ACCA APM September 2020 Exam Results – Instant Poll and Comments

Looks like I am not alone with this issue.

@Nadia I completely understand your feeling, I am in the same situation as you. APM was my first fail and I was gutted. I have always outperformed in all the other papers.

May I ask, when you get the review back from the appeal, can you please share a post here in the APM Forum so students like us can understand what we lack.

I understand we need to upgrade our techniques and I did it this time.

I just can’t understand what I did wrong.

I failed on my 6th attempt. I have used various study providers. I write better answers now as know the syllabus inside out. I practised all past exam papers and don’t understand what I am doing wrong as I am following the markers advise. I had a good feeling in September that I finally nailed it and now revceived the worst result of 35, shocked and gutted. Sometimes I feel that markers don’t even read the answers. Also noted that when I write “self study” on a survey before printing the exam docket, I always fail.

I failed APM on my first attempt with 48. I am wondering why the pass rates for ACCA papers are stagnant. Is it that ACCA decides on the number of students that should pass? I feel like sitting an ACCA exam is like playing lotto. If the pass rates for some papers continue to be so low, why ACCA is not reviewing their strategy? I don’t think so many students are so dunce. ACCA , while maintaining a high bar and standard should also set exams so students can actually pass and not fail. The paper is way too lengthy for the time allotted.

I failed APM with 40% first attempt. I really don’t understand why. All the topics I revised were present in the exam but I still failed (even-though I felt the question were really kind). I used the Kaplan revision kit and did 6 past papers.

In my personal opinion ACCA is about making money from students exam sittings even-though they advise on their website they want students to pass. It looks suspicious that the pass rate be averaging around 32 – 35 % in the past 3 – 4 years. It looks like the exams and the marking process are engineered to keep the pass rate at this level so the ACCA qualification is perceived difficult and valuable to employers.

Without knowing where I went wrong I can only conclude passing the exam is like a lottery. I don’t hope for a short-cut with ACCA and I am willing to work but it seems students who failed are kept blindfolded and do not know where to improve.

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.

Susan wrote:I failed APM on my first attempt with 48. I am wondering why the pass rates for ACCA papers are stagnant. Is it that ACCA decides on the number of students that should pass? I feel like sitting an ACCA exam is like playing lotto. If the pass rates for some papers continue to be so low, why ACCA is not reviewing their strategy? I don’t think so many students are so dunce. ACCA , while maintaining a high bar and standard should also set exams so students can actually pass and not fail. The paper is way too lengthy for the time allotted.

It always puzzles me too why these pass rates are stagnant. Surely something is wrong somewhere and it requires urgent attention.

I would say enjoy you are one of the lucky ones. I did exactly the same, was particularly happy with Q1, then had enough time for both Q2 and Q3 and still ended up with 47 – so I do hope one day ACCA will make the marking process more transparent and allow candidates to actually see how they got their result.

Hi, I congratulate all of them who passed – well done :-). Myself I failed second time, I am going to sit again the exam in December. Please advise which exam kit is the best to practice questions: BPP or Kaplan. Any advises how to use time for studying most effectively are more than welcome. I work from home mainly 6-8 hours (sometimes more), have 3 kids (10, 7 and 2,5 years old). Not sure how to start studying to pass the exam this time. Look forward for any advices.

Hi everyone, I took September CBE exam for APM. The result gives me a surprise which only 38 , I remember the first time I got 28 as I did not prepare well. This time I did several times past year questions and attempted all the questions during the exam. I believe I can at least pass. But 38 is much lesser than my expectation? I suspect the exam system didn’t not save my answers completely. I really want to know whether my answer are all uploaded and marked. Is any one have same issue on it?

Failed on my first attempt.. 47%… i also not sure where did i do wrong which i thought i was going to pass.. Thinking of sitting for the December paper because my brain is still fresh with the knowledge..

Finally passed the exam at my seventh attempt with 55 marks. That was my last exam and I received a congratulations email last Friday. My first strategic paper expires in December 2020 and I had a good luck to take the last opportunity after the cancellation of June exam session. Don’t give up, even though to subjectivity of this exam. Stick only to giving spesific answers relating to the scenario.

I prepared for APM for 2 months. I just want to offer some suggestions. I used learn signal for a month, the videos are very short, 13 mins Max. Then, I solved all the questions in BPP practice kits. Occasionally, I showed some questions in Kaplan as well. I noticed Kaplan has more practice questions than BPP.
I also solved all the past questions from 2016 – 2020. The key to effective question practice is, have a go at the questions first. You don’t need to check the answer first if you struggle with a question, try to solve the question first.
When you struggle with a question, it means you don’t understand the topic, go back to your BPP or Kaplan kit to read again the area you struggled with.
The key is effective question practice.. Goodluck!

I PASSED AFTER MY THIRD ATTEMPT AND FINALLY BECAME AN AFFILIATE, WHAT REALLY HELPED IN MY THIRD ATTEMPT WAS THE EPSM SECTION OF COMMERCIAL AWARENESS WHICH IS VERY KEY IN STUDYING APM.

READING OF TECHNICAL ARTICLES AND QSTN PRACTISE FOR ATLEAST ONE TOPIC WAS KEY TO MY PASSING