Cases

Cases are guided accounting analytics assignments. Each one connects business context, SQL evidence, source-table reasoning, and a short management or audit conclusion. Students should enter a case after reading the matching process page or report perspective; the case then turns that context into a structured investigation.

Every case now expects a required student output: evidence summary, accounting or business interpretation, database explanation, and a follow-up conclusion. The SQL sequence is still inquiry-led, but the deliverable is no longer open-ended.

For first undergraduate assignments, start with the Foundation cases. Intermediate cases work well after students can read source tables and interpret a report. Advanced and Capstone cases should usually come later because they combine more processes, more controls, or more query paths.

Difficulty Labels

Level	What it means for students
Foundation	Good first case after one process page; the trace is narrow and the expected output is concrete.
Intermediate	Requires comparing several measures or business lenses, but still stays inside one main topic.
Advanced	Requires synthesis across accounting, process timing, controls, or multiple source-table paths.
Capstone	Best for branch-choice review after students already know how to trace evidence and classify findings.

Learning Arcs

• Foundation process tracing: O2C Trace Case, P2P Accrual Case, Manufacturing Labor Case, and Product Portfolio Case
• Financial interpretation: Working Capital and Cash Conversion Case, Financial Statement Bridge Case, CAPEX and Fixed Asset Lifecycle Case, and Pricing and Margin Governance Case
• Managerial planning and performance: Product Portfolio Profitability Case, Workforce Coverage and Attendance Case, and Demand Planning and Replenishment Case
• Audit and controls: Audit Review Pack Case plus the specialized workforce, attendance, replenishment, and pricing audit cases

Case Matrix

Seq.	Case	Level	Primary accounting concept	Primary database skill	Best prerequisite
1	O2C Trace Case	Foundation	revenue, inventory relief, AR settlement	document-chain joins from order to cash	Order-to-Cash Process
2	P2P Accrual Case	Foundation	AP, GRNI, accrued-service settlement	receipt-matched versus accrual-linked trace paths	Procure-to-Pay Process
3	Manufacturing Labor Case	Foundation	standard cost, direct labor, WIP close	work-order operation and labor-support tracing	Manufacturing Process
4	Product Portfolio Case	Foundation	item lifecycle and portfolio activity	item-master attributes joined to operating activity	Managerial Queries
5	Working Capital and Cash Conversion Case	Advanced synthesis	AR, AP, payroll, accruals, and cash pressure	monthly timing synthesis across multiple systems	Commercial and Working Capital
6	Financial Statement Bridge Case	Advanced	trial balance, control accounts, close, cutoff	ledger-to-statement bridge with source drilldown	Executive Overview
7	CAPEX and Fixed Asset Lifecycle Case	Intermediate	capitalization, depreciation, financing, disposal	asset event trace to financing, GL, and cash flow	Financial Queries
8	Pricing and Margin Governance Case	Intermediate	price realization and margin dilution	pricing outcome aggregation by customer and portfolio	Commercial and Working Capital
9	Product Portfolio Profitability Case	Intermediate	gross margin, contribution, service, returns	comparing portfolio grains across performance lenses	Operations and Risk
10	Workforce Coverage and Attendance Case	Intermediate	labor coverage, absence, overtime response	roster, worked-hour, absence, and shift grains	Payroll Perspective
11	Demand Planning and Replenishment Case	Intermediate	forecast quality, replenishment, capacity pressure	weekly item, recommendation, and work-center joins	Operations and Risk
12	Workforce Audit Case	Advanced	employee lifecycle and approval-control trust	employee status, assignment, approval, and roster traces	Payroll Process
13	Workforce Cost and Org-Control Case	Advanced	payroll cost, labor utilization, control ownership	payroll, headcount, location, and approval grains	Payroll Perspective
14	Audit Review Pack Case	Capstone	cross-process exception triage	branch-choice source evidence across audit families	Audit Queries
15	Attendance Control Audit Case	Advanced	attendance and payroll-control exceptions	employee-date exception tracing	Payroll Process
16	Replenishment Support Audit Case	Advanced	planning-support control evidence	forecast, policy, recommendation, and document trace	Audit Queries
17	Pricing Governance Audit Case	Advanced	price-list, promotion, floor, and override controls	price-list, promotion, and approval source tracing	Audit Queries

How Cases Fit the Learning Path

Read the case library as a deeper layer beneath the process, report, and analytics-guide pages:

1. Start with the company story and the process page for the cycle.
2. Move into the matching report perspective or topic guide.
3. Run the case SQL in sequence and keep notes on what each step changes.
4. Submit the required student output: evidence, interpretation, database explanation, and conclusion.
5. Recreate one part of the evidence in Excel when the class needs workbook-side reinforcement.

Suggested Case Sequence

Start with the foundation cases when students are still learning the database and business process flow. Move to the financial and managerial cases when they can explain source rows and ledgers together. Use the specialized audit cases after students understand the related business process, because those pages assume they can tell the difference between operational pressure and control failure.

The Audit Review Pack Case is a capstone and branch-choice assignment. It has many query references by design, so instructors should assign one or two exception families unless the class is ready for a broad review.

The Working Capital and Cash Conversion Case is an advanced synthesis assignment. It intentionally combines customer, supplier, payroll, accrual, and budget timing rather than tracing one document chain.

Next Steps

1. Start from Analyze the Data, Query Library, or Reports Hub when you need the broader business context first.
2. Pick the case that matches the process you want to investigate.
3. Use SQL Guide for query-running workflow and Excel Guide for workbook-side reconstruction.