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(A). what do you think to the main reason for slow moving of sales figure in the financial quarters. (B)To what extent do the reports

(A). what do you think to the main reason for slow moving of sales figure in the financial quarters.

(B)To what extent do the reports support the view of the board that Houzit is financially viable?

(C ) . Will be able to maintain our gross profit margins in the predicted downturn.

i.Determine a trend of the average debtor days and the impact to the cash flow of Houzit.

Relevance doc

Case study: Houzit Pty Ltd

You have recently been appointed as the business manager of Houzit Pty Ltd having been a store manager for the past three years. Houzit Pty Ltd is a 15 store retail chain located in Brisbane. Houzit is the leading homewares retailer, catering to the growing need for furnishing new and renovated dwellings in the greater Brisbane area.

The assortment on offer of bathroom fittings, bedroom fittings, mirrors and decorative items together with the recently added lighting fixtures has positioned Houzit as a leader in homewares retailing in Australia. Houzit has grown over the past five years from a single store to the current chain. Houzit prides itself on superior after sales service which has been a key reason for the continued growth in sales and corresponding profit increases. Today Houzit employs over 150 staff.

Houzit Pty Ltd is a proprietary limited company (ACN 34 765 234 02) registered with the Australian Securities and Investment Commission. The registered address is with Houzit's solicitors (Langs Lawyers, 535 Queen Street, Brisbane, QLD 4000) and the principle place of business is 505 Boundary Street Spring Hill Brisbane QLD 4000.

Computer software requirement

The current accounting information system has not adequately provided sufficient analysis of revenue and expenditure and has made it difficult to make informed estimates of future profits. Estimates have relied on the 'gut feel' of the experienced traders on the board and of the senior managers. The board sees the need to apply more analysis to past results that they believe could be done with the introduction of state-of-the-art computer software.

Houzit Pty Ltd wants to upgrade their existing accounting system which will manage the company accounts more efficiently in the long run. They request that the new system you recommend to them to be compliant with all legislative and statutory requirements for small to medium businesses.

None of Houzit's products are GST free however the accounting information system records the GST collected as well as the input tax credits earned on the purchases of stock and assets. These amounts are reported and paid in accordance with the business activity statement (BAS) schedule determined by the Australian Tax Office.

They have 100 fulltime and 50 part-time staff, but only 10 of the staff will have or need access to the financial system. Some staff are paid on a salary sacrifice arrangement that attracts fringe benefits tax. The staff with access to the financial system want software that is a single purchase with no ongoing license fees, and a plan to keep using if for the next 3-5 years, while the organisation continues to grow. They are anticipating that within five years they will have over 250 full-time staff, and at least 20 staff will require access to the financial system by then.

The payroll system deducts withholding tax from the employees and remits this along with the firm's pay as you go (PAYG) instalment each quarter as reported on the firm's business activity statement. Income tax return for the company and its annual statement is completed by the firm's accountant. Taxes and fees due are paid by the due dates. Financial records are kept at Houzit's principle place of business.

Houzit have just upgraded their computers and have five new desktop PCs which will be used by the finance staff. They are current (for 2011) specification machines with i5 CPUs and 4Gb RAM each, and all have Windows 7 Professional and Norton's 360 installed with the professional version of Microsoft Office Small Business as well. Other staff will use their machines at various times, so it is important that the software requires a login to access data and that data stored by the software cannot be accessed in any other way.

Corporate details

Jim Schneider, the CEO, has asked you to prepare some financial budgets for the 2011/12 financial year as a preliminary overview of the financial year ahead. He asked you to first make 12 months budget and then break it up over the four quarters. The areas he is particularly interested in seeing is:

1.Sales budget for 2011/12 by department by quarter.

2.Profit budget (including detailed expenses) for 2011/12 by quarter.

3.The cash flow result per quarter of the GST after adjusting the GST collected by the allowable GST tax credits.

4.The anticipated aged debtors summary at the end of each quarter.

The CEO wants to be given all the budgets except for the aged debtors budget which the accountant and accounts receivable clerk can monitor. The CEO produced a summary of the current business plan that covered the budget year to highlight some of the key goals, objectives and strategies he would like incorporated into the budget.

Business plan summary

1.The anticipation that the coming financial year would maintain the same sales growth as the growth that took place between 2007/08 to 2010/11.

2.To budget for an increase in inflation to 4% per annum and that all costs subject to inflation should incorporate this particular increase.

3.A new car costing $97,466 including GST has been planned for in the coming period to replace the five year old vehicle currently used by the chairman. This fuel inefficient car will attract a luxury car tax.

4.Sales breakup over the departments is anticipated to be bathroom fittings 30%, bedroom fittings 25%, mirrors 15% and decorative items 10% together with the recently added lighting fixtures 20%.

5.Profits are to be built on securing a growing customer base which will generate loyalty sales and become the refer other customers to the organisation. The superior after-sales service is the key strategy to achieve this.

6.Reduction on the principle of the loan by a payment of $100,000 on the 31 December 2011 from the profits generated by the business.

7.One objective in this plan is to manage the debtors more efficiently in the current period. This will involve an analysis of the debtors to identify ways to reduce the amount of cash tied up in outstanding debtors.

8.The expectation that 2011/12 would be a difficult trading year but that the budget net profit should target the same result as achieved in the 2010/11. The strategy to achieve this in the business plan included three key elements:

a.To reduce the expected gross profit rate by 1% on the 2010/11 result in the hope that lower prices on the products would help maintain the sales growth even in difficult trading conditions.

b.To increase the advertising budget by $70,000 over the 2010/11 results in the hope that Houzit can secure a greater market share in a constricting market. $200,000 is planned for the first quarter with the balance apportioned equally over the following three quarters.

c.To increase wages and salaries by $172,500 over the 2010/11 amounts in the hope that allowing the existing high number of casual staff to earn commissions on sales that should help to maintain Houzit's sales growth.

After going through the business plan summary, the CEO gave you the previous year's financial reports and asked you to speak with the accountant Celina Patel to get some of the figures and detailed expectations for the coming year.

You arrange a meeting with Celina Patel, Houzit's accountant, and she gives you the following insight into the historical expense relationships and the current statutory compliance liabilities.

Sales and profit budget information

Celina explained that the only budget she monitors on a day-to-day basis is the cash flow budget and the store manager is primarily responsible for the sales budget.

These are the notes you take at the meeting:

The overall sales for 2011/12 target set by the business plan should be apportioned across the quarters in the same % as was achieved in 2010/11.

This was:

Qtr 1

Qtr 2

Qtr 3

Qtr 4

2010/11

3,142,822

3,771,386

4,085,668

4,714,232

15,714,108

Cost of goods sold is the inverse of the gross profit rate determined by the business plan and is determined by the quarterly sales budget.

Accounting fees have been negotiated for the year at a fixed amount of $10,000 to be paid in equal amounts each quarter.

The interest charges on the bank loan are anticipated at a reduced amount of $84,508 due to an agreed repayment of some of the loan principal. This is to be paid in equal amounts each quarter.

Bank charges are expected to be the same as 2011 and paid in equal amounts each quarter.

Celina has requested that a new expense (store supplies) be recognised in the new budget that was previously included in with the cleaning expense amounts. Store supplies in the 2009/10 results was $3,500 of the cleaning expense and $3,605 of the 2010/11 result. Cleaning expense will then be lower but identify the real labour costs involved in the cleaning expense.

Depreciation is expected to be the same as 2011 and allocated in equal amounts each quarter.

Advertising is to be apportioned to each quarter based on the business plan.

The following expenses are expected to increase by the determined inflation rate in the business plan summary:

Insurance - apportioned in equal amounts each quarter.

Store supplies - is calculated for to each quarter using the same % as determined by the sales for each quarter.

Cleaning - is calculated for each quarter using the same % as determined by the sales for each quarter.

Repairs and maintenance - apportioned in equal amounts each quarter.

Rent - apportioned in equal amounts each quarter.

Telephone - is calculated for to each quarter using the same % as determined by the sales for each quarter.

Electricity - is calculated for to each quarter using the same % as determined by the sales for each quarter.

Fringe benefits tax is expected to be the same as 2011 and paid in equal amounts each quarter.

Wages and salaries are calculated for each quarter using the same % as determined by the sales for each quarter.

The statutory requirements are:

superannuation is 9% of wages and salaries for each quarter

payroll tax is 4.75% of wages and salaries for each quarter

workers compensation is 2% of wages and salaries for each quarter

company tax is 30% of net profit before tax for each quarter.

Houzit Pty Ltd

For 12 months ended

Profit & Loss Actuals

2007/08

2008/09

2009/10

2010/11

Revenue

Sales

12,474,336

13,472,315

14,550,100

15,714,108

- Cost Of Goods Sold

6,860,901

7,409,773

8,002,555

8,799,900

Gross Profit

5,613,465

6,062,542

6,547,545

6,914,208

Expenses

- Accounting Fees

5,500

6,500

8,500

9,000

- Interest Expense

45,000

65,000

96,508

90,508

- Bank Charges

1,200

1,300

1,580

1,600

- Depreciation

170,000

- Insurance

12,500

12,875

- Store Supplies

- Advertising

50,000

100,000

280,000

- Cleaning

12,560

15,652

18,700

19,261

- Repairs & Maintenance

40,250

52,600

60,000

61,800

- Rent

2,465,000

2,538,950

- Telephone

9,862

12,523

14,000

14,420

- Electricity Expense

22,500

23,658

25,000

25,750

- Luxury Car Tax

12,400

- Fringe Benefits Tax

26,000

28,000

- Superannuation

148,500

160,737

166,500

171,495

- Wages & Salaries

1,649,998

1,785,965

1,850,000

1,905,500

- Payroll Tax

78,375

84,833

87,875

90,511

- Workers' Compensation

33,000

35,719

37,000

38,110

Total Expenses

4,770,245

5,017,987

5,331,563

5,457,780

Net Profit (Before Tax)

843,220

1,044,554

1,215,982

1,456,428

Income Tax

252,966

313,366

364,795

436,928

Net Profit

590,254

731,188

851,188

1,019,499

Houzit Pty Ltd

Statement of Financial Position

As at 30 June

2009/10

2010/11

Assets

Current Assets

- Cash On Hand

50,000

55,000

- Cheque Account

144,842

160,314

- Deposits Paid

950,000

- Trade Debtors

850,000

975,000

- Merchandise Inventory

1,530,000

1,430,000

Total Current Assets

Fixed Assets

- Motor Vehicles At Cost

500,000

- Motor Vehicles Accum Dep

( 100,000 )

( 125,000 )

- Furniture & Fixtures At Cost

1,950,000

2,250,000

- Furniture & Fixtures Accum Dep

( 650,000 )

( 770,000 )

- Office Equip At Cost

400,000

- Office Equip Accum Dep

( 90,000 )

( 115,000 )

Total Fixed Assets

2,010,000

2,140,000

Total Assets

5,534,842

5,710,314

Liabilities

Current Liabilities

- MasterCard

17,800

14,860

- Trade Creditors

780,000

679,000

- GST Collected

1,455,010

1,571,411

- GST Paid

( 943,125 )

( 987,626 )

- Superannuation Payable

100,000

120,000

- Luxury Car Tax Payable

20,920

- income Tax Payable

364,795

436,928

- PAYG Withholding Payable

65,000

44,872

Total Current Liabilities

1,860,400

1,879,445

Long-Term Liabilities

- Bank Loans

1,608,459

1,508,459

Total Liabilities

3,468,859

3,387,904

Equity

- Owner/Shareholder's Equity

500,000

- Retained Earnings

850,000

1,565,982

- Dividends Paid

( 500,000 )

( 1,200,000 )

- Current Year Earnings

1,215,982

1,456,428

Total Equity

2,065,982

2,322,410

Internal auditor

Carl Kerns is one of the directors of the board. Carl said that as a board member they are given the profit and cash flow budgets. He was appointed by the board to conduct an internal audit of operations to look for weaknesses in the internal control system. His report uncovered the following processes that he believed needed to be strengthened.

While the overall customer base is increasing from year to year, there may be internal control issues relating to how these new customers are secured.

Some discounts that were being given to customers were recorded as a net amount on the invoices and gave no indication of the discount from standard prices.

Some cash registers in the stores were not reconciling the cash in drawer with the register printout.

Not all timesheet overtime amounts were being authorised by the line manager.

Service invoices for some items of equipment were not signed or linked to a purchase order. There was no check that the work had actually been carried out.

Not all assets in the stores had unique codes fixed to the asset.

There was minimal feedback lines of communication from the shop floor to head office, particularly when an error in the budgeting report process was recognised.

Debtor reconciliations were not done monthly and sometimes not at all.

In busy times the cashiers that operated the registers were also asked to do their own reconciliations and banking. Sometimes the cash was held in the store for a day or two.

Job roles were not clearly defined so that responsibilities and liability can be identified.

There was little rostering of duties and cash receipts were not pre-numbered.

Of particular concern to Carl was the directive given by the board to ensure that audit trails were created and maintained. These included:

Signing the timesheets for employees under the authority of a department manager.

Maintenance of a numbered cash receipts book.

Using sequenced cheques as a systematic way of evidencing all monies paid out.

Ensuring proper coding of evidenced transactions against appropriate general ledger account and cost centre.

Ensuring reconciliations between company books and third party bank statements are performed.

GST cash flow budget

Statutory requirements for GST is 10% of the recorded amounts in sales. The only capital purchase planned for the year is the luxury car for the chairman. Those expense payments on which 10% GST was paid include the following:

Cost of goods sold:

accounting fees

insurance

store supplies

advertising

cleaning

repairs and maintenance

rent

telephone

electricity expense.

The GST amount payable each quarter is the difference between the GST collected from sales and the GST paid - format as per policy and procedures.

CASH FLOW ANALYSIS - GST

2011/12

Qtr 1

Qtr 2

Qtr 3

Qtr 4

GST Collected

x,xxx

Less GST Paid

x,xxx

GST Payable

Calculation

Debtors ageing budget

The historical records show that the debtors balance at the end of each quarter is usually about 20% of the quarter's sales. At any time in the debtors balances 1% of the total debtors is overdue 90 days and over, 5% is 60 days overdue, 10% is 30 days overdue and the balance of the total debtors is current. The aged debtors' budgets are only distributed to the accountant and the accounts receivable clerk.

Houzit Budgeting Policy and Procedures

Budget development process

The standard process for developing budgets will follow the following steps:

1.Establish the budget objective.

2.Gather prior period data.

3.Discuss prior period information and anticipated changes in the budget period with stakeholders.

4.Research relevant external information.

5.Incorporate identified trends to determine assumptions and parameters.

6.Prepare budgets in standard formats.

7.Submit budgets for approval.

Budget objectives

Houzit prepares budgets to meet various company objectives. Budgets are prepared:

for a specific expansion of the business activities:

business case to be prepared covering a cost-benefit analysis, market research report and summary profit and investment expectations

to outline a specific debt reduction initiative:

company-wide summary of profit expectations, planned debt and equity funding arrangements, CAPEX plans summarised

annually to cover the next financial year:

for the 12 month period from the beginning to the end of the financial year

budget to include four quarter milestones in line with seasonal trends identified from prior year data

initial preparation includes a preliminary overview of the financial year ahead

sales budget for next year to be prepared by department by quarter

profit budget (including detailed expenses) for the next year to be prepared by quarter

cash flow effect of the GST payable per quarter to be prepared (scheduled compliance payment date is the 21^st day after the end of the quarter)

To satisfy the statutory requirements relating to the current and short-term solvency of the company:

three monthly rolling forecast of cash flows to be prepared

To qualify the strategic plans for the next 3-5 years planning cycle:

profit and CAPEX budget to be prepared.

Budget variances and schedules

Key performance indicators that should be closely monitored and reported on include variances to:

total sales

gross profit (GP) %

wages and salaries as a % of total sales

total expenses as a % of total sales

net profit in dollars

net profit as a percentage.

Budget variances will be reported using the standard format provided in this policy and procedures document.

Budget variances must be completed within five working days of quarter end.

Actual results for the month will be provided by the accounting information system.

An analysis of the variance between the actual and the budget must include $ and % variance.

Report with explanations and recommendations to be complete within seven working days of quarter end and be given to the CEO.

Analysis and investigation of variances will include the following priority:

1.Establish the primary causes for variances to key performance indicators of total sales, gross profit % and net profit $.

2.Establish reasons for those individual items in the variance report that represent the greatest $ variance.

3.Establish reasons for those individual items in the variance report that represent the greatest % variance.

Schedules relating to compliance due dates must be prepared and monitored by the accountant. Managers supplying information to the accountant regarding the compliance schedule must submit it at least five working days prior to the due date deadline.

Standard formats

The following formats will be used when preparing Houzit budgets and variance reports.

Sales and profit budgets

PROFIT BUDGET

2011/12

Qtr 1

Qtr 2

Qtr 3

Qtr 4

Revenue

Sales

x,xxx

- Cost of Goods Sold

x,xxx

Gross Profit

Calculation

Gross Profit %

Calculation

Expenses

- Accounting Fees

x,xxx

- Interest Expense

x,xxx

- Bank Charges

x,xxx

- Depreciation

x,xxx

- Insurance

x,xxx

- Store Supplies

x,xxx

- Advertising

x,xxx

- Cleaning

x,xxx

- Repairs & Maintenance

x,xxx

- Rent

x,xxx

- Telephone

x,xxx

- Electricity Expense

x,xxx

- Luxury Car Tax

x,xxx

- Fringe Benefits Tax

x,xxx

- Superannuation

x,xxx

- Wages & Salaries

x,xxx

- Payroll Tax

x,xxx

- Workers' Compensation

x,xxx

Total Expenses

Calculation

Net Profit (Before Tax)

Calculation

Income Tax

Calculation

Net Profit

Calculation

GST Cash flow budget

CASH FLOW ANALYSIS - GST

2011/12

Qtr 1

Qtr 2

Qtr 3

Qtr 4

GST Collected

x,xxx

Less GST Paid

x,xxx

GST Payable

Calculation

Aged debtors

AGED DEBTORS BUDGET

TOTAL

Qtr 1

Qtr 2

Qtr 3

Qtr 4

Sales

x,xxx

% Debtors Sales

Total Debtors

Calculation

Current

Calculation

30 Days

Calculation

60 Days

Calculation

90 Days

Calculation

Scenario

The CEO of Houzit Pty Ltd, Jim Schnieder explained that he prefers to discuss the budgets with all senior managers prior to their distribution in order to ensure a corporate view of the strategic plans. He then meets with each group separately to answer questions and concerns about their particular area. Eventually the budgets will be printed in hard copy and bound as well distributed as an electronic spreadsheet.

Upon completion of the budgets you meet with Jim to provide an overview of the information contained within the budgets, the budget notes and recommendations regarding the internal controls to prepare him for the meetings with the senior managers. To clarify his understanding of the information, Jim asks you a series of questions (listed below, which you will complete written or orally as agreed with your assessor).

Case study: Houzit Pty Ltd

Soon after the end of the first quarter, Jim Schneider the CEO of Houzit, asked you to follow up with Celina Patel, Houzit's accountant, to see how the actual results compared with the budget you had prepared three months ago. You explained that you had a meeting with Celina that afternoon to get the results and that you would report back as soon as you had done some analysis.

The key questions that the board was most interested to have answered from the budgets and the variance reports were:

'To what extent do the reports support the view of the board that Houzit is financially viable?'

'Will we be able to maintain our gross profit margins in the predicted downturn?'

Jim and you both agreed that it had been a tough quarter with the economy still in recession and the impact this was having on the retail sector. Banks are raising interest rates in line with the increased upward international pressure and Houzit has a significant part of their loan funds on a variable interest rate which changes directly with market conditions. Jim was pleased that the sales seem to be holding up reasonably well as first quarter results are generally impacted by factors relating to public and school holidays but he was concerned about the discounts that had to be given to generate these sales.

'That's going to hurt us at some point' Jim said. 'Just a pity we could not get into some national magazines this quarter to promote the store offers. I'm sure that would have helped us exceed the budgets you set. I guess we will just have to spend that advertising money in the next quarter' Jim said. 'I still think we are running our wages and salaries a bit high. The industry benchmark for wages and salaries is close to 11% of sales'

Jim went on to explain, 'One of our contingency plans in a slowing economy is to reduce our exposure to debt by applying our profits to the repayment of the long term debt. This will help reduce the interest burden on the business and take some pressure off the diminishing profits. It would also be of interest to determine the impact that our debtors has on the cash flow of the business from 2010/11.'

You are a beneficiary of the company's profit bonus scheme that is based on the profitability of the company's financial reports which you are required to prepare. You also prepare the departmental reports that form the basis of the performance review of the managers. You are the manager of the finance/administration and prepare this department's report as well.

You met that afternoon with Celina and she provided you with the following report on the actual results for the quarter ended 30 September 2011.

Houzit Pty Ltd

Actual Results

Qtr 1

Revenue

Sales

3,371,200

- Cost Of Goods Sold

1,955,296

Gross Profit

1,415,904

Gross Profit %

42%

Expenses

- Accounting Fees

2,500

- Interest Expense

28,150

- Bank Charges

380

- Depreciation

42,500

- Insurance

3,348

- Store Supplies

790

- Advertising

150,000

- Cleaning

3,325

- Repairs & Maintenance

16,150

- Rent

660,127

- Telephone

3,100

- Electricity Expense

5,245

- Luxury Car Tax

12,000

- Fringe Benefits Tax

7,000

- Superannuation

37,404

- Wages & Salaries

410,500

- Payroll Tax

19,741

- Workers' Compensation

8,312

Total Expenses

1,410,572

Net Profit (before tax)

5,333

Income Tax

1,600

Net Profit

3,733

GST cash flow - Actual

Cash flow analysis - GST

Qtr 1

GST Collected

337,120

Less GST Paid

279,988

GST Payable

57,132

Aged debtors - Actual

AGED DEBTORS BUDGET

Qtr 1

Sales

3,371,200

% Debtors Sales

22%

Total Debtors

741,664

Current

585,915

30 days

111,250

60 days

37,083

90 days

7,417

Total Debtors

741,664

Budget variance report template

According to the organisational policy and procedures, the following format is to be used when preparing a budget variance report.

Houzit Pty Ltd

Variance to Budget

xxx Quarter ended mmm-yyyy

Actual Results

Budget-Qx

Actual-Qx

Variance

% Variance

F or U

Sales

x,xxx

F or U

- Cost Of Goods Sold

x,xxx

F or U

Gross Profit

Calculation

F or U

Gross Profit %

F or U

Expenses

- Accounting Fees

x,xxx

F or U

- Interest Expense

x,xxx

F or U

- Bank Charges

x,xxx

F or U

- Depreciation

x,xxx

F or U

- Insurance

x,xxx

F or U

- Store Supplies

x,xxx

F or U

- Advertising

x,xxx

F or U

- Cleaning

x,xxx

F or U

- Repairs & Maintenance

x,xxx

F or U

- Rent

x,xxx

F or U

- Telephone

x,xxx

F or U

- Electricity Expense

x,xxx

F or U

- Luxury Car Tax

x,xxx

F or U

- Fringe Benefits Tax

x,xxx

F or U

- Superannuation

x,xxx

F or U

- Wages & Salaries

x,xxx

F or U

- Payroll Tax

x,xxx

F or U

- Workers' Compensation

x,xxx

F or U

Total Expenses

Calculation

x,xxx

F or U

Net Profit (Before Tax)

Calculation

x,xxx

F or U

Income Tax

Calculation

x,xxx

F or U

Net Profit

Calculation

x,xxx

F or U

Note: F = Favourable, U = Unfavourable

Debtor ageing ratio template

2009/10

2010/11

2011/12

Trade Debtors

Sales

Debtor Days

Anticipate that the trade debtors for the 2011/12 financial period maintain the same growth as that which took

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