. Furthermore, our case study accomplishes these goals in a dynamic simulationstyle
exercise that allows students to make their own assumptions about key input variables needed in the
analysis and witness firsthand how changes in these assumptions impact their business performance
results. Students often wonder how they can use and integrate concepts learned throughout different
accounting courses with other business courses in the areas of finance, management and marketing. This
case accomplishes precisely this very goal by enabling students who go through the exercise which the
case presents to apply what they learned in various business disciplines in an integrated and
comprehensible way. It is often viewed that flexible budgeting is a key starting point for developing a full
cost-accounting system and subsequent analyses of variances between budgeted and actual results in an
effort to improve cost control and operational performance. This case provides the necessary tools to both
business school students in general, as well as accounting students in particular who will move on to
higher-level accounting courses such as a cost-management class, typically taken in their major, to
understand the full picture needed to start and maintain a successful small business.