General Queries Topic 8

Hi Trephena,

Sorry for following up.
I was wondering if you could guide me to decide with company to choose for topic 8 if my company wont allow me to access to the info for topic 6

I was thinking of use Boeing company as case study for RAP and company with Airbus. Do you think that it would be too difficult?

Thanks and Regards

Gabriella

HI Trephena,

Thank you for your reply
Best Regards

Gabriella

payables in consolidated statement including trade payables and other payables.

when i caculated the ratios ( payable days) which figure should i use ??

currently i caculated the ratios using only trade payables , result show up trend in 3 years .

but if calculated by the consolidated figure which including trade and other payables , it will show down trend and this trend is mention in annual report .

am i correct by using the trade payable separately > ? or could i talk trade payable and other payable separately ?? thanks for you advice

Unfortunately I am unaware of any quick method of achieving this. Someone has suggested one answer on the Referencing forum topic thread. What might work if it was done from the beginning is to copy each entry into Excel and use sort but could still be a bit time consuming and I would still be inclined to just cut and paste the Word doc.

(I would ask that questions are posted on the relevant thread by everyone -as this one relates to all topics not just Topic 8 this current thread is not the best place for it)

The whole point is whether the difference between the two figures is significant and why it has been adjusted.

Markers will want you to get behind the figures. Mostly they want you to look at the management strategies (that is how strategic decisions taken by the board) have influenced performance.

You need to focus on good application of the models identifying strengths (in particular for example, specific products) and market opportunities. One thing if you have chosen Boeing is that there has been a significant repurchase of shares. When looking at liquidity, gearing and shareholder returns this will have played a big role in changes to these ratios and so you should evaluate the effectiveness of this decision all round. This is the type of approach needed.

When it comes to analysis don’t just throw figures at the marker, explain. So the answer to your question indirectly Is: is this ‘one-off change’ really important or not? (is it for example a change in depreciation methods -something that does not affect revenue, market position or liquidity at all?) Do not go on in your report about things the marker can see from the graphs or reading the notes to the accounts for themselves. If the adjusted figure is just an audit ‘thing’ then it is not of particular significance so focus on factors that are important.

This shouldn’t be a problem if you state this fact in your limitations and any implications affecting the comparisons

@trephena i am due to appear for the OBU BSc, i am facing a small problem. The company i have chosen under the food products category, is a private entity for which i can get the required data for topic 8. This company only exports.

The problem is that its competitor is a listed entity with operations in local market as well as exports. Now i do not believe them to be on the same level. The listed competitor is huge in every aspect.

Can i use that competitor to compare my chosen private entity with? Furthermore, there are no other competitors in the market that are listed so i cant get their data. The competitor chosen is the only listed entity that has published financials and its export process has a similar business model as the private entity which i will use. Moreover, it does hold a significant marketshare.

Hi i need help with the following
1. Can my companies for topic 8 have different year ends. For example one has 31 December the other has 31 March
2. And if the latest annual report comes out in April before we submit should include it in my report or should i use what is available to date.

Hi Kernowkid

For Strategy readings, we suggest going straight to the original authors, where possible. For example, why quote from other sources on Porter’s 5 Forces, when the student should be reading Porter himself?

As for ratio analysis, you could just search for a reputable source that could come from consultancies (like McKinsey or Deloitte), banks or universities.

All said, we do hope you have selected a well-known company such that there is an abundance of information on it’s business. Some lesser known companies have very little public information, making it difficult to conduct analysis such as a SWOT.

It is better to look beyond your ACCA textbooks as over-reliance on the ACCA textbooks may signal to the examiner that the student is not comfortable and familiar with research skills.

All the best,
Irwin
The Learning Luminarium

Hi Nhongo,

1) different year ends are fine. Just recognize it as a limitation of your report.

2) The information pack discusses whether you should use the annual reports and when is the cut off date that OBU uses (ie after this date, you can ignore the annual report releases)

Best,
Irwin
The Learning Luminarium

Hi Scarlet,

No, use the focus company’s most recent set of audited annual accounts (31/03/17) and you will be fine. They will not penalize you for ignoring 2017.

All the best,
Irwin
The Learning Luminarium

have an issue I need clarification on and will really appreciate help.
I am doing topic 19 .i plan to do a pre and post merger financial analysis (ratio/trend) of the acquiring company. The merger I’m basing the RAP on happened early to mid 2015 so my premerger years are 2012,2013 and 2014. In June 2013 the acquiring company was itself acquired and the new owners changed its year end from April 30 to dec 31 the consolidated p&l therefore includes a full year 2012 result (ending 28 April 2013), 9 months results known as the transition period(29th April-31 dec 2013) and full year 2014(Jan-dec 2014)

However in the annual report , to assess performance the p&l was restated covering two periods.
The first one compares 2013 and 14 performance and the p&l was prepared for the 12 months period to 31 dec 2013/14(52 weeks )
The second compares 2013 and 2012 the p&l was prepared for the period April to dec 2012/13(34 weeks).

My question now is how to compare like for like ( with different period lengths 52 wks vs 34 wks) and also how do I establish the trend for three years
Is it ok if I show trend for each of the two periods separately and do my analysis separately as the company has done?I mean for eg do one (sales growth)graph showing 2013 vs 2014 and another showing 2013 vs 2012 and do my analysis for each based on the periods ?

I don’t know if I make sense but I can send you the financials through email if you don’t mind looking at it so that you can understand what I’m trying to say if this post is not too clear.