Analysis of Accounts (Edexcel IGCSE Business): Exam Questions

Posh Pets Spain (PPS) is a pet hotel in the village of Alhaurin el Grande, Spain. It is run by Rachel Goutorbe, an animal enthusiast, and her team of four pet specialists. PPS offers overnight accommodation with room for seven dogs or cats, a pet grooming service and a shop selling pet products, such as dog coats and dog leads. Pet grooming involves washing, cutting and combing a pet’s coat.

Saha is a small business in Türkiye (formerly known as Turkey) that opened in 2020 with 15 employees. It designs and manufactures robots which are used in hospitals, hotels and restaurants. In hospitals its robots are used to move medical supplies between departments. In hotels and restaurants, the robots are used to welcome customers as they arrive and deliver food and drinks to hotel rooms and restaurant tables. Saha provides a seven day a week customer service for all businesses buying its robots.

Many new businesses are entering the global robot market and are competing for market share. Competitors in Türkiye include NIO, Zoox and Vention.

Saha has ambitious growth plans and has started to design robots that will be used in the home to help people with cleaning, shopping, security and entertainment. It aims to become a multinational business within five years to manufacture robots in all continents of the world.

The first Premier Inn hotel was opened in 1987. Premier Inn now has over 820 hotels in the UK, United Arab Emirates (UAE) and India with over 83,000 rooms. It has recently expanded by opening the first Premier Inn in Germany and has plans to open more in other countries.

The majority of the hotels have restaurants with facilities for guests to buy meals and drinks.

Irsi Chocolatier is a chocolate shop in Brussels, the capital city of Belgium. There are many other chocolate shops nearby. Opened in 1989 by the Corne family the business now has four directors and three employees. Florent Corne is the Managing Director with three other family members as Directors. Irsi Chocolatier opens from Tuesday till Saturday. The shop sells a variety of handmade chocolates and jelly fruit sweets. It delivers locally and has a website for information purposes only.

Irsi Chocolatier is a chocolate shop in Brussels, the capital city of Belgium. There are many other chocolate shops nearby. Opened in 1989 by the Corne family the business now has four directors and three employees. Florent Corne is the Managing Director with three other family members as Directors. Irsi Chocolatier opens from Tuesday till Saturday. The shop sells a variety of handmade chocolates and jelly fruit sweets. It delivers locally and has a website for information purposes only.

IKEA is a well-known home furniture retailer with stores throughout the world. It was started in 1943 by Ingvar Kamprad when he was given some money by his father for doing well at school. He wanted to produce furniture at a price that people could afford to buy.

He realised that transporting furniture to customers was difficult as goods were often damaged. He developed flat packs to avoid damage. A flat pack contained all the materials needed to self-assemble a table, a chair or a bed.

All IKEA stores are run as franchises.

IKEA is a well-known home furniture retailer with stores throughout the world. It was started in 1943 by Ingvar Kamprad when he was given some money by his father for doing well at school. He wanted to produce furniture at a price that people could afford to buy.

He realised that transporting furniture to customers was difficult as goods were often damaged. He developed flat packs to avoid damage. A flat pack contained all the materials needed to self-assemble a table, a chair or a bed.

All IKEA stores are run as franchises.

IKEA continually reviews the products it makes to meet the demands of its customers. Changing the design of bedroom furniture to meet the needs of a couple setting up home or of parents refurnishing their children’s bedroom.

Most people recognise Heinz for the phrase ‘57 varieties’ even though it now produces many more than the original 57 varieties. H J Heinz, the founder of the Heinz business, believed the phrase sounded lucky.

Kraft Heinz is a world-wide producer of food products. It was formed from the merger of Kraft Foods and Heinz in 2015. This created the third largest food and drinks business in the USA and the fifth largest food and drinks business in the world.

Kraft Heinz has over 24 different brands, including Greenseas in Australia and Nutri+Plus in New Zealand. America has the largest number of brands from Maxwell House to Cool Whip. Kraft Heinz produces many different products including tomato sauce, ‘Mac&Cheese’, pasta and its famous baked beans that are used and eaten by many people.

Kraft Heinz uses many methods to advertise its products. These include posters, billboards and leaflets in supermarkets.

The Better Toy Store (TBTS) is a children’s toy shop. TBTS has three shops in Singapore. Two of the shops are located in busy shopping malls and the third is located at the Jewel Changi Airport. TBTS has a website for customers looking to buy toys online.

TBTS selects toys to sell that are excellent for play, value, design and quality. All TBTS toys are environmentally friendly.

The Better Toy Store (TBTS) is a children’s toy shop. TBTS has three shops in Singapore. Two of the shops are located in busy shopping malls and the third is located at the Jewel Changi Airport. TBTS has a website for customers looking to buy toys online.

TBTS selects toys to sell that are excellent for play, value, design and quality. All TBTS toys are environmentally friendly.

The LEGO Group is a privately-owned business in Denmark. The business was founded in 1932 by the Kristiansen family. The family still owns it. The name LEGO is an abbreviation of two Danish words, ‘leg godt’ which means ‘play well’. It is now one of the world’s largest manufacturers of toys with 15 factories and over 18,000 employees around the world.

LEGO manufactures toys, games and art materials for boys and girls of all ages, and products from films such as Star Wars and Harry Potter. It believes that children are the role models of the future and playing with LEGO can support children in a developing and complex world.

The LEGO Group is a privately-owned business in Denmark. The business was founded in 1932 by the Kristiansen family. The family still owns it. The name LEGO is an abbreviation of two Danish words, ‘leg godt’ which means ‘play well’. It is now one of the world’s largest manufacturers of toys with 15 factories and over 18,000 employees around the world.

LEGO manufactures toys, games and art materials for boys and girls of all ages, and products from films such as Star Wars and Harry Potter. It believes that children are the role models of the future and playing with LEGO can support children in a developing and complex world.

The LEGO Group is a privately-owned business in Denmark. The business was founded in 1932 by the Kristiansen family. The family still owns it. The name LEGO is an abbreviation of two Danish words, ‘leg godt’ which means ‘play well’. It is now one of the world’s largest manufacturers of toys with 15 factories and over 18,000 employees around the world.

LEGO manufactures toys, games and art materials for boys and girls of all ages, and products from films such as Star Wars and Harry Potter. It believes that children are the role models of the future and playing with LEGO can support children in a developing and complex world.

Nantgwynfaen Organic Farm (NOF) is a farm growing a range of fruit and vegetables. It has a farm shop and offers accommodation with breakfast. It was set up by Amanda and Ken Edwards in West Wales, UK.

NOF supports farmers by selling local organic produce in its farm shop. The produce from the farm shop is served to the visitors staying overnight at the farm.

NOF is committed to being environmentally friendly by recycling, avoiding the use of packaging and reducing the use of electricity.

Nantgwynfaen Organic Farm (NOF) is a farm growing a range of fruit and vegetables. It has a farm shop and offers accommodation with breakfast. It was set up by Amanda and Ken Edwards in West Wales, UK.

NOF supports farmers by selling local organic produce in its farm shop. The produce from the farm shop is served to the visitors staying overnight at the farm.

NOF is committed to being environmentally friendly by recycling, avoiding the use of packaging and reducing the use of electricity.

NEXT is a well-known clothing retailer that operates in 70 countries and employs over 43,000 employees. Since NEXT commenced trading it has introduced many other products to its range such as home interiors, flowers and a wedding list service.

In 1999 NEXT launched its own online shopping platform, enabling customers to purchase its products where ever they live. It continues to improve its customer service by introducing new initiatives such as next day delivery.

NEXT mainly uses its own factories for production. However, it does purchase some clothes such as ladies dresses from Turkish factories.

Artify Studio was set up in 2015 by Tay Hui Jae in the busy Kampong Glam area of Singapore. Artify Studio’s aim is to have ‘a communal art space where people can come together and paint, where people would be given as much creative freedom as they would have if they were in their own spaces.’

Artify Studio provides many services including its popular Liberty Art Jam where customers can paint as well as listen to music. The studio offers a Corporate Art Jam and Regular Kids Classes. Customers can purchase art materials after attending the studio.

Artify Studio is a profit-making organisation with a social element. It employs seven part-time people, all of whom are art enthusiasts.

Artify Studio was set up in 2015 by Tay Hui Jae in the busy Kampong Glam area of Singapore. Artify Studio’s aim is to have ‘a communal art space where people can come together and paint, where people would be given as much creative freedom as they would have if they were in their own spaces.’

Artify Studio provides many services including its popular Liberty Art Jam where customers can paint as well as listen to music. The studio offers a Corporate Art Jam and Regular Kids Classes. Customers can purchase art materials after attending the studio.

Artify Studio is a profit-making organisation with a social element. It employs seven part-time people, all of whom are art enthusiasts.

Huawei is a leading global provider of information and communications technology, infrastructure and smart devices. In March 2011, over one million of its C8500 smartphones were sold in China following its launch.

It now manufactures a wide variety of different products including Huawei smartphones, watches and tablets. In recent years Huawei has won many awards. In 2018 it was named the 68th most valuable brand by Best Global Brands. In 2019 it introduced a smartphone which had new photographic technology.

The Alternative Drum School (TADS) was set up in the wealthy area of Cricklade, England in 2008 by Ollie Tanner who had a passion for and enjoyed drumming. Ollie invested all of his savings into the drumming school. He saw the potential of being located away from other drumming schools.

Ollie promotes his business by writing columns in local papers, performing at local music festivals and by word of mouth recommendations. He has invested heavily in computer technology to allow students to produce the music they enjoy playing.

Ollie finds it difficult to maintain a good work-life balance. Ollie currently works 60 hours a week in a business that does not have reliable profits.

In 1985 Emirates started its airline business with just two aircraft. It is now a well‑known airline with over 265 aircraft flying to over 180 destinations around the world.

Emirates has won many awards for service and reliability. Until 2016 passengers rated Emirates the leading airline to travel with. However, in 2017 its rating dropped from first to fourth.

Miru is a small retail shop in the Harajuku district of Tokyo, Japan, selling locally designed clothing and accessories. The business was founded four years ago by Keiko Tanaka, who designs some of the items sold in the shop herself. Miru employs two part-time assistants and has built a loyal customer base among young shoppers in the area.

As the business has grown, Keiko has started to review its financial performance more closely and is considering which accounting ratios would be most useful to help her assess how the business is performing.

Volta is a family restaurant in Porto, Portugal, specialising in traditional Portuguese cuisine. The business was founded six years ago by Isabel Ferreira and her husband and seats forty customers. Volta employs eight members of staff and has built a strong reputation with both local residents and tourists visiting the city. However, over the past two years Isabel has noticed that the business's gross profit margin has been falling due to rising food costs.

She is now considering how to respond to improve the restaurant's financial performance.

Norva is an outdoor clothing and equipment business based in Bergen, Norway. Founded ten years ago by Erik Hansen, the business sells hiking and skiing gear through three stores across Norway and a growing online shop. The business is particularly busy during the winter ski season and the summer hiking season. Norva employs twenty-five staff across its stores and head office. Erik regularly reviews the business's financial documents and accounting ratios to assess performance and inform decisions about the future direction of the business.