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9609 · 4.1.1

The transformational process — practice questions

Practice and worked examples for 9609 The transformational process. Short previews only — attempt the full question in MarkScheme against the official scheme.

Worked example 1

Bakery buys flour, sugar, and packaging for $2 per loaf. Sells loaves for $5. Calculate value added per loaf and explain what it must cover.

Show solution outline

Value added = 55 − 2 = $3 per loaf.

This $3 must cover:

  • Labour (bakers, shop staff)
  • Overheads (rent, ovens, utilities)
  • Profit

If energy costs rise, value added unchanged but profit squeezed unless price rises — link to 5.4 costing and 5.3 cash flow.

Worked example 2

Elegant Chairs Ltd manufactures and sells high-end office chairs. In the last financial year, it sold 5,000 chairs at a price of $450 each. The cost of bought-in raw materials (leather, steel) was $150 per chair, and specialised components (lumbar support mechanism) cost an additional $50 per chair. Total annual operating costs, excluding bought-in materials and components, were $1,100,000.

  1. Calculate the total value added for the year.
  2. Calculate the annual profit.
Show solution outline

Step 1: Calculate the cost of bought-in inputs per chair. This is the sum of all external materials and components.

  • Cost of raw materials: 150150
  • Cost of components: 5050
  • Total bought-in cost per chair: 150+150 + 50 = **200200**

Step 2: Calculate the value added per chair. Value Added = Selling Price - Cost of bought-in inputs

  • Value Added per chair = 450450 - 200 = **250250**

Step 3: Calculate the total value added for the year. Total Value Added = Value added per chair × Number of units sold

  • Total Value Added = 250×5,000=250 \times 5,000 = **1,250,000**

Step 4: Calculate the annual profit. Profit is what remains from the value added after all other operating costs (labour, rent, marketing etc.) have been paid.

  • Profit = Total Value Added - Other Operating Costs
  • Profit = 1,250,0001,250,000 - 1,100,000 = **150,000150,000**

This example shows that the $1,250,000 of value added was used to cover $1,100,000 of internal costs and generate $150,000 in profit.