Author Description

From the Foreword: The right to bargain collectively has been a Canadian tradition for many years...Unfortunately, in recent times, we are finding this bargaining process is breaking down...One possible explanation for this situation is that neither management nor labour are able to effectively estimate costs associated with the collective bargaining process. This study suggests that the management accountant should play an important role in developing costs related to the following areas: (i) the preparation of financial forecasts to predict the impact of a collective agreement on the company's profits; (ii) the accumulation of costs during a strike so as to allow for an ongoing evaluation by labour and management of pre-strike settlement positions; (iii) the measuring and reporting of actual costs and benefits for a post-evaluation of the settlement.