APM Mar/June 2021 考题精讲
To ensure you select and use the relevant information in the case study scenario for each individual requirement, you should follow these steps:
1st:Reading
In your exam, before reading the case study scenario, you first need to read the requirements（问题）. This will give you a clear focus when reading the scenario.（先大概扫一遍案例题干和问题，带着问题去阅读理解以便更好理解问题）
2nd:Plan Writing（读完别急着写，规划下怎么写，列个提纲）
It is useful to break down the requirements. Typically, each question requirement includes:
- The topic of the question: what topic does the question cover?
- The focus: which specific part of the topic is this requirement about?
- The instruction verb: what do you need to do?
（写答案时按照上述三个内容展开答案）

Question
Section A
This section of the exam contains one question.
This question is worth 50 marks and is compulsory.
This exam section is worth 50 marks in total.
Exhibits
1. Company information

Fiag Bicycles （Fiag） is a large national bicycle manufacturer in the well-developed country of Beeland. It was a family-owned business（家族企业） until three years ago（三年前） when it raised new funds from a venture capitalist （VC）（风险投资家） to develop new models of bicycle.
Of the eight models in its current range, two have been significantly redesigned（重新设计） and one totally new model has been launched in 20X4. This new model （the Zoam） has been developed over five years and is Fiag’s most radical（全新的） development to date,as it is lightweight and has an electrical battery which can assist less physically fit（体质下降的） riders to cycle up hills.
The VC invested $30m in 20X2 and insisted that Fiag produce a mission statement as a clear indication of the company’s objective. The objective of Fiag is ‘to give the shareholders sustainable growth in returns（回报） by developing and manufacturing the best quality（质量） bicycles and so bring the joy of cycling（骑行乐趣） to a broad customer base in Beeland’.

Exhibits
2. Performance reporting
The VC has a non-executive director on the board of Fiag. She has criticised（批评）the executive directors over the most recent performance report（报告）that was presented to the board meeting in order to review the annual performance to 30 June 20X5 （Appendix 1）. Firstly（第一）, she was very unhappy about what she felt were attempts to manipulate（操纵） the picture of Fiag’s performance presented in the report.
Secondly（第二）, she repeated criticism that she had given in earlier board meetings that the report does not address（实现） the company’s objectives. She then demanded（要求） that the executive directors take action on these points immediately and asked that the board meeting be reconvened（重新召开）once this is done.

The chief executive officer（CEO） wants you, as a performance management expert in the company, to give him advice on these matters. He is committed eventually to（决心从事）a redesign of the performance reporting at Fiag but needs to understand the non-executive director’s concerns more clearly before this begins. He is happy that there are no arithmetic errors（没有运算错误） in the presentation of the performance report but wants a critical review（检查）from you:
1.addressing the question of manipulation in the impression given by the report
2.assessing whether the current report addresses the company’s objectives and briefly, any other issues in its presentation

Exhibits
3. External business environment
The CEO has recognised（意识到）that the company operates in an increasingly volatile（易变的）external business environment. Therefore, he has employed a consultant to perform a PEST analysis and he has given you the relevant extracts（摘录）of their report （Appendix 2）.
He stated that he does not（不）want you to re-perform（重复）the consultant’s analysis of the external environment. Instead, he wants you to focus on the implications（影响）of the PEST factors identified（显示）on Fiag’s business and then on providing a justified（充分理由的） recommendation of suitable performance indicators to measure the impact of those factors.

Exhibits
4. Production department
A senior production manager （SPM） has recently been angry at her failure to receive part of her bonus for the year, when she felt she had performed outstandingly. She is rewarded her bonus in two parts: one part is shares in Fiag in order to reflect the overall company performance; and the other part is cash, based on the performance of her department compared to budget. It was this second part where her expectations were not met by the reward.（经理对奖励的第二项内容愤怒）
During the year, there were significant price changes in materials used in production. The SPM has suggested that budget variances should be broken down into（分解成） those that she can control and those that are out of her control, as such assessment is otherwise unfair（不然不公平）. The CEO has supplied you with data relating to this in Appendix 3 and wants advice from you on the implications of this suggestion for management accounting at Fiag and for the SPM in this particular case.

Exhibits
5. Appendix 1
Performance Report
Year to 30 June

Commentary:
– Revenue from new and redesigned bicycle models grew by 200% in 20X5
– PBT has improved by 86%
– Operating margin has fallen by a small 1·8%
Notes:
1. Administrative expenses includes the income from a two-year government grant of $5m p.a. （in 20X5 and 20X4） relating to Zoam.
2. Revenue includes revenue from the Zoam （new electrical bicycle） （$25m in 20X5, $5m in20X4）.
3. Exceptional costs are the costs of developing the new electrical bicycle.

Exhibits
6. Appendix 2
External business environment at Fiag （August 20X5）
Extract of report by A Consultant
Political environment
– The government of Beeland has recently provided tax allowances to citizens who use a bicycle to commute to work.
– It has also supported cycling by building many new dedicated（专用的）cycle-paths.

Economic environment
– Beeland has seen steady economic growth for the last 20 years and this wealth has spread through all parts of society.
– The introduction of significant import tariffs has surprised many businesses such as Fiag, who import raw materials or sub-components for final assembly.
Socio-cultural environment
– Having a healthy lifestyle has become an increasingly popular aspiration（渴望） for the people of Beeland.
– The population of Beeland is ageing with increasing numbers of retired people.
Technological environment
– Cheap, new materials are enabling lighter bicycles to be built without compromising their strength（强度）.
– Battery technology has rapidly advanced so that it is feasible to fit lightweight electrical power units to bicycles.

Exhibits
6. Appendix 2
Production department information
Fiag’s senior management set standard costs and budgets for each department once a year.
The SPM’s problem arose in relation to the main product of the SPM’s department, the Speedy. The original standard cost for this bicycle was set in the budget as $255 per unit. During the year, actual production costs on the bicycle were $22·5m with 85,000 Speedys manufactured.
The main reason for the higher actual costs was a rise of 16% in material costs, as these materials are imported and the government has imposed extra tariffs on imported goods. If this had been known at the time that budgets were set, then the standard cost would have been set at $268 per unit. The SPM would receive the second part of her bonus （10% of base salary） if costs have a favourable variance.

Requirements
It is now 1 September 20X5.
Write a report to the chief executive officer （CEO） to respond to his instructions for work on the following areas:
（a） the performance reporting at Fiag focused on:
（i） the question of manipulation in the board report; （12 marks）
（ii） whether the report addresses the company’s objectives and the report’s presentation;
（14 marks）
（b） the consultant’s report on the external business environment; （12 marks）
（c） the issue of performance measurement at the production department. （8 marks）
Professional marks will be awarded for the format, style and structure of the discussion of your answer. （4 marks）
（50 marks）
（现在考试的问题部分都表述的简略，因为对于问题的要求题干写的详细了，所以一定要回到题干弄清完整的问题）