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Free ACCA Business and Technology Practice Questions & Answers
300 exam-style Business and Technology questions. Pick your answer, hit Check answer, and see the worked solution — free to start, no signup.
100% free · No login to startQuestion 271
A sales employee discovers that a colleague who does less work earns more commission. She becomes demotivated. Which motivational theory best explains this?
Select an option first.
Correct answer: C — Adams' Equity Theory
Explanation: Adams' Equity Theory: People compare their input/output ratios with others. Perceiving inequity leads to demotivation. Maslow is about unsatisfied needs. Herzberg distinguishes hygiene and motivators.
Question 272
A company introduces flexible working hours, remote working, and team-building events. These measures primarily address which level of Maslow's Hierarchy?
Select an option first.
Correct answer: B — Safety and social needs
Explanation: Flexible hours and remote working address safety needs (control over environment); team events address social needs (belonging). Multiple levels can be addressed simultaneously.
Question 273
An employee consistently arrives early, volunteers for extra projects, and seeks feedback. According to McGregor, this employee is most likely classified as:
Select an option first.
Correct answer: B — Theory Y — self-motivated and seeks responsibility
Explanation: Theory Y employees are self-motivated, enjoy work, seek responsibility, and need little supervision. The described behaviours — proactivity, volunteering, seeking feedback — are classic Theory Y characteristics.
Question 274
A company is hiring a marketing manager. HR produces a document listing required qualifications, minimum 5 years experience, strong communication skills, and creative thinking. This document is:
Select an option first.
Correct answer: B — A person specification
Explanation: A person specification details the ideal candidate's qualifications, experience, skills, and attributes. A job description details the role's duties. A contract sets employment terms. An appraisal reviews performance.
Question 275
A CEO communicates a new company vision through town-hall meetings, inspires managers to rethink how they work, and challenges the company's long-standing assumptions. This leadership approach is:
Select an option first.
Correct answer: D — Transformational leadership
Explanation: Transformational leadership involves inspiring change, challenging the status quo, and motivating through vision and charisma. Transactional leadership rewards or punishes for task completion. Laissez-faire is hands-off.
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Question 276
A small business owner uses personal funds to pay a business expense and does not record it. Which accounting concept is being violated?
Select an option first.
Correct answer: C — Business entity concept
Explanation: The business entity concept requires the business to be treated as separate from its owner. Mixing personal and business funds violates this. Going concern relates to the assumption of continuing operations.
Question 277
A company records revenue when it is earned (goods delivered), not when cash is received. This follows the:
Select an option first.
Correct answer: B — Accruals concept
Explanation: The accruals concept requires income and expenses to be recognised when earned or incurred, not when cash changes hands. Cash basis recognises income when cash is received.
Question 278
An internal auditor reviewing expense claims finds that employees can approve their own expense reimbursements. This is a:
Select an option first.
Correct answer: B — Segregation of duties failure
Explanation: Self-approving expenses is a clear segregation of duties failure — the same person claims and approves their own expenses, creating fraud risk. A segregated process requires a different person to approve.
Question 279
A business receives a large cash deposit from an unknown source, which is then quickly transferred across multiple accounts in small amounts. This is most consistent with:
Select an option first.
Correct answer: B — Money laundering (placement and layering stages)
Explanation: The scenario describes classic money laundering: placement (large cash deposit from unknown source) and layering (moving funds through multiple accounts in small amounts to disguise the trail).
Question 280
A company's budget shows 500,000 in forecast sales but actual sales are only 380,000. The finance team investigates the difference. This process is called:
Select an option first.
Correct answer: B — Variance analysis
Explanation: Variance analysis compares actual results with budgeted figures and investigates differences. Capital budgeting evaluates long-term investments. Ratio analysis interprets financial statement relationships.
Question 281
A company records an asset at its original purchase price rather than its current market value. This is consistent with:
Select an option first.
Correct answer: B — The historical cost concept
Explanation: The historical cost concept records assets at their original purchase price. Fair value uses current market values. Going concern assumes continued operations. Accruals relates to income and expense recognition timing.
Question 282
An employee witnesses a senior manager falsifying expense claims but fears retaliation if they speak up. The organisation should protect such employees through:
Select an option first.
Correct answer: B — A formal whistleblowing policy and legal protection for reporters of wrongdoing
Explanation: Whistleblowing policies and legal protections protect employees who report wrongdoing in good faith. Dismissing reporters or ignoring the issue are contrary to good governance and potentially unlawful.
Question 283
A company's current assets total 800,000 and its current liabilities total 500,000. Its working capital is:
Select an option first.
Correct answer: B — 300,000
Explanation: Working capital = Current assets minus Current liabilities = 800,000 minus 500,000 = 300,000. This measures short-term liquidity available to the business. The other figures represent totals or incorrect calculations.
Question 284
A multinational company sets up a customer service centre in a lower-cost country while still managing it internally. This is an example of:
Select an option first.
Correct answer: B — Offshoring without outsourcing
Explanation: The company has relocated operations (offshoring) to another country but retained internal management — it has not contracted to an external party (outsourcing). Both concepts are different dimensions of business organisation.
Question 285
A team member is highly skilled but new to the organisation and unfamiliar with company processes. A manager applying situational leadership would most likely:
Select an option first.
Correct answer: B — Provide coaching — giving direction while also explaining and encouraging
Explanation: Situational leadership adapts style to the individual's competence and commitment. A skilled but unfamiliar employee benefits from coaching — combining direction with support and explanation.
Question 286
A company identifies that its key supplier could go out of business, threatening its production. The company decides to find an alternative supplier as a backup. This is an example of:
Select an option first.
Correct answer: C — Risk mitigation (reduction)
Explanation: Finding an alternative supplier reduces the impact if the primary supplier fails — this is risk mitigation. Risk avoidance would mean stopping the activity entirely. Risk transfer would involve insurance or a contract.
Question 287
A retail business finds its inventory turnover ratio has fallen significantly compared to last year. This most likely indicates:
Select an option first.
Correct answer: B — Inventory is moving more slowly, possibly due to overstocking or falling demand
Explanation: A falling inventory turnover ratio means stock is held for longer before being sold — suggesting overstocking, slow-moving inventory, or weakening demand. This ties up working capital and increases holding costs.
Question 288
A senior manager insists on approving every minor decision made by her team, creating bottlenecks and frustration. This behaviour is best described as:
Select an option first.
Correct answer: B — Micromanagement — an excessive and counterproductive level of control
Explanation: Micromanagement involves excessive, unnecessary oversight of minor decisions, undermining employee autonomy, motivation, and efficiency. Good management delegates appropriately and intervenes only when necessary.
Question 289
A large supermarket chain creates specialist buying, HR, and IT departments that serve all its stores centrally. Individual store managers focus only on customer service and sales. This is an example of:
Select an option first.
Correct answer: B — Functional specialisation with centralised support services
Explanation: Centralising specialist functions (buying, HR, IT) creates efficiency and expertise, while store managers focus on their core operational role. This is functional specialisation with shared/centralised support — neither fully decentralised nor hollow.
Question 290
A company with healthy profits is struggling to pay its suppliers on time. The most likely explanation is:
Select an option first.
Correct answer: B — A cash flow problem — profit does not equal cash
Explanation: Profitability and cash flow are different: a profitable business can still run out of cash if it extends too much credit to customers, holds excess inventory, or has poor debtor collection. This is a working capital management issue.
Question 291
A new team leader inherits a team that is already working well together, meeting targets, and supporting each other. According to Tuckman, this team is most likely in which stage?
Select an option first.
Correct answer: D — Performing
Explanation: A team that is cohesive, productive, and mutually supportive is in the Performing stage — the highest level of Tuckman model. Forming is initial acquaintance; Storming is conflict; Norming is establishing cohesion.
Question 292
An organisation operating in a rapidly changing technology market finds its rigid role-based bureaucratic structure cannot adapt quickly enough. The most appropriate structural response would be:
Select an option first.
Correct answer: B — Moving towards a flatter, more flexible structure with greater decentralisation
Explanation: In dynamic environments, flat, decentralised, and flexible structures respond more quickly than rigid bureaucracies. Adding layers, rules, and centralisation slow response time — the opposite of what is needed.
Question 293
A charity has a small group of long-serving trustees who make all major decisions with little input from others. New initiatives struggle to be heard. This is most consistent with:
Select an option first.
Correct answer: B — A power culture creating a governance bottleneck
Explanation: Power culture concentrates authority in a few key individuals. While this can be decisive, it creates a governance bottleneck where fresh ideas are suppressed and accountability is weak — a governance risk for the charity.
Question 294
A global bank standardises its risk procedures, compliance reporting, and IT systems across all its offices worldwide. This is an example of:
Select an option first.
Correct answer: B — Centralisation of key controls
Explanation: Centralising controls — particularly compliance and risk — ensures consistent standards across all locations. This is common in regulated industries where uniform standards are essential for legal and reputational protection.
Question 295
A company's gross profit margin falls from 40% to 32% in one year, while revenue remains the same. The most likely explanation is:
Select an option first.
Correct answer: B — An increase in the cost of goods sold relative to revenue
Explanation: Gross profit margin = Gross profit divided by Revenue. If revenue is unchanged but margin falls, the cost of goods sold must have risen. This could reflect higher material costs, labour, or inefficient production.
Question 296
During a major restructuring, the CEO holds weekly town halls, explains the rationale openly, and invites questions. This approach primarily demonstrates:
Select an option first.
Correct answer: B — Effective downward and interactive communication during change
Explanation: Open, two-way communication during change reduces uncertainty, manages resistance, and maintains trust. Regular town halls with Q&A combine downward communication (informing) with upward communication (listening to concerns).
Question 297
A company extends its credit terms to customers from 30 days to 60 days to win more business. The most likely impact on the business is:
Select an option first.
Correct answer: B — Increased trade receivables and potential cash flow pressure
Explanation: Extending credit increases the balance of trade receivables and means the company waits longer for cash, potentially creating cash flow difficulties even if profits are maintained.
Question 298
A manager notices one high-performing team member always works alone and rarely engages with colleagues. Applying Belbin's theory, this suggests:
Select an option first.
Correct answer: B — The team may lack someone filling the coordinator or team-worker role, and the employee may be over-playing a plant or specialist role
Explanation: Belbin's model suggests teams need a balance of roles. An employee who isolates themselves may be overusing a specialist or plant role while the team misses out on relational roles. This can affect long-term team cohesion.
Question 299
A company's IT system goes down for 48 hours, halting all order processing and customer service. This demonstrates the importance of:
Select an option first.
Correct answer: B — A business continuity plan and IT disaster recovery procedures
Explanation: Business continuity and disaster recovery plans ensure organisations can restore critical operations quickly after an IT failure. Without them, even a temporary outage can cause significant revenue loss and reputational damage.
Question 300
An organisation's board decides to accept a risk associated with a new product launch rather than spending on controls or insurance. This approach is best described as:
Select an option first.
Correct answer: D — Risk acceptance (retention)
Explanation: Risk acceptance means the board consciously decides to live with a risk without further action, typically because the cost of mitigation exceeds the expected loss or because the risk is within appetite.
More free ACCA topics
Management Accounting401
Financial Accounting400
Corporate and Business Law400
Performance Management400
Financial Reporting400
Financial Management400
Strategic Business Reporting400
Advanced Financial Management400
Advanced Performance Management400
Advanced Taxation400
Taxation300
Audit and Assurance300
Strategic Business Leader300
Advanced Audit and Assurance296
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