ACCA Advanced Performance Management (APM)
Among accredited advanced performance management syllabi, the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) is a globally recognized professional certification and it is sought after by individuals and employers alike.
Another important factor for various business contexts attaining this coveted status is the successful completion of the grueling Advanced Performance Management (APM) examination.
The APM exam is one of the most critical exams of the many ACCA exams yet it is one of the most demoralizing subjects to students during their ACCA journey.
The APM examination is a comprehensive exam since it measures the candidate’s capacity to apply strategic management accounting techniques and concepts within real-life business situations, this exam is complex. Keeping this challenge in mind, we’ve prepared a guide to offer the insights and best practices on the challenges that are associated with studying for and sitting the ACCA APM exam develops key aspects of.
1.Introducing ACCA APM and its importance in the accounting industry
ACCA APM is a critical subject in the ACCA exam which requires strategic planning as well as exercising professional judgement in business contexts.
It is an Advanced Performance Management exam that is intended to help management accountants in understanding how performance at management level can be improved.
The ACCA APM exam tests on many areas such as strategic planning, performance management, budgeting and forecasting, performance indicators and performance evaluation. ACCA APM matters considerably to the accounting industry as performance is one of the most vital factors for the success of any corporation.
This topic can be of great help in monitoring the performance of organizations by accountants, providing better analyst of systems and decisions to companies, and making companies shine in the market competition. Thus, purchasing a pass in ACCA APM paper is an extremely good value for the money.
It cannot only enhance professional abilities, but also create more chances for people in career development.
a. Explain the meaning of ACCA APM
ACCA APM is the acronym for Advanced Performance Management, an subject in the ACCA professional qualification examination.
This examination is designed to provide students with high-level performance management capabilities and knowledge so that they can gain a deeper understanding of corporate challenges at the management level.
ACCA APM exam focuses on performance at all levels of enterprises and they are in finance, operations and strategy. Studying this subject will enable you to improve your associations and interaction with organizations and that will give you more opportunities and a lot of diversified directions to develop in your career.
b. A brief overview of why this is a challenging exam
Firstly, students are given 15 minutes and 3 hours to tackle this paper. This is very challenging as students need to be familiar with the unique exam style of APM which is completely different from other ACCA papers or exams from other professional bodies.
Secondly, APM examining team tends to set exam questions with the practical case background, therefore, students' answers need to make real business common sense in order to earn quality marks.
Thirdly, students need to attempt lots of past exam questions to familiarise themselves in the computer exam environment as well.
2.Key challenges students face in ACCA APM exams
Dealing with practical case analysis is the major problem encountered by students in the ACCA APM exam. Practical case analysis involves solving challenging real world business problems and therefore demands candidates to demonstrate a strong analytical and problem-solving skill.
This part of the exam leads many students to a state of not knowing where to start, because actual case analysis questions don’t have standard answers.
The potential measures are left to the candidates who try to give a solution on the basis of what they have learnt and participated in.plan. So, practice of methods and coping mechanisms of real case analysis will help the candidates not to fail in these tests and obtain excellent results.
a. Time management and exam stress
Our approach:
Use the first 15 minutes to read all questions and plan carefully, particularly for the Q1 in Section A.
Make sure to stick to the deadline approach, ie 180 minutes/80 Technical marks = 2.25 minute/mark.
b. Understand complex concepts
We do teach topics in the APM paper using mnemonics and make sure you quickly grasp the idea and being able to apply them in the real exam questions.
