這是我們在2017年為美國紐約大學的學弟學妹們寫的一篇管理會計類essay，首先開頭introduction介紹essay背景和相關信息，威爾克森公司（WC）是一家製造企業，通過加工半成品零件為水凈化設備提供零件。 它加工了三種產品，即閥門，泵和流量控制器。 其中三種閥門是標準產品，可以批量生產和運輸，也可以自動將4個部件裝配在夾具上; 泵是公司的主要產品，公司也是市場上該產品的主要供應商; 流量控制器的品種和產品線最多，因此，完成該產品的每個單元需要更多的人力。 在商業環境方面，公司一直以優質的閥門而聞名，因此，公司有一些忠誠的客戶。
Wilkerson Company (WC) is a manufacturing enterprise that provides parts for water purification equipment by processing semi-finished components. It machined three products, which are valves, pumps, and, flow controllers. Among the three, valve is a standard product which could be mass-produced and transported, as well as assembling 4 components in fixtures automatically; pump is the main product of the company, and the company is also the major suppliers of this product in the market; flow controller has the most varieties and product lines, as a result, it takes much more labour to finish each unit of this product. In terms of the business environment, the company has always been renowned for the superior quality of valves, therefore, the company has some loyal customers. But there is fierce competition for pumps, its market prices keep decreasing. Flow controllers have competitive advantage, because the price changes have little impact on demand. In corporate strategy, the company has established pumps batch production lines and customised flow controller lines; adopting just-in-time deliveries, turning down price of pumps and increasing 10% price of flow controllers. In management, the company has adopted simple cost system (SCS), while some companies are using contribution margin and treating overheads costs as period expenses.
Body部分介紹公司現在遇到的困難，WC面臨一些問題，首先，公司利潤受到很大影響，由於一年的材料成本是一致的，這家公司的間接成本大於直接人工成本，成為主要問題。統計顯示，2000年3月毛利潤和稅前營業收入分別為617250美元和57600美元，佔整體銷售額（2152500美元）的29％和3％。稅前營業收入與銷售額相比相對較低，其中一個因素是該公司的主要產品泵的減價。由於市場平均價格呈下降趨勢，公司不得不降低價格以維持標杆份額，價格從每泵107.69美元降至87美元，售價下降19.2％，實際毛額保證金率為19.5％，明顯低於計劃的35％的保證金。
WC is facing some problems, first of all, the company has suffered greatly in profits, as material costs are consistent in a year, overhead cost in this company is greater than direct labour cost, becoming the major issue. Statistics shows that gross margin and pre-tax operating income in March 2000 are 617250 and 57600 dollars respectively, taking up for 29% and 3% the overall sales (2152500 dollars). The pre-tax operating income is relatively low compared with the sales, one of the factors is the reduction price of pumps, the main product of this company. As the market average price of pumps experienced a downward trend, the company have to lower its price to maintain the marker share, the price reduced from 107.69 dollars per pump to 87 dollars, resulting a decrease of 19.2% selling price, and the actual gross margin is 19.5%, which is significantly low than the planed 35% margin. However, the increased price of flow controllers did not offset the impact of the drop in pumps. This suggests that this company relies too much on market conditions for price adjustments, rather than the cost of actual research. And the company do not have a budget, the adopted SCS may not indicate the real costs of the products. Furthermore, it is evident that the company has not reached its maximum production yield or not effectively operated in March 2000. Because statistics show that total machine hours in March 2000 is 11200, production runs are 160 and number of shipments is 300. However, according to historical data, at the peak of the market demand last year, the company was very efficient in manufacture process, specifically, machine hours are 12,000 per month, production runs are 180 and 400 shipments were made. Cleary, compared with the data last year, the company still have space for improvement in production.
最後是結尾的部分，要給出總結和意見，WC的主要建議是通過使用ABC系統等現代方法科學計算成本，一方面產品成本可以重新計算並與SCS成本相比降低，因此在ABC分析下利潤貢獻可能增加; 另一方面，管理人員可以根據ABC的結果調整公司的生產流程，使公司更有效率。 此外，該公司建議預算，因為預算可以幫助公司更好地規劃和管理成本。
The main recommendation for WC is to calculate the costs scientifically by using modern approaches such as ABC system, on one side, costs of product could be recalculated and decreased compared with costs under SCS, thus contribution of profits may increase under ABC analysis; on the other hand, managers can adjust the production process of the company according to the result of ABC, making the company more efficient. Besides, budget is suggested in this company, because budgets can help company plan and manage costs better. The company are expected to pricing scientifically by cost analysing instead of complying with the market. And lastly, the marketing department should be able to stimulate the market effectively, and the production department should ensure that the enterprise can reach the maximum capacity at any time.