(b) Analyse THREE potential problems, based solely on the information provided above, that TMC mightencounter in the acquisition of CBC. (5 marks)

正确答案：
(c) (i) Organic Foods Ltd (OFL) with a market share of 6·66% is the market leader at 30 November 2005 and is forecast to
have a market share of 8% by 30 November 2007. Operating profits appear to be healthy and therefore it seems
reasonable to regard OFL as a current ‘strength’ of Diverse Holdings Plc. This is supported by the fact that OFL has built
up a very good reputation as a supplier of quality produce.
Haul Trans Ltd was acquired on 1 December 2005 and has a demonstrable record of recent profitability. It is noticeable
that the profitability of HTL is forecast to increase by 40% (excluding inflation) during its first two years of ownership.
No one organisation appears to dominate the market. Forecast profits are expected to grow significantly from an almost
static turnover and thus more information is required regarding how this increase in profitability is to be achieved.
Management may have identified opportunities for achieving significant cost savings and/or forming business
relationships with new and more profitable customers, while ceasing to service those customers who are less profitable.
Kitchen Appliances Ltd (KAL) has been identified as both a weakness and threat. KAL’s market is slowly contracting,
but its share is falling more quickly. It was almost the market leader at 30 November 2005. Judging by its fall in the
level of operating profit KAL is carrying heavy fixed costs which must make it more difficult to compete. Indeed, it is
forecast to make a loss during the year ending 30 November 2007. KAL has suffered from squeezed margins as a
consequence of competition from low cost imports. The situation may be further exacerbated as competition from abroad
intensifies.
Paper Supplies Ltd (PSL) has stood still in a growing market, one which is dominated by a single supplier. PSL appears
to be struggling to achieve any growth in turnover, profits and therefore cash flow. PSL cannot really compete with a
narrow range of products and only two customers.
Office Products Ltd (OPL) is growing but appears unable to increase its operating profit in % terms. It appears to be
operating in a high-growth market but unable to achieve a reasonable market share in spite of the fact that its products
are highly regarded by health and safety experts.

正确答案：
(b) The relative performance of GBC and TTC is difficult to assess due to the following:
(i) They would appear to have differing objectives. GBC provides free transport for senior citizens and charges lower fares
than TTC. GBC also uses environmentally friendly fuel. Each of these factors inhibits a direct comparison of the two
organisations.
(ii) The organisations are funded differently. It is evident that TTC uses loan finance to fund operations which gives rise to
interest charges which are not incurred by GBC. On the other hand GBC is funded by the government.
(iii) TTC has higher fixed asset values which precipitate much higher depreciation charges.
(iv) There is also a lack of non-financial performance indicators such as the number of on-time arrivals, number of accidents,
complaints re passenger dissatisfaction, staff turnover, adherence to relevant legislation, convenience of pick-up/drop-off
points etc.
The following items of additional information would assist in assessing the financial and operating performance of the two
companies:
(1) The number of staff employed by each organisation would assist in the assessment of the financial and operating
performance. Ratios such as revenue generated per employee and operating costs per employee might provide useful
comparators of financial and operating efficiency.
(2) Safety and accident records of each organisation would give an indication of the reliability and safety afforded to
passengers by each organisation. Passenger safety is of paramount importance to all passenger transport businesses.
(3) Records of late/cancelled buses together with the number of complaints received from the passengers would provide an
indication of the efficiency of the service provided by each organisation.
(4) The accessibility of the services, location of pick-up/drop-off points would provide an indication of the flexibility of service
delivery provided by each organisation.
(5) The comfort, cleanliness and age of the respective bus fleets would provide a further indication of the level of service
quality provided by each organisation.
(6) The fuel emission levels of the buses operated by each organisation would provide an indication of the extent of their
‘social responsibility’.
Notes: (i) Only three items of additional information were required.
(ii) Alternative relevant discussion and examples would be acceptable.

正确答案：
(b) A central feature of many performance measurement systems is the widespread use of league tables that display each
business unit’s performance relative to one another. In the case of service organisations such as TSC the use of league tables
emphasises the company’s critical success factors of profitability and quality of service by reporting results on a weekly basis
at the depot level. The fact that such league tables are used by management will actively encourage competition, in terms of
performance, among depots. The individual position of a business unit in the league table is keenly observed both by the
manager of that unit and his/her peers.
In theory, performance is transparent. In practice although each depot performs essentially the same function and is subject
to the same modes of measurement, circumstances pertaining to different business units may vary significantly. Some depots
may be situated near to the hub (main distribution centre), some may be located far away and some may be in urban zones
with well developed road networks whilst others may be in remote rural areas. Measuring performance via a league table
makes no allowance whatsoever for these relative differences, hence, inequality is built into the performance measurement
system.
Moreover, depot managers might be held responsible for areas over which they have no formal control. The network nature
of the business suggests that there will be a high degree of interdependence of depots; the depot responsible for collection
will very often not be the depot responsible for delivery. Therefore, it is frequently the case that business may be gained for
which the collecting depot receives the revenue, but for which the delivering depot bears the cost. Obviously this impacts
upon the profit statements of both depots. The formal system might not recognise such difficulties, the corporate view being
that ‘the business needs to be managed’; the depots should therefore see any such anomalies as mild constraints to work
around rather than barriers to break down. In such circumstances delivering depots and collecting depots should discuss such
problems on an informal basis. Such informal discussions are aided by close communications between depots recognising
the interdependencies of the business.

正确答案：

(iii) The marketing director is certainly correct in recognising that success is dependent on levels of service quality provided
by HFG to its clients. However, whilst the number of complaints is an important performance measure, it needs to be
used with caution. The nature of a complaint is, very often, far more indicative of the absence, or a lack, of service
quality. For example, the fact that 50 clients complained about having to wait for a longer time than they expected to
access gymnasium equipment is insignificant when compared to an accident arising from failure to maintain properly a
piece of gymnasium equipment. Moreover, the marketing director ought to be aware that the absolute number of
complaints may be misleading as much depends on the number of clients serviced during any given period. Thus, in
comparing the number of complaints received by the three centres then a relative measure of complaints received per
1,000 client days would be far more useful than the absolute number of complaints received.
The marketing director should also be advised that the number of complaints can give a misleading picture of the quality
of service provision since individuals have different levels of willingness to complain in similar situations.
The marketing director seems to accept the current level of complaints but is unwilling to accept any increase above this
level. This is not indicative of a quality-oriented organisation which would seek to reduce the number of complaints over
time via a programme of ‘continuous improvement’.
From the foregoing comments one can conclude that it would be myopic to focus on the number of client complaints
as being the only performance measure necessary to measure the quality of service provision. Other performance
measures which may indicate the level of service quality provided to clients by HFG are as follows:
– Staff responsiveness assumes critical significance in service industries. Hence the time taken to resolve client
queries by health centre staff is an important indicator of the level of service quality provided to clients.
– Staff appearance may be viewed as reflecting the image of the centres.
– The comfort of bedrooms and public rooms including facilities such as air-conditioning, tea/coffee-making and cold
drinks facilities, and office facilities such as e-mail, facsimile and photocopying.
– The availability of services such as the time taken to gain an appointment with a dietician or fitness consultant.
– The cleanliness of all areas within the centres will enhance the reputation of HFG. Conversely, unclean areas will
potentially deter clients from making repeat visits and/or recommendations to friends, colleagues etc.
– The presence of safety measures and the frequency of inspections made regarding gymnasium equipment within
the centres and compliance with legislation are of paramount importance in businesses like that of HFG.
– The achievement of target reductions in weight that have been agreed between centre consultants and clients.
(Other relevant measures would be acceptable.)

正确答案：
(ii) The flat
The following additional information is required in order to calculate the employment income benefit in respect of the
flat.
– The flat’s annual value.
– The cost of any improvements made to the flat prior to 6 April 2007.
– The cost of power, water, repairs and maintenance etc borne by Summer Glow plc.
– The cost of the furniture provided by Summer Glow plc.
– Any use of the flat by Benny wholly, exclusively and necessarily for the purposes of his employment.
Tutorial note
The market value of the flat is not required as Summer Glow plc has owned it for less than six years.
One element of the employment income benefit in respect of the flat is calculated by reference to its original cost plus
the cost of any capital improvements prior to 6 April 2007. If Benny requests a flat in a different location, this element
of the benefit will be computed instead by reference to the cost of the new flat, which in turn equals the proceeds of
sale of the old flat.
Accordingly, if, as is likely, the value of the flat has increased since it was purchased, Benny’s employment income
benefit will also increase. The increase in the employment income benefit will be the flat’s sales proceeds less its original
cost less the cost of any capital improvements prior to 6 April 2007 multiplied by 5%.

正确答案：

(iii) Internal audit services
A self-review threat may be created when a firm, or network firm, provides internal audit services to a financial statement
audit client. Internal audit services may comprise:
■ an extension of the firm’s audit service beyond requirements of International Standards on Auditing (ISAs);
■ assistance in the performance of a client’s internal audit activities; or
■ outsourcing of the activities.
The nature of the service must be considered in evaluating any threats to independence. (For this purpose, internal audit
services do not include operational internal audit services unrelated to the internal accounting controls, financial systems
or financial statements.)
Services involving an extension of the procedures required to conduct a financial statement audit in accordance with
ISAs would not be considered to impair independence with respect to the audit client provided that the firm’s or network
firm’s personnel do not act or appear to act in a capacity equivalent to a member of audit client management.

When the firm, or a network firm, provides an audit client with assistance in the performance of internal audit activities
or undertakes the outsourcing, any self-review threat created may be reduced to an acceptable level by a clear separation
of:
■ the management and control of the internal audit by client management;
■ the internal audit activities.
Performing a significant portion of an audit client’s internal audit activities may create a self-review threat. Appropriate
safeguards should include the audit client’s acknowledgement of its responsibilities for establishing, maintaining and
monitoring the system of internal controls.
Other safeguards include:
■ the audit client designating a competent employee, preferably within senior management, to be responsible for
internal audit activities;
■ the audit client, audit committee or supervisory body approving the scope, risk and frequency of internal audit
work;
■ the audit client being responsible for evaluating and determining which recommendations of the firm should be
implemented;
■ the audit client evaluating the adequacy of the internal audit procedures performed and the resultant findings by
obtaining and acting on reports from the firm; and
■ appropriate reporting of findings and recommendations resulting from the internal audit activities to the audit
committee or supervisory body.
Consideration should also be given to whether such non-assurance services should be provided only by personnel not
involved in the financial statement audit engagement and with different reporting lines within the firm.

正确答案：
(ii) Control weakness
ISA 260 contains guidance on the type of issues that should be communicated. One of the matters identified is a control
weakness in the capital expenditure transaction cycle. The assets for which no authorisation was obtained amount to
0·3% of total assets (225,000/78 million x 100%), which is clearly immaterial. However, regardless of materiality, the
auditor should ensure that the weakness is brought to the attention of the management, with a clear indication of the
implication of the weakness, and recommendations as to how the control weakness should be eliminated.
The auditor is providing information to help those charged with governance improve the internal systems and controls
and ultimately reduce business risk. In this case there is a high risk of fraud, as the lack of authorisation for purchase
of office equipment could allow expenditure on assets not used for bona fide business purposes.
Disagreement with accounting treatment of brand
Audit procedures have revealed a breach of IAS 38 Intangible Assets, in which internally generated brand names are
specifically prohibited from being recognised. Blod Co has recognised an internally generated brand name which is
material to the statement of financial position (balance sheet) as it represents 12·8% of total assets (10/78 x 100%).
The statement of financial position (balance sheet) therefore contains a material misstatement.
The report to those charged with governance should clearly explain the rules on recognition of internally generated brand
names, to ensure that the management has all relevant technical facts available. In the report the auditors should
request that the financial statements be corrected, and clarify that if the brand is not derecognised, then the audit opinion
will be qualified on the grounds of a material disagreement – an ‘except for’ opinion would be provided. Once the breach
of IAS 38 is made clear to the management in the report, they then have the opportunity to discuss the matter and
decide whether to amend the financial statements, thereby avoiding a qualified audit opinion.
Audit inefficiencies
Documentation relating to inventories was not always made readily available to the auditors. This seems to be due to
poor administration by the client rather than a deliberate attempt to conceal information. The report should contain a
brief description of the problems encountered by the audit team. The management should be made aware that
significant delay to the receipt of necessary paperwork can cause inefficiencies in the audit process. This may seem a
relatively trivial issue, but it could lead to an increase in audit fee. Management should react to these comments by
ensuring as far as possible that all requested documentation is made available to the auditors in a timely fashion.

正确答案：D

正确答案：
(c) In order to assess the quality of patient care provided by the Dental Health Partnership the following performance measures
might be used:
– The percentage of ‘on time’ treatment of those patients who arrived prior to their appointment time would provide an
indication regarding the effectiveness of the scheduling of appointments by the Dental Health Partnership.
– the percentage of patient appointments which were re-arranged at the request of the Dental Health Partnership.
Rearranged appointments represent the provision of a lower level of service provision to clients who may, as a result,
switch to an alternative dental practice.
– the percentage of patients who return for treatment after their first appointment would provide an indication that they
were satisfied with the service they received.
– the percentage of patients who were able to gain an appointment at their preferred date and time is an indication of the
availability of the service to clients.
Note: Candidates were only required to discuss three measures.

正确答案：
(c) The benefits of an activity-based system as the basis for product cost/profit estimation may not be straightforward. A number
of problems may be identified.
The selection of relevant activities and cost drivers may be complicated where there are many activities and cost drivers in
complex business situations.
There may be difficulty in the collection of data to enable accurate cost driver rates to be calculated. This is also likely to
require an extensive data collection and analysis system.
The problem of ‘cost driver denominator level’ may also prove difficult. This is similar to the problem in a traditional volume
related system. This is linked to the problem of fixed/variable cost analysis. For example the cost per batch may be fixed. Its
impact may be reduced, however, where the batch size can be increased without a proportionate increase in cost.
The achievement of the required level of management skill and commitment to change may also detract from the
implementation of the new system. Management may feel that the activity based approach contains too many assumptions
and estimates about activities and cost drivers. There may be doubt as to the degree of increased accuracy which it provides.
(alternative relevant examples and discussion would be acceptable)

正确答案：
(c) The government of Happyland will be concerned by the negative impact on the environment. The growth in the number of
children born in Happyland will have raised the demand for disposable nappies as is evidenced from the market size data
contained in the question. In some countries disposable nappies make up around 4% of all household waste and can take
up to five hundred years to decompose! The government will be concerned by the fact that trees are being destroyed in order
to keep babies and infant children in nappies. The disposal costs incurred by the government in terms of landfill etc will be
very high, hence its green paper on the effect of non-biodegradable products in Happyland. The costs of such operations as
the landfill for such products will need to be funded out of increased taxation.
It might be beneficial for the directors of TMC to develop more eco-friendly products such as washable nappies which, by
definition, are recyclable many times over during the life of the ‘product’. Many parents are now changing to ‘real nappies’
because they work out cheaper and better for the environment than disposables.

正确答案：
(c) Ways in which each of the problems might be overcome are as follows:
Meeting only the lowest targets
– To overcome the problem there must be some additional incentive. This could be through a change in the basis of bonus
payment which currently only provides an incentive to achieve the 100,000 tonnes of output.
Using more resources than necessary
– Overcoming the problem may require a change in the bonus system which currently does not provide benefit from any
output in excess of 100,000 tonnes. This may not be perceived as sufficiently focused in order to achieve action. It may
be that engendering a culture of continuous improvement would help ensure that employees actively sought ways of
reducing idle time levels.
Making the bonus – whatever it takes
– It is likely that efforts to change the ‘work ethos’ at all levels is required, while not necessarily removing the concept of
a bonus payable to all employees for achievement of targets. This may require the fostering of a culture for success within
the company. Dissemination of information to all staff relating to trends in performance, meeting targets, etc may help
to improve focus on continuous improvement.
Competing against other divisions, business units and departments
– The problem may need some input from the directors of TRG. For example, could a ‘dual-cost’ transfer pricing system
be explained to management at both the Bettamould division and also the Division with spare capacity in order to
overcome resistance to problems on transfer pricing and its impact on divisional budgets and reported results? In this
way it may be possible for the Bettamould division to source some of its input materials at a lower cost (particularly from
TRG’s viewpoint) and yet be acceptable to the management at the supplying division.
Ensuring that what is in the budget is spent
– In order to overcome the problem it may be necessary to educate management into acceptance of aspects of budgeting
such as the need to consider the committed, engineered and discretionary aspects of costs. For example, it may be
possible to reduce the number of salaried staff involved in the current quality checking of 25% of throughput on a daily
basis.
Providing inaccurate forecasts
– In order to overcome this problem there must be an integrated approach to the budget setting process. This may be
achieved to some extent through all aspects of the budget having to be agreed by all functions involved. For example,
engineers as well as production line management in reaching the agreed link between percentage process losses and
the falling efficiency of machinery due to age. In addition, TRC may insist an independent audit of aspects of budget
revisions by group staff.
Meeting the target but not beating it
– To overcome the problem may require that the bonus system should be altered to reflect any failure to control costs per
tonne at the budget level.
Avoiding risks
– In order to overcome such problems, TRC would have to provide some guarantees to Bettamould management that the
supply would be available during the budget period at the initially agreed price and that the quality would be maintained
at the required level. This would remove the risk element that the management of the Bettamould division may consider
currently exists.

正确答案：
(b) Financial statement risks
Assets
■ There is a very high risk that inventory could be materially overstated in the balance sheet (thereby overstating profit)
because:
? there is a high volume of metals (hence material);
? valuable metals are made more portable;
? subsidy gives an incentive to overstate purchases (and hence inventory);
? inventory may not exist due to lack of physical controls (e.g. aluminium can blow away);
? scrap metal in the stockyard may have zero net realisable value (e.g. iron is rusty and slow-moving);
? quantities per counts not attended by an auditor have increased by a third.
■ Inventory could be otherwise misstated (over or under) due to:
? the weighbridge being inaccurate;
? metal qualities being estimated;
? different metals being mixed up; and
? the lack of an independent expert to identify/measure/value metals.
■ Tangible non-current assets are understated as the parts of the furnaces that require replacement (the linings) are not
capitalised (and depreciated) as separate items but treated as repairs/maintenance/renewals and expensed.
■ Cash may be understated due to incomplete recording of sales.
■ Recorded cash will be overstated if it does not exist (e.g. if it has been stolen).
■ Trade receivables may be understated if cash receipts from credit customers have been misappropriated.
Liabilities
■ The provision for the replacement of the furnace linings is overstated by the amount provided in the current and previous
year (i.e. in its entirety).
Tutorial note: Last replacement was two years ago.
Income statement
■ Revenue will be understated in respect of unrecorded cash sales of salvaged metals and ‘clinker’.
■ Scrap metal purchases (for cash) are at risk of overstatement:
? to inflate the 15% subsidy;
? to conceal misappropriated cash.
■ The income subsidy will be overstated if quantities purchased are overstated and/or overvalued (on the quarterly returns)
to obtain the amount of the subsidy.
■ Cash receipts/payments that were recorded only in the cash book in November are at risk of being unrecorded (in the
absence of cash book postings for November), especially if they are of a ‘one-off’ nature.
Tutorial note: Cash purchases of scrap and sales of salvaged metal should be recorded elsewhere (i.e. in the manual
inventory records). However, a one-off expense (of a capital or revenue nature) could be omitted in the absence of
another record.
■ Expenditure is overstated in respect of the 25% provision for replacing the furnace linings. However, as depreciation
will be similarly understated (as the furnace linings have not been capitalised) there is no risk of material misstatement
to the income statement overall.
Disclosure risk
■ A going concern (‘failure’) risk may arise through the loss of:
? sales revenue (e.g. through misappropriation of salvaged metals and/or cash);
? the subsidy (e.g. if returns are prepared fraudulently);
? cash (e.g. if material amounts stolen).
Any significant doubts about going concern must be suitably disclosed in the notes to the financial statements.
Disclosure risk arises if the requirements of IAS 1 ‘Presentation of Financial Statements’ are not met.
■ Disclosure risk arises if contingent liabilities in connection with the dumping of ‘clinker’ (e.g. for fines and penalties) are
not adequately disclosed in accordance with IAS 37 ‘Provisions, Contingent Liabilities and Contingent Assets’.
Appropriate audit approach
Tutorial note: In explaining why AN audit approach is appropriate for Indigo it can be relevant to comment on the
unsuitability of other approaches.
■ A risk-based approach is suitable because:
? inherent risk is high at the entity and financial assertion levels;
? material errors are likely to arise in inventory where a high degree of subjectivity will be involved (regarding quality
of metals, quantities, net realisable value, etc);
? it directs the audit effort to inventory, purchases, income (sales and subsidy) and other risk areas (e.g. contingent
liabilities).
■ A systems-based/compliance approach is not suited to the risk areas identified because controls are lacking/ineffective
(e.g. over inventory and cash). Also, as the audit appointment was not more than three months ago and no interim
audit has been conducted (and the balance sheet date is only three weeks away) testing controls is likely to be less
efficient than a substantive approach.
■ A detailed substantive/balance sheet approach would be suitable to direct audit effort to the appropriate valuation of
assets (and liabilities) existing at balance sheet date. Principal audit work would include:
? attendance at a full physical inventory count at 31 December 2005;
? verifying cash at bank (through bank confirmation and reconciliation) and in hand (through physical count);
? confirming the accuracy of the quarterly returns to the local authority.
■ A cyclical approach/directional testing is unlikely to be suitable as cycles are incomplete. For example the purchases
cycle for metals is ‘purchase/cash’ rather than ‘purchase/payable/cash’ and there is no independent third party evidence
to compensate for that which would be available if there were trade payables (i.e. suppliers’ statements). Also the cycles
are inextricably inter-related to cash and inventory – amounts of which are subject to high inherent risk.
■ Analytical procedures may be of limited use for substantive purposes. Factors restricting the use of substantive analytical
procedures include:
? fluctuating margins (e.g. as many factors will influence the price at which scrap is purchased and subsequently
sold, when salvaged, sometime later);
? a lack of reliable/historic information on which to make comparisons.

正确答案：
(b) Need to analyse the group structure
A certain amount of analysis of the group structure will be undertaken before an auditor accepts the role of group auditor,
particularly if the auditor is not directly responsible for the whole group.
An analysis of the group structure is necessary to:
■ ensure that particular attention is given to the more unusual aspects of corporate structures (e.g. partnership
arrangements that may be a joint venture, components in tax havens, shell companies and horizontal groups);
■ arrange access to information relating to all ‘significant’ components (i.e. those representing 20% or more of group
assets, liabilities, cash flows, profit or revenue), on a timely basis;
■ identify the applicable financial reporting framework for each component and any local statutory reporting requirements;
■ plan work to deal with different accounting frameworks/policies applied throughout the group and differences between
International Auditing Standards (ISAs) and national standards;
■ integrate the group audit process effectively with local statutory audit requirements;
■ identify related parties and effectively audit the completeness of disclosures in the group accounts in accordance with
IAS 24 Related Party Disclosures.
Any doubts about the group structure will need to be clarified against publicly available information as soon as possible to
ensure an effective audit of the relevant components (i.e. subsidiaries, associates and joint ventures). The auditor can then
plan the level of assurance required on each component well in advance of the year end.
Having established thoroughly the group structure from the outset the auditor will then need only to update the structure for
changes year-on-year.

参考答案：A, D, E