DECODING THE SUBJECT
All goods and services are delivered at a cost. Any business needs to arrive at the most accurate cost of its products/ services to fix its selling price. The syllabus of performance management fundamentally teaches us the science of arriving at the most accurate cost and selling price of any product/ service.
However, costing is just one aspect of performance management. At a broader level, you will learn various Decision-making & Evaluating Performance techniques at different levels in a business organization.
Table Of Contents
ACCA PM SYLLABUS
ACCA PM EXAM FORMAT
ACCA PM EXAM STRUCTURE
ACCA PM PAPER PATTERN
ACCA PM PASSING TRENDS
SOURCES OF CONTENT
STUDYING METHODOLOGY
HOW TO PLAN ACCA PM MOCK EXAMS
THINGS TO REMEMBER WHILE WRITING THE EXAM
EXAMINER’S EXPECTATIONS
ACCA PM SYLLABUS
Performance management ACCA syllabus covers principles and concepts of performance management that will help students in real world jobs. The ACCA PM Syllabus teaches students skills like cost and management accounting, decision-making, budgeting, and measuring performance. Understanding the ACCA PM Syllabus ensures students are ready to manage performance in different organizations.
To help you understand better, the ACCA PM Syllabus can be broken down into the following categories:
A. Management information systems and data analytics
- Management information systems
- Uses and control of information
- Big data and data analytics
B. Specialist cost and management accounting techniques
- Activity-based costing
- Target costing
- Life-cycle costing
- Throughput accounting
- Accounting for environmental and sustainability factors
C. Decision-making techniques
- Relevant cost analysis
- Cost volume profit analysis (CVP)
- Limiting factors
- Pricing decisions
- Make-or-buy and other short-term decisions
- Dealing with risk and uncertainty in decision-making
D. Budgeting and control
- Budgetary systems and types of budget
- Analytical techniques in budgeting and forecasting
- Standard costing
- Material mix and yield variances
- Sales mix and quantity variances
- Planning and operational variances
- Performance analysis
E. Performance Measurement and Control
- Performance analysis in the private sector, public sector and not-for-profit organisations.
- Divisional performance and transfer pricing
- Specific performance analysis issues in not-for-profit organisations and the public sector
F. Employability and technology skills
- Use computer technology to efficiently access and manipulate relevant information.
- Work on relevant response options, using available functions and technology, as would be required in the workplace.
- Navigate windows and computer screens to create and amend responses to exam requirements, using the appropriate tools.
- Present data and information effectively, using the appropriate tools.
Hack: The ACCA Performance Management (PM) paper focuses on applying the concepts rather than memorizing the subject. Students are encouraged to develop unique solutions to help them crack the exam.
The ACCA PM syllabus may appear relatively lesser than the other papers, yet many cases challenge you to think from many perspectives. This is why the ACCA performance management exam pass rate is relatively lower than most other papers.
It would help if you began your preparation by brushing up on the Basic Management Accounting concepts. From the performance management ACCA syllabus. After that, continue with Part B: Specialist Cost and Management Accounting Techniques, which will take time.
Next, focus on Part C: Decision-making Techniques; this part covers several topics and is an important part of your syllabus. Make sure to practice all the questions in the Study Text & Exam Kit thoroughly.
After practicing all the questions of Part C, you can move on to Part D: Budgeting and Control. Like Part B and Part C, Part D covers equally important topics.
Investing significant time in both these parts of the ACCA PM syllabus. is very important to crack the exam.
Continue next with Part E from the performance management ACCA syllabus: Performance Measurement and Control. This part covers several tricky & challenging topics which need to be covered in depth.
Lastly, study Part A: Information, technologies, and systems for organizational performance. This section deals with theory topics & is best dealt with towards the end.
EXAM FORMAT
Section A:
- 15 objective test (OT) questions.
- Each question is worth 2 marks.
Section B:
- 3 questions, each worth 10 marks.
- Each question comprises 5 OT questions worth 2 marks each.
Section C:
- 2 constructed response (CR) questions, each worth 20 marks.
- A mix of computational and narrative questions.
The ACCA PM Exam format includes a mix of objective tests and constructed response questions, testing both computational skills and narrative understanding. To succeed in the ACCA PM Exam format, candidates must show a solid grasp of performance management techniques and their practical applications.
ACCA PM EXAM STRUCTURE
The ACCA PM Exam is assessed by a three-hour computer-based examination Exam structure consists of three sections: Section A, Section B, and Section C.
Section A:
- 15 objective test questions, each worth two marks.
- Questions may be narrative or calculative.
- Covers the entire Performance Management syllabus, making it crucial to study the whole syllabus.
- Avoid spending too much time on any single question, as each is only worth two marks.
Section B:
- Three questions, each with five objective test items, totaling 10 marks per question.
- Based on a common scenario and covering any syllabus area.
- A mix of calculative and narrative questions.
- Allocate 18 minutes per question to manage time effectively.
Section C:
- Two questions, each worth 20 marks.
- Can include one full 20-mark requirement or multiple requirements.
- Primarily from syllabus areas C, D, and E, but may include area A.
- Requires detailed workings and stated assumptions.
The mix of numbers and written interpretation, with the need to apply answers to given contexts.
Follow-up marks are given for discussions based on a candidate’s calculations.
A formula sheet is provided, but its usage varies depending on the exam content. This concise ACCA PM Exam structure ensures thorough preparation across all areas, highlighting the importance of understanding both calculative and interpretive aspects of performance management.
ACCA PM PAPER PATTERN
The 100-mark ACCA Performance Management exam paper has been designed to ensure that all the different areas of the syllabus are covered adequately. Following are the various sections and question types that you can expect-
ACCA Performance Management (100 Marks) | ||
---|---|---|
Section A (30 marks) | Section B (30 marks) | Section C (40 marks) |
15 OTQ’s * 2 marks each | 3 case studies * 5 OTQ’s in each case study * 2 marks each | 2 Constructed response questions * 20 marks each |
ACCA PM PASSING TRENDS
You are expected to score 50/100 to pass this examination. This is easily manageable with a clear understanding of the concepts, good practice of the questions and a positive attitude. The pass rates of ACCA PM paper across the globe are roughly between 35%-45% for most attempts.
SOURCES OF CONTENT
You need to refer to these two content sources for your preparations primarily –
- The Study Text – for conceptual understanding
- The Practice/Exam Kit – for practice questions
There are only two ACCA-approved content providers that you should consider, namely, Kaplan Publishing and BPP Learning Media. Apart from this, you can also refer to the technical articles published by ACCA on different topics. You can use this link to refer to the articles.
Download our curated express notes for ACCA PM here
STUDYING METHODOLOGY
- Commence preparations with the Study Text & go through all the concepts, & solved questions. Thereafter, attempt all questions from the Exam Kit to get more clarity and a deeper understanding of how to approach the different questions of the syllabus.
- The Study Text has relatively easier & fundamental questions in comparison to the Exam Kit. The Exam Kit has several tricky questions & of diverse variety. Hence ensure that you solve questions from the Exam Kit in parallel to the Study Text.
- Focus equally on numbers as well a theory concepts The paper will cover not just number driven questions but also an equal number of theory questions testing your conceptual knowledge.
- Some of the areas of your syllabus of ‘High Importance’ include Decision Making Techniques, Budgeting, Variances, Transfer Pricing, Learning Curve, Specialist cost and management accounting techniques. Ensure that you have spent adequate time practicing these concepts.
- You will see several questions in the PM paper which may not be necessarily from the ones practised in the Study Text or Exam Kit. Hence you must be prepared for ‘Unknown Territories’. Your ability to understand the scenario, apply the concepts & articulate your answer is a real skill you need to sharpen for this paper.
- When solving the constructed response questions from the practise kit, it is useful to go through the key answer tips, tutor’s top tips, tutorial notes and examiner’s comments to understand what the common mistakes made by students are and how you can deliver a better answer.
- Practice a few constructed response questions using basic features of MS Word and MS Excel too. Also, you can use the constructed response ‘blank workspace’ provided by the ACCA after logging in to the Practice Platform to get a hold of the CBE environment. You can follow through this link.
HOW TO PLAN ACCA PM MOCK EXAMS
Attempting enough mock exams is a must! Going without solving mocks is like a soldier without a weapon.
The examination is now conducted using the CBE platform; writing at least 2-3 mocks is essential to understand how the final examination would be and get used to the CBE environment.
You can log in to the ACCA ‘Practice Platform’ using the following link to solve mocks
Hack: One day before the examination, invest all your time in revising what you have studied so far. Do not try to study any new concept from the ACCA PM syllabus or solve any new problem. Skim through the study text and practice kit to focus on memorizing the essential concepts, theory topics, and formulas if required. Focus on memorising all the formulae, concepts and theory.
THINGS TO REMEMBER WHILE WRITING THE EXAM
After months of all the effort and hard work you would’ve put into the preparation for this exam, it is equally important to ace your exam. Here are some things to remember suggested by our experts at Synthesis Learning–
- Time Management: It is essential to complete the paper on time. Effective time management is the key to success! Here is how you can allocate your time-
PAPER | PM | TOTAL |
---|---|---|
Section A | 15 OTQ’s * 2.67 mins | 40 minutes |
Section B | 15 case study OTQ’s * 2.67 mins | 40 minutes |
Section C | 2 questions (of 20 marks) * 45 mins each | 90 minutes |
Final check | 10 minutes | |
TOTAL | 180 minutes |
- Do not stress or panic during the exam, stay calm write all you know. If you stress out, it is possible that you mess with other straightforward, manageable, and scoring questions.
- Do not leave any question unattempted
- For your OTQ’s there is always a 25% probability to get the answer right, place your bet and mark the option you believe is the closest to the answer.
- For constructed response questions there is no negative marking. So, based on your understanding of the concepts make sure you form an answer to every question asked.
- Be prepared to find different and new styles of questions, with patience and linking to the concepts of your syllabus you should be able to tackle them well.
- Better to start with Section A first, then Section B, and lastly Section C, i.e. FOLLOW THE ORDER! Do not spend too much time finding answers to questions you are not able to crack. Section C: make sure for the numerical questions you show the workings along with the solution wherever needed For theoretical questions write enough to earn marks. One healthy and valid point is worth 1 mark.
EXAMINER’S EXPECTATIONS
The ACCA publishes an Examiner’s Report for every attempt, which gives insight into the marking process, the common mistakes that students make during the exams, and other valuable techniques for doing well in your examination.
You must review the Examiner’s Reports to understand what the examiner expects from you. It will help you know how students have failed to tackle different questions and how they could have performed better. It’s like learning from someone else’s mistakes. You can follow this link to refer to a few of the examiner’s reports published by the ACCA.
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Conclusion- The esteemed ACCA Performance Management qualification will equip you with essential skills. Each step in your preparation journey will enhance your decision-making skills and prepare you for the dynamic world of finance. Master The ACCA PM exam with the guidance our highly qualified tutors, achieve top marks in the exam.
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Summary of all links
Technical articles published by ACCA