There are five pages of ACCA exam tips in the latest PQ magazine, and they start on page 24 of the September issue: https://issuu.com/pqpublishing/docs/pq_0920_combined.
We cover all the papers from PM to AFM, and here’s just a taster…
AA sitters are told to pay attention to the verbs. If you are asked to ‘explain’ then write a sentence and you will score one mark (if properly explained), whereas the verb ‘list’ simply requires you to list out information with no further explanation, and this will score a half-mark per point.
TX sitters need to remember the pass mark is 50%, so you don’t need to be perfect. If you don’t know something have a guess and move on. Sometimes you have to do that in order to get follow through marks in section C questions. If you make a mistake and then use that incorrect figure later in a subsequent calculation, then that’s fine – you can only lose the mark once. In section A and B never leave an OTQ unanswered – have a guess of you don’t know the answer. It might be right!
ACCA has said that for APM exams one of the section B questions in Q2-3 will come from syllabus section E (performance evaluation and corporate failure). Section B commonly tested areas include quality management, information reporting (eg Big Data, Lean Information), the application of strategic models (such as PEST, Porter’s 5 forces, the Value Chain), HR frameworks (eg reward and appraisal systems), risk management and environmental management systems.
ATX sitters are reminded not to forget the basic administration points are also likely to be examined – when do we need to pay tax, when do we file a return and what happens if either of these are late. Remember these exam papers would have been written prior to Covid-19 outbreak and, as such you should not be addressing any aspects of the virus in answering this paper. Any tax breaks available due to the pandemic are not examinable
Meanwhile, those taking the AFM exam are told to remember this is not a maths paper – in all exam questions the examiner is interested in your ability to communicate well and to give good management advice that relates to the scenario in the question. All AFM exams will have questions which focus on section B of the syllabus (advanced investment appraisal) and section E (treasury and advanced risk management techniques). These syllabus areas are therefore high priority areas for your revision.
