Part (e) extracts from the statement of cash flows:
Apart from where candidates did not give any answer for this section, there were other worrying errors. Several candidates did not seem to know the contents of investing and financing activities, instead these candidates often (tried to) reproduce the cash flows from operations or even a full statement of cash flows.

By contrast, some candidates that did know the contents of the required sections, produced a 'pro forma' extract which contained no figures. This may have been in the mistaken belief that such an answer would attract some format marks, this is not the case; the marks available are for the figures.

It is also possible in this situation that the candidates were running out of time, if this is so, it is better to give some of the figures for the cash flows (which will gain some marks) rather than the whole of a cash flow extract with no figures (this gains no marks).

As a point of examination technique, most of the figures required to answer this section were available either directly from the question (e.g. the cash price purchase of plant (item 1) and sale of investments) or from calculations made in answering the previous parts (e.g. the issue of shares, redemption of loan notes and equity dividends).

Thus an answer should have been very quick to prepare. The only calculation necessary was for the repayment of the finance lease which required the deduction of the interest charge from the total of the deposit and the first annual payment of the lease.

Again the marks in this section would have been given for 'own figures'.