2020年ACCA考试教材变化预测！

正确答案：
(a) Risks at Southland and management strategies
Risk management strategies
There are four strategies for managing risk and these can be undertaken in sequence. In the first instance, the organisation
should ask whether the risk, once recognised, can be transferred or avoided.
Transference means passing the risk on to another party which, in practice means an insurer or a business partner in another
part of the supply chain (such as a supplier or a customer).
Avoidance means asking whether or not the organisation needs to engage in the activity or area in which the risk is incurred.
If it is decided that the risk cannot be transferred nor avoided, it might be asked whether or not something can be done to
reduce or mitigate the risk. This might mean, for example, reducing the expected return in order to diversify the risk or
re-engineer a process to bring about the reduction.
Risk sharing involves finding a party that is willing to enter into a partnership so that the risks of a venture might be spread
between the two parties. For example an investor might be found to provide partial funding for an overseas investment in
exchange for a share of the returns.
Finally, an organisation might accept or retain the risk, believing there to be no other feasible option. Such retention should
be accepted when the risk characteristics are clearly known (the possible hazard, the probability of the risk materialising and
the return expected as a consequence of bearing the risk).
Risks in the case and strategy
There are three risks to the Southland factory described in the case.
Risk to the security of the factory in Southland. This risk could be transferred. The transference of this risk would be through
insurance where an insurance company will assume the potential liability on payment, by SCC, of an appropriate insurance
premium.
Risk to the supply of one of the key raw materials that experienced fluctuations in world supply. This risk will probably have
to be accepted although it may be possible, with redesigning processes, to reduce the risk.
If the raw material is strategically important (i.e. its use cannot be substituted or reduced), risk acceptance will be the only
possible strategy. If products or process can be redesigned to substitute or replace its use in the factory, the supply risk can
be reduced.
The environmental risk that concerned a possibility of a poisonous emission can be reduced by appropriate environmental
controls in the factory. This may require some process changes such as inventory storage or amendments to internal systems
to ensure that the sources of emissions can be carefully monitored.
Tutorial note: the strategies for the individual risks identified in the case are not the only appropriate responses and other
strategies are equally valid providing they are supported with adequate explanation.

正确答案：
(d) The two international strategies pursued to date are through organic growth (the stores in North America) and acquisition (the
companies in Germany and Italy). Neither seems to have worked. Here there seem to be some contradictions while global
tastes and lifestyles are argued to have developed – convergence of consumer tastes lies at the heart of this – but this does
not seem to have benefited Churchill. One questions the learning that these two unfortunate experiences have created. Of the
three core methods of achieving growth, namely organic, acquisition and joint venture, only joint venture remains to be tried.
The reasons for the international failures are clearly complex but one could argue that the strategy has been curiously na?ve.
Certainly, it has pursued a high-risk strategy. Exporting, perhaps through identifying a suitable partner, might create the
learning to lead to a more significant market entry. There is a need to understand local tastes; indeed the whole of the
marketing mix in the chosen market(s), and decide on appropriate strategy. A strategy based upon the acquisition of
companies and their consequent development represents a large investment of capital and requires considerable managerial
attention and expertise. Equally, the attempt to use the Churchill domestic format of opening its own stores creates both a
major financial commitment and the need to manage a radically different operation. One must seriously question whether
Churchill has these capabilities within a family-owned business. Clearly there are differences between the ice cream markets
in various countries, though the emergence of global brands suggests some convergence of tastes. Such differences reflect
differing cultures, tastes and competitive behaviour in each country. The lesson from Churchill’s international initiatives is that
national differences need to be carefully understood. There is little evidence that Churchill has understood these differencesor indeed learnt from them.

正确答案：
3 Pulp Co
(a) Identification of related parties
Related parties and associated transactions are often difficult to identify, as it can be hard to establish exactly who, or what,
are the related parties of an entity. IAS 24 Related Party Disclosures contains definitions which in theory serve to provide a
framework for identifying related parties, but deciding whether a definition is met can be complex and subjective. For example,
related party status can be obtained via significant interest, but in reality it can be difficult to establish the extent of influence
that potential related parties can actually exert over a company.
The directors may be reluctant to disclose to the auditors the existence of related parties or transactions. This is an area of
the financial statements where knowledge is largely confined to management, and the auditors often have little choice but to
rely on full disclosure by management in order to identify related parties. This is especially the case for a close family member
of those in control or having influence over the entity, whose identity can only be revealed by management.
Identification of material related party transactions
Related party transactions may not be easy to identify from the accounting systems. Where accounting systems are not
capable of separately identifying related party transactions, management need to carry out additional analysis, which if not
done makes the transactions extremely difficult for auditors to find. For example sales made to a related party will not
necessarily be differentiated from ‘normal’ sales in the accounting systems.
Related party transactions may be concealed in whole, or in part, from auditors for fraudulent purposes. A transaction may
not be motivated by normal business considerations, for example, a transaction may be recognised in order to improve the
appearance of the financial statements by ‘window dressing’. Clearly if the management is deliberately concealing the true
nature of these items it will be extremely difficult for the auditor to discover the rationale behind the transaction and to consider
the impact on the financial statements.
Finally, materiality is a difficult concept to apply to related party transactions. Once a transaction has been identified, the
auditor must consider whether it is material. However, materiality has a particular application in this situation. ISA 550
Related Parties states that the auditor should consider the effect of a related party transaction on the financial statements.
The problem is that a transaction could occur at an abnormally small, even nil, value. Determining materiality based on
monetary value is therefore irrelevant, and the auditor should instead be alert to the unusual nature of the transaction making
it material.