CIMA Strategic Case Study - CIMAPRO19-CS3-1 Exam Practice Test
Daily Gazette
Celebrities flock to release tax returns
Comedian Madd Wilkins is the latest celebrity to post his tax returns online. The comedian earned M$1,600,000 from his sell-out tour and from the sale of DVDs. He paid tax of M$608,000 on that income. The comedian quipped, "there's nothing funny about paying tax, but then there's nothing very funny about my act either so it's only fair that I should pay the full whack".
Public concern about the tax benefits enjoyed by wealthy celebrities using artificial schemes such as investing in forestry to minimise their tax bills has led to closing tax loopholes topping the political agend a. Many wealthy individuals have volunteered their tax files in order to reassure the public that they are not benefitting from such schemes.
Celebrities flock to release tax returns
Comedian Madd Wilkins is the latest celebrity to post his tax returns online. The comedian earned M$1,600,000 from his sell-out tour and from the sale of DVDs. He paid tax of M$608,000 on that income. The comedian quipped, "there's nothing funny about paying tax, but then there's nothing very funny about my act either so it's only fair that I should pay the full whack".
Public concern about the tax benefits enjoyed by wealthy celebrities using artificial schemes such as investing in forestry to minimise their tax bills has led to closing tax loopholes topping the political agend a. Many wealthy individuals have volunteered their tax files in order to reassure the public that they are not benefitting from such schemes.
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William Seaton, the Director of Finance stopped you in the corridor a week after the Head Geologist's announcement that reserves had been overstated:
"We informed the stock exchange that our reserves had been downgraded and our share price has taken a solid hit. We need to work towards making sure that this is never repeated.
The Board is actively considering some changes that we hope will improve our forecasting system. I am not convinced that the suggestions will work. Frankly, if we could predict the future with certainty then I would have us stop looking for oil and start selling forecasts.
I would like you to work through the proposals that have been put forward and to recommend on their adoption, with changes if you think it necessary. The issues that we are most seriously considering are:
* A suggestion that Big Data could be used to monitor oil prices. Do you think this would be a sensible way to proceed?
* A suggestion that we should update our reserves information on the company website in real time. Do you think that would be an effective communication strategy?
* Finally, we have considered a number of issues surrounding the motivation and inspiration of our geologists. Two quite distinct schemes have been proposed. Firstly, some Board members believe that our geologists should be rewarded in relation to the accuracy of their forecasts. Bonuses will be paid on the basis of correct initial evaluation of wells. The bonus will increase if a well that was initially identified as commercially viable goes into production and will decrease if a well that was classified as viable is reclassified as unproductive.
Secondly, other members of the Board believe that there should be a greater degree of accountability on the part of geologists. The incorrect classification of a well's potential could be treated as a disciplinary matter. Please provide a detailed analysis of EACH of those suggestions."
"We informed the stock exchange that our reserves had been downgraded and our share price has taken a solid hit. We need to work towards making sure that this is never repeated.
The Board is actively considering some changes that we hope will improve our forecasting system. I am not convinced that the suggestions will work. Frankly, if we could predict the future with certainty then I would have us stop looking for oil and start selling forecasts.
I would like you to work through the proposals that have been put forward and to recommend on their adoption, with changes if you think it necessary. The issues that we are most seriously considering are:
* A suggestion that Big Data could be used to monitor oil prices. Do you think this would be a sensible way to proceed?
* A suggestion that we should update our reserves information on the company website in real time. Do you think that would be an effective communication strategy?
* Finally, we have considered a number of issues surrounding the motivation and inspiration of our geologists. Two quite distinct schemes have been proposed. Firstly, some Board members believe that our geologists should be rewarded in relation to the accuracy of their forecasts. Bonuses will be paid on the basis of correct initial evaluation of wells. The bonus will increase if a well that was initially identified as commercially viable goes into production and will decrease if a well that was classified as viable is reclassified as unproductive.
Secondly, other members of the Board believe that there should be a greater degree of accountability on the part of geologists. The incorrect classification of a well's potential could be treated as a disciplinary matter. Please provide a detailed analysis of EACH of those suggestions."
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From: Martin Wills, Head Geologist
To: William Seaton, Director of Finance
Subject: Reserves
Hi William,
I have reviewed the situation with respect to our "probable" or "2P" reserves, as disclosed in our latest annual report. I am sorry to say that we have to downgrade our figures with respect to reserves. I am recommending that all extraction activities cease for the foreseeable future on the North Atlantic and South Atlantic fields and that the proved reserves be downgraded from proved to probable.
I have to stress that this is not attributable to any past error on the part of the geologists. The world oil price has been depressed and the discovery of large deposits of shale oil in the USA suggests that the oil price will not recover for some time. That means that some oil wells that were commercially viable this time last year are no longer worth processing.
The oil remains under the rock and I have no doubt that we will restore operations in the long term.
We are by no means the only oil company to have been forced to take this action.
The one piece of good news is that the financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2014 have already been published. My understanding is that we do not have to withdraw them, so unless you put an advertisement in the press, we can carry on quietly trying to sort this mess out.
I have my best people working on ways to extract oil from our wells more efficiently, so we may be able to increase production over the next year or so.
Martin
To: William Seaton, Director of Finance
Subject: Reserves
Hi William,
I have reviewed the situation with respect to our "probable" or "2P" reserves, as disclosed in our latest annual report. I am sorry to say that we have to downgrade our figures with respect to reserves. I am recommending that all extraction activities cease for the foreseeable future on the North Atlantic and South Atlantic fields and that the proved reserves be downgraded from proved to probable.
I have to stress that this is not attributable to any past error on the part of the geologists. The world oil price has been depressed and the discovery of large deposits of shale oil in the USA suggests that the oil price will not recover for some time. That means that some oil wells that were commercially viable this time last year are no longer worth processing.
The oil remains under the rock and I have no doubt that we will restore operations in the long term.
We are by no means the only oil company to have been forced to take this action.
The one piece of good news is that the financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2014 have already been published. My understanding is that we do not have to withdraw them, so unless you put an advertisement in the press, we can carry on quietly trying to sort this mess out.
I have my best people working on ways to extract oil from our wells more efficiently, so we may be able to increase production over the next year or so.
Martin
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Wodd's Chairman enters your office:
"I am glad I caught you, I am looking for some advice, but I do not wish to involve your boss at this stage, or any of the other executive directors.
I have been approached by Darrell's Chairman concerning the possibility of a merger between our two companies. I was a little surprised because it has apparently, according to a press article, been in talks with at least one of our competitors and I suspect that it is keen to merge with any large company that can offer some synergy. I understand that Tabel, another major forestry company, has already rejected its proposal.
I happen to know that Darrell has invested a little too heavily in its new MDF factory. It is state of the art, but it has to operate at close to full capacity in order to be economic and Darrell just hasn't got sufficient forestry resources to keep the factory operating at full volume without destroying its own forests.
We are attractive to merge with because we own large forests that can sustain Darrell's needs. We don't manufacture MDF ourselves, but we have lots of experience of supplying this market with raw material. We would divert lots of this output to Darrell's factory. Darrell believes that it would be possible to dominate the MDF industry if it merged with a company such as ourselves. The fact that we were quite liquid at the end of last year also helps, because I understand that Darrell is having a few cash flow problems.
Its Chairman proposes a full merger. This will be achieved by the creation of a new parent company which will acquire existing equity in both companies through an exchange of shares. He and I will head a special nomination committee to select the most suitable Board for the new company and then I will step down from the Board while he continues as Chairman of the new company.
Needless to say, this is all highly confidential.
Do you think that it sounds as if there are potential and achievable synergies between Wodd and Darrell?
Would you regard it as a gross ethical breach to keep this conversation just between the two of us for the time being, without warning your boss, until I have had the chance to negotiate further with my counterpart at Darrell?" Reference Material:
"I am glad I caught you, I am looking for some advice, but I do not wish to involve your boss at this stage, or any of the other executive directors.
I have been approached by Darrell's Chairman concerning the possibility of a merger between our two companies. I was a little surprised because it has apparently, according to a press article, been in talks with at least one of our competitors and I suspect that it is keen to merge with any large company that can offer some synergy. I understand that Tabel, another major forestry company, has already rejected its proposal.
I happen to know that Darrell has invested a little too heavily in its new MDF factory. It is state of the art, but it has to operate at close to full capacity in order to be economic and Darrell just hasn't got sufficient forestry resources to keep the factory operating at full volume without destroying its own forests.
We are attractive to merge with because we own large forests that can sustain Darrell's needs. We don't manufacture MDF ourselves, but we have lots of experience of supplying this market with raw material. We would divert lots of this output to Darrell's factory. Darrell believes that it would be possible to dominate the MDF industry if it merged with a company such as ourselves. The fact that we were quite liquid at the end of last year also helps, because I understand that Darrell is having a few cash flow problems.
Its Chairman proposes a full merger. This will be achieved by the creation of a new parent company which will acquire existing equity in both companies through an exchange of shares. He and I will head a special nomination committee to select the most suitable Board for the new company and then I will step down from the Board while he continues as Chairman of the new company.
Needless to say, this is all highly confidential.
Do you think that it sounds as if there are potential and achievable synergies between Wodd and Darrell?
Would you regard it as a gross ethical breach to keep this conversation just between the two of us for the time being, without warning your boss, until I have had the chance to negotiate further with my counterpart at Darrell?" Reference Material:
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Reference Material:
Wodd's Chief Executive, Peter Sorchi has stopped you in the corridor:
"This weak USD is really causing us some serious problems. I think that it is only a matter of time before the stock market starts to get nervous and I am worried that our share price will fall in the near future. Thank goodness it does not appear to have fallen by much so far.
I would like to brief the Board on two main issues tomorrow. Firstly, what can we do as a Board in order to minimise the negative impact of the weak USD on our share price? Secondly, we know the identities of the key investment analysts who deal with our industry. Would it be a good idea for us to brief them? Please also consider the ethical issues arising from both of these topics as well as the more technical matters.
Please let me have a copy of your briefing notes in advance. I need to be able to sound convincing at the meeting. I'll also have my secretary refer you to a really helpful blog."
Wodd's Chief Executive, Peter Sorchi has stopped you in the corridor:
"This weak USD is really causing us some serious problems. I think that it is only a matter of time before the stock market starts to get nervous and I am worried that our share price will fall in the near future. Thank goodness it does not appear to have fallen by much so far.
I would like to brief the Board on two main issues tomorrow. Firstly, what can we do as a Board in order to minimise the negative impact of the weak USD on our share price? Secondly, we know the identities of the key investment analysts who deal with our industry. Would it be a good idea for us to brief them? Please also consider the ethical issues arising from both of these topics as well as the more technical matters.
Please let me have a copy of your briefing notes in advance. I need to be able to sound convincing at the meeting. I'll also have my secretary refer you to a really helpful blog."
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