Level 4 Synoptic Pre Release Material???

JustKerry

Hey all,

Am I correct in thinking the pre-release material for the Level 4 synoptic is for Veggie delights Ltd? So my exam will be based around this company? My exam is 14th April 2021. Just getting myself a little confused with it all, so I wanted to be clear on what I need to do.

Thaaaaanks!

Pian32

That is correct.

JustKerry

Thanks for clearing that up, now I can a plan of how to tackle the exam and analyse the company 😁

LSmithYorkshire

Hi, just wondered if you have found any useful information, I am also sitting this exam on Wednesday, I feel comfortable with the questions, however my tutors have said they have no info on the new company so going to have to go through this company in my own.

350b

Below is a sample of a SWOT analysis performed on the pre-released material (NOT MINE. Sourced from the BPP Question bank book). I hope this gives at least a little guidance on the partial information they are looking for.

P.S. Sorry if I have misspelt any information provided, I was in a rush but I wanted to send this to you before your exams. @LSmithYorkshire @JustKerry


Internal

Strengths
Strong cash reserves which cover the current liabilities
Minimal non-current liabilities (a bank loan)
Ethical company using locally produced fruit, vegetables and dairy products
Experiences senior management team (no recent additions or movement noted in the scenario)
Award winning restaurant and innovative in-house meals development team

Weaknesses
Website failure, costs are spiralling and the functionality is not as expected
Bank loan is expensive (calculations based on finance charge suggest an 18% interest rate)
Low operating profit margin (8%) suggesting issues over costing, fixed costs, administration cost (gross profit relatively health at 49%)
Low inventory, rapid revenue increase, low operating profit are all signals suggesting potential overtrading
Use of compostable cardboard trays is at odds with the zero waste philosophy of the company
Rapid growth and additional hiring of staff may affect the controls in place at head office and/or the restaurants, need to control receives in place
Current delivery scheme is too limited (a one mile radius of two restaurants), but veggie delights needs to consider carefully the alternatives (ethics of Deliveroo, security of meals)
Rapidly growing business, how to ensure that quality control is adequate

External

Opportunities
further four restaurants are planned in the area
Popularity of the vegetarian diet and healthy eating amongst families and diners; opportunity to expand into the vegan market
Company needs to develop its advertising and margin of the awards it has won (the business must ensure maximum exposure for any industry recognition)
Loyalty card scheme to retain customers
Merchandising scheme to advertise and appeal to families
Franchise scheme to expand the brand
Venture capital to provide capital to expand the business

Threats
franchise schemes may dilute the brand or affect the quality of the food offered by veggie delights; how will the company ensure that franchisees maintain the same ethics and high standards
Venture capital will dilute the current shareholders equity stake with decisions being made by the majority of shareholders that the founders disagree with (such as cost cutting measures)
Expanding to include their own farm may dilute the attention on the restaurant business and is a heavy capital outlay with delayed benefits (time for harvest to grow and be harvested)
Rental cost may rapidly increase adversely affecting an already delicate operating profit

LSmithYorkshire

@350b thank you so much for this, just been doing the ratio analysis of their books and going to re run through these again before the exam

350b

No problem, but stuck myself. The comments on these forums are all negative regarding the test.

I have mine Saturday!

LSmithYorkshire

@350b good luck, from what ive seen and reviewed as long as you are strong with the Account systems and control unit and you can identify a weakness then prove why this is bad, then relate it to the customer you will score highly. question 5 is all on ratios, so just make sure you are strong on them

350b

@LSmithYorkshire luckily for me I enjoy the ratio and variance analysis. I just hope the whole exam was about it

LSmithYorkshire

@350b Im with you on that one! the actual questions and format doesn't change too much so ive just been trying to answer the two practice exams but for veggie delights, so far its not been too bad, however as veggie delights is so new there isn't much on it all

350b

https://www2.deloitte.com/content/dam/Deloitte/uk/Documents/ConsumerIndustrialProducts/deloitte-uk-casual-dining-market.pdf

still relevant but above is a resource I have felt to help with understanding the current position of the casual dining industry.

Yeah we will see, I am sure there will be a few spanners in the works, but as far as I have been informed... A lot of the information that's provide, will help you guide your answer. @LSmithYorkshire