(b) The chief executive of Xalam Co, an exporter of specialist equipment, has asked for advice on the accounting

treatment and disclosure of payments made for security consultancy services. The payments, which aim to

ensure that consignments are not impounded in the destination country of a major customer, may be material to

the financial statements for the year ending 30 June 2006. Xalam does not treat these payments as tax

deductible. (4 marks)

Required:

Identify and comment on the ethical and other professional issues raised by each of these matters and state what

action, if any, Dedza should now take.

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

3 Assume that today’s date is 10 May 2005.

You have recently been approached by Fred Flop. Fred is the managing director and 100% shareholder of Flop

Limited, a UK trading company with one wholly owned subsidiary. Both companies have a 31 March year-end.

Fred informs you that he is experiencing problems in dealing with aspects of his company tax returns. The company

accountant has been unable to keep up to date with matters, and Fred also believes that mistakes have been made

in the past. Fred needs assistance and tells you the following:

Year ended 31 March 2003

The corporation tax return for this period was not submitted until 2 November 2004, and corporation tax of ￡123,500

was paid at the same time. Profits chargeable to corporation tax were stated as ￡704,300.

A formal notice (CT203) requiring the company to file a self-assessment corporation tax return (dated 1 February

2004) had been received by the company on 4 February 2004.

A detailed examination of the accounts and tax computation has revealed the following.

– Computer equipment totalling ￡50,000 had been expensed in the accounts. No adjustment has been made in

the tax computation.

– A provision of ￡10,000 was made for repairs, but there is no evidence of supporting information.

– Legal and professional fees totalling ￡46,500 were allowed in full without any explanation. Fred has

subsequently produced the following analysis:

Analysis of legal & professional fees

￡

Legal fees on a failed attempt to secure a trading loan 15,000

Debt collection agency fees 12,800

Obtaining planning consent for building extension 15,700

Accountant’s fees for preparing accounts 14,000

Legal fees relating to a trade dispute 19,000

– No enquiry has yet been raised by the Inland Revenue.

– Flop Ltd was a large company in terms of the Companies Act definition for the year in question.

– Flop Ltd had taxable profits of ￡595,000 in the previous year.

Year ended 31 March 2004

The corporation tax return has not yet been submitted for this year. The accounts are late and nearing completion,

with only one change still to be made. A notice requiring the company to file a self-assessment corporation tax return

(CT203) dated 27 July 2004 was received on 1 August 2004. No corporation tax has yet been paid.

1 – The computation currently shows profits chargeable to corporation tax of ￡815,000 before accounting

adjustments, and any adjustments for prior years.

– A company owing Flop Ltd ￡50,000 (excluding VAT) has gone into liquidation, and it is unlikely that any of this

money will be paid. The money has been outstanding since 3 September 2003, and the bad debt will need to

be included in the accounts.

1 Fred also believes there are problems in relation to the company’s VAT administration. The VAT return for the quarter

ended 31 March 2005 was submitted on 5 May 2005, and VAT of ￡24,000 was paid at the same time. The previous

return to 31 December 2004 was also submitted late. In addition, no account has been made for the VAT on the bad

debt. The VAT return for 30 June 2005 may also be late. Fred estimates the VAT liability for that quarter to be ￡8,250.

Required:

(a) (i) Calculate the revised corporation tax (CT) payable for the accounting periods ending 31 March 2003

and 2004 respectively. Your answer should include an explanation of the adjustments made as a result

of the information which has now come to light. (7 marks)

(ii) State, giving reasons, the due payment date of the corporation tax (CT) and the filing date of the

corporation tax return for each period, and identify any interest and penalties which may have arisen to

date. (8 marks)

(iv) critiques the performance measurement system at TSC. (5 marks

(iii) State how your answer in (ii) would differ if the sale were to be delayed until August 2006. (3 marks)

1 The Great Western Cake Company (GWCC) is a well-established manufacturer of specialist flour confectionery

products, including cakes. GWCC sells its products to national supermarket chains. The company’s success during

recent years is largely attributable to its ability to develop innovative products which appeal to the food selectors within

national supermarket chains.

The marketing department of Superstores plc, a national supermarket chain has asked GWCC to manufacture a cake

known as the ‘Mighty Ben’. Mighty Ben is a character who has recently appeared in a film which was broadcast

around the world. The cake is expected to have a minimum market life of one year although the marketing department

consider that this might extend to eighteen months.

The management accountant of GWCC has collated the following estimated information in respect of the Mighty Ben

cake:

(1) Superstores plc has decided on a launch price of ￡20·25 for the Mighty Ben cake and it is expected that this

price will be maintained for the duration of the product’s life. Superstores plc will apply a 35% mark-up on the

purchase price of each cake from GWCC.

(2) Sales of the Mighty Ben cake are expected to be 100,000 units per month during the first twelve months.

Thereafter sales of the Mighty Ben cake are expected to decrease by 10,000 units in each subsequent month.

(3) Due to the relatively short shelf-life of the Mighty Ben cake, management has decided to manufacture the cakes

on a ‘just-in-time’ basis for delivery in accordance with agreed schedules. The cakes will be manufactured in

batches of 1,000. Direct materials input into the baking process will cost ￡7,000 per batch for each of the first

three months’ production. The material cost of the next three months’ production is expected to be 95% of the

cost of the first three months’ production. All batches manufactured thereafter will cost 90% of the cost of the

second three months’ production.

(4) Packaging costs will amount to ￡0·75 per cake. The original costs of the artwork and design of the packaging

will amount to ￡24,000. Superstores plc will reimburse GWCC ￡8,000 in the event that the product is

withdrawn from sale after twelve months.

(5) The design of the Mighty Ben cake is such that it is required to be hand-finished. A 75% learning curve will

apply to the total labour time requirement until the end of month five. Thereafter a steady state will apply with

labour time required per batch stabilising at that of the final batch in month five. The labour requirement for the

first batch of Mighty Ben cakes to be manufactured is expected to be 6,000 hours at ￡10 per hour.

(6) A royalty of 5% of sales revenue (subject to a maximum royalty of ￡1·1 million) will be payable by GWCC to the

owners of the Mighty Ben copyright.

(7) Variable overheads are estimated at ￡3·50 per direct labour hour.

(8) The manufacture of the Mighty Ben cake will increase fixed overheads by ￡75,000 per month.

(9) In order to provide a production facility dedicated to the Mighty Ben cake, an investment of ￡1,900,000 will be

required and this will be fully depreciated over twelve months.

(10) The directors of GWCC require an average annual return of 35% on their investment over 12 months and

18 months.

(11) Ignore taxation and the present value of cash flows.

Note: Learning curve formula:

y = axb

where y = average cost per batch

a = the cost of the initial batch

x = the total number of batches

b = learning index (= –0·415 for 75% learning rate)

Required:

(a) Prepare detailed calculations to show whether the manufacture of Mighty Ben cakes will provide the required

rate of return for GWCC over periods of twelve months and eighteen months. (20 marks)

(d) Advise Trent Limited of the consequences arising from the submission of the incorrect value added tax (VAT)

return, assuming that the company has previously had a good compliance record with regard to accounting

for VAT. (6 marks)

(c) Prepare brief notes for the proposed meeting with Charles and Jane. Clearly identify the further information

you would need in order to advise them more fully and suggest appropriate personal financial planning

protection products, in respect of both death and serious illness. (9 marks)

You should assume that the income tax rates and allowances for the tax year 2005/06 and the corporation tax

rates for the financial year 2005 apply throughout this question.

C Co uses material B, which has a current market price of $0·80 per kg. In a linear program, where the objective is to maximise profit, the shadow price of material B is $2 per kg. The following statements have been made:

(i) Contribution will be increased by $2 for each additional kg of material B purchased at the current market price

(ii) The maximum price which should be paid for an additional kg of material B is $2

(iii) Contribution will be increased by $1·20 for each additional kg of material B purchased at the current market price

(iv) The maximum price which should be paid for an additional kg of material B is $2·80

Which of the above statements is/are correct?

A.(ii) only

B.(ii) and (iii)

C.(i) only

D.(i) and (iv)

(c) The OECD’s Financial Action Task Force on Money Laundering (FATF) recommends preventative measures to be

taken by independent legal professionals and accountants (including sole practitioners, partners and employed

professionals within professional firms).

Required:

Describe FOUR measures that assist in preventing professional accountants from being used for money

laundering purposes. (8 marks)

Moonstar Co is a property development company which is planning to undertake a $200 million commercial property development. Moonstar Co has had some difficulties over the last few years, with some developments not generating the expected returns and the company has at times struggled to pay its finance costs. As a result Moonstar Co’s credit rating has been lowered, affecting the terms it can obtain for bank finance. Although Moonstar Co is listed on its local stock exchange, 75% of the share capital is held by members of the family who founded the company. The family members who are shareholders do not wish to subscribe for a rights issue and are unwilling to dilute their control over the company by authorising a new issue of equity shares. Moonstar Co’s board is therefore considering other methods of financing the development, which the directors believe will generate higher returns than other recent investments, as the country where Moonstar Co is based appears to be emerging from recession.

Securitisation proposals

One of the non-executive directors of Moonstar Co has proposed that it should raise funds by means of a securitisation process, transferring the rights to the rental income from the commercial property development to a special purpose vehicle. Her proposals assume that the leases will generate an income of 11% per annum to Moonstar Co over a ten-year period. She proposes that Moonstar Co should use 90% of the value of the investment for a collateralised loan obligation which should be structured as follows:

– 60% of the collateral value to support a tranche of A-rated floating rate loan notes offering investors LIBOR plus 150 basis points

– 15% of the collateral value to support a tranche of B-rated fixed rate loan notes offering investors 12%

– 15% of the collateral value to support a tranche of C-rated fixed rate loan notes offering investors 13%

– 10% of the collateral value to support a tranche as subordinated certificates, with the return being the excess of receipts over payments from the securitisation process

The non-executive director believes that there will be sufficient demand for all tranches of the loan notes from investors. Investors will expect that the income stream from the development to be low risk, as they will expect the property market to improve with the recession coming to an end and enough potential lessees to be attracted by the new development.

The non-executive director predicts that there would be annual costs of $200,000 in administering the loan. She acknowledges that there would be interest rate risks associated with the proposal, and proposes a fixed for variable interest rate swap on the A-rated floating rate notes, exchanging LIBOR for 9·5%.

However the finance director believes that the prediction of the income from the development that the non-executive director has made is over-optimistic. He believes that it is most likely that the total value of the rental income will be 5% lower than the non-executive director has forecast. He believes that there is some risk that the returns could be so low as to jeopardise the income for the C-rated fixed rate loan note holders.

Islamic finance

Moonstar Co’s chief executive has wondered whether Sukuk finance would be a better way of funding the development than the securitisation.

Moonstar Co’s chairman has pointed out that a major bank in the country where Moonstar Co is located has begun to offer a range of Islamic financial products. The chairman has suggested that a Mudaraba contract would be the most appropriate method of providing the funds required for the investment.

Required:

(a) Calculate the amounts in $ which each of the tranches can expect to receive from the securitisation arrangement proposed by the non-executive director and discuss how the variability in rental income affects the returns from the securitisation. (11 marks)

(b) Discuss the benefits and risks for Moonstar Co associated with the securitisation arrangement that the non-executive director has proposed. (6 marks)

(c) (i) Discuss the suitability of Sukuk finance to fund the investment, including an assessment of its appeal to potential investors. (4 marks)

(ii) Discuss whether a Mudaraba contract would be an appropriate method of financing the investment and discuss why the bank may have concerns about providing finance by this method. (4 marks)