ACCA P3 March 2016

del777

Hi there,
Im due to sit P3 in March 2016 and I just want to get some feedback on how people are finding the study?? I find there is far too much in the syllabus and Im struggling to keep the information in my head... I know alot of people say exam Q are key however I cant answer a Q until I have the theory in my head!

Any tips would be greatly appreciated as Im starting to freak out!

CassieManson

Did you take tuition or self study? The pocket notes can be good for studying the theory instead of the big study texts from Kaplan or BPP. You really need to practice the exam questions.

MayoRoadRunner

del777 wrote: »

Hi there,
Im due to sit P3 in March 2016 and I just want to get some feedback on how people are finding the study?? I find there is far too much in the syllabus and Im struggling to keep the information in my head... I know alot of people say exam Q are key however I cant answer a Q until I have the theory in my head!

Any tips would be greatly appreciated as Im starting to freak out!

Hi del, i'm also sitting P3 in March. I find with theory papers such as P3 mind maps work well. What I have done is basically 12 mind maps for each of the main chapters on 12 different pages with key concepts, acronyms & lists to remember. I have also started to do short voice recordings for each mind map that I listen in the car to on the commute.
Stick to the core areas and don't get bogged down on the smaller areas that don't tend to feature much. Good luck!

ACCA1916

MayoRoadRunner wrote: »

Hi del, i'm also sitting P3 in March. I find with theory papers such as P3 mind maps work well. What I have done is basically 12 mind maps for each of the main chapters on 12 different pages with key concepts, acronyms & lists to remember. I have also started to do short voice recordings for each mind map that I listen in the car to on the commute.
Stick to the core areas and don't get bogged down on the smaller areas that don't tend to feature much. Good luck!

100% agreed with the above.

Got 74% in P3 in September, syllabus is huge, However a couple of additional points:

1) The examiner loves asking about previous knowledge, know your F5 and F9 stuff well. For instance the P3 paper in September covered ABC costing which is at the very fringes of the course, had 25 marks

2) Exam technique is everything and scenarios are huge, get the key points and the jist of whats going on, the marks are for the application of the scenario as a business analysts no regurgitation, the models can be over thought about, they are only a basis to help score marks

3) As an example, Lets say a simple porter 5 forces, government is offering tax credits etc

Instead of saying the government is offering tax credits this is good / positive etc for case company,

Answer: "As government of country x is offering tax credits, this is a strength to case co. because it gives company external competitive advantage relative to its rivals"

I know it sounds pedantic but by using the template: As [state the fact in the case], this is a strength / weakness or this means [ whatever] because [ whatever].

It gets you to apply the scenario as opposed to stating the scenario.

Hope that helps.

ZeroThreat

ACCA1916 wrote: »

100% agreed with the above.

Got 74% in P3 in September, syllabus is huge, However a couple of additional points:

1) The examiner loves asking about previous knowledge, know your F5 and F9 stuff well. For instance the P3 paper in September covered ABC costing which is at the very fringes of the course, had 25 marks

2) Exam technique is everything and scenarios are huge, get the key points and the jist of whats going on, the marks are for the application of the scenario as a business analysts no regurgitation, the models can be over thought about, they are only a basis to help score marks

3) As an example, Lets say a simple porter 5 forces, government is offering tax credits etc

Instead of saying the government is offering tax credits this is good / positive etc for case company,

Answer: "As government of country x is offering tax credits, this is a strength to case co. because it gives company external competitive advantage relative to its rivals"

I know it sounds pedantic but by using the template: As [state the fact in the case], this is a strength / weakness or this means [ whatever] because [ whatever].

It gets you to apply the scenario as opposed to stating the scenario.

Hope that helps.

Just a question, say someone done completed the first few exams under the older syllabus, (ie. June 2007 & prior) - the one that included a paper known as 2.1 Information systems - and was thus granted an exemption from paper F5 (by converted pass) when they resumed ACCA studies several years later under the new system.

How manageable is P3 having never taken F5?

Kaka86

I got 80% .. Having never done and fundamentals. If you can do a revision course with Shane O'Grady .. It would be a massive benefit.
The majority of syllabus is split into 3 areas but each one is linked:
Strategic position - where the company is at vs where it wants to be
Strategic choice - how it gets to where it wants to be
Strategic implentation - doing it. A lot of the other syllabus headings come in under this .. Business process, project mgmt, IT

The models are key to this exam .. You need to know the majority of them and then be able to use them and add value in a question .. (Why ? What does that mean ?)
I would suggest taking each model .. Say e.g. Porters 5 forces .. Doing it out on a page for yourself ..explain what is this model for ... It looks at level of competition within an industry .. Thus helping to determine the level of attractiveness of that industry. Then explain simply each of the 5 forces.
You need to understand the use of the different models .. Where the fit in the whole analysis process.
Best of luck ..let me know if are struggling with a specific area.

ACCA1916

How manageable is P3 without taking F5?

It is manageable, its the maths of F5, such as variances, budgeting, flexed budgeting, different costing techniques, obviously ratios, pricing...you may have covered that in previous studies, Also F9 investment appraisal tools advantages / disadvantages etc (that can be part of project management decisions, usually poor decision is made in case because they only looked at one investment appraisal decision and not many tools, that's a typical question), probabilities Expected Values which is F5 and F9. Also regression analysis and looking at data presented, some common sense answers can emerge. Most lecturers will cover that in their course. Also all past papers will have covered most of these calculations. In every exam there is a one question that is heavily supplied with calculations. Easy marks to be obtained there in my view