Forums › ACCA Forums › ACCA AFM Advanced Financial Management Forums › ACCA AFM Exam Results – December 2020 – Instant Poll and Comments
- This topic has 69 replies, 55 voices, and was last updated 3 years ago by claramusonda.
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- January 18, 2021 at 4:41 pm #606965
Finally passed, at the 3rd attempt 59% and finally an affiliate! I am so happy it is over! Good luck to everyone!
PS: Do you know when the PER section will be available??? I am pretty sure I have completed it, but I cannot find it on myACCA…January 18, 2021 at 5:41 pm #606984Can share how did you tackle question 2 please..I did the apv radio question but got not enough time for the unbundling question in Q2…Q2 mixing the asset beta together with business valuation topic… which is confusing.. the question requirements are also not clear….can anyone help please..
January 18, 2021 at 7:07 pm #607005I have failed with 48% second attempt and might resit in march but it will be remotely. I am worried about working as no scrap paper is allowed. How did you manage and any tips please share.
January 18, 2021 at 7:20 pm #607008@SimKaur24 – the advantage of CBEs, especially for AFM, is that you gain part marks for your workings. On a CBE (and remote exam), you’re given a ‘scratch pad’ on the software where you can type your rough workings.
However, I would strongly recommend doing all workings on the response area instead (the spreadsheet) because this spreadsheet will be marked. You would save a lot of time, instead of typing it on your scratch pad and then copying it to your response area. I personally don’t see a need for the scratch pad in AFM, unless it’s something you don’t want the marker to see. Of course you’d want them to see all your workings so you maximise the amount of marks you can get.
January 18, 2021 at 7:33 pm #607010adamrobs96 wrote:Passed with 78%!
Hi, I had the same . Passed with 50%!! I only did the 1st question and the 2nd one, the football one. Didn’t attempt the third one at all. So relieved, even with just 50 marks
January 18, 2021 at 7:37 pm #60701353 marks on first attempt…huge relieve as I found December exam quite hard.
Finally became affiliate after 5 years of juggling full time job, family and ACCA study priorities.January 19, 2021 at 3:45 am #607069Congratulations
January 19, 2021 at 5:27 am #607078you are a star…..Well-done and congratulation
January 19, 2021 at 6:13 am #607083Cant believe i pass the paper with 57! The paper is hard for me and i not manage to finish all the question. Thank you so much for the help from John, this is the second p paper i passed with rely on open tuition notes and past year question from acca!
January 19, 2021 at 8:31 am #607113I am finally an Affiliate! I Passed AFM and APM (53 and 63) on second attempt after scoring 49 in both exams in September! My general advice for anyone taking in March is 1. Cover everything! Don’t ignore any area For example Q3 of AFM was on Collars and Swaps, nothing on the more popular derivatives. Q1 in September was on Bond valuation (often ignored). 2. Demonstrate your understanding! Even when you get stuck technically a demonstration of your understanding of the scenario and basic concept will earn you marks. 3. Pick the easy marks like those available for presentation 4. Fight Fight Fight!!! Don’t despair. Even when you get stuck, make an assumption, state your assumption and move on. For example I got stuck computing the asset beta in Q2, I just estimated and stated my assumption and then proceeded! Don’t give up hope!
January 19, 2021 at 9:28 am #607126*affeliate!
January 19, 2021 at 11:01 am #607145I had 54 and passed Alhamdulillah
I wasn’t getting time enough to learn for this paper but one thing I can confidently say contributed to my pass was I still kept solving and writing when I got stuck.
My advise is when you get stuck as our tutors say assume something and keep solving and you will get marks for methods and other things
All the best to everyone who couldn’t make it in this sitting.January 19, 2021 at 12:03 pm #607154Congrats @Lepuyen165. What was your strategy for passing two papers at your first attempt?
January 20, 2021 at 10:53 am #607266I have failed twice and passed on the third attempt. I would highly recommend watching the webcasts that you get invited to by ACCA before the exam. You can also find them now. The technique used in answering question is really important (which is explained in the webcasts).
and of course solving and reviewing exams multiple times (even retrying the same exam), the essay answers are very helpful for you when formulating or laying down your answer for different scenarios.January 20, 2021 at 10:39 pm #607356mwiser wrote:Can’t believe I passed!!! Remote exam was a disaster, so glad ACCA took into consideration mitigating circumstances! Happy I’ve finally finished my ACCA journey!
HEY CAN you please share how was ur remote exam? any tips for me im writing my afm in march its a remote exam. thanks alot
January 21, 2021 at 11:37 am #607428Hello everyone who already passed or just beginning studying afm exam!
I passed the exam from the first time?? And the big influence on my success brought opentuition.com. Many thanks for that.
I had the following plan:
I watched all the lectures on the site and wrote the outlines for each. The lectures are very good represented, everything is understandable!
Then I looked at previous exams for a long time, I think I passed about 40% of all available exercises.
About two times I looked at 1 whole exam. My advise is to try to write the whole exam more and more times. Timing was very hard for me at real exam?I passed with the score 58?
But I have small kid with no opportunity to study more than 1,5 hour per day. So my studying took 2 months? but the result is positive and I very happy and thankful for that!January 21, 2021 at 7:44 pm #607481Dilyaruzzzzik wrote:Hello everyone who already passed or just beginning studying afm exam!
GREAT FOR YOU! so happy for you! I have a baby too so i need some help and motivation myself its my last paper..took so much effort and encourage to reach here.!
January 21, 2021 at 8:50 pm #607484I am not comfortable with computer typing and usage it’s not like that I am not good at computers but in pressure o could not perform well and March is the last attempt for manuals
Give suggestions if it would be a better decision that I sit in 3 papers in March afm resit APM resit and sbl ist attempt or one paper per attempt I have revised 70% course completion. for AFM and APM and few question a d 20% for sblJanuary 24, 2021 at 8:29 pm #607819Here is an extract of my email replied to one of ACCA Manager when asked to provide more tips after I have had a very positive experience with remote CBE.
Hope that help you all on how to pass exams on first attempts (yes you can pass more than one per exam period with full time job, I got 70 for SBL and 72 AFM).
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1, maybe I am lucky facing no connection in Australia (even though my work internet at that time was ~15 Mbps – normal speed in Australia should be 50 Mbps). Heard that people at some other places got technical issues trying starting the exam & verifying ID. I don’t know if this is an isolated or a widespread problem.
2, Biggest adjustment with CBE for me is screen size. In order to display 6-7 exhibits and the response window simultaneously at the same time, honestly 15’6 inch laptop screen size is not enough. I used my 27′ work monitor.
My sincere recommendation, do a real test on CBE practice platform, it’s exactly the way you’ll have it on exam day. If one has no problem on the platform, it is highly likely one will easily sail through the real exam.
Overall, my experience went very smoothly. Essentially, you logged in 15′ before exam time, verifing ID (~5-10′) and waiting till the exam starts. If there is no issue, time flies unnoticed. If there is any issue, they contact you through a chat and resolve it fairly quickly.
I gave my CBE experience 9.8/10 (0.2 mark off as only on the exam, I found out, I could not use the multiplication (*) on the top right hand side of the stand-alone keyboard – which works just fine on the CBE practice platform. This is the only difference I encounter between CBE practice platform and the real exam).
For those who are still hesitant about this format, let assume something does indeed go wrong. ACCA literally gives two exit options – mitigating factors or option of withdrawal. It is hard to argue either of these two if one takes exams in a physical centre, but it is way easier to argue either of those if one really encountered a technical issue. An ‘out of jail’ free card! (What else can we want?)
One more thing about how to pass exams on the first attempt (especially if you work full time like me and plan on doing multiple exams per each exam period).
Many have said this before me, many will say this after me, this is not a secret: Understanding and connection. Understand the concept, and how the theory connects to the scenario. Imagine if that’s your client in the scenario, what would you do? What is the common sense in that situation?
If, in the exam, you do not remember the theory, that’s ok, breathe, go back to the basics, write something that makes sense (not just write fillers for the sake of writing). Again, if that’s your client and you have to say something, what would you say? That thinking will get you starting off on the right foot. These are not baby exams, obviously, but it is not rocket science, either.
For exams with lots of calculation (i.e., AFM), practice is a must component, but more importantly is to truly understand what you practice. Mechanically applying a formula into the numbers will not get you far. You might even go through every exercise in BPP revision kit and still fail.
Take my words as a HD student with a Bachelor degree in Finance, AFM still threw me off guard (I got 72, but given my background that is outright low). Of course one contributing factor is my increased work duty during that time (thus the lack of practice) and the fact that I was preparing for 2 exams instead of one. The more important fact to note is that the examiners WILL throw curve balls, they WILL twist the scenario to make it unlike anything you have ever seen. If you learn by rote memory (even ‘perceived’ understanding’), you are doomed to fail.
It is embarrassing (for someone with my background) to say this but I admit I struggled during the AFM exam. It was 1 hour left and I could not figure out how to tackle the calculation of both 25 marks questions. The unimaginable thoughts of me going to fail a finance subject crossing my mind.
Before I got myself swallowed into the full panic mode, I went back to basics, starting at what I know, wrote down all the core calculations, trying to score as many marks as I could. If I could not figure out what I need from the prompt, I make the most reasonable assumption and proceed based on that assumption (reasonable assumption really is the trick of the trade and exactly what we have to do in real life with real clients).
The moral of the story: you only lose marks once, and as long as you keep putting down on paper what you know to be true, you will keep having chance of getting marks. You only fail when you stop.
The more important moral of the story, what saved me from that spectacular fall from grace? Understanding. I understand the numbers, understand the formulars, understand why they are where they are. While memory will fail you, true understanding will never abandon you. In my case, it saved me from my lack of practice too.
To wrap this up, If one can give potentially strenuous exams in the comfort of one’s home, I do think the advantages clearly outweigh the disadvantages.
Given the world situation, remote exams seem to be the ‘new normal’ now, and it is here to stay. At least, I do think ACCA already did a fairly good job of rolling out CBE. Personally, I have little to complain about this new normal. This is a necessary change and it does seem like this is a change for the better.
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Hope that help you fellow students.
January 28, 2021 at 1:54 am #608289Congratulations. will be attempting for the 8th time. Its the only paper remaining so I have no option but to keep attempting. Thank you for the encouragement.
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