ACCA Platinum Text IFC & IBC 2011 (for DIGITAL prints)_Layout 1 13/10/2011 12:28 Page 1 Maximise Your Exam Success with BPP Learning Media’s Platinum Approved Materials LEARN Our Study Texts are the only Texts that have been reviewed by the examiner. This ensures that our coverage of the syllabus is appropriate for your exam. By choosing our Platinum Approved Study Text you are one step nearer to achieving the exam success you deserve. PRACTISE AND APPLY Our Practice & Revision Kits are the only Kits that have been reviewed by the examiner. Use our Kits and our i-Pass CD-ROMs to reinforce and apply your knowledge. Kits are packed with past ACCA exam questions together with full solutions and handy tutor’s hints. i-Pass contains approximately 300 questions, covering all important syllabus areas. REVISE AND RETAIN Revise using our pocket-sized Passcards and then listen to our audio Success CD to give your revision a boost. Our Interactive Passcards product takes the Passcards, adds additional tutorials, comments and lots of testing and links them to the Study Text. The result is a truly interactive revision experience. Revise using the on-screen Passcards and dip into the on-screen Study Text for more detail. BPP LEARNING MEDIA CUSTOMER SERVICES Tel: 0845 075 1100 (UK) Email: [email protected] Tel: +44 (0)20 8740 2211 (Overseas) Website: www.bpp.com/learningmedia To help maximise your chances of passing, we’ve put together some exclusive additional ACCA resources. To access the BPP ACCA online additional resourcesfor this material please go to: http://accaresources.bpp.com/student n Create a user account if you don’t already have one. Make sure you reply to the confirmation email. n Log in using your registered username and password. Select the paper you wish to access. n Enter the codebelowwhen prompted. You will only have to do this once for each paper you are studying. S T U D Y T PAPER F5 E X PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT T BPP Learning Media is the sole ACCA Platinum Approved Learning Partner – content for the ACCA qualification. In this, the only Paper F5 study text to be reviewed by the examiner:  We discuss the best strategies for studying for ACCA exams  We highlight the most important elements in the syllabus and the key skills you will need  We signpost how each chapter links to the syllabus and the study guide  We provide lots of exam focus points demonstrating what the examiner will want you to do  We emphasise key points in regular fast forward summaries  We test your knowledge of what you've studied in quick quizzes  We examine your understanding in our exam question bank  We reference all the important topics in our full index BPP's Practice & Revision Kit, i-Pass and Interactive Passcard products also support this paper. FOR EXAMS UP TO JUNE 2014 First edition 2007 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be Sixth edition September 2012 reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, ISBN 9781 4453 9647 7 photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior (Previous ISBN 9781 4453 7761 2) written permission of BPP Learning Media Ltd. e-ISBN 9781 4453 9207 3 We are grateful to the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants for permission to reproduce past British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data examination questions. The suggested solutions in the exam answer bank have been prepared by BPP Learning A catalogue record for this book Media Ltd, unless otherwise stated. is available from the British Library Published by BPP Learning Media Ltd BPP House, Aldine Place London W12 8AA www.bpp.com/learningmedia Printed in the United Kingdom by Polestar Wheatons Hennock Road Marsh Barton Exeter EX2 8RP Your learning materials, published by BPP Learning Media Ltd, are printed on paper obtained from traceable sustainable sources. © BPP Learning Media Ltd 2012 ii Contents Page Introduction Helping you to pass – the ONLY F5 Study Text reviewed by the examiner! v Studying F5 vii The exam paper ix Syllabus and Study Guide x Part A Specialist cost and management accounting techniques 1 Costing 3 2a Activity based costing 21 2b Target costing 31 2c Life cycle costing 39 2d Throughput accounting 49 2e Environmental accounting 61 Part B Decision-making techniques 3 Cost volume profit (CVP) analysis 71 4 Limiting factor analysis 93 5 Pricing decisions 119 6 Short-term decisions 153 7 Risk and uncertainty 169 Part C Budgeting 8 Budgetary control 199 9 Budgetary systems 213 10 Quantitative analysis in budgeting 233 Part D Standard costing and variance analysis 11 Budgeting and standard costing 251 12 Variance analysis 271 13 Behavioural aspects of standard costing 293 Part E Performance management systems, measurement and control 14 Performance management information systems 313 15 Sources of management information and management reports 331 16 Performance measurement 349 17 Divisional performance measures 377 18 Further performance management 399 Exam question bank 415 Exam answer bank 431 Index 475 Review form Contents i ii A note about copyright Dear Customer What does the little © mean and why does it matter? Your market-leading BPP books, course materials and e-learning materials do not write and update themselves. People write them: on their own behalf or as employees of an organisation that invests in this activity. Copyright law protects their livelihoods. It does so by creating rights over the use of the content. Breach of copyright is a form of theft – as well as being a criminal offence in some jurisdictions, it is potentially a serious breach of professional ethics. With current technology, things might seem a bit hazy but, basically, without the express permission of BPP Learning Media:  Photocopying our materials is a breach of copyright  Scanning, ripcasting or conversion of our digital materials into different file formats, uploading them to facebook or e-mailing them to your friends is a breach of copyright You can, of course, sell your books, in the form in which you have bought them – once you have finished with them. (Is this fair to your fellow students? We update for a reason.) Please note the e-products are sold on a single user licence basis: we do not supply ‘unlock’ codes to people who have bought them second-hand. And what about outside the UK? BPP Learning Media strives to make our materials available at prices students can afford by local printing arrangements, pricing policies and partnerships which are clearly listed on our website. A tiny minority ignore this and indulge in criminal activity by illegally photocopying our material or supporting organisations that do. If they act illegally and unethically in one area, can you really trust them? iv Helping you to pass – the ONLY F5 Study Text reviewed by the examiner! BPP Learning Media – the sole Platinum Approved Learning Partner − content As ACCA’s sole Platinum Approved Learning Partner – content, BPP Learning Media gives you the unique opportunity to use examiner-reviewed study materials for the 2013 exams. By incorporating the examiner’s comments and suggestions regarding the depth and breadth of syllabus coverage, the BPP Learning Media Study Text provides excellent, ACCA-approved support for your studies. NEW FEATURE – the PER alert! Before you can qualify as an ACCA member, you do not only have to pass all your exams but also fulfil a three year practical experience requirement (PER). To help you to recognise areas of the syllabus that you might be able to apply in the workplace to achieve different performance objectives, we have introduced the ‘PER alert’ feature. You will find this feature throughout the Study Text to remind you that what you are learning to pass your ACCA exams is equally useful to the fulfilment of the PER requirement. Your achievement of the PER should now be recorded in your on-line My Experience record. Tackling studying Studying can be a daunting prospect, particularly when you have lots of other commitments. The different features of the text, the purposes of which are explained fully on the Chapter features page, will help you whilst studying and improve your chances of exam success. Developing exam awareness Our Texts are completely focused on helping you pass your exam. Our advice on Studying F5 outlines the content of the paper, the necessary skills the examiner expects you to demonstrate and any brought forward knowledge you are expected to have. Exam focus points are included within the chapters to highlight when and how specific topics were examined, or how they might be examined in the future. Using the Syllabus and Study Guide You can find the Syllabus and Study Guide on pages x – xix of this Study Text. Testing what you can do Testing yourself helps you develop the skills you need to pass the exam and also confirms that you can recall what you have learnt. We include Questions – lots of them − both within chapters and in the Exam Question Bank, as well as Quick Quizzes at the end of each chapter to test your knowledge of the chapter content. Introduction v Chapter features Each chapter contains a number of helpful features to guide you through each topic. Topic list Tells you what you will be studying in this chapter and the Topic list Syllabus reference relevant section numbers, together the ACCA syllabus references. Puts the chapter content in the context of the syllabus as Introduction a whole. Study Guide Links the chapter content with ACCA guidance. Highlights how examinable the chapter content is likely to Exam Guide be and the ways in which it could be examined. What you are assumed to know from previous Knowledge brought forward from earlier studies studies/exams. Summarises the content of main chapter headings, FAST FORWARD allowing you to preview and review each section easily. Demonstrate how to apply key knowledge and Examples techniques. Definitions of important concepts that can often earn you Key terms easy marks in exams. Tell you when and how specific topics were examined, or Exam focus points how they may be examined in the future. Formulae that are not given in the exam but which have to Formula to learn be learnt. This is a new feature that gives you a useful indication of syllabus areas that closely relate to performance objectives in your Practical Experience Requirement (PER). Give you essential practice of techniques covered in the Question chapter. Case Study Provide real world examples of theories and techniques. Chapter Roundup A full list of the Fast Forwards included in the chapter, providing an easy source of review. A quick test of your knowledge of the main topics in the Quick Quiz chapter. Found at the back of the Study Text with more Exam Question Bank comprehensive chapter questions. Cross referenced for easy navigation. vi Introduction Studying F5 The F5 examiner wants candidates to be able to apply management accounting techniques in business environments. The key question you need to be able to answer is 'what does it all actually mean?' Modern technology is capable of producing vast amounts of management accounting information but it has to be used to help managers to make good decisions and manage effectively. The emphasis in this paper is therefore on practical elements and application to the real world. The examiner does not want to trick you and papers will be fair. The F5 examiner The examiner for this paper is Ann Irons, who replaced Geoff Cordwell from the December 2010 sitting onwards. Ann Irons has written several articles in Student Accountant, including one on how to approach the paper (September 2010 issue). Make sure you read these articles to gain further insight into what the examiner is looking for. Introduction v ii 1 What F5 is about The aim of this syllabus is to develop knowledge and skills in the application of management accounting techniques. It covers modern techniques, decision making, budgeting and standard costing, concluding with how a business should be managed and controlled. F5 is the middle paper in the management accounting section of the qualification structure. F2 concerns just techniques and P5 thinks strategically and considers environmental factors. F5 requires you to be able to apply techniques and think about their impact on the organisation. 2 What skills are required?  You are expected to have a core of management accounting knowledge from Paper F2  You will be required to carry out calculations, with clear workings and a logical structure  You will be required to interpret data  You will be required to explain management accounting techniques and discuss whether they are appropriate for a particular organisation  You must be able to apply your skills in a practical context 3 How to improve your chances of passing  There is no choice in this paper, all questions have to be answered. You must therefore study the entire syllabus, there are no short-cuts  Practising questions under timed conditions is essential. BPP's Practice and Revision Kit contains 20 mark questions on all areas of the syllabus  Questions will be based on simple scenarios and answers must be focused and specific to the organisation  Answer plans will help you to focus on the requirements of the question and enable you to manage your time effectively  Answer all parts of the question. Even if you cannot do all of the calculation elements, you will still be able to gain marks in the discussion parts  Make sure your answers focus on practical applications of management accounting, common sense is essential!  Keep an eye out for articles as the examiner will use Student Accountant to communicate with students  Read journals etc to pick up on ways in which real organisations apply management accounting and think about your own organisation if that is relevant 4 Brought forward knowledge You will need to have a good working knowledge of basic management accounting from Paper F2. Chapter 1 of this Study Text revises costing and brought forward knowledge is identified throughout the text. If you struggle with the examples and questions used to revise this knowledge, you must go back and revisit your previous work. The examiner will assume you know this material and it may form part of an exam question. viii Introduction