(e) Briefly discuss FOUR initiatives that management might consider in order to further enhance profitability.

(4 marks)

(c) (i) Using ONLY the above information, assess the competitive position of Diverse Holdings Plc.

(7 marks)

(ii) Explain THREE strategies that might be adopted in order to improve the future prospects of Diverse

Holdings Plc. (6 marks)

3 Better budgeting in recent years may have been seen as a movement from ‘incremental budgeting’ to alternative

budgeting approaches.

However, academic studies (e.g. Beyond Budgeting – Hope & Fraser) argue that the annual budget model may be

seen as (i) having a number of inherent weaknesses and (ii) acting as a barrier to the effective implementation of

alternative models for use in the accomplishment of strategic change.

Required:

(a) Identify and comment on FIVE inherent weaknesses of the annual budget model irrespective of the budgeting

approach that is applied. (8 marks)

2 The Information Technology division (IT) of the RJ Business Consulting Group provides consulting services to its

clients as well as to other divisions within the group. Consultants always work in teams of two on every consulting

day. Each consulting day is charged to external clients at ￡750 which represents cost plus 150% profit mark up. The

total cost per consulting day has been estimated as being 80% variable and 20% fixed.

The director of the Human Resources (HR) division of RJ Business Consulting Group has requested the services of

two teams of consultants from the IT division on five days per week for a period of 48 weeks, and has suggested that

she meets with the director of the IT division in order to negotiate a transfer price. The director of the IT division has

responded by stating that he is aware of the limitations of using negotiated transfer prices and intends to charge the

HR division ￡750 per consulting day.

The IT division always uses ‘state of the art’ video-conferencing equipment on all internal consultations which would

reduce the variable costs by ￡50 per consulting day. Note: this equipment can only be used when providing internal

consultations.

Required:

(a) Calculate and discuss the transfer prices per consulting day at which the IT division should provide

consulting services to the HR division in order to ensure that the profit of the RJ Business Consulting Group

is maximised in each of the following situations:

(i) Every pair of consultants in the IT division is 100% utilised during the required 48-week period in

providing consulting services to external clients, i.e. there is no spare capacity.

(ii) There is one team of consultants who, being free from other commitments, would be available to

undertake the provision of services to the HR division during the required 48-week period. All other

teams of consultants would be 100% utilised in providing consulting services to external clients.

(iii) A major client has offered to pay the IT division ￡264,000 for the services of two teams of consultants

during the required 48-week period.

(12 marks)

5 Astrodome Sports Ltd was formed in December 2000 by seven engineers who comprise the board of directors of the

company. The seven engineers previously worked together for ‘Telstar’, a satellite navigation company.

In conjunction with one of the three largest construction companies within their country they constructed the ‘365

Sports Complex’ which has a roof that opens and uses revolutionary satellite technology to maintain grass surfaces

within the complex. The complex facilities, which are available for use on each day of the year, include two tennis

courts, a cricket pitch, an equestrian centre and six bowling greens. The tennis courts and cricket pitch are suitable

for use as venues for national competitions. The equestrian centre offers horse-riding lessons to the general public and

is also a suitable venue for show-jumping competitions. The equestrian centre and bowling greens have increased in

popularity as a consequence of regular television coverage of equestrian and bowling events.

In spite of the high standard of the grass surfaces within the sports complex, the directors are concerned by reduced

profit levels as a consequence of both falling revenues and increasing costs. The area in which the ‘365 Sports

Complex’ is located has high unemployment but is served by all public transport services.

The directors of Astrodome Sports Ltd have different views about the course of action that should be taken to provide

a strategy for the future improvement in the performance of the complex. Each director’s view is based on his/her

individual perception as to the interpretation of the information contained in the performance measurement system of

the complex. These are as follows:

Director

(a) ‘There is no point whatsoever in encouraging staff to focus on interaction with customers in efforts to create a

‘user friendly’ environment. What we need is to maintain the quality of our grass surfaces at all costs since that

is the distinguishing feature of our business.’

(b) ‘Buy more equipment which can be hired out to users of our facilities. This will improve our utilisation ratios

which will lead to increased profits.’

(c) ‘We should focus our attention on maximising the opening hours of our facilities. Everything else will take care

of itself.’

(d) ‘Recent analysis of customer feedback forms indicates that most of our customers are satisfied with the facilities.

In fact, the only complaints are from three customers – the LCA University which uses the cricket pitch for

matches, the National Youth Training Academy which held training sessions on the tennis courts, and a local

bowling team.’

(e) ‘We should reduce the buildings maintenance budget by 25% and spend the money on increased advertising of

our facilities which will surely attract more customers.’

(f) ‘We should hold back on our efforts to overcome the shortage of bowling equipment for hire. Recent rumours are

that the National Bowling Association is likely to offer large financial grants next year to sports complexes who

can show they have a demand for the sport but have deficiencies in availability of equipment.’

(g) ‘Why change our performance management system? Our current areas of focus provide us with all the

information we need to ensure that we remain a profitable and effective business.’

As management accountant of Astrodome Sports Ltd you have recently read an article which discussed the following

performance measurement problems:

(i) Tunnel vision

(ii) Sub-optimisation

(iii) Misinterpretation

(iv) Myopia

(v) Measure fixation

(vi) Misrepresentation

(vii) Gaming

(viii) Ossification.

Required:

(a) Explain FOUR of the above-mentioned performance measurement problems (i-viii) and discuss which of the

views of the directors (a-g) illustrate its application in each case. (12 marks)

(b) Discuss ways in which the traditional budgeting process may be seen as a barrier to the achievement of the

aims of EACH of the following models for the implementation of strategic change:

(i) benchmarking;

(ii) balanced scorecard; and

(iii) activity-based models. (12 marks)

(b) Briefly explain THREE limitations of negotiated transfer prices. (3 marks)

(b) Discuss FOUR factors that distinguish service from manufacturing organisations and explain how each of

these factors relates to the services provided by the Dental Health Partnership. (5 marks)

(b) Discuss the relevance of each of the following actions as steps in trying to remedy performance measurement

problems relating to the ‘365 Sports Complex’ and suggest examples of specific problem classifications that

may be reduced or eliminated by each action:

(i) Focusing on and improving the measurement of customer satisfaction

(ii) Involving staff at all levels in the development and implementation of performance measures

(iii) Being flexible in the extent to which formal performance measures are relied on

(iv) Giving consideration to the auditing of the performance measurement system. (8 marks)