(b) Compare and contrast Gray, Owen and Adams’s ‘pristine capitalist’ position with the ‘social contractarian’
position. Explain how these positions would affect responses to stakeholder concerns in the new stadium
project. (8 marks)
第1题:
4 When a prominent football club, whose shares were listed, announced that it was to build a new stadium on land
near to its old stadium, opinion was divided. Many of the club’s fans thought it a good idea because it would be more
comfortable for them when watching games. A number of problems arose, however, when it was pointed out that the
construction of the new stadium and its car parking would have a number of local implications. The local government
authority said that building the stadium would involve diverting roads and changing local traffic flow, but that it would
grant permission to build the stadium if those issues could be successfully addressed. A number of nearby residents
complained that the new stadium would be too near their homes and that it would destroy the view from their gardens.
Helen Yusri, who spoke on behalf of the local residents, said that the residents would fight the planning application
through legal means if necessary. A nearby local inner-city wildlife reservation centre said that the stadium’s
construction might impact on local water levels and therefore upset the delicate balance of animals and plants in the
wildlife centre. A local school, whose pupils often visited the wildlife centre, joined in the opposition, saying that whilst
the school supported the building of a new stadium in principle, it had concerns about disruption to the wildlife centre.
The football club’s board was alarmed by the opposition to its planned new stadium as it had assumed that it would
be welcomed because the club had always considered itself a part of the local community. The club chairman said
that he wanted to maintain good relations with all local people if possible, but at the same time he owed it to the fans
and the club’s investors to proceed with the building of the new stadium despite local concerns.
Required:
(a) Define ‘stakeholder’ and explain the importance of identifying all the stakeholders in the stadium project.
(10 marks)
第2题:
(b) ‘Strategic positioning’ is about the way that a company as a whole is placed in its environment and concerns its
‘fit’ with the factors in its environment.
With reference to the case as appropriate, explain how a code of ethics can be used as part of a company’s
overall strategic positioning. (7 marks)
第3题:
2 (a) Explain the term ‘backflush accounting’ and the circumstances in which its use would be appropriate.
(6 marks)
第4题:
(b) Explain how the use of SWOT analysis may be of assistance to the management of Diverse Holdings Plc.
(3 marks)
第5题:
(ii) Explain how the existing product range and the actions per Note (3) would feature in Ansoff’s
product-market matrix. (7 marks)
第6题:
(b) Briefly discuss how stakeholder groups (other than management and employees) may be rewarded for ‘good’
performance. (4 marks)
第7题:
(c) Explain how the introduction of an ERPS could impact on the role of management accountants. (5 marks)
第8题:
(ii) Explain the income tax (IT), national insurance (NIC) and capital gains tax (CGT) implications arising on
the grant to and exercise by an employee of an option to buy shares in an unapproved share option
scheme and on the subsequent sale of these shares. State clearly how these would apply in Henry’s
case. (8 marks)
第9题:
(c) Calculate and explain the amount of income tax relief that Gerard will obtain in respect of the pension
contributions he proposes to make in the tax year 2007/08 and contrast this with how his position could be
improved by delaying some of the contributions that he could have made in 2007/08 until 2008/09. You
should include relevant supporting calculations and quantify the additional tax savings arising as a result of
your advice.
You should ignore the proposed changes to the bonus scheme for this part of this question and assume that
Gerard’s income will not change in 2008/09. (12 marks)
第10题:
(ii) Explain how the inclusion of rental income in Coral’s UK income tax computation could affect the
income tax due on her dividend income. (2 marks)
You are not required to prepare calculations for part (b) of this question.
Note: you should assume that the tax rates and allowances for the tax year 2006/07 and for the financial year to
31 March 2007 will continue to apply for the foreseeable future.
第11题:
6 The explosive growth of investing and raising capital in the global markets has put new emphasis on the development
of international accounting, auditing and ethical standards. The International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) has
been at the forefront of the development of the worldwide accountancy profession through its activities in ethics,
auditing and education.
Required:
Explain the developments in each of the following areas and indicate how they affect Chartered Certified
Accountants:
(a) IFAC’s ‘Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants’; (5 marks)
第12题:
To compare and contrast two theories on the origin of the caste system in India
To shed some light on an aspect of Indian society that can be confusing to outsiders
To highlight the social injustices still faced by the Untouchable caste in India today
To discredit the theory that the’Arvan Invasio n, ‘brought an end to the Harappan civilization
To explain to the reader the distinction between the Brahman and Kshatriya castes
第13题:
(c) Mr Cobar, the chief executive of SHC, has decided to draft two alternative statements to explain both possible
outcomes of the secrecy/licensing decision to shareholders. Once the board has decided which one to pursue,
the relevant draft will be included in a voluntary section of the next corporate annual report.
Required:
(i) Draft a statement in the event that the board chooses the secrecy option. It should make a convincing
business case and put forward ethical arguments for the secrecy option. The ethical arguments should
be made from the stockholder (or pristine capitalist) perspective. (8 marks)
(ii) Draft a statement in the event that the board chooses the licensing option. It should make a convincing
business case and put forward ethical arguments for the licensing option. The ethical arguments should
be made from the wider stakeholder perspective. (8 marks)
(iii) Professional marks for the persuasiveness and logical flow of arguments: two marks per statement.
(4 marks)
(c) (i) For the secrecy option
Important developments at SHC
This is an exciting time for the management and shareholders of Swan Hill Company. The research and development
staff at SHC have made a groundbreaking discovery (called the ‘sink method’) that will enable your company to produce
its major product at lower cost, in higher volumes and at a much higher quality than our competitors will be able to
using, as they do, the existing production technology. The sink process also produces at a lower rate of environmental
emissions which, as I’m sure shareholders will agree, is a very welcome development.
When considering the options following the discovery, your board decided that we should press ahead with the
investment needed to transform. the production facilities without offering the use of the technology to competitors under
a licensing arrangement. This means that once the new sink production comes on stream, SHC shareholders can, your
board believes, look forward to a significant strengthening of our competitive position.
The business case for this option is overwhelming. By pushing ahead with the investment needed to implement the sink
method, the possibility exists to gain a substantial competitive advantage over all of SHC’s competitors. It will place SHC
in a near monopolist position in the short term and in a dominant position long term. This will, in turn, give the company
pricing power in the industry and the likelihood of superior profits for many years to come. We would expect SHC to
experience substantial ‘overnight’ growth and the returns from this will reward shareholders’ loyalty and significantly
increase the value of the company. Existing shareholders can reasonably expect a significant increase in the value of
their holdings over the very short term and also over the longer term.
Ethical implications of the secrecy option
In addition to the overwhelming business case, however, there is a strong ethical case for the secrecy option. SHC
recognises that it is the moral purpose of SHC to make profits in order to reward those who have risked their own money
to support it over many years. Whilst some companies pursue costly programmes intended to serve multiple stakeholder
interests, SHC recognises that it is required to comply with the demands of its legal owners, its shareholders, and not
to dilute those demands with other concerns that will reduce shareholder returns. This is an important part of the agency
relationship: the SHC board will always serve the best economic interests of its shareholders: its legal owners. The SHC
board believes that any action taken that renders shareholder returns suboptimal is a threat to shareholder value and an
abuse of the agency position. Your board will always seek to maximise shareholder wealth; hence our decision to pursue
the secrecy option in this case. The secrecy option offers the possibility of optimal shareholder value and because
shareholders invest in SHC to maximise returns, that is the only ethical action for the board to pursue. Happily, this
option will also protect the employees’ welfare in SHC’s hometown of Swan Hill and demonstrate its commitment to the
locality. This, in turn, will help to manage two of the key value-adding resources in the company, its employees and its
reputation. This will help in local recruitment and staff retention in future years.
(ii) For the licensing option
Important developments at SHC
Your board was recently faced with a very difficult business and ethical decision. After the discovery by SHC scientists
of the groundbreaking sink production method, we had a choice of keeping the new production technology secret or
sharing the breakthrough under a licensing arrangement with our competitors. After a lengthy discussion, your board
decided that we should pursue the licensing option and I would like to explain our reasons for this on both business and
ethical grounds.
In terms of the business case for licensing, I would like shareholders to understand that although the secrecy option may
have offered SHC the possibility of an unassailable competitive advantage, in reality, it would have incurred a number
of risks. Because of the speed with which we would have needed to have acted, it would have necessitated a large
increase in our borrowing, bringing about a substantial change in our financial structure. This would, in turn, increase
liquidity pressures and make us more vulnerable to rising interest rates. A second risk with the secrecy option would
involve the security of the sink technology ‘secret’. If the sink process was leaked or discovered by competitors and
subsequently copied, our lack of a legally binding patent would mean we would have no legal way to stop them
proceeding with their own version of the sink process.
As well as avoiding the risks, however, the licensing option offers a number of specific business advantages. The royalties
from the licences granted to competitors are expected to be very large indeed. These will be used over the coming years
to extend our existing competitive advantage in the future. Finally, the ‘improvement sharing’ clause in the licensing
contract will ensure that the sink process will be improved and perfected with several manufacturers using the
technology at the same time. SHC’s sink production may, in consequence, improve at a faster rate than would have
been the case were we to have pursued the secrecy option.
Ethical implications of the licensing option
In addition to the business case, there is also a powerful ethical case for the decision we have taken. As a good,
responsible corporate citizen, Swan Hill Company acknowledges its many stakeholders and recognises the impacts that
a business decision has on others. Your board recognises that in addition to external stakeholders having influence over
our operations, our decisions can also affect others. In this case, we have carefully considered the likelihood that keeping
the new technology a secret from our competitors would radically reshape the industry. The superior environmental
performance of the sink process over existing methods will also mean that when fully adopted, the environmental
emissions of the entire industry will be reduced. SHC is very proud of this contribution to this reduction in overall
environmental impact.
There seems little doubt that the secrecy option would have had far-reaching and unfortunate effects upon our industry
and our competitors. The licensing option will allow competitors, and their employees and shareholders, to survive. It
is a compassionate act on our part and shows mercy to the other competitors in the industry. It recognises the number
of impacts that a business decision has and would be the fairest (and most just) option given the number of people
affected.
第14题:
(c) Explain how absolutist (dogmatic) and relativist (pragmatic) ethical assumptions would affect the outcome
of Anne’s decision. (6 marks)
第15题:
(c) Identify TWO QUALITATIVE benefits that might arise as a consequence of the investment in a new IT system
and explain how you would attempt to assess them. (4 marks)
第16题:
(b) (i) Explain how the use of Ansoff’s product-market matrix might assist the management of Vision plc to
reduce the profit-gap that is forecast to exist at 30 November 2009. (3 marks)
第17题:
(c) Explain the term ‘target costing’ and how it may be applied by GWCC. Briefly discuss any potential
limitations in its application. (8 marks)
第18题:
(b) Explain how growth may be assessed, and critically discuss the advantages and issues that might arise as a
result of a decision by the directors of CSG to pursue the objective of growth. (8 marks)
第19题:
(c) Explain the reasons for the concerns of the government of Happyland with companies such as TMC and
advise the directors of a strategy that might be considered in order to avoid being subject to any forthcoming
legislation concerning the environment. (5 marks)
第20题:
(b) Explain by reference to Hira Ltd’s loss position why it may be beneficial for it not to claim any capital
allowances for the year ending 31 March 2007. Support your explanation with relevant calculations.
(6 marks)
第21题:
(b) (i) Explain, by reference to Coral’s residence, ordinary residence and domicile position, how the rental
income arising in respect of the property in the country of Kalania will be taxed in the UK in the tax year
2007/08. State the strategy that Coral should adopt in order to minimise the total income tax suffered
on the rental income. (7 marks)
第22题:
(b) Calculate the amount of input tax that will be recovered by Vostok Ltd in respect of the new premises in the
year ending 31 March 2009 and explain, using illustrative calculations, how any additional recoverable input
tax will be calculated in future years. (5 marks)
第23题:
5 (a) Compare and contrast the responsibilities of management, and of auditors, in relation to the assessment of
going concern. You should include a description of the procedures used in this assessment where relevant.
(7 marks)