Accounting Methods for LeadersIntroductionThis portfolio work project will help you to not only better understand commonly used accounting tools, but it will also give you the opportunity to use your skills and experience by preparing training materials to train someone else. ScenarioYou work for an organization that is seeking growth and recently has hired new district managers to assist in this growth. In talking to other regional managers, you have heard that some district managers do not have a thorough understanding of commonly used accounting tools including an income statement and balance sheet. You have a new district manager hire, John, and see the need to do some training with him so he has a solid understanding of income statements, balance sheets, and the elements that go into them including advertising costs, Web development costs, and store opening costs.In preparing to train your new hire, you have determined that the use of examples (a picture is worth a thousand words) can be a great approach to use. So, you have decided to gather some examples from the company’s summary of significant accounting policies from its latest financial statements.You may apply this scenario to either Option 1 or Option 2, described in Requirements below.Your RoleYou are a regional manager for Urban Outfitters or your selected organization and oversee a number of districts. You have recently brought a new district manager on board and want to ensure he has the knowledge and tools needed to effectively do his job.RequirementsOption 1:The organization you work for is Urban Outfitters. Use the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission site linked in Resources to find the Urban Outfitter’s 2016–2017 financial statement’s summary of significant accounting policies. Look at the data for 2015, 2016, and 2017 for the following examples of essential elements you need to cover with John and ensure his understanding.Advertising. Examine the criteria used to expense and capitalize advertising costs and where these costs appear in the financial statement.Store opening costs. Examine how store opening and organization costs were handled and where these costs appear in the financial statement.Website development costs. Examine the approaches taken during the application and infrastructure development stage and the planning and operating stage.Option 2:Use a firm or scenario of your choosing.Before choosing a company, read the assignment thoroughly to ensure:The company fits the assignment requirements.You have access to the financial statement’s summary of significant accounting policies and the Note disclosures from which you are drawing your materials. Include this information in the appendix for instructor reference.You can distribute the data without disclosing confidential company information.Contact your instructor with questions.Training MaterialsAs you prepare your training materials for John, use the examples you collected from the company’s Notes to financial documents to illustrate how you address the following items:Explain how one or more of the following costs are captured:Advertising.Store opening. If store opening costs were capitalized, over what time period would you amortize them? Explain why you selected this time period.Website development.Analyze the importance of Notes to financial statements in interpreting financial statements.Explain how the accounting method the company uses affects the financial statements.Explain how the financial statements would differ if another method were used to capture the costs.If you have a preference for capitalizing or expensing these costs, explain why it is your preference.Deliverable FormatLeadership has asked that you develop either a training deck or a training manual that you will use with John and that can be deployed with other new hires as well. Regardless of the format selected, the information should address the points identified above and with detailed explanations within the notes areas of slides or within the training manual text. It will also be helpful to include information in regard to why each item is important to the organization as well as the success of the new district manager.To use your time and John’s time wisely, be conscientious about providing thorough yet concise information. These materials are expected to be used by others for future training needs, so make sure they are well organized and clear.Training materials requirements:12–15 slides for a training deck. Include additional details as slide notes.3–4 pages for a training manual.Related company standards for either format:The training manual is a professional document and should therefore follow the corresponding MBA Academic and Professional Document Guidelines, including single-spaced paragraphs.To learn more about creating presentations, click "MBA Program Resources" and then "Presentation Skills."In addition to the training deck or manual materials, include:Title (slide or page).References (slide or page).Appendix with supporting materials. If you are using a firm or scenario of your choosing, ensure your instructor has sufficient information to understand how you reached your recommendation.At least two APA-formatted references.EvaluationBy successfully completing this assignment, you will demonstrate your proficiency in the following course competencies through corresponding scoring guide criteria:Competency 1: Explain how accounting concepts and practices impact financial reporting.Explain how the accounting method the company used affects the financial statements.Compare how two accounting methods differ in their effects on the financial statements.Competency 4: Communicate financial information with multiple stakeholders.Communicate accounting information clearly.Your course instructor will use the scoring guide to review your deliverable as if they were your immediate supervisor. Review the scoring guide prior to developing and submitting your assignment.ePortfolioThis portfolio work project demonstrates your competency in applying knowledge and skills required of an MBA learner in the workplace. Include this in your personal ePortfolio.Note: Your instructor may also use the Writing Feedback Tool to provide feedback on your writing. In the tool, click the linked resources for helpful writing information.ResourcesTraining—Accounting Tools and Practices Scoring Guide.

Assessment 5 Instructions: Process Improvement ProposalGenerate recommendations for process improvement and organizational fitness for a selected organization in the form of a 6-8 page proposal that is targeted for its management team.IntroductionNote: The assessments in this course build upon each other, so you are strongly encouraged to complete them in a sequence.Health care leaders function within a complex, high-risk environment where errors can lead to injury and death. The goal of any health care leader is to assess and manage risk, while concurrently promoting a culture of patient safety.Patient safety is the cornerstone of high-quality care.Youngberg (2011) addresses the need for leaders to create a systemic mindfulness of patient safety within the high-risk health care delivery environment. Further, the author discusses high-reliability organizations, which attain next to zero error rates, despite a great propensity for error or catastrophic events.Read further in the Assessment 5 Context [PDF] document, which contains important information on the following topics related to change leadership, risk management, and patient safety:Themes for Success in Leadership.The National Patient Safety Goals and Strategic Direction.Personal Reflection.Ethical Leadership.Professional Communication.As you prepare to complete this assessment, you may want to think about other related issues to deepen your understanding or broaden your viewpoint. You are encouraged to consider the questions below and discuss them with a fellow learner, a work associate, an interested friend, or a member of your professional community. Note that these questions are for your own development and exploration and do not need to be completed or submitted as a part of your assessment.How does a health care leader establish a culture of patient safety?How are risks to patient safety assessed and managed in your current or future work setting?What are the other types of risks that are assessed and managed?What are the important factors that need to be monitored in your selected work setting?How can you contribute to risk management and patient safety within your job?Imagine that you are the new CEO of your organization, and are charged with transforming the previous status quo to an efficient, high-performing accountable care organization.Which tools would you put to work in your new position?What types of individuals would be needed for your executive leadership team?What competencies might be important to the team members?What processes, structural models, or frameworks from this course might help you as a transformational leader?ReferenceYoungberg, B. J. (2011). Principles of risk management and patient safety. Jones and Bartlett. PreparationBALANCED SCORECARDThe following resources are required to complete this assessment.This article introduces the concept of a balanced scored to motivate and measure a business unit performance.Kaplan, R. S., & Norton, D. P. (1996). Linking the balanced scorecard to strategy. California Management Review, 39(1), 53–79.The following reading is available full-text in the Capella University Library. Search for each article by clicking the linked title and following the instructions in the Library Guide. This article explores measure that drives performance using a balanced scorecard.Kaplan, R. S., & Norton, D. P. (1992). The balanced scorecard: Measures that drive performance. Harvard Business Review, 70(1), 71–79.Note: You should complete this assessment last.The goal of this assessment is to generate recommendations, in the form of a proposal for process improvement and organizational fitness. Make your recommendations for the organization you selected in Assessment 4 for the balanced scorecard presentation. Apply the concepts of balanced scorecards to create your recommendations.InstructionsIn your proposal, use specific language and include evidence-based concepts from peer-reviewed literature, including a minimum of four outside peer-reviewed sources. Communicate information and ideas clearly, accurately, and concisely, including reference citations and using correct grammar. Include the following in your proposal:Describe the selected organization, including its vision and mission.Analyze the company using any adaptation of the Kaplan and Norton balanced scorecard framework that fits your selected organization. Refer to the Balanced Scorecard section of this assessment for links to different resources you might use.Communicate vision, strategy, objectives, measures, targets, and initiatives for each of the following four elements through a macro-level discussion:Financial performance measures.Internal business processes.Learning and growth.Customer satisfaction.Convey the organization's values through an ethical, organizational, and directional strategy.Recommend evidence-based and best practices for monitoring and improving discussions.Generate one recommendation for each of the following:Process improvements.Quality improvements.Organizational efficiency.Learning implementation.Implementation and evaluation.Additional RequirementsWritten communication: Written communication should be free from errors that detract from the overall message.APA formatting: Resources and citations should be formatted according to APA style and formatting guidelines. Use APA format for all of the following:Cover page.Abstract.Table of contents, including a list of figures and tables.Headings and subheadings.Reference list.Number of resources: A minimum of 6 resources. The following Norton and Kaplan articles will serve as two resources.The Balanced Scorecard: Measures that Drive Performance.Linking the Balanced Scorecard to Strategy.Length of paper: 6–8 typed double-spaced pages.Font and font size: Arial, 10-point.Competencies MeasuredBy successfully completing this assessment, you will demonstrate your proficiency in the following course competencies and assessment criteria:Competency 1: Conduct an environmental assessment to identify quality- and risk-management priorities for a health care organization.Analyze existing organizational structures, mission, and vision.Competency 3: Analyze the process and outcomes of a care quality- or risk-management issue.Provide macro-level discussion on finances, internal processes, learning and growth, and also customer satisfaction.Competency 4: Analyze applicable legal and ethical institution-based values as they relate to quality assessment.Convey the organization’s values through an ethical, organizational, and directional strategy to impact the needed changes for quality improvement.Recommend evidence-based and best practices for monitoring and improving discussion.Competency 5: Communicate in a manner that is scholarly, professional, and consistent with expectations for professionals in health care administration.Communicate information and ideas accurately, including reference citations and correct grammar.Resources: Balanced ScorecardThe resources provided here are optional and support the assessment. They provide helpful information about the topics. You may use other resources of your choice to prepare for this assessment however, you will need to ensure that they are appropriate, credible, and valid. The MHA Program Library Guide can help direct your research. Balanced Scorecard Institute. (n.d.). Balanced scorecard basics. http://www.balancedscorecard.org/BSCResources/Abou...Behrouzi, F., Shaharoun, A. M., & Ma'aram, A. (2014). Applications of the balanced scorecard for strategic management and performance measurement in the health sector. Australian Health Review, 38(2), 208–217.Ippolito, A., & Zoccoli, P. (2013). Theoretical contribution to develop the classical balanced scorecard to health care needs. International Journal of Healthcare Management, 6(1), 37–44.Koumpouros, Y. (2013). Balanced scorecard: Application in the General Panarcadian Hospital of Tripolis, Greece. International Journal of Health Care Quality Assurance, 26(4), 286–307.Meena, K., & Thakkar, J. (2014). Development of balanced scorecard for healthcare using interpretive structural modeling and analytic network process. Journal of Advances in Management Research, 11(3), 232–256.Resources: Quality Improvement Best PracticesEl-Jardali, F., & Fadlallah, R. (2017). A review of national policies and strategies to improve quality of health care and patient safety: a case study from Lebanon and Jordan. BMC Health Services Research, 17.American College of Healthcare Executives. (n.d.). ACHE code of ethics. http://www.ache.orgChavan, M. (2009). The balanced scorecard: A new challenge. The Journal of Management Development, 28(5), 393–406. Norton, D. P. (2008). Strategy execution needs a system. https://hbr.org/2008/08/strategy-execution-needs-a...This article chronicles the evolution of BSC performance management framework.