omg...PEV task 2.2 JUNE 2008

Londina

looks like has caused lots of problems between the students (http://forums.aat.org.uk/showthread.php?t=19215), with a appaling pass rate of only 56%:001_unsure:

By looking at the task, I'm not surprise..What they meant with unavoidable and avoidable production costs?!?!?
I only hope this June's exams will not have a similar task...


Data
The Managing Director has been in talks with a Romanian manufacturer who could produce the wind turbines. You have been asked to analyse the information in order to evaluate whether Voltair should contract out the manufacture of the turbines.
If the turbines are manufactured in Romania the costs and savings would be as follows:

• The cost of each turbine would be £650 including transport costs to the UK.
• The material and labour costs would be saved.
• The fixed production costs consist of £1.95 million of specific costs which would be avoided, and £1.05 million of allocated overheads which would not be avoided.

Task 2.2

(a) Calculate the following information for the demand level of 10,000 turbines per annum:
(i) full production cost per turbine manufactured by Voltair, using your relevant answers from task 2.1 (a)
(ii) Voltair’s unavoidable fixed production cost per turbine if contracted out
(iii) Voltair’s avoidable production cost per turbine if contracted out

(b) Calculate the following information for the demand level of 14,000 turbines per annum:
(i) full production cost per turbine manufactured by Voltair, using your relevant answers from task 2.1 (a)
(ii) Voltair’s unavoidable fixed production cost per turbine if contracted out
(iii) Voltair’s avoidable production cost per turbine if contracted out

(c) Using your calculations in 2.2 (a) and (b) above, draft a report for the Managing Director covering the following:

(i) a recommendation on whether or not to contract out, based upon demand of 10,000 turbines
(ii) a recommendation on whether or not to contract out, based upon demand of 14,000 turbines
(iii) THREE other considerations which need to be taken into account

tauq786x

why do the AAT examiners have to do this to us

jellard

Hello Londina

I have just worked through this paper and actually did not find it too bad. Admittedly I have never seen a task quite like this one before but I did think the task was laid out quite well which helped to lead me through what was being asked.

They actually gave you the values of the unavoidable and avoidable production costs in the data provided and it was not a requirement to actually consider what these costs we made up off.

I did approach this task in a different way when deciding if to contract out or not, actually using marginal costing techniques to compare the £800 cost of manufacturing vs the £755 cost if contracted out but after reading the chief assessors report I discovered this actually receives the same amount of credit.

I think as long as students put in the work and appropriate amount of revision they will be well prepared with the different layouts and styles of questions the examiners can use.

One thing that has always helped me is reading the chief assessors reports for the last few papers as these often contain valuable tips.

Good luck with any exams you are sitting in June - I am sitting BTC PTC and MAC !

AdamR

tauq786x wrote: »

why do the AAT examiners have to do this to us

Think of the poor devils that actually had the question (myself included)!:001_unsure:

Although I agree with Jellard - when I did it, I found it quite easy and didn't think there was anything particularly nasty about it but I do remember the uproar on these forums relating to the question.

I think the format and the way it was asked panicked a lot of students into giving up before they had even started. The best advice I can give is to take every question as it comes and to keep a cool head. If you can do that, a logical thought process is much easier to maintain; something that is very important if you wish to demonstrate the competence required to pass this exam.

Good luck!:thumbup1:

welshwizard

I was one of the poor devils! - I came out knowing that I had completely messed up Section 2 - especially 2.2 and this was confirmed when I chatted to my tutor about it after the exam.

Imagine my surprise in August when the results were sent and I found out that I had been successful in the whole paper!

Honestly, one part of one question may throw you, you may mess it up, but if you give good clear answers on the restof the questions in the section, you can still pass. Remember, an employer will only see a competent/successful result not an A,B,C,D,E,F,G grade.

DO NOT LET.YOURSELVES BE COMPLETELY THROWN BY ONE SMALL PART OF ONE QUESTION.

That said, the question you have identified was a pig!

Karen L

I'm afraid I was another of the poor devils and unfortunately one of the failing few on that exam, however having said that I did pass section 2 so I must have understood that question in some way - I think it was the length of question rather than content that put people off ...... I'm putting section 1 failure down to nerves (hopefully just nerves !) ... swatting away for second attempt now ... just hope the questions aren't quite as long winded this time around.