Task I (10 marks)　　Directions:　　You are a secretary in a cor

正确答案：
(b) (i) Materiality
The net book value of capitalised development costs represent 7% of total assets in 2007 (2006 – 7·7%), and is
therefore material. The net book value has increased by 13%, a significant trend.
The costs capitalised during the year amount to $750,000. If it was found that the development cost had been
inappropriately capitalised, the cost should instead have been expensed. This would reduce profit before tax by
$750,000, representing 42% of the year’s profit. This is highly material. It is therefore essential to gather sufficient
evidence to support the assertion that development costs should be recognised as an asset.
In 2007, $750,000 capitalised development costs have been incurred, when added to $160,000 research costs
expensed, total research and development costs are $910,000 which represents 20·2% of total revenue, again
indicating a high level of materiality for this class of transaction.
Relevant accounting standard
Development costs should only be capitalised as an intangible asset if the recognition criteria of IAS 38 Intangible Assets
have been demonstrated in full:
– Intention to complete the intangible asset and use or sell it
– Technical feasibility and ability to use or sell
– Ability to generate future economic benefit
– Availability of technical, financial and other resources to complete
– Ability to measure the expenditure attributable to the intangible asset.
Research costs must be expensed, as should development costs which do not comply with the above criteria. The
auditors must consider how Sci-Tech Co differentiates between research and development costs.
There is risk that not all of the criteria have been demonstrated, especially due to the subjective nature of the
development itself:
– Pharmaceutical development is highly regulated. If the government does not license the product then the product
cannot be sold, and economic benefits will therefore not be received.
– Market research should justify the commercial viability of the product. The launch of a rival product to Flortex
means that market share is likely to be much lower than anticipated, and the ability to sell Flortex is reduced. This
could mean that Flortex will not generate an overall economic benefit if future sales will not recover the research
and development costs already suffered, and yet to be suffered, prior to launch. The existence of the rival product
could indicate that Flortex is no longer commercially viable, in which case the capitalised development costs
relating to Flortex should be immediately expensed.
– The funding on which development is dependent may be withdrawn, indicating that there are not adequate
resources to complete the development of the products. Sci-Tech has failed to meet one of its required key
performance indicators (KPI) in the year ended 30 November 2007, as products valued at 0·8% revenue have
been donated to charity, whereas the required KPI is 1% revenue.
Given that there is currently a breach of the target KPIs, this is likely to result in funding equivalent to 25% of
research and development expenditure being withdrawn. If Sci-Tech Co is unable to source alternative means of
finance, then it would seem that adequate resources may not be available to complete the development of new
products.

参考答案：C

正确答案：

(b) Controlling variable costs
The first step in the process of controlling costs is to measure actual costs. The second step is to calculate variances that show
the difference between actual costs and budgeted or standard costs. These variances then need to be reported to those
managers who have responsibility for them. These managers can then decide whether action needs to be taken to bring actual
costs back into line with budgeted or standard costs. The operating statement therefore has a role to play in reporting
information to management in a way that assists in the decision-making process.
The operating statement quantifies the effect of the volume difference between budgeted and actual sales so that the actual
cost of the actual output can be compared with the standard (or budgeted) cost of the actual output. The statement clearly
differentiates between adverse and favourable variances so that managers can identify areas where there is a significant
difference between actual results and planned performance. This supports management by exception, since managers can
focus their efforts on these significant areas in order to obtain the most impact in terms of getting actual operations back in
line with planned activity.
In control terms, variable costs can be affected in the short term and so an operating statement for the last month showing
variable cost variances will highlight those areas where management action may be effective. In the short term, for example,
managers may be able to improve labour efficiency through training, or through reducing or eliminating staff actions which
do not assist the production process. In this way the adverse direct labour efficiency variance of ￡252, which is 7·3% of the
standard direct labour cost of the actual output, could be reduced.
Controlling fixed production overhead costs
In the short term, it is unlikely that fixed production overhead costs can be controlled. An operating statement from last month
showing fixed production overhead variances may not therefore assist in controlling fixed costs. Managers will not be able to
take any action to correct the adverse fixed production overhead expenditure variance, for example, which may in fact simply
show the need for improvement in the area of budget planning. Investigation of the component parts of fixed production
overhead will show, however, whether any of these are controllable. In general, this is not the case2.
Absorption costing gives rise to a fixed production overhead volume variance, which shows the effect of actual production
being different from planned production. Since fixed production overheads are a sunk cost, the volume variance shows little
more than that the standard hours for actual production were different from budgeted standard hours3. Similarly, the fixed
production overhead efficiency variance offers little more in information terms than the direct labour efficiency variance. While
fixed production overhead variances assist in reconciling budgeted profit with actual profit, therefore, their reporting in an
operating statement is unlikely to assist in controlling fixed costs.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

参考答案：A

参考答案：B

正确答案：
(b) (i) Cost of investment on acquisition of Dylan Co
Matters to consider
According to the schedule provided by the client, the cost of investment comprises three elements. One matter to
consider is whether the cost of investment is complete.
It appears that no legal or professional fees have been included in the cost of investment (unless included within the
heading ‘cash consideration’). Directly attributable costs should be included per IFRS 3 Business Combinations, and
there is a risk that these costs may be expensed in error, leading to understatement of the investment.
The cash consideration of $2·5 million is the least problematical component. The only matter to consider is whether the
cash has actually been paid. Given that Dylan Co was acquired in the last month of the financial year it is possible that
the amount had not been paid before the year end, in which case the amount should be recognised as a current liability
on the statement of financial position (balance sheet). However, this seems unlikely given that normally control of an
acquired company only passes to the acquirer on cash payment.
IFRS 3 states that the cost of investment should be recognised at fair value, which means that deferred consideration
should be discounted to present value at the date of acquisition. If the consideration payable on 31 January 2009 has
not been discounted, the cost of investment, and the corresponding liability, will be overstated. It is possible that the
impact of discounting the $1·5 million payable one year after acquisition would be immaterial to the financial
statements, in which case it would be acceptable to leave the consideration at face value within the cost of investment.
Contingent consideration should be accrued if it is probable to be paid. Here the amount is payable if revenue growth
targets are achieved over the next four years. The auditor must therefore assess the probability of the targets being
achieved, using forecasts and projections of Maxwell Co’s revenue. Such information is inherently subjective, and could
have been manipulated, if prepared by the vendor of Maxwell Co, in order to secure the deal and maximise
consideration. Here it will be crucial to be sceptical when reviewing the forecasts, and the assumptions underlying the
data. The management of Rosie Co should have reached their own opinion on the probability of paying the contingent
consideration, but they may have relied heavily on information provided at the time of the acquisition.
Audit evidence
– Agreement of the monetary value and payment dates of the consideration per the client schedule to legal
documentation signed by vendor and acquirer.
– Agreement of $2·5 million paid to Rosie Co’s bank statement and cash book prior to year end. If payment occurs
after year end confirm that a current liability is recognised on the individual company and consolidated statement
of financial position (balance sheet).
– Board minutes approving the payment.
– Recomputation of discounting calculations applied to deferred and contingent consideration.
– Agreement that the discount rate used is pre-tax, and reflects current market assessment of the time value of money
(e.g. by comparison to Rosie Co’s weighted average cost of capital).
– Revenue and profit projections for the period until January 2012, checked for arithmetic accuracy.
– A review of assumptions used in the projections, and agreement that the assumptions are comparable with the
auditor’s understanding of Dylan Co’s business.
Tutorial note: As the scenario states that Chien & Co has audited Dylan Co for several years, it is reasonable to rely on
their cumulative knowledge and understanding of the business in auditing the revenue projections.

参考答案：C

正确答案：
(d) Chairman’s statement at AGM
Thank you for coming to the annual general meeting of Rowlands & Mendeleev. I would like to make a statement in response
to the concerns that a number of our investors have made in respect to our appointment as the principal contractor for the
prestigious and internationally important Giant Dam Project. We are very pleased and honoured to have won the contract but
as several have observed, this does leave us in a position of having a number of issues and risks to manage.
As a project with obvious environmental implications, the board and I wish to reassure investors that we are aware of these
implications and have taken them into account in our overall assessment of risks associated with the project.
(i) A definition of ‘sustainable development’
One investor asked if we could explain the sustainability issues and I begin with addressing that issue. According to the
well-established Brundtland definition, sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present
without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.
This definition has implications for energy, land use, natural resources and waste emissions. In a sustainable
development, all of these should be consumed or produced at the same rate they can be renewed or absorbed so as to
prevent leaving future generations with an unwanted legacy of today’s economic activity. We believe that our involvement
in the Giant Dam Project has implications for environmental sustainability and it is to these matters that I now turn.
Tutorial note: other relevant definitions of sustainability will be equally acceptable.

参考答案：B

答案：C