必看！ACCA机考注意事项有哪些，ACCA随时机考注意事项又有哪些

正确答案：
(a) To: Board of directors
From: Management Accountant
Date: 8 June 2007
The potential benefits of the adoption of a balanced scorecard approach to performance measurement within GER are as
follows:
A broader business perspective
Financial measures invariably have an inward-looking perspective. The balanced scorecard is wider in its scope and
application. It has an external focus and looks at comparisons with competitors in order to establish what constitutes best
practice and ensures that required changes are made in order to achieve it. The use of the balanced scorecard requires a
balance of both financial and non-financial measures and goals.
A greater strategic focus
The use of the balanced scorecard focuses to a much greater extent on the longer term. There is a far greater emphasis on
strategic considerations. It attempts to identify the needs and wants of customers and the new products and markets. Hence
it requires a balance between short term and long term performance measures.
A greater focus on qualitative aspects
The use of the balanced scorecard attempts to overcome the over-emphasis of traditional measures on the quantifiable aspects
of the internal operations of an organisation expressed in purely financial terms. Its use requires a balance between
quantitative and qualitative performance measures. For example, customer satisfaction is a qualitative performance measure
which is given prominence under the balanced scorecard approach.
A greater focus on longer term performance
The use of traditional financial measures is often dominated by financial accounting requirements, for example, the need to
show fixed assets at their historic cost. Also, they are primarily focused on short-term profitability and return on capital
employed in order to gain stakeholder approval of short term financial reports, the longer term or whole life cycle often being
ignored.
The limitations of a balanced scorecard approach to performance measurement may be viewed as follows:
The balanced scorecard attempts to identify the chain of cause and effect relationships which will provide the stimulus for
the future success of an organisation.
Advocates of a balanced scorecard approach to performance measurement suggest that it can constitute a vital component
of the strategic management process.
However, Robert Kaplan and David Norton, the authors of the balanced scorecard concept concede that it may not be suitable
for all firms. Norton suggests that it is most suitable for firms which have a long lead time between management action and
financial benefit and that it will be less suitable for firms with a short-term focus. However, other flaws can be detected in
the balanced scorecard.
The balanced scorecard promises to outline the theory of the firm by clearly linking the driver/outcome measures in a cause
and effect chain, but this will be difficult if not impossible to achieve.
The precise cause and effect relationships between measures for each of the perspectives on the balanced scorecard will be
complex because the driver and outcome measures for the various perspectives are interlinked. For example, customer
satisfaction may be seen to be a function of several drivers, such as employee satisfaction, manufacturing cycle time and
quality. However, employee satisfaction may in turn be partially driven by customer satisfaction and employee satisfaction
may partially drive manufacturing cycle time. A consequence of this non-linearity of the cause and effect chain (i.e., there is
non-linear relationship between an individual driver and a single outcome measure), is that there must be a question mark
as to the accuracy of any calculated correlations between driver and outcome measures. Allied to this point, any calculated
correlations will be historic. This implies that it will only be possible to determine the accuracy of cause and effect linkages
after the event, which could make the use of the balanced scorecard in dynamic industries questionable. If the market is
undergoing rapid evolution, for example, how meaningful are current measures of customer satisfaction or market share?
These criticisms do not necessarily undermine the usefulness of the balanced scorecard in presenting a more comprehensive
picture of organisational performance but they do raise doubts concerning claims that a balanced scorecard can be
constructed which will outline a clear cause and effect chain between driver and outcome measures and the firm’s financial
objectives.

正确答案：
(ii) AUTHORITY is the scope and amount of discretion given to a person to make decisions by virtue of the position held within the organisation. The authority and power structure of an organisation defines the part each member of the organisation is expected to perform. and the relationship between the organisation’s members so that its efforts are effective. The source of authority may be top down (as in formal organisations) or bottom up (as in social organizations and politics). In the scenario, authority is from the top and should be delegated downwards.

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.