Volume 7 Issue 5
December 2016
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
We hope you all enjoyed your
Thanksgiving weekend and are
looking forward to the upcoming
holidays!
We’ll miss meeting with you in
December but hope you are planning to attend our upcoming meetings in January and the months to
follow.
The Data Miner
JOPLIN TRISTATE CHAPTER IMA
Stay safe over the holidays and we’ll see you in 2017!
The Data Miner

The IMA was founded in 1919 as the National Association of Cost Accountants (NACA) in Buffalo, NY.

In 1957, the name changed to the National Association of Accountants
(NAA). The organization would also later develop our hallmark credential,
the CMA®.

In 1991, the organization's name was again changed to the Institute of Management Accountants (IMA), which signifies a broader role as the association for accountants and financial professionals working inside organizations.
No meeting in December! We look forward to seeing you at our next
meeting in January at MSSU where we will get to hear from Duane Dreiling, the Director of SW MO United Way.
Exploratory Committee Forming
We are forming a committee to explore the opportunity of hosting a manufacturing accounting conference for our region in 2018. The time commitment would be minimal, around one to two hours a month. If you’re
interested in seeing how a conference is developed and would like to help
out with planning this event, please email [email protected].
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1
President’s Letter
Where did the year go? 2016 has been a great year for our Chapter. We started the year learning about change
management, held our first joint meeting with the Tri-State HR and Greater Ozarks APICS and ended the year
with our November seminar. We offered a total of 24 1/2 hours of CPE in 2016. No wonder the year went so
fast! I want to take this opportunity to thank our Board of Directors for all of their hard work!
Along with presentations to student groups at Crowder College and MSSU, we awarded scholarships, IMA
Honor Society memberships and several student memberships in our work with local universities and colleges.
I hope you could take advantage of all our meetings this year, not only to earn CPE but also to network with
the great professionals in our area. Along with Chapter meetings, discounts from various IMA Corporate Partners and more than 36 CPE hours of IMA Global webinars, your IMA membership is well worth the investment. Be sure to get all of the value it has to offer.
Our next Chapter meeting is January 17 at MSSU. We’ll have a presentation on Managing and Auditing Nonprofits. It’s a dinner meeting; be sure to bring a friend.
I wish you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! I look forward to seeing you at our next meeting
and throughout 2017.
Jim
Attend these FREE Webinars for CPE
Putting the “A” back into FP&A
December 07 1:00 - 2:00 pm
Register
There’s Gold in Your Complex Payables
December 14 1:00 - 2:00 pm
Register
Leadership Development: A Lifelong Journey
December 20 1:00 - 2:30 pm
Register
The Data Miner
December 2016
2
CHECK OUT OUR ONLINE
PRESENCE
“Like” us on our new Facebook fan page at www.facebook.com/
joplintristateima.
Join our new group on LinkedIn –
https://www.linkedin.com/grp/home?gid=8354156
Visit our new website at
http://www.imajoplintristate.org/
Visit our group on LinkUp IMA (IMA
membership required)
http://linkup.imanet.org/



The Data Miner
STAY INFORMED
BECOME INVOLVED
JOIN IN THE CONVERSATION & SHARE
December 2016
3
CMA QUIZ
Adams Manufacturing, Inc., produces farm tractors. The details of its budgeted cost of goods
manufactured schedule should come from which of the following schedules?
A. Cost of goods sold plus or minus the change planned in finished goods.
B. Direct materials used, direct labor, manufacturing overhead, and work-in-process.
C. Purchases, direct labor, manufacturing overhead, finished goods, and work-inprocess.
D. Purchases, raw material, work-in-process, and finished goods.
Answer on page 5.
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December 2016
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Answer to CMA quiz.
Answer B is correct. Cost of goods manufactured equals all manufacturing costs incurred
during the period, plus beginning work-in-process inventory, minus ending work-in-process
inventory. The cost of goods manufactured schedule therefore includes direct materials, direct labor, factory overhead, and changes in work-in-process inventories.
Office Politics: Diplomacy Always Wins
With the U.S. election now behind us, you probably think you can take a break from politics, but don’t get
too comfortable – office politics knows no season and no end date.
In an Accountemps survey, 80 percent of U.S. office workers polled said workplace politics are alive and
well, and 55 percent get involved in politicking. What’s more, 76 percent of respondents say playing the
game is necessary for professional advancement, compared to just 56 percent who felt the same way in 2012
when a previous survey was taken. It’s clear that politics is playing a bigger role in the workplace these
days.
Common office politicians
There are many ways to play office politics. Below is a list of common culprits:
Gossipmongers. It’s common to talk about other s. Why? We gain social bonds fr om telling inter esting stories about our friends and coworkers. The gossip hound, however, takes it one step further
with speculations, unfounded theories and even blatant misinformation. Gossip becomes harmful
when people share unprofessional or potentially damaging information, especially on social media.
Flatterers. Ther e may be a few of these in your wor kplace. If you’r e in management, per haps
you’ve experienced it first-hand — employees who frequently praise your decisions and actions. If
you’re among the rank and file, this is the person who shamelessly butters up the boss with sweet but
insincere words.
Credit hogs and credit thieves. The hogs demand r ecognition for their own wor k, no matter how
small or insignificant. At the same time, they downplay the contributions of others. Thieves are
worse – they essentially lie about who did what and take credit for other people’s hard work.
Finger-pointers. The flip side of the cr edit thief is the finger -pointer. Whenever there’s a mistake or
something goes wrong, they’re never to blame. Instead they point fingers.
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December 2016
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Underminers. The wor ld of politics has opposition r esear ch — digging up dirt on the opponent and
dropping bombshells at opportune times. This can happen in the workplace, where a few bad apples
take down their rivals with whispers and accusations. These operatives are skilled in making others
look bad.
Lobbyists. In gover nment, these pr ofessionals’ sole job is to sway elected officials’ opinions and
consolidate support for their cause. In the financial workplace, these savvy employees have a way
with words and know how to persuade their team to go along with their plan.
How to deal with office politics
Some aspects of office politics can be positive. For instance, if you’ve done your research and feel strongly
about the merits of moving to a cloud-based financial solution, your lobbying efforts would benefit the company. But whether you choose to play the game or sit on the sidelines, every accounting and finance professional needs to know the basics of workplace politics. Here are some tips:
1. Radiate positivity. Be that per son in the office who doesn’t badmouth other s. Rather than going
along with the tattler and adding fuel to the flame, say something nice or bow out of the conversation. Let
fairness be part of your personal brand.
2. Be ready to walk away. When gossip becomes a pr oblem, know when to excuse your self. Make some
noise about how that quarterly report won’t write itself or express you have a pressing deadline.
3. Keep good records. Wr ite down your ideas and accomplishments. That way, when cr edit thieves
pass off your work as their own, you have documentation. If necessary, provide your manager with a paper
trail – showing the idea was your brainchild, not someone else’s.
4. Stand up for yourself. When someone spr eads nasty r umor s about you, say something. Diplomatically confront bullies and let them know their behavior is unacceptable. If necessary, bring it up with your
manager.
Office politics is bound to happen in the modern workplace. You may not enjoy the game, but you should at
least understand the rules — and be ready to play if necessary.
Accountemps, a Robert Half company, is the world’s first and largest specialized staffing firm for temporary
accounting, finance and bookkeeping professionals. Accountemps has more than 325 locations worldwide.
More resources, including job search services and the Accountemps blog, can be found at roberthalf.com/accountemps.
The Data Miner
December 2016
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The Joplin Tri-State Chapter was established in 1964. Since then our Chapter has represented the management accounting profession in companies like Leggett & Platt, Lozier, Tamko, Empire District, and Eagle Picher, as well as many others. Our mission is
to provide Tri-State account-
ants and financial profession-
als opportunities to develop,
network and advance in their
careers; and to become trust-
ed business advisors in their
organizations through mentor-
ing, certification, education
and adherence to high ethical standards. We encourage you to reach out to us, visit our
website, visit a Chapter meeting, “like us” on Facebook and connect on LinkedIn. Join
us for professional education, networking and fun!
JOPLIN TRI-STATE CHAPTER BOARD OF DIRECTORS
PRESIDENT – JIM WILLIAMS, CPA, [email protected]
SECRETARY – RICH VAUGHAN, [email protected]
TREASURER – CLYDE EPPARD, CMA, CFM, [email protected]
VP OF MEMBERSHIP – JENNIFER LEE, [email protected]
VP OF ADMINISTRATION – Open - This could be you!
VP OF EDUCATION – CHEYENNE HATFIELD, [email protected]
DIRECTOR OF CMA – ALTA SMITH, CMA, [email protected]
DIRECTOR OF MEETINGS – GENE MICHAEL, [email protected]
DIRECTOR OF SOCIAL MEDIA—BECKY BURNS, [email protected]
DIRECTOR OF MEETING ATTENDANCE – CLYDE EPPARD, CMA, CFM, [email protected]
DIRECTOR OF MSSU ACTIVITIES – DR. WILLIAM HUFFMAN, CPA, [email protected]
DIRECTOR OF PSU ACTIVITIES – Open This could be you!
WEBMASTER – TIFFANI GILBERT, [email protected]
DIRECTOR OF PROGRAM ROSTER – DAKOTA GOING, [email protected]
DIRECTOR OF NEWSLETTER – JESSICA JENSEN, [email protected]
DIRECTOR OF YOUNG PROFESSIONALS – ROBERT BROWN, [email protected]
DIRECTOR OF HIGH SCHOOL ACTIVITIES – DAVID SMITH, [email protected]
MSSU ACCOUNTING CLUB BOARD LIAISON – Open This could be you!
PSU STUDENT CHAPTER BOARD LIAISON – KAYLA MCCULLY, [email protected]
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December 2016
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