UNIVERSITY OF EAST ANGLIA School of Business Studies May/June PG Examination 2015-16 ACCOUNTING AND FINANCIAL ANALYSIS NBS-M056 Time allowed: 2 hours Answer ALL questions in Section A and TWO questions from Section B. Section A carries a weight of 40%; Section B carries a weight of 60% Notes are not permitted in this examination. Do not turn over until you are told to do so by the Invigilator. NBS-M056 Module Contact: P Ellington, NBS Copyright of the University of East Anglia Version 1
Page 2 SECTION A (Weight 40%): Multi Choice Answer all questions. Question 1 Which ONE of the following is not normally considered the right of an ordinary shareholder? A. Voting rights at meetings. B. An involvement in the day-to-day running of the company. C. An interest in the profits earned by the company. D. An interest in the net assets of the company. Questions 2 Which ONE of the following statements is correct? A. Preference shareholders and ordinary shareholders are normally granted equal voting rights. B. Reserves cannot be turned into share capital. C. The loan notes of a public limited company may be traded on the London Stock Exchange. D. The normal value of shares, once issued, cannot be altered. Question 3 Which ONE of the following terms describes the situation where reserves are turned into shares that are then given to shareholders? A. Reserve issue B. Capital issue C. Debenture issue D. Bonus issue
Page 3 Question 4 Which of the following is not normally found in the total equity section of a company s statement of financial position? A. Retained earnings B. Share premium C. Dividends payable to the ordinary shareholders D. Ordinary share capital Question 5 Who is legally obliged to keep accounting records on behalf of a limited company? A. The directors B. The finance director C. The auditors D. The shareholders Question 6 Which ONE of the following features of cash equivalents is incorrect? A. Highly liquid B. Subject to insignificant risks of changes in value C. Held for meeting short-term commitments D. Held for long-term investment purposes
Page 4 Question 7 Which ONE of the following is a correct statement? A. Expenditure on non-current assets will cause a positive cash flow B. An increase in trade receivables will cause a positive cash flow C. An increase in inventories will cause a positive cash flow D. An increase in trade payables will cause a positive cash flow Question 8 Financing activities in a statement of cash flows refers to: A. Changes in long-term funding B. Changes in short-term funding C. Changes in long-term and short-term funding D. Changes in cash and cash equivalents Question 9 For the most recent year, Cassius plc. experienced a significant rise in its administration expenses compared to previous years. A trend analysis of key ratios helped to reveal this rise. Which ONE of the following key ratios would have been most useful in revealing this rise? A. Sales revenue to capital employed B. Acid-test ratio C. Operating profit margin D. Gearing ratio
Page 5 Question 10 The interest cover ratio is within which ONE of the following groups of ratios? A. Liquidity B. Gearing C. Profitability D. Efficiency Question 11 The return on capital employed ratio is calculated according to which ONE of the following formulae? A. Profit for the year divided by total equity plus non-current liabilities (as a percentage) B. Operating profit divided by total equity plus non-current liabilities (as a percentage) C. Operating profit divided by total equity (as a percentage) D. Profit for the year divided by total equity (as a percentage) Question 12 The acid test ratio is normally defined as current assets (excluding inventories) divided by which ONE of the following? A. Working capital B. Current liabilities C. Non-current liabilities D. Non-current assets
Page 6 Question 13 An inventor of a product is paid 20p every time a product is sold. Such a cost would be classified as a: A. Opportunity cost B. Semi-variable cot C. Variable cost D. Fixed cost Question 14 Which ONE of the following best describes a variable cost? A. One that is constant per unit of output, irrespective of the level of output B. One that is affected by the time period C. One that does not change proportionately with output D. One that is affected by the general level of inflation Question 15 Which ONE of the following would increase the break-even output level? A. Lower output level B. Lower fixed costs C. Higher production costs per unit of output D. Higher selling prices for each unit sold
Page 7 Question 16 The rent paid for a factory would be described as which ONE of the following when assessing the cost of products made in the factory? A. A direct cost B. A relevant cost C. An indirect cost D. An opportunity cost Question 17 Activity-based costing (ABC) seeks to identify which one of the following? A. Expense drivers B. Value drivers C. Activity drivers D. Cost drivers Question 18 The aspect of the business that prevents the business from achieving its objectives to the maximum extent is known as the factor. A. Limited B. Constraining C. Main D. Key
Page 8 Question 19 Which ONE of the following describes a variance that represents a profit shortfall? A. Loss B. Adverse C. Negative D. Unplanned Question 20 Ordinary shares represent the capital of a business. A. Fixed B. Working C. Variable D. Risk
Page 9 SECTION B (Weight 60%): Answer TWO out of three questions in this section Question 21 Spongebob Limited, a printing business has received an enquiry from a potential customer for the quotation of a price for a job. The pricing policy of the business is based on the plans for the next financial year shown below. Sales revenue (invoices to customers) 196,000 Less costs Materials (direct) 38,000 Labour (direct) 32,000 Variable overheads 2,400 Advertising (for business) 3,000 Depreciation 27,600 Administration 36,000 Interest 8,000 Total costs 147,000 Profit (before taxation) 49,000 A first estimate of the direct costs for the particular job is: Direct material: 4,000 Direct labour: 3,600 Required: (a) Prepare a recommended price for the job based on the above plans using direct labour to absorb overheads and allocate profits. (8 marks)
Page 10 (b) Comment on the validity of the pricing process used in (a) and explain two alternative methods of pricing that the company might apply instead. (8 marks) (c) Using examples to illustrate your answer explain how overhead costs might be allocated to this job using an activity based costing system. (7 marks) (d) Discuss the potential advantages of using an activity based costing system to allocate overhead costs to the job compared to the traditional systems applied in (a). (7 marks) (Total 30 marks) Question 3 Financial Statements and Financial Accounting Question 3: Part 1 The owner of a business is confused and comes to you for advice. The financial statements for the business, prepared by an accountant, for the last reporting period revealed an operating profit of 50,000. However, during the reporting period the bank balance declined by 30,000. Required: a) Discuss how the statement of cash flows could be used explain the difference between operating profit and movement in bank balances. b) Highlight the possible reasons for the difference between operating profit and the decline in the bank balance. Question 3: Part 2 (15 marks) A manufacturing company purchased an item of equipment on 1 January 2013, costing 400,000. The company s depreciation policy for this type of asset is 25% on a reducing balance basis. The company s financial year runs from 1 January to 31 December. On 31 December 2015 the asset was disposed of for 120,000. Required:
Page 11 c) What would the net book value of this asset be in the accounts on 31 December 2014? d) What would be the depreciation charge for the year 2015? e) Explain the adjustments that would be made in the accounts on sale of the assets on 31 December 2015. f) Discuss the purpose of depreciation and the effect of depreciation on the Operating Statement and Balance Sheet? (15 marks) (Total 30 marks) Question 23 Abra plc and Dabra plc operate electrical stores throughout the UK. The financial statements of each business for the year ended 31 March 2016 are as follows: Statement of financial position as at 31 March 2016. ASSETS Abra plc m Dabra plc m Fixed assets Land and buildings 360.0 510.0 Fixtures and fittings 87.0 91.2 447.0 601.2 Current assets Inventories 592.0 403.0 Trade receivables 176.4 321.9 Cash at Bank 84.6 93.6 853.0 818.5 Total assets 1300.0 1419.7 EQUITY AND LIABILITIES Equity 1 Ordinary shares 320.0 250.0 Retained earnings 367.6 626.6 687.6 876.6 Long term loans 190.0 250.0 Current liabilities
Page 12 Trade payables 406.4 275.7 Taxation 16.0 17.4 422.4 293.1 Total equity and liabilities 1300.0 1419.7 Income statement for the year ended 31 March 2016 Abra plc m Dabra plc m Revenue 1478.1 1790.4 Cost of sales 1018.3 1214.9 Gross profit 459.8 575.5 Operating expenses 308.5 408.6 Operating profit 151.3 166.9 Interest payable 19.4 27.5 Profit before taxation 131.9 139.4 Taxation 32.0 34.8 Profit for year 99.9 104.6 All purchases and sales were on credit. Abra plc had announced its intention to pay a dividend of 135 million and Dabra plc 95 million in respect of the year. The market values of the shares in Abra plc and Dabra plc at the end of the year were 6.50 and 8.20 respectively. Required a) For each business, calculate the following ratios: Return on ordinary shareholders funds Operating profit margin Acid test Earnings per share PE ratio (15 marks) b) Using ratios that you have calculated in (a) compare and contrast the two organisations, from a potential investors viewpoint. (15 marks) (Total 30 marks) END OF PAPER