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The example is wrong, but not in the way you thought. Gutenburg’s salary should be $100 million per year.
That adds 100,000,000 to the total wage bill and 1 person to the number of people.
The mean salary is always:
the sum of (Number of people x their salary)/number of people.
Note that the amounts in the example are in 000s
The points you make and the structure used in 1 and 2 above are excellent. No problem at all.
With 3, the growth in the number of projects undertaken is a bit lacking, I think. As it stands it ignores the quality aspect. Something like …number of projects successfully undertaken would be better.
To really attack the world class requirement I might have suggested in issuing clients with a post-project review sheet so that they could score aspects of performance like: innovation, flexibility, understanding needs, communication skills, satisfaction with the outcomes. That approach gives more external validation of the company’s success.
I suggest you concentrate on past papers, but maybe throw in an occasional exam kit question – especially if there is a commentary provided that helps you to assess your answer or planned answer.
As I’m sure you realise, question practise is essential in this exam as the new ‘knowledge’ content is relatively small and the exam will concentrate on application, not knowledge.
Many workings can be contained within the cell formulae. However, this also acts as a form of concealment from you which can lead to errors. It can also lead your to doing many calculations on the calculator and using the spreadsheet as little more than a wordprocessor.
So, if to work out wage costs for 5 workers, each with the different hourly rates and different hours, at some point you have to type in hours x rate for each. Better to enter a row of five, then a row of hours, then a row for the wage amounts.. Little work is saved by effectively entering hours*rate five times.
32.60 is correct, but the year 0 spend is 25 + 0.64 = 25.64
32.6 – 25.64 = 6.96 (the published answer bar rounding. You seem to have forgotten the initial working capital.
As for you last query, you have to assume the reinvestment rate is the same as the discount rate if a rate is not explicitly given.
The 0.64 working capital recouped figure has been typed in the wrong column. However, the free cash flows are correct (0.64 types in year 1 is not in the 12.56, but is included in year 3).
I don’t know why you get an answer of 7.6. You must be doing something different to the model answer. Compare carefully.
Sorry, but I’m not aware of any changes to the CBE platform, particularly with respect to APM. I suggest you repost this query on the ACCA General Forums.
Absolutely. The examination team has spent days writing and reviewing the question and has deliberately included a problem ie the security breach. In general, questions should not be answered theoretically if there is something in the carefully constructed question that raises issues, questions or problems. To evaluate the security layers without reference to the breach that has occurred is not the right approach.
Think of yourself not as an examination candidate but as a consultant or expert who is to give a real, practical ‘report’. You wouldn’t last long presenting to the board if you ignored the real problem that happened.
That’s fine. In the real world you would probably write something like
From: J Smith, senior consultant, Performance Management Consultants Ltd
but there’s no need for that in the exam.
In general, % increase/decrease is more meaningful than absolute numbers. In fact, the use of absolutes is often used to mislead. However, if you are under time pressure you can still make valid points using absolute numbers. For example, it would be valid to say that the there might be significance if number of incidents has risen by 50 if the starting point was 200, but not if it was 10,000.
Yes, they are for 2026 exams.
However, it is essential that you buy a BPP revision kit so that you can practise lots of exam-type questions.
You have posted this query to the APM forum.
However, the FBT exam is multiple choice. This allows the examiner to easily cover all syllabus areas is each exam (indeed, the software ensures that). Besides, the exams are not published.
To maximise your chance of success you should cover everything.
It is essential to buy a BPP revision kit to provide question practice. You get a 20% discount if you order through this site.
Given that the acquisition of Comfi is a hot issue, I think your approach is reasonable. However, even if there were no takeover, the question could be answered more theoretically, which is the approach taken in the model answer.
I prefer your approach.
Task is:
Prepare a draft press release responding to the criticisms assessing the social and environmental impact of HiLite’s proposed investment in Veelandia, with a view to reassuring its stakeholders of HiLite’s intentions to maintain its high principles and standards in acquiring the Comfi Stay hotel chain.
Under-age staff are employed and this social and ethical issue has to be addressed. The exhibits do not specify what should be done, but there is no way that a press release will reassure “… its stakeholders of HiLite’s intentions to maintain its high principles and standards in acquiring the Comfi Stay hotel chain” unless the company stops employing under-age staff. Without that assurance the press release would be ineffective.
There is no specific ‘reassure’ term in accountancy so you have to take a common sense approach. However, providing ‘assurance’ and ‘reassure’ have more or less the same meaning. Reassure means restoring lost confidence in some matter, calming fears, helping people get a good night’s sleep.
Assurance is closely defined in auditing, and some aspects of that might be useful in reassuring eg identify the subject matter (eg possible loss of revenue), collect evidence and report to a party (here shareholders).
It’s difficult to answer precisely without seeing the question and exhibits. It’s unlikely that you will get very high marks for this task, but not all is necessarily lost. You might have made valid points and the marker might be lenient.
Try not to fret. Difficult, I know, but it helps nothing.
Best wishes.
Corporate failure is not on the syllabus anymore . It was dropped a few years ago.
Lovely to see Google AI being wrong – perhaps there is still hope for us humans!
See the last post on this thread:
https://opentuition.com/topic/scenario-is-giving-me-little-to-work-with/
The chapters are not perfectly aligned, but you can often see a connection by the chapter/section headings. After each chapter, go to what looks like an appropriate kit section.
Suggested way to use the kit:
1 Do not mark with ticks or crosses against each answer. When you are doing questions note your answers on a separate sheet. That way you can use the kit questions many times.
2 If you get a question right, tick the question header unless you guessed. No immediate need to revisit that question. If you got it wrong, mark it with a cross.
3 Understand why you got the question wrong. If needs be read our notes. You can search on words.
4 After a day or two, revisit the kit section and again try the questions you got wrong. if you get it right, mark with a tick. Repeat. You should gradually be able to get more and more correct.
5 Near the exam, try lots of question again.
The chapters are not perfectly aligned, but you can often see a connection by the chapter/section headings. After each chapter, go to what looks like an appropriate kit section.
Suggested way to use the kit:
1 Do not mark with ticks or crosses against each answer. When you are doing questions note your answers on a separate sheet. That way you can use the kit questions many times.
2 If you get a question right, tick the question header unless you guessed. No immediate need to revisit that question. If you got it wrong, mark it with a cross.
3 Understand why you got the question wrong. If needs be read our notes. You can search on words.
4 After a day or two, revisit the kit section and again try the questions you got wrong. if you get it right, mark with a tick. Repeat. You should gradually be able to get more and more correct.
5 Near the exam, try lots of question again.
I think that is correct. Certainly, the directors/board run the company on behalf of its shareholders and there is a fiduciary duty there (ie to act in the best interests of the shareholders). However, given that the company is offering a very valuable, perhaps essential service, to the travelling public (customers), I think there is alco an agency relationship there. For example, the public would expect trains to be safe and to run on-time and would expect the board to fulfil those expectations on their behalf.
Although often in law the board’s responsibilities are confined to shareholders, increasingly it is recognised that they have a wider responsibility to other stakeholders.
