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Pass at first attempt!! I got the awful paper version with bonds and it was the worst exam I took in my life, I thought I’d fail even though I worked very hard to prepare for it. Finished with ACCA now, all first time passes, got my experience and objectives signed off last week so I can apply for membership tomorrow. I’m super happy and relieved, it hasn’t been an easy journey but it’s over now and it was worth the blood, sweat and tears which it has cost me. Thank you so much Open Tuition for providing this forum and for your amazing lectures!
63% first time pass!!! So happy with the result, the Jun paper was a nightmare… Now I have extra motivation to study for AFM, my last paper!! Thank you Chris for your amazing lectures 🙂
Sorry – I forgot about the EVA calculation, it was easy so I’ve counted 10 marks for it, so probably made around 47 points apart from it
I’ve sat two P level exams so far and I can see that the marking system is clear. In APM you get a mark for each relevant point made, relevant i.e. directly answering the question. It’s easy to get carried away and write a long essay on a given topic because you know it so well, but ACCA is not a university – the approach to their exams should be minimalistic – only write what will give you a mark. For example, in the question on the joint venture you needed zero textbook knowledge to answer it, it was pure common sense and finding information in the scenario. You only got marks for naming the potential issues in the scenario (& explaining briefly why they could potentially be an issue), not for writing a long discussion on the nature of joint ventures (which undoubtedly would result in a good mark at university). When I answered this question, I only made brief points, each in a separate paragraph so it’s easy to mark, for example “Exhibit X suggests that the government of Teeland has financial issues. This could potentially create a problem for the joint venture in the future as its funding comes from the two governments and lack of sufficient funding would mean difficulty in meeting the long term strategic objectives.” (I can’t remember what I wrote exactly). Another point was on how there are cultural differences between the two countries, and a brief explanation of the possible implications of this. English is my second language and I always try to make clear, brief points, to maximise my marks. In this paper I counted that I made around 57 points like the one in quotation marks above, each in a separate paragraph, and ended up with 60%. I had a similar experience with SBL. It’s worth checking the marking scheme at the end of each suggested answer sheet, it’s really helpful to understand what brings marks and what doesn’t.
Passed with 60% at first attempt!! I studied twice more than for SBL, this paper is quite tricky, so glad it’s over…
I’m so happy, I got 70%! This exam was very tricky, easy and difficult at the same time! Here are some comments:
1. Learn all the theory but be prepared that very little of it will come up. I don’t think I used any model, only common sense. This exam is very practical, you need to respond in the way you would respond in an actual workplace. If you start answering the questions by explaining theories and definitions, you will get zero marks (your boss wouldn’t be happy either if you started explaining theories instead of coming up with a practical solution at work). Learning theory is helpful though, particularly if English is your second language, as you learn how to discuss the issues that come up in the exam.
2. Focus on past papers, learn what formats you might need to apply (report, email etc), read all examiner’s reports. To be honest I didn’t do any practice questions from the book as I noticed they were different from what actually comes up in the exam. Instead, I almost memorised all past papers (but left a couple unread to attempt them in the final week under exam conditions). I also read all examiner’s reports a few times to know what are the common mistakes people make and what is expected.
3. You cannot use bullet points, but it’s good if you use short paragraphs (2-3 sentences) with an underlined heading to keep your answers clear and easy to mark. One paragraph = one point made, which can score 1-2 marks depending on how well developed it is. Even if you write a whole page, but only explain one point, you will still get only 2 marks for it! I always tried to cover at least half marks, so e.g. if a question was worth 8 marks, I would make 4-5 points. There are really good ACCA videos on YT where an ACCA tutor explains the Sep ‘18 paper, that’s how I learned this approach (it’s called “SBL September 2018 debrief: question 1”, there are videos on other questions as well, all are super useful). I really recommend watching them, as they give a good idea on how to structure your answers to maximise marks. ACCA’s solutions to past papers are for learning purposes only and you are not expected to write answers like this under exam conditions.
4. Read the question. Make sure you understand it. Make sure you REALLY understand what it requires. Don’t get carried away by a key word and write everything you know on the topic. Answer specifically what is required. Answering sometimes feels like you’re making stuff up, but it’s because this exam it’s just so different from other exams where they test purely knowledge.
5. Be careful as one question may ask for two things. They can also be very specific, e.g. they will ask you to describe risks to the company, but narrow it down and say “risks associated with strategy”. You would then need to come up with only this type of risks based on the scenario and make sure you link them to strategy in a clear way.
6. Time management and planning is key. Normally you have to answer 3-4 questions so it’s easy to allocate time, but here you might even have 8 questions, and it’s very easy to run out of time and not attempt all of them! I wrote the exact timings next to each question and gave myself 2.5 minutes per mark. For example, if a question was worth 8 marks, 8×2.5=20, so I would write “20 min 11:00-11:20”. Because of this, I finished all questions and did the last one properly.
7. Read between the lines of the scenario to give good answers. Imagine you work for them, try to understand how the company operates. Read carefully the description – is it a manufacturer? Services company? What’s their strategy, cost leader or differentiator? When you fully understand how the company ‘works’, you’ll find it easy to find real life solutions to questions.
8. Stay calm! When I opened the paper and started reading the questions I wanted to cry, because it wasn’t what I expected and it was only loosely related to all the theory i learned. I was really upset and felt like walking out. But I told myself I’m not a quitter and kept going through the tears, even though my situation seemed hopeless. In the end I answered all questions and got 70%. Never give up!!!
