Holmes Institute: Reflective Journal - Managerial Accounting

This reflective journal details a student's learning experience in managerial accounting, specifically focusing on standard and target costing. The student reflects on their initial nervousness, the process of understanding the concepts, and the application of these concepts in real-world scenarios. The journal highlights the student's feelings, including informative moments and challenges faced during research. The evaluation section discusses both positive and negative experiences, such as calculating standard cost variations and difficulties in researching target costing implementation. Analysis of the experiences reveals valuable lessons about accounting theory and the importance of research tools. The student concludes with insights on effective concept analysis and research methods, and outlines an action plan for future projects, emphasizing the use of effective research tools and application of concepts. The journal references key academic sources and provides a comprehensive overview of the student's learning journey.

RUNNING HEAD: ACCOUNTING 0
MANAGERIAL ACCOUNTING: REFLECTION
[Document subtitle]
[DATE]
[Company name]
[Company address]

MANAGEMENT 1
Description-
The project of studying about the relevance of standard and target costing has been a great
experience where I was able to understand the various concepts and relevancy of the
accounting concepts. I was able to understand what the standard and target costing is about. I
was able to understand what factors, do companies use to decide about their standard costing.
The articles gave me insight into how various countries use target costing in their operations.
one such example of that was of Japan that used the Target costing as a medium to calculate
the cost of its operations. These ideas about the target costing helped me in understanding
how these concepts function across various countries and companies. One such concept that I
learned was the implementation level of target costing differs on the basis of the companies
and countries. On the other hand, standard costing is helpful in controlling the variances of
the cost.
Feelings-
During the time of research, Initially, I felt nervous about taking this research as I had less
knowledge about standard costing and target costing. I went through every concept about it
that gave me confidence and idea about how things have to be applied in the companies in
real sense. The increased understanding of the concepts was helpful in achieving the goals of
the research study. During the research process, I felt quite informative when I became aware
of various concepts in the sector such as when I got to know that the technique of standard
accounting is used in controlling the cost of the business as standard accounting sets the
target and beyond research which the cost cannot exceed. In a positive sense, I have enjoyed
various phases of the research that include calculation of various standard costing variances
of the companies that gave me an actual glimpse of how the things are performed. I felt quite
knowledgeable and experienced after understanding how the ratios and costing are calculated.
Evaluation-
During the research study, I had various good and bad experiences that helped me in giving
me the informative experiences of the things accomplished. Some of my good experiences
included when I calculated the standard costs variations of the reputed companies that helped
me in giving the glimpse of the concepts. It had developed in me a clear understanding of the
concepts thus leading to increased confidence. I was able to understand the methods used by
the companies to calculate the standard cost and analyze their financial status (Baral, 2016).
During my reflection of the peer-reviewed journal, I felt quite happy when I was able to

MANAGEMENT 2
understand about the concepts given by venerated accounting authors regarding target
accounting, it made me feel that I have an understanding about the concepts (Badem, 2013).
Besides the good experiences, I had several bad experiences that demotivated me towards the
completion of the research project. In one of the experiences, I had difficulty in reporting
effectively about the relevance of target costing in the modern-day world that took me around
2 days of extensive research. The toughest part that I had was in researching the type of
companies that are implementing the target costing methods. In order, to know about those
companies, I had to visit their authentic websites (Baral, 2016).
Analysis-
The experiences have taught me various valuable lessons that helped me in advancing my
knowledge of accounting theory of various things. Before, undertaking the project, I did not
have much knowledge about the standard and target costing methods. I had various doubts in
various application of accounting theory on the workings of the companies. Undertaking the
project using the peer-reviewed journal, I was able to understand the things in an effective
manner and made me understand how successful and high growth companies operate using
the standard and target costing methods.
The other learning, I had was regarding the right tools of researching the authentic
information for the research in the market. The other ways that I have achieved were the right
mindset of receiving successful ways of doing things.
Conclusion-
Although there were several times where I had achieved the right ways of doing things in the
areas of concept analyzation and research. At some times, I had achieved problems in getting
things done in the best possible manner but as my research progressed, I was able to
understand the various ways of dealing with things. According to Baral, Standard accounting
is the best way of calculating the cost of the items available of the company, it was possible
to get things done in an effective manner (Baral, 2016). Moreover, the research framed my
mind towards getting things in a manner where I could achieve things in the best possible
manner. My mind became more positive and focused thus helping me understand the
concepts.
Action plan-

MANAGEMENT 3
According to Badem, the consistent use of research tools is important in gaining the
knowledge of doing the right ways of doing research (Badem, 2013). Next time, I would be
more careful regarding the usage of keywords while researching the various concepts and
theories. In the next project, I will be more equipped with the various tools and concepts
while applying it on the companies.
In the next time, I would ensure to use the right tools and search options to deliver good
research for the topics mentioned. According to, Effective research tools are essential to get
the right results in a short time. The other thing that I will keep in mind would be the method
of effective application of the concepts on the companies and their various departmental
processes (Badem, 2013).

MANAGEMENT 4
Bibliography
Badem, A., 2013. Is standard costing still used? Evidence from Turkish automotive industry.
International Business Research, 6(7), p. 79.
Baral, G., 2016. Cost–Value–Profit Analysis and Target Costing with Fuzzy Logic Theory.
Mediterranean. Journal of Social Sciences, 7(2), p. 21.