2010年12月ACCA考试考官报告(F7)(3)

　　问题三是一个满分25分的绩效考核问题。这个问题有10分是要求考生计算比率的，主要是为了评价全球经济衰退下公司的业绩。问题四要求考生解释会计政策被选择的基础以及会计政策改变和会计估计变更的不同。

Question Three
This question was a full 25 mark performance appraisal question.The question required candidates to calculate ratios (of their choice) for up to 10 marks in order to assess the performance of a company against the background of a global recession.Important information in the scenario,in addition to the challenging market conditions,included mention of losses sustained by the company due to falls in property prices,the reduced carrying amounts of investments,redundancy costs and some cost savings in advertising and administrative costs.

A good answer should have considered the effects of this information and look to see beyond the reported figures at what the underlying performance would have been but for the economic problems.A number of candidates did try to calculate some underlying ratios (i.e.assuming the ‘one-off’ costs had not occurred) and comment on these comparing performance with 2009,but most did not attempt this analysis.

I am pleased to report that the average mark on this question was much higher than the equivalent in many recent diets;this is especially so as normally I expect weaker marks on interpretation when compared to the alternative equivalent cash flow question.Most candidates scored well on the calculation of ratios,although unpractised candidates showed a distinct lack of understanding of the definitions and meaning of some ratios,particularly return on capital employed and gearing (for example,using just the share capital as equity is not acceptable).Markers did allow some flexibility within the definitions of some ratios.

Overall many candidates did make intelligent comments about the change in the ratios and what might have caused them,however there were too many candidates who that thought that saying a ratio had gone up or down amounted to interpretation–it does not.There were also answers that did not refer the events in scenario at all.A small,but significant number of candidates produced a statement of cash flows as their answer to this question.This was a pointless exercise;it is not what was asked and gained no marks (even if it was correct).Clearly these candidates had gambled on statements of cash flows coming up-question spotting is often a fatal error.

Question Four
The introductory section (part (a)) of this question required candidates to explain the basis on which accounting policies must be selected and to distinguish between (with an example) changes in accounting policies and changes in accounting estimates.Those candidates that had studied this area did well,with the opposite being true for those that had not;thus answers where rather polarised into good and weak.A common area where many candidates ‘went off topic’ was that they spent considerable time explaining the circumstances where an entity should change its accounting policy and the procedures to be followed if it did.A question like this had been asked in a previous diet,but it was not what this question asked.I believe this illustrates well the point that while it is important to study and practice past questions,do not to expect them to be repeated in exactly the format.

Although there were many good scores on this section,a very common point of misunderstanding is that many candidates thought that changing from straight-line to reducing balance depreciation was a change of policy;this would be an example of a change of an accounting estimate.

A few candidates chose to discuss the correction of errors aspects which was not relevant to the question asked.
Part (b) contained two examples related to part (a),the first was a proposal to increase the life over which an asset should be depreciated (from an original five years to eight years in total) and the second was a change in the basis for valuing inventory (from FIFO to average cost).

Answers to both were very mixed.In part (i) some candidates stated that companies could not change the depreciation life of their assets (and left the answer at that)–this is clearly wrong.There is an annual requirement for companies to review the remaining lives of their assets and if they are believed to be incorrect,they must be changed and depreciation charged accordingly.The accounting for the change suggested by the assistant accountant resulting in a credit for depreciation in the income statement for the current period was incorrect,but many thought it was acceptable.Another common error was for candidates to recalculate the depreciation over the total new life of eight years,whereas the correct calculation was to depreciate the carrying amount at the beginning of the period over the remaining new life (which was six years).Many candidates incorrectly treated the example given as an asset revaluation and hence discussed the need for all plant to be subject to a revaluation exercise–again this was not what the question was about.

Answers to part (ii) (the inventory change) were weaker than to part (i).Often the only mark some candidates got was for realising that it was a change of accounting policy.Weaker candidates thought this was a question about inventory being valued at the lower of cost or net realisable value-it wasn't.Many did not attempt to quantify the effect of the change in policy (despite the question specifically asking for it and giving all the relevant information) and some of those that did again agreed with the assistant accountant that the change would improve profit by $2 million (the difference in value between FIFO and average cost of the closing inventory).In fact,the change in profit would be the movement in the difference between the opening and closing inventory values ($400,000) and this would reduce rather than increase the profit for 2010.