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ACCA P4 Key to success

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Nature of the ACCA P4 paper

ACCA P4 Paper – Advanced Financial Management – is concerned with managing the finances of a business, and is a continuation of Paper F9. There are a few new topics to learn, but most of the topics were introduced in Paper F9.

Structure of the ACCA P4 paper

There are two sections to the exam.

Section A contains ONE compulsory question of 50 marks.

Section B is a choice of TWO from three questions, each carrying  25 marks. There are 3 hours for the exam, plus 15 minutes of reading time.

Most of the questions are mainly calculation, although there are a fair number of written sections in each. One of the three choice questions is always completely written.

Emphasis of the ACCA P4 exam

Although a large part of the syllabus has already been examined in Paper F9, this examination is testing much more the application of this earlier knowledge. The compulsory question will almost certainly involve writing a report and will present you with a large amount of information. The difficulty is as much interpreting the given information, and deciding what is important, as being able to apply learned techniques.

How to pass ACCA P4 exam

Use the OpenTuition ACCA P4 lectures along with the P4 Course Notes. Make sure that you are happy with the arithmetic, but also listen carefully to the lectures and check that you really do understand the techniques and the theories.

It is then of vital importance that you practise as many past exam questions as you can – especially from Section A. Do not expect to get the answers completely correct! In fact more often than not there is no ‘correct’ answer. It depends on what assumptions are made, and provided you make sensible assumptions (and that you state your assumptions) you will still get the marks – even if some of your assumptions differ from those made in the model answer.

See also:

P4 Advanced Financial Management Forums – post your questions to get help from other members and tutors

Ask the Tutor – P4 Exams

Paper P4 Syllabus
Why choose Paper P4
P4 Past exam papers and Pilot Paper
P4 Examiners’ reports
P4 Examiner’s approach interview 
P4 Examiner’s approach article
P4 Examiner’s analysis interview
P4 Technical articles
P4 pass rates
Exam Formulae & Maths Tables

Reader Interactions

Comments

  3. Hi,

    I am appearing in P4 this December and I needed some guidance on whether I should study F9 for it or should I study only the P4 Course. Actually my F9 was exempt so I don’t remember the key concepts in it and I was worried that only studying for P4 might not be enough.

    Please Help

    • Not all of F9 is examinable in P4, and the P4 lectures do revise the necessary bits of F9.

      Best is to study P4 but if you do come to something that you are not sure about then go back to the relevant F9 lectures if needed.

  7. Hello Sir,
    I am going to be attempting Paper P4 for the 4th time this December and I was wondering if you could enlighten me with any tips considering my marks in the first 3 attempts were 46%, 46% and 42% (I was pretty comfortable with the September seating, but still failed with a 42%).

    Considering the marks, do you think I may be overlooking something small that’s causing me to fail marginally?

    I’d really appreciate your input on this and hope to pass the December seating.

    Thanks in advance…

    • I am sorry that you are having such problems with P4.
      It is impossible for me to know how well (or otherwise) you understand the topics – only you really know that (and if there is something you don’t understand then obviously you need to work on it and ask in the Ask the Tutor Forum if you need help).

      However, what might be more likely is your technique in actually approaching the questions. What I do suggest you do first is watch the lectures that I have uploaded working through several Question 1’s from past exams, because not only do I obviously work through the calculations but also discuss the approach to the questions to try and make sure you get enough marks to pass, even if you make mistakes along the way.

      You can find them linked from this page:
      https://opentuition.com/acca/p4/acca-p4-revision/

      • Sir,

        Thank you so much for your insight.

        I personally think my exam technique has some issues as by profession, I am into corporate finance, I handle a lot of business valuations, mergers and acquisitions, finance raising and other P4 related topics.

        I will definitely pay great attention to the link you have pasted in your comment and use the Ask the Tutor forum.

        Thank you once again!

  11. 2nd Attempt…
    Took Classes From Abeel….
    Found it unsatisfactory….
    Got Fracture….
    @ Home From Last 2 Weeks…
    Any Tips How 2 Tackle this Paper…..
    Also Working Full Time….
    Didn’t touched buks in last 2 weeks….
    HELP!!!! HELP!!!! HELP!!!

    • I don’t know who Abeel is….but however.

      It is time to open your books!!! A lot of the syllabus is a repeat from Paper F9, but instead of giving the information direct (certainly in the compulsory question) you are expected to find the relevant information yourself from the scenario.
      So….make sure that you really did understand what you were doing in F9 (and that you were not just relying on learning ‘rules’. – if necessary go back through F9 again first).

      There are some new topics. All of them are covered in our Course Notes, and for most of them we have lectures. You obviously must work through these properly (together with a Study Text if you have one).

      Remember that it is never the final answer itself that matters – everything you do is marked separately and you will get the marks if it is clear what you are trying to do (even if you get the wrong figures). So make sure that even if you get stuck somewhere that you do what you can and that you make your workings clear. Again, if it is clear what you are trying to do then you will get marks.

      Do try and do something for every part of every question. It does not matter if you do not finish every part – you are trying to get 50%.

      Always write something for the written parts. Very often, they are not technical and are more related to P3. Writing anything sensible will always get some marks even if you cannot manage a complete answer.

      Practice is the key to the whole thing. You must work through every question that you can get hold of – certainly all the past exam questions, but preferably from one of the Revision/Exam Kits from one of the approved publishers.

  12. Sitting paper in December for the 3rd time – didn’t take the June paper as decided to take a break from it – this is also my last paper so really focused on passing this time… I guess question practice is the key. I am using open tuition for the first time as a study aid – any tips on how to get the best from this site? Many thanks.

    • Read the Course Notes and watch the lectures.
      However as you say, most important of all is to practice questions. You must get hold of a revision/exam kit from one of the approved publishers.
      Then come back to this site and ask about any problems you have using the Ask the Tutor forum.

  14. can anyone please give me further clarification on how to calculate the closing futures price ,if not given .tried it,on one question, using the example give by open tuition on but i got it wrong .instead of using the mid point spot rate ,they used buying rate of the spot to get the basis points .my question is how do we use the rate if its not mid point rate.

  18. Hi Gilbert! I am sitting for this paper a second time around in december. It is one of my last paper! It would be nice to have a dedicated study buddy so i can get through it in december and get it over with!

  19. I failed this paperr for the second time and have started studying for the Dec exam session. It is the only paper left for me to complete the qualification. Anyone reading for this one paper please get in touch so that we may study together. I am in South Africa.

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