2019年ACCA考试《高级税务（专业阶段）》章节练习(2019-03-15)

发布时间：2019-03-15

Required：

A. Explain why ‘auditor independence’ is necessary in auditor-client relationships and describe THREE threats to auditor independence in the case. (9 marks)

B.Anne is experiencing some tension due to the conflict between her duties and responsibilities as an employee of Fillmore Pierce and as a qualified professional accountant.

下面小编为大家准备了 ACCA考试 的相关考题，供大家学习参考。

(b) Examine how adopting a Six Sigma approach would help address the quality problems at UPC.

(10 marks)

正确答案：
(b) In many ways Six Sigma started out as a quality control methodology. It focused on measurement and the minimisation of
faults through pursuing Six Sigma as a statistical measure of some aspects of organisational performance. However, Six Sigma
has developed into something much more than a process control technique. It includes a problem-solving process called
DMAIC and a comprehensive toolkit ranging from brainstorming to balanced scorecards and process dashboards. It also has
defined team roles for managers and employees, often with martial arts names such as Black Belt, Green Belt and Master
Black Belt.
Six Sigma was first used in organisations in the early 1990s. However, it was its adoption and promotion by Jack Welch, the
CEO of GE that brought Six Sigma wider publicity. He announced that ‘Six Sigma is the most important initiative GE has ever
undertaken’. As Paul Harmon comments, ‘Welch’s popularity with the business press, and his dynamic style, guaranteed that
Six Sigma would become one of the hot management techniques of the late 1990s’.
Six Sigma uses an approach called DMAIC in its problem solving process. This stands for Define, Measure, Analyse, Improve
and Control. Three aspects of this are considered below in the context of how they would address the problems at UPC.
Defining the problem
Part of defining the problem is the identification of the customer. It is important to understand what customers really want
and value and one of the main themes of Six Sigma is its focus on the customer. Six Sigma explicitly recognises the ‘voice of
the customer’ (VOC) in its approach. In the UPC situation quality requirements are currently defined by the physical condition
of the goods and by the alignment of the image. However, this may be a limiting view of quality because there is no evidence

of any systematic investigation of the requirements of the customer. Solving these problems may not lead to any significant
long-term gain; they may be quickly replaced by other ‘quality issues’. Furthermore, the customer is also perceived in a limited
way. These quality requirements are in the eye of the gift shop owner who is interested in saleable products. The end customer
– the consumer – who buys and uses the product may have other requirements which can also be addressed at this time.
By considering the VOC the problem and scope of the project becomes re-defined and the solution of the problems potentially
more valuable.
Measurement
Measurement is fundamental to Six Sigma. This includes the gathering of data to validate and quantify the problem. The
creation of the inspection team was based on initial evidence about an increase in breakages. This needs to be quantified.
The inaccurate printing of the image had been quantified as 500 units per month, out of the 250,000 shipped out of the
company. This equates to a failure rate of 0·2%, so that 99·8% of items are shipped with a correctly aligned image. This
sounds quite reasonable but it still raises issues and complaints that have to be dealt with, as well as creating wastage costs
of $10,000 per month. The problem is that even a relatively low percentage of defects can lead to a lot of unhappy customers.
Aiming for Six Sigma would reduce defects down to about one faulty item per month, reducing the wastage cost to $20.
Analysis
Analysis is concerned with understanding the process to find the root cause. Six Sigma focuses on processes and their
analysis. Analysis concerns methods, machines, materials, measures, Mother Nature and people. The alignment problem
needs investigation to find out what causes the imaging machine to irregularly produce misaligned images. Management
currently appear to blame the machine but it may be due to the way that certain people load the machine. The analysis of
the breakages is particularly important. It is unclear at present where these breakages occur (for example, are some of the
items broken before they leave UPC’s despatch facility) or are they all broken in transit? Neither is it understood why the
breakages occur. Management appear to blame the packers for packing incorrectly and not following the correct method.
However, it may be that the material is just not strong enough to withstand heavy handling by couriers who are outside the
control of UPC. Additionally, the breakages may be due to some manufacturing problem or raw material imperfection in the
items that break. Six Sigma stresses understanding the problem before solving it.
Although DMAIC has been selected as the framework for the sample answer, focusing on other aspects of Six Sigma would
be acceptable – as long as they are presented in the context of the UPC scenario.

(c) In August 2004 it was discovered that the inventory at 31 December 2003 had been overstated by $100,000.

(4 marks)

Required:

Advise the directors on the correct treatment of these matters, stating the relevant accounting standard which

justifies your answer in each case.

NOTE: The mark allocation is shown against each of the three matters.

正确答案：
(c) The opening inventory should be included in the current year’s income statement at the corrected figure, and the opening
balance of retained profit reduced by $100,000. The $100,000 reduction will appear in the statement of changes in equity.
(IAS8 Accounting policies, changes in accounting estimates and errors)

4 At an academic conference, a debate took place on the implementation of corporate governance practices in

developing countries. Professor James West from North America argued that one of the key needs for developing

countries was to implement rigorous systems of corporate governance to underpin investor confidence in businesses

in those countries. If they did not, he warned, there would be no lasting economic growth as potential foreign inward

investors would be discouraged from investing.

In reply, Professor Amy Leroi, herself from a developing country, reported that many developing countries are

discussing these issues at governmental level. One issue, she said, was about whether to adopt a rules-based or a

principles-based approach. She pointed to evidence highlighting a reduced number of small and medium sized initial

public offerings in New York compared to significant growth in London. She suggested that this change could be

attributed to the costs of complying with Sarbanes-Oxley in the United States and that over-regulation would be the

last thing that a developing country would need. She concluded that a principles-based approach, such as in the

United Kingdom, was preferable for developing countries.

Professor Leroi drew attention to an important section of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act to illustrate her point. The key

requirement of that section was to externally report on – and have attested (verified) – internal controls. This was, she

argued, far too ambitious for small and medium companies that tended to dominate the economies of developing

countries.

Professor West countered by saying that whilst Sarbanes-Oxley may have had some problems, it remained the case

that it regulated corporate governance in the ‘largest and most successful economy in the world’. He said that rules

will sometimes be hard to follow but that is no reason to abandon them in favour of what he referred to as ‘softer’

approaches.

(a) There are arguments for both rules and principles-based approaches to corporate governance.

Required:

(i) Describe the essential features of a rules-based approach to corporate governance; (3 marks)

正确答案：
(a) (i) Describe rules-based
In a rules-based jurisdiction, corporate governance provisions are legally binding and enforceable in law.
Non-compliance is punishable by fines or ultimately (in extremis) by delisting and director prosecutions.
There is limited latitude for interpretation of the provisions to match individual circumstances (‘one size fits all’). Some
have described this as a ‘box ticking’ exercise as companies seek to comply despite some provisions applying to their
individual circumstances more than others.
Investor confidence is underpinned by the quality of the legislation rather than the degree of compliance (which will be
total for the most part).

(c) On the assumption that the administrators of Noland’s estate will sell quoted shares in order to fund the

inheritance tax due as a result of his death, calculate the value of the quoted shares that will be available to

transfer to Avril. You should include brief notes of your treatment of the house and the shares in Kurb Ltd.

(9 marks)

Note: you should assume that the tax rates and allowances for the tax year 2006/07 apply throughout this

question.

正确答案：

(c) Value of quoted shares that can be transferred to Avril
The value of shares to be transferred to Avril will be equal to ￡370,000 less the inheritance tax due by the estate.
IHT is payable on transfers in the seven years prior to Noland’s death and on the death estate.
The only chargeable gift in the seven years prior to Noland’s death is the transfer to the discretionary trust. No tax is due in
respect of this gift as it is covered by the nil rate band.

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