nancial management 38

The T4 part B Case Study exam is

different from all the other CIMA papers that
you have passed, but the knowledge you
have learned for them is relevant to it. If you
have sat the new 2010 Strategic level exams,
answering their 50-mark questions based on
a pre-seen scenario will have helped you to
understand whats required in T4.
The structure of the exam
T4 part B is based on pre-seen material, which
is available on CIMAs web site from early
January for the March and May exams, and
from early July for the September and
November exams. At the exam you will be
given a further three to six pages of unseen
material that includes new proposals,
problems and key events that have occurred
since the pre-seen material was published.
Its vital that your report relates to the issues
raised in the unseen material. Your preparation
for the exam based on the data in the pre-
seen material should help you to understand
the new issues. As with all past exams, you
must answer the question thats set and not
necessarily discuss issues that you feel should
have been raised in the unseen material.
The requirement is split into two:
n Part (a). For 90 marks, you must prepare
a report that prioritises, analyses and
evaluates the issues facing the company
and make appropriate recommendations.
n Part (b). For ten marks, you must
communicate succinctly with the
management team of the firm featured in
the case. For example, this requirement
may call for slides for a presentation, an
e-mail, a letter, a chart or a graph.
On exam day you will be working for the
company described in the pre-seen material,
perhaps as a management accountant. This
situation is different from that of the previous
TOPCIMA paper, which cast the candidate in
the role of an external consultant. This means
that your report must focus more on internal
decisions, such as ways to improve
profitability or efficiency. You may also be
asked to review or prepare investment
proposals and deal with a range of matters
that may affect the companys strategic
direction. So there is a need to prepare an
accurate and relevant financial analysis of the
issues in the unseen material on exam day in
order to understand the financial implications.
How your script will be assessed
A clear understanding of how your script will
be assessed will ensure that your answer
covers all areas of the assessment matrix.
The matrix is included at the end of the
pre-seen material and is also available on
CIMAs web site. There are nine assessment
criteria, which are grouped under three
headings: the analysis of the issues; the
strategic choices; and recommendations.
To follow is a brief summary of what I am
looking for to satisfy each criterion:
n Technical (five marks) the use of different
technical theories to help you analyse the
case material, especially the issues raised
in the unseen material. This will include a
Swot analysis in particular, the use of a
range of relevant theories and frameworks
eg, Mendelow, Ansoff, Porter, Pest, BCG
etc and the use of numerical techniques.
n Application (15 marks). This will reward
you for using technical knowledge in the
context of the case as well as for
preparing a small range (usually two or
three sets) of relevant calculations. It is
important to prepare accurate supporting
calculations, since this will affect your ability
CASE STUDY
The examiner for T4 part B offers a guide to
the exam and the best way to prepare for it.
40
Paper P3
Performance Strategy
>studynotes
As with
many
exams
youve taken
before, the best
preparation for
T4 part B is to
practise on
past papers
nancial management 39
to analyse the issues. The types of
calculations will vary, but they could include
assessing the financial viability of alternative
proposals or preparing forecast data.
n Diversity (five marks). Marks are awarded
according to the range of relevant real-life
examples you use to illustrate the points
you are making in your report.
n Focus (five marks). You are rewarded for
discussing each relevant issue with due
emphasis on the key points raised in the
unseen material.
n Prioritisation (five marks). This rewards
your ability to rank the issues raised in the
unseen material in a priority order that
reflects their potential impact and urgency.
The strength of your justification for each
ranking is also rewarded. Higher marks are
gained for placing the most crucial issues
among your top two or three priorities.
n Judgment (20 marks). Your discussion of
each of the issues in the unseen material
will make up most of the body of your
report, so this is an important area. You
will be awarded marks based on your
analysis of each of the issues. This should
include a discussion of: the impact of each
issue; the alternative courses of action that
could be taken to address each issue; and
the financial implications of the issue or
the proposal. If you prepare a supporting
calculation for an issue or proposal, you
should discuss this in your report.
n Logic in part (a) (20 marks). To gain
marks here you should: make a clear
recommendation on each issue; justify
your choice of action for each issue; and
explain what steps need to be taken to
implement your recommendations. Each
time you should show clearly what youre
recommending, why youre recommending
it (referring to its financial viability) and how
it should be implemented.
n Integration (five marks). This concerns
your ability to write a cohesive,
comprehensive report that reaches well-
justified recommendations on each of the
issues discussed. To score highly here,
your report should contain commercially
viable comments that would help the
management team to decide what to do
about the issues facing it. A report that
contains recommendations that might
cause the company problems, provides
weak analysis and fails to discuss the
issues in enough detail will score few
marks. An incomplete report will also score
few marks for integration, so its crucial to
manage your exam time properly.
n Ethics (ten marks). Five marks are
available for analysing ethical issues and
five are available for giving advice on two
or three ethical issues raised in the unseen
material. To gain marks here you should
discuss, justify and advise ie: discuss
issues that you consider have an ethical
dimension; justify why you consider each
issue to have an ethical dimension; and
prepare detailed advice on what should be
done to address each issue.
n Logic in part (b) (ten marks). This tests
your communication skills. Ensure that you
answer the specific requirement thats set.
For example, it may require slides for a
presentation, an e-mail or another method
of communication. Where the part (b)
requirement is based on an issue that
youve already analysed in your main report
in part (a), it is important to draw on this
analysis, plus the relevant financial data and
also your recommendation on the issue.
How to prepare for the exam
As with many exams youve taken before, the
best preparation for T4 part B is to practise
on past papers. You should work through
one or two past Case Studies, testing your
ability to prepare an accurate financial
analysis, then move on to the specific Case
Study you are planning to sit. There are many
freely available resources on CIMAs web site
to help you. They include:
n Articles written on each Case Study.
n Post-exam guides for past Case Studies.
n Past Case Studies (the pre-seen
material, unseen materials for the two
different sittings and the case writers
answers for each paper).
Start with the pre-seen material. Analyse it
so that you understand the company, its
plans and its finances. To get a grasp of the
challenges facing its industry, read widely
both printed and online sources. Plenty of
information is freely available on company
web sites (including accounting data). The
Google search engine can e-mail you daily or
weekly links to relevant news stories or press
releases on specific companies.
Once you have practised on past Case
Studies, analysed the pre-seen material and
researched the industry, youll be ready to try
writing a report under exam conditions. If you
are sitting the May or November papers, you
can use the real March or September exams
respectively for practice. (The case writers
answers for these will not be published until
after the May and November exams are held,
in order to prevent students sitting these
papers from gaining an advantage over the
March and September candidates.)
Sitting mock papers under exam
conditions is the most effective preparation. It
will ensure that you can complete your report
in the three hours (plus 20 minutes of reading
time) allotted. You must allow adequate time
to prepare detailed recommendations, which
usually come at the end of your report in part
(a). Its disappointing that many candidates
run short of time and rush the important
recommendations section. The purpose of a
mock exam is not necessarily to help you
learn about what issues might or might not
arise on exam day. Its more to help you learn
how to write a full report in three hours that
covers the key issues in enough depth, with
accurate supporting calculations and fully
justified recommendations not an easy task.
Do not take the real exam until you have
analysed the pre-seen material, read widely
about the industry it covers, practised using
past papers and sat timed mock exams.
Mock papers can be obtained from tuition
providers or bought or downloaded from the
same commercial publishers that produce
material for other CIMA exams. If at all
possible, get your mock papers marked and
seek feedback on your performance.
PAPER T4 PART B