This is from the “Accounting Makes Cents” podcast episode #64 released on Monday, 6 May 2024.
In today’s episode, I thought we’d address a couple of frequently asked questions about the CIMA case study exams. If you remember, or if you’ve had a chance to go through my past episodes, you will have come across something similar that I did in March 2022, where I also answered FAQs at the time. I’ll link that episode on the show notes so you can access it as well. I just thought it was time to do another one. This time, I actually want to focus a little bit more on exam writing tips and hints. Most of these hints and tips are available on the CIMA website. Generally, you can find them on the examiners report, which are issued after every exam session. So my purpose here, although it’s almost a repeat of what they’re saying, is to try and break it down for you. Maybe offer some reasons why some of it is important to be done in a certain way, and hopefully you don’t fall into the same pitfalls. Additionally, I know if you’re a first-time case study exam taker, it’s really difficult to separate that concern or anxiety over what you’ll be facing on exam day. Sometimes you may just need that reassuring and supporting voice to help you with your burning questions.
So here goes. Let’s do our FAQs about the CIMA case study exams (2024 version):
Jump to show notes.
Question 1: If the exam question is given 45 minutes, how much of an answer am I supposed to write? Can you give me a number of words to aim for?
A: It’s generally not advisable to fixate on a specific word count when crafting your answers. The length of your answer doesn’t necessarily correlate with its effectiveness. Consider this: aiming for a word count target doesn’t prevent you from repeating yourself or providing incorrect information, just to meet that target without necessarily earning full marks. Using word count as a metric can be misleading, akin to a checkbox that you aim to tick off without necessarily ensuring there’s substance to your answer. You might reach the desired word count and feel satisfied, even though your answer lacks depth or accuracy. Moreover, the weighting of exam questions can further complicate matters. For instance, if you give yourself the word limit of 1000 words per exam question and the weighting is uneven, say 40/60, it becomes challenging to allocate your word count proportionally to each requirement. This discrepancy in weighting underscores the limitations of using word count as a measure of adequacy or completeness in addressing exam criteria. It’s more logical to focus on understanding and fulfilling the specific requirements of each question, prioritise developing your answers to be clearer, more concise, and better explained.
Question 2: So exam weighting has been mentioned. Sometimes it’s hard for students to write answers and consider their length. If a question is 40/60 weighting, but I feel that there’s more to write in a 40% section than a 60% section, would it be okay to write more for the 40% section and still get a good mark?
A: Sure, you could maybe still get a good mark, but there’s a reason why the weighting is given, and why you should follow it. The problem with disregarding the weighting of exam questions is that you might limit your potential to earn more marks than you otherwise could have. CIMA encourages candidates to consider the weighting when determining how much detail to provide in their answers. For instance, in a question with a 40/60 weighting, it’s expected that the section representing 60% of the marks will require more depth and length than the 40% section. Your goal should be to address each section according to its allocated weighting to fully capitalise on available marks. Going back to this question with a 60/40 weighting. Let’s say you are eligible to get a total of 25 marks for the whole question. This means the 40% section allows for a maximum of 10 marks, while the 60% section offers a potential 15 marks. Now, even if you write extensively for the 40% section, you’ll still only be eligible for a maximum of 10 marks. If you allocate more time to the section with lower weighting, you could miss out on maximising your score in the higher-weighted section. Consequently, your overemphasis on the lower-weighted section may compromise your ability to adequately address the higher-weighted section within the time frame. Thus, don’t ignore the given weighting as this ensures your time and effort is used effectively to maximise your overall score.
Question 3: On a case study exam, I encountered a question about analysing a new business environment for the pre-seen company. I wrote everything I knew about environmental analysis, and gave many different models like PESTEL, Five Forces, Porter’s Diamond. My answer was really long and a lot. Now I expected to get really good marks for this. Is that the correct way to approach a question?
A: A lot of students risk undermining themselves when they do this at the exam. They look for a keyword in the task, which gives them an idea of what the theory or topic is for that particular question. The student then goes on and just goes over the top with it, regardless of whether it’s relevant information or not. So for this instance, you mention “environmental analysis,” and you feel compelled to discuss the various environmental analysis tools and models, even if the question may only have specifically asked for the application of one model. In such cases, it’s imperative to adhere closely to the task’s instructions. If one model is asked for, then one model it is. If a specified model is asked for, then use that specific model. There’s no need to inundate the response with extra information or alternative models to demonstrate proficiency in the topic. This scattergun approach, where you shoot and see what sticks, suggests a lack of clarity and understanding regarding the task at hand, eroding the credibility of your answer. It’s crucial to remain focused and ensure that every aspect of the response directly addresses the requirements outlined in the question. Conversely, if the task requests a comparison of two different models or tools, you should feel confident introducing a second model. Similarly, if specific tools are mentioned in the question, you can use those mentioned for the purposes of strengthening your response. A more targeted approach ensures that the answer remains aligned with the task’s objectives, enhancing credibility and effectiveness.
Question 4: On a case study exam, I encountered a question about ratio analysis. I had to do simple calculations to explain the movements of specific ratios, whether some of them were going up and going down. I don’t understand what else to add here? Am I missing something?
A: Merely observing changes in ratios without providing deeper analysis will likely result in limited marks. Simply indicating whether a ratio is increasing or decreasing merely informs the examiner of its directional movement without offering a conclusive explanation. Typically, additional context within the question prompts students to delve deeper into their analysis. For instance, in a scenario comparing Company A and Company B, focusing on a specific ratio like gearing requires more than stating that Company A has a higher gearing ratio than Company B. This superficial observation adds little value, as the examiner could discern this from the provided data alone. Instead, it’s essential to provide contextual insight, such as acknowledging that “Company A’s gearing ratio (X%) exceeds that of Company B (Y%), potentially indicating a heavier reliance on debt financing in Company A’s operations. While leveraging debt can be advantageous up to a certain threshold, exceeding it poses risks. Therefore, if considering an investment in Company A, diligent monitoring of its gearing ratio is advised to prevent excessive risk exposure. Failure to maintain a prudent balance could render Company A less desirable as an investment opportunity.” Does that not sound better?
Question 5: I’ve seen comments from the examiners report, talking about avoiding the use of bullet points or that we should write out our answers in paragraphs. Normally, we do this, but since it’s a time pressured exam, sometimes, we don’t get to do this. And to save time, we tend to just write out some of the answers in bullets. Why is this wrong? What is up with that?
A: The challenge with using bullet points in answers is the risk of condensing the answer to the extent that it becomes incomprehensible to the examiner. Consider this scenario: imagine you’re tasked with discussing the Balanced Scorecard (BSC), but time constraints force you to resort to listing its four perspectives in bullet points: customer, internal business process, learning, financial. Now, put yourself in the examiner’s position: would merely listing these perspectives without elaboration or indication of their relevance warrant a mark? Even if bullet points are used, it would have been more effective to express each point in full sentences. For instance, articulating that the Customer perspective is integral to the BSC and involves assessing customer retention could provide much-needed context. If you have time, you could expand on this by explaining how feedback and surveys are used within this perspective to gauge market penetration and customer satisfaction levels.
Conclusion
And that is it! Only 5 for this version, but really long ones, as opposed to the 10 short ones in 2022. I really like this format of having a list of questions and addressing them. And I am going to do this from time to time in some of my future episodes/blog posts. I suppose if you’re here, you may have already noticed that it is a bit like a teacher-student column. Anyways, if you do have questions, you can reach out to me.
Show notes simplified
In this episode, MJ the tutor tackles frequently asked questions about the CIMA case study exam. This edition will focus more on exam writing tips that have been previously called out by the examiners in the past. While all information is available on the CIMA website, students facing a CIMA case study exam for the first time normally agonises over what they’d be facing on exam day. MJ the tutor recognises the angst and sets out to alleviate some of them here.
Resources and links:
MJ the tutor tackles the 10 Burning Questions about the CIMA Case Study Exams (2022 version)
Credits on the podcast:
Counting 1 to 10 Goofy.mp3 (https://freesound.org/s/587504/) by MrSeriouss (https://freesound.org/people/MrSeriousss/) — License: Attribution 4.0
MJ THE TUTOR 