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Chapter 10 Managerial Planning and Control Discussion Questions Four critical dimensions of long-range planning are: Identifying key drivers of a company’s future progress. Develop forecasts of key developments and assess the company’s ability to capitalize on these developments. Develop the information systems to support strategic choices. Translate strategic choices into actions. 2. A standard costing system has as its objective the notion of cost control. It estimates annually what costs should be under ideal operating conditions. Actual results are then compared with standard costs with variances reported to those responsible for incurring the variances. Kaizen costing has as its objective continuous cost reductions based on continuous manufacturing improvements. Cost reduction targets are set monthly with variances based on constant cost reductions; i.e., were costs this month lower than last month? If not, why? 3. Financial managers must be prepared to evaluate foreign investments from multiple reporting perspectives. This significantly complicates the information requirements for decisions on foreign investment. Management’s objective from a parent company perspective is to maximize shareholder wealth. To do this, management must select investment opportunities that promise the highest risk-adjusted net present values. Therefore, management accountants must identify cash flows that can be repatriated to the parent company, taking into consideration future exchange rate changes. Because only after-tax cash flows are relevant, the timing and amounts of taxes payable on foreign source income must be estimated. A project evaluated from a host country’s point of view necessitates an increase in the quantity of information supplied. The social costs and benefits of investment proposals must supplement traditional cash flow information. Quantification of risk and the identification of acceptable rates of return to sovereign governments call for measurement technique