上海市考生：ACCA考试的科目和报考规定是什么呀？

正确答案：
(b) (i) Matters to consider
Materiality
The receivable represents only 0·2% (25,000/12 million x 100) of total assets so is immaterial in monetary terms.
However, the details of the transaction could make it material by nature.
The amount is outstanding from a company under the control of Pulp Co’s chairman. Readers of the financial statements
would be interested to know the details of this transaction, which currently is not disclosed. Elements of the transaction
could be subject to bias, specifically the repayment terms, which appear to be beyond normal commercial credit terms.
Paul Sheffield may have used his influence over the two companies to ‘engineer’ the transaction. Disclosure is necessary
due to the nature of the transaction, the monetary value is irrelevant.
A further matter to consider is whether this is a one-off transaction, or indicative of further transactions between the two
companies.
Relevant accounting standard
The definitions in IAS 24 must be carefully considered to establish whether this actually constitutes a related party
transaction. The standard specifically states that two entities are not necessarily related parties just because they have
a director or other member of key management in common. The audit senior states that Jarvis Co is controlled by Peter
Sheffield, who is also the chairman of Pulp Co. It seems that Peter Sheffield is in a position of control/significant influence
over the two companies (though this would have to be clarified through further audit procedures), and thus the two
companies are likely to be perceived as related.
IAS 24 requires full disclosure of the following in respect of related party transactions:
– the nature of the related party relationship,
– the amount of the transaction,
– the amount of any balances outstanding including terms and conditions, details of security offered, and the nature
of consideration to be provided in settlement,
– any allowances for receivables and associated expense.
There is currently a breach of IAS 24 as no disclosure has been made in the notes to the financial statements. If not
amended, the audit opinion on the financial statements should be qualified with an ‘except for’ disagreement. In
addition, if practicable, the auditor’s report should include the information that would have been included in the financial
statements had the requirements of IAS 24 been adhered to.
Valuation and classification of the receivable
A receivable should only be recognised if it will give rise to future economic benefit, i.e. a future cash inflow. It appears
that the receivable is long outstanding – if the amount is unlikely to be recovered then it should be written off as a bad
debt and the associated expense recognised. It is possible that assets and profits are overstated.
Although a representation has been received indicating that the amount will be paid to Pulp Co, the auditor should be
sceptical of this claim given that the same representation was given last year, and the amount was not subsequently
recovered. The $25,000 could be recoverable in the long term, in which case the receivable should be reclassified as
a non-current asset. The amount advanced to Jarvis Co could effectively be an investment rather than a short term
receivable. Correct classification on the statement of financial position (balance sheet) is crucial for the financial
statements to properly show the liquidity position of the company at the year end.
Tutorial note: Digressions into management imposing a limitation in scope by withholding evidence are irrelevant in this
case, as the scenario states that the only evidence that the auditors have asked for is a management representation.
There is no indication in the scenario that the auditors have asked for, and been refused any evidence.

正确答案：
(b) Criticisms
The audit committee is chaired by an executive director. One of the most important roles of an audit committee is to review
and monitor internal controls. An executive director is not an independent person and so having Mr Chester as chairman
undermines the purpose of the committee as far as its role in governance is concerned.
Mr Chester, the audit committee chairman, considers only financial controls to be important and undermines the purpose of
the committee as far as its role in governance is concerned. There is no recognition of other risks and there is a belief that
management accounting can provide all necessary information. This viewpoint fails to recognise the importance of other
control mechanisms such as technical and operational controls.
Mr Hardanger’s performance was trusted without supporting evidence because of his reputation as a good manager. An audit
committee must be blind to reputation and treat all parts of the business equally. All functions can be subject to monitor and
review without ‘fear or favour’ and the complexity of the production facility makes it an obvious subject of frequent attention.
The audit committee does not enjoy the full support of the non-executive chairman, Mr Allejandra. On the contrary in fact,
he is sceptical about its value. In most situations, the audit committee reports to the chairman and so it is very important
that the chairman protects the audit committee from criticism from executive colleagues, which is unlikely given the situation
at Gluck and Goodman.
There is no internal auditor to report to the committee and hence no flow of information upon which to make control decisions.
Internal auditors are the operational ‘arms’ of an audit committee and without them, the audit committee will have little or no
relevant data upon which to monitor and review control systems in the company.
The ineffectiveness of the internal audit could increase the cost of the external audit. If external auditors view internal controls
as weak they would be likely to require increased attention to audit trails, etc. that would, in turn, increase cost.

正确答案：
5 (a) Objectives may be viewed as profit and market share in a profit-oriented organisation or the achievement of ‘value for money’
in a not-for-profit organisation (NFP). The overall objective of an organisation may be expressed in the wording of its mission
statement.
In order to achieve the objectives, long-term strategies will be required. In a profit-oriented organisation, this may incorporate
the evaluation of strategies that might include price reductions, product design changes, advertising campaign, product mix
change and methods changes, embracing change techniques such as BPR, JIT, TQM and ABM. In NFP situations, strategies
might address the need to achieve ‘economy’ through reduction in average cost per unit; ‘efficiency’ through maximisation of
the input:output ratio, whilst checking on ‘effectiveness’ through monitoring whether the objectives are achieved.
The annual budget will quantify the short-term results anticipated of the strategies. These results may be seen as the level of
financial performance and competitiveness achieved. This quantification may be compared with previous years and with
actual performance on an ongoing basis. Financial performance may be measured in terms of profit, liquidity, capital structure
and a range of ratios. Competitiveness may be measured by sales growth, market share and the number of new customers.
In a not-for-profit organisation, the results may be monitored by checking on the effectiveness of actions aimed at the
achievement of the objectives. For instance, the effectiveness of a University may be measured by the number of degrees
awarded and the grades achieved. The level of student ‘drop-outs’ each year may also be seen as a measure of ineffectiveness.
The determinants of results may consist of a number of measures. These may include the level of quality, customer
satisfaction, resource utilisation, innovation and flexibility that are achieved. Such determinants may focus on a range of nonfinancial
measures that may be monitored on an ongoing basis, as part of the feedback information in conjunction with
financial data.
A range of business change techniques may be used to enhance performance management.
Techniques may include:
Business process re-engineering (BPR) which involves the examination of business processes with a view to improving the
way in which each is implemented. A major focus may be on the production cycle, but it will also be applicable in areas such
as the accounting department.
Just-in-time (JIT) which requires commitment to the pursuit of ‘excellence’ in all aspects of an organisation.
Total quality management (TQM) which aims for continuous quality improvement in all aspects of the operation of an
organisation.
Activity based management systems (ABM) which focus on activities that are required in an organisation and the cost drivers
for such activities, with a view to identifying and improving activities that add value and eliminating those activities that do
not add value.
Long-term performance management is likely to embrace elements of BPR, JIT, TQM and ABM. All of these will be reflected
in the annual budget on an ongoing basis.