2. The following extract is from the income statement of Gearing Co for the year ended 30 April 2010:

　　 $

　　Profit before tax 68,000

　　Tax (32,000)

　　 ––––––––

　　Profit for the year 36,000

　　 ––––––––

　　In addition to the profit above:

　　1 Gearing Co paid a dividend of $21,000 during the year.

　　2 A gain on revaluation of land resulted in a surplus of $18,000 in the revaluation reserve.

　　What total amount will be added to retained earnings at the end of the financial year?

　　A $36,000

　　B $33,000

　　C $47,000

　　D $15,000

　　(2 marks)

　　This question simply required candidates to determine from the figures given the amounts that are added or deducted to retained earnings for the period. It was alarming that this question was the worst answered on the whole paper with only 25% of candidates selecting the correct response. The answer is D which is calculated as follows:

　　 $

　　Net profit for the year 36,000

　　Dividend (21,000)

　　 ––––––––

　　Added to retained earnings 15,000

　　 ––––––––

　　Candidates needed to recognise that it is the profit for the period less any dividend paid that is added to the retained earnings balance. The most commonly selected incorrect answer was B, which added the surplus on revaluation of land to retained earnings. Candidates should know that the journal entry for the revaluation is to debit land and credit the revaluation reserve and this does not affect retained earnings at all.

　　3. Which of the following items is recorded in a partner’s capital account?

　　A Interest on the partner’s capital balance

　　B Loans from the partner to the partnership

　　C Surplus on revaluation of assets of the partnership

　　(1 mark)

　　This partnership question required candidates to think about what items are posted to capital accounts. Candidates can answer this style of question by reading through each of the options and eliminating them as necessary. Item C is the correct response.

　　Item A is incorrect as interest on a capital balance is credited to the partners’ current account. Item B is incorrect as when partners loan money to the partnership a separate loan account is set up and the amount is not included in the partners’ capital. Only 33% of candidates answered this question correctly, most candidates thought that A was the correct answer.

　　Conclusion

　　It has been surprising that questions 2 and 3 were not answered very well by candidates as they are relatively straightforward. It may be that candidates focus on what they deem to be key areas which mean that there will be some questions that they are unable to answer as they haven’t covered the required work. Once again, candidates must focus on the breadth of the syllabus as a multiple-choice exam will examine the whole range of the syllabus and candidates must be prepared for this in order to achieve exam success.

　　ACCA2010年12月考试时间：12月6日-15日

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