A.The Capetian kings established strong royal power by conquest, as William had done in England
B.They kept the support of the popes by defending the Christian faith and by going on crusades.
C.They carefully defined the powers of their officials and closely supervised them, while using church officials as administrators
D.They developed Paris as both a trading center and a royal capital
(a) Explain FOUR factors which influence the reliability of audit evidence. (4 marks)
Andromeda Industries Co (Andromeda) develops and manufactures a wide range of fast moving consumer goods. The company’s year end is 31 December 2015 and the forecast profit before tax is $8·3 million. You are the audit manager of Neptune & Co and the year-end audit is due to commence in January. The following information has been gathered during the planning process:
Inventory count
Andromeda’s raw materials and finished goods inventory are stored in 12 warehouses across the country. Each of these warehouses is expected to contain material levels of inventory at the year end. It is expected that there will be no significant work in progress held at any of the sites. Each count will be supervised by a member of Andromeda’s internal audit department and the counts will all take place on 31 December, when all movements of goods in and out of the warehouses will cease.
Research and development
Andromeda spends over $2 million annually on developing new product lines. This year it incurred expenditure on five projects, all of which are at different stages of development. Once they meet the recognition criteria under IAS 38 Intangible Assets for development expenditure, Andromeda includes the costs incurred within intangible assets. Once production commences, the intangible assets are amortised on a straight line basis over five years.
Required:
(b) Describe audit procedures you would perform. during the audit of Andromeda Industries Co:
(i) BEFORE and DURING the inventory counts; and (8 marks)
(ii) In relation to research and development expenditure. (4 marks)
(c) During the audit, the team discovers that one of the five development projects, valued at $980,000 and included within intangible assets, does not meet the criteria for capitalisation. The finance director does not intend to change the accounting treatment adopted as she considers this an immaterial amount.
Required:
Discuss the issue and describe the impact on the audit report, if any, if the issue remains unresolved. (4 marks)
well managed and the group accounting policies are rigorously applied. The company’s financial year end is
31 December.
Prescott has been seeking to acquire a construction company for some time in order to bring in-house the building
and refurbishment of hotels and related leisure facilities (e.g. swimming pools, squash courts and restaurants).
Prescott’s management has recently identified Robson Construction Co as a potential target and has urgently requested
that you undertake a limited due diligence review lasting two days next week.
Further to their preliminary talks with Robson’s management, Prescott has provided you with the following brief on
Robson Construction Co:
The chief executive, managing director and finance director are all family members and major shareholders. The
company name has an established reputation for quality constructions.
Due to a recession in the building trade the company has been operating at its overdraft limit for the last 18
months and has been close to breaching debt covenants on several occasions.
Robson’s accounting policies are generally less prudent than those of Prescott (e.g. assets are depreciated over
longer estimated useful lives).
Contract revenue is recognised on the percentage of completion method, measured by reference to costs incurred
to date. Provisions are made for loss-making contracts.
The company’s management team includes a qualified and experienced quantity surveyor. His main
responsibilities include:
(1) supervising quarterly physical counts at major construction sites;
(2) comparing costs to date against quarterly rolling budgets; and
(3) determining profits and losses by contract at each financial year end.
Although much of the labour is provided under subcontracts all construction work is supervised by full-time site
managers.
In August 2005, Robson received a claim that a site on which it built a housing development in 2002 was not
properly drained and is now subsiding. Residents are demanding rectification and claiming damages. Robson
has referred the matter to its lawyers and denied all liability, as the site preparation was subcontracted to Sarwar
Services Co. No provisions have been made in respect of the claims, nor has any disclosure been made.
The auditor’s report on Robson’s financial statements for the year to 30 June 2005 was signed, without
modification, in March 2006.
Required:
(a) Identify and explain the specific matters to be clarified in the terms of engagement for this due diligence
review of Robson Construction Co. (6 marks)
Other alternatives to prison are based on the idea of preventing an offender from committing further offenses, without necessarily confining him in a prison. The most familiar power of this kind is that of disqualifying an offender from driving a motor vehicle or from holding a driver's license. This power is available under the laws of most countries to deal with those offenders who either commit serious driving offenses, such as driving while intoxicated, or who commit repeated but less serious offenses, such as speeding. In many countries there exists a system in which the offender is awarded a number of points each time he commits a motoring offense; when the number of points accumulated reaches a certain figure, he is automatically disqualified for a specified period. Some countries allow courts to disqualify from driving those offenders who have used motor vehicles in commission of the crime for which they are being sentenced, with the aim of hindering the offender from committing further such offenses. Although attractive in the abstract, this seldom works well in practice, as the absence of a driver’s license may well prevent an offender from finding work after release from prison; as a result he may be likely to commit further crimes. Other forms of disqualification may be imposed on offenders convicted of particular types of crimes: a fraudulent company director may be disqualified from being involved in the direction of a company, a corrupt politician may be disqualified from holding public office, or a parent who sexually abuses his children may be deprived of parental authority over them.
The first paragraph is primarily about ______.
A.ways of dealing with offenders
B.the probation system
C.the suspension of sentence on the offender
D.the suspended sentence of imprisonment
These kids are not old enough for jobs. Nor are they rich enough for camp. They are school children without school. The calendar called the school year ran out on them a few weeks ago. Once supervised by teachers and principals, they now appear to be "self care'.
Passing them is like passing through a time zone. For much of our history, after all, Americans arranged the school year around the needs of work and family. In 19th century cities, schools were open seven or eight hours a day, 11 months a year. In rural America, the year was arranged around the growing season. Now, only S percent of families follow the agricultural model, but nearly all schools are scheduled as if our children went home early to milk the cows and took months off to work the crops. Now, three-quarters of the mothers of school-age children work, but the calendar is written as if they were home waiting for the school bus.
The six-hour day, the 180-day school year is regarded as something holy. But when parents work an eight-hour day and a 240-day year, it means something different. It means that many kids go home to empty houses. It means that, in the summer, they hang out.
"We have a huge mismatch between the school calendar and realities of family life," says Dr. Ernest Boyer, head of the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.
Dr. Boyer is one of many who believe that a radical revision of the school calendar is inevitable. "School, whether we like it or not, is educational. It always has been."
His is not a popular idea. Schools are routinely burdened with the job of solving all our social problems. Can they be asked to meet the needs of our work and family lives?
It may be easier to promote a longer school year on its educational merits and, indeed, the educational case is compelling. Despite the complaints and studies about our kids' lack of learning, the United State still has a shorter school year than any industrial nation. In most of Europe, the school year is 220 days. In Japan, it is 240 days long. While classroom time alone doesn't produce a well-educated child, learning takes time and more learning takes more time. The long summers of forgetting take a toll.
The opposition to a longer school year comes from families that want to and can provide other experiences for their children. It comes from teachers. It comes from tradition. And surely from kids. But the most important part of the conflict has been over the money.
Which of the following is an opinion of the author's?
A.The kids are hanging out.
B.They are school children without school.
C.These kids are not old enough for jobs.
D.The calendar called the school year ran out on them a few weeks ago.