(b) Identify the most appropriate approved share option scheme for Happy Home Ltd. Outline the scheme

requirements and the tax benefits of using it compared to the current unapproved scheme. (6 marks)

3 On 1 January 2007 Dovedale Ltd, a company with no subsidiaries, intends to purchase 65% of the ordinary share

capital of Hira Ltd from Belgrove Ltd. Belgrove Ltd currently owns 100% of the share capital of Hira Ltd and has no

other subsidiaries. All three companies have their head offices in the UK and are UK resident.

Hira Ltd had trading losses brought forward, as at 1 April 2006, of ￡18,600 and no income or gains against which

to offset losses in the year ended 31 March 2006. In the year ending 31 March 2007 the company expects to make

further tax adjusted trading losses of ￡55,000 before deduction of capital allowances, and to have no other income

or gains. The tax written down value of Hira Ltd’s plant and machinery as at 31 March 2006 was ￡96,000 and

there will be no fixed asset additions or disposals in the year ending 31 March 2007. In the year ending 31 March

2008 a small tax adjusted trading loss is anticipated. Hira Ltd will surrender the maximum possible trading losses

to Belgrove Ltd and Dovedale Ltd.

The tax adjusted trading profit of Dovedale Ltd for the year ending 31 March 2007 is expected to be ￡875,000 and

to continue at this level in the future. The profits chargeable to corporation tax of Belgrove Ltd are expected to be

￡38,000 for the year ending 31 March 2007 and to increase in the future.

On 1 February 2007 Dovedale Ltd will sell a small office building to Hira Ltd for its market value of ￡234,000.

Dovedale Ltd purchased the building in March 2005 for ￡210,000. In October 2004 Dovedale Ltd sold a factory

for ￡277,450 making a capital gain of ￡84,217. A claim was made to roll over the gain on the sale of the factory

against the acquisition cost of the office building.

On 1 April 2007 Dovedale Ltd intends to acquire the whole of the ordinary share capital of Atapo Inc, an unquoted

company resident in the country of Morovia. Atapo Inc sells components to Dovedale Ltd as well as to other

companies in Morovia and around the world.

It is estimated that Atapo Inc will make a profit before tax of ￡160,000 in the year ending 31 March 2008 and will

pay a dividend to Dovedale Ltd of ￡105,000. It can be assumed that Atapo Inc’s taxable profits are equal to its profit

before tax. The rate of corporation tax in Morovia is 9%. There is a withholding tax of 3% on dividends paid to

non-Morovian resident shareholders. There is no double tax agreement between the UK and Morovia.

Required:

(a) Advise Belgrove Ltd of any capital gains that may arise as a result of the sale of the shares in Hira Ltd. You

are not required to calculate any capital gains in this part of the question. (4 marks)

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)

(c) (i) Using ONLY the above information, assess the competitive position of Diverse Holdings Plc.

(7 marks)

3 The Stiletto Partnership consisted of three partners, Clint, Ben and Amy, who shared the profits of the business

equally. On 28 February 2007 the partners sold the business to Razor Ltd, in exchange for shares in Razor Ltd, with

each former partner owning one third of the new company.

The recent, tax adjusted, trading profits of the Stiletto Partnership have been as follows:

￡

Year ended 30 June 2006 92,124

1 July 2006 to 28 February 2007 81,795

Clint, who was 65 on 5 October 2006, retired when the business was sold to Razor Ltd. He is now suggesting that

if the sale of the partnership, and his retirement, had been delayed until 30 April 2007, his total tax liability would

have been reduced. Clint’s only other income is gross pension income of ￡6,100 per year, which he began receiving

in the tax year 2005/06. Clint did not receive any salary or dividends from Razor Ltd. It is estimated that the

partnership’s tax adjusted trading profits for the period from 1 March 2007 to 30 April 2007 would have been

￡20,760. Clint has overlap profits of ￡14,250 brought forward from when the partnership began trading.

Razor Ltd manufactures industrial cutting tools. On 1 July 2007, Razor Ltd will subscribe for the whole of the ordinary

share capital of Cutlass Inc, a company newly incorporated in the country of Sharpenia. It is intended that Cutlass

Inc will purchase partly finished tools from Razor Ltd and customise them in Sharpenia. It is anticipated that Cutlass

Inc’s annual profits chargeable to corporation tax will be approximately ￡120,000.

Ben and Amy will be the directors of Cutlass Inc, although Ben will not be involved in the company’s business on a

day-to-day basis. Amy intends to spend one or two weeks each month in the country of Sharpenia looking after the

company’s affairs. The remainder of her time will be spent in the UK. Amy has employment contracts with both Razor

Ltd and Cutlass Inc and her duties for Cutlass Inc will be carried out wholly in Sharpenia. Cutlass Inc will pay for

Amy’s flights to and from Sharpenia and for her husband and baby to visit her there twice a year. Amy is currently

UK resident and ordinarily resident.

The system of income tax and corporation tax in the country of Sharpenia is broadly similar to that in the UK although

the rate of corporation tax is 38% regardless of the level of profits. There is a double tax treaty between the UK and

Sharpenia based on the OECD model treaty. The clause in the treaty dealing with company residency states that a

company resident in both countries under domestic law will be regarded under the treaty as being resident only in the

country where it is effectively managed and controlled. Sharpenia is not a member of the European Union.

Required:

(a) (i) Calculate Clint’s taxable trading profits for the tax years 2006/07 and 2007/08 for both of the

alternative retirement dates (28 February 2007 and 30 April 2007). (3 marks)

(b) Analyse how effective project management could have further improved both the process and the outcomes

of the website re-design project. (10 marks)

(ii) The UK value added tax (VAT) implications for Razor Ltd of selling tools to and purchasing tools from

Cutlass Inc; (2 marks)

5 GE Railways plc (GER) operates a passenger train service in Holtland. The directors have always focused solely on

the use of traditional financial measures in order to assess the performance of GER since it commenced operations

in 1992. The Managing Director of GER has asked you, as a management accountant, for assistance with regard to

the adoption of a balanced scorecard approach to performance measurement within GER.

Required:

(a) Prepare a memorandum explaining the potential benefits and limitations that may arise from the adoption of

a balanced scorecard approach to performance measurement within GER. (8 marks)