May 2006 Examinations
Managerial Level
Paper P2 – Management Accounting – Decision Management
Question Paper
2
Examiner’s Brief Guide to the Paper
18
Examiner’s Answers
19
The answers published here have been written by the Examiner and should provide a helpful guide
for both tutors and students.
Published separately on the CIMA website (www.cimaglobal.com/students) from the end of
September 2006 will be a Post Examination Guide for this paper, which will provide much valuable
and complementary material including indicative mark information.
 2006 The Chartered Institute of Management Accountants. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be
reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying,
recorded or otherwise, without the written permission of the publisher.
Managerial Level Paper
P2 – Management Accounting Decision Management
24 May 2006 – Wednesday Morning Session
Instructions to candidates
You are allowed three hours to answer this question paper
You are allowed 20 minutes reading time before the examination begins
during which you should read the question paper, and if you wish, make
annotations on the question paper. However, you will not be allowed, under
any circumstances, to open the answer book and start writing or use your
calculator during this reading time.
You are strongly advised to carefully read ALL the question requirements
before attempting the question concerned (that is, all parts and/or subquestions). The requirements for the questions in Sections B and C are
contained in a dotted box.
Answer the ONE compulsory question in Section A. This is comprised of
eight sub-questions and is on pages 2 to 5.
Answer ALL THREE compulsory questions in Section B on pages 6 to 8.
Answer TWO of the three questions in Section C on pages 9 to 14.
Maths Tables and Formulae are provided on pages 15 to 17.
Write your full examination number, paper number and the examination
subject title in the spaces provided on the front of the examination answer
book. Also write your contact ID and name in the space provided in the right
hand margin and seal to close.
Tick the appropriate boxes on the front of the answer book to indicate which
questions you have answered.
 The Chartered Institute of Management Accountants 2006
P2 – Decision Management
Management Accounting Pillar
SECTION A – 20 MARKS
[the indicative time for answering this section is 36 minutes]
ANSWER ALL EIGHT SUB-QUESTIONS
Instructions for answering Section A:
The answers to the eight sub-questions in Section A should ALL be written in your
answer book.
Your answers should be clearly numbered with the sub-question number and then
ruled off, so that the markers know which sub-question you are answering. For
multiple choice questions, you need only write the sub-question number and
the letter of the answer option you have chosen. You do not need to start a
new page for each sub-question.
For sub-questions 1.6, 1.7, and 1.8 you should show your workings as marks are
available for the method you use to answer these sub-questions.
Question One
1.1
X plc intends to use relevant costs as the basis of the selling price for a special order: the
printing of a brochure. The brochure requires a particular type of paper that is not
regularly used by X plc although a limited amount is in X plc’s inventory which was left
over from a previous job. The cost when X plc bought this paper last year was $15 per
ream and there are 100 reams in inventory. The brochure requires 250 reams. The
current market price of the paper is $26 per ream, and the resale value of the paper in
inventory is $10 per ream.
The relevant cost of the paper to be used in printing the brochure is
A
$2,500
B
$4,900
C
$5,400
D
$6,500
(2 marks)
Section A continues on the opposite page
P2
2
May 2006
1.2
A farmer grows potatoes for sale to wholesalers and to individual customers. The farmer
currently digs up the potatoes and sells them in 20kg sacks. He is considering a decision
to make a change to this current approach. He thinks that washing the potatoes and
packaging them in 2kg cartons might be more attractive to some of his individual
customers. Which of the following is relevant to his decision?
(i)
(ii)
(iii)
(iv)
the sales value of the dug potatoes
the cost per kg of growing the potatoes
the cost of washing and packaging the potatoes
the sales value of the washed and packaged potatoes
A
(ii), (iii) and (iv) only
B
(i), (ii) and (iii) only
C
(i), (ii) and (iv) only
D
(i), (iii) and (iv) only
(2 marks)
1.3
A company makes and sells three products, R, S, and T. Extracts from the weekly profit
statements are as follows:
R
$
10,000
S
$
15,000
T
$
20,000
Total
$
45,000
Variable cost of sales
Fixed costs*
4,000
3,000
9,000
3,000
10,000
3,000
23,000
9,000
Profit
3,000
3,000
7,000
13,000
Sales
* general fixed costs absorbed using a unit absorption rate
If the sales revenue mix of products produced and sold were to be changed to: R 20%, S 50%,
T 30% then the new average contribution to sales ratio
A
would be higher.
B
would be lower.
C
would remain unchanged.
D
cannot be determined without more information.
(2 marks)
Section A continues on the next page
May 2006
3
P2
1.4
Z Limited is a hotel that serves cakes and gateaux in its coffee shop. An analysis of its
internal costs has revealed that the variable cost of preparing its own gateaux is £5·50 per
gateau compared to the price of £8·00 per gateau that would be charged by an external
bakery. Z Limited employs a chef to prepare the gateaux at a salary of £1,000 per month.
This chef is not able to carry out any other work in the hotel and is the only employee
capable of preparing the gateaux.
Calculate the minimum monthly number of sales of gateaux at which it is worthwhile preparing
the gateaux in the hotel.
(2 marks)
The following data are to be used when answering questions 1.5 to 1.7
M plc is evaluating three possible investment projects and uses a 10% discount rate to
determine their net present values.
Investment
Initial Investment
Incremental cashflows
Year 1
Year 2
Year 3
Year 4
Year 5*
A
£000
400
B
£000
450
C
£000
350
100
120
140
120
100
130
130
130
130
150
50
110
130
150
100
39
55
48
Net present value
*includes £20,000 residual value for each investment project.
1.5
Calculate the payback period of investment A.
(2 marks)
1.6
Calculate the discounted payback period of investment B.
(3 marks)
1.7
Calculate the Internal Rate of Return (IRR) of investment C.
(3 marks)
Section A continues on the opposite page
P2
4
May 2006
1.8
A company is preparing a quotation for a new product. The time taken for the first unit of
the product was 30 minutes and the company expects an 85% learning curve. The
quotation is to be based on the time taken for the final unit within the learning period
which is expected to end after the company has produced 200 units.
Calculate the time per unit to be used for the quotation.
Note: The learning index for an 85% learning curve is -0·2345
(4 marks)
(Total for Section A = 20 marks)
End of Section A
Section B starts on the next page
May 2006
5
P2
SECTION B – 30 MARKS
[the indicative time for answering this section is 54 minutes]
ANSWER ALL THREE QUESTIONS
Question Two
A manager is evaluating a three year project which has the following relevant pre-tax
operating cashflows:
Year
Sales
Costs
1
$000
4,200
2,850
2
$000
4,900
3,100
3
$000
5,300
4,150
The project requires an investment of $2m at the start of year 1 and has no residual value.
The company pays corporation tax on its net relevant operating cashflows at the rate of 20%.
Corporation tax is payable in the same year as the net relevant pre-tax operating cashflows
arise. There is no tax depreciation available on the investment.
The manager has discounted the net relevant post-tax operating cashflows using the
company’s post-tax cost of capital of 7% and this results in a post-tax net present value of
the project of $1·018m.
Required:
(a)
Briefly explain sensitivity analysis and how the manager may use it in the
evaluation of this project.
(4 marks)
(b)
Calculate the sensitivity of the project to independent changes in
(i)
(ii)
the selling price;
the cost of capital.
(6 marks)
(Total for Question Two = 10 marks)
Section B continues on the opposite page
P2
6
May 2006
Question Three
A firm of financial advisors has established itself by providing high quality, personalised,
financial strategy advice. The firm promotes itself by sponsoring local events, advertising, client
newsletters, having a flexible attitude towards the times and locations of meetings with clients
and seeking new and innovative ideas to discuss with its clients.
The senior manager of the firm has recently noticed that the firm’s profitability has declined, with
fewer clients being interested in the firm’s new investment ideas. Indeed, many clients have
admitted to not reading the firm’s newsletters.
The senior manager seeks your help in restoring the firm’s profitability to its former level and
believes that the techniques of Value Analysis and Functional Analysis may be appropriate.
Required:
(a)
Explain the meanings of, and the differences between, Value Analysis and
Functional Analysis.
(4 marks)
(b)
Briefly explain the series of steps that you would take to implement Value Analysis
for this organisation.
(6 marks)
(Total for Question Three = 10 marks)
Section B continues on the next page
May 2006
7
P2
Question Four
The Managing Director of a manufacturing company based in Eastern Europe has recently
returned from a conference on modern manufacturing. One of the speakers at the conference
presented a paper entitled “Compliance versus Conformance – the quality control issue”. The
Managing Director would like you to explain to her some of the concepts that she heard about at
the conference.
Required:
Prepare a report, addressed to the Managing Director, that discusses quality costs and their
significance for the company. Your report should include examples of the different quality
costs and their classification within a manufacturing environment.
(10 marks)
Note: 2 marks are available for report format
(Total for Section B = 30 marks)
End of Section B
Section C starts on page 9
P2
8
May 2006
SECTION C – 50 MARKS
[the indicative time for answering this section is 90 minutes]
ANSWER TWO QUESTIONS OUT OF THREE
Question Five
AVX Plc assembles circuit boards for use by high technology audio video companies. Due to the
rapidly advancing technology in this field, AVX Plc is constantly being challenged to learn new
techniques.
AVX Plc uses standard costing to control its costs against targets set by senior managers. The
standard labour cost per batch of one particular type of circuit board (CB45) is set out below:
Direct labour - 50 hours @ £10 /hour
£
500
The following labour efficiency variances arose during the first six months of the assembly of
CB45:
Month
November
December
January
February
March
April
Number of batches
assembled and sold
1
1
2
4
8
16
Labour Efficiency
Variance (£)
Nil
170·00 Favourable
452·20 Favourable
1,089·30 Favourable
1,711·50 Favourable
3,423·00 Favourable
An investigation has confirmed that all of the costs were as expected except that there was a
learning effect in respect of the direct labour that had not been anticipated when the standard
cost was set.
Required:
(a)
(i)
(ii)
Calculate the monthly rates of learning that applied during the six months;
Identify when the learning period ended and briefly discuss the implications
of your findings for AVX Plc.
(10 marks)
AVX Plc initially priced each batch of CB45 circuit boards on the basis of its standard cost of
£960 plus a mark up of 25%. Recently the company has noticed that, due to increasing
competition, it is having difficulty maintaining its sales volume at this price.
The Finance Director has agreed that the long run unit variable cost of the CB45 circuit board is
£672·72 per batch. She has suggested that the price charged should be based on an analysis
of market demand. She has discovered that at a price of £1,200 the demand is 16 batches per
month, for every £20 reduction in selling price there is an increase in demand of 1 batch of
CB45 circuit boards, and for every £20 increase in selling price there is a reduction in demand of
1 batch.
May 2006
9
P2
Required:
(b)
Calculate the profit maximising selling price per batch using the data supplied by the
Finance Director
(8 marks)
Note: If Price (P) = a-bx then Marginal Revenue (MR) = a-2bx
The Technical Director cannot understand why there is a need to change the selling price. He
argues that this is a highly advanced technological product and that AVX Plc should not reduce
its price as this reflects badly on the company. If anything is at fault, he argues, it is the use of
Standard Costing and he has asked whether Target Costing should be used instead.
Required:
(c)
(i)
(ii)
Explain the difference between standard costs and target costs;
Explain the possible reasons why AVX Plc needs to re-consider its pricing
policy now that the CB45 circuit board has been available in the market for
six months.
(7 marks)
(Total for Question Five = 25 marks)
Section C continues on the next page
P2
10
May 2006
Question Six
A health clinic is reviewing its plans for the next three years. It is a not for profit organisation but
it has a financial responsibility to manage its costs and to ensure that it provides a value for
money service to its clients. The health clinic uses the net present value technique to appraise
the financial viability of delivering the service, but it also considers other non-financial factors
before making any final decisions.
The present facilities, which incur an annual total cost of £300,000, are only sufficient to meet a
low level of service provision so the manager is considering investing in facilities to meet
potential higher levels of demand. For the purpose of evaluating this decision the possible levels
of demand for the health clinic’s services have been simplified to high, medium or low.
The possible demand for the services in the first year and the level of demand that could follow
that specific level in the next years, and their expected probabilities, are as follows:
Year 1
Low
Probability
30%
Years 2 and 3
Low
Medium
High
Probability
40%
60%
0%
Medium
50%
Low
Medium
High
30%
40%
30%
High
20%
Low
Medium
High
0%
30%
70%
The level of demand will be the same in years 2 and 3.
The manager is considering two alternative investments in facilities:
Facility A has the capacity to meet the low and medium levels of demand and requires an
investment at the start of year 1 of £500,000. Thereafter it incurs annual fixed costs of £100,000
and annual variable costs depending on the level of operation. These annual variable costs are
expected to be £150,000 at the low level of operation and £250,000 at the medium level of
operation.
Facility B has the capacity to meet all levels of demand and requires an investment at the start
of year 1 of £800,000. Thereafter it incurs annual fixed costs of £200,000 and annual variable
costs depending on the level of operation. These annual variable costs are expected to be
£100,000 at the low level of operation, £150,000 at the medium level of operation and £200,000
at the high level of operation.
Neither of these alternative investments has any residual value at the end of year 3.
If the facilities of the health clinic are insufficient to meet the level of service demand that occurs,
the clinic must obtain additional facilities on a yearly contract basis at the following annual costs:
Level of service provision
available internally
Low
Low
Medium
Level of service provision
demanded
Medium
High
High
Annual cost of additional
facilities
£100,000
£250,000
£150,000
These additional facilities are not under the direct control of the health clinic manager.
Note: All monetary values used throughout the question have been stated in terms of their
present value. No further discounting is required.
May 2006
11
P2
Required:
(a)
Prepare a decision tree to illustrate the investment decision that needs to be made
by the manager of the health clinic. (Numerical values are NOT required).
(6 marks)
(b)
Advise the manager of the health clinic which investment decision should be
undertaken on financial grounds.
(15 marks)
(c)
Briefly discuss any non-financial factors that the manager should consider before
making her final investment decision.
(4 marks)
(Total for Question Six = 25 marks)
Section C continues on the next page
P2
12
May 2006
Question Seven
GHK manufactures four products from different combinations of the same direct materials and
direct labour. An extract from the flexible budgets for next quarter for each of these products is
as follows:
Product
G
H
J
K
Units
3,000
5,000
3,000
5,000
3,000
5,000
3,000
5,000
Revenue
$000
30
$000
50
$000
60
$000
100
$000
45
$000
75
$000
90
$000
150
9
6
6
6
15
10
10
8
12
6
24
13
20
10
40
19
4·5
13·5
22·5
11
7·5
22·5
37·5
17
18
36
9
11
30
60
15
17
Direct Material A (note 1)
Direct Material B (note 2)
Direct labour (note 3)
Overhead (note 4)
Notes
1
2
3
4
Material A was purchased some time ago at a cost of $5 per kg. There are 5,000 kgs in
inventory. The costs shown in the flexible budget are based on this historical cost. The
material is in regular use and currently has a replacement cost of $7 per kg.
Material B is purchased as required; its expected cost is $10 per kg. The costs shown in
the flexible budget are based on this expected cost.
Direct labour costs are based on an hourly rate of $10 per hour. Employees work the
number of hours necessary to meet production requirements.
Overhead costs of each product include a specific fixed cost of $1,000 per quarter which
would be avoided if the product was to be discontinued. Other fixed overhead costs are
apportioned between the products but are not affected by the mix of products
manufactured.
GHK has been advised by the only supplier of material B that the quantity of material B that will
be available during the next quarter will be limited to 5,000 kgs. Accordingly the company is
being forced to reconsider its production plan for the next quarter. GHK has already entered into
contracts to supply one of its major customers with the following:
500 units of product G
1,600 units of product H
800 units of product J
400 units of product K
Apart from this, the demand expected from other customers is expected to be
3,600 units of product G
3,000 units of product H
3,000 units of product J
4,000 units of product K
The major customer will not accept partial delivery of the contract and if the contract with this
major customer is not completed in full, then GHK will have to pay a financial penalty of $5,000.
May 2006
13
P2
Required:
(a)
For each of the four products, calculate the relevant contribution per $ of material B
for the next quarter.
(6 marks)
(b)
It has been determined that the optimum production plan based on the data above
is to produce 4,100 units of product G, 4600 units of product H, 800 units of product
J, and 2,417 units of product K. Determine the amount of financial penalty at which
GHK would be indifferent between meeting the contract or paying the penalty.
(5 marks)
(c)
Calculate the relevant contribution to sales ratios for each of the four products.
(2 marks)
(d)
Assuming that the limiting factor restrictions no longer apply, prepare a sketch of a
multi product profit volume chart by ranking the products according to your
contribution to sales ratio calculations based on total market demand. Your sketch
should plot the products using the highest contribution to sales ratio first.
(6 marks)
(e)
Explain briefly, stating any relevant assumptions and limitations, how the multi
product profit volume chart that you prepared in (d) above may be used by the
manager of GHK to understand the relationships between costs, volume and profit
within the business.
(6 marks)
(Total for Question Seven = 25 marks)
(Total for Section C = 50 marks)
End of question paper
Maths Tables and Formulae are on pages 15 to 17
P2
14
May 2006
PRESENT VALUE TABLE
Present value of $1, that is (1+ r )
payment or receipt.
−n
where r = interest rate; n = number of periods until
Periods
(n)
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
1%
0.990
0.980
0.971
0.961
0.951
0.942
0.933
0.923
0.914
0.905
0.896
0.887
0.879
0.870
0.861
0.853
0.844
0.836
0.828
0.820
2%
0.980
0.961
0.942
0.924
0.906
0.888
0.871
0.853
0.837
0.820
0.804
0.788
0.773
0.758
0.743
0.728
0.714
0.700
0.686
0.673
3%
0.971
0.943
0.915
0.888
0.863
0.837
0.813
0.789
0.766
0.744
0.722
0.701
0.681
0.661
0.642
0.623
0.605
0.587
0.570
0.554
4%
0.962
0.925
0.889
0.855
0.822
0.790
0.760
0.731
0.703
0.676
0.650
0.625
0.601
0.577
0.555
0.534
0.513
0.494
0.475
0.456
Interest rates (r)
5%
6%
0.952
0.943
0.907
0.890
0.864
0.840
0.823
0.792
0.784
0.747
0.746
0705
0.711
0.665
0.677
0.627
0.645
0.592
0.614
0.558
0.585
0.527
0.557
0.497
0.530
0.469
0.505
0.442
0.481
0.417
0.458
0.394
0.436
0.371
0.416
0.350
0.396
0.331
0.377
0.312
7%
0.935
0.873
0.816
0.763
0.713
0.666
0.623
0.582
0.544
0.508
0.475
0.444
0.415
0.388
0.362
0.339
0.317
0.296
0.277
0.258
8%
0.926
0.857
0.794
0.735
0.681
0.630
0.583
0.540
0.500
0.463
0.429
0.397
0.368
0.340
0.315
0.292
0.270
0.250
0.232
0.215
9%
0.917
0.842
0.772
0.708
0.650
0.596
0.547
0.502
0.460
0.422
0.388
0.356
0.326
0.299
0.275
0.252
0.231
0.212
0.194
0.178
10%
0.909
0.826
0.751
0.683
0.621
0.564
0.513
0.467
0.424
0.386
0.350
0.319
0.290
0.263
0.239
0.218
0.198
0.180
0.164
0.149
Periods
(n)
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
11%
0.901
0.812
0.731
0.659
0.593
0.535
0.482
0.434
0.391
0.352
0.317
0.286
0.258
0.232
0.209
0.188
0.170
0.153
0.138
0.124
12%
0.893
0.797
0.712
0.636
0.567
0.507
0.452
0.404
0.361
0.322
0.287
0.257
0.229
0.205
0.183
0.163
0.146
0.130
0.116
0.104
13%
0.885
0.783
0.693
0.613
0.543
0.480
0.425
0.376
0.333
0.295
0.261
0.231
0.204
0.181
0.160
0.141
0.125
0.111
0.098
0.087
14%
0.877
0.769
0.675
0.592
0.519
0.456
0.400
0.351
0.308
0.270
0.237
0.208
0.182
0.160
0.140
0.123
0.108
0.095
0.083
0.073
Interest rates (r)
15%
16%
0.870
0.862
0.756
0.743
0.658
0.641
0.572
0.552
0.497
0.476
0.432
0.410
0.376
0.354
0.327
0.305
0.284
0.263
0.247
0.227
0.215
0.195
0.187
0.168
0.163
0.145
0.141
0.125
0.123
0.108
0.107
0.093
0.093
0.080
0.081
0.069
0.070
0.060
0.061
0.051
17%
0.855
0.731
0.624
0.534
0.456
0.390
0.333
0.285
0.243
0.208
0.178
0.152
0.130
0.111
0.095
0.081
0.069
0.059
0.051
0.043
18%
0.847
0.718
0.609
0.516
0.437
0.370
0.314
0.266
0.225
0.191
0.162
0.137
0.116
0.099
0.084
0.071
0.060
0.051
0.043
0.037
19%
0.840
0.706
0.593
0.499
0.419
0.352
0.296
0.249
0.209
0.176
0.148
0.124
0.104
0.088
0.079
0.062
0.052
0.044
0.037
0.031
20%
0.833
0.694
0.579
0.482
0.402
0.335
0.279
0.233
0.194
0.162
0.135
0.112
0.093
0.078
0.065
0.054
0.045
0.038
0.031
0.026
May 2006
15
P2
Cumulative present value of $1 per annum, Receivable or Payable at the end of each year for n
years
1− (1+ r ) − n
r
Periods
(n)
1
2
3
4
5
1%
0.990
1.970
2.941
3.902
4.853
2%
0.980
1.942
2.884
3.808
4.713
3%
0.971
1.913
2.829
3.717
4.580
4%
0.962
1.886
2.775
3.630
4.452
Interest rates (r)
5%
6%
0.952
0.943
1.859
1.833
2.723
2.673
3.546
3.465
4.329
4.212
7%
0.935
1.808
2.624
3.387
4.100
8%
0.926
1.783
2.577
3.312
3.993
9%
0.917
1.759
2.531
3.240
3.890
10%
0.909
1.736
2.487
3.170
3.791
6
7
8
9
10
5.795
6.728
7.652
8.566
9.471
5.601
6.472
7.325
8.162
8.983
5.417
6.230
7.020
7.786
8.530
5.242
6.002
6.733
7.435
8.111
5.076
5.786
6.463
7.108
7.722
4.917
5.582
6.210
6.802
7.360
4.767
5.389
5.971
6.515
7.024
4.623
5.206
5.747
6.247
6.710
4.486
5.033
5.535
5.995
6.418
4.355
4.868
5.335
5.759
6.145
11
12
13
14
15
10.368
11.255
12.134
13.004
13.865
9.787
10.575
11.348
12.106
12.849
9.253
9.954
10.635
11.296
11.938
8.760
9.385
9.986
10.563
11.118
8.306
8.863
9.394
9.899
10.380
7.887
8.384
8.853
9.295
9.712
7.499
7.943
8.358
8.745
9.108
7.139
7.536
7.904
8.244
8.559
6.805
7.161
7.487
7.786
8.061
6.495
6.814
7.103
7.367
7.606
16
17
18
19
20
14.718
15.562
16.398
17.226
18.046
13.578
14.292
14.992
15.679
16.351
12.561
13.166
13.754
14.324
14.878
11.652
12.166
12.659
13.134
13.590
10.838
11.274
11.690
12.085
12.462
10.106
10.477
10.828
11.158
11.470
9.447
9.763
10.059
10.336
10.594
8.851
9.122
9.372
9.604
9.818
8.313
8.544
8.756
8.950
9.129
7.824
8.022
8.201
8.365
8.514
Periods
(n)
1
2
3
4
5
11%
0.901
1.713
2.444
3.102
3.696
12%
0.893
1.690
2.402
3.037
3.605
13%
0.885
1.668
2.361
2.974
3.517
14%
0.877
1.647
2.322
2.914
3.433
Interest rates (r)
15%
16%
0.870
0.862
1.626
1.605
2.283
2.246
2.855
2.798
3.352
3.274
17%
0.855
1.585
2.210
2.743
3.199
18%
0.847
1.566
2.174
2.690
3.127
19%
0.840
1.547
2.140
2.639
3.058
20%
0.833
1.528
2.106
2.589
2.991
6
7
8
9
10
4.231
4.712
5.146
5.537
5.889
4.111
4.564
4.968
5.328
5.650
3.998
4.423
4.799
5.132
5.426
3.889
4.288
4.639
4.946
5.216
3.784
4.160
4.487
4.772
5.019
3.685
4.039
4.344
4.607
4.833
3.589
3.922
4.207
4.451
4.659
3.498
3.812
4.078
4.303
4.494
3.410
3.706
3.954
4.163
4.339
3.326
3.605
3.837
4.031
4.192
11
12
13
14
15
6.207
6.492
6.750
6.982
7.191
5.938
6.194
6.424
6.628
6.811
5.687
5.918
6.122
6.302
6.462
5.453
5.660
5.842
6.002
6.142
5.234
5.421
5.583
5.724
5.847
5.029
5.197
5.342
5.468
5.575
4.836
4.988
5.118
5.229
5.324
4.656
7.793
4.910
5.008
5.092
4.486
4.611
4.715
4.802
4.876
4.327
4.439
4.533
4.611
4.675
16
17
18
19
20
7.379
7.549
7.702
7.839
7.963
6.974
7.120
7.250
7.366
7.469
6.604
6.729
6.840
6.938
7.025
6.265
6.373
6.467
6.550
6.623
5.954
6.047
6.128
6.198
6.259
5.668
5.749
5.818
5.877
5.929
5.405
5.475
5.534
5.584
5.628
5.162
5.222
5.273
5.316
5.353
4.938
4.990
5.033
5.070
5.101
4.730
4.775
4.812
4.843
4.870
P2
16
May 2006
FORMULAE
Time series
Additive model:
Series = Trend + Seasonal + Random
Multiplicative model:
Series = Trend*Seasonal*Random
Regression analysis
The linear regression equation of Y on X is given by:
Y = a + bX
or Y – Y = b(X – X ),
where:
b=
Covariance ( XY )
Variance ( X )
=
n ∑ XY − ( ∑ X )( ∑ Y )
2
n ∑ X − (∑ X )
2
a= Y –bX
and
or solve
∑ Y = na + b ∑ X
∑ XY = a ∑ X + b ∑ X2
Exponential
Geometric
Y = abx
Y = aXb
Learning curve
Yx = aXb
where:
Yx = the cumulative average time per unit to produce X units;
a = the time required to produce the first unit of output;
X = the cumulative number of units;
b = the index of learning.
The exponent b is defined as the log of the learning curve improvement rate divided by log 2.
May 2006
17
P2
The Examiner for Management Accounting – Decision Management offers to
future candidates and to tutors using this booklet for study purposes, the
following background and guidance on the questions included in this
examination paper.
Section A – Question One – Compulsory
Question One comprises eight sub-questions in objective testing format. Some of the questions
provide a choice of answers of which only one is correct whilst others require solution by the
candidate. This question covers a number of syllabus areas and learning outcomes and is
designed to complement the syllabus coverage of the remaining questions on the paper.
Section B – Questions Two, Three and Four – Compulsory
Question Two requires candidates to explain sensitivity analysis and to use the data provided
to calculate the sensitivity of an investment project to independent changes in two of the input
variables. The question addresses the learning outcome “Apply sensitivity analysis to cash flow
parameters to identify those to which net present value is particularly sensitive.”
Question Three requires candidates to explain the meanings of and differences between Value
Analysis and Functional Analysis and then to explain the steps that would be needed to
implement Value Analysis into the organisation depicted in the scenario. This question
addresses the learning outcome “Compare and contrast value analysis and functional cost
analysis”
Question Four requires candidates to prepare a report that discusses quality costs and their
significance for the company depicted in the scenario. This question addresses the learning
outcome “Explain the concepts of continuous improvement and Kaizen costing that are central
to total quality management and prepare cost of quality reports”
Section C – answer two of three questions
Question Five requires candidates to prepare calculations to enable them to determine the rate
of learning that occurred in the company depicted in the scenario, when this learning ended and
its implications for the company in part (a). In part (b) candidates were required to calculate the
company’s profit maximising price based upon the data provided, and then in part (c) to explain
the differences between standard costs and target costs and the reasons why the company
needs to reconsider its pricing policy now that its product has been available for six months. This
question addresses the learning outcomes “Apply an approach to pricing based on profit
maximisation in imperfect markets and evaluate the financial consequences of alternative
pricing strategies” and “Explain and apply learning and experience curves to estimate time and
cost for new products and services” and “Explain how target costs can be derived from target
prices and describe the relationship between target costs and standard costs”.
Question Six requires candidates to prepare a decision tree for an investment decision, advise
as to which decision should be taken on financial grounds and then to discuss any non financial
factors that should also be considered. This question addresses the learning outcomes
“Produce decision support information for management, integrating financial and non financial
considerations and “Prepare and apply decision trees”.
Question Seven requires candidates to use relevant cost principles to calculate the relevant
contributions for each of four products from the data provided in part (a), to calculate in part (b)
the sensitivity of the product mix solution provided to a change in a financial penalty and in parts
(c), (d) and (e) of the question to prepare a multi product profit volume chart and discuss its
assumptions and limitation. This question addresses the learning outcome “Apply variable/fixed
cost analysis in multiple product contexts to break-even analysis and product mix decision
making, including circumstances where there are multiple constraints and linear programming
methods are needed to reach optimal solutions”.
P2
18
May 2006
Managerial Level Paper
P2 – Management Accounting – Decision
Management
Examiner’s Answers
SECTION A
Answer to Question One
1.1
100 reams @ resale value of $10
150 reams @ market price of $26
$1,000
$3,900
$4,900
The correct answer is B.
1.2
The correct answer is D.
1.3
Contribution/Sales ratios are : R 60%, S 40%, and T 50%
Now = $22,000 /$45,000 = 0·489
New = (0·6 x 0·2) + (0·4 x 0·5) + (0·5 x 0·3) = 0·47
The correct answer is B.
1.4
Variable cost saving per gateaux = £2·50
Fixed cost = £1,000 per month
Minimum quantity = £1,000 / £2·50 = 400 gateaux
Year
1
2
3
4
1.5
£000
100
120
140
120
£000 to date
220
360
480
Payback period = 3 years + 40/120ths of year 4 = 3·33 years
May 2006
19
P2
1.6
Discounted cashflows are:
Year
1
2
3
4
5
£000
130 x 0·909
130 x 0·826
130 x 0·751
130 x 0·683
130 x 0·621
£000
118·17
107·38
97·63
88·79
£000
411·97
80·73
Discounted payback occurs in year 5 and can be estimated as:
4 years plus (450 – 411·97) / 80·73 of year five = 4·47 years.
1.7
Discount using 20% cost of capital
Year
0
1
2
3
4
5
Cashflow
£000
(350)
50
110
130
150
100
Discount Factor
Present Value
£000
(350)
42
76
75
72
40
1·000
0·833
0·694
0·579
0·482
0·402
NPV
(45)
Discount Factor
Change
10%
20%
10%
NPV
£000
48
(45)
(93)
IRR = 10% + (48/93 x 10%) = 15% (approx).
1.8
y = axb
At 200 units: y = 30 x 200-0.2345 = 8·660
Total time = 8·660 x 200 =
1,732·00 minutes
At 199 units: y = 30 x 199-0.2345 = 8·670
Total time = 8·670 x 199 =
1,725·33 minutes
The time for the 200th unit to be used for the quotation is 6·67 minutes
P2
20
May 2006
SECTION B
Answer to Question Two
(a)
Sensitivity analysis identifies the most critical elements of a decision by measuring the extent to
which each individual element must change before it causes the decision maker to change their
decision.
The manager may use this technique to identify whether the acceptability of the project is more
sensitive to changes in sales, costs, rate of taxation, or cost of capital. If more information were
available the manager could consider the effects of changes to individual items of cost.
(b) (i)
The NPV of sales must reduce by $1·018m before the manager’s decision changes.
The post tax present value of sales is:
Year
1
2
3
$4·2m x 80% x 0·935 =
$4·9m x 80% x 0·873 =
$5·3m x 80% x 0·816 =
$ 3·142m
$ 3·422m
$ 3·460m
$10·024m
The % change required (i.e. sensitivity) = $1·018m / $10·024m = 10%
(ii)
The sensitivity of the cost of capital is found by determining the discount % that causes the NPV
to equal zero (i.e. the IRR).
Discount using 20%:
Year
1
2
3
($4·2m - $2·85m) x 0·8 x 0·833 =
($4·9m - $3·10m) x 0·8 x 0·694 =
($5·3m - $4·15m) x 0·8 x 0·579 =
less Initial Investment
NPV
Discount Factor
Change
7%
20%
13%
$0·900m
$0·999m
$0·533m
$2·432m
$2·000m
$0·432m
NPV
$
1·018m
0·432m
0·586m
IRR = 7% + (1·018/0·586 x 13%) = 29·6%
The % change required is 22·6 / 7 = 323%
May 2006
21
P2
Answer to Question Three
(a)
Value analysis is an examination of the factors affecting the cost of a product or service with the
objective of achieving the specified purpose most economically at the required level of quality
and reliability.
Functional analysis is an analysis of the relationships between product functions, the cost of
their provision and their perceived value to the customer.
Value analysis is thus a form of cost reduction which is based upon investigating the processes
involved in providing a product or service whereas functional analysis focuses on the value to
the customer of each function of the product or service and from this determines whether it is
necessary to reduce the cost of providing each function.
(b)
There are a series of steps that the firm of financial advisors need to use to implement Value
Analysis into the organisation:
1.
The firm needs to identify the requirements of their clients so that they can ensure that the
services they provide give value to their clients. It has been stated that many clients do
not read the firm’s newsletters, clearly then the newsletters have no value to these clients
in their present form. Perhaps the newsletters should be abandoned and their cost saved;
or perhaps the form or content of the newsletter could be changed to make it more
valuable from a client perspective.
2.
Once the firm has identified the services that are valued by their clients they can then
consider alternative ways of providing those services. Each of these alternatives is then
costed.
3.
A choice is made between the alternatives.
4.
Implement the changes.
5.
Evaluate the effect of the changes to determine whether the expected benefits have
arisen.
P2
22
May 2006
Answer to Question Four
REPORT
To:
From:
Subject:
Date:
Managing Director
Management Accountant
Quality
May 2006
Introduction
This report provides the basis for discussion at the company’s next board meeting. It outlines
the approaches to quality that may be adopted by the company, in particular the conflict
between “Conformance” and “Non-Conformance” in terms of costs and the perceptions of our
customers.
Quality Costs
There are two broad approaches to the quality issue which each have their own costs, some of
which are easier to identify and measure than others.
Quality costs can be analysed into two categories:
•
•
Costs of conformance; and
Costs of non-conformance.
Costs of conformance are the costs that are incurred in order to try to ensure that the quality of
the final products or services meets the customers’ expectations. This category can be
sub-analysed into two further groups:
•
•
Appraisal costs – which are the costs incurred in testing / measuring and checking the
product or service to ensure that it meets the quality targets that have been set, examples
include the operating costs of test equipment; and
Prevention costs – which are costs that are incurred in order to prevent poor quality
products or services from being produced; examples include training costs and routine
maintenance of production equipment.
Costs of non-conformance are the costs that arise as a consequence of failing to meet the
quality target. This category can also be sub-analysed into two further groups:
•
•
Internal failure costs – which are costs of reworking and correcting items of poor quality
that have been discovered prior to despatch to customers; and
External failure costs – which are costs associated with poor quality products or services
being delivered to the customer such as the cost of customer complaints.
Significance of quality costs
In the modern environment, with increased levels of competition and increasingly demanding
customers who expect the products and services being provided to them to be of the highest
quality, an organisation is required to carefully consider its target market and the price / quality
relationship that its customers will demand.
The decision to incur inspection and appraisal costs is often seen as an attempt to minimise the
costs of failure as there is clearly a relationship between incurring conformance costs and
avoiding non-conformance costs. It is necessary to determine the level of failure that would be
acceptable to customers given the specific price/quality relationship referred to above.
It is possible to achieve 100% quality in respect of all items delivered to customers but this
would require that every item would have to be checked individually prior to its despatch.
Clearly this would be time consuming and costly.
May 2006
23
P2
An alternative approach would be to test a sample of the items to be delivered to customers and
rely on that sample being representative of the entire consignment. Clearly this would be less
time consuming and therefore less costly but there is an increased risk that one or more of the
items delivered would not be of the appropriate quality, thus increasing non-conformance costs.
Conclusion
This report has provided a basis of discussion at our next board meeting.
P2
24
May 2006
SECTION C
Answer to Question Five
(a)
Month
Nov
Dec
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
Month
Nov
Dec
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
Batches
This month
To date
1
1
1
2
2
4
4
8
8
16
16
32
Standard Hours
This month
50
50
100
200
400
800
Average actual hours per
batch (year to date)
50
41·5
34·445
28·61
28·61
28·61
Comment
Actual hours
This month
To date
50
50
33
83
54·78
137·78
91·07
228·85
228·85
457·70
457·70
915·40
83% of November average
83% of December average
83% of January average
100% of February average
100% of March average
The learning period ends at the end of month 4; the rate of learning is 83%. This means that
subsequent to February the time taken per batch is constant or steady state and therefore
decisions involving costs such as profit maximisation and pricing should be based on this
constant labour time per batch.
(b)
The marginal cost and selling price per batch are as follows:
Marginal cost = £672.72
Demand at price of £1,200 = 16 batches and demand increases by 1 unit for every £20
reduction in selling price.
Therefore, Price = £1,520 – 20q
Marginal Revenue = £1,520 – 40q
Equating marginal cost and marginal revenue:
672.72 = 1,520 – 40q
40q = 847·28
q = 21·182
Price = £1,520 – ( 20 x 21·182) = £1,096·36
May 2006
25
P2
(c) (i)
A standard cost is an expected cost based on a measurement of the resources required to
deliver a unit of a product or service and the prices expected to be paid for each unit of the
resource. It is used as part of a Standard Costing system to control the costs incurred by an
organisation.
A target cost is a cost to be achieved by a series of changes so as to achieve a target profit. It is
used as part of Target Costing – a technique that identifies the market price of a product or
service and determines the target cost to be achieved in order to earn a target profit.
Thus a target cost is driven by an external market price which is not controllable by the
organisation whereas a standard cost is an internal control mechanism.
(ii)
Now that the product has been in the market place for six months it is no longer unique as
competitors have been able to purchase the product and reverse engineer it to determine how it
works. As a consequence AVX Plc is probably facing competition and hence its difficulty in
selling the circuit boards for £1,200 per batch. AVX Plc is no longer able to set its own prices
without regard for the actions of its competitors; as a result they have to accept the market price.
P2
26
May 2006
Answer to Question Six
(a)
See separate sheet for decision tree.
May 2006
27
P2
Answer to Question Six Requirement (a)
Year 1 Demand
Years 2 & 3 Demand
Low
Medium
Low
Low
Medium
Medium
High
High
Medium
High
Investment B
Low
Investment A
Medium
Low
Medium
Low
Medium
High
High
Medium
High
No investment
Low
Medium
High
Low
Medium
Low
Medium
High
Medium
High
(b)
Investment in Facility B
Year 0 cost
Year 1 expected cost:
Low
Medium
High
£800,000
30% x £300,000 =
50% x £350,000 =
20% x £400,000 =
Years 2 & 3 expected cost per year:
Low
27% x £300,000 =
Medium
44% x £350,000 =
High
29% x £400,000 =
£90,000
£175,000
£80,000
£345,000
£81,000
£154,000
£116,000
£351,000
Total present value of cost
x 2 years = £702,000
£1,847,000
Investment in Facility A
Year 0 cost
Year 1 expected cost:
Low
Medium
High
£500,000
30% x £250,000 =
50% x £350,000 =
20% x £500,000 =
Years 2 & 3 expected cost per year:
Low
27% x £250,000 =
Medium
44% x £350,000 =
High
29% x £500,000 =
£75,000
£175,000
£100,000
£350,000
£67,500
£154,000
£145,000
£366,500
Total present value of cost
x 2 years = £733,000
£1,583,000
No further investment
Year 1 expected cost:
Low
Medium
High
30% x £300,000 =
50% x £400,000 =
20% x £550,000 =
Years 2 & 3 expected cost per year:
Low
27% x £300,000 =
Medium
44% x £400,000 =
High
29% x £550,000 =
Total present value of cost
May 2006
£90,000
£200,000
£110,000
£400,000
£81,000
£176,000
£159,500
£416,500
x 2 years = £833,000
£1,233,000
29
P2
Note: Calculation of probabilities for years 2 and 3
Year 1
demand
Low
Medium
High
Year 2 and 3
demand
Low
Low
Low
Probability
0·3 x 0·4
0·5 x 0·3
0·2 x 0·0
0·12
0·15
0·00
Total 0·27
Low
Medium
High
Medium
Medium
Medium
0·3 x 0·6
0·5 x 0·4
0·2 x 0·3
0·18
0·20
0·06
Total 0·44
Low
Medium
High
High
High
High
0·3 x 0·0
0·5 x 0·3
0·2 x 0·7
0·00
0·15
0·14
Total 0·29
On purely financial grounds, using the expected cost basis, no further investment should be
undertaken.
(c)
By not undertaking further investment to increase the ability of the health clinic to service the
increasing levels of demand the manager is becoming reliant on the use of other facilities that
are not within her direct control. This could lead to a number of problems concerning the quality
of the services provided, the reliability of the external service provision, and the vulnerability of
the health clinic to increasing fees being charged by the external facility providers.
Furthermore the employees of the health clinic may become less motivated as they see that
there is a tendency to utilise external facilities rather than invest within the business. This may
illustrate a tendency towards short term cost control to the detriment of the operation of the
health clinic in the longer term.
P2
30
May 2006
Answer to Question Seven
(a)
Relevant contribution per unit
Product
Selling Price
Relevant costs:
Direct Material A
Direct Material B
Direct labour
Overhead
Relevant contribution
Relevant contribution per $ of Material B
G
$
10·00
H
$
20·00
J
$
15·00
K
$
30·00
4·20
2·00
2·00
1·00
9·20
0·80
0·40
5·60
2·00
8·00
3·00
18·60
1·40
0·70
2·10
4·50
7·50
3·00
17·10
(2·10)
(0·47)
8·40
12·00
3·00
3·00
26·40
3·60
0·30
(b)
If the contract were not to be completed the material B released would be as follows:
Product
Units
G
H
J
K
500
1,600
800
400
Material B (kgs)
per unit
0·20
0·20
0·45
1·20
Total material B released
Total(kg)
100
320
360
480
1,260
Products G and H are already being manufactured to satisfy all of the market demand, and
product J has a negative relevant contribution per unit so no further production of product J is
worthwhile. Therefore the resources released would be used to increase the production of
product K.
The non contract demand for product K is 4,000 units of which 1,983 units are currently
unsatisfied (4,000 – 2,017). These 1,983 units would require more material B than is released
from the contract so the maximum additional units of product K that could be manufactured is
1,050 units.
The relevant contribution that would be earned from 1,050 units of product K is $3,780 (1,050 x
$3.60) whereas the contract yields a gross contribution of $2,400 (see below).
Product
Units
G
H
J
K
500
1,600
800
400
Total
Contribution
per unit ($)
0·80
1·40
(2·10)
3·60
Total ($)
400
2,240
(1,680)
1,440
2,400
From this $1,000 specific fixed cost must be deducted as this would be avoided if product J
were not produced so the net relevant contribution from the contract is $1,400. Therefore if the
penalty were to be $2,380, the relevant contribution from the additional units of product K less
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the penalty that would then be payable would be the same as the net relevant contribution from
the contract.
(c)
The contribution to sales (C/S) ratios of each of the four products based on their relevant
contributions is:
G 8%, H 7%, J (14%), K 12%
(d)
The general fixed cost attributed to the products excluding their specific fixed costs is:
Product
G
H
J
K
Plus specific fixed cost
$
2,000
3,000
1,000
1,000
7,000
4,000
11,000
Therefore if there were to be zero sales there would be a loss of $7,000.
Workings for chart:
Selling products with highest C/S ratios first:
No products
Start K
K only
Start G
K & G only
Start H
K, G and H
Start J
All
Profit
$
(7,000)
(8,000)
7,840
6,840
10,120
9,120
15,560
14,560
6,580
Sales
$
Nil
132,000
173,000
265,000
322,000
See next page for chart.
Examiner’s note: While the chart on the next page is drawn to scale, candidates were only
required to prepare a sketch.
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May 2006
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Profit/Loss (£)
-10000
-5000
0
5000
10000
15000
20000
0
K
50
100
G
150
Sales (£000)
200
H
Multi product profit volume chart
250
300
J
350
(e)
The chart shows the effect on the breakeven sales values of alternative sales mixes based on
the production plan and using relevant cost. It assumes that all of the products are sold in
relation to their contribution to sales ratios, highest first. Any other order of selling the units will
result in a different breakeven sales value. The value indicated is the lowest breakeven sales
value, the highest will occur if the products were sold in the opposite order, i.e. lowest
contribution to sales ratio first.
The manager can use this information to understand the effect on profitability of selling the
different products. Some are more worthwhile than others as demonstrated by the solution to
part (a) where the products’ contribution per unit were calculated and the gradient of their lines.
The higher the gradient the greater is the product’s contribution to sales ratio. It can clearly be
seen that sales of product J are not financially viable. It had a negative contribution to sales ratio
and its line is downward sloping. Its continued production needs to be justified on other grounds.
The length of each line indicates the value of sales achieved by that product.
The manager can see that if no products were sold at all the business would make a loss (due
to the general fixed costs), and that when the production of a product starts there is a further
reduction in profit (increase in loss) due to the product’s specific fixed cost, but as products that
have positive unit contributions are sold these costs are covered by the contribution from the
products.
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