Business Enterprise Skills Paper 2 Specimen 2026

1. Arecruit the full complement of production staff
2. Bregister the enterprise as a public limited company
3. Cidentify the business idea and research the market
4. Dprepare the final audited financial statements

1. Astart-up costs, cash flow forecasts and break-even
2. Bthe curriculum vitae of every junior employee
3. Cthe technical drawings of the factory building layout
4. Dthe minutes of the last board meeting held

1. Amonitor performance against the plan and revise it
2. Bfile the plan away until the business is sold
3. Cdistribute the plan to competing enterprises
4. Dconvert the plan into a legal contract with the bank

1. Athe removal of all tax on the company's profits
2. Bthe right to trade without a business licence
3. Caccess to capital by selling shares to the public
4. Dfreedom from any obligation to publish annual accounts

1. Acannot sell their shares to another investor
2. Breceive a fixed dividend whatever the profit
3. Crisk only the amount they paid for their shares
4. Dare personally liable for all the company's debts

1. Athe loss of the company's separate legal identity
2. Ban end to the ability to raise long-term finance
3. Ca legal limit of twenty owners on the business
4. Dloss of privacy and control over the business

Answer this when you sit the paper.

1. Aa trade sale
2. Bcontracting out
3. Ca management buyout by the directors
4. Da public share flotation

1. Aa management buyout by the directors
2. Bcontracting out
3. Ca share flotation
4. Dnationalisation

1. Aa trade sale
2. Bnationalisation
3. Ca management buyout by the directors
4. Da public flotation of its shares

1. Aattract foreign investors by removing all local rules
2. Btransfer all enterprises into state ownership
3. Crestrict the goods that may be exported abroad
4. Dincrease local ownership and control of enterprises

1. Araises the volume of profits sent abroad each year
2. Breduces the number of local people owning firms
3. Clowers the level of skills required of managers
4. Dkeeps more profit circulating inside the country

1. Areduce the number of citizens owning businesses
2. Bprevent the state from collecting company tax
3. Cdeter foreign direct investment into the country
4. Dincrease foreign ownership of the whole mining sector

1. Aextra effort during busy periods raises their pay
2. Bpay is fixed regardless of how much is sold
3. Cthe outlet no longer has to pay any basic wage at all
4. Dstaff can choose which shifts they work

1. Araises the outlet's total wage bill each week
2. Bgives staff income security in quiet periods
3. Clinks every dollar earned directly to output
4. Dreduces the need for any stock control

1. Athey are paid the same amount every month
2. Bthey receive their payment before any work is done
3. Cthe scheme replaces the basic wage entirely
4. Dtheir reward rises with the outlet's own success

1. Apiece rates
2. Bprofit sharing bonuses
3. Cfringe benefits
4. Dfixed costs

1. Aethical firms pay no tax on their profits
2. Bethical trading lowers wage costs immediately
3. Cregulators exempt ethical firms from inspection
4. Dconsumers increasingly favour firms they trust

1. Afair wages and safe disposal raise operating costs
2. Bcustomers become less willing to buy the product
3. Cthe enterprise loses its separate legal identity
4. Demployees become more likely to leave the enterprise

1. Afixed assets
2. Breputation
3. Cshare capital
4. Dcash balance

Answer this when you sit the paper.

1. Ameasure customer satisfaction with a service
2. Bset fair and consistent pay for different jobs
3. Cassess how well an individual employee performs
4. Ddecide how many workers should be recruited

1. Athe job itself rather than the person doing it
2. Bthe person doing the job rather than the job itself
3. Cthe profit each department contributes
4. Dthe training budget available each year

1. Areduces pay disputes and perceptions of unfairness
2. Bremoves the need to pay overtime to any staff
3. Craises the output of every machine on the floor
4. Dfixes the total wage bill for the next ten years ahead

1. Ait cannot be used where jobs differ from one another
2. Bit prevents the enterprise from advertising vacancies
3. Cit applies only to enterprises owned by the state
4. Dit is time-consuming and judgement remains subjective

1. Arequires every employee to be paid the same rate
2. Bestablishes grades against which pay is budgeted
3. Cremoves the highest-paid grades from the structure
4. Dsets the national minimum wage for the industry

Answer this when you sit the paper.

1. Aincrease the tax it must pay on its profits
2. Breduce the price of its shares on the stock market
3. Cdelay the publication of its annual report
4. Dattract investors by showing a stronger position

1. Alengthen the company's financial year
2. Bsatisfy loan covenants set by the company's bank
3. Creduce the dividend expected by its shareholders each year
4. Davoid the need to appoint external auditors

1. Acompare performance over time and against rivals
2. Beliminate the need to prepare any accounts
3. Cset the wage rates paid to its factory operatives
4. Ddecide which of its employees should be promoted

1. Areturn on capital employed
2. Bthe acid test ratio
3. Cthe gross profit margin
4. Dgearing

1. Arequires the company to be listed on a stock exchange
2. Bmeasures only the number of employees engaged
3. Crelies on historical, possibly manipulated figures
4. Dcannot be applied to a manufacturing business

1. Aprovides the cash needed to settle overdue debts
2. Bremoves the effect of inflation on reported figures
3. Cpinpoints weaknesses such as slow stock turnover
4. Dreplaces the need for a budget in each department

1. Aselling price and cost of production per unit
2. Bage of the product and its packaging design
3. Cnumber of units sold and number of outlets
4. Drelative market share and market growth rate

1. Acash cow
2. Bdog
3. Cquestion mark
4. Dstar

1. Aquestion mark
2. Bstar
3. Ccash cow
4. Ddog

1. Aquestion mark
2. Bstar
3. Ccash cow
4. Ddog

1. Aquestion mark
2. Bstar
3. Ccash cow
4. Ddog

1. Asets the selling price for each product line
2. Bforecasts the market share held by every competitor
3. Cguides where to invest, hold, harvest or divest
4. Dcalculates the exact profit each product earns

1. Aignores the market share held by the product
2. Buses only two dimensions and needs good data
3. Ccan be applied only to service enterprises
4. Drequires products to be sold in one country

Answer this when you sit the paper.

1. Aprovides the licence needed to serve food to guests
2. Breveals the service standards it must match to compete
3. Cfixes the room rates the hotel is permitted to charge guests
4. Dsupplies the finance needed to furnish the bedrooms

1. Areduces the tax charged on its first year
2. Ballows it to trade without any employees
3. Cspeeds learning by adopting proven practice
4. Dremoves competition from the local hotel market

1. Athe supplier offers a discount
2. Bthe storeroom is completely full
3. Cstock falls to a pre-set level
4. Dthe growing season has ended

1. Aprotects the farm from any delay in delivery of inputs
2. Bcuts storage costs and spoilage of perishables
3. Callows very large buffer stocks to be held
4. Dremoves any need to deal with suppliers

1. Aa late delivery can halt work at a critical time
2. Btoo much of the farm's working capital is tied up in stock
3. Cstorage costs rise sharply during the season
4. Dproduce is more likely to spoil in the store

1. Amakes production delays more likely to occur
2. Breduces the discounts available on bulk orders
3. Cshortens the shelf life of the goods purchased
4. Dties up working capital and risks spoilage

1. Athe raw materials used to make a product
2. Bthe receipts issued to customers at the point of sale
3. Cthe physical distance to the nearest outlet
4. Dthe tangible cues surrounding a service offering

1. Ais generally cheaper to provide than a physical good is
2. Bcannot be advertised in any printed medium
3. Cis intangible, so customers judge it by visible cues
4. Dcan be stored in a warehouse until it is needed

1. Aremove the need for the firm to train its staff
2. Bshorten the time the service takes to deliver
3. Csignal quality and reduce the perceived risk of buying
4. Dlower the price the customer is finally charged at the till

1. Aa questionnaire
2. Ban in-depth interview
3. Can observation study
4. Da focus group

1. Aa stock count
2. Ba focus group
3. Ca postal questionnaire
4. Da sales ledger

1. Aremove the cost of developing a new handset
2. Bfix the retail price charged in every country
3. Cprotect the handset design from being copied by rivals
4. Dreduce the risk of launching an unwanted product

1. Acannot be distributed to a large enough number of people
2. Bproduces data that cannot be compared or counted
3. Cmay only be used by a listed public company
4. Dgives little insight into why people answer as they do

1. Asupport decisions and correct tax computation
2. Bincrease the selling price charged for its products
3. Creduce the wages paid to production staff
4. Dremove the need for an annual stock count

1. Achoose the enterprise's legal form
2. Bjudge whether the business can service the debt
3. Cdecide which of its employees should be promoted
4. Dset the enterprise's advertising budget

1. Adetect fraud and errors before they grow
2. Bavoid paying any tax on its trading profit
3. Cprevent competitors from entering the market
4. Draise the price of its shares on the market

1. Acollecting debts from customers more quickly
2. Boffering its customers longer periods of credit
3. Cpaying suppliers earlier than agreed terms
4. Dincreasing the level of stock it holds

1. Adelays cash leaving the business
2. Breduces the total cost of purchases
3. Cincreases the value of stock held
4. Draises the revenue earned from sales

Answer this when you sit the paper.

1. Athe facility must be repaid over twenty years
2. Bsuppliers are legally obliged to refuse credit
3. Cinterest charges reduce the enterprise's profit
4. Dthe enterprise loses its limited liability status

Answer this when you sit the paper.

1. Amanaging a complex project with dependent tasks
2. Bdeciding the selling price of a single new product
3. Cchoosing between two suppliers of one material
4. Dpreparing its statutory accounts for auditors

1. Athe total duration of the whole project measured in weeks
2. Bthe time it can be delayed without delaying the project
3. Cthe extra cost of completing the activity ahead of time
4. Dthe number of workers assigned to the activity

1. Athe lowest cost of all the activities
2. Bzero float, so any delay delays the project
3. Cthe largest float of all the activities
4. Dno effect at all on the project completion time

1. Ahow much profit each separate activity will generate
2. Bwhich supplier offers the lowest unit price
3. Chow many shares must be issued to fund it
4. Dwhich activities must not be delayed and when

1. Acannot show the order in which the tasks must occur
2. Brequires every activity to take the same time
3. Cdepends on the accuracy of the time estimates used
4. Dcan only be applied to projects of under a week

1. Asequencing
2. Bcrashing
3. Cfloat
4. Dlevelling