** ACCA P5 December 2013 Exam Results and Genius Hunt Competition **

Please dont switch, P4 is more technical. Try to read and understand the examiners reports to know what is required of you. It was shocking for me to discover that 2 questions of 50 marks came out from the Pilot paper in 2 consecutive diets – that is 50 marks on a platter of gold per diet. How unprepared can one be not to pass upon solving these questions. Put the result behind you and remember to use the models to evaluate companies in questions and not evaluate the models. I have made this mistake in the past. All the best in your future exams as i’m done and really enjoyed P5.

i am still awaiting mine

P5 60 on second attempt, P4 58 first attempt and complete.

better luck next tyme 🙁

P-5(Last Paper)
1st Attempt =48 Marks Failed —Jun-2011(Qualifying attempt)
2nd Attempt=48 Marks Failed—-Jun-2012(Qualifying attempt)
3rd Attempt=46 Marks Failed—-Dec—2012(Qualifying attempt)
4th Attempt=36 Marks Failed—-Jun-2013(Qualifying attempt)
5th Attempt= 35 Marks Failed—-Dec-2013(Qualifying attempt)

Whats wrong with this Paper…..M Changing to P-7 I hope this would be Done..

Exactly 50!

passed on border with 50 😀 Alhamdulillah 😀

However, I am sure to go to admin review I would like to know past outcome on admin review.

Just a few tips on what made a difference for me, as I had struggled many times with this exam, always scoring around 45 but this time I passed with 66.
First thing is TIMING:
-I worked on this through forcing myself to do a couple of mock exams (with Kaplan but you can do it anywhere else) and really and truly do them to time made me keenly aware of the time pressures involved. I had more or less scraped through the fundamentals level papers with only one or two re-takes. However, I hit a real barrier on entering the Professional level papers mainly because I underestimated the work involved and also, the need to get help on exam technique and how to approach the subject.
I studied maths at a top university and this as well as everything else I studied has, more or less, been about knowing the material well. If you did, there was always enough time to pass the exam well.
However, the professional level papers are really very much about exam technique, and in P5 in particular it is about SPEED (although I always had a slight problem with handwriting when going so fast) and reading the question VERY carefully.

I think because I was lacking some of this very important exam technique I failed a couple of the professional exams and then I entered into a vicious circle where I lost confidence (and even motivation) and would not even be able to sleep much the night before the exam thereby penalising myself even further and slowing myself down in an exam which is, to a great extent, all about speed.

In my other attempts at P5 I would only ever answer about 70-80% of the paper which, when you are hovering around the 45% mark is punishing. This time I answered a good 90%.

Specifically I would offer the following tips:
-Make sure you know the pocket notes (I used Kaplan which you can even order from them separately from the tuition but I’m sure they exist here too and on other sites). It saves wading through a book of 600 pages when you don’t have the time. I am not recommending not reading a full textbook but if you have limited time obviously the pocket notes, if known thoroughly, should easily be enough.
-Make sure that you not only know the pocket notes but you can “see” the structure of them and the overall syllabus instead of simply learning micro-lists of pro’s and con’s without seeing them in the context of the overall syllabus.This definitely helps to “see through” a question to be able to understand from what area of the syllabus a question or part of a question might be coming from.
-Practice timed past papers and get a marking service if you can (again I used Kaplan who offer this service independently of the full tuition which tends to be much more them just regurgitating the text back at you).

-Do lots of past questions. I did about 35-40 and noted down rough bullet point answers for each and then basically memorized them (I’m not saying this is advisable but I think that having a good bank of answers to questions in your head helps to understand what they are looking for).
-Look at the most recent papers as a priority.
-When asked to write a report use a “header, date, To: and From:” at the top of your answer and conclusion at the end. This should immediately pick you up a couple of professional marks.Use referenced appendices where needed.
-When asked to “discuss” it means give Pros and cons.
-“Evaluate” means discuss plus come to a conclusion as to the value of something (e.g. is it worth doing, useful or not etc?)
-“Evaluate the use of a BCG analysis” for example does not mean evaluate the company USING the BCG but instead evaluate if it is USEFUL as a tool or not. I think I failed a couple of times just launching into an analysis using the BCG matrix or similar tool instead of realising they were asking me to say whether it is a useful and appropriate management performance tool. Such misunderstandings will cost you the exam.

For me ultimately speed was crucial. My mark increased by 50% from around 45 to 66%. I honestly can’t say I knew the subject 50% better. Maybe 10 or 20% (as I had more time to devote to revision this time) but speed played a huge factor in the other 30% improvement. If I had just forced myself to hit the exam hard at full speed from the very start of the reading time rather than take too long, in an attempt to get my confidence up, and then panic as I got half way through I should have been close to passing on the first or second attempt instead of the 7th or so.
That is why doing a couple of timed exams not too far from the Exam emphasizes the stress you will be under and the speed at which you need to write and think in the exam. It is good to be attuned to that during the days leading up to the exam.
Also, if there are 7 or 8 marks you have no clue on how to answer, leave a space and move on. These exams are all about “hovering” the maximum number of marks in 3 1/4 hours! This goes against my own way of working, thinking and prior education but that’s just the way it is.

To all of you out there struggling with this exam, I hope that this may help you in some way and I wish you the best of luck as I know what a weight on my mind it was to have this exam hanging over me all the time.

Hi all

Firstly let me say congratulations to all those who passed P5 this time around and commiserations to those who failed. Please, please, please do not give up but believe you can pass. This is a tough exam – so it should be as you really wouldn’t want ACCA to give qualifications away because it reduces its value.

In December 2010 I passed 3 P papers which left just one more. I failed P5 3 times (46, 36 and 48) and decided to change to P6. I failed that twice and then returned to P5 in December but with a different tuition provider (Kaplan).

The course felt far more like revision than tuition as I’d done so much work on it before. I scored well on all my submissions and the mock was solid too. A key factor was having a much better relationship with my tutor, who gave me a lot of confidence and belief I would get through.

To be honest I struggled in the exam – but also realised everyone else would struggle too. I think I probably only attempted 85% of the marks, mainly caused by using too much thinking time, rather than writing. But I would always advocate doing plenty of thinking before writing.

When I got home I felt okay. After a while I began to think a little more about what I’d done and realised I had missed a few simple things like internal vs. external, benchmarking, focusing on numbers rather than quality and ignoring easy marks. I was convinced another 40 something would be the result. I was most disappointed that I hadn’t executed many of the ideas and concepts I’d learnt and been using throughout my course.

I awoke at 7am on the 8th and was shocked to see a pass. 50%. I didn’t really care about the number. It just meant I wouldn’t need to worry about studying anymore. The guilt when doing a myriad of other things instead of studying – I work full time, have a trek to work, a young family and hold a senior position – was gone immediately. What a relief. Waking up my wife and son was a pleasure!

I’m now a member and waiting for the paperwork to come through over the next few months.

My top tips:

Find a provider that suits you – they are all different and everyone will have different preferences

Relax the night before and as much as possible during the exam itself – stress will not help your mental state at all

Only practice past papers the current examiner has written – there are bits and pieces in the old ones but the style has changed significantly

I would say this paper is far more about what you cannot see on the question paper than what you do when you open it – the examiner wants you work out the over or under reliance on numbers, tables, controls etc. and make appropriate comments

It seems there are always around 10 marks somewhere on the paper about a very insignificant (and often impractical) subject matter – I think it was ossification, myopia etc. last time, so make sure you cover all the syllabus in some way

You are better to know a little of everything, rather than too much reliance on question spotting or knowing too much about one or two subjects

Whatever you practice and learn it is very likely the exam will not look as you expect – don’t be shocked or surprised when this happens, stay calm and relaxed as you will know enough to get through

It’s about quality, not quantity and don’t miss out on the professional marks – they should be a given

I found doing the optional questions first better for me – you need to decide quickly which order you do them in and stick to it

I wish you all the very best of luck – remember, you can do it!

Hi liltee,
did u go for admin review?
how was it?