Tuesday April 1, 2014

Today I did a lot of reading.  I was all in my Managerial Accounting for Dummies manual, which I will admit is very dry! (Fortunately the writer had a sense of humor and is constantly joking and using interesting relatable examples.)  My goal is to finish reading the book by Friday morning, so that Friday afternoon I will be able to go and discuss my ideas with a bank.  I had wanted to talk to Eastern Bank sooner, today actually, but I realized that it would be much more productive for me to go into that meeting having that basis of knowledge.

That being said, I am having difficulty getting through the book.  So far I have read about 4 chapters or about 60 pages.  Since I’m usually a pretty fast reader, I was really surprised by how much harder it was for me to plow my way through.  I found that I had to take breaks in between each chapter, simply because there was too much information to process in one sitting.  Surprisingly none of this difficulty is due to a lack of interest.  In fact I have been enjoying reading it.

In the four chapters I have read, I have learned about the purpose of managerial accounting and how it applies to business management and the various components that must be taken into account for managerial accounting.  Currently I am in the thick of learning about the importance of understanding and managing the costs of a business.

After reading Chapter 3, which deals with classifying costs, I found myself considering the various costs that an oyster farm might incur.  It was really exciting to think about, because there were so many choices and possibilities.  For example, the cost of my direct materials will include the oyster seed each year, but if I am the type of farm that uses floating bags, it will also include the bags, pins, ties, and floating noodles to carry them.  Actually come to think of it, the cost of these items would either be classified as product or period costs depending on how frequently they would need to be replaced.  However if I am creating oyster beds, then dragging or picking for them, the direct materials will go down, but the product cost will go up.  I was just really excited that I would be able to compare all the different options.

I was thinking today about how, in many ways, my senior project is a strange fit for me.  I had wanted it to be a lot more science oriented, but it seems to have already taken a drastic turn towards the business side of oyster farming.  Not only is it the business side, but it is also what I would have previously considered the “boring and mathy” part of business. I am still not entirely convinced that managerial accounting is super exciting or ever will be; but I have been finding it very interesting and I am really looking forward to learn more about it.