In 2018 ACCA made changes to their syllabus. The aim was to increase employability of their students and expose them to realistic business situations. They did this by changing the Professional level to Strategic Professional level by combining P1 and P3 into (SBL) and changing P2 into Strategic Business Reporting.

The change in the syllabus created a lot of uncertainty amongst students. ACCA paid close attention to how students performed in the Strategic Professional exams and have made suggestions on how students can improve their performance. Here are their suggestions as well as tips to gain easy marks.

• Read the scenario and requirements carefully
According to ACCA many candidates may want to read the scenario first, however, it is best to read the question requirements before the scenario. This will ensure that when you read the scenario it is with a clear idea of what you are looking for. Read both the scenario and requirements carefully.

• Plan and structure your answer
Once you have read and understood the scenario and requirements, plan how you are going to answer the questions. Advice from ACCA is to identify key points, which relate to the question requirements and also take into account the mark allocation. Side note: Be careful not to spend all your time planning so that you have no time to answer.

• Application to the scenario
The reason why ACCA suggests that you plan your answers and identify key points in the scenario is to keep the scenario at the front of your mind throughout the exam.

Do not be tempted to use the exam as a knowledge dump. Avoid giving lengthy explanations and unnecessary content just to fill the page. Consider the scenario. Each scenario has its own set of circumstances which must be applied. Candidates would benefit from taking some thinking time to consider the scenario before they put pen to paper.

Pay close attention to the below points, which ACCA stresses as very IMPORTANT.

• Make sure you understand the verbs in the requirement
• Be sure to relate to the mission and objectives
• Always be critical
• Justify your points – very important
• Master time management – have a plan before you sit-down to write.

At BrightBooks we believe in the power of question practice. Enough question practice is essential to passing. When preparing for your exam we recommend the 60 / 40 principle, 60% studying and 40% question practice. Be sure to do as many mocks as possible.

Looking to buy ACCA and CIMA study material? Contact us on 021 461 2205 or orders@brightbooks.co.za and we will assist you with getting the right study material for your studies.