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正确答案：A

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.

正确答案：
(c) Examiner’s Note:
The topic of managerial motivation and budgeting has been a subject of discussion for a number of years. There are links
here to the topics of performance measurement and responsibility accounting. Discussion should be focused on the area of
budgets and the budgeting process, as specified in the question.
Setting targets for financial performance
It has been reasonably established that managers respond better in motivation and performance terms to a clearly defined,
quantitative target than to the absence of such targets. However, budget targets must be accepted by the responsible
managers if they are to have any motivational effect. Acceptance of budget targets will depend on several factors, including
the personality of an individual manager and the quality of communication in the budgeting process.
The level of difficulty of the budget target will also influence the level of motivation and performance. Budget targets that are
seen as average or above average will increase motivation and performance up to the point where such targets are seen as
impossible to achieve. Beyond this point, personal desire to achieve a particular level of performance falls off sharply. Careful
thought must therefore go into establishing budget targets, since the best results in motivation and performance terms will
arise from the most difficult goals that individual managers are prepared to accept4.
While budget targets that are seen as too difficult will fail to motivate managers to improve their performance, the same is
true of budget targets that are seen as being too easy. When budget targets are easy, managers are likely to outperform. the
budget but will fail to reach the level of performance that might be expected in the absence of a budget.
One consequence of the need for demanding or difficult budget targets is the frequent reporting of adverse variances. It is
important that these are not used to lay blame in the budgetary control process, since they have a motivational (or planning)
origin rather than an operational origin. Managerial reward systems may need to reward almost achieving, rather than
achieving, budget targets if managers are to be encouraged by receiving financial incentives.
Participation in the budget-setting process
A ‘top-down’ approach to budget setting leads to budgets that are imposed on managers. Where managers within an
organisation are believed to behave in a way that is consistent with McGregor’s Theory X perspective, imposed budgets may
improve performance, since accepting the budget is consistent with reduced responsibility and avoiding work.
It is also possible that acceptance of imposed budgets by managers who are responsible for their implementation and
achievement is diminished because they feel they have not been able to influence budget targets. Such a view is consistent
with McGregor’s Theory Y perspective, which holds that managers naturally seek responsibility and do not need to be tightly
controlled. According to this view, managers respond well to participation in the budget-setting process, since being able to
influence the budget targets for which they will be responsible encourages their acceptance. A participative approach to
budget-setting is also referred to as a ‘bottom-up’ approach.
In practice, many organisations adopt a budget-setting process that contains elements of both approaches, with senior
management providing strategic leadership of the budget-setting process and other management tiers providing input in terms
of identifying what is practical and offering detailed knowledge of their area of the organisation.

正确答案：
(d) The benefits that might accrue from the successful implementation of a Total quality management programme by the
management of the combined entity include the following:
– There will be an increased awareness of all personnel within Quicklink Ltd of the need to establish a ‘quality culture’
within the company which will provide a basis of improved performance throughout the organisation.
– The successful adoption of a TQM philosophy would ensure that there is a real commitment to ‘continuous improvement’
in all processes.
– It would place a greater focus on customer satisfaction since at the heart of any TQM programme is a deep-seated
commitment to the satisfaction of every customer.
– There would be a greater emphasis upon teamwork which would be used in a number of forms e.g. quality circles which
could be established with a view to improving performance within every area of the business. The fostering of team spirit
will also improve communication within Quicklink Ltd.
– A major characteristic of a TQM programme is process-redesign which is used to simplify processes, systems,
procedures and the organisation itself. In this respect the adoption of a TQM philosophy will be invaluable since the
integration of the Quicklink Ltd and Celer Transport businesses will require, of necessity, a detailed review of those
processes currently employed.
– The adoption of a TQM philosophy will necessitate the monitoring of quality costs in order to measure whether the
objective of continuous improvement is being achieved. In this respect the aim will be to eliminate internal failure costs
such as late deliveries and lost items which are clearly detrimental to a business which operates in the transport and
haulage industry.