2021年云南ACCA考试成绩查询时间

正确答案：
(ii) Analytical procedures
Tutorial note: The range of valid answer points is very broad for this part.
■ Review the trend of MCM’s profit (gross and net) for the last five years (say). Similarly earnings per share and
gearing.
■ For both the National and International businesses compare:
– gross profit, net profit, and return on assets for the last five years (say);
– actual monthly revenue against budget for the last 18 months (say). Similarly, for major items of expenditure
such as:
– full-time salaries;
– freelance consultancy fees;
– premises costs (e.g. depreciation, lease rentals, maintenance, etc);
– monthly revenue (also costs and profit) by centre.
■ Review projections of future profitability of MCM against net profit percentage at 31 December 2004 for:
– the National business (10·4%);
– the International business (38·1%); and
– overall (19·9%).
■ Review of disposal value of owned premises against book values.
■ Compare actual cash balances with budget on a monthly basis and compare borrowings against loan and overdraft
facilities.
■ Compare the average collection period for International’s trade receivables month on month since 31 December
2004 (when it was nearly seven months, i.e.
$3·7
–––– × 365 days) and compare with the National business.
$6·3
■ Compare financial ratios for each of the national centres against the National business overall (and similarly for the
International Business). For example:
– gross and net profit margins;
– return on centre assets;
– average collection period;
– average payment period;
– liquidity ratio.
■ Compare key performance indicators across the centres for the year to 31 December 2004 and 2005 to date. For
example:
– number of corporate clients;
– number of delegates;
– number of training days;
– average revenue per delegate per day;
– average cost per consultancy day.

正确答案：
(b) Benchmarking
Benchmarks enable goals to be set that may be based on either external measures of ‘best practice’ organisations or internal
cross-functional comparisons which exhibit ‘best practice’. A primary aim of the traditional budgeting process is the setting of
realistic targets that can be achieved within the budget period. The setting of realistic targets means that the extent of
underperformance against ‘best practice’ standards loses visibility, and thus short-term financial targets remain the
predominant focus of the traditional budgeting process. It is arguable that because the budgetary reporting system purports
to give managers ‘control’, there is very little real incentive to seek out benchmarks which may be used to raise budgeted
performance targets. Much depends upon the prevailing organisational culture since benchmarking may be viewed as an
attempt by top management to impose impossible targets upon operational managers. The situation is further exacerbated
where organisations do not measure their success relative to their competition.
Balanced scorecard
The Balanced scorecard is often misunderstood as a consequence of the failure by top management to ensure that it is
implemented effectively within the organisation. Thus it may be viewed as the addition of a few non-financial measures to
the conventional budget. In an attempt to overcome this misperception many management teams now establish a
performance-rewards linkage based upon the achievement of Scorecard targets for the forthcoming budget period.
Unfortunately this can precipitate dysfunctional behaviour at every level within the organisation.
Even in situations where the Scorecard has been well-designed and well-implemented it is difficult for it to gain widespread
acceptance. This is because all too often there exists a culture which places a very high value upon the achievement of the
fixed annual targets in order to avoid the loss of status, recognition and rewards.
A well-constructed Scorecard contains a mix of long-term and short-term measures and therefore drives the company in the
direction of medium-term strategic goals which are supported by cross-functional initiatives. On the other hand, the budgeting
process focuses the organisation on the achievement of short-term financial goals supported by the initiatives of individual
departments. Budgets can also act as an impediment to the acceptance of responsibility by local managers for the
achievement of the Scorecard targets. This is often the case in situations where a continued emphasis exists on meeting shortterm
e.g. quarterly targets.
Activity-based models
Traditional budgets show the costs of functions and departments (e.g. staff costs and establishment costs) instead of the costs
of those activities that are performed by people (e.g. receipt of goods inwards, processing and dispatch of orders etc). Thus
managers have no visibility of the real ‘cost drivers’ of their business. In addition, it is probable that a traditional budget
contains a significant amount of non-value-added costs that are not visible to the managers. The annual budget also tends
to fix capacity for the forthcoming budget period thereby undermining the potential of Activity-based management (ABM)
analysis to determine required capacity from a customer demand perspective. Those experienced in the use of ABM
techniques are used to dealing with such problems, however their tasks would be much easier to perform. and their results
made more reliable if these problems were removed.

正确答案：
(b) The relative performance of GBC and TTC is difficult to assess due to the following:
(i) They would appear to have differing objectives. GBC provides free transport for senior citizens and charges lower fares
than TTC. GBC also uses environmentally friendly fuel. Each of these factors inhibits a direct comparison of the two
organisations.
(ii) The organisations are funded differently. It is evident that TTC uses loan finance to fund operations which gives rise to
interest charges which are not incurred by GBC. On the other hand GBC is funded by the government.
(iii) TTC has higher fixed asset values which precipitate much higher depreciation charges.
(iv) There is also a lack of non-financial performance indicators such as the number of on-time arrivals, number of accidents,
complaints re passenger dissatisfaction, staff turnover, adherence to relevant legislation, convenience of pick-up/drop-off
points etc.
The following items of additional information would assist in assessing the financial and operating performance of the two
companies:
(1) The number of staff employed by each organisation would assist in the assessment of the financial and operating
performance. Ratios such as revenue generated per employee and operating costs per employee might provide useful
comparators of financial and operating efficiency.
(2) Safety and accident records of each organisation would give an indication of the reliability and safety afforded to
passengers by each organisation. Passenger safety is of paramount importance to all passenger transport businesses.
(3) Records of late/cancelled buses together with the number of complaints received from the passengers would provide an
indication of the efficiency of the service provided by each organisation.
(4) The accessibility of the services, location of pick-up/drop-off points would provide an indication of the flexibility of service
delivery provided by each organisation.
(5) The comfort, cleanliness and age of the respective bus fleets would provide a further indication of the level of service
quality provided by each organisation.
(6) The fuel emission levels of the buses operated by each organisation would provide an indication of the extent of their
‘social responsibility’.
Notes: (i) Only three items of additional information were required.
(ii) Alternative relevant discussion and examples would be acceptable.

正确答案：
(b) Negotiated transfer prices suffer from the following limitations:
– The transfer price which is the final outcome of negotiations may not be close to the transfer price that would be optimal
for the organisation as a whole since it can be dependent on the negotiating skills and bargaining powers of individual
managers.
– They can lead to conflict between divisions which may necessitate the intervention of top management to mediate.
– The measure of divisional profitability can be dependent on the negotiating skills of managers who may have unequal
bargaining power.
– They can be time-consuming for the managers involved, particularly where large numbers of transactions are involved.