ACCA Performance Management (PM) Exam Preparation Course

The syllabus for, Performance Management (PM), builds on the knowledge gained in Management Accounting (MA) and seeks to examine candidates’ understanding of how to manage the performance of a business. It also prepares candidates for more specialist capabilities, which are covered in P5 Advanced Performance Management. The syllabus begins by introducing more specialized management accounting topics. There is some knowledge assumed from Management Accounting (MA) – primarily overhead treatments. The objective here is to ensure candidates have a broader background in management accounting techniques. The syllabus then considers decision-making. Candidates need to appreciate the problems surrounding scarce resource, pricing and make-or-buy decisions, and how this relates to the assessment of performance. Risk and uncertainty are a factor of real-life decisions and candidates need to understand risk and be able to apply some basic methods to help resolve the risks inherent in decision-making.
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 react to a budget.

The preparation of fixed, flexible and incremental budgets is assumed knowledge from Management Accounting (MA).
Standard costing and variances are then built on. All the variances examined in Management Accounting (MA) are assumed knowledge in Performance Management (PM). Mix and yield variances and planning and operational variances are explored here and the link is made to performance management. It is important for accountants to be able to interpret the numbers that they calculate and ask what they mean in the context of performance. The syllabus concludes with performance management systems, measurement and control. This is a major area of the syllabus. Accountants need to understand how a business should be managed and controlled and how information systems can be used to facilitate this. They should appreciate the importance of both financial and non-financial performance measures in management. Accountants should also appreciate the difficulties in assessing performance in divisionalised businesses and the problems caused by failing to consider external influences on performance. This section leads directly to Advanced Performance Management (APM). All of the subject areas covered in this syllabus could be examined in either a public sector or private sector context. During the course special Course Notes will be used extensively produced by IAB international academy of business. Students should use their study text for additional reference purposes.
IAB’s course notes include explanatory text punctuated by classroom activities. Most of these activities create the illustrations that are presented by the author in a traditional textbook. It is important to complete the activities because in most cases they form a link in the flow of explanatory text. If you leave them blank it will be difficult to review the text at a later date.

Course objectives and learning outcomes:

•  Explain and Apply specialist cost and management accounting techniques
• Select and appropriately apply Decision-making techniques to facilitate business decisions and promote efficient and effective use of scarce business resources, appreciating the risks and uncertainty inherent in business and controlling those risks
• Identify and apply appropriate budgeting techniques and methods for planning and control and use standard costing systems to measure and control business performance and to identify remedial action
• Identify and discuss performance management information and measurement systems and assess the performance of an organisation from both a financial and nonfinancial viewpoint, appreciating the problems of controlling divisionalised businesses and the importance of allowing for external aspects

Learning approach:

The course will be covered within two main sections: study part and revision part. By the end of study part mock exam will be conducted as part of assessment of the student’s progress. During the class the main concept of the theory will be explained and practice tests relating to the covered chapters will be solved.

Readings

Study books by ACCA Approved Content Providers (Kaplan Publishing and BPP Learning Media), Classroom Notes, Examiner’s articles, examiner’s approach interview, and technical articles.

Required Practice

• E-learning Platform Quizzes
• Mock exams from the Question Bank