Bass Ltd, a leading producer of construction, mining and electrical equipment, suffered a significant drop in the demand of the company’s products due to COVID-19 in 2020 that significantly threatens the financial stability of the company. Bass in order to survive in this critical situation decides to restructure its strategy for forthcoming years. Changes in company strategies and accounting policies have a significant impact on reported profit. The basic earnings per share and diluted earnings per share presented in the company’s current year financial statements in accordance with “AASB 133 Earnings per Share” were comparatively higher than that of the last year. In contrast, company share prices have dropped by 20% at the reporting date, according to Yahoo finance.

While most shareholders seem unhappy to own company shares for the meagre dividend attached to them the question of whether Bass Ltd are fully valued at their current share prices continues to linger.

The directors of Bass Ltd are not sure how to calculate and include basic and diluted earnings per share in the company’s financial statements in accordance with AASB 133, and called for a report from the Finance Manager of the company.

On 30 June 2020, Bass Ltd had the following equity:

During the year ended 30 June 2020, the company earned after tax profit of $1 240 000 from ordinary activities.

The additional information is available.

1. On 20 November 2019, the company made a one-for-five bonus issue, and on 30 March 2020, the company made a rights issue of 400 000 ordinary shares.
2. On 20 July 2017, the company issued $ 750 000 of 8% convertible notes. Each $ 100 note was convertible into 50 ordinary shares. There was no conversion during the year ended 30 June 2020.
3. On 28 February 2019, the company issued options to purchase 10 000 shares at $ 3.50 each. No options were exercised during the year ended 30 June 2020.
4. The company income tax rate is $ 0.30 in the dollar and the company’s ordinary shares are trading at $ 5 per share on 30 June 2020.
5. The company paid preference dividends of $ 40 000.

Required

1. Briefly describe the requirements of AASB 133 ‘earnings per share’ for the calculation of earnings per share.                                                                                                                     

Earnings per share

Bass Ltd, a leading producer of construction, mining and electrical equipment, suffered a significant drop in the demand of the company’s products due to COVID-19 in 2020 that significantly threatens the financial stability of the company. Bass in order to survive in this critical situation decides to restructure its strategy for forthcoming years. Changes in company strategies and accounting policies have a significant impact on reported profit. The basic earnings per share and diluted earnings per share presented in the company’s current year financial statements in accordance with “AASB 133 Earnings per Share” were comparatively higher than that of the last year. In contrast, company share prices have dropped by 20% at the reporting date, according to Yahoo finance.

While most shareholders seem unhappy to own company shares for the meagre dividend attached to them the question of whether Bass Ltd are fully valued at their current share prices continues to linger.

The directors of Bass Ltd are not sure how to calculate and include basic and diluted earnings per share in the company’s financial statements in accordance with AASB 133, and called for a report from the Finance Manager of the company.

On 30 June 2020, Bass Ltd had the following equity:

During the year ended 30 June 2020, the company earned after tax profit of $1 240 000 from ordinary activities.

The additional information is available.

1. On 20 November 2019, the company made a one-for-five bonus issue, and on 30 March 2020, the company made a rights issue of 400 000 ordinary shares.
2. On 20 July 2017, the company issued $ 750 000 of 8% convertible notes. Each $ 100 note was convertible into 50 ordinary shares. There was no conversion during the year ended 30 June 2020.
3. On 28 February 2019, the company issued options to purchase 10 000 shares at $ 3.50 each. No options were exercised during the year ended 30 June 2020.
4. The company income tax rate is $ 0.30 in the dollar and the company’s ordinary shares are trading at $ 5 per share on 30 June 2020.
5. The company paid preference dividends of $ 40 000.

Required

1. Briefly describe the requirements of AASB 133 ‘earnings per share’ for the calculation of earnings per share.                                                                                                                         
2. Distinguish between basic and diluted earnings per share.                                              

Following the requirements of AASB 133:

3. Calculate basic earnings per share.                                                                                           
4. Calculate diluted earnings per share.                                                                                     

QUESTION 5

The variable Z has a standard normal distribution. The probability P(- 0.5 < Z < 1.0) is:

QUESTION 6

If a random variable X is normally distributed with a mean of 30 and a standard deviation of 10, then P(X=20) =

QUESTION 7

If P( -z < Z < +z) = 0.8812, then the z-score is:

QUESTION 8

If the mean of a normal distribution is negative,

QUESTION 9

The starting salaries of individuals with an MBA degree are normally distributed with a mean of $90,000 and a standard deviation of $20,000. What is the probability that a randomly selected individual with an MBA degree will have a starting salary of at least $78,500?

1. 0.2810
2. 0.8840
3. 0.7190
4. 0.8210

QUESTION 10

The starting salaries of individuals with an MBA degree are normally distributed with a mean of $90,000 and a standard deviation of $20,000. What is the lowest salary for those individuals with an MBA degree whose starting salary is in the top 25 percent?

1. $104,500
2. $103,600
3. $83,750
4. $106,400

Imagine that you are the Human Resources Director for a medical clinic. For this assignment, please design a recruiting plan for a new Registered Nurse. The plan you propose should address all of the following three elements:Propose a process for conducting a job analysis to modify the existing job description, which is included in the text as Appendix 9.1. You do not need to create a new job description, but you do need to create a list of specific steps that you would include in conducting a job analysis to improve the current job description. Formulate a plan that details how/where you would seek applicants for the new position. Create a set of at least 20 interview questions that you would use to prepare the recruiter to conduct an appropriate interview with potential candidates. Feel free to incorporate questions from this unit’s Supporting Lesson Links (“100 Potential Interview Questions”), other sources and your own creativity.

Business Law

The Paria Oil Company is seeking police protection for the duration of industrial turmoil at its Head Office, due to layoff caused by the Covid 19. During discussions with the Police to deal with the turbulence, the Police suggested that a mobile patrol would be adequate because the disorder was largely contained. However, the CEO of Paria insisted on permanent police presence. The CEO then offered to compensate the Police, if they agreed on a permanent on site presence during the turmoil.

The Police thereafter indicated that they will provide 10 officers at a rate of $5000 per day, which they will maintain during the entire strike period. A few weeks after the strike was over, the Commissioner of Police, sent an invoice to Paria Oil Company for the cost of protection for two months. However, Paria Oil refused to compensate, and argued that the Police have a duty under law to protect the company from any pending violence and lawlessness.

The Commissioner of Police has sought your advice on the matter. Can you please advise him?

Instructions: Use the IRAC(ISSUE, RULE, ANALYSIS and CAPACITY) method

Are America's top chief executive officers (CEOs) really worth all that money? One way to answer this question is to look at row B, the annual company percentage increase in revenue, versus row A, the CEO's annual percentage salary increase in that same company. Suppose that a random sample of companies yielded the following data:

B: Percent increase for company 37 7 12 7 21 18 17 10

A: Percent increase for CEO 28 10 9 3 26 16 20 7

Do these data indicate that the population mean percentage increase in corporate revenue (row B) is different from the population mean percentage increase in CEO salary? Assume that the distribution of differences is approximately normal, mound-shaped and symmetric. Use a 1% level of significance. Find (or estimate) the P-value.

Select one answer:

a. 0.02 < P-value < 0.05

b. 0.01 < P-value < 0.02

c. 0.25 < P-value < 0.50

d. P-value = 0.05

e. P-value = 0.25

Question 1.Obaapa Fashions Ltd has budgeted to sell 100,000 pieces of face masks for April 2020. At the end of March 2020, the company had 20,000 pieces of face mask in inventory and would like to have an inventory of 30,000 pieces of face masks at the end of April. Each piece of face mask requires 2 square meters of treated fabric, the primary raw material. Inventory of the treated fabric at the beginning of April is 5,000 square meters. It is expected that each square meter of the treated fabric will cost GHS3. Assuming the sales budget is met, and the desired ending inventory of the face mask is achieved, how many square meters of the treated fabric need to be purchased in April 2020, in order to have an ending inventory of 8,000 square meters of the treated fabric? What will be the cost of purchases for April 2020? (show all workings clearly).

Question 2.

Ewuarbena & Co Manufacturing Ltd have budgeted to sell these quantities of its products, Chocomix, for the coming months in 2020: January – 160,000 sachets; February – 240,000 sachets; March – 200,000 sachets; April – 400,000 sachets; and May – 150,000 sachets. The company expects to sell each sachet for GHS20. The company has decided that to avoid losing customers arising from production hold-ups it would like to maintain a finished goods inventory in the future equal to one-fifth of the following month's budgeted sales. At the beginning of January 2020, the company had finished goods inventory of 10,000 sachets. What is total budgeted sales and production for the 2020 1^st quarter ended (January – March 2020)? (show all workings clearly)

Prior to 2019, the accounting income and taxable income for Sunland Corporation were the same. On January 1, 2019, the company purchased equipment at a cost of $468,000. For accounting purposes, the equipment was to be depreciated over 9 years using the straight-line method. For income tax purposes, the equipment was subject to a CCA rate of 20% (half-year rule applies for 2019). Sunland’s income before tax for accounting purposes for 2020 was $1,895,000. The company was subject to a 25% income tax rate for all applicable years and anticipated profitable years for the foreseeable future. Sunland Corporation follows IFRS.

Calculate taxable income and taxes payable for 2020.

Prepare the journal entries to record 2020 income taxes (current and deferred). (Credit account titles are automatically indented when the amount is entered. Do not indent manually. If no entry is required, select "No Entry" for the account titles and enter 0 for the amounts.)

An area hospital adopted a commercial Electronic Health Record and plans on adopting and integrating a Personal Health Record (PHR). The hospital CEO drafts the following vision statement “By using the latest technology, our hospital will improve how our patients experiences and engagement in their healthcare. Instead of patients coming to us for help, we will be there wherever and whenever they need us, asking, “How can we help you?” This initiative will make healthcare easier to access and more convenient to use, improve patients’ health, and reduce the rising cost of healthcare in our area.”

You are the Chief Health Informatics Officer and the CEO is seeking your input. The CEO asks you to prepare a response to this vision statement.

In your response include discussion about pros (at least 3) and cons (at least 3) of using a PHR. Consider the shifting demographics and discuss whether you think older adults (65+ years old) are receptive to using PHRs and social media and why (support your stance with scholarly evidence). Explain how social media data could be beneficial in the context of patient care or population health (in about 1 paragraph). Describe how patient-centered care is facilitated by using the PHR (at least1 paragraph). Lets shift gears and now think about the impact remote home monitoring could have on older adults. Describe one pro and one con of using remote home monitoring with this population.

PHR pros and cons - 3 points
Are older adults receptive to PHRs and social media - convincing argument - 5 points
Social media data in patient care or population health - 3 points
Patient-centered care - 5 points
Remote home monitoring - pros and cons - 2 points

Accountability of Ex-HP CEO in Conflict of Interest Charges:

How could a CEO and chairperson of the board of directors of a major company resign in disgrace over a personal relationship with a contractor that led to a sexual harassment charge and involved a conflict of interest, a violation of the code of ethics? It happened to Mark Hurd on August 6, 2010. Hurd was the former CEO for HewlettPackard (HP) for five years and also served as the chair of the board of directors for four years. On departure from HP, Hurd said he had not lived up to his own standards regarding trust, respect, and integrity.

The board of directors of HP began an investigation of Hurd in response to a sexual harassment complaint by Jodie Fisher, a former contractor, who retained lawyer Gloria Allred to represent her. While HP did not find that the facts supported the complaint, they did reveal behavior that the board would not tolerate. Subsequent to Hurd’s resignation, a severance package was negotiated granting Hurd $12.2 million, COBRA benefits, and stock options, for a total package of somewhere between $40 and $50 million.

In a letter to employees of HP on August 6, interim CEO Cathie Lesjak outlined where Hurd violated the “Standards of Business Conduct” and the reasons for his departure. Lesjak wrote that Hurd “failed to maintain accurate expense reports, and misused company assets.” She indicated that each was a violation of the standards and “together they demonstrated a profound lack of judgment that significantly undermined Mark’s credibility and his ability to effectively lead HP.” The letter reminded employees that everyone was expected to adhere strictly to the standards in all business dealings and relationships and senior executives should set the highest standards for professional and personal conduct.

The woman who brought forward the sexual harassment complaint was a “marketing consultant” who was hired by HP for certain projects, but she was never an employee of HP. During the investigation, inaccurately documented expenses were found that were claimed to have been paid to the consultant for her services. Falsifying the use of company funds violated the HP Standards of Business Conduct.

As for the sexual harassment claim, Allred alleged in the letter that Hurd harassed Fisher at meetings and dinners over a several year period during which time Fisher experienced a number of unwelcome sexual advances from Hurd including kissing and grabbing. Fisher said that this continual sexual harassment made her uncertain about her employment status.

In August 2013, HP and former CEO, Mark Hurd, won dismissal of a lawsuit that challenged the computer maker’s public commitment to ethics at a time when Hurd was allegedly engaging in sexual harassment.

HP did not violate securities laws despite making statements such as a commitment to be “open, honest, and direct in all our dealings” because such statements were too vague and general, U.S. District Judge Jon Tigar in San Francisco wrote.

As a result, shareholders led by a New York City union pension fund could not pursue fraud claims over Hurd’s alleged violations of HP’s standards of business conduct, the judge ruled.

“Adoption of the plaintiff’s argument (would) render every code of ethics materially misleading whenever an executive commits an ethical violation following a scandal,” Tigar wrote.

Shareholders led by the Cement & Concrete Workers District Council Pension Fund of Flushing, New York, claimed in their lawsuit that the share price had been fraudulently inflated because of Hurd’s alleged activities.

They also claimed that HP’s statements about its rules of conduct implied that Hurd was in compliance, and that Hurd ignored his duty to disclose violations.

At most, Tigar said, such statements “constitute puffery—if the market was even aware of them.”

Tigar also said Hurd’s alleged desire to keep his dealings with Fisher secret did not by itself give rise to a fraud claim.

“Nothing suggests that Hurd thought that he could mislead investors with the statements the court finds were immaterial,” the judge wrote.

Questions:

1. When he was CEO, Hurd wrote in the Standards of Business Conduct at HP that “We want to be a company known for its ethical leadership….” His message in the preface continued: “Let us commit together, as individuals and as a company, to build trust in everything we do by living our values and conducting business consistent with the high ethical standards embodied within our SBC.”

What is the role of trust in business? How does trust relate to stakeholder interests? How does trust engender ethical leadership? Evaluate Mark Hurd’s actions in this case from an ethical and professional perspective.

2. Despite hundreds of pages of policies, codes of ethics, organizational values, and carefully defined work environments and company culture, lapses in workplace ethics occur every day. Explain why you think these lapses occur and what steps might be taken by an organization to ensure that its top executives live up to values it espouses.

3. Leo Apotheker, the former CEO of HP who succeeded Mark Hurd, resigned in September 2011, after just 11 months on the job—but he left with a $13.2 million severance package. Hurd left with a package between $40 million and $50 million. Do you think executives who resign from their positions or are fired because of unethical actions should be forced to give back some of those amounts to the shareholders to make them whole? Why or why not?