Clearly, risk permeates most aspects of corporate decision making (and life in general), and few can predict with any precision what the future holds in store Risk can take myriad forms – ranging from the specific risks faced by individual companies (such as financial risk, or the risk of a strike among the workforce), through…
Relevant to ACCA Qualification Papers P3 and P5 Critical success factors Critical success factors (CSFs) are often quoted in management literature as those areas in which an organisation needs to perform best if it is to achieve overall success. CSFs have frequently been used to help determine the requirements for executive information systems (EIS), supporting…
This article explains and illustrates key performance indicators and critical success factors. Introduction Objectives Critical success factors Performance indicators and key performance indicators Performance measures – a practical framework Use of performance indicators in the SBL and APM syllabi Introduction Both Strategic Business Leader (SBL) and Advanced Performance Management (APM) require candidates to be able…
This article focuses on complex business structures, where a core enterprise needs to manage the performance not only of its own activities, but also those of its partners to some extent. Businesses increasingly rely on relationships with external partners to perform critical business processes. Relationships such as outsourcing and collaboration allow business processes to be…
This article considers Toyota’s lean principles that have led to a new approach to management in many industries, with a focus on satisfying the needs of the customer, and not wasting time and money on activities that do not ultimately add value to the customer. History of Lean The term lean was first used by…
The design of performance reports is regularly examined in the Advanced Performance Management (APM) exam. This article aims to provide guidance on how to tackle this type of question. Examples of recent exam questions: December 2018, Q1(a): Evaluate the performance reporting system as requested. (13 marks) March/June 2018, Q1(i): Evaluate the performance report in Appendix 1…
Integrated reporting is included in the syllabus of many Strategic Professional exams. This article aims to show how the idea of integrated reporting is relevant to the APM syllabus. Integrated reporting (IR) has been developed and promoted by the International Integrated Reporting Council (IIRC), a global coalition of regulators, investors, companies, standard setters, the accounting…
This article considers the following learning outcome of the Advanced Performance Management syllabus: ‘Advise on the common mistakes and misconceptions in the use of numerical data used for performance measurement’. The APM syllabus contains the learning outcome: ‘Advise on the common mistakes and misconceptions in the use of numerical data used for performance measurement’. The…
This article describes performance metrics that are used by internet-based businesses and, in particular, looks at some of the metrics available in Google Analytics, the most widely used analytics tools for website traffic. We are living through the digital revolution where the traditional business landscape is being pushed aside by internet based companies. Large well…
Big Data refers to the large collections of data that may be analysed to reveal patterns, trends and associations, especially relating to human behaviour and interactions. This article will describe some real life examples of the use of Big Data for performance management and measurement purposes. Performance management involves managing the organisation in order to…
Big data is now part of the Advanced Performance Management syllabus. But what exactly is big data? Discuss the development of big data and its impact on performance measurement and management, including the risks and challenges it presents. Development of big data There are many definitions of the term ‘big data’ but most suggest something…
Following on from ‘Developments in IT and the impact on performance management – part 1’ (see ‘related links’), this article looks at some more recent developments in IT; specifically process automation, artificial intelligence (AI), data visualisation and the internet of things. Process automation Process automation is the concept of processes being performed by machines rather…
The impact of information technology on the work of the management accountant has been an area of discussion since Burns and Scapens published their famous article ‘Accounting change project’ which describes the way the work of the management accountant has changed. This article looks at some important IT developments and discusses how they have impacted…
The article considers how to carefully understand the question requirement with use of selected examples from the past Advanced Performance Management exams The aim of this article is to try to provide an insight into some common problems and misconceptions surrounding the Advanced Performance Management (APM) exam to improve your chances of success. These comments…
The Advanced Performance Management (APM) exam looks at different types of performance management systems which can be employed by organisations. By performance management systems, we include techniques such as budgeting, variance analysis, balanced scorecards and other such techniques used by organisations to manage their performance so they can plan and control their activities better. It also…
This article aims to give clarity on the level of response that is required in an APM answer. It will address a specific past exam question that caused considerable difficulty in the June 2014 session. The article follows on from the first part (see ‘Related links’) giving examples of weak answers, and will discuss two…
This article aims to give a marker’s perspective on the level of response that is required in a APM answer. It will address a specific past exam question that caused considerable difficulty in the June 2014 session. The article will present and discuss two possible poor solutions to this question. Reading through the answer and…
ACCA produces a wealth of resources designed specifically to support candidates sitting the Advanced Performance Management exam. These resources have been developed to address areas which candidates typically find challenging based on a review of previous exam sittings. Here, we help to ensure you don’t make the same mistakes made by candidates in past exams…
Relevant to candidates sitting Advanced Performance Management (APM) from September 2019 An outline of the aim of APM, its structure and how the syllabus is testedThis article begins by considering the syllabus and overall aims of the exam, how it relates to previous exams and the format of the exam. It will then summarise advice…
From September 2019 onwards, the format of the question requirements in Section A of the Advanced Performance Management (APM) exam will change. Throughout this brief article, examples from the APM Specimen exam applicable from September 2019 are used. As can be seen in Figure 1, there will still be a need for candidates to produce a…
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