As part of an interview for a position as a Graduate Business Analysts for the Internal revenue service in UK, you are required to demonstrate your research and business analytical skills. As a result, you are tasked to:
Learning outcomes.
Upon successful completion of this module, students will have demonstrated:
Knowledge
Lo1. Improved knowledge in the collection and analysis of a variety of data.
Lo2. Ability to understand and interpret business problems including basic demand and supply analysis.
Skills:
S1. Critical thinking and analysis skills
S2. Skills in data analysis and produce information in appropriate formats for decision making in an organisation context
S3. Develop skills in using software generated information to make decisions at operational, tactical and strategic levels in an organisation.
Requirements:
This assignment has Two Options of which you are required to attempt only one option. Each Option Carries 100 percent of the marks. Option One
In option one you are required to write a 3500 report on any 3 of the 4 case studies. All questions carry equal marks (NB. Font size 12, line spacing 1.5)
Option two
In option 2, you are required to sit a 2.30-hour unseen exam. The exams comprise of 4 questions of which you must answer only 3. All questions carry equal marks. Any student who is interested in this option must notify the module leader and workshop tutor by week 4 through email.
Question 1
Rachid, the operations manager of Rash farms limited (RF Ltd.) lacks strong insight in any realistic business decision-making. However, he has been able to use the cost diagram below to illustrate and influence costing decisions in the company, Rash Ltd.
According to Rachid his budgeted annual output is 400,000 units, fixed cost amounts to £180,000, variable cost is £1.40 per unit and the sales price is £5.00 per unit.
Rash’s influence diagram.
Required:
a) Develop a mathematical model using the information in the influence diagram above. (7 Marks)
b). Calculate the profit or loss of Rash Ltd. using the cost and revenue information above. (6 marks)
c) Draw a graph with a spreadsheet, for a five-year projection from January 2025 taking into consideration an annual expected increase of 6% in variable cost per unit, 10% increase in total output per annum and a 6% increase in unit sales price (NB.
The changes must take effect from 2025 assuming that the current estimates are for 2024). (8 marks)
d) Critically analyse and comment on costing and revenue behaviour in general, and particularly that of Rash Ltd, before and after the projections. (12 marks)
Question 2
The figures below represent expenditure on advertising and sales revenue of a manufacturer of designer cosmetics, Look Nice limited (LN Ltd.) between the period of 2019 to 2023.
Year
Advertising expenditure (X)
Sales revenue (Y)
(£000s)
(£000S)
2019
2
60
2020
5
90
2021
4
100
2022
6
70
2023
3
80
As a newly employed graduate business analyst, you are required to:
a) Calculate the correlation coefficient of advertising/sales and comment on your results.
(10 marks)
b) Plot a scatter diagram of the data and discuss the pattern of the relationship of the two variables.
(8 marks)
c) Critically analyse the impact of advertising expenditure on sales and advice the marketing manager on how the company can gain competitive advantage in the perfume industry by adopting other relevant marketing tactics.
(15 marks)
Question 3
Bawumiah computers Ltd., produces and sells a specialised computer software program. Estimated unit data for next year are as follows:
£
Selling price Variable cost comprises of:
600
Labour
120
Materials
80
Selling
50
Anticipated fixed costs for the year are £100,000 for administration and £40,000 for selling and distribution. Estimated sales for the year are 640 computer software’s.
Required:
a) Determine the following for Bawumia Computers Ltd.
i) Breakeven point in terms of number of programs sold. (3 marks) ii) The margin of safety as a percentage of estimated sales. (3 marks)
b) The company’s target profit for the year is £62,000, Will the estimated sales volume be sufficient to achieve this. By how much will profit from the estimated sales volume exceed or fall short of the target profit. (5 Marks)
c) Prepare a breakeven chart for Bawumiah Ltd. clearly showing the breakeven point and margin of safety. (7 Marks)
(d) Critically analyse the benefits and limitations of the breakeven model. (15 marks)
Question 4
As part of an interview for a position as a Graduate Business Analysts for the Internal revenue service in UK, you are required to demonstrate your research and business analytical skills. As a result, you are tasked to:
a (i) Research the monthly digest of statistics or the national statistical archives for any two economic variables which you think
may be correlated (e.g. retail price index/employment, inflation/money supply, GDP/employment etc.) (8 marks) and (ii) Critically analyse and present your results in writing to the interview panel.
Bear in mind the dangers of spurious correlation and seeking other factors which may be influencing your data, including outliers. Interpretation may be simpler if you select cross sectional data taken at the same point in time (e.g. regional figures) rather than longitudinal data taken over a ten-year period. (25 marks)