Case Study · May 2015

Advice on risk management strategies: The finance director asked for advice on avoidable or manageable losses. Link each loss to a way of reducing its likelihood or its cost.

Appendices: change tables: The marking keys reward analysis of changes in the financial statements in absolute and percentage terms. Build the same tables for each case.

Cases: Each case asks for one report to a named reader, with two requirements and appendices. Notice how every pack mixes emails, financial statements and industry data.

Key, requirement 1: value chain boxes: The tools box lists four points on the value chain model. Count how many of them your own practice answer would meet.

Key: appendices and ratios: The appendix boxes reward tabulated figures, ratio analysis and balances worked out. Compare them with the appendix checklist in this topic.

Keys: Both keys show eight boxes for each requirement and four overall, each graded V, NC, BC, CA or SA. Those papers have no executive summary box, unlike the current key.

Keys: Each key rewards a relevant disclaimer for an external report, language suited to the board, tactful comments and acceptable spelling. Check your report against those four points.

Marking keys for: Both keys have separate boxes for appendices and for report structure. The appendices box matches differentiator four. Check your own practice report against those boxes.

Requirement 2: financial analysis of Ice Age Manufacturing: The marking key rewards the revenue trend, falling profit, higher receivables, payables and inventory, high gearing and unaudited statements. Work the case yourself using the worked example in this topic.

Requirement 2: ratios with industry means: The appendix uses return on equity, margins, current ratio, inventory and payable days and gearing. Use the cycle section to rebuild the days measures.

Scepticism and ethics boxes: Both keys reward spotting unreliable information and ethical issues, such as unaudited statements, an unresolved dispute with auditors and an undisclosed regulatory fine. Use them to check what you would have spotted.

The Sadeco case: Each report names the same weak spots: report writing, scepticism, executive summaries and the choice of tool. Read all four and tick off the ten differentiators against them.

Unaudited statements and the finance director’s email: The key rewards spotting that unaudited statements are less reliable and that an unresolved dispute with the auditors raises integrity concerns. Apply the seven questions to each exhibit.