Institute of Certified Management Accountants of Sri Lanka. Strategic Level May 2013 Examination. Risk & Control Strategy and Policy (RSP / SL 4 404)

Transcription

1 Copyright Reserved Serial No Strategic Level May 2013 Examination Examination Date : 5 th May 2013 Number of Pages : 07 Examination Time: 1.30 p:m p:m. Number of Questions: 05 Instructions to Candidates 1. Time allowed is three (3) hours. 2. Total: 100 Marks. 3. Answer all questions in Part I and three (3) questions from Part II. 4. The answers should be in English Language. PART I Subject Subject Code Risk & Control Strategy and Policy (RSP / SL 4 404) Answer all questions Question No. 01 (40 Marks) Introduction RFC is a publicly listed company, which operates a chain of 28 restaurants throughout the country. The company has built a reputation for quality dining at affordable prices. The business model at RFC is to maximise the number of customers within each restaurant s seating capacity and to maximise the amount of money spent by each customer on food and alcohol. Restaurant Management Each restaurant has a manager. Many of these managers have been with RFC for a long time and are well known to senior management. RFC s Head Office allows managers considerable autonomy in the management of their restaurants. The restaurant manager decides on the menu for his or her restaurant, orders food and alcohol from Head Office and promotes the restaurant locally. Pricing is the responsibility of each restaurant manager. Price variations depend on location, competition and menu. Each restaurant operates a paper-based, order-taking system. One copy of the order is passed to the kitchen; the other is priced and given to the customer at the end of the meal. About 80% of customers pay their bill by credit card and about 20% pay in cash. The restaurant manager must control costs by balancing staff levels with customer demand. The manager must also minimise food wastage, for example by promoting daily specials. A market research consultancy carries out annual customer satisfaction and brand recognition surveys for each restaurant. 1

2 Central Support RFC s Head Office is responsible for strategic planning, financial management, and legal and governance issues. It also provides marketing support for each restaurant and purchases all food and alcohol through central purchasing arrangements. Sub-contractors are used to deliver fresh food to each restaurant daily. Alcohol is delivered direct by suppliers. Food and alcohol can be signed for by any employee when the deliveries are made to restaurants. Alcohol is stored in a locked storeroom. Financial Management RFC exercises strict financial and reporting controls. Each day, restaurant managers must report the value of sales to Head Office and deposit cash receipts to a central, bank account. Each week, restaurant managers must report the number of customers served each day and submit an inventory of unsold food and alcohol to Head Office. The cost of food and alcohol is charged to each restaurant. Staff salaries, based on manual time records, and are paid by Head Office into employee bank accounts. Incidental expenses are paid by restaurant managers using a corporate credit card. This permits local payments for advertising, menu printing and so on. The rental and utility costs for each restaurant are paid by Head Office. A weekly profit statement showing the performance of the restaurant is sent from Head Office to the restaurant manager. Accompanying the report is a comparison against the budget for that restaurant and the average results for all restaurants. Information received by each restaurant manager includes income, gross and operating profits, seating capacity utilisation and spend per customer. RFC defines gross profit as that which is controllable by the restaurant manager, after deducting the cost of food and alcohol, staff salaries and local payments. The non-controllable expenses of rent and utilities and allocated corporate costs are deducted to arrive at operating profit. The restaurant manager is paid a bonus based on the gross profit earned by his or her restaurant. Restaurant profitability The gross profit for RFC as a whole is 35% of sales income, but there is considerable variation between the 28 restaurants. The performance of 5 to 7 restaurants is of concern. The average sales mix comprises approximately 70% food and 30% alcohol. The gross profit is approximately 30% on food and 50% on alcohol. No restaurant spends more than 1% of sales on local purchases. Audit and Control RFC s internal auditor designed the management control and reporting system used by the company. The internal auditor takes a systems approach to auditing and ensures that the weekly management reporting and end-of-year financial reporting is accurate and on time. RFC has recently received the management letter from its external auditors following the completion of the year-end statutory audit. The auditors have identified a number of risks and have made the following suggestions: 1. There is considerable variation in spend per customer and gross profit margins between individual restaurants. This may be the result of poor restaurant management and/or malpractice. Internal audit should spend more time on checks on individual restaurants that are under-performing compared to the company average. This would allow improvements to be made by utilising best practice from better-performing restaurants. 2

3 2. The manual order-taking process has potential for errors in terms of the kitchen fulfilling an order and in pricing. There is also the possibility that the proceeds of bills paid in cash will not be paid into RFC s bank account. RFC should consider a computerised order-taking system in all of its restaurants to eliminate errors, mispricing and cash losses. 3. Inventory may be taken by staff for personal use. As most of the value of inventory is alcohol, the suggested computerised order-taking system would also provide a perpetual inventory for alcohol, resulting in more physical control and better management information. 4. Employee time records may not be accurate and employees may be claiming for working longer hours than they have actually worked. RFC should consider an automated time recording system whereby employees enter a code when starting and finishing work. 5. The customer satisfaction and brand awareness survey shows considerable customer dissatisfaction and a negative brand perception in a few areas in which RFC has restaurants. Management should identify the causes and rectify this situation. 6. Restaurant managers may use their corporate credit cards improperly, for example to make personal purchases or to purchase local food and alcohol contrary to corporate guidelines. Credit cards could be replaced with a small petty cash float to eliminate this possibility. 7. There is a risk of short-delivery of food and alcohol by sub-contractors and suppliers when any employee can sign for the delivery, as the quantities and condition may not be checked. This can lead to significant stock losses. All deliveries should be checked as to quality and quantity by the restaurant manager. (a) (i) Formulate a likelihood / consequences matrix (2 2 matrix) for RFC indicating whether they are high, medium and low. (04 Marks) (ii) Explain, with examples, an appropriate response for each of the risk categories identified above. (06 Marks) (iii) Apply the matrix to categories each of the seven risks identified by RFC s external auditors and state your reasons. (06 Marks) (b) Assume that you are the internal auditor of RFC, and write a report recommending to RFC s Audit Committee which of the external auditor s suggestions should be adopted and which should be rejected. Give reasons to support your recommendations. (14 Marks) (c) Explain the ethical issue faced by the internal auditor when responding to the external auditor s report. (Total 40 Marks) End of Part I 3

4 Part II Answer any three (3) questions Question No. 02 (20 Marks) The Y Company produces a range of dairy products such as yoghurts, cream and butter from one factory. The main ingredient for these products is milk, which is obtained from 7 different dairy farms within a 60 km radius of the factory. Y requires that milk must be delivered within 6 hours of being obtained from the cows and that the farms themselves use organic principles (farming without using manmade pesticides, growth hormones etc.). However Y s milk is rarely delivered late. Y maintains quality standards on each batch of milk produced confirming adherence to these standards (this is important to Y although customer satisfaction surveys show Y products are sold on taste, not sourcing of ingredients). In Y s factory, yoghurt is produced in batches. The inputs to each batch such as milk, fruit, appropriate bacteria and other ingredients are recorded in the batch database showing the source of that ingredient that is the specific farm. During production, Y s quality control department tests each batch for purity (lack of contamination from harmful bacteria etc) and acceptable taste, with the results being recorded in the quality control database. Any batches not meeting quality standards are rejected and destroyed. Y s costing systems have maintained a 5% failure rate in production for the last 6 years which is now well in excess of the industry average. On completion of each batch, the quality control department again undertakes purity control and taste testing. Batches are rejected where standards are not met; a further 2% failure rate is expected at this stage. Batches of yoghurt etc are packed on Y s premises and then despatched for sale via retail outlets such as supermarkets; Y does not sell direct to the consumer. However, Y has an excellent brand name resulting from innovative advertising and high product quality. Product reviews in news papers and news websites have always been favourable meaning that Y does not need to pay much, if any, attention to customer feedback. (a) Evaluate the control systems in Y for the manufacture of yoghurt, recommending improvements to those systems where necessary. (b) Explain the process of risk mapping and discuss how risk mapping can be used within the Y organisation. Question No. 03 (20 Marks) A foreign exchange dealer working in a London-based investment bank wishes to take advantage of arbitrage opportunities in the international money markets. The following data is available relating to interest rates and exchange rates for Australia and the USA: USD/ GBP( ) AUD/ GBP( ) Spot Month Forward The effective six-month Australian dollar interest rate is 3.32% and the equivalent USD rate is 3.68%. These rates apply to both borrowing and lending. Assume that in six months time the actual exchange rate between sterling and Australian dollars is AUD 2.32/. 4

5 The dealer is authorised to buy or sell up to USD 5 million per transaction. The costs for this type of currency trading are charged in sterling at a rate of 3,000 per transaction. Note: Each currency conversion counts as one transaction. (a) Calculate the spot and six-month forward cross rates between the Australian and US dollar. (05 Marks) (b) Explain the meaning of the term arbitrage profit and explain why such profits may be available in the scenario outlined above. (No illustrative calculations are required). (05 Marks) (c) Calculate the profit available to the dealer from exploiting the opportunity shown above, clearly showing all of your calculations. Question No. 04 (20 Marks) AK BROTHERS is a distribution company, which buys and sells small electronic components. The company has sales of Rs. 200 million per annum on which it achieves a profit of Rs. 12 million. Central Warehouse Department The company has a large Central Warehouse Department employing 100 staff over 2 shifts. The warehouse contains 30,000 different components, which are of high value and are readily saleable. Technological change is commonplace and components can become obsolete with little warning. Twice a year, the Purchasing Manager authorises the disposal of obsolete inventory. Inventory control is carried out through a computer system that has been used by the company for the last ten years. Purchasing and receiving Inventory is ordered using manual purchase orders based on tender prices. Goods received into the Central Warehouse are recorded on a manual Goods Received Note which is the source document for computer data entry. Data entry is done by clerical staff employed within the Central Warehouse. Customer orders Orders from customers are entered into the computer by clerical staff in the Sales Department. The computer checks inventory availability and produces a Packing List which is used by Central Warehouse staff to assemble the order. Frequently, there are differences between the computer inventory record and what is physically in the store. The Packing List (showing the actual quantities ready to be delivered) is used by clerical staff to update the computer records in the Central Warehouse. A combined Delivery Note/Invoice is then printed to accompany the goods. Accounting At the end of each financial year, a physical check of inventory is carried out which results in a significant write-off. To allow for these losses, the monthly operating statements to the Board of Directors include a 2% contingency, added to each month s cost of sales. Internal Audit Department The company s Internal Audit Department has been asked by the Board to look at the problem of inventory losses. Managers in the Central Warehouse believe that inventory losses are the result of inaccurate data entry, the old and unreliable nature of the computer system and the large number of small inventory items which are easily lost, or which warehouse staff throws away if they are obsolete or damaged. 5

6 (a) Explain the risks faced by AK BROTHERS in relation to its inventory control system and recommend specific improvements to the system s internal controls. (b) Recommend (without being specific to the AK BROTHERS scenario) the tests or techniques, both manual and computerised, that internal auditors can use in assessing the adequacy of inventory controls. Question No. 05 (20 Marks) You have recently been appointed as Head of the Internal Audit function for a large finance institution in Sri Lanka. Your company has also appointed a new Chief Executive, headhunted from a large US corporation where she had held the post of Vice President, Finance. As part of the new Chief Executive s orientation programme, you have been asked to prepare a detailed report which provides key information on the principles of good corporate governance for listed companies. You should address the following in your report. (a) The role and responsibilities of the Board of Directors. (b) The role and responsibilities of the audit committee. (c) Disclosure of corporate governance arrangements. (07 Marks) (07 Marks) (06 Marks) End of Part II 6

7 Present value table Present value of 1.00 unit of currency, that is (1 + r) -n where r = interest rate; n = number of periods until payment or receipt. Periods (n) Interest rates (r) 1% 2% 3% 4% 5% 6% 7% 8% 9% 10% Periods (n) Interest rates (r) 11% 12% 13% 14% 15% 16% 17% 18% 19% 20% End of Question Paper 7