Practice Free CIMAPRO19-CS3-1 Exam Online Questions
Peter Sorchi, Wodd’s Chief Executive has stopped you in the corridor:
"We signed a memorandum of understanding with the Bravadorian Government last night. Effectively, we are now the new owners of a forest in a new continent for us. It has already made it onto the business pages in the press.
Once the formalities are completed, we will be entering into new commercial territory. Our surveyors have looked at the first area that we intend to develop and there is a lot more hardwood than we first expected. That is good news in a way because it can be sold at a premium, but we don’t have any experience of selling hardwood and we are hardly going to pulp it for MDF or paper. I need you to identify the changes that we will have to make and to recommend how best to manage them.
The funding arrangements are still being worked out. Bravador’s banks are not in a position to fund a transaction of this size and none of the other banks that we have approached are prepared to lend to us. We will need to raise additional equity. I realise that we would normally make a rights issue, but I think that it would be simpler and cheaper to suspend the dividend for a year, which would cover most of the purchase price in itself. Please advise me on the advantages and disadvantages of doing that.
It would be ideal if you could let me have a briefing paper on both of these matters urgently."
Reference Material:
Six months have passed since you briefed William Seaton, Director of Finance on the relationship between Slide and Fouce Oil.
You have been called into William Seaton’s office:
“We had a visit from the Chief Executive Officer of Fouce Oil yesterday. We had not received any prior notice of the purpose of the visit and assumed that he simply wished to make a courtesy call while he was visiting Fouce Oil’s subsidiary in this country. Instead, he came to initiate discussions over a strategy of collaboration on oil exploration.
Rather than explain things myself, please read the memorandum of understanding that he has asked us to sign. It is self-explanatory.
Once you have read the memorandum, I would like you to email me your thoughts on the following:
The suitability of this proposal for Slide.
The likelihood that Fouce Oil’s strategic interests will clash with our own.
The strategic risks that are likely to arise because of this arrangement.
The manner in which this strategic relationship should be communicated to the stock market.
I realise that this is a challenging request, but I need your response quickly because we need to respond to Fouce Oil.”
The Memorandum of Understanding can be found by clicking on the Reference Materials button.
Save North Forest!
North Forest is located in an area of outstanding natural beauty that also includes a number of small towns and villages. Many local residents moved into the area after retiring and were attracted by the opportunity to breathe fresh air and be surrounded by beautiful views. In doing so, we have brought wealth into a local economy that was struggling because there was little employment to encourage younger people born in the area to stay.
Wodd plans to destroy North Forest in order to fuel a power station that will, in itself, spoil the view as well as polluting the atmosphere.
Globally, vast areas of forests are cleared every year for commercial exploitation. This creates untold risks for the planet because trees are responsible for giving us breathable air.
Local residents are working together with Green Marland, Marland’s largest environmental campaigner, to draw attention to the damage that Wodd is threatening to inflict on this area.
We ask you to write to the Government planning department to ask it to refuse to issue a permit for this development. We also ask you to sign our online petition and to consider joining us in peaceful and non-violent direct action against the bulldozers in the event that our efforts to block the granting of a Government permit should fail.
You have received the following email from Peter Sorchi, CEO:
From: Peter Sorchi, Chief Executive Officer
To: Senior Finance Manager
Fwd: Tax avoidance article
Hi,
I am forwarding you an email from a journalist. It came in via our press office, who passed it up the management chain and it ended up in my inbox.
Some of the basic facts stated in the draft article are correct:
We do have arrangements in place with leading tax advisers for referrals of potential clients. We pay a commission for all such referrals, which the tax adviser is required to disclose to the client.
Barry Crauder has been one of our largest clients for many years. He owns significant forested land and we manage that in return for our usual fee.
We do not offer tax advice, or promote forestry as a tax-efficient investment. We simply offer a forestry management service as a paid service.
I would like you to address the following issues and I need your reply as a matter of some urgency.
Could we be accused of behaving unethically with respect to this aspect of our forestry management service?
Please draft a response that we can submit to Sonia Jones. Please also give an explanation for the Board as to how you will address the fact that the draft newspaper article clearly makes us appear to be unethical. We will consider your draft and related comments at a meeting this afternoon, before submitting anything.
Peter
To: Press Office, Wodd
From: Sonia Jones, reporter, Daily Gazette
Re: Tax avoidance article
I am seeking a response from Wodd concerning the activities of the celebrity Barry Crauder. We have established that Mr Crauder has been investing heavily in forestry in order to avoid paying tax on the
considerable wealth that he has amassed from his show business career.
We believe that a significant part of this story is the relationship between forestry companies such as Wodd and professional tax advisers. When researching this story I posed as a wealthy investor and approached several firms that specialise in offering tax avoidance advice to high net worth individuals. Four of the firms whom I approached recommended a forestry scheme and specifically recommended Wodd to manage it for me. I believe that Wodd has a close relationship with these firms and possibly others.
I have attached a draft of my story. I have sufficient evidence to support every fact stated. I am writing in order to give Wodd the opportunity to respond if it wishes to do so, although the story will run regardless. I will require your comment within 48 hours, otherwise, I will run the story as it stands.
Sonia Jones
Chief reporter, Daily Gazette
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:
This arrangement will be subject to review at the end of five years and annually thereafter. In the event that either party wishes to discontinue the arrangement, all ongoing exploration projects will be drawn to an orderly conclusion.
Signed
Thomas Yip, Chief Executive Officer, Fouce Oil
Andrew Jones, Chief Executive Officer, Slide
14 May 2015
This arrangement will be subject to review at the end of five years and annually thereafter. In the event that either party wishes to discontinue the arrangement, all ongoing exploration projects will be drawn to an orderly conclusion.
Signed
Thomas Yip, Chief Executive Officer, Fouce Oil
Andrew Jones, Chief Executive Officer, Slide
14 May 2015
The following email has been forwarded to you by William Seaton, Director of Finance:
From: William Seaton, Director of Finance
To: Finance Manager
Subject: Yesterday’s Board meeting
Hi,
One of my fellow Board members made a brief presentation to the Board. I am attaching the slides that were used in this presentation.
I have to say that I thought that some of the advice being offered to the Board was incorrect, but I would rather make a positive contribution to the discussion and so I said very little.
I need you to email me your thoughts on the following:
Your views on the presentation relating to tax matters
Your views on the briefing relating to the decision making process
Your views on the briefing’s recommendations on driving performance
Finally, an alternative briefing note on driving performance. Ideally, that should be two or three headings, with a clear explanation for each.
As usual, this is urgent. Many thanks for your help so far with this project.
William
The slides can be found by clicking on the Reference Materials button.
Anton retired in 2014 and Wodd’s Board was delighted to welcome such a prestigious person to serve as non-executive Chairman.
Dr Carlov is a highly respected business person in Marland and wider afield.
He chairs both the Audit and Remuneration committees.
Stuart McLellan C Non-executive director
Stuart has been a non-executive director on Wodd’s Board since 2012. He worked in the timber industry in Canada for 15 years before joining Wodd. He worked as a lumberjack and safety officer for most of this time.
Stuart sits on the Health and Safety, Audit and Remuneration committees.
Xai Ling C Non-executive director
Xai was appointed a non-executive director in 2013. He also has experience in the timber trade. He worked in one of China’s largest building companys as a timber buyer. He is a member of the Health and Safety committee and the Nomination committee.
Lianne Edwards C Non-executive director
Lianne has been a non-executive member of Wodd’s Board since 2012. She is also a non-executive director of a major Croatian sawmill. She has had a long and distinguished association with that company, having served as senior purchasing manager for 15 years. Lianne sits on both the Nomination and Remuneration committees.
Regulatory bodies
The Forestry Authority of Marland
The mission of the Forestry Authority of Marland is to provide an ecological framework for the promotion of a healthy and cleaner environment for future generations by expanding forests and improving sustainable forest management.
The Authority offers partnership opportunities for forestry companies to create amenity woodlands for Marland, so that everyone can enjoy the benefits of the outdoors.
The Authority encourages forestry management companies to become accredited by the Forestry Stewardship Council of Marland (FSCM).
The Authority offers grants for planting and fencing forestry plantations and also offers assistance in applying for government forestry grants.
It offers advice on insect infestation in forests and other matters of sound stewardship of forests.
The Forestry Stewardship Council of Marland
The Forest Stewardship Council of Marland (FSCM) exists to support the responsible management of
Marland’s forests. We are a non-profit making and independent organisation.
FSCM publishes standards that promote environmentally sound and socially responsible development of forest lands. Companies who adhere to our standards are eligible to use our logo on their promotional materials and to display it on their products.
Consumers are increasingly concerned with the safe and responsible sourcing of timber-based products. The FSCM logo reassures customers that they are not contributing to the irresponsible destruction of forest lands, with associated harm to the environment and natural habitats.
The FSCM’s has developed ten principles, which form the basis for our standard setting programme.
These principles are listed below:
Principle 1 C Compliance with laws and FSCM Principles
Those responsible for forestry management shall respect all applicable laws of the country in which they operate and shall comply with all FSCM Principles and Criteria.
Principle 2 C Rights and responsibilities
The right to exploit land and any associated forestry resources shall be formally documented so that the legal right to conduct operations can be demonstrated.
Principle 3 C Respect for indigenous peoples
Those responsible for forestry management shall recognise and respect the legal and customary rights of indigenous peoples to own, use and manage their lands and other resources.
Principle 4 C Respect for employees and local communities
The social and economic wellbeing of forestry workers and of local communities shall be preserved.
Principle 5 C Good use of available resources
Those responsible for forestry management shall identify the various resources that can be found in the forest, with a view to maximising environmental and social benefits.
Principle 6 C Environmental impact
Those responsible for forestry management shall maintain biological diversity and shall preserve resources such as water, soil and other ecological resources.
Principle 7 C Management plan
Forestry lands shall be managed in accordance with a specific management plan that states the long-term objectives of management and the means by which they will be achieved. The plan will be tailored to the land and the nature and scale of operations.
Principle 8 C Monitoring and assessment
Those responsible for forestry management shall monitor operations so that the economic and environmental effects of operations are kept under review.
Principle 9 C Sensitive locations
Particular care will be taken in the management of activities in forests that have a high conservation value. Those responsible will pay particular attention to maintaining and enhancing the factors that create that high value.
Principle 10 C Plantations
Principles 1 to 9 apply equally to plantations. In addition, those responsible for the creation and management of plantations shall aim to complement the value of natural forests.
Press clippings
Reference Material:
You have received the following email from Marcus Svenson, Finance Director:
From: Marcus Svenson, Finance Director
To: Senior Finance Manager
FW: Pricing
Hi,
I am forwarding an email from Sarah Johns.
Sarah has not been with us for very long and this is her first experience of dealing with a currency price movement.
I am really busy, so I need you to respond to her requests. Please email her as soon as possible.
Marcus
From: Sarah Johns, Marketing Director
To: Marcus Svenson, Finance Director
Subject: USD movement
Hi Marcus,
A lot of our biggest customers are threatening to cancel orders unless we reduce our selling prices. Timber and associated products are commodity items that are priced in USD, so I thought that our prices would automatically remain competitive regardless of what happened to the USD. I am particularly confused over domestic sales, because many of the customers who have threatened to cancel are based in this country and we invoice them in M$.
Please help me to understand why the M$/USD exchange rate can affect our competitive position in this way.
I also wish to know why you have chosen to do nothing to hedge against this risk. If you look at the attached article you will see that the USD is an issue in the business news.
Sarah
A month has passed since you submitted the report requested by William Seaton, Director of Finance on the Board’s proposals.
You have received the following email:
From: William Seaton, Director of Finance
To: Finance Manager
Subject: Shale oil
Hi,
One of the geologists made a presentation to the Board, proposing that we investigate the extraction of shale oil deposits. I have attached the slides that were used as the basis for this presentation.
I need you to work on a response to this document:
Firstly, what risks do you envisage in our entry to the shale oil business?
Secondly, what do you regard as the key factors we should consider when deciding on proceeding with this proposal? Please justify your selection.
Thirdly, what factors should we take into account when deciding on which country or countries to commence this side of the business?
Finally, what are the challenges in creating a team of technical staff to lead our efforts in this area?
William
The presentation slides can be found by clicking on the Reference Materials button.