery process differ between the meals provided to paying customers (called
purchased meals) versus the meals that are donated (called donated meals)?
The customer meals have much more variety in terms of menu offerings and serving sizes. These meals
are produced in smaller batches and weekly orders are delivered to customers’ doorsteps. These meals
are prepared fresh (not frozen), so the cycle time between production and delivery must be fairly short.
The donated meals are more standardized, with only three recipes and one size. The material and labor
requirements for the donated meals are also similar. The donated meals can be prepared in much larger
batch sizes and are delivered in bulk to community partners. These meals are frozen and allow for a
longer cycle time. Overall, the production and delivery process for donated meals is much more efficient
that the purchased meals. These differences have implications for the costing of these two types of meals.
∙ Describe how Taylor would incorporate sustainability and corporate social responsibility into Bene Petit’s
business strategy. Who are the stakeholders? How does it relate to the triple bottom line?
The social responsibility aspect of sustainability is at the core of Bene Petit’s business strategy. The
company has pledged to donate one meal for every meal purchased in an effort to help address to
homelessness. The environmental aspect of the triple bottom line is less obvious, but could be
incorporated in the types of material used for packaging and efforts to recycle delivery supplies, etc.
∙ What are the three types of decision analytics that Taylor could use to make data-driven decisions for Bene Petit?
Where would Taylor find this information and how would she use it to make decisions?
The three types of analytics are descriptive analytics (e.g., a chart showing the relationship between
number of orders and fuel expense), predictive analytics (e.g., predicting fuel expense based on the
number of deliveries), and prescriptive analytics (e.g., using technology to find the most efficient delivery
route in order to reduce fuel expense).
∙ Give examples of the following costs for Bene Petit:
• Direct costs: Main ingredients included in the meals and wages for workers who prepare the meals.
• Indirect costs: Kitchen equipment, supervisor salaries, advertising.
• Manufacturing costs: Ingredients, waged, kitchen equipment, packaging costs.
• Nonmanufacturing costs: Website, marketing, customer delivery.
• Product costs: See manufacturing costs.
• Period costs: See nonmanufacturing costs.
• Relevant costs: Depends on the decision scenario. Fuel expense would be relevant to the decision of
whether to hire delivery drivers or outsource to UPS.
• Irrelevant costs: Depends on the decision, but most fixed costs will be incurred regardless.
• Out of pocket costs: All payments for ingredients, wages, utilities, fuel, etc.
• Opportunity costs: Taylor will be giving up time she could be spending with her family. Every
donated meal represents a meal that could be sold to a paying customer.
©
2
,Whitecotton 5e Integrated Analytics Case – Implementation Guide
Part 1 Multiple Choice or Select-All Questions (Auto-graded in Connect)
The following questions are pre-built in Connect and could be assigned as a low-stakes quiz before or
after the case is discussed in class. Correct answers (and explanations) are highlighted below.
Part 1 MC Qu. 01
Is Bene Petit a manufacturing company, a merchandising company, a service company, or a
hybrid/combination of the three?
Manufacturing Company
Merchandising Company
Service Company
Hybrid Company
Bene Petit is a hybrid company that is a blend of service and manufacturing. Preparing the meals
kits has elements of manufacturing, but providing the meals to customers to make their lives easier
has some elements of a service business.
Part 1 MC Qu. 02
Which of the following decisions would require Taylor to utilize financial accounting information?
Getting a loan from the bank.
Making a presentation to angel investors.
Preparing a year-end profit and loss (P&L) statement.
All of these are correct.
All of these are examples of the use of financial accounting information to external users.
Part 1 MC Qu. 03
Which of the following decisions would require Taylor to utilize financial accounting information?
Creating a budget.
Setting the price of a product.
Deciding whether to lease or buy kitchen equipment.
None of these.
All of these are examples of the use of managerial (not financial) accounting information to internal
users.
Part 1 MC Qu. 04
Which of the following decisions would require Taylor to utilize managerial accounting information?
Getting a loan from the bank.
Making a presentation to angel investors.
Creating a budget.
All of these are correct.
Creating a budget is an example of an internal use of managerial accounting information.
Part 1 MC Qu. 05
Which of the following actions will Taylor perform as part of the planning function of management?
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, Whitecotton 5e Integrated Analytics Case – Implementation Guide
Hiring employees.
Preparing a monthly budget for labor expenses.
Computing variances that compare actual labor costs to the budget.
All of these are correct.
Preparing budgets is part of the planning (forward looking) function of management.
Part 1 MC Qu. 06
Which of the following actions will Taylor perform as part of the implementing function of
management?
Hiring employees.
Preparing a monthly budget for labor expenses.
Computing variances that compare actual labor costs to the budget.
All of these are correct.
Hiring employees is part of the implementing (or taking action) function of management.
Part 1 MC Qu. 07
Which of the following actions will Taylor perform as part of the control function of management?
Hiring employees.
Preparing a monthly budget for labor expenses.
Computing variances that compare actual labor costs to the budget.
All of these are correct.
Computing variances is part of the control (backward-looking) function of management.
Part 1 MC Qu. 08
Which of the following is a true statement regarding the differences between the meals purchased by
customers and the meals donated to the homeless?
The customer meals are more standardized than the donated meals.
The customer meals are produced in larger batch sizes than the donated meals.
The customer meals require more deliveries than the donated meals.
All of these are correct.
The customer meals are more customized, are produced in smaller batches, and are delivered to
customers’ doorsteps. The donated meals are more standardized, are prepared in large batch sizes,
and are delivered in bulk to community partners.
Part 1 CA Qu. 09
Which of the following action(s) could Taylor take to improve the financial aspect of the triple bottom
line?
Note: Select all that apply.
Hire local workers to reduce the unemployment rate in the community.
Purchase ingredients from local suppliers to support local businesses and reduce the amount of
energy expended throughout the supply chain.
Purchase hybrid delivery vehicles to reduce fuel expense.
Hire less skilled workers to reduce labor expenses.
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4
