Saturday, December 20, 2025

MCQ questions on Financial statement interpretation

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MCQs: Liquidity, Solvency, Leverage, Financial Analysis & Policies

(US CMA Part 2 | ACCA FM Level – Moderate to Difficult)

 

1. Liquidity vs Solvency

1. A company has a current ratio of 2.5 but consistently defaults on long-term loan installments. This indicates: A. Strong liquidity and solvency

B. Weak liquidity and weak solvency

C. Strong liquidity but weak solvency

D. Weak liquidity but strong solvency

Answer: 

 

2. Liquidity Crunch

2. Which situation BEST describes a liquidity crunch? A. Negative retained earnings

B. High debt-equity ratio

C. Profitable firm unable to meet short-term obligations

D. Declining market share

Answer: 

 

3. Operating Leverage

3. High operating leverage implies: A. High variable costs

B. High financial risk

C. High fixed operating costs

D. Low contribution margin

Answer: 

 

4. Financial Leverage

4. Financial leverage magnifies: A. Sales volatility

B. Operating risk

C. Earnings per share variability

D. Contribution margin

Answer: 

 

5. Combined Leverage

5. A firm with high operating leverage and high financial leverage is MOST exposed to: A. Market risk

B. Liquidity risk

C. Total business risk

D. Currency risk

Answer: 

 

6. Trading on Equity

6. Trading on equity is successful when: A. Cost of debt > ROCE

B. ROCE > Cost of debt

C. Debt is interest-free

D. Equity capital is zero

Answer: 

 

7. Debt Trap

7. A company is said to be in a debt trap when: A. Debt increases profitability

B. New debt is used to repay old debt interest

C. Equity exceeds debt

D. Interest coverage ratio improves

Answer: 

 

8. Capital Gearing

8. A highly geared company means: A. More equity than debt

B. More debt than equity

C. No preference shares

D. High liquidity

Answer: 

 

9. High Financial Leverage

9. High financial leverage is MOST risky during: A. Inflation

B. Stable sales

C. Economic downturn

D. Low interest rates

Answer: 

 

10. Financial Flexibility

10. Financial flexibility refers to a firm’s ability to: A. Increase dividend payout

B. Change accounting policies

C. Raise funds at reasonable cost when needed

D. Eliminate all debt

Answer: 

 

11. Risk Owner

11. In enterprise risk management, the risk owner is: A. External auditor

B. Internal auditor

C. Person responsible for managing the risk

D. Board chairman

Answer: 

 

12. Operational Excellence

12. Operational excellence primarily improves: A. Capital structure

B. Cost efficiency and process reliability

C. Dividend yield

D. Market capitalization

Answer: 

 

13. Quality of Revenue

13. High quality of revenue means revenue is: A. Rapidly growing

B. Based on cash sales and core operations

C. Derived from one-time events

D. Earned through accounting estimates

Answer: 

 

14. Horizontal Analysis

14. Horizontal analysis compares: A. Line items as a percentage of sales

B. Financial data across time periods

C. Actual vs budget

D. Industry averages

Answer: 

 

15. Vertical Analysis / Common-Size Statement

15. In a common-size income statement: A. All items are shown as a percentage of total assets

B. All items are shown as a percentage of equity

C. All items are shown as a percentage of sales

D. Only expenses are standardized

Answer: 

 

16. Interpretation of Financial Statements

16. A rising gross profit margin but falling net profit margin suggests: A. Improved cost control

B. Higher operating or financing expenses

C. Better pricing power

D. Lower tax rates

Answer: 

 

17. Profitability vs Liquidity Trade-off

17. Holding excessive cash balances will generally: A. Increase profitability

B. Reduce liquidity

C. Reduce profitability

D. Increase financial leverage

Answer: 

 

18. Current Performance

18. The ratio MOST relevant to assess current performance: A. Debt-equity ratio

B. Current ratio

C. EPS

D. Asset turnover

Answer: 

 

19. EPS

19. EPS measures: A. Cash available to shareholders

B. Market value of equity

C. Profit attributable to each equity share

D. Dividend paid per share

Answer: 

 

20. Diluted EPS

20. Diluted EPS assumes: A. No conversion of securities

B. Only equity shares outstanding

C. Conversion of all dilutive potential shares

D. Only options are exercised

Answer: 

 

21. Dilutive Securities

21. Which is MOST likely to dilute EPS? A. Convertible debentures

B. Preference shares (non-convertible)

C. Treasury shares

D. Redeemable bonds

Answer: 

 

22. Dividend Policy

22. According to Modigliani–Miller (without taxes): A. Dividend policy affects firm value

B. Dividend policy is irrelevant

C. Higher dividends increase value

D. Retention always increases value

Answer: 

 

23. Residual Dividend Policy

23. Under residual dividend policy, dividends are paid: A. At fixed percentage of profit

B. After financing all acceptable investments

C. Only in loss years

D. Before capital budgeting

Answer: 

 

24. Operating Policy

24. Operating policies primarily affect: A. Capital structure

B. Cost behavior and margins

C. Dividend payout

D. Debt covenants

Answer: 

 

25. Financial Policy

25. Financial policies mainly determine: A. Product pricing

B. Production efficiency

C. Capital structure and dividend decisions

D. Inventory valuation

Answer: 

 

26. Inventory Turnover (Low)

26. A low inventory turnover may be due to: A. Strong demand

B. Over-stocking or obsolete inventory

C. High COGS

D. Low selling prices

Answer: 

 

27. Solvency Ratio

27. Which ratio BEST measures long-term solvency? A. Current ratio

B. Quick ratio

C. Debt-equity ratio

D. Inventory turnover

Answer: 

 

28. Interest Coverage

28. Declining interest coverage ratio indicates: A. Improved liquidity

B. Higher financial risk

C. Lower leverage

D. Better profitability

Answer: 

 

29. Capital Structure

29. An optimal capital structure is one that: A. Eliminates risk

B. Maximizes cost of capital

C. Minimizes WACC and maximizes firm value

D. Uses only equity

Answer: 

 

30. Gross Profit vs Net Income

30. Gross profit excludes: A. Operating expenses

B. Cost of goods sold

C. Selling expenses

D. Administrative expenses

Answer: 

 

31. Liquidity Improvement

31. Which action improves liquidity but may hurt profitability? A. Extending credit to customers

B. Holding higher cash balances

C. Increasing leverage

D. Accelerating depreciation

Answer: 

 

32. Financial Statement Red Flag

32. Which is a red flag for earnings quality? A. Stable operating cash flows

B. Rising revenue with falling cash flow

C. Consistent margins

D. Conservative accounting

Answer: 

 

33. Profitability Ratio

33. ROCE improves when: A. Capital employed increases faster than EBIT

B. EBIT increases with stable capital employed

C. Debt replaces equity without EBIT change

D. Inventory increases

Answer: 

 

34. Leverage & EPS

34. Financial leverage increases EPS when: A. EBIT < interest

B. EBIT > interest

C. Sales decrease

D. Tax rate increases

Answer: 

 

35. Common-Size Balance Sheet

35. In a common-size balance sheet: A. Assets are shown as % of total assets

B. Liabilities are shown as % of sales

C. Equity is ignored

D. Only current assets are standardized

Answer: 

 

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