2021年云南ACCA考试准考证打印时间：考前两周

正确答案：
(b) (i) Payback period is widely used by organisations in the capital investment appraisal process due to the following reasons:
– It is easy to calculate and understand
– There is a lack of understanding of more sophisticated techniques which take into consideration the time value of
money
– Payback may be expedient for organisations who need to recover their capital outlay quickly due to the fact that
they are experiencing liquidity problems
– Payback is appropriate for smaller investments which do not warrant the use of more sophisticated techniques
– Payback reduces uncertainty by focusing on nearer and therefore more certain cash flows.

正确答案：
(a) In order to assess the attractiveness of the option to enter the market for spirally-wound paper tubes, the directors of BPC
could make use of Michael Porter’s ‘five forces model’.
In applying this model to the given scenario one might conclude that the relatively low cost of the machine together with the
fact that an unskilled person would only require one day’s training in order to be able to operate a machine, constitute
relatively low costs of entry to the market. Therefore one might reasonably conclude that the threat of new entrants might be
high. This is especially the case where the market is highly fragmented.
The fact that products are usually purchased in very large quantities by customers together with the fact that there is little real
difference between the products of alternative suppliers suggests that customer (buyer) power might well be very high. The
fact that the paper tubes on average only comprise between 1% and 2% of the total cost of the purchaser’s finished product
also suggests that buyer power may well be very high.
The threat from suppliers could be high due to the fact that the specially formulated paper from which the tubes are made is
sometimes in short supply. Hence suppliers might increase their prices with consequential diminution in gross margin of the
firms in the marketplace.
The threat from competitive rivals will be strong as the four major players in the market are of similar size and that the market
is a slow growing market. The market leader currently has 26% of the market and the three nearest competitors hold
approximately 18% of the market.
The fact that Plastic Tubes Co (PTC) produces a narrow range of plastic tubes constitutes a threat from a substitute product.
This threat will increase if the product range of PTC is extended and the price of plastic tubes is reduced.
The fact that a foreign-based multinational company is considering entering this market represents a significant threat from a
potential new entrant as it would appear that the multinational company might well be able to derive economies of scale from
large scale automated machinery and has manufacturing flexibility.
Low capital barriers to entry might appeal to BPC but they would also appeal to other potential entrants. The low growth
market, the ease of entry, the existence of established competitors, a credible threat of backward vertical integration by
suppliers, the imminent entry by a multi-national, a struggling established competitor and the difficulty of differentiating an
industrial commodity should call into question the potential of BPC to achieve any sort of competitive advantage. If BPC can
achieve the position of lowest cost producer within the industry then entry into the market might be a good move. In order
to assess whether this is possible BPC must consider any potential synergies that would exist between its cardboard business
and that of the tubes operation.
From the information available, the option to enter the market for cardboard tubes appears to be unattractive. The directors
of BPC should seek alternative performance improvement strategies.

正确答案：
Part (b):
The difference between a person specification and a job description is that a person specification sets out the qualities of an ideal
candidate whereas a job description defines the duties and responsibilities of the job.

正确答案：
(d) Governments may act as an aid to business performance in the following ways:
– A government can increase aggregate demand for goods and services by increased government spending and/or by
reducing taxation so that firms (and individuals) have more after tax income available to spend.
– Government policy may encourage firms to locate to particular areas. This is particularly the case where there is high
unemployment in such areas.
– Government policy via the use of quotas and import tariffs might make it more difficult for overseas firms to compete in
domestic markets.
– A government can regulate monopolies in particular with regard to the prices they charge and the quality of their goods
and services.
– Government policy can regulate the activities of those firms which do not act in the best interests of the environment.
(Alternative relevant discussion would be acceptable)