P5 Advanced Performance Management

According to BPP following are the topics that are expected to appear in P5 Advanced Performance Management for June 2008 attempt. WARNING: The examiners deliberately try to avoid question spotting. Use the tips as areas to have a good look at, but remember that no-one knows what’s in the exam except the examiner. Your safest bet is to achieve good syllabus coverage in your revision, as the examiner aims to do in the exam. This paper has only limited choice and the examiner is likely to set core topics in either the compulsory or the optional section of the exam.  Often, his questions mix different syllabus areas within one question or have two discrete parts on two areas of the syllabus that can be attempted independently. However, the area that occurs most frequently in the largest question in the compulsory section of the paper is:

l        Financial and operational performance measurement of an organization against a benchmark, such as budget, prior period or a competitor. Discussion as to the value of such comparisons. (April 2007 BPP Study Text question 12 is a typical example involving private and public sector considerations.)  

Other areas that could be examined in either section A of the exam, as the second compulsory question, or in section B include :

l        Use of an established theoretical model to evaluate the performance of an organization. (April 2007 BPP Study Text question 13 covers the Boston Consulting Group matrix).

l        The features of the not-for-profit sector and difficulties in performance management thereof. (April 2007 BPP Study Text question 15 (a) is an essay-based question on this area).

l        Transfer pricing mechanisms linked to goal congruence and dysfunctional behavior. Likely to include international aspects of transfer pricing. (April 2007 BPP Study question 14 indicates how little numerical analysis is required at this level).

l        Non-financial performance indicators to cover quality. (April 2007 BPP Study Text question 15 (b) is a scenario-based question on this area).

Areas that are more likely to appear in the optional part of the paper are:

l        Budgeting approaches including the circumstances when they are more or less appropriate.

l        Discussion on the uses of mission and objectives for performance planning and control. (April 2007 BPP Study Text question 11 is a common essay style question for this exam).

l        Requirements of and procedures for collecting information for strategic management accounting. (April 2007 BPP Study Text question 9 links this to a scenario).

l        Assessment of divisional or managerial performance. (April 2007 BPP Study Text question 16 covers this together with motivation).