距离6月份ACCA考试开考不足3个月，备考关键应该在哪儿？

正确答案：

 

When considering the shortfall
– The family’s expenditure is likely to increase as the children get older, particularly if there is a need for school fees.
– There will be a need for some cash immediately to pay for the cost of the funeral.
– It is assumed that the whole of Jane’s estate has been left to Charles such that there will be no inheritance tax on her
death.
– The shortfall may be reduced by:
(i) State benefits and tax credits.
(ii) Expenditure on non-essential items, e.g. holidays and entertainment included in the annual expenditure of
￡45,500.
(iii) The income generated by Charles if he were to return to work.
– The shortfall may be increased by additional child-care costs due to Charles being a single parent, particularly if he
returns to work full-time.
Further information required
– The level of state benefits and tax credits available to Charles.
– The current level of expenditure on non-essential items.
– The costs of child-care if Charles were to return to work.
– Details of any wills made by Charles or Jane.
– Whether Charles’ investment properties could be sold and the proceeds invested in assets with a higher annual return.
– Whether there is any value in Speak Write Ltd independent of Jane, such that the company could be sold after Jane’s
death.
Other related issues
– The couple should consider making provision for their retirement via pension contributions or some other form. of long
term investment plan.
– The couple should recognise that there would be significant financial problems if Jane were to become seriously ill. In
addition to the family’s income falling as set out above, its expenditure would probably increase.
Protection products
– Term life assurance
A qualifying life policy would pay out a tax-free lump sum on Jane’s death.
– Permanent health insurance
Would provide a regular income if Jane were unable to work due to illness.
– Critical illness insurance
Would provide a capital sum in the event of Jane being diagnosed with an insured illness.

正确答案：
(c) Non-executive directors
Roles of NEDs
Non-executive directors have four principal roles.
The strategy role recognises that NEDs are full members of the board and thus have the right and responsibility to contribute
to the strategic success of the organisation for the benefit of shareholders. The enterprise must have a clear strategic direction
and NEDs should be able to bring considerable experience from their lives and business experience to bear on ensuring that
chosen strategies are sound. In this role they may challenge any aspect of strategy they see fit and offer advice or input to
help to develop successful strategy.
In the scrutinising or performance role, NEDs are required to hold executive colleagues to account for decisions taken and
company performance. In this respect they are required to represent the shareholders’ interests against the possibility that
agency issues arise to reduce shareholder value.
The risk role involves NEDs ensuring the company has an adequate system of internal controls and systems of risk
management in place. This is often informed by prescribed codes (such as Turnbull in the UK) but some industries, such as
chemicals, have other systems in place, some of which fall under ISO standards. In this role, NEDs should satisfy themselves
on the integrity of financial information and that financial controls and systems of risk management are robust and defensible.
Finally, the ‘people’ role involves NEDs overseeing a range of responsibilities with regard to the management of the executive
members of the board. This typically involves issues on appointments and remuneration, but might also involve contractual
or disciplinary issues and succession planning.
Tutorial note: these four roles are as described in the UK Higgs Report and are also contained in the Combined Code 2003.
Tensions in NED roles in the case
This refers to a potential tension in the loyalties of the NEDs. Although the NED is accountable, through the chairman to the
shareholders and thus must always act in the economic best interests of the shareholders, he or she is also a part of the board
of the company and they may, in some situations, advise discretion. Withholding information might be judged correct because
of strategic considerations or longer-term shareholder interests. In most situations, NEDs will argue for greater transparency,
less concealment and more clarity of how and why a given action will be in the interests of shareholders.
The case of mallerite overestimation places the WM NEDs in a position of some tension. Any instinct to conceal the full extent
of the overestimate of the reserve for the possible protection of the company’s short-term value must be balanced against the
duty to serve longer-term strategic interests and the public interest. Whilst concealment would protect the company’s
reputation and share price in the short term, it would be a duty of the NEDs to point out that WM should observe transparency
as far as possible in its dealing with the shareholders and other capital market participants.

正确答案：
(d) Much has been written on the links between leadership and culture and in particular the influence of the founder on the
culture of the organisation. Schein actually argues that leadership and culture are two sides of the same coin. Tony’s father
had a particular vision of the type of company he wanted and importance of product innovation to the success of the business.
Tony is clearly influenced by that cultural legacy and has maintained a dominant role in the business though there is little
evidence of continuing innovation. Using the McKinsey 7-S model the founder or leader is the main influence on the
development of the shared values in the firm that shapes the culture. However, it is clear from the scenario that Tony through
his ‘hands-on’ style. of leadership is affecting the other elements in the model – strategy, structure and systems – the ‘hard’
factors and the senior staff and their skills – the ‘soft’ factors – in making strategic decisions.
Delegation has been highlighted as one of the problems Tony has to face and it is a familiar one in family firms. Certainly
there could be need for him to give his senior management team the responsibility for the functional areas they nominally
control. Tony’s style. is very much a ‘hands-on’ style. but this may be inappropriate for handling the problems that the company
faces. Equally, he seems too responsible for the strategic decisions the company is taking and not effectively involving his
team in the strategy process. Style. is seen as a key factor in influencing the culture of an organisation and getting the right
balance between being seen as a paternalistic owner-manager and a chairman and chief executive looking to develop his
senior management team is difficult. Leadership is increasingly being seen as encouraging and enabling others to handle
change and challenge and questioning the assumptions that have influenced Shirtmaster’s strategic thinking and development
to date. The positive side of Tony’s style. of leadership is that he is both known and well regarded by the staff on the factory
floor. Unfortunately, if the decision is taken to source shirts from abroad this may mean that the manufacturing capability
disappears.

6D–ENGAA
Paper 3.5
Tony should be aware that changing the culture of an organisation is not an easy task and that as well as his leadership style
influencing, his leadership can also be constrained by the existing culture that exists in the Shirtmaster Group. Other models
that could be useful include Johnson, Scholes and Whittington’s cultural web and Lewin’s three-stage model of change and
forcefield analysis. Finally, Peters and Waterman in their classic study ‘In search of excellence’ provides insights into the closerelationship between leadership and creating a winning culture.

正确答案：
(ii) Deema Co
The claim is an event after the balance sheet date. If the accident occurred prior to the year end of 30 September 2007,
the claim gives additional evidence of a year end condition, and thus meets the definition of an adjusting post balance
sheet event. In this case the matter appears to have been properly disclosed in the notes to the financial statements per
IAS 10 Events After the Balance Sheet Date and IAS 37 Provisions, Contingent Liabilities and Contingent Assets. A
provision would only be necessary if the claim was probable to succeed and there is sufficient appropriate evidence that
this is not the case. There is therefore no disagreement, and no limitation on scope.
Therefore the senior is correct to propose an unqualified opinion.
However, it is not necessary for the audit report to contain an emphasis of matter paragraph.
ISA 701 Modifications to the Independent Auditor’s Report states that an emphasis of matter paragraph should be used
to highlight a matter where there is significant uncertainty.
Uncertainties are normally only regarded as significant if they involve a level of concern about the going concern status
of the company or would have an unusually great effect on the financial statements. This is not the case here as there
is enough cash to pay the damages in the unlikely event that the claim goes against Deema Co. This appears to be a
one-off situation with a low risk of the estimate being subject to change and thus there is no significant uncertainty.