ICAN
CASE STUDY: STYLE AND CONTENT OF APPENDIX
This
second box has little to do with the requirements of the case. So, this is
another opportunity to score 5 marks.
Remember,
you only need to score 4 points in a box
to score 5 marks.
Here’s
an analysis of past marking boxes for this requirement:
ICAN STUDY PACK
•Logical approach
and numbers clearly
derived
• Well-presented
and labelled
• Calculates
[contribution] for next 2 years /
SWOT
• Flexes critical
material assumption.
|
ICAN NOVEMBER 2014
• Logical approach
and numbers clearly derived
•Well presented and
labeled
•Calculates individual/total product contribution
•Present SWOT table
|
ICAN MAY 2015
• Logical approach and numbers clearly
derived.
• Analysis of changes in IAML’s financials
for 2013 and 2014.
• Well presented ratios analysis
• Calculates financial liability balance for
IAML
• Calculates Investment property balance
for IAML
|
ICAN NOVEMBER 2015
• Logical approach and numbers clearly
derived.
• Analysis
of changes in
MNC’s
financials for 2013
and 2014.
• Well presented ratios analysis
• Shows detailed contribution analysis
of MNC‟s call
centre operations
• Shows the determination of limiting
factor
|
Notes
1.
Logical approach and numbers
clearly-derived
This means that you should show
your calculations clearly. This point
has appeared in all the exams to date and it is also included in the study
pack. This is a very easy mark.
2.
Well-presented and labeled
This means that your calculations
should be neat and properly-labelled. This also appeared on all the marking
guides. It was called “well-presented analysis” in the last two years.
This is a cheap mark because making your
calculations neat and labeling them properly is very important in any
Accounting exam.
3.
Requirement
If you do what the requirement
says, you are likely to score another point. For example, a mark was given for showing
the determination of limiting factor in Nov 2015, for calculating total
contribution (NOV 2014), and 2 points were given for calculating the investment
property and financial liability balances (MAY 2015).
Note, they did not say that you
must calculate the figures accurately. Just calculate them. The lesson to be
learnt is that you should not waste time on any calculation.
4.
Analysis of changes in financials
I discussed this in the last
post. This point is always on the marking guide for the appendix. Immediately
you enter the exam, analyse the statement of financial position and income
statement in your appendix. Make sure you leave sufficient space for your main
report.
AGAIN, they did not say you
should analyse the financial statements accurately, just analyse them. Even though
you make a mistake, you will still get your mark.
For example, to analyse the
income statement, copy and paste it to your appendix. Then, compute the
absolute and percentage changes in the figures. You do the same for the SOFP.
The table below illustrates this:
2014
|
2015
|
Absolute
change
|
%change
|
|
N’m
|
N’m
|
N’m
|
%
|
|
Turnover
|
1
|
2
|
1
|
100
|
Absolute Change= Year 2
figure-Year 1 figure
Percentage Change= Absolute
Change/Year1 figure
5.
Model
There’s always a mark for drawing
the model required in the appendix. For example, a SWOT diagram was required in
Nov 2014 because they asked the students to use SWOT.
In MAY 2015, they asked the
students to use Value Chain, so, the students had to draw the diagram in the
appendix. The point was included in the other appendix box.
In November 2014, it was the
Balanced Scorecard. The point was included in the other appendix box.
So, to cut the long story short,
try to learn the diagrams for all the relevant models.
6.