甘肃省考生：ACCA考试内容是什么？难度和专业课相比怎样？

正确答案：
(iii) The terms listed may be seen as representative of the dimensions of performance. The dimensions may be analysed into
results and determinants.
The results may be measured by focusing on financial performance and competitiveness. Financial performance may
be measured in terms of revenue and profit as shown in the data in the appendix of the question in respect of TSC. The
points system in part (a) of the answer shows which depots have achieved or exceeded the target set. In addition,
liquidity is another aspect of the measurement of financial performance. The points total in part (a) showed that
Leonardotown and Michaelangelotown depots appear to have the best current record in aspects of credit control.
15
Competitiveness may be measured in terms of sales growth but also in terms of market share, number of new
customers, etc. In the TSC statistics available in (a) we only have data for the current quarter. This shows that three of
the four depots listed have achieved increased revenue compared to target.
The determinants are the factors which may be seen to contribute to the achievement of the results. Quality, resource
utilisation, flexibility and innovation are cited by Fitzgerald and Moon as examples of factors that should contribute to
the achievement of the results in terms of financial performance and competitiveness. In TSC a main quality issue
appears to be customer care and service delivery. The statistics in the points table in part (a) of the answer show that
the Raphaeltown depot appears to have a major problem in this area. It has only achieved one point out of the six
available in this particular segment of the statistics.
Resource utilisation for TSC may be measured by the level of effective use of drivers and vehicles. To some extent, this
is highlighted by the statistics relating to customer care and service delivery. For example, late collection of consignments
from customers may be caused by a shortage of vehicles and/or drivers. Such shortages could be due to staff turnover,
sickness, etc or problems with vehicle maintenance.
Flexibility may be an issue. There may, for example, be a problem with vehicle availability. Possibly an increased focus
on sources for short-term sub-contracting of vehicles/collections/deliveries might help overcome delay problems.
The ‘target v actual points system’ may be seen as an example of innovation by the company. This gives a detailed set
of measures that should provide an incentive for improvement at all depots. The points system may illustrate the extent
of achievement/non-achievement of company strategies for success. For example TSC may have a customer care
commitment policy which identifies factors that should be achieved on a continuing basis. For example, timely collection
of consignments, misdirected consignments re-delivered at no extra charge, prompt responses to customer claims and
compensation for customers.

正确答案：
(b) Increased information disclosure benefits users by reducing the likelihood that they will misallocate their capital. This is
obviously a direct benefit to individual users of corporate reports. The disclosure reduces the risk of misallocation of capital
by enabling users to improve their assessments of a company’s prospects. This creates three important results.
(i) Users use information disclosed to increase their investment returns and by definition support the most profitable
companies which are likely to be those that contribute most to economic growth. Thus, an important benefit of
information disclosure is that it improves the effectiveness of the investment process.
(ii) The second result lies in the effect on the liquidity of the capital markets. A more liquid market assists the effective
allocation of capital by allowing users to reallocate their capital quickly. The degree of information asymmetry between
the buyer and seller and the degree of uncertainty of the buyer and the seller will affect the liquidity of the market as
lower asymmetry and less uncertainty will increase the number of transactions and make the market more liquid.
Disclosure will affect uncertainty and information asymmetry.
(iii) Information disclosure helps users understand the risk of a prospective investment. Without any information, the user
has no way of assessing a company’s prospects. Information disclosure helps investors predict a company’s prospects.
Getting a better understanding of the true risk could lower the price of capital for the company. It is difficult to prove
however that the average cost of capital is lowered by information disclosure, even though it is logically and practically
impossible to assess a company’s risk without relevant information. Lower capital costs promote investment, which can
stimulate productivity and economic growth.
However although increased information can benefit users, there are problems of understandability and information overload.
Information disclosure provides a degree of protection to users. The benefit is fairness to users and is part of corporate
accountability to society as a whole.
The main costs to the preparer of financial statements are as follows:
(i) the cost of developing and disseminating information,
(ii) the cost of possible litigation attributable to information disclosure,
(iii) the cost of competitive disadvantage attributable to disclosure.
The costs of developing and disseminating the information include those of gathering, creating and auditing the information.
Additional costs to the preparers include training costs, changes to systems (for example on moving to IFRS), and the more
complex and the greater the information provided, the more it will cost the company.
Although litigation costs are known to arise from information disclosure, it does not follow that all information disclosure leads
to litigation costs. Cases can arise from insufficient disclosure and misleading disclosure. Only the latter is normally prompted
by the presentation of information disclosure. Fuller disclosure could lead to lower costs of litigation as the stock market would
have more realistic expectations of the company’s prospects and the discrepancy between the valuation implicit in the market
price and the valuation based on a company’s financial statements would be lower. However, litigation costs do not
necessarily increase with the extent of the disclosure. Increased disclosure could reduce litigation costs.
Disclosure could weaken a company’s ability to generate future cash flows by aiding its competitors. The effect of disclosure
on competitiveness involves benefits as well as costs. Competitive disadvantage could be created if disclosure is made relating
to strategies, plans, (for example, planned product development, new market targeting) or information about operations (for
example, production-cost figures). There is a significant difference between the purpose of disclosure to users and
competitors. The purpose of disclosure to users is to help them to estimate the amount, timing, and certainty of future cash
flows. Competitors are not trying to predict a company’s future cash flows, and information of use in that context is not
necessarily of use in obtaining competitive advantage. Overlap between information designed to meet users’ needs and
information designed to further the purposes of a competitor is often coincidental. Every company that could suffer competitive
disadvantage from disclosure could gain competitive advantage from comparable disclosure by competitors. Published figures
are often aggregated with little use to competitors.
Companies bargain with suppliers and with customers, and information disclosure could give those parties an advantage in
negotiations. In such cases, the advantage would be a cost for the disclosing entity. However, the cost would be offset
whenever information disclosure was presented by both parties, each would receive an advantage and a disadvantage.
There are other criteria to consider such as whether the information to be disclosed is about the company. This is both a
benefit and a cost criterion. Users of corporate reports need company-specific data, and it is typically more costly to obtain
and present information about matters external to the company. Additionally, consideration must be given as to whether the
company is the best source for the information. It could be inefficient for a company to obtain or develop data that other, more
expert parties could develop and present or do develop at present.
There are many benefits to information disclosure and users have unmet information needs. It cannot be known with any
certainty what the optimal disclosure level is for companies. Some companies through voluntary disclosure may have
achieved their optimal level. There are no quantitative measures of how levels of disclosure stand with respect to optimal
levels. Standard setters have to make such estimates as best they can, guided by prudence, and by what evidence of benefits
and costs they can obtain.

正确答案：
(a) Transparency and its importance at WM
Define transparency
Transparency is one of the underlying principles of corporate governance. As such, it is one of the ‘building blocks’ that
underpin a sound system of governance. In particular, transparency is required in the agency relationship. In terms of
definition, transparency means openness (say, of discussions), clarity, lack of withholding of relevant information unless
necessary and a default position of information provision rather than concealment. This is particularly important in financial
reporting, as this is the primary source of information that investors have for making effective investment decisions.
Evaluation of importance of transparency
There are a number of benefits of transparency. For instance, it is part of gaining trust with investors and state authorities
(e.g. tax people). Transparency provides access for investors and other stakeholders to company information thereby dispelling
suspicion and underpinning market confidence in the company through truthful and fair reporting. It also helps to manage
stakeholder claims and reduces the stresses caused by stakeholders (e.g. trade unions) for whom information provision is
important. Reasons for secrecy/confidentiality include the fact that it may be necessary to keep strategy discussions secret
from competitors. Internal issues may be private to individuals, thus justifying confidentiality. Finally, free (secret or
confidential) discussion often has to take place before an agreed position is announced (cabinet government approach).
Reference to case
At Worldwide Minerals, transparency as a principle is needed to deal with the discussion of concealment. Should a discussion
of possible concealment even be taking place? Truthful, accurate and timely reporting underpins investor confidence in all
capital-funded companies including WM. The issue of the overestimation of the mallerite reserve is clearly a matter of concern
to shareholders and so is an example of where a default assumption of transparency would be appropriate.

正确答案：
Part (b):
Barriers to communication include the personal background of the people communicating, including language differences between
staff, management and customers. The use of jargon, especially by professional and technical staff, differences in education levels
can be a substantial barrier throughout the organisation. Communication ‘noise’ is a barrier not always recognised. This is where
the message is confused by extraneous matters not relevant to that particular communication. Different levels of education and
experience can lead to different perception of individuals, leading to conflict within the organisation, between individuals and
between departments. Similarly, another barrier often not recognised is communication overload; too much information being
communicated at one time leading to confusion. Distances involved and the subsequent use of different communication facilities
is a barrier, leading to misunderstandings based on problems noted above. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, distortion of the
information transmitted.