2012年12月ACCA考试F9考试考官报告-高顿教育

2012年12月ACCA考试F9考试考官报告

高顿网校2013-06-21 13:12Lucy

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　　每次考试结束ACCA考官都会根据本次考试考生的总体表现情况写报告，具体分析学生在答题过程中出现的问题，总结学生在备考该科目时应该注意的事项，以下是2012年12月F9考官报告：

　　General Comments

　　Congratulations to all those candidates who were successful in passing Paper F9 in December 2012! The overall performance in December 2012 was good and most candidates answered four full questions. Please read this report carefully if you were not successful in passing the paper at this sitting, as it indicates areas where candidate answers in general could be improved, as well as indicating where candidates did well. It is also recommended that this report should be read in conjunction with the detailed suggested answers written by the examiner. Overall, the highest marks were usually gained on question 1, while roughly equal marks were gained on questions 2, 3 and 4.

　　Specific Comments

　　Question One (a)

　　This question called for the calculation of the net present value (NPV) of a construction project for BQK Co and then comment on its financial acceptability. Many candidates gained high marks on this part of question. A nominal terms *uation had to be undertaken because tax on profits was being paid one year in arrears, and because specific inflation rates were linked with selling price, variable cost and infrastructure costs. The nominal after-tax cost of capital of 12% was given in the question. Some answers mistakenly used the real after-tax cost of capital of 9%, or tried to calculate another discount rate altogether using the Fisher equation, but all that was needed was to use the 12% rate provided. Although the question stated that two types of houses were to be built on the development site, some candidates mistakenly treated large houses and small houses as two separate investment projects. Some candidates chose to ignore the fixed infrastructure costs which the question stated were for new roads, gardens, drainage and utilities, arguing that fixed costs were not relevant in investment appraisal, but a housing development without roads, drainage and so on would not be a practical investment. Most answers calculated correctly the nominal values of sales income, variable costs and fixed costs, and then calculated correctly and timed correctly in arrears the tax liabilities on the before-tax cash flow. The question said that capital allowances on the purchase cost of the development site were on a straight-line basis over the four year construction period. Most answers calculated correctly the associated capital allowance tax benefits, although some candidates lost marks by calculating capital allowances on a 25% reducing balance basis. Having calculated nominal after-tax cash flows, some candidates chose mistakenly to discount them with the real after-tax cost of capital of 9%. Nominal after-tax cash flows must be discounted with a nominal after-tax cost of capital (this is the nominal terms approach).

　　Some answers chose not to comment on the financial acceptability of the investment project and so lost a relatively straightforward mark. A small number of answers wasted valuable time by commenting at length on financial acceptability, for example by discussing critically the merits of NPV as an investment appraisal method.

　　Question One (b)

　　Candidates were asked here to calculate the before-tax return on capital employed (ROCE) of the investment project on an average investment basis and to discuss briefly its financial acceptability. Many candidates did not gain full marks here because they were not sure of how to calculate ROCE for investment appraisal purposes. The definition of ROCE in this case is average annual accounting profit as a percentage of average annual investment. Since the NPV *uation was in cash flow terms, accounting profit had to be calculated by subtracting depreciation from investment project cash flows, a point overlooked by some candidates. Some candidates were also not aware that average annual accounting profit, rather than total accounting profit, was needed. Some candidates incorrectly chose to calculate internal rate of return (IRR), perhaps because they were confusing ROCE with IRR. It is also possible that this error was partly due to the fact that both ROCE and IRR are relative measures of investment worth.

　　Question One (c)

　　The requirement here was to discuss the effect of a substantial rise in interest rates on the financing cost of the construction company and its customers and on the capital investment decision-making process. This question allowed students to show their understanding of how a company might be affected by its economic environment and many candidates gained credit for making relevant points. For example, the increased cost of customer borrowing might lead to a reduction in forecast demand for housing that could be countered in part by a change in product mix, increasing the proportion of small houses expected to be built. Candidates who lost marks tended to do this in one of two ways. Firstly, some candidates spent time explaining why interest rates might increase in an economy, something that was not required by the question and so did not gain any credit. Secondly, some candidates explained, occasionally at length, the stages in the investment appraisal process. Again, since this had not been asked for, such explanations did not gain any credit.