Post exam guides are always interesting reading – but I really wasn’t expecting to see this!

‘Part 1(a)(ii) was answered badly by some candidates, many of whom felt bribery was acceptable and encouraged the company to be more subtle, but to keep bribing.’

If you were one of these students, it’s definitely time to brush up on the CIMA Code of Ethics and the Bribery Act - as a future CIMA member you really should have known better! 

The examiner found that the main reasons students failed this paper in November were:

Not applying knowledge to the scenario
If relevant information is given in the scenario, you should use it to illustrate your answer. The ‘PERT’ approach works well here:

• Point: make your points in a concise sentence and use it as a heading to a short paragraph.
• Explain: make the meaning of your point clear by using ‘because’ or ‘this is due to’ if the concise sentence is not clear. Markers can only mark what you explicitly say and not what you might have meant. A simple phrase like ‘higher risk’ will get less marks than a statement such as ‘risk increases due to potential foreign currency movements affecting the contract’.
• Relate: ensure the points relate to the scenario. Try to mention the firm by name in each paragraph, and say why the point you are making explains or solves the issues the firm is facing.
• Time available: you cannot say everything there is to say. Keep within your time allocation.

Not answering the question asked
It sounds obvious, but you need to make sure you understand what the examiner is asking for. An example of this is question 3b for 11 marks:

‘Recommend, with reasons, the work that the internal auditor should undertake if the bidding process for the buses is investigated.’

Many students just listed stages in the audit process, without relating them to the scenario. This did not answer the question, which was asking about the work the auditor would need to undertake for this investigation. At this stage in your studies, the examiner needs to see application of knowledge, not just statements of fact.

Not answering all parts of the question
In my experience, there are two reasons why this happens – you’ve either run out of time or you don’t know the answer.

You can improve your timing by working through past papers under exam conditions, allowing 1.8 minutes a mark. You can download past papers and model answers by logging into MyCIMA, then selecting 'Student Information' and 'past exam questions and answers'. If you think you know the past papers inside out, try mixing them up a bit – this list of P3 questions by learning outcome will help.

You can avoid those ‘aaargh I haven’t got a clue!’ moments by making sure you’ve covered the whole syllabus in your studies. Time is short, so take a look at these free resources and videos from EXP. Financial risk will always be a part of question 1 – but don’t assume that this will be a calculation question. A lot of students were caught out in November, where financial risk was tested with a written question.

Want more? See my previous post on P3.