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sa_oct12_f5_approach.pdf
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Examiner’s approach to Paper F5 – update
The aim of Paper F5, Performance Management is to develop knowledge and
particularly skills in the application of management accounting techniques to
quantitative and qualitative information for planning, decision making,
performance evaluation, and control.
SYLLABUS STRUCTURE, RATIONALE, AND RELATIONAL DIAGRAM
Relationship between Paper F2, F5 and P5
The syllabus for Paper F5, Performance Management, builds on the knowledge
gained in Paper F2, Management Accounting. It also prepares students for the
more specialist capabilities covered in Paper P5, Advanced Performance
Management. This mid position is always a challenge for an examiner because
such papers must represent a step up from the lower paper but a step down
from the more advanced paper. Stepping up from Paper F2, it is important to
note that this is not simply a costing paper. Costing is obviously a key part of
the syllabus but it sits amongst many other equally important key areas. When
costing is examined, it will be within a performance management context, and
therefore questions on the whole will be more challenging than any costing
questions that were also examined in Paper F2. A good example of this
performance management context for a costing question (albeit it a written
one) is the June 2012 ‘Universal Health System’ question on target costing.
This demonstrates how a topic may be examined in Paper F5 in order to pitch
it at a level that sits fairly between Papers F2 and P5. If you look at this
question, you will see that 50% of it was pure knowledge marks – very
straightforward. The remaining 50% required target costing to be considered
in a service sector context and required some thought and reflection before
putting pen to paper. Both the context of these 50% application marks and the
requirements themselves are reflective of the step up from Paper F2 to Paper
F5. But similarly, the fact that the scenario was not overly complex shows the
difference between Paper F5 and Paper P5.
Assumed knowledge
Where an area of the Paper F5 syllabus covers a topic already covered in Paper
F2 as well, such as performance measurement, for example, there is twice as
much reason to assume that candidates will be able to tackle such a question.
You may have read articles written by me where I mention the metaphorical
toolbox that you need for Paper F5. This is the set of management accounting
techniques that have been learnt and practised for the exam. Many of these
were first introduced in Paper F2, Management Accounting, so if you were
exempt from this exam, you need to make sure that you actually have the
assumed knowledge that has gained you the exemption in the first place. You
need to go into the exam with these metaphorical tools in your bag. A builder 2
EXAMINER’S APPROACH
OCTOBER 2012
© 2012 ACCA
wouldn’t turn up to a job with only some of the tools he needs. He doesn’t
empty out his toolbox after one job on the basis that he doesn’t need those
tools anymore. He knows that he could require a particular tool at any time on
a job, depending on what he is doing, and he must be fully prepared at all
times. Accountancy is no different, particularly management accounting.
As mentioned at the beginning of this article, Paper F2 topics that arise again
in Paper F5 may be examined in a more challenging way in Paper F5 in order
to reflect the difference between the two papers. Also, by the time a candidate
reaches Paper F5, they may sometimes be expected to work out which tool
they need to take out of their toolbox in order to answer a question, rather than
always being told which technique they will need to use. This is another step
towards the skills required for Paper P5 and for the workplace itself, where
accountants must act as advisors in many situations. Please remember that
Paper F5 is a skills module paper whereas Paper F2 is only a knowledge module
paper, although the Paper F5 exam would usually be expected to contain a
small proportion of pure knowledge marks too.
Format of the paper
Paper F5 contains five questions worth 20 marks each. Sometimes, one of
these questions may be a purely written question but this will not be the case
in every exam.
The proportion of numbers to words will vary slightly from exam to exam. It is
not possible to make it exactly 50:50 in every exam, nor is it deemed
necessary to do this. The mix will change depending on the topics being
examined, among other things. However, it would be unusual for the mix to be
greater than 40:60 of either numbers to words or words to numbers.
Ordinarily, there will be more than 100 marks available on each exam paper,
and close inspection of marking guides will reveal that, on some questions,
there may be, for example, seven marks available for a five-mark question, but
the marker will be restricted to giving a maximum of five marks to a candidate.
The reason for this is that discursive questions in the Paper F5 syllabus can
often produce a wide variety of answers, many of which raise valid points
worthy of marks. The suggested solutions that I produce only demonstrate the
way that I would have answered the question. Candidates often produce
equally valid answers that score highly without covering all of the points that I
have raised. Performance management is often grey rather than black or white
and the marking guides allow for this.
A formula sheet is provided with every Paper F5 exam. However, the extent to
which you may need to use this will vary from exam to exam depending on
what is being examined3
EXAMINER’S APPROACH
OCTOBER 2012
© 2012 ACCA
The Syllabus and Study Guide
The Syllabus and Study Guide will continue to be reviewed, updated and
changed periodically. It is worth noting that some changes were made for
exams from June 2011 and again for exams from June 2013. Please make
sure you are aware of these changes which are summarised at the end of the
Study Guide document and in articles published in Student Accountant.
Syllabus area A
The syllabus begins by introducing more specialised management accounting
topics. There is some knowledge assumed from Paper F2, primarily overhead
treatments. The objective here is to ensure students have a broader
background in management accounting techniques. Again, the emphasis is on
the implications of the calculations, not just the calculations themselves. The
throughput accounting question in June 2011’s paper, ‘Thin Co’, is a good
example of this. Parts (a) and (b) tested the basics of throughput accounting
and Part (c) took the question to a higher level, in a performance management
context.
Syllabus area B
The syllabus then considers decision making. Students need to appreciate the
problems surrounding scarce resources, pricing, and make-or-buy decisions,
and how these problems relate to the assessment of performance. Risk and
uncertainty are a factor of real-life decision making; students need to
understand risk and must be able to apply some basic methods to help resolve
the risks inherent in decision making.
Students should never forget that management accounting provides
information partly so that decisions can be made. This area of the syllabus is
important and will be a rich source of future questions.
Syllabus area C
Budgeting is an important aspect of many accountants’ lives. The syllabus
explores different budgeting techniques and the problems inherent in them.
The behavioural aspects of budgeting are important for accountants to
understand, and the syllabus includes consideration of the way individuals
might react to a budget. Abuse of the budgeting environment is common and
damages businesses more than is often realised. Students need to appreciate
the problems inherent in budgeting and must be able to suggest how these
problems can be overcome.
Syllabus area D
Standard costing and variances are then built on – all the variances examined
in Paper F2 are useful knowledge here. New topics are mix and yield variances,
and planning and operational variances. Again, the link is made to
performance management. It is important for accountants to be able to 4
EXAMINER’S APPROACH
OCTOBER 2012
© 2012 ACCA
interpret the numbers that they calculate, and to ask what they mean in the
context of performance. It will often be the case here that the requirement asks
for some kind of interpretation on the numbers that have been calculated in an
earlier part of the question. If a new set of data was to be given every time
some kind of interpretation was required, questions in this area would be very
lengthy, making it impossible to read the whole paper in the allotted reading
time. Candidates should rest assured that full follow on marks are given for
discussion that follows a candidates’ own numbers. If a candidate has been
unable to do the calculations, they will still usually find that they can make
some valid observations simply from the data given in the question anyway.
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