APM Progress Test - Questions S23-J24
APM Progress Test - Questions S23-J24
APM Progress Test - Questions S23-J24
Advanced
Performance
Management (APM)
APM
September 2023 to June 2024
2 KA PLAN PUBLISHING
PROGRESS TES T QUESTIONS
SECTION A
This ONE question is compulsory and must be attempted.
KA PLAN PUBLISHING 3
A P M : A DVAN CED PER FORMA NCE MA NAGE MEN T
4 KA PLAN PUBLISHING
PROGRESS TES T QUESTIONS
The CFO is comfortable that the process that has been put in place is robust and fair but
Rockborough Council want to ensure that the new approach is not criticised in the same
way as its use of incremental budgeting was. In the next part of your report you have been
asked to evaluate the ZBB process put in place by the CFO. Your evaluation should consider
each stage of the ZBB process and include a comprehensive evaluation of the weighting and
ranking system used in stage 4.
In a previous role, the CFO worked in an organisation that used non‐budgetary methods for
organisational control. These methods helped to address some of the limitations of
traditional budgeting; such as being costly and time consuming, focusing on short‐term
results and being viewed as a system of command and control. When deciding on an
alternative to incremental budgeting, the CFO did initially consider the use of beyond
budgeting. However, after due consideration she reached the conclusion that it would be
unsuitable for use in the public sector, hence the subsequent decision to implement ZBB.
However, conscious that the new ZBB approach (or any budgeting approach chosen) would
be open to criticism and have its limitations, she would like to communicate the reasons
why beyond budgeting was not implemented at Rockborough Council, instead choosing to
stick with a budgeting method and process. In the final part of the report you have been
asked to briefly define what is meant by beyond budgeting and to discuss the problems of
using this approach in public sector organisations such as Rockborough Council.
Required:
KA PLAN PUBLISHING 5
A P M : A DVAN CED PER FORMA NCE MA NAGE MEN T
Exhibit 6 – Appendix 1
University data
Note:
The average SLC points on entry indicates the level of achievement of students prior to
entering university – the higher the score, the greater the level of achievement.
6 KA PLAN PUBLISHING
PROGRESS TES T QUESTIONS
Exhibit 7 – Appendix 2
Example ZBB budgeting package for road building and maintenance
This decision package is in support of a request for $100m of funding to support the
building of new roads and the repair and maintenance of the existing roads in the
Rockborough area.
KA PLAN PUBLISHING 7
A P M : A DVAN CED PER FORMA NCE MA NAGE MEN T
SECTION B
BOTH questions are compulsory and MUST be attempted.
Great Eastern Railway (GER) is a listed company which operates a passenger train service in
Teeland. GER is one of the largest train operators in Teeland. It runs long distance inter‐
city services along the Great Eastern Main Line from the East of Teeland to the West of
Teeland.
The company’s mission is ‘to increase shareholder wealth by leading a world class railway in
which passengers are understood and their needs placed at the centre of the business
through seamless travel, excellent customer service and a safe environment for customers
and, in addition, a safe and rewarding environment for those who work on the railway’.
Teeland’s rail industry is growing. Passenger numbers are increasing at a faster rate than in
any of the other countries in the continent in which Teeland is located. However, GER’s
share price has underperformed compared to the market and the industry sector in the last
two years.
Exhibit 2 – Implementation of a balanced scorecard approach
Since it commenced operations thirty years ago, the board has always focused solely on the
use of traditional financial measures in order to assess the performance of GER. However,
the chief executive officer (CEO) has recognised that its current performance measures are
too narrow and is considering implementing a balanced scorecard (BSC) approach to
address this problem by improving the range and linkage between performance measures.
The CEO has asked you, a performance management consultant in GER, for assistance with
regard to the adoption of a BSC approach to performance measurement. The CEO has
asked you to advise how the BSC can help GER achieve its mission and to discuss the
potential benefits and limitations that may arise from the adoption of a BSC approach to
performance measurement within GER.
Exhibit 3 – Choice of goals and measures
Some information has been made available to you in respect of GER for the years ended
31 December 20X4 and 31 December 20X3. This information can be found in the
appendices and includes financial data (Appendix 1) and other information relating to GER
(Appendix 2).
The CEO has asked you to use this information, together with any other information in the
scenario, to make recommendations of two goals and measures for each of the four
perspectives of the BSC in respect of GER. You should include illustrative calculations as
part of this task. The CEO has also asked you to advise on two additional performance
measures which might be useful to assess the customer perspective of the BSC of GER and
for which data could be collected going forward.
8 KA PLAN PUBLISHING
PROGRESS TES T QUESTIONS
Required:
It is now 1 September 20X5.
Respond to the CEO’s request for work on the following areas:
(a) How the balanced scorecard can help GER achieve its mission and the potential
benefits and limitations that may arise from its adoption (8 marks)
(b) Goals and measures for each perspective of the balanced scorecard and additional
measures for the customer perspective (8 marks)
(c) How data visualisation tools could be used and benefits of use. (4 marks)
Professional marks will be awarded for the demonstration of skill in analysis and evaluation,
scepticism and commercial acumen in your answer. (5 marks)
(Total: 25 marks)
Exhibit 5 – Appendix 1
Financial data for GER for the years ended 31 December 20X4 and 31 December 20X3
20X4 20X3
$000 $000
Revenue 33,000 30,525
Costs (14,850) (14,652)
––––––– –––––––
Gross profit 18,150 15,873
Operating expenses (8,250) (7,293)
Depreciation (3,300) (3,300)
––––––– –––––––
Operating profit 6,600 5,280
––––––– –––––––
Assets and current liabilities
Non‐current assets 33,160 29,500
Net current assets 9,360 6,420
––––––– –––––––
42,520 35,920
––––––– –––––––
Equity and non‐current liabilities
Bank loan 2,000 1,000
Ordinary share capital ($1) 22,500 22,500
Retained earnings 18,020 12,420
––––––– –––––––
Capital employed 42,520 35,920
––––––– –––––––
KA PLAN PUBLISHING 9
A P M : A DVAN CED PER FORMA NCE MA NAGE MEN T
Exhibit 6 – Appendix 2
Other information relating to GER for the years ended 31 December 20X4 and 31 December
20X3
20X4 20X3
Revenue ($000)
Existing routes 25,080 24,420
New routes 7,920 6,105
Current assets and current liabilities ($000)
Cash 4,150 1,220
Inventory 6,610 4,950
Receivables 2,560 3,550
Trade payables 3,960 3,300
Other statistics
Number of new routes (planned) 4 6
Number of new routes (actual) 6 4
Number of customer ticket enquiries received 1,375,000 1,271,875
Number of customer tickets sold 1,100,000 1,017,500
Number of routes in operation 36 30
Number of routes producing 80% of total revenue 20 24
Number of trains in operation 15 15
Average number of days in use 320 335
Number of passenger miles 66,000,000 61,000,000
Average train occupancy 80% 78%
Number of times trains were 100% occupied 120 39
Number of train journeys 4,000 3,900
Number of train station ‘stops’ 10,000 9,500
Number of late arrivals at train station ‘stops’ 200 285
Number of employees 254 250
Number of hours of employee training 2,159 2,000
Note: Each new route introduced required a cash investment in capital equipment of
$660,000.
10 KA PLAN PUBLISHING
PROGRESS TES T QUESTIONS
KA PLAN PUBLISHING 11
A P M : A DVAN CED PER FORMA NCE MA NAGE MEN T
Required:
It is now 1 September 20X5.
Respond to the CEO’s request for work on the following areas:
(a) EVATM calculation and discussion of its benefits (8 marks)
(b) Proposed changes to the reward package and factors to consider before a change is
made (8 marks)
(c) What is meant by a profit‐conscious style and its suitability. (4 marks)
Professional marks will be awarded for the demonstration of skill in analysis and evaluation,
scepticism and commercial acumen in your answer. (5 marks)
(Total: 25 marks)
(Total Section B: 50 marks)
Exhibit 5 – Appendix 1
Financial data for Grigs for the year ended 31 December 20X4
$m
Operating profit 117.2
Interest (20)
––––
Profit before tax 97.2
Tax at 35% (34.0)
––––
Profit after tax 63.2
––––
12 KA PLAN PUBLISHING
PROGRESS TES T QUESTIONS
(n) 11% 12% 13% 14% 15% 16% 17% 18% 19% 20%
1 0.901 0.893 0.885 0.877 0.870 0.862 0.855 0.847 0.840 0.833 1
2 0.812 0.797 0.783 0.769 0.756 0.743 0.731 0.718 0.706 0.694 2
3 0.731 0.712 0.693 0.675 0.658 0.641 0.624 0.609 0.593 0.579 3
4 0.659 0.636 0.613 0.592 0.572 0.552 0.534 0.516 0.499 0.482 4
5 0.593 0.567 0.543 0.519 0.497 0.476 0.456 0.437 0.419 0.402 5
6 0.535 0.507 0.480 0.456 0.432 0.410 0.390 0.370 0.352 0.335 6
7 0.482 0.452 0.425 0.400 0.376 0.354 0.333 0.314 0.296 0.279 7
8 0.434 0.404 0.376 0.351 0.327 0.305 0.285 0.266 0.249 0.233 8
9 0.391 0.361 0.333 0.308 0.284 0.263 0.243 0.225 0.209 0.194 9
10 0.352 0.322 0.295 0.270 0.247 0.227 0.208 0.191 0.176 0.162 10
11 0.317 0.287 0.261 0.237 0.215 0.195 0.178 0.162 0.148 0.135 11
12 0.286 0.257 0.231 0.208 0.187 0.168 0.152 0.137 0.124 0.112 12
13 0.258 0.229 0.204 0.182 0.163 0.145 0.130 0.116 0.104 0.093 13
14 0.232 0.205 0.181 0.160 0.141 0.125 0.111 0.099 0.088 0.078 14
15 0.209 0.183 0.160 0.140 0.123 0.108 0.095 0.084 0.074 0.065 15
KA PLAN PUBLISHING 13
A P M : A DVAN CED PER FORMA NCE MA NAGE MEN T
Annuity Table
1 1 r n
Present value of an annuity of 1 i.e.
r
Where r = discount rate
n = number of periods
Periods Discount rate (r)
(n) 1% 2% 3% 4% 5% 6% 7% 8% 9% 10%
1 0.990 0.980 0.971 0.962 0.952 0.943 0.935 0.926 0.917 0.909 1
2 1.970 1.942 1.913 1.886 1.859 1.833 1.808 1.783 1.759 1.736 2
3 2.941 2.884 20829 2.775 2.723 2.673 2.624 2.577 2.531 2.487 3
4 3.902 3.808 3.717 3.630 3.546 3.465 3.387 3.312 3.240 3.170 4
5 4.853 4.713 4.580 4.452 4.329 4.212 4.100 3.993 3.890 3.791 5
6 5.795 5.601 5.417 5.242 5.076 4.917 4.767 4.623 4.486 4.355 6
7 6.728 6.472 6.230 6.002 5.786 5.582 5.389 5.206 5.033 4.868 7
8 7.652 7.325 7.020 6.733 6.463 6.210 5.971 5.747 5.535 5.335 8
9 8.566 8.162 7.786 7.435 7.108 6.802 6.515 6.247 5.995 5.759 9
10 9.471 8.983 8.530 8.111 7.722 7.360 7.024 6.710 6.418 6.145 10
11 10.37 9.787 9.253 8.760 8.306 7.887 7.499 7.139 6.805 6.495 11
12 11.26 10.58 9.954 9.385 8.863 8.384 7.943 7.536 7.161 6.814 12
13 12.13 11.35 10.63 9.986 9.394 8.853 8.358 7.904 7.487 7.103 13
14 13.00 12.11 11.30 10.56 9.899 9.295 8.745 8.244 7.786 7.367 14
15 13.87 12.85 11.94 11.12 10.38 9.712 9.108 8.559 8.061 7.606 15
(n) 11% 12% 13% 14% 15% 16% 17% 18% 19% 20%
1 0.901 0.893 0.885 0.877 0.870 0.862 0.855 0.847 0.840 0.833 1
2 1.713 1.690 1.668 1.647 1.626 1.605 1.585 1.566 1.547 1.528 2
3 2.444 2.402 2.361 2.322 2.283 2.246 2.210 2.174 2.140 2.106 3
4 3.102 3.037 2.974 2.914 2.855 2.798 2.743 2.690 2.639 2.589 4
5 3.696 3.605 3.517 3.433 3.352 3.274 3.199 3.127 3.058 2.991 5
6 4.231 4.111 3.998 3.889 3.784 3.685 3.589 3.498 3.410 3.326 6
7 4.712 4.564 4.423 4.288 4.160 4.039 3.922 3.812 3.706 3.605 7
8 5.146 4.968 4.799 4.639 4.487 4.344 4.207 4.078 3.954 3.837 8
9 5.537 5.328 5.132 4.946 4.772 4.607 4.451 4.303 4.163 4.031 9
10 5.889 5.650 5.426 5.216 5.019 4.833 4.659 4.494 4.339 4.192 10
11 6.207 5.938 5.687 5.453 5.234 5.029 4.836 4.656 4.486 4.327 11
12 6.492 6.194 5.918 5.660 5.421 5.197 4.988 4.793 4.611 4.439 12
13 6.750 6.424 6.122 5.842 5.583 5.342 5.118 4.910 4.715 4.533 13
14 6.982 6.628 6.302 6.002 5.724 5.468 5.229 5.008 4.802 4.611 14
15 7.191 6.811 6.462 6.142 5.847 5.575 5.324 5.092 4.876 4.675 15
14 KA PLAN PUBLISHING