The Divisional Managers of West Plc Have Requested That the Method

question 65

Multiple Choice

The divisional managers of West plc have requested that the method for calculating bonuses at the year be reviewed. Senior managers at the head office have proposed that a bonus of £40,000 will be paid to the divisional manager who has the best return on investment (ROI) of the 3 divisions and this policy is consistent with previous years. Divisional managers want the senior managers to take into account controllable costs and profits and residual income (RI) when deciding bonuses and also to include non-financial measures of performance. The main reason given by the head office for using ROI is that it is understood by all managers and that it is used by external analysts.
Summary of Management Accounts to 31 December 1997
$\begin{array}{|l|l|l|l|}\hline & \text { Southern }(£) & \text { Eastern }(£) & \text { Western }(£) \\\hline \text { Sales } & 5,400,000 & 5,000,000 & 5,590,000 \\\hline \text { Controllable costs } & 3,700,000 & 3,502,000 & 3,660,000 \\\hline \text { Head Office Charges } & 998,000 & 1,282,000 & 1,170,000 \\\hline \text { Net Profit } & 702,000 & 716,000 & 760,000 \\\hline\end{array}$

Capital Employed
$\begin{array}{|l|l|l|l|}\hline & \text { Southern }(£) & \text { Eastern }(£) & \text { Western }(£) \\\hline \text { Total Investment } & 4,700,000 & 5,100,000 & 5,200,000 \\\hline \text { Controllable Investment } & 4,000,000 & 4,100,000 & 4,274,000 \\\hline\end{array}$
Cost of Capital
The head office has estimated that the group cost of capital is 10%
Financial and non-financial measures of performance
The divisional managers normally report on a wide range of financial measures each month to the head office but only use non-financial measures internally and each divisional manager is allowed to use their discretion when deciding on the range and number of measures to use.
- Calculate the Return on Investment for the Southern Division

• A)14.9%.
• B)12.3%.
• C)2.8%.
• D)4.5%.

---

Definitions:

Binding Contract

A legal agreement between two or more parties that is enforceable by law.

Interpret

To explain or provide the meaning of something, often used in the context of understanding legal documents, languages, or artistic works.

Insurance Policies

Contracts between an insurer and a policyholder that define the rights and duties regarding financial protection against losses.

Mandated by Statute

Required or enforced by law, typically referring to obligations or actions prescribed by legislative statues.