The November Case Study exams are right around the corner! Here are some key points to keep in mind.

Amazzzing Beds

The Ops Case Study exam is centred around ‘AmaZZZing Beds’, a leading retailer and manufacturer of beds in the fictional country of Eastland. AmaZZZing Beds sells its products directly to the public in-store and online via their website.

By the numbers

• $174mil Annual Sales
• $80mil Gross Profit
• 1160 Employees
• 120 Showroom Stores
• Number one in the Market

Some of the key concepts and techniques you should be familiar with

• Costing Techniques - including Absorption Costing (used by AmaZZZing Beds), ABC Costing and Marginal Costing
• Various Budgeting Approaches - including Participative Incremental Budgeting (used by AmaZZZing Beds), Rolling Budgets, Zero-based Budgets and Beyond Budgeting
• Relevant Costing
• Risk Management Techniques
• All relevant IAS/IFRS
• Working Capital Management (trade payables, inventory, receivables)
• Environmental Analysis Tools (PESTLE, SWOT & Porter’s Five Forces)
• Operations Management (Porters Value Chain, TQM, JIT & Quality Management Tools)
• Human Resource Management (Recruitment, Selection, Training & Development)
• Sales & Marketing Topics (4P’s, BCG Model, Ansoff’s Matrix, Product Lifecycle)
• Information Technology
• Novel Technologies (Big Data, AI, Internet of Things, Cloud Computing, Data Visualization, Mobile Technologies)
• Corporate Governance, Corporate Social Responsibility & CIMA’s Code of Ethics

Exam tips

• Know the pre-seen backwards
• Read the requirements carefully
• Convert every requirement into a heading on your answer screen
• Jot down bulleted points as your subheadings taking into consideration the possible marks available
• Type in full sentencesunder each sub-heading, with proper explanations. Remember the markers mark what they see and not what you are thinking
• Make a recommendation
• Justifyyour recommendations
• Ensure you manage your time effectively
• Answer the question being asked not the question you’re hoping for – the exam is not a knowledge dump
• When prepping, make sure you have no knowledge gaps in the E1, P1 and F1 syllabuses, especially if you have received exemptions
• Do not click next. If you finish a question with time to spare use the additional time to check your work. You cannot bank time.
• Remember who you are writing for. If the question requires you to write to a non-finance professional do not use financial jargon.

Most importantly stay calm, keep your eye on the time and back yourself. You’ve got this!