BA1
FUNDAMENTALS OF BUSINESS
ECONOMICS
CIMA EXAM PRACTICE KIT
S UB J E CT B A1 : F UNDA ME N TA LS OF B US INES S ECONOMICS
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ISBN: 978‐1‐78740‐177‐8
Printed and bound in Great Britain.
P . 2
CONTENTS
Page
Syllabus Guidance, Learning Objectives and Verbs
P.5
Objective tests
P.9
Syllabus outline – BA1
P.11
Learning outcomes and indicative syllabus content
P.12
Section
1
Objective test questions
1
2
Answers to objective test questions
49
3
Practice Assessment questions
77
4
Answers to Practice Assessment questions
91
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P . 3
INDEX TO QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
OBJECTIVE TEST QUESTIONS
PAGE NUMBER
MICROECONOMIC AND ORGANISATIONAL CONTEXT I: THE GOALS AND
DECISIONS OF ORGANISATIONS
1
49
MICROECONOMIC AND ORGANISATIONAL CONTEXT II: THE MARKET SYSTEM
5
51
FINANCIAL CONTEXT OF BUSINESS I
15
56
MACROECONOMIC AND INSTITUTIONAL CONTEXT I: THE DOMESTIC
ECONOMY
18
58
MACROECONOMIC AND INSTITUTIONAL CONTEXT II: THE INTERNATIONAL
ECONOMY
22
60
FINANCIAL CONTEXT OF BUSINESS II: INTERNATIONAL ASPECTS
26
63
FINANCIAL CONTEXT OF BUSINESS III: DISCOUNTING AND INVESTMENT
APPRAISAL
30
65
INFORMATIONAL CONTEXT OF BUSINESS I: SUMMARISING AND ANALYSING
DATA
34
68
MACROECONOMIC AND INSTITUTIONAL CONTEXT III: INDEX NUMBERS
39
70
INFORMATIONAL CONTEXT OF BUSINESS II: INTER‐RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN
VARIABLES
41
71
INFORMATIONAL CONTEXT OF BUSINESS III: FORECASTING
45
73
P . 4
Section 1
OBJECTIVE TEST QUESTIONS
MICROECONOMIC AND ORGANISATIONAL CONTEXT I: THE GOALS
AND DECISIONS OF ORGANISATIONS
1
2
3
4
Which of the following is NOT a key feature of an organisation?
A
Controlled performance
B
Collective goals
C
Social arrangements
D
Creation of a product or service
The public sector is normally concerned with which of the following?
A
making profit from the sale of goods
B
providing services to specific groups funded from charitable donations
C
the provision of basic government services
D
raising funds by subscriptions from members to provide common services
Which of the following statements is correct?
A
Not‐for‐profit organisations are only found in the public sector
B
Not‐for‐profit organisations are only found in the private sector
C
Not‐for‐profit organisations can be found in both the public and the private sector
D
Not‐for‐profit organisations cannot survive without profits
Consider the following list of different organisations:
(i)
Government departments
(ii)
Partnerships
(iii)
Charities
(iv)
Companies
1
S UB J E CT B A1 : F UNDA ME N TA LS OF B US INES S ECONOMICS
Which of these organisations would normally be classified as BOTH a not‐for‐profit
organisation AND a private sector organisation?
5
A
(i) and (iii) only
B
(iii) only
C
(i) only
D
(ii) and (iii) only
Consider the following statements:
(i)
Not‐for‐profit organisations (NFPs) have varied objectives, which depend on the
needs of their members or the sections of society they were created to benefit.
(ii)
The primary objective of government‐funded organisations is to reduce costs of their
operations and thus minimise the burden on tax payers.
Which of these statements is/are correct?
6
A
(i) only
B
(ii) only
C
Both
D
Neither
An example of the principal‐agent problem in business is where principals, such as
_________ , delegate control to agents, such as _________. The problem is one of devising
methods to ensure that agents act in the best interest of the principals. Managerial reward
systems which link pay and bonuses to the improvement in _________ is one such method.
Choose from the following 'drop down' options to complete the above sentence
7
management
stakeholders
shareholder wealth
shareholders
efficiency
Over the past year the X Co earned profits before tax and interest of $110,000. It has
interest charges of $45,000 and a tax bill of $30,000. Preference share dividends of $15,000
were paid out, as were ordinary dividends of $5,000. X Co has $125,000 of share capital in
issue and the shares each have a nominal value of $0.50.
Calculate the earnings per share for the year in $ to the nearest cent.
$Xxx xx
2
OBJE CTIVE T E S T QUESTI ONS : S E CTI O N 1
The next two questions are based on the following information.
Dividend per share
Net profit after taxation
8.6c
$17,000
Interest paid
$2,000
Number of ordinary shares
70,000
Market price of share
8
9
10
11
12
204c
The dividend yield is
A
8.6%
B
6.4%
C
4.2%
D
2.1%
The earnings per share is
A
$0.15
B
$0.185
C
$0.214
D
$0.243
In the short run, companies will attempt to improve shareholder wealth by maximising:
A
Return On Capital Employed
B
Net Present Value
C
Normal profits
D
Average revenue
Earnings Per Share (eps) is sometimes used to make decisions about shareholder
investment in the short run. What is the main weakness of this measure?
A
It is difficult to calculate
B
It varies depending on the profit achieved by the company
C
It does not measure change in shareholder wealth
D
It can only be calculated once each year
The main technique used to measure increase in shareholder value in the long run is:
A
Earnings Per Share
B
Return On Capital Employed
C
Discounted cash flows
D
Net profit
3
S UB J E CT B A1 : F UNDA ME N TA LS OF B US INES S ECONOMICS
13
Employees are ______ stakeholders, while finance providers are _______ stakeholders.
Which TWO words fill the gaps in the above sentence?
14
15
16
17
A
Internal, Connected
B
External, Internal
C
Connected, Outsider
D
Internal, Supplier
FCC is a large bank. Which TWO of the following would be classified as connected
stakeholders for FCC?
A
FCC’s shareholders
B
FCC’s employees
C
Customers who borrow money from FCC
D
FCC’s managers and directors
E
The government banking regulator
F
The trade union representing FCC’s employees
Which of the following is unlikely to be a cause of conflict between directors and
shareholders?
A
‘Fat cat’ salaries
B
Maximisation of short‐term profitability
C
Maximisation of long‐term cash flows
D
Mergers and acquisitions
Which of the following is NOT normally seen to be an objective of corporate governance?
A
Improving employee welfare
B
Increasing disclosure to stakeholders
C
Ensuring that the company is run in a legal and ethical manner
D
Increasing the level of confidence in the company for investors and shareholders
Indicate by clicking in the appropriate box whether the following statements are true or
false.
Statement
True
False
One of the main benefits of corporate governance is
improved access to capital markets.
Under the principles of good corporate governance,
the CEO and chairman of the board will normally be
the same person.
4