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正确答案：
(d) Professional accountant’s liability
Liability for reporting on PFI
Independent accountants may be required to report on PFI for many reasons (e.g. to help secure a bank loan). Such forecasts
and projections are inherently unreliable. If the forecast or projection does not materialise, and the client or lenders (or
investors) consequently sustain financial loss, the accountant may face lawsuits claiming financial loss.
Courts in different jurisdictions use various criteria to define the group of persons to whom independent accountants may be
held liable for providing a report on an inaccurate forecast or projection. The most common of these are that an accountant
is liable to persons with whom there is proximity:
(i) only (i.e. the client who engaged the independent accountant);
(ii) or whose relationship with the accountant sufficiently approaches privity;
(iii) and to persons or members of a limited group of persons for whose benefit and guidance the accountant supplied the
information or knew that the recipient of the information intended to supply it;
(iv) and to persons who reasonably can be foreseen to rely on the information.
Measures to reduce liability
As significant assumptions will be essential to a reader’s understanding of a financial forecast, the independent accountant
should ensure that they are adequately disclosed and clearly stated to be the management’s responsibility. Hypothetical
assumptions should be clearly distinguished from best estimates.
The introduction to any forecast (and/or report thereon) should include a caveat that the prospective results may not be
attained. Specific and extensive warnings (‘the actual results … will vary’) and disclaimers (‘we do not express an opinion’)
may be effective in protecting an independent accountant sued for inaccuracies in forecasts or projections that they have
reported on.
Any report to a third party should state:
■ for whom it is prepared, who is entitled to rely on it (if anyone) and for what purpose;
■ that the engagement was undertaken in accordance with the engagement terms;
■ the work performed and the findings.
An independent accountant’s report should avoid inappropriate and open-ended wording, for example, ‘we certify …’ and ‘we
obtained all the explanations we considered necessary’.
Engagement terms to report on PFI should include an appropriate liability cap that is reasonable given the specific
circumstances of the engagement.
The independent accountant may be able to obtain indemnity from a client in respect of claims from third parties. Such ‘hold
harmless’ clauses obligate the client to indemnify the independent accountant from third party claims.

正确答案：
(b) The appraisal system should be well constructed and fair to both the individual and the organisation. However, there are a number of barriers, often because employees see the appraisal as one or more of the following:
Confrontation due to lack of agreement on performance, badly explained or subjective feedback, performance based on recent events or disagreement on longer term activities.
Judgement, the appraisal is seen as a one sided process based entirely on the manager’s perspective.
Chat is the worst of all worlds. The appraisal interview is seen as an informal, loosely constructed and badly managed conversation without purpose.
Unfinished business is when the appraisal is not seen as part of a continuing process of performance management.
An annual event when the appraisal is seen as largely irrelevant and simply an event to set annual targets that quickly become out of date.
A system of bureaucracy based on forms devised solely to satisfy the organisation’s human resources department so that its main purpose, that of identifying individual and organisation performance and improvement, is forgotten.

正确答案：
(ii) For the year ended 31 July 2007, there will be two associated companies in the group. Bold plc will count as an
associated company as it is not dormant throughout the period in question. As a result, the corporation tax limits will be
divided by two (i.e. the number of associates) giving an upper limit of ￡750,000 (￡1·5 million/2). As Linden Limited
is anticipated to make profits of ￡1·4 million in the year to 31 July 2007 it will pay corporation tax at the rate of 30%.
Bold plc can earn trading profits up to ￡150,000 (￡300,000/2) and pay tax at the rate of 19%. It will therefore
minimise the group’s corporation tax liability if maximum use is made of this small companies rate band, as it will save
￡16,500 (150,000 x (30% – 19%)) of corporation tax for the year to 31 July 2007. Bold plc should therefore make
a management charge of sufficient size to give it profits for that year equal to ￡150,000.
While the transfer pricing legislation no longer applies to small and medium sized enterprises, Bold plc should
nevertheless ensure that there is evidence to support the actual charge made in terms of the services provided.

正确答案：
(ii) Control weakness
ISA 260 contains guidance on the type of issues that should be communicated. One of the matters identified is a control
weakness in the capital expenditure transaction cycle. The assets for which no authorisation was obtained amount to
0·3% of total assets (225,000/78 million x 100%), which is clearly immaterial. However, regardless of materiality, the
auditor should ensure that the weakness is brought to the attention of the management, with a clear indication of the
implication of the weakness, and recommendations as to how the control weakness should be eliminated.
The auditor is providing information to help those charged with governance improve the internal systems and controls
and ultimately reduce business risk. In this case there is a high risk of fraud, as the lack of authorisation for purchase
of office equipment could allow expenditure on assets not used for bona fide business purposes.
Disagreement with accounting treatment of brand
Audit procedures have revealed a breach of IAS 38 Intangible Assets, in which internally generated brand names are
specifically prohibited from being recognised. Blod Co has recognised an internally generated brand name which is
material to the statement of financial position (balance sheet) as it represents 12·8% of total assets (10/78 x 100%).
The statement of financial position (balance sheet) therefore contains a material misstatement.
The report to those charged with governance should clearly explain the rules on recognition of internally generated brand
names, to ensure that the management has all relevant technical facts available. In the report the auditors should
request that the financial statements be corrected, and clarify that if the brand is not derecognised, then the audit opinion
will be qualified on the grounds of a material disagreement – an ‘except for’ opinion would be provided. Once the breach
of IAS 38 is made clear to the management in the report, they then have the opportunity to discuss the matter and
decide whether to amend the financial statements, thereby avoiding a qualified audit opinion.
Audit inefficiencies
Documentation relating to inventories was not always made readily available to the auditors. This seems to be due to
poor administration by the client rather than a deliberate attempt to conceal information. The report should contain a
brief description of the problems encountered by the audit team. The management should be made aware that
significant delay to the receipt of necessary paperwork can cause inefficiencies in the audit process. This may seem a
relatively trivial issue, but it could lead to an increase in audit fee. Management should react to these comments by
ensuring as far as possible that all requested documentation is made available to the auditors in a timely fashion.