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ACCA AFM Professional Skills Guide

The document discusses the professional skills marks for the ACCA AFM exam. It states that 20 of the 100 total marks will cover professional skills like communication, analysis, skepticism, and commercial acumen. Section A will have 10 marks for skills and Section B will have 5 marks. Communication skills involve using an appropriate format and tone for the intended audience. Analysis and evaluation require logically interpreting information and processing it systematically. Skepticism means taking a questioning approach and diplomatically challenging views. Commercial acumen demonstrates awareness of internal/external factors affecting an organization.

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Bisma Asif
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368 views2 pages

ACCA AFM Professional Skills Guide

The document discusses the professional skills marks for the ACCA AFM exam. It states that 20 of the 100 total marks will cover professional skills like communication, analysis, skepticism, and commercial acumen. Section A will have 10 marks for skills and Section B will have 5 marks. Communication skills involve using an appropriate format and tone for the intended audience. Analysis and evaluation require logically interpreting information and processing it systematically. Skepticism means taking a questioning approach and diplomatically challenging views. Commercial acumen demonstrates awareness of internal/external factors affecting an organization.

Uploaded by

Bisma Asif
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

ACCA AFM PROFESSIONAL MARKS

 There will be 20 professional skills marks out of 100 covering following professional skills:
o Communication
o Analysis and evaluation
o Scepticism
o Commercial Acumen
 Distribution:
o Section A:
 All four professional skills will be examined
 The 50 marks will comprise of 40 technical marks and 10 professional skills marks
o Section B:
 Each question will contain a minimum of two professional skills from:
 Analysis and evaluation
 Scepticism
 Commercial Acumen
 The 25 marks will comprise of 20 technical marks and 5 professional skills marks
 How Professional skills are assessed:
o Communication:
 The style of communication should always be determined by intended audience:
 Client
 Supplier
 Senior management
 The style includes:
 Tone
 Familiarity
 Level of detail included
 Use appropriate format
 Inform audience in clear and persuasive manner
 Section A will ask for a report. This report should have:
 Introduction
 Appropriate headings and sub-headings
 Calculations should be separated off into an appendix in the spreadsheet
response area
 Make use of spreadsheet functionality
 Conclusion
 Adherence to any specific instructions in the given scenario
 Points must be logical and progressive
 Avoid repetition

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ACCA AFM PROFESSIONAL MARKS
o Analysis and evaluation:
 It is logical interpretation of information and then processing it systematically
 Evaluation should always follow any analysis that have been performed
 Identifying where data appears to be omitted or where further analysis is needed
to make a recommendation is also important
 Estimating future trends and making sensible forecasts of the implications of
decisions which the organisation is making
 Ask questions such as:
 What do the final calculations suggest?
 Are there any financial factors not included in the calculations which could
be relevant for decision making?
 Are there any significant non-financial factors that need to be considered?
 Marks are awarded for sensible analysis supported by relevant calculations
 Think of following areas while evaluating a proposal:
 What information is available in the scenario?
 Use numerical information provided to perform calculations to form the
basis of your analysis
 What information actually means and its impact on the organisation
 Cover both advantages and disadvantages
 Conclude or recommend
o Scepticism:
 Have a questioning approach
 To demonstrate effective scepticism, show a combination of:
 Probing
 Questioning
 Challenge within the subject matter
 Do the projections given seem realistic?
 Possibility of over-optimism in figures
 Don’t accuse about bias as this approach will lack professionalism
 Appropriate to recognise possibility of bias or self-interest
 Challenge view diplomatically rather than directly
 Also, don’t consider that everything provided in the question is incorrect
o Commercial acumen:
 Show awareness of both the internal and external environments which can affect
the organisation, including any constraints and opportunities
 Business awareness
 Consider validity and reasonableness of any assumptions made
 Consider the nature and size of the entity under consideration and whether the
suggestion being provided is appropriate for the business

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