（财会考证）ACCACAT考试P3商务分析主观题练习

1、ACCACAT考试P3商务分析主观题练习1、3 Joe Lawson is founder and Managing Director of Lawson Engineering, a medium sized, privately owned familybusiness specialising in the design and manufacture of precision engineering products. Its customers are majorindustrial customers in the aerospace, automotive and chemica

2、l industries, many of which are globally recognisedcompanies. Lawson prides itself on the long-term relationships it has built up with these high profile customers. Thestrength of these relationships is built on Lawsons worldwide reputation for engineering excellence, which hastangible recognition i

3、n its gaining prestigious international awards for product and process innovation and qualityperformance. Lawson Engineering is a company name well known in its chosen international markets. Its reputationhas been enhanced by the awarding of a significant number of worldwide patents for the highly i

4、nnovative productsit has designed. This in turn reflects the commitment to recruiting highly skilled engineers, facilitating positive staffdevelopment and investing in significant research and development.Its products command premium prices and are key to the superior performance of its customers pr

5、oducts. LawsonEngineering has also established long-term relationships with its main suppliers, particularly those making the exoticmaterials built into their advanced products. Such relationships are crucial in research and development projects,some of which take a number of years to come to fruiti

6、on. Joe Lawson epitomises the can do philosophy of thecompany, always willing to take on the complex engineering challenges presented by his demanding customers.Lawson Engineering now faces problems caused by its own success. Its current location, premises and facilities areinadequate to allow the c

7、ontinued growth of the company. Joe is faced with the need to fund a new, expensive,purpose-built facility on a new industrial estate. Although successful against a number of performance criteria, LawsonEngineerings performance against traditional financial measures has been relatively modest and un

8、likely to impressthe financial backers Joe wants to provide the necessary long-term capital.Joe has become aware of the increasing attention paid to the intangible resources of a firm in a business. Heunderstands that you, as a strategy consultant, can advise him on the best way to show that his bus

9、iness should bejudged on the complete range of assets it possesses.Required:(a) Using models where appropriate, provide Joe with a resource analysis showing why the companys intangibleresources and related capabilities should be taken into account when assessing Lawson Engineerings casefor financial

10、 support. (12 marks)2、The country of Westoria has a well-respected public health service funded primarily through general taxation. The Westoria Public Health Authority (WPHA) is responsible for delivering this health service through a network of hospitals in Westoria.WPHA is under increasing pressu

11、re to demonstrate to taxpayers that it is using public finances wisely and so it wishes to accurately monitor and control health service expenditure. However, it is proving difficult to confidently track the budgeted and actual finances of individual hospitals, as each is operating its own form. of

12、budgeting and cash management. Consequently, WPHA has decided to introduce a single computer-based system which will allow all hospitals to enter and manage financial information in a standard way. This system will be part of an authority-wide enterprise resource planning system (ERPS) which will al

13、low WPHA to monitor and control the finances of the entire authority. Currently, the input and consolidation of WPHA information is a time-consuming process, importing data from individual hospitals into a series of spreadsheets to provide total figures for the authority as a whole.At a recent WPHA

14、board meeting, the head of the authority suggested that the scope of the ERPS should be widened to incorporate other elements of operational and management information. She pointed out that some previous commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) software solutions which the authority selected and implemented

15、had not worked well. She gave two specific examples: The payroll system does not support payment increments for non-standard working, such as overtime rates. To allow this, payroll staff currently have to change the employees standard hourly rate for the time period in question and then change it ba

16、ck again. This is time-consuming and payment errors have been made when payroll staff have forgotten to change the rate back again. The human resource management system does not support the temporary transfer of staff between hospital departments. To compensate for this, human resource staff have to

17、 action a permanent move for a short time period and then action a reverse move at the end of that period.She therefore felt that the introduction of the ERPS would be an opportunity to address outstanding problems and to improve and standardise the systems in use.The board agreed the ERPS should, a

18、s a minimum, also include payroll and human resource management modules within the overall product. However, given budget limitations, the board decided that a commercial off-the-shelf ERPS solution should be selected and implemented. They all agreed that this would be a cheaper solution than a besp

19、oke system and would be well suited to their needs, as it should fulfil the standard requirements they envisaged. Furthermore, it had always been the policy of WPHA not to employ internal IT system developers. Currently, the IT support team consists of one operational member of staff at each hospita

20、l and a central team of ten staff who assist in addressing major IT problems encountered at any of the hospitals. The IT support team has also produced ways to bypass issues with previously implemented COTS package solutions.This lack of internal IT resource, and the recognition that previous COTS i

21、mplementations had been less successful than predicted, has prompted WPHA to seek the advice of an external software systems consultant.The consultant has suggested that the evaluation and implementation of the ERPS package should follow a four-stage process: Evaluate whether a COTS solution is an a

22、ppropriate approach Define the requirements for the new software Evaluate competing packages Implement the selected packageHowever, the head of the authority believes that the external consultant is being over-cautious in his advice and approach and that the first two stages are not needed. In her w

23、ords: We know that a COTS solution is the right approach for us as we have little alternative, so why spend time doing the first step? We also know that weve been pretty poor at defining what we want in the past; so why not recognise our deficiencies and go straight to stage three and look at compet

24、ing packages to see which products provide the best features?The HR director, who has experienced the problems of the human resource and payroll systems at first hand, disagrees. He feels that the consultants four-stage process is insufficient. He believes that, it is important that we consider all

25、four elements of the POPIT (four view) model, which provides four key areas to be considered when a process is to change. These four key areas are people, organisation, processes and information technology. Only the last of these will be considered in the consultants four-stage process. If we ignore

26、 the remaining three areas we are in danger of another failed software project, which is likely to further upset taxpayers and, perhaps, threaten the future of the authority itself.Required:(a) The external consultant suggested a four-stage process for the evaluation and implementation of the propos

27、ed commercial off-the-shelf ERPS package.Discuss the four-stage process for the evaluation and implementation of a software package, and the significance of each stage in the context of the previous and proposed COTS solutions at WPHA. (16 marks)(b) The HR director has suggested that all elements of

28、 the POPIT model should be considered.Explain, in the context of WPHA, the need for considering the people, the organisation and the processes involved when carrying out a business change project. (9 marks)3、(b) Analyse how effective project management could have further improved both the process an

29、d the outcomesof the website re-design project. (10 marks)4、Section A This ONE question is compulsory and MUST be attemptedThe following information should be used when answering question 1.IntroductionArcadia is a country with great mineral wealth and a hard-working, well-educated population. It ha

30、s recently enjoyed sustained economic growth generated by the expansion of its manufacturing industry. The population has grown as well and, as a result, agricultural output has increased to satisfy this population, with much previously marginal land converted to arable and pasture land. However, af

31、ter 10 years of sustained economic growth the country, in 2009, began to experience economic problems. Gross Domestic Product (GDP) has declined for three successive quarters and there is increasing unemployment. Surveys have shown that wages are stagnant and retail sales are falling. There are also

32、 increasing problems with servicing both personal and business debt leading to business bankruptcy and homelessness.The formation of WETIn 2002, the environmental campaigner Zohail Abbas published a book on the Wetlands of Arcadia. The Wetlands of Arcadia are areas of natural habitat made up of land

33、 that is saturated with moisture, such as a swamp, marsh or bog. Dr Abbas book chronicled the systematic destruction of the wetlands due to population growth, increased economic development and climate change. Water had been progressively drained from the wetlands to provide land for farming and to

34、provide water for the increasing population and industry of the country. Wetlands also provide an important habitat for wildlife. Dr Abbas showed that in the period from 1970 to 2000, there had been a dramatic decline in birds, mammals and fi sh dependent upon the wetland habitat. Some species had b

35、ecome extinct.In 2003, Dr Abbas formed the WEtland Trust (WET), with the aim of preserving, restoring and managing wetlands in Arcadia. Since its formation, the Trust has acquired the four remaining wetland sites left in the country. The Trusts work is funded through donations and membership fees. D

36、onations are one-off contributions. Membership is through an annual subscription which gives members the right to visit the wetlands. Each wetland site is managed by volunteers who provide access and guidance to members. The wetlands are not currently open to the general public. Dr Abbas work on the

37、 wetlands has brought him to the attention of the Arcadian public and he is now a popular television presenter. WET is also a strong brand, recognised by 85% of Arcadians in a recent green consumer survey.GiftHelpWET is a registered charity. Charities within Arcadia have to be registered with the Co

38、mmission of Charities which regulates charities within the country. The number of charities has increased signifi cantly in the last few years leading to widespread criticism from established charities, politicians and the public, who believe that many of these charities have been formed to exploit

39、taxation advantages. Dr Abbas is a vociferous critic, particularly after the Commission of Charities gave permission for the establishment of a rival wetland charity (WWTFT) despite the fact that all wetlands in Arcadia are under WETs control. WWTFT promised to create new wetlands artifi cially in A

40、rcadia. They have so far only raised $90,000 of the $151,000,000 required for a pilot site. Dr Abbas was part of a group that lobbied the government for the reform. of the Commission of Charities, but the government has rejected their advice.The government of Arcadia has recently changed the rules o

41、n charity taxation. Previously, once the charitys accounts had been audited, the government paid the charity a sum of 20% of the total value of donations and membership fees. This refl ected the income tax the donor would have paid on the amount they had given to the charity. However, the government

42、 has now declared that this is unfair as not all donations or membership fees are from Arcadian taxpayers or from people in Arcadia who actually pay tax. Consequently, in the future, charities will have to prove that a donation or membership fee was from an Arcadian tax payer. Only donations or fees

43、 supported by this proof will receive the 20%, so called GiftHelp, refund. Research and evidence from other countries suggests that 30% of donors will not give the GiftHelp details required and so the charity will not be able to reclaim tax from these donors. An analysis of WETs income for 2008 is g

44、iven in Figure 1 and an analysis of income for all charities is given in Figure 2. Research has also shown that 55% of members and 85% of donors also give money to other charities. WET 20032009WET was originally a vehicle for promoting the vision and ideology of Dr Abbas. Volunteers were recruited t

45、o manage and administer the wetland sites and the number of members gradually increased (see Figure 3). Many of these volunteers have become acknowledged experts in wetlands and their knowledge and experience is valued by members. However, as the charity expanded a number of issues emerged.1. Admini

46、strative costs rose at a faster rate than subscriptions and donations. Administrative staff are all full-time paid employees of the charity. However, despite an increase in staff numbers, there is a substantial backlog of cleared applications in the Membership Department which have not yet been ente

47、red into the membership computer system. The membership computer system is one of the systems used to support administration. However, the functionality of this software is relatively restricted and cumbersome and there have been complaints about its accuracy. For example, members claim that renewal

48、 reminders are often sent out to people who have already paid and that members who should have received renewal invoices have never received them. As a result we seem to be wasting money and losing members.2. Members have become increasingly frustrated by their limited access to the wetlands and man

49、y wish to participate more in determining the policies of the organisation. They feel that the wetland sites should also have better facilities, such as toilets and concealed positions for bird watching. There were increasing criticisms of Dr Abbas domineering style. and cavalier disregard for the m

50、embers. Membership is currently falling and very little money is spent on sales and marketing to arrest this fall.3. Volunteers have also become disgruntled with Dr Abbas management style. They feel patronised and undervalued. The number of volunteers is declining (see Figure 3) which in itself is r

51、educing the access of members to the wetlands. A recent decision not to pay travelling expenses to volunteers led to further resignations.At the 2009 Annual General Meeting (AGM) Dr Abbas stood down and announced the appointment of a new Chief Executive Offi cer (CEO). Dr Abbas admitted in an emotio

52、nal resignation speech that he had not suffi ciently taken into account the views of members, donors or volunteers. It is a matter of deep regret that I spent more time focusing on wetlands rather than people. He was made honorary president of WET in recognition of his work in establishing and expan

53、ding the charity.The new CEO, Sheila Jenkins, wishes to pursue a more inclusive strategy, and immediately set about consulting the membership and voluntary staff about what they expected from WET. The two clearest messages that came from this consultation exercise were that: Members wanted much bett

54、er access to wetlands and they were more interested in the wildlife that used the wetlands (particularly the birds) than the wetlands sites themselves. This was not a view shared by Dr Abbas who wanted the wetlands preserved for their own sake. Volunteers wished to be much more involved in the runni

55、ng of the organisation and wanted to be treated by management in a way that recognised their voluntary commitment.System reviewSheila Jenkins is particularly keen to improve the technology that supports WET. She has stated that the better acquisition and management of members, volunteers and donors

56、is an important objective of WET. WETs current website is very rudimentary, but she sees e-mail and website technology as facilitating the acquisition, retention and satisfaction of our customers needs. And by customers, I mean both prospective and existing members, volunteers and donors of WET. She

57、 also wishes to gain increased revenue from each member and donor.The current membership renewal process has come under instant review and it is shown in the swim lane diagram (fl owchart) of Figure 4. A narrative to support this diagram is given below.Membership renewal processOne month before the

58、date of membership renewal, the computer system (Membership System) sends a renewal invoice to a current (not lapsed) member giving subscription details and asking for payment. A copy of this invoice is sent to the Membership Department who fi le it away. Approximately 80% of members decide to renew

59、 and send their payment (either by providing credit card details (60%) or as a cheque (40%) to WET. The Membership Department matches the payment with the renewal invoice copy. The invoice copy (stamped paid) is sent to Sales and Marketing who use it to produce a membership card and send this card t

60、ogether with a Guide to Sites booklet, to the member. The Membership Department passes the payment to the Finance Department.Finance now submits payments to the bank. It currently takes the Finance Department an average of fi ve days from the receipt of renewal to notifying the Membership Department