LibGuides: BCOR 2120: Accounting Information for Decision Making : BCOR Assignment Guide

Product & Budget Research for Professor Jade Chen

Follow the steps to complete your BCOR 2120 team project written report for Professor Jade Chen. The recommended sources have been vetted for authority, accuracy, bias, and currency.

Step 1: Cover page with title, team-members' names, and one paragraph executive summary.

Step 2: Describe your business and product

Your business and product descriptions will be unique to your own project, but, you can get inspiration from others. Begin by identifying companies with similar products (aka, competitors). Look at their business descriptions in Mergent Online, Yahoo Finance, or Privo. Visit the company's website and browse the product description for the specific product.

Mergent Online This link opens in a new window
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Subjects: Business
Description: Research database containing company, industry, and executive information. Includes materials from the last 10 years.
Contents: Company Reports; Financials; Industry Ratios; Industry Reports; Executives Directory; Company ESG Ratings
PrivCo This link opens in a new window
Subjects: Business, Finance, Entrepreneurship
Description: Research database containing private company information, private equity and M&A deals, and investors search.
Contents: Company Reports; Financials; Private Equity Deals; M&A Deals

Yahoo Finance
Search by company name. Read the "Description" in the "Profile" tab. Note: Primarily for public companies.

Step 3 and 4: Estimate and project costs

Costs will vary by product and geographic location. You will need to search multiple sources to gather the information needed. Begin by making a list of the costs (fixed and variable) you will incur. Then, the best research strategy will be to use Google to browse a variety of websites. Always evaluate websites for authority, accuracy, bias, and currency.

Assess Costs Everywhere (ACE)
ACE is an analytical framework created by the U.S. Department of Commerce to help businesses access total costs.
Business Costs by the U.S. Department of Labor
Provides statistics to help gauge labor costs & prices of goods and services.

IBISWorld This link opens in a new window
Subjects: Business, Economics, Entrepreneurship
Description: Research database containing a collection of industry market research and industry risk ratings on over 1300 U.S. industries.
Contents: Industry Reports; Industry Ratios; Market Share Reports
Statista This link opens in a new window
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Subjects: Business, Economics, and Political Science
Description: Data collection from Statista containing global data on market, industrial, and societal information.
Contents: Statistics / Datasets; Company Reports; Industry Reports; Consumer Reports

Step 5:

Project annual product cost structure Y=a+bX by identifying the fixed and variable manufacturing cost.

Step 6: Pricing Strategy

Several factors will impact your pricing strategy. You will need to search multiple sources to gather the information needed. Remember, always evaluate sources and websites for authority, accuracy, bias, and currency. Factors to consider when pricing your products:

Costs: What are your estimated total costs?
Target revenue: What are your revenue and profit goals?
Customers: How much are they willing to pay?
Competition: What are your competitors' prices?
Market: What is the supply and demand?

IBISWorld This link opens in a new window
Subjects: Business, Economics, Entrepreneurship
Description: Research database containing a collection of industry market research and industry risk ratings on over 1300 U.S. industries.
Contents: Industry Reports; Industry Ratios; Market Share Reports
Mintel Academic This link opens in a new window
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Subjects: Business, Marketing, Political Science
Description: Research database from Mintel containing U.S. consumer and market information.
Contents: Consumer Reports; Market Reports; Consumer Trends; Market Trends