Series: NOV 2021

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a) Bee Ltd manufactures high-quality mobile phones for its local market. Due to less competition, Bee Ltd sales have grown significantly over the past few years and are expected to grow. Bee Ltd is planning to launch a new model, ‘Ohenewa’.

The company has already spent GH¢1 million on Research and Development and will require a further investment of GH¢5.5 million in production equipment. This cost excludes the GH¢1.1 million installation fee. The project has a life span of five years. In the end, the equipment will have a residual value of GH¢0.6 million. Sales and production of Ohenewa over its lifecycle are expected to be:

Year Units
1 6,500
2 7,500
3 8,000
4 7,800
5 7,000

The selling price in Year 1 and Year 2 will be GH¢750 per unit. However, the selling price will be reduced to GH¢600 per unit in Year 3 and will remain at this level for the remainder of the project. The variable cost as a percentage of sales is 55% over the entire product lifecycle. The fixed overhead, including depreciation cost expected to be incurred directly due to increasing the production capacity, is GH¢2 million per annum.

Other information:

  • A cost of capital of 12% per annum is used to evaluate projects of this type.
  • Bee Ltd has a history of accepting similar projects which pay back within three years.
  • Ignore inflation and taxation.

Required:
i) Calculate the Payback Period for the Ohenewa project. (10 marks)
ii) Evaluate the acceptability of the project based on the calculation in i) above. (2 marks)

i) Payback Period Calculation:

Year Net Cash Flow (GH¢) Cumulative Cash Flow (GH¢)
0 (6,600,000) (6,600,000)
1 1,393,750 (5,206,250)
2 1,731,250 (3,475,000)
3 1,360,000 (2,115,000)
4 1,306,000 (809,000)
5 1,690,000 881,000

Payback Period = 4 years + 809,0001,690,000×12\frac{809,000}{1,690,000} \times 12 months = 4 years 5 months
(10 marks)

ii) Evaluation:
The project should be rejected as the payback period of 4 years 5 months is more than the company’s acceptable payback period of three years. (2 marks)

Workings:

  • Annual Depreciation:

Depreciation=6,600,000−600,0005=GH¢1,200,000\text{Depreciation} = \frac{6,600,000 – 600,000}{5} = GH¢1,200,000

  • Net Cash Flows:
    • Year 1: (6,500×GH¢750)×0.45−GH¢800,000=GH¢1,393,750(6,500 \times GH¢750) \times 0.45 – GH¢800,000 = GH¢1,393,750
    • Year 2: (7,500×GH¢750)×0.45−GH¢800,000=GH¢1,731,250(7,500 \times GH¢750) \times 0.45 – GH¢800,000 = GH¢1,731,250
    • Year 3: (8,000×GH¢600)×0.45−GH¢800,000=GH¢1,360,000(8,000 \times GH¢600) \times 0.45 – GH¢800,000 = GH¢1,360,000
    • Year 4: (7,800×GH¢600)×0.45−GH¢800,000=GH¢1,306,000(7,800 \times GH¢600) \times 0.45 – GH¢800,000 = GH¢1,306,000
    • Year 5: (7,000×GH¢600)×0.45+600,000−GH¢800,000=GH¢1,690,000(7,000 \times GH¢600) \times 0.45 + 600,000 – GH¢800,000 = GH¢1,690,000

b) The budgeted Income Statement for Zeedan Company for the year 2020 is presented below.

Description GH¢
Sales revenue 930,000
Cost of sales 558,000
Gross profit 372,000
Total expenses 225,000
Net profit 147,000

Notes:
i) Monthly sales in each quarter are the same. The sales for January are GH¢50,000 and this will remain unchanged up to March when it will increase by GH¢20,000 from April and remain unchanged for the remaining two months in the quarter. Third quarter monthly sales will be GH¢90,000 each while those of the fourth quarter are GH¢100,000 each.
ii) 20% of all sales are on a cash basis, 40% of the monthly sales are paid in the month after sales, and the balance is paid the second month after sales. No bad debt is expected.
iii) The monthly cost of sales represents 60% of the current month’s sales. Inventory is kept at 60% of the following month’s cost of sales. All purchases are paid in full after one month.
iv) Included in the expenses is a depreciation of GH¢87,000. The monthly expenses paid as and when incurred are GH¢10,000. This is fixed in January but increased by 20% effective April.

Required:
Extract the Cash Budget for the second quarter of the year, showing the cash balance for each month in the quarter.

(10 marks)

Cash Budget for the Second Quarter

Description April (GH¢) May (GH¢) June (GH¢)
Receipts
Cash Sales 14,000 14,000 14,000
Debtors 40,000 48,000 56,000
Total Receipts 54,000 62,000 70,000

| Payments | | | |
| Purchases | 37,200 | 42,000 | 42,000 |
| Expenses | 12,000 | 12,000 | 12,000 |
| Total Payments| 49,200 | 54,000 | 54,000 |

| Net Cash Flow (NCF) | 4,800 | 8,000 | 16,000 |
| Bal b/d | 2,000 | 6,800 | 14,800 |
| Bal c/d | 6,800 | 14,800 | 30,800 |

Debtors Collection Schedule

Sales (GH¢) Jan Feb March April May June July
Cash Sales 10,000 10,000 10,000 14,000 14,000 14,000 18,000
Debtors
Jan bal 20,000
Feb 20,000
March 20,000
April 28,000
May 28,000
Total Receipts 54,000 62,000 70,000

Creditors Payment Schedule

Description March (GH¢) April (GH¢) May (GH¢) June (GH¢) July (GH¢)
Cost of Sales 60% 30,000 42,000 42,000 42,000 54,000
Add: Closing Stock 25,200 25,200 25,200 32,400
Total 55,200 67,200 67,200 74,400
Less: Opening Stock 18,000 25,200 25,200 25,200
Purchases 37,200 42,000 42,000 49,200
Payment 37,200 42,000 42,000 49,200

Monthly Expenses Schedule

Description GH¢
Total 225,000
Less: Depreciation 87,000
Net Total 138,000
1st Quarter (10,000 × 3) 30,000
Remaining 108,000
Monthly Expenses (108,000 ÷ 9) 12,000

(10 marks)

a) GG Ltd is into fuel processing and transportation. GG Ltd produces three types of fuel, namely: Petrol, Diesel, and Pre-mix fuel.

The standard time for the production of the fuel types are:

  • Petrol: 50 minutes per metric tonne
  • Diesel: 30 minutes per metric tonne
  • Pre-mix fuel: 45 minutes per metric tonne.

The production budget for August is as follows:

  • Petrol: 42,000 metric tonnes
  • Diesel: 60,000 metric tonnes
  • Pre-mix fuel: 45,000 metric tonnes

The actual data for the month were as follows:

  • Labour: 100,000 hours
  • Production:
    • Petrol: 45,000 metric tonnes
    • Diesel: 50,000 metric tonnes
    • Pre-mix fuel: 40,000 metric tonnes.

Required:
Compute and interpret the following:
i) The efficiency ratio. (3 marks)
ii) The capacity ratio. (3 marks)
iii) The production volume or activity ratio. (4 marks)

i) Efficiency Ratio:
Efficiency ratio is calculated as:

Efficiency Ratio=Standard hours for actual productionActual hours worked×100%\text{Efficiency Ratio} = \frac{\text{Standard hours for actual production}}{\text{Actual hours worked}} \times 100\%

Standard hours for actual production:

  • Petrol: 5060×45,000=37,500 hours\frac{50}{60} \times 45,000 = 37,500 \text{ hours}
  • Diesel: 3060×50,000=25,000 hours\frac{30}{60} \times 50,000 = 25,000 \text{ hours}
  • Pre-mix fuel: 4560×40,000=30,000 hours\frac{45}{60} \times 40,000 = 30,000 \text{ hours}

Total standard hours for actual production = 92,500 hours

Efficiency Ratio = 92,500100,000×100%=92.5%\frac{92,500}{100,000} \times 100\% = 92.5\%

Interpretation:
This ratio indicates that the actual production level was achieved in more time than the standard time set for it. The company operated at 92.5% efficiency, meaning the production was 7.5% below the normal efficiency level. (3 marks)

ii) Capacity Ratio:
Capacity ratio is calculated as:

Capacity Ratio=Actual hours workedBudgeted hours×100%\text{Capacity Ratio} = \frac{\text{Actual hours worked}}{\text{Budgeted hours}} \times 100\%

Budgeted hours:

  • Petrol: 5060×42,000=35,000 hours\frac{50}{60} \times 42,000 = 35,000 \text{ hours}
  • Diesel: 3060×60,000=30,000 hours\frac{30}{60} \times 60,000 = 30,000 \text{ hours}
  • Pre-mix fuel: 4560×45,000=33,750 hours\frac{45}{60} \times 45,000 = 33,750 \text{ hours}

Total budgeted hours = 98,750 hours

Capacity Ratio = 100,00098,750×100%=101.27%\frac{100,000}{98,750} \times 100\% = 101.27\%

Interpretation:
This ratio indicates that the actual hours worked were more than the budgeted hours by 1.27%, or 1,250 hours. (3 marks)

iii) Production Volume or Activity Ratio:
Production volume ratio is calculated as:

Production Volume Ratio=Standard hours for actual productionBudgeted hours×100%\text{Production Volume Ratio} = \frac{\text{Standard hours for actual production}}{\text{Budgeted hours}} \times 100\%

Production Volume Ratio = 92,50098,750×100%=93.7%\frac{92,500}{98,750} \times 100\% = 93.7\%

Interpretation:
This ratio indicates that the actual production level is 6.3% less than the budgeted level of production. (4 marks)

d) Standards are predetermined measurable quantities, set on defined conditions against which actual performance can be compared, usually for an element of work, operation, or activity. Standards are unit concepts that apply to particular products, individual operators, or processes.

Required:
Explain TWO (2) types of standards. (5 marks)

Types of standards:

  1. Ideal (Perfect) Standards:
    Ideal standards, also known as perfect or theoretical standards, are the standards that can be achieved under the most favorable conditions possible. These standards assume no wastage, spoilage, or inefficiencies of any kind. They represent an optimal level of performance but are often unattainable over sustained periods. Ideal standards are set as ultimate goals for the organization to strive towards, but in practice, they are rarely met. (2.5 marks)
  2. Currently Attainable (Expected Actual) Standards:
    Currently attainable standards are those that can be achieved under normal operating conditions. They account for expected wastage, inefficiencies, and other factors that typically occur during production. These standards are challenging but realistic, motivating employees to perform efficiently. Unlike ideal standards, currently attainable standards are more practical and useful for performance evaluation and decision-making. (2.5 marks)

(5 marks)

c) An Accountant is not immune from putting their interest ahead of organizational goals. The tendency to hide serious errors that might affect one’s competence as an Accountant cannot be discounted. This is especially the case when an increase in remuneration is based on performance assessment.

Required:
Explain TWO (2) examples of circumstances that may create self-interest threats in performance management. (5 marks)

Self-interest threats may occur due to the financial or other personal interests of an accountant or their immediate or close family members. Self-interest may tempt an accountant to withhold information that might damage them financially or get them into trouble with their bosses.

Examples of circumstances that may create self-interest threats in performance management include:

  1. Incentive Compensation Arrangements: An accountant’s bonus may depend on improvements in reported efficiencies or profitability, leading them to manipulate figures or hide inefficiencies to secure their remuneration.
  2. Inappropriate Personal Use of Company Assets: An accountant may misuse company resources for personal gain, such as using company funds for personal expenses, especially when they believe it won’t be detected.
    (5 marks)

b) Technology is what moves the wheel of competition. For example, banks have moved away from the cumbersome processes of cash deposits and withdrawals over the years. In fact, with some banks, customers can transact business in the comfort of their homes through internet banking. This is an aspect of Business Process Re-engineering (BPR).

Required:
State FOUR (4) challenges to be faced when developing BPR. (4 marks)

Challenges to be faced in developing BPR:

  1. Radical Change May Be Too Expensive: Implementing BPR often involves significant financial investment, which can be prohibitive for many organizations.
  2. Radical Change May Be Too Risky: The uncertainty associated with BPR can pose a risk to the stability of the organization, potentially leading to failure.
  3. Overemphasis on Technology: Focusing too heavily on technology can lead to neglecting other important aspects, such as human resources and organizational culture.
  4. Focus on Cost Reduction: BPR may prioritize cost reduction over other critical factors, such as quality and customer satisfaction, which can negatively impact the overall success of the process.
    (4 marks)

a) It is a fact that human beings are unique individuals, yet some look up to successful people as mentors, and there is nothing wrong with that. It is believed that it is not necessary to reinvent the wheel in everything we want to do. Where others have done it well, we can follow their steps.

In business, there are several areas where one company can benchmark successful ones to remain competitive. Successful organizations always seek to follow best practices to enhance their operations and meet customers’ satisfaction.

Required:
i) Explain product benchmarking. (2 marks)
ii) Explain process benchmarking. (2 marks)
iii) State TWO (2) difficulties that may be faced when embarking on Competitive Benchmarking. (2 marks)

i) Product Benchmarking:
Product benchmarking involves comparing a company’s product with those of other companies producing similar products. The focus is on aspects such as cost, functionality, quality, and design. By evaluating these factors, companies can identify areas for improvement in their products to remain competitive in the market. (2 marks)

ii) Process Benchmarking:
Process benchmarking compares the performance of a specific activity or process within one company with the performance of the same or similar process in another company, often in a different industry. It is used to analyze operating systems and identify best practices. This type of benchmarking typically involves companies that agree to share information with one another. (2 marks)

iii) Difficulties of Competitive Benchmarking:

  1. Lack of Access to Information: Companies may find it difficult to obtain detailed and accurate information about competitors’ processes, making benchmarking challenging.
  2. High Cost: The process of benchmarking, including research, data collection, and analysis, can be expensive, particularly when dealing with competitors who are not willing to share information.
    (2 marks)

Lamiokor and Zenator are two divisions of Tsorkor group. Lamiokor division manufactures an intermediate product known as component A which has no external market. Zenator division incorporates this intermediate product, component A, into a final product that it sells to external customers. One unit of component A is used in the production of one unit of the final product. Lamiokor has quoted a transfer price of GH¢45 for each unit of component A.

The details of monthly production costs for each division are as follows:

Lamiokor Division:

  • Variable cost: GH¢15 per Component A
  • Product Specific Fixed Cost: GH¢50,000 (Incurred only by Lamiokor division and specifically for the production of Component A)

Zenator Division:

  • Variable cost: GH¢9 per unit
  • Product Specific Fixed Cost: GH¢75,000 (Cost incurred only by Zenator when converting component A to the final product)

The relationship between monthly external customer demand and selling price of the final product is as follows:

Month Demand (Units) Selling price per Unit (GH¢)
1 1,000 120
2 3,000 100
3 4,000 90
4 5,000 80
5 6,000 67

Required:
a) Explain FOUR (4) objectives of transfer pricing.

(4 marks)

b) Based on a transfer price of GH¢45 per component A, prepare the monthly profit statement for:
i) Lamiokor Division (6 marks)
ii) Zenator Division (6 marks)
iii) Tsorkor Group (4 marks)

 

a) The main objectives of a transfer pricing system:

  • To achieve goal congruence. The transfer prices should be such that actions that will increase a division’s reported profit will also have the effect of increasing the company’s reported profit. This maximizes the likelihood that the division managers will act in the company’s best interests.
  • To ensure that divisional autonomy is maintained. In principle, a company’s top management could simply issue precise instructions to divisions as to what goods to transfer to each other, in what quantities, and at what prices. However, most organizations prefer allowing divisional autonomy to harness the benefits it offers.
  • To ensure that the information provided (e.g., division Profit & Loss Accounts) is useful for evaluating the economic performance of divisions and the managerial performance of division managers.
  • Minimizing global tax liability. Companies can use transfer pricing to transfer profits and costs to other divisions internally to reduce their tax burden.

b)
i) Lamiokor Division:

Month Demand (Units) Transfer Price (GH¢) Variable Cost (GH¢) Contribution/Unit (GH¢) Total Contribution (GH¢) Fixed Cost (GH¢) Profit/Loss (GH¢)
1 1,000 45 15 30 30,000 50,000 (20,000)
2 3,000 45 15 30 90,000 50,000 40,000
3 4,000 45 15 30 120,000 50,000 70,000
4 5,000 45 15 30 150,000 50,000 100,000
5 6,000 45 15 30 180,000 50,000 130,000

ii) Zenator Division:

Month Demand (Units) Selling Price (GH¢) Variable Cost (GH¢) Transfer Price (GH¢) Contribution/Unit (GH¢) Total Contribution (GH¢) Fixed Cost (GH¢) Profit/Loss (GH¢)
1 1,000 120 9 45 66 66,000 75,000 (9,000)
2 3,000 100 9 45 46 138,000 75,000 63,000
3 4,000 90 9 45 36 144,000 75,000 69,000
4 5,000 80 9 45 26 130,000 75,000 55,000
5 6,000 67 9 45 13 78,000 75,000 3,000

iii) Tsorkor Group:

Month Demand (Units) Selling Price (GH¢) Variable Cost (GH¢) Contribution/Unit (GH¢) Total Contribution (GH¢) Fixed Cost (GH¢) Profit/Loss (GH¢)
1 1,000 120 24 96 96,000 125,000 (29,000)
2 3,000 100 24 76 228,000 125,000 103,000
3 4,000 90 24 66 264,000 125,000 139,000
4 5,000 80 24 56 280,000 125,000 155,000
5 6,000 67 24 43 258,000 125,000 133,000

Alternatively:
Adding the profits from both divisions:

Month Lamiokor Profit/Loss (GH¢) Zenator Profit/Loss (GH¢) Group Profit/Loss (GH¢)
1 (20,000) (9,000) (29,000)
2 40,000 63,000 103,000
3 70,000 69,000 139,000
4 100,000 55,000 155,000
5 130,000 3,000 133,000

Business promotion is meant to raise the customer’s awareness of the existence of a product or service. To achieve this objective, organisations employ different media to promote their business. Kofi Kodua wants your advice on promotion strategy because he is about to launch a new product called “One Corner”, used as a detergent.

Required:

Advise Kofi Kodua on TWO (2) effective promotion tools to raise customers’ consciousness about the new product. (5 marks)

Advertising
Advertising is defined as any form of paid communication or promotion for a product, service or idea. Advertisement is not only used by companies but in many cases by the museum, government and charitable organisations. However, the treatment meted out to advertising defers from an organisation to an organisation. Advertising development involves a decision across five M’s (Mission, Money, Message, Media and Measurement).

Mission looks at setting objectives for advertising. The objectives could be to inform, persuade, remind or reinforce. The objective has to follow the marketing strategy set by the company.

Money or budget decision for advertising should look at the stage of the product life cycle, market share and consumer base, competition, advertising frequency and product substitutability.

Message development is divided into four steps; message generation, message evaluation and selection, message execution, and social responsibility review.

Once the message is decided, the next step is finalising the media for delivering the message. The choice depends on the reach of media frequency of transmission and potential impact on the customer. This choice of media types is made from newspaper, television, direct mail, radio, magazine, and the internet. After which timing of the broadcast of the message is essential to grab the target audience’s attention.

Checking on the effectiveness of communication is essential to a company’s strategy. There are two types of research communication effect research and sales effect research.

Sales Promotion
Promotion is an incentive tool used to drive up short-term sales. Promotion can be launched directed at consumers or trade. The focus of advertising is to create a reason for purchase. The focus of promotion is to create an incentive to buy. Consumer incentives could be samples, coupons, free trial and demonstration. Trade incentive could be price off, free goods and allowances. Sales force incentive could be convention, trade shows, competition among salespeople.

Sales promotion activity can have many objectives, such as grabbing the attention of new customers, rewarding the existing customer, and increasing the consumption of occasional users. However, sales promotion is usually targeted at the fence sitters and brand switchers.

Sales promotional activity for the product is selected looking at the overall marketing objective of the company. The final selection of the consumer promotional tools needs to consider the target audience, budget, competitive response and each tool’s purpose. Sales promotion activity should undergo pretest before implementation. Once the activity is launched, it should be controlled as to remain within the budget. An evaluation program is a must after the implementation of the promotional scheme.

Public Relations
Companies cannot survive in isolation. They need to interact with customers, employees and different stakeholders constantly. The public relation office does this servicing of relation. The primary function of the public relations office is to handle press releases, support product publicity, create and maintain the corporate image, handle matters with lawmakers, guide management with respect to public issues.

Companies are looking at ways to converge with functions of marketing and public relation in marketing public relation. The direct responsibility of marketing public relation (MPR) is to support corporate and product branding activities. MPR is an efficient tool in building awareness by generating stories in media. Once the story is in circulation, MPR can establish credibility and create a sense of enigma among salespeople and dealers to boost enthusiasm. MPR is a much more cost-effective tool than other promotional activities.

Direct Marketing
The communication established through a direct channel without using any intermediaries is referred to as direct marketing. Direct marketing can be used to deliver a message or service. Direct marketing has shown tremendous growth in recent years. The internet has played a major part in this growth story. Direct marketing saves time, makes an experience personal and pleasant. Direct marketing reduces costs for companies. Face-to-face selling, direct mail, catalogue marketing, telemarketing, TV and kiosks are media for direct marketing.

Advertisement, Promotional activity, Public relation and direct marketing play an essential role in helping companies reach their marketing goals.

(Total: 5 marks)

Organisational knowledge is the sum of all knowledge contained within an organisation that can provide business value. Organisational knowledge is composed of explicit knowledge and tacit knowledge.

Required:
Differentiate between explicit knowledge and tacit knowledge. (5 marks)

Explicit Knowledge:
Explicit knowledge refers to knowledge that is formalized, documented, and easily transferable across individuals and departments within an organization. It is the type of knowledge that can be written down and stored in databases, manuals, documents, or other formats that make it easily accessible and shareable among employees. Examples of explicit knowledge include company policies, standard operating procedures (SOPs), technical manuals, financial reports, and databases of customer information. This type of knowledge is often structured and organized in a way that allows it to be retrieved and used by others who need it. Because explicit knowledge is codified, it is easier to transmit across time and space, making it highly valuable in large organizations where information needs to be consistent and easily accessible.

Tacit Knowledge:
Tacit knowledge, on the other hand, is the knowledge that is personal, context-specific, and often difficult to formalize or communicate. This type of knowledge is rooted in individual experience, intuition, insights, and the skills that are often developed over time through personal involvement in specific tasks or activities. Unlike explicit knowledge, tacit knowledge is not easily articulated or shared because it is deeply ingrained in an individual’s actions, behaviors, and perceptions. For example, a seasoned employee might have a deep understanding of how to manage complex customer relationships or troubleshoot a specific piece of equipment, but this knowledge is based on years of hands-on experience and is not easily documented or transferred to others. Sharing tacit knowledge typically requires close interaction, mentoring, or apprenticeship, where the less experienced learn through observation and practice rather than through written or verbal instructions.

(2 detailed explanations @ 2.5 marks each = 5 marks)