Chapter 9, Problem 27E

Tanya Williams is the new accounts manager at East Bank of Mississippi. She has just been asked to project how many new bank accounts she will generate during 20x2. The economy of the county in which the bank operates has been growing, and the bank has experienced a 10 percent increase in its number of bank accounts over each of the past five years. In 20x1, the bank had 10,000 accounts.

The new accounts manager is paid a salary plus a bonus of $15 for every new account she generates above the budgeted amount. Thus, if the annual budget calls for 500 new accounts, and 540 new accounts are obtained, Williams’s bonus will be $600 (40 × $15).

Williams believes the economy of the county will continue to grow at the same rate in 20x2 as it has in recent years. She has decided to submit a budgetary projection of 700 new accounts for 20x2.

Required: Your consulting firm has been hired by the bank president to make recommendations for improving its operations. Write a memorandum to the president defining and explaining the negative consequences of budgetary slack. Also discuss the bank’s bonus system for the new accounts manager and how the bonus program tends to encourage budgetary slack.