| final page/Websites with Relevant Information on Profits and Returns previous page Articles on pricing and its effect on profits can be linked to from this site, www.pricingsociety.com. An article available at this site, www.aicpa.org/pubs/jofa/jul98/carter.htm, published in the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants’ Journal of Accountancy, analyses the implication of transfer pricing on taxation, profitability, and accounting. The tax implications of transfer pricing policies are important, not just at the inter-national level, and not just in large companies, but for any company that has transactions between units in different states. Incentives created or eliminated by transfer pricing can affect profitability. This site, www.iimahd.ernet.in/~jrvarma/reports/Transfer_Price/expert_group_report.htm, provides a report submitted to India’s Ministry of Finance (MOF) on transfer pricing. The report was requested by the MOF and recommends transfer pricing guidelines for companies for pricing their products in connection with transactions with selected parties and transactions between different segments of the same company. This report is a comprehensive review of transfer pricing in India, and concerns in the report include tax evasion, disclosure requirements, and related party definitions. Transfer pricing practices in other countries are provided. A section of the report deals with undesirable corporate practices related to transfer pricing. 4. Margin Analysis. This site, www.expectationsinvesting.com/tutorial3.shtml, maintained by Al Rappaport and Michael Manboussin, provides an overview on computing operating profit margins. Examples of expenses, subtracted from revenues to give operating profits, are identified. A clear, simple overview of the use of contribution margin analysis, and associated topics such as breakeven analysis, fixed and variable costs, and operating leverage, is given at this site, www.toolkit.cch.com/text/P06_7520.asp. CCH, Inc. maintains this site. Investopedia.com maintains this site, www.investopedia.com/articles/fundamental/04/042804.asp, which has an article on margins. Gross, operating, and net profit margins are discussed. The article is a general, concise overview of these margins and related topics. 5. Return Analysis. Return of equity and return on assets are explained at this site, www.toolkit.cch.com/text/P06_7295.asp, and a link from the site. The site is maintained by CCH, Inc. Accounting rate of return and internal rate of return are explained at this site, www.toolkit.cch.com/text/P06_6520.asp, and a link from the site. The site is maintained by CCH, Inc. InformationWeekOnline has an article at this site, www.informationweek.com/735/roi.htm, which discusses return on investments (ROI) for such information technology (IT)-related company projects as: e-business; enterprise resource planning; intranets; and data warehouses. Several companies provide approaches they have used to relate ROI and their IT projects. Information Week has an article at this site, www.informationweek.com/story/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=6503764&pgno=1, which discusses return on investments (ROI) and information technology projects. Various companies provide information on approaches that they have been taking to evaluate ROI for their information technology projects. 6. Conclusions. In this article, 27 websites are identified that provide information that may be of assistance in performing tasks that a management accountant might do for his (or her) organization, related to the organization’s profitability. All of the websites identified in the article can be quickly linked to from the front page of the Management Accounting Information Center (MAIC), by clicking the front-page topic “Profitability, pricing, margins, and returns”, which is in the right hand column of list of topics. Websites included in the article, and under the front-page topic “Profitability, pricing, margins, and returns”, primarily provide tutorial guidance, explanations, and suggestions for doing and supporting analysis on understanding and measuring profits, margins, and returns, and determining suitable prices. Many other MAIC front-page topics lead to useful information related to profitability. Using the front-page topics “Company financial results, SEC reporting, and other data on companies” and “Industry sector trends, data, and statistics”, you can link to sites that provide company and industrial sector profitability data, including margin and return data. A component of pricing analysis is cost analysis. The front-page topic “Costs-accounting, management, and other aspects” leads to sites that provide cost data, trends, forecasting, and analysis. Quantitative analytical techniques such as ratio, statistical, and sensitivity analysis, can support profitability analysis. Links to sites on such techniques can be found under the MAIC front-page topic “Quantitative analysis”. Many decisions, made and recommended by the management accountant relating to financial management functions, have important consequences for the organization’s profitability. These financial management functions include: accounts receivable, accounts payable, inventory, and the cash conversion cycle; debt and cash management; employee benefits and salaries; fixed asset and equity policies; insurance and risk management; capital budgeting; and taxation planning. MAIC front-page topics will lead you to websites with relevant information in each of these financial management functions. And finally, a very important factor influencing an organization’s profitability can be organizational management polices, goals, and procedures. Many of these management policies, goals, and procedures, and the concepts, principles, and experiences that they are based on, are selected (or at least should be) primarily to improve profitability. The MAIC front-page topic “Management principles and models effecting and influencing accounting” has links to many websites that deal with various management concepts and principles that do deal with profitability and the goals of increased profitability. please click here is you would like to comment on this article or suggest a topic for another article please click here is you would like to return to the Management Accounting Information Center's homepage |