ACCA考试流程是怎样的呢？

1 Bailey’s is a large toy manufacturer based in a traditional industrial region. Established in the 1970s, it has faced many changes in the market and survived. This has been due in part to employing a largely unskilled low paid staff,and maintaining its main advantage, that of low production costs based on low pay. Most of the production involves repetitive and boring work with little challenge and opportunity for innovation. Although many of the employees have

been with the company for some time, there has been a high level of employee turnover.

However, an unhappy atmosphere has been apparent for some time. There has been a number of instances ofarguments between the staff, friction between different departments, disturbance, low morale, poor production and general unrest, made worse recently by a decline in business which may lead to staff reduction and redundancy. Poor pay is leading to family problems that are affecting the commitment and motivation of the employees.

The business was recently sold to the new owner, Rebecca Stonewall. She is concerned that the negative atmosphere she has found will harm the prospects of the business and is determined to address the issues that have become apparent.

She has therefore decided that it is time to take account of opinions and views of the employees in an attempt both to identify the problems and to resolve them. She has appointed external counsellors since she thinks that a programme of individual counselling might be appropriate and is also of the opinion that some form. of different or improved approach to motivation might be the answer to the problems at Bailey’s.

Required:

(a) Define the role that the external counsellor must fulfil at Bailey’s. (3 marks)

2 It was the final day of a two-week-long audit of Van Buren Company, a longstanding client of Fillmore Pierce Auditors.

In the afternoon, Anne Hayes, a recently qualified accountant and member of the audit team, was following an audit

trail on some cash payments when she discovered what she described to the audit partner, Zachary Lincoln, as an

‘irregularity’. A large and material cash payment had been recorded with no recipient named. The corresponding

invoice was handwritten on a scrap of paper and the signature was illegible.

Zachary, the audit partner, was under pressure to finish the audit that afternoon. He advised Anne to seek an

explanation from Frank Monroe, the client’s finance director. Zachary told her that Van Buren was a longstanding client

of Fillmore Pierce and he would be surprised if there was anything unethical or illegal about the payment. He said

that he had personally been involved in the Van Buren audit for the last eight years and that it had always been

without incident. He also said that Frank Monroe was an old friend of his from university days and that he was certain

that he wouldn’t approve anything unethical or illegal. Zachary said that Fillmore Pierce had also done some

consultancy for Van Buren so it was a very important client that he didn’t want Anne to upset with unwelcome and

uncomfortable questioning.

When Anne sought an explanation from Mr Monroe, she was told that nobody could remember what the payment

was for but that she had to recognise that ‘real’ audits were sometimes a bit messy and that not all audit trails would

end as she might like them to. He also reminded her that it was the final day and both he and the audit firm were

under time pressure to conclude business and get the audit signed off.

When Anne told Zachary what Frank had said, Zachary agreed not to get the audit signed off without Anne’s support,

but warned her that she should be very certain that the irregularity was worth delaying the signoff for. It was therefore

now Anne’s decision whether to extend the audit or have it signed off by the end of Friday afternoon.

Required:

(a) Explain why ‘auditor independence’ is necessary in auditor-client relationships and describe THREE threats

to auditor independence in the case. (9 marks)

(d) The managing partner of HLP stated at a recent partners’ meeting that ‘every advisor should aim to ensure that

95% of all hours he/she works are billed to clients. This will ensure that we remain both profitable and

competitive’.

Required:

Discuss the statement of the managing partner, drawing attention to any concerns that you may have

regarding the statement. (6 marks)

3 Local neighbourhood shops are finding it increasingly difficult to compete with supermarkets. However, three years

ago, the Perfect Shopper franchise group was launched that allowed these neighbourhood shops to join the group

and achieve cost savings on tinned and packaged goods, particularly groceries. Perfect Shopper purchases branded

goods in bulk from established food suppliers and stores them in large purpose-built warehouses, each designed to

serve a geographical region. When Perfect Shopper was established it decided that deliveries to these warehouses

should be made by the food suppliers or by haulage contractors working on behalf of these suppliers. Perfect Shopper

places orders with these suppliers and the supplier arranges the delivery to the warehouse. These arrangements are

still in place. Perfect Shopper has no branded goods of its own.

Facilities are available in each warehouse to re-package goods into smaller units, more suitable for the requirements

of the neighbourhood shop. These smaller units, typically containing 50–100 tins or packs, are usually small trays,

sealed with strong transparent polythene. Perfect Shopper delivers these to its neighbourhood shops using specialist

haulage contractors local to the regional warehouse. Perfect Shopper has negotiated significant discounts with

suppliers, part of which it passes on to its franchisees. A recent survey in a national grocery magazine showed that

franchisees saved an average of 10% on the prices they would have paid if they had purchased the products directly

from the manufacturer or from an intermediary – such as cash and carry wholesalers.

As well as offering savings due to bulk buying, Perfect Shopper also provides, as part of its franchise:

(i) Personalised promotional material. This usually covers specific promotions and is distributed locally, either using

specialist leaflet distributors or loosely inserted into local free papers or magazines.

(ii) Specialised signage for the shops to suggest the image of a national chain. The signs include the Perfect Shopper

slogan ‘the nation’s local’.

(iii) Specialist in-store display units for certain goods, again branded with the Perfect Shopper logo.

Perfect Shopper does not provide all of the goods required by a neighbourhood shop. Consequently, it is not an

exclusive franchise. Franchisees agree to purchase specific products through Perfect Shopper, but other goods, such

as vegetables, fruit, stationery and newspapers they source from elsewhere. Deliveries are made every two weeks to

franchisees using a standing order for products agreed between the franchisee and their Perfect Shopper sales

representative at a meeting they hold every three months. Variations to this order can be made by telephone, but only

if the order is increased. Downward variations are not allowed. Franchisees cannot reduce their standing order

requirements until the next meeting with their representative.

Perfect Shopper was initially very successful, but its success has been questioned by a recent independent report that

showed increasing discontent amongst franchisees. The following issues were documented.

(i) The need to continually review prices to compete with supermarkets

(ii) Low brand recognition of Perfect Shopper

(iii) Inflexible ordering and delivery system based around forecasts and restricted ability to vary orders (see above)

As a result of this survey, Perfect Shopper has decided to review its business model. Part of this review is to reexamine

the supply chain, to see if there are opportunities for addressing some of its problems.

Required:

(a) Describe the primary activities of the value chain of Perfect Shopper. (5 marks)