ACCA考试那么多科目，这本复习宝典请收好

正确答案：

Tutor note: This is a detailed solution and candidates would not be expected to produce an answer of this length.

(a) Weaknesses in the current budget process at Perkin

Perkin uses a traditional approach to budgeting, which has a number of weaknesses.

First of all the budgeting system does not seem aligned with Perkin’s corporate objective which focuses on innovation and continuous product improvement. Innovation is a key competitive advantage to both component and device manufacturers in this industry and the products which incorporate Perkin’s components are subject to rapid technological change as well as changes in consumer trends. The markets in which the two divisions operate appear to be evolving, as seen by the high popularity of the smartphone model which was designed for playing games. This may mean the distinction between smartphone and gaming devices could be becoming less clear cut. Management time would probably be better spent considering these rapid changes and currently the budgeting process does not facilitate that.

In reality, the budget process at Perkin is time consuming and probably therefore a costly exercise. Divisional budgets go through a lengthy process of drafting and then revision by the main board before they are approved. The approval often happens after the start of the period to which they relate, at which point the budgets are already out of date. This also means divisional managers are trying to plan activities for the next financial year without a set of finalised targets agreed, which could impact the effectiveness of decisions made.

Another weakness is that the budgets are only prepared annually, which is clearly too infrequent for a business such as Perkin. The process is also rigid and inflexible as deviations from the planned targets are not tolerated. Sticking to rigid, annual budgets can lead to problems such as P Division not being able to cope with increasing popularity of a particular product and even other short-term changes in demand like those driven by seasonal factors, or one-off events such as the factory fire. Linked to this problem of budgetary constraints is that to cut costs to achieve the budgeted net profit, managers closed one of the three research and development facilities in G Division. As identified at the outset, a successful research and development function is a key source of long-term competitive advantage to Perkin.

It also appears that Perkin fails to flex the budgets and consequently the fixed budgets had discouraged divisional managers from deviating from the original plan. P Division did not make technical modifications to its components due to the cost of doing so, which meant they were unable to supply components for use in the new model of smartphone and had to discount the inventories of the old version. It is unclear why G Division did not take on additional staff to cope with increased demand following reopening of their customer’s factory, but it may be because managers felt constrained by the budget. This then caused long-term detriment to Perkin as they lost the preferred supplier status with their main customer.

Another problem created by annual budgeting is the management of short-term changes in costs and prices. A key component of Perkin’s products is silver, which fluctuates in price, and though it is not clear how much effect this has on Perkin’s costs, any problems in supply could disrupt production even if only a small amount of silver were required. Also Perkin exports goods worldwide and probably also purchases materials, including silver, from overseas. The business is therefore exposed to short-term movements in foreign currency exchange rates which may affect costs and selling prices.

Similarly, there also seems to be considerable uncertainty in sales volumes and prices which creates problems in the forecasting process for the two divisions. P Division did not anticipate the high demand for the new component which meant P Division had to discount products it had already manufactured in order to achieve its forecast sales volumes. G Division did correctly forecast the demand, but based on past growth in the market which may be too simplistic in a rapidly changing industry. Lack of up-to-date information will hinder decision-making and overall performance at Perkin. Perkin would perhaps be better adopting a rolling basis for forecasting.

The two divisions share manufacturing facilities and are likely to compete for other resources during the budgeting process. The current budgeting system does not encourage resource, information or knowledge sharing, for example, expertise in forecasting silver requirements. Divisional managers are appraised on the financial performance of their own division and hence are likely to prioritise the interests of their own division above those of Perkin as a whole. P Division would not re-allocate its manufacturing facilities to G Division, even though G Division needed this to cope with extra demand following reopening of the customer’s factory. The current system is therefore not encouraging goal congruence between the divisions and Perkin as a whole and a budgeting system, if done effectively, should encourage co-ordination and co-operation.

Managers may find the budgeting process demotivating because it is time-consuming for them and then the directors override the forecast which they had made. It is also unfair and demotivating to staff to appraise them on factors which are outside their control. This also identifies another weakness in Perkin’s budgeting system related to control as there does not seem to be any planning and operating variance analysis performed to assess exactly where performance is lacking and so no appropriate management information is provided. In fact it is not even clear just how often divisional managers receive reports on performance throughout the year. Any budgeting system without regular feedback would be ineffective. It should even be noted that for the industry in which Perkin operates the use of only budgetary targets as a measure of performance is narrow and internal. It should be utilising information from external sources as well to assess performance in a more relevant and contextual way.

Given the rapidly changing external environment and the emphasis on innovation and continuous product development, the current traditional budgeting method does not seem appropriate for Perkin.

(b) Beyond budgeting moves away from traditional budgeting processes and is suitable for businesses operating in a rapidly changing external environment and has the following features:

1. Encourages management to focus on the present and the future. Performance is assessed by reference to external benchmarks, utilising rolling forecasts and more non-financial information. This encourages a longer term view.

2. More freedom is given to managers to make decisions, which are consistent with the organisation’s goals and achieving competitive success.

3. Resources are made available on demand, for example, to enable a division to take advantage of an opportunity in the market, rather than being constrained by budgets.

4. Management focus is switched to the customer and managers are motivated towards actions which benefit the whole organisation, not just their own divisions.

5. Effective information systems are required to provide fast and easily accessible information across the whole organisation to allow for robust planning and control at all levels.

Taking each of the elements of beyond budgeting in turn, the impact of introducing this technique into Perkin can be assessed.

At Perkin, there are rapid technological changes in the products being produced by customers and competitors as a result of changes demanded by the market, which mean that Perkin must respond and continuously innovate and develop its products. This will support Perkin’s corporate objective. Consequently, this means that Perkin must change its plans frequently to be able to compete effectively with other component manufacturers and therefore will need to move away from annual incremental budgeting to introducing regular rolling forecasts. This process will need supporting by KPIs which will have a longer term focus. The impact of this will be that Perkin will need to develop a coherent set of strategies which supports its corporate objective, which will then need to be translated into targets and appropriate KPIs selected and developed. It will also mean that performance measures at the operational level will need to be revised from annual budgetary targets to these longer term objectives. Management at all levels will require training on the production of rolling forecasts and Perkin will need to assess if additional resources will also be required to run this new system.

Beyond budgeting focuses on the long-term success of the business by division managers working towards targets which may be non-financial. The use of external benchmarks and non-financial information will mean Perkin will need to put processes in place to collect this information and analyse it to assess performance. This will be a learning process as Perkin does not currently do this. The status of preferred supplier with key customers, for example, would be important to the long-term success of the business and this could be an objective which Perkin sets for its divisional managers.

Beyond budgeting allows authority to be delegated to suitably trained and supported managers to take decisions in the long-term interests of the business. It allows managers to respond quickly and effectively to changes in the external environment, and encourages them to develop innovative solutions to external change. In Perkin, budgets proposed by divisional managers are changed by the board to reflect its overall plans for the business. This means that a change in the approach to communication between the board and the divisions will be necessary as Perkin would need to switch from the top down process currently adopted to a more devolved decision-making structure. This will again require training for management to enable them to be ready to deal with this delegated authority as it will be very different from their existing approach.

Traditional budgeting may constrain managers who are not allowed to fail to meet the approved budget. This can be seen when P Division did not adapt its components because it did not want to incur the costs of doing so, which had not been budgeted for. Similarly, prices of raw materials are known to be volatile. Beyond budgeting makes resources available for managers to take advantage of opportunities in the market, such as the smartphone designed for playing games. Managers would also be able to react to changes in the price of materials or changes in foreign currency exchange rates, for example, by having the authority to purchase silver for inventory at times when the price of silver is low. This will mean that as a result there will be fewer budgetary constraints; however, these resources and targets will still need to be effectively managed. This management will mean that strategic initiatives invested in will need monitoring rather than closely scrutinising departmental budgets, which will be a significant change in Perkin.

In Perkin, the two divisions share some manufacturing facilities and are likely to compete for other resources, for example, when setting budgets. When manufacturing facilities are in short supply, each division will prioritise its own requirements rather than those of the business as a whole. Beyond budgeting encourages managers to work together for the good of the business and to share knowledge and resources. This is important in a business such as Perkin where product innovation is key and where the activities and products of the two divisions are similar. This coordinated approach will be new to Perkin so there will be a culture change. Also, the customer-oriented element of beyond budgeting is key here and will require the setup of customer focused teams which will require more harmonised actions in the divisions.

Each division currently has its own IT systems. In order to effectively share knowledge and to be able to respond to the external environment, which are key elements of beyond budgeting, it would be preferable for them to have shared IT facilities. This will mean that Perkin may have to invest in new technology capable of sharing information across the organisation in a rapid and open fashion but also be able to collect all relevant comparative data to allow for continuous monitoring of performance. This will facilitate better planning and control across all levels of Perkin.

With appropriate training of managers and investment in information systems, it would be relevant for Perkin to adopt beyond budgeting because of the rapid changes in the external environment in which it operates.

正确答案：
(c) Mr Hogg’s belief that employing child labour is ‘always ethically wrong’
Deontological perspective:
In the case scenario, Mr Hogg is demonstrating a deontological position on child labour by saying that it is ‘always’ wrong.
He is adopting an absolutist rather than a relativist or situational stance in arguing that there are no situations in which child
labour might be ethically acceptable. The deontological view is that an act is right or wrong in itself and does not depend
upon any other considerations (such as economic necessity or the extent of the child’s willingness to work). If child labour is
wrong in one situation, it follows that it is wrong in all situations because of the Kantian principle of generalisability (in the
categorical imperative). Because child labour is wrong and potentially exploitative in some situations, the deontological
position says that it must be assumed to be wrong in all situations. The fact that it may cause favourable outcomes in some
situations does not make it ethically right, because the deontological position is not situational and the quality of the outcome
is not taken into account.
Teleological perspective:
According to the teleological perspective, an act is right or wrong depending on the favourableness of the outcome. It is
sometimes called the consequentialist perspective because the consequences of the action are considered more important
than the act itself.
In the teleological perspective, ethics is situational and not absolute. Therefore child labour is morally justified if the outcome
is favourable. The economic support of a child’s family by provision of wages for family support might be considered to be a
favourable outcome that justifies child labour. There is an ethical trade-off between the importance of the family income from
child labour and the need to avoid exploitation and interfere with the child’s education. Education is clearly important but
family financial support might be a more favourable outcome, at least in the short term, and if so, this would justify the child
working rather than being in school. For HPC, child labour is likely to be cheaper than adult labour but will alienate European
buyers and be in breach of its code of ethics. Child labour may be ethically acceptable if the negative consequences can be
addressed and overcome.
[Tutorial note: other, equally relevant points made in evaluating Mr Hogg’s opinion will be valid. The texts discuss teleology
in terms of utilitarianism and egoism. Although this distinction is not relevant to the question, candidates should not be
penalised for introducing the distinction if the other points raised are relevant]

正确答案：
(a) (i) The tax incentives immediately available
Income tax
– The investor’s income tax liability for 2008/09 will be reduced by 20% of the amount subscribed for the shares.
– Up to half of the amount invested can be treated as if paid in 2007/08 rather than 2008/09. This is subject to a
maximum carryback of ￡50,000.
This ability to carryback relief to the previous year is useful where the investor’s income in 2008/09 is insufficient
to absorb all of the relief available.
Tutorial note
There would be no change to the income tax liability of 2007/08 where an amount is treated as if paid in that year.
This ensures that such a claim does not affect payments on account under the self assessment system. Instead, the
tax refund due is calculated by reference to 2007/08 but is deducted from the next payment of tax due from the
taxpayer or is repaid to the taxpayer.
Capital gains tax deferral
– For every ￡1 invested in Vostok Ltd, an investor can defer ￡1 of capital gain and thus, potentially, 40 pence of
capital gains tax.
– The gain deferred can be in respect of the disposal of any asset.
– The shares must be subscribed for within the four year period starting one year prior to the date on which the
disposal giving rise to the gain took place.

正确答案：
(a) To: John Dixon
From: Change Management consultant
Changes to policing and impact on the city’s quality of life
This is a complex problem involving different stakeholders each of which is looking for different results from the policing
system. The recognition of the need to change is one of the most difficult parts of the change process. There will be
considerable commitment to the current ways of doing things reinforced by the ways in which performance is measured. The
various stakeholders involved will have different perceptions of the problem and the need for change. They will have different
levels of power and influence and different levels of interest in seeing the change happen. Mendelow’s model for mapping
may prove useful in understanding how to handle the expectations of the different groups. The key players would clearly be
the senior officers in charge of the city’s districts who will be responsible for implementing any change in the way the city is
policed. You will have to decide how to convince these officers that a change to the way they currently do things is needed.
One suggestion is that they actually get first-hand experience of the conditions being faced by the city’s residents. Another
group with significant power and interest are the courts because if they refuse to process the cases of antisocial behaviour
then the whole strategy will fail. However, the interest of the mayor and the media in the reputation the city has gained may
be used to counter the reluctance of the courts to take on the extra workload.
One of the most popular models for understanding change and likely resistance to it, is to carry out a forcefield analysis.
Johnson, Scholes and Whittington argue that such an analysis ‘provides an initial view of change problems that need to be
tackled, by identifying forces for and against change’. They ask three key questions:
What aspects of the current situation might aid change in the desired direction, and how might these be reinforced?
What aspects of the current situation would block such a change, and how can these be overcome?
What needs to be introduced or developed to aid change?

Forcefield analysis
Pushing Resisting
Residents’ desire for safer city Police commitment to serious crime
Mayor of city – city’s reputation District focus and not city concern
John Dixon’s desire for change Traditional performance measures
Courts fear of increased workload
Police resources over committed
Forcefield analysis was first developed by Kurt Lewin and linked to his 3-step model of change where to accomplish desired
change it is necessary to get the various stakeholders to recognise the need for change and unfreeze the situation. This will
require you to use some or all of the styles of managing change explained below. One of the real problems is that each
stakeholder will feel that they have an objective view of the situation. Getting a shared view may be very difficult to achieve
and require real leadership on your part.
Once the need to change is agreed there will need to be major changes in the way the city is policed to achieve the desired
goal of eliminating antisocial behaviour and improving the quality-of-life for the city’s residents. Real change will be needed
to the way in which police resources are deployed, the systems used to police on a city rather than on a district basis and
the way results are measured and publicised. There will be a need for ‘quick wins’ to show the potential positive results
achievable with the new strategy.
Finally, rewards and sanctions must be put in place to re-enforce the desired state of affairs and prevent behaviours slipping
back to the previous position. Here you will need to look at how to refreeze the situation and clearly show how the new
position means that the goals of the city and its stakeholders are really shared.
There are many available change models for a programme such as this such as the Gemini 4Rs framework and most will
look to assess the scope of change required and the timeframe. available to achieve it. Undoubtedly, you will require many ofthe skills associated with project management in a major change programme such as this.
Yours,