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Level 2: Application and analysis the subject and how these areas have been broken
Level 3: Synthesis and evaluation down.
Very broadly, these intellectual levels relate to the GUIDE TO EXAM STRUCTURE
three cognitive levels at which the Knowledge
module, the Skills module and the Professional level The structure of examinations varies within and
are assessed. between modules and levels.
Each subject area in the detailed study guide The Fundamentals level examinations contain
included in this document is given a 1, 2, or 100% compulsory questions to encourage
3 superscript, denoting intellectual level, marked at candidates to study across the breadth of each
the end of each relevant line. This gives an syllabus.
indication of the intellectual depth at which an area
could be assessed within the examination. However, The Knowledge module is assessed by equivalent
while level 1 broadly equates with the Knowledge two-hour paper based and computer based
module, level 2 equates to the Skills module and examinations.
level 3 to the Professional level, some lower level
skills can continue to be assessed as the student The Corporate and Business Law (F4)
progresses through each module and level. This paper is a two- hour objective test examination
reflects that at each stage of study there will be a which is also available as a computer based exams
requirement to broaden, as well as deepen for English and Global variants, as well as paper
capabilities. It is also possible that occasionally based for all variants.
some higher level capabilities may be assessed at
lower levels. The skills module examinations F5-F9 contain a mix
of objectives and longer type questions with a
LEARNING HOURS AND EDUCATION duration of three hours for 100 marks.* These are
RECOGNITION available as computer-based and paper-based
exams. In the computer-based exams there may be
The ACCA qualification does not prescribe or instances where we have extra content for the
recommend any particular number of learning hours purposes of ongoing quality assurance and security.
for examinations because study and learning
patterns and styles vary greatly between people and * For paper-based exams there is an extra 15
organisations. This also recognises the wide minutes to reflect the manual effort required.
diversity of personal, professional and educational
circumstances in which ACCA students find The Professional level papers are all of three hours
themselves. 15 minutes duration and, all contain two
sections. Section A is compulsory, but there will be
As a member of the International Federation of some choice offered in Section B.
Accountants, ACCA seeks to enhance the education
recognition of its qualification on both national and ACCA has removed the restriction relating to reading
international education frameworks, and with and planning time, so that while the time
educational authorities and partners globally. In considered necessary to complete these exams
doing so, ACCA aims to ensure that its qualifications remains at 3 hours, candidates may use the
are recognized and valued by governments, additional 15 minutes as they choose. ACCA
regulatory authorities and employers across all encourages students to take time to read questions
sectors. To this end, ACCA qualifications are carefully and to plan answers but once the exam
currently recognized on the education frameworks in time has started, there are no additional restrictions
several countries. Please refer to your national as to when candidates may start writing in their
education framework regulator for further answer books.
information.
Time should be taken to ensure that all the
Each syllabus contains between 23 and 35 main information and exam requirements are properly
subject area headings depending on the nature of read and understood.
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GUIDE TO EXAMINATION ASSESSMENT
The Essentials module papers all have a Section A
containing a major case study question with all ACCA reserves the right to examine anything
requirements totalling 50 marks relating to this contained within the study guide at any examination
case. Section B gives students a choice of two from session. This includes knowledge, techniques,
three 25 mark questions. principles, theories, and concepts as specified.
Section A of both the P4 and P5 Options papers For the financial accounting, audit and assurance,
contain one 50 mark compulsory question, and law and tax papers except where indicated
Section B will offer a choice of two from three otherwise, ACCA will publish examinable
questions each worth 25 marks each. documents once a year to indicate exactly
what regulations and legislation could potentially be
Section A of each of the P6 and P7 Options papers assessed within identified examination sessions..
contains 60 compulsory marks from two questions;
question 1 attracting 35 marks, and question 2 For paper based examinations regulation issued or
attracting 25 marks. Section B of both these legislation passed on or before 31st August annually,
Options papers will offer a choice of two from three will be examinable from 1st September of the
questions, with each question attracting 20 marks. following year to 31st August t of the year after that.
Please refer to the examinable documents for the
All Professional level exams contain four paper (where relevant) for further information.
professional marks.
Regulation issued or legislation passed in
The pass mark for all ACCA Qualification
accordance with the above dates may be
examination papers is 50%.
examinable even if the effective date is in the future.
The term issued or passed relates to when
regulation or legislation has been formally approved.
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Syllabus MAIN CAPABILITIES
Decision-making
techniques (B) Performance
management and
control (D)
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RATIONALE systems can be used to facilitate this. They should
appreciate the importance of both financial and
The syllabus for Paper F5, Performance non-financial performance measures in
Management, builds on the knowledge gained in management. Accountants should also appreciate
Paper F2, Management Accounting. and seek to the difficulties in assessing performance in
examine candidates’ understanding of how to divisionalised businesses and the problems caused
manage the performance of a business. It also by failing to consider external influences on
prepares candidates for more specialist capabilities performance. This section leads directly to Paper
which are covered in P5 Advanced Performance P5.
Management.
All of the subject areas covered in this syllabus
The syllabus begins by introducing more specialised could be examined in either a public sector or
management accounting topics. There is some private sector context.
knowledge assumed from Paper F2 – primarily
overhead treatments. The objective here is to
ensure candidates have a broader background in
management accounting techniques.
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DETAILED SYLLABUS D Performance measurement and control
3. Limiting factors
1. Budgetary systems and types of budget All questions are compulsory. It will contain both
computational and discursive elements.
2. Quantitative analysis in budgeting Some questions will adopt a scenario/case study
approach.
3. Standard costing
Section A of the exam comprises 15 multiple choice
4. Material mix and yield variances questions of 2 marks each.
5. Sales mix and quantity variances Section B of the exam comprises three questions
comprised of 5 multiple choice questions.
6. Planning and operational variances
Section C of the exam comprises two 20 mark
7. Performance analysis questions.
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5. Environmental accounting
c) Compare ABC and traditional methods of b) Identify and calculate relevant costs for a
overhead absorption based on production specific decision situations from given data.[2]
units, labour hours or machine hours.[2]
c) Explain and apply the concept of opportunity
2. Target costing costs.[2]
a) Identify the costs involved at different stages of d) Calculate target profit or revenue in single and
the life-cycle.[2] multi-product situations, and demonstrate an
understanding of its use.[2]
b) Derive a life cycle cost in manufacturing and
service industries.[2] e) Prepare break even charts and profit volume
charts and interpret the information contained
c) Identify the benefits of life cycle costing.[2] within each, including multi-product
situations.[2]
4. Throughput accounting
f) Discuss the limitations of CVP analysis for
a) Discuss and apply the theory of constraints.[2] planning and decision making.[2]
d) Apply throughput accounting to a multi-product b) Determine the optimal production plan where
decision-making problem.[2] an organisation is restricted by a single limiting
factor, including within the context of “make”
or “buy” decisions.[2].
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c) Formulate and solve multiple scarce resource 5. Make-or-buy and other short-term decisions
problem both graphically and using
simultaneous equations as appropriate.[2] a) Explain the issues surrounding make vs. buy
and outsourcing decisions.[2]
d) Explain and calculate shadow prices (dual
prices) and discuss their implications on b) Calculate and compare “make” costs with
decision-making and performance “buy-in” costs.[2]
management. [2]
c) Compare in-house costs and outsource costs of
e) Calculate slack and explain the implications of completing tasks and consider other issues
the existence of slack for decision-making and surrounding this decision.[2]
performance management.[2]
(Excluding simplex and sensitivity to changes d) Apply relevant costing principles in situations
in objective functions) involving shut down, one-off contracts and the
further processing of joint products.[2]
4. Pricing decisions
6. Dealing with risk and uncertainty in decision-
a) Explain the factors that influence the pricing of making
a product or service.[2]
a) Suggest research techniques to reduce
b) Explain the price elasticity of demand.[1] uncertainty e.g. Focus groups, market
research.[2]
c) Derive and manipulate a straight line demand
equation. Derive an equation for the total cost b) Explain the use of simulation, expected values
function(including volume-based discounts).[2] and sensitivity.[1]
d) Calculate the optimum selling price and c) Apply expected values and sensitivity to
quantity for an organisation, equating marginal decision-making problems.[2]
cost and marginal revenue[2]
d) Apply the techniques of maximax, maximin,
e) Evaluate a decision to increase production and and minimax regret to decision-making
sales levels, considering incremental costs, problems including the production of profit
incremental revenues and other factors.[2] tables.[2]
f) Determine prices and output levels for profit e) Draw a decision tree and use it to solve a
maximisation using the demand based multi-stage decision problem
approach to pricing (both tabular and algebraic
methods) .[1] f) Calculate the value of perfect and imperfect
information.
[2]
g) Explain different price strategies, including:
i) All forms of cost-plus C BUDGETING AND CONTROL
ii) Skimming
iii) Penetration 1. Budgetary systems and types of budget
iv) Complementary product
v) Product-line a) Explain how budgetary systems fit within the
vi) Volume discounting performance hierarchy.[2]
vii) Discrimination
viii) Relevant cost b) Select and explain appropriate budgetary
systems for an organisation, including top-
h) Calculate a price from a given strategy using down, bottom-up, rolling, zero-base, activity-
cost-plus and relevant cost.[2] base, incremental and feed-forward control.[2]
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c) Describe the information used in budget b) Outline the methods used to derive standard
systems and the sources of the information costs and discuss the different types of cost
needed.[2] possible.[2]
d) Indicate the usefulness and problems with c) Explain and illustrate the importance of flexing
different budget types (including fixed, flexible, budgets in performance management.[2]
zero-based, activity- based, incremental,
rolling, top-down, bottom up, master, d) Explain and apply the principle of
functional).[2] controllability in the performance management
system.[2]
e) Prepare flexed budgets, rolling budgets and
activity based budgets.[2] 4. Material mix and yield variances
f) Explain the beyond budgeting model, including a) Calculate, identify the cause of, and explain
the benefits and problems that may be faced if material mix and yield variances.[2]
it is adopted in an organisation. [2]
b) Explain the wider issues involved in changing
g) Discuss the issues surrounding setting the material mix e.g. cost, quality and performance
difficulty level for a budget.[2] measurement issues.[2]
h) Explain the benefits and difficulties of the c) Identify and explain the relationship of the
participation of employees in the negotiation of material usage variance with the material mix
targets.[2] and yield variances.[2]
i) Explain the difficulties of changing a budgetary d) Suggest and justify alternative methods of
system or type of budget used.[2] controlling production processes.[2]
j) Explain how budget systems can deal with 5. Sales mix and quantity variances
uncertainty in the environment.[2]
a) Calculate, identify the cause of, and explain
2. Quantitative analysis in budgeting sales mix and quantity variances.[2]
a) Analyse fixed and variable cost elements from b) Identify and explain the relationship of the
total cost data using high/low method. sales volume variances with the sales mix and
quantity variances.[2]
b) Estimate the learning rate and learning effect[2]
6. Planning and operational variances
c) Apply the learning curve to a budgetary
problem, including calculations on steady a) Calculate a revised budget.[2]
states [2]
b) Identify and explain those factors that could
d) Discuss the reservations with the learning and could not be allowed to revise an original
curve.[2] budget.[2]
e) Apply expected values and explain the c) Calculate, identify the cause of and explain
problems and benefits.[2] planning and operational variances for:
i) sales, including market size and market
f) Explain the benefits and dangers inherent in share;
using spreadsheets in budgeting. [2] ii) materials;
iii) labour, including the effect of the learning
3. Standard costing curve.[2]
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d) Explain and discuss the manipulation issues b) Demonstrate how these principal sources of
involved in revising budgets.[2] management information might be used for
control purposes. [2]
7. Performance analysis
c) Identify and discuss the direct data capture
a) Analyse and evaluate past performance using and process costs of management accounting
the results of variance analysis.[2] information. [2]
b) Use variance analysis to assess how future d) Identify and discuss the indirect costs of
performance of an organisation or business can producing information.[2]
be improved.[2]
e) Discuss the limitations of using externally
c) Identify the factors which influence generated information.[2]
behaviour.[2]
3. Management reports
d) Discuss the effect that variances have on staff
motivation and action.[2] a) Discuss the principal controls required in
generating and distributing internal
e) Describe the dysfunctional nature of some information.[2]
variances in the modern environment of JIT
and TQM.[2] b) Discuss the procedures that may be necessary
to ensure security of highly confidential
f) Discuss the behavioural problems resulting information that is not for external
from using standard costs in rapidly changing consumption.[2]
environments.[2]
4. Performance analysis in private sector
D PERFORMANCE MEASUREMENT AND organisations
CONTROL
a) Describe, calculate and interpret financial
1. Performance management information systems performance indicators (FPIs) for profitability,
liquidity and risk in both manufacturing and
a) Identify the accounting information service businesses. Suggest methods to
requirements and describe the different types improve these measures.[2]
of information systems used for strategic
planning, management control and operational b) Describe, calculate and interpret non-financial
control and decision-making. [2] performance indicators (NFPIs) and suggest
methods to improve the performance
b) Define and identify the main characteristics of indicated.[2]
transaction processing systems; management
information systems; executive information c) Analyse past performance and suggest ways for
systems; and enterprise resource planning improving financial and non-financial
systems.[2] performance.[2]
c) Define and discuss the merits of, and potential d) Explain the causes and problems created by
problems with, open and closed systems with short-termism and financial manipulation of
regard to the needs of performance results and suggest methods to
management. [2] encourage a long term view.[2]
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f) Discuss the difficulties of target setting in results and suggest methods to
qualitative areas.[2] encourage a long term view.[2]
d) Compare divisional performance and recognise d) Identify and explain the behaviour aspects of
the problems of doing so.[2] performance management [2]
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SUMMARY OF CHANGES TO F5
ACCA periodically reviews its qualification syllabuses so that they fully meet the needs of stakeholders such as
employers, students, regulatory and advisory bodies and learning providers.
The main areas which have been added to the syllabus are summarised in the table below.
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