A Study Guide for the Operator Certificate of Professional Competence (CPC) in Road Freight 2020

A Complete Self-Study Course for OCR and CILT Examinations

Clive Pidgeon

• Publisher: Kogan Page
• Year: 2020
• Print ISBN: 9781789665031
• eBook ISBN: 9781789665048
• Edition: 3
• Topic: Technology & Engineering
• Subtopic: Automotive Transportation & Engineering
• Index: Technology & Engineering

A Study Guide for the Operator Certificate of Professional Competence (CPC) in Road Freight 2020 is a vital study guide that offers the thorough preparation needed to pass the tough CPC exams in the UK. It covers the examination method used by the Oxford, Cambridge and RSA (OCR) and the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport (CILT). This is the Level 3 standard qualification overseen by The Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation (OFQUAL) and the Welsh Assembly Government, which is required by any person wishing to operate vehicles over 3, 500 kg, the maximum authorised mass for hire and reward, in the UK and internationally. A Study Guide for the Operator Certificate of Professional Competence (CPC) in Road Freight 2020 has been extensively revised to include all the new legislation. It covers the eight study sections that the directive requires: civil law; commercial law; social law; fiscal law; business; financial; management of the undertaking access to the market; technical standards and technical aspects of the operation road safety. It features many case studies, examples, diagrams and graphics. New to this edition: updated sections on operator licencing, drivers' hours, tachographs, vehicle testing, vehicle tax, vehicle registration, civil law, international driving and documentation.

05

Business and financial management

This is a large section of the course that includes many important and sometimes seemingly difficult subjects, which need to be fully understood. In particular you will need to understand the subjects relating to finance and costings. You will be examined on these areas in depth in order to ensure that you are able to understand company accounts, costs and budgets and also produce a fully costed proposal.

Specifically, the syllabus requires that you should:

• be familiar with the laws and practices regarding the use of cheques, bills of exchange, promissory notes, credit cards and other means or methods of payment;
• be familiar with the various forms of credit (eg bank credit, documentary credit, guarantee deposits, mortgages, leasing, renting, factoring) and the charges and obligations arising therefrom;
• know what a balance sheet is, how it is set out, and how to interpret it;
• be able to read and interpret a trading account, profit and loss account, and balance sheet;
• be able to assess the undertaking’s profitability and financial position, in particular on the basis of financial ratios;
• be able to prepare and interpret a budget;
• be familiar with the cost elements of the undertaking (eg fixed costs, variable costs, working capital, depreciation) and be able to calculate costs per vehicle, per kilometre, per journey or per tonne;
• be familiar with discipline and grievance procedures;
• be able to draw up an organizational chart relating to the undertaking’s personnel as a whole and to organize work plans;
• be familiar with the principles of marketing, publicity and public relations, including transport services, sales promotion and the preparation of customer files;
• be familiar with the different types of insurance relating to road transport (liability, accidental injury/life, non-life insurance) and the guarantees and obligations arising therefrom;
• be familiar with the applications of electronic data transmission in road transport;
• be able to apply the rules governing the invoicing of road haulage services and know the meaning and implications of Incoterms.

Before we look at the documentation relating to business transactions, we must briefly note that there are two types of banks we may have to deal with. First, there are high-street banks, who act as clearing banks or ‘joint stock banks’. These are the banks we normally use within our daily lives, offering us current accounts (where there is little or no interest paid on the account) and deposit accounts (which do attract a certain level of interest). Second, there are merchant banks. These are banks that serve the business community and we do not normally use them for personal banking; they generally act to sell and buy shares and raise finance for major business ventures and investments.

We begin by producing a sequential list of the different documents that form most simple business transactions and that also often act to form a legally binding contract.

Business transaction documents

In order the documents are:

1. An estimate: an estimate gives an outline or ‘general’ assessment of the work to be done and an approximate price. Estimates can be verbal or written.
2. A quotation: a quotation clearly lays out the details of any proposed service or wor...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Halftitle
• Titlepage
• Contents
• List of Figures
• List of Tables
• Introduction
• 01 Civil law
• 02 Commercial law
• 03 Social law
• 04 Fiscal law
• 05 Business and financial management
• 06 Access to the market
• 07 Technical standards and technical aspects of operation
• 08 Road safety
• Answers to self-test questions
• Online resources
• Index
• Copyright