(b) Using the information provided in the case scenario, strategically evaluate the performance of the company

up to 2004, indicating any areas of particular concern. (20 marks)

(c) Assess the advantages and disadvantages to Datum Paper Products taking the greenfield option as opposed

to the acquisition of Papier Presse. (15 marks)

(c) Assess Mr Hogg’s belief that employing child labour is ‘always ethically wrong’ from deontological and

teleological (consequentialist) ethical perspectives. (9 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)

3 The managers of Daylon plc are reviewing the company’s investment portfolio. About 15% of the portfolio is represented by a holding of 5,550,000 ordinary shares of Mondglobe plc. The managers are concerned about the effect on portfolio value if the price of Mondglobe’s shares should fall, and are considering selling the shares. Daylon’s investment bank has suggested that the risk of Mondglobe’s shares falling by more than 5% from their current value could be protected against by buying an over the counter option. The investment bank is prepared to sell an appropriate six month option to Daylon for ￡250,000.

Other information:

(i) The current market price of Mondglobe’s ordinary shares is 360 pence.

(ii) The annual volatility (variance) of Mondglobe’s shares for the last year was 169%.

(iii) The risk free rate is 4% per year.

(iv) No dividend is expected to be paid by Mondglobe during the next six months.

Required:

(a) Evaluate whether or not the price at which the investment bank is willing to sell the option is a fair price.(10 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)

2 Assume that today’s date is 1 July 2005.

Jan is aged 45 and single. He is of Danish domicile but has been working in the United Kingdom since 1 May 2004

and intends to remain in the UK for the medium to long term. Although Jan worked briefly in the UK in 1986, he

has forgotten how UK taxation works and needs some assistance before preparing his UK income tax return.

Jan’s salary from 1 May 2004 was ￡74,760 per annum. Jan also has a company car – a Jaguar XJ8 with a list price

of ￡42,550 including extras, and CO2 emissions of 242g/km. The car was available to him from 1 July 2004. Free

petrol is provided by the company. Jan has other taxable benefits amounting to ￡3,965.

Jan’s other 2004/05 income comprises:

￡

Dividend income from UK companies (cash received) 3,240

Interest received on an ISA account 230

Interest received on a UK bank account 740

Interest remitted from an offshore account (net of 15% withholding tax) 5,100

Income remitted from a villa in Portugal (net of 45% withholding tax) 4,598

The total interest arising on the offshore account was ￡9,000 (gross). In addition, Jan has not remitted other

Portuguese rental income arising in the year, totalling a further ￡1,500 (gross).

Jan informs you that his employer is thinking of providing him with rented accommodation while he looks for a house

to buy. The accommodation would be a two bedroom flat, valued at ￡155,000 with an annual value of ￡6,000. It

would be made available from 6 August 2005. The company will pay the rent of ￡600 per month for the first six

months. All other bills will be paid by Jan.

Jan also informs you that he has 25,000 ordinary shares in Gilet Ltd (‘Gilet’), an unquoted UK trading company. He

has held these shares since August 1986 when he bought 2,500 shares at ￡4.07 per share. In January 1994, a

bonus issue gave each shareholder nine shares for each ordinary share held. In the last week all Gilet’s shareholders

have received an offer from Jumper plc (‘Jumper’) who wishes to acquire the shares. Jumper has offered the following:

– 3 shares in Jumper (currently trading at ￡3.55 per share) for every 5 shares in Gilet, and

– 25p cash per share

Required:

(a) Calculate Jan’s 2004/05 income tax (IT) payable. (11 marks)

(ii) Explain THREE strategies that might be adopted in order to improve the future prospects of Diverse

Holdings Plc. (6 marks)

3 Seejoy is a famous football club but has significant cash flow problems. The directors and shareholders wish to take

steps to improve the club’s financial position. The following proposals had been drafted in an attempt to improve the

cash flow of the club. However, the directors need advice upon their implications.

(a) Sale and leaseback of football stadium (excluding the land element)

The football stadium is currently accounted for using the cost model in IAS16, ‘Property, Plant, and Equipment’.

The carrying value of the stadium will be $12 million at 31 December 2006. The stadium will have a remaining

life of 20 years at 31 December 2006, and the club uses straight line depreciation. It is proposed to sell the

stadium to a third party institution on 1 January 2007 and lease it back under a 20 year finance lease. The sale

price and fair value are $15 million which is the present value of the minimum lease payments. The agreement

transfers the title of the stadium back to the football club at the end of the lease at nil cost. The rental is

$1·2 million per annum in advance commencing on 1 January 2007. The directors do not wish to treat this

transaction as the raising of a secured loan. The implicit interest rate on the finance in the lease is 5·6%.

(9 marks)

Required:

Discuss how the above proposals would be dealt with in the financial statements of Seejoy for the year ending

31 December 2007, setting out their accounting treatment and appropriateness in helping the football club’s

cash flow problems.

(Candidates do not need knowledge of the football finance sector to answer this question.)

Glove Co makes high quality, hand-made gloves which it sells for an average of $180 per pair. The standard cost of labour for each pair is $42 and the standard labour time for each pair is three hours. In the last quarter, Glove Co had budgeted production of 12,000 pairs, although actual production was 12,600 pairs in order to meet demand.

37,000 hours were used to complete the work and there was no idle time. The total labour cost for the quarter was $531,930.

At the beginning of the last quarter, the design of the gloves was changed slightly. The new design required workers to sew the company’s logo on to the back of every glove made and the estimated time to do this was 15 minutes for each pair. However, no-one told the accountant responsible for updating standard costs that the standard time per pair of gloves needed to be changed. Similarly, although all workers were given a 2% pay rise at the beginning of the last quarter, the accountant was not told about this either. Consequently, the standard was not updated to reflect these changes.

When overtime is required, workers are paid 25% more than their usual hourly rate.

Required:

(a) Calculate the total labour rate and total labour efficiency variances for the last quarter. (2 marks)

(b) Analyse the above total variances into component parts for planning and operational variances in as much detail as the information allows. (6 marks)

(c) Assess the performance of the production manager for the last quarter. (7 marks)