Hints & Tips for P3 Business Analysis
General Advice
If we look back at the June 2014 P3 exam we can see that the examiner has again required students to have a very good grasp of the syllabus, both breadth and depth, combined with an ability to apply that knowledge to the specific circumstances of the scenario.
In addition it is clear that the examiner likes to keep students on their toes by including substantial "random" elements within questions that are from areas that could be either be considered to be from the fringes of the syllabus or are based largely on knowledge carried forward from earlier papers. For instance in the June 2014 paper there was a 10 mark question on benefits owners, maps and realisation.
It is therefore extremely dangerous for any student to focus on certain elements of the syllabus at the expense of others. To stand the best chance of passing P3 students need to have a good understanding of the entire syllabus.
This will enable them to choose the questions where they believe they will find it easier to pick up marks (for instance because it is easier to understand the requirements, or easier to structure an answer, or easier to pick up knowledge marks) rather than having to choose questions because of the syllabus area. In addition if students were to look at the exams in the past couple of years they will see that all of the key areas of the syllabus have been examined over the past four or five sittings which again shows the danger of question spotting or ignoring areas.
Important areas to cover for the December exam include:
It could be argued that the following areas, despite being key syllabus areas that have been regularly examined, have not been examined significantly in the past couple of papers, and therefore may be a little more likely to surface (however remember that this is a very dangerous game to play if it distracts students from other syllabus areas):
• Value Chain
• Critical success factors and KPIs
• Role of the corporate parent including BCG matrix/Ashridge Finally it is worth pointing out that the December paper saw a return to calculations (the June 2013 paper had very few calculations or financial analysis). We would fully expect this to continue in June this year.
Finally it is worth pointing out that there are a number of new elements that have been brought into the syllabus for this sitting.
It could be argued that the examiner may take the opportunity to test these this time specifically because they are new and therefore students should ensure that they are familiar with:-
• Integrated Reporting
• Change management frameworks (POPIT and the business change lifecycle) and
• Organisational Configuration - new definitions: Boundary-less organisations, Outsourcing vs. Offshoring, Hollow and Modular structures.
You can also visit ACCA's website for more information about P3 Business Analysis.
General Advice
If we look back at the June 2014 P3 exam we can see that the examiner has again required students to have a very good grasp of the syllabus, both breadth and depth, combined with an ability to apply that knowledge to the specific circumstances of the scenario.
In addition it is clear that the examiner likes to keep students on their toes by including substantial "random" elements within questions that are from areas that could be either be considered to be from the fringes of the syllabus or are based largely on knowledge carried forward from earlier papers. For instance in the June 2014 paper there was a 10 mark question on benefits owners, maps and realisation.
It is therefore extremely dangerous for any student to focus on certain elements of the syllabus at the expense of others. To stand the best chance of passing P3 students need to have a good understanding of the entire syllabus.
This will enable them to choose the questions where they believe they will find it easier to pick up marks (for instance because it is easier to understand the requirements, or easier to structure an answer, or easier to pick up knowledge marks) rather than having to choose questions because of the syllabus area. In addition if students were to look at the exams in the past couple of years they will see that all of the key areas of the syllabus have been examined over the past four or five sittings which again shows the danger of question spotting or ignoring areas.
Important areas to cover for the December exam include:
It could be argued that the following areas, despite being key syllabus areas that have been regularly examined, have not been examined significantly in the past couple of papers, and therefore may be a little more likely to surface (however remember that this is a very dangerous game to play if it distracts students from other syllabus areas):
• Value Chain
• Critical success factors and KPIs
• Role of the corporate parent including BCG matrix/Ashridge Finally it is worth pointing out that the December paper saw a return to calculations (the June 2013 paper had very few calculations or financial analysis). We would fully expect this to continue in June this year.
Finally it is worth pointing out that there are a number of new elements that have been brought into the syllabus for this sitting.
It could be argued that the examiner may take the opportunity to test these this time specifically because they are new and therefore students should ensure that they are familiar with:-
• Integrated Reporting
• Change management frameworks (POPIT and the business change lifecycle) and
• Organisational Configuration - new definitions: Boundary-less organisations, Outsourcing vs. Offshoring, Hollow and Modular structures.
You can also visit ACCA's website for more information about P3 Business Analysis.
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