| Course | ACC 660 Controllership |
|---|---|
| Module | Module 9 |
| Paper type | graduate milestone preparing a board and lender reporting package |
| Length | About 1,000 words, 6 pages |
| Format | APA 7 student paper |
| School | Southern New Hampshire University |
| Program | MS Accounting |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for ACC 660 Module 9
Third-Quarter Board and Lender Reporting Package
[Student Name]
Southern New Hampshire University
ACC 660: Controllership
Milestone Three
[Instructor Name]
[Date]
The organization, setting and figures below are a composite written as a model document. No real employer, client, colleague or patient is described.
Third-Quarter Board and Lender Reporting Package
Purpose and Audience
The package goes to the board, which includes two partners from the sponsor and an independent director, and to the agent bank for the term loan lenders. The board wants to know why results differ from plan and what management will do; the lenders want covenant compliance and liquidity. The package is organized so both find what they need in the first three pages (Roehl-Anderson, 2013).
Executive Summary
Third-quarter revenue was $54.3 million, $1.7 million or 3.1 percent below budget and 6 percent above the prior year. EBITDA was $10.9 million, $1.1 million below budget. The shortfall came mainly from fewer emergency visits at four hospitals where technician vacancies lengthened wait times and from overtime to cover those vacancies. The company remains in compliance with all covenants, though the margin under the debt ratio is narrower than at any point since the loan was signed, and management has deferred discretionary capital spending to protect it. Management's actions focus on technician hiring and retention.
Revenue Variance
Revenue variance analysis, third quarter
| Item | Visits | Average invoice | Revenue, millions |
|---|---|---|---|
| Budget | 66,300 | $845 | $56.02 |
| Volume effect, 1,500 fewer visits at budgeted invoice | (1.27) | ||
| Mix effect, $7 lower invoice at actual visits | (0.45) | ||
| Actual | 64,800 | $838 | $54.30 |
The volume shortfall was concentrated in emergency visits at four hospitals where door-to-doctor times rose above 40 minutes. The lower average invoice reflects fewer specialty surgical cases at the Boulder hospital, where a surgeon was on leave in August.
EBITDA Bridge
EBITDA bridge, budget to actual, in millions
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Budgeted EBITDA | $12.0 |
| Contribution lost on revenue shortfall | (1.2) |
| Technician overtime above budget | (0.4) |
| Drug and supply cost share below budget | 0.2 |
| Regional and corporate overhead below budget | 0.3 |
| Actual EBITDA | $10.9 |
The revenue shortfall cost EBITDA roughly seven tenths of its value, close to what the budget's sensitivity test predicted. Overtime was the direct cost of technician vacancies; drug costs benefited from a new purchasing agreement.
Prior-Year Comparison
Against the third quarter of last year, revenue rose 6 percent, from $51.2 million, and EBITDA rose 4 percent, from $10.5 million. About four points of the revenue growth came from the two hospitals acquired in mid-2025 and two points from same-hospital growth, which was 5 percent in the first half. The slowdown in same-hospital growth is the clearest sign of the staffing problem, because demand for specialty and emergency care in the group's markets has not weakened; competitors report long waiting lists. The board should therefore read the quarter as a capacity problem, not a demand problem, which is why management's actions focus on staffing rather than marketing.
Cash, Liquidity and Covenants
Cash at quarter end was $6.2 million, with $16 million of revolver availability, for liquidity of $22.2 million against a $10 million minimum. Covenant calculations are shown in full in the appendix.
Covenant compliance, quarter ended September 30
| Covenant | Calculation | Result | Limit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Debt to adjusted EBITDA | $236.0 million divided by $44.3 million | 5.3 | 5.5 maximum |
| Fixed charge coverage | $44.3 million less capital spending, divided by interest, principal and taxes | 1.35 | 1.20 minimum |
Adjusted EBITDA of $44.3 million for the trailing twelve months includes $2.2 million of adjustments permitted by the credit agreement: acquisition fees of $0.9 million and $1.3 million of qualifying synergies. A reconciliation from net income to adjusted EBITDA is included in the appendix, with each adjustment described. Bradshaw and Sloan (2002) documented the growing gap between GAAP earnings and adjusted figures reported to investors, and Dichev et al. (2013) report that financial executives see persistent, cash-backed earnings as the mark of quality, which is why the package shows the adjustments rather than only the adjusted total.
Hospital Performance
The shortfall was not spread evenly. Ten hospitals finished within 2 percent of budget, and two exceeded it. Four hospitals, Aurora, Lakewood, Ogden and Provo, account for nearly all of the visit shortfall, and each had at least three technician vacancies for most of the quarter. The dashboard shows the pattern clearly: at those four sites, door-to-doctor time in the emergency service averaged 44 minutes against a 25-minute target, and net promoter scores fell by 9 points. Revenue per doctor hour fell because doctors were waiting for technician support rather than seeing patients. Locating the problem this precisely lets the board judge whether it is a temporary staffing gap at four sites or a sign of a broader labor problem, and the evidence points to the first.
Management Actions
For the staffing gap, the regional directors are filling 17 technician vacancies with a 6 percent pay increase at the four sites, sign-on bonuses for credentialed technicians and a training program with a community college that will produce its first graduates in May. For the overtime cost, the hospitals will use a regional pool of float technicians instead of overtime at single sites. For the surgical mix, the Boulder surgeon has returned, and the referral team is visiting the clinics whose referrals fell during her leave. The appendix names who is responsible for every action and when it is due, and the board will see progress in the November update.
Acquisitions and Investments
The Fort Collins acquisition closed on October 1, after the quarter, for $13.8 million after the working capital adjustment. Its pro forma EBITDA of $1.9 million will be included in the fourth-quarter covenant test. The Denver MRI purchase has been moved to the first quarter to preserve covenant headroom.
Risks and Outlook
The main risk is technician staffing: turnover is 38 percent annualized at the four affected hospitals. Management has raised technician pay at those sites by 6 percent, at an annual cost of about $0.8 million, and is starting a training program with a community college. If visits recover by December, fourth-quarter EBITDA should reach $12.4 million; if not, the rolling forecast shows $11.5 million, and the debt ratio would reach about 5.45 after the acquisition, close to the limit.
Conclusion
The quarter's shortfall has an operating cause with a specific response. The company is in compliance, but headroom is limited, and the board should expect a further update on staffing and covenants in November.
References
Bradshaw, M. T., & Sloan, R. G. (2002). GAAP versus the street: An empirical assessment of two alternative definitions of earnings. Journal of Accounting Research, 40(1), 41-66. https://doi.org/10.1111/1475-679X.00038
Dichev, I. D., Graham, J. R., Harvey, C. R., & Rajgopal, S. (2013). Earnings quality: Evidence from the field. Journal of Accounting and Economics, 56(2-3), 1-33. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jacceco.2013.05.004
Roehl-Anderson, J. M. (2013). Controllership: The work of the managerial accountant (9th ed.). Wiley.
What the ACC 660 Module 9 instructions ask for
The third ACC 660 milestone usually asks you to prepare management, board or lender reporting for the case company. Plan to summarize results against budget and prior year, analyze variances by their operating causes rather than by account, bridge earnings from budget to actual, report cash, liquidity and covenant compliance, and set out risks, actions and outlook. Many versions also ask how non-GAAP measures such as adjusted EBITDA should be presented and reconciled, and how much detail lenders need compared with the board. Write for readers who have a few minutes per page: lead with conclusions, quantify each cause and show the calculations that lenders rely on in an appendix. A short section on what management is doing about each cause turns analysis into accountability.
How this ACC 660 Module 9 milestone three example is built
The package opens with a one-page summary: revenue of $54.3 million was $1.7 million below budget, and EBITDA of $10.9 million was $1.1 million below. Visits of 64,800 against 66,300 budgeted explain $1.27 million of the revenue gap; a lower average invoice, $838 against $845, explains $0.45 million. The EBITDA bridge shows the revenue shortfall costing $1.2 million, technician overtime $0.4 million, and lower drug costs and overhead recovering $0.5 million. Debt to EBITDA is 5.3 against a 5.5 limit and fixed charge coverage 1.35 against 1.20. The package reconciles adjusted EBITDA to net income, lists actions on technician retention and gives a fourth-quarter outlook with a downside case.
Where the ACC 660 Module 9 rubric puts the points
Rubrics for the third ACC 660 milestone typically score the executive summary, the variance analysis, the earnings bridge, cash and covenant reporting, the treatment of non-GAAP measures, risks and outlook, and presentation for the audience. Strong milestones explain variances by operating driver, quantify each cause so the bridge reconciles, show covenant calculations transparently and present adjusted measures with a reconciliation to GAAP. Graders also reward a clear statement of management's actions and an outlook that includes a downside case tied to covenants. Common deductions include account-by-account variance lists, packages longer than anyone will read, bridges that do not sum, covenant ratios without the underlying figures and adjusted EBITDA without reconciliation.
ACC 660 Module 9 help: the mistakes that cost points
Reporting packages most often slip by explaining variances by account, such as wages over budget, rather than by cause, such as technician turnover forcing overtime. A second weak spot is the bridge, which must reconcile exactly from budget to actual so the board can trust it. If your case is a public company, the same analysis supports the MD&A, with stricter rules on non-GAAP measures. Draft the one-page summary last but read it first; if a director could stop there and know what happened and what management is doing, the package works. Then check that every number in the summary appears in a table.
Get ACC 660 Module 9 written to your instructions
Send the ACC 660 Milestone Three guidelines and the quarter's data. The milestone will build the package, analyze variances by driver, bridge earnings, show covenant calculations and present risks and outlook for the board. Turnaround is about two days, and your first one is free. The paper above is an original model document written by our desk, not a submitted student paper and not an official Southern New Hampshire University document.
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ACC 660 Module 9 questions, answered
Where can I find a free ACC 660 Module 9 Milestone Three sample?
This page includes a full ACC 660 Milestone Three board and lender package with variance analysis and covenant reporting.
How should revenue variances be analyzed?
By separating volume, price and mix effects, for example the change in visits at the budgeted average invoice and the change in average invoice at actual visits.
What is an EBITDA bridge?
A reconciliation from budgeted or prior-period EBITDA to actual EBITDA showing the amount of each cause, such as volume, pricing, labor and other costs.
What should a lender reporting package include?
Financial statements, the covenant compliance calculation with supporting figures, liquidity, any defaults or waivers and management's discussion of results and outlook.
How should adjusted EBITDA be presented?
With each adjustment described and a reconciliation to net income, so readers can see what was excluded and judge whether the adjustments are appropriate.