CFAP 04

BUSINESS FINANCE DECISIONS

Exam Date: Dec 7th, 2021

MUHAMMAD SAMIE ACA MBA APFA

EXAM FOCUSED SESSION

(Winter 2021)

INSTITUTE OF CHARTERED ACCOUNTANTS OF PAKISTAN (ICAP)

 AGENDA ITEMS

1. BFD Syllabus grid review - testing weightage and compliance by examiner

2. Past Paper Trend Analysis
3. Analysis of recent two past papers (from format perspective)
4. Dos and Don’ts of BFD
◦ Pre-Exam
◦ During exam (3 hours & 15 minutes)
5. Discussion on Selected Past Papers

BUSINESS FINANCE DECISIONS MUHAMMAD SAMIE

 BFD SYLLABUS GRID

PART - A INVESTMENT APPRAISAL & DECISION MAKING 40 - 60

PART - B VALUATION 15 - 20
PART - C RISK MANAGEMENT 15 - 20
PART - D MANAGEMENT CONTROLS 10 - 20

BUSINESS FINANCE DECISIONS MUHAMMAD SAMIE

 BFD SYLLABUS GRID (cont’d)
W-18 S-19

Syllabus Weightage Syllabus Weightage

Description Description
Weightage in paper Weightage in paper
Investment Appraisal & Decision Making (Q3, Q5) 40-60 21 + 16 = 37 Investment Appraisal & Decision Making (Q2, Q5) 40-60 23 + 22 = 45
Valuation (Q1) 15-20 23 Valuation (Q1) 15-20 24
Risk Management (Q2) 15-20 17 Risk Management (Q4) 15-20 15
Management Controls (Q4) 10-20 23 Management Controls (Q3) 10-20 16

W-19 W-20
Syllabus Weightage Syllabus Weightage
Description Description
Weightage in paper Weightage in paper
Investment Appraisal & Decision Making (Q3, Q5) 40-60 25 + 17 = 42 Investment Appraisal & Decision Making (Q1, Q2) 40-60 22 + 20 = 42
Valuation (Q2) 15-20 23 Valuation (Q3) 15-20 20
Risk Management (Q4) 15-20 16 Risk Management (Q4) 15-20 18
Management Controls (Q1) 10-20 19 Management Controls (Q5) 10-20 20

S-21
WEIGHTAGE WEIGHTAGE
DESCRIPTION
(SYLLABUS GRID) (S-21 PAPER)
Investment Appraisal & Decision Making (Q1, Q4) 40-60 19 + 21 = 40
Valuation (Q5) 15-20 25
Risk Management (Q3) 15-20 17
Management Controls (Q2) 10-20 18

BUSINESS FINANCE DECISIONS MUHAMMAD SAMIE

 Past Paper Trend Analysis
Sr. No. Parts / Topics W-16 S-17 W-17 S-18 W-18 S-19 W-19 W-20 S-21
INVESTMENT APPRAISAL & DECISION MAKING (40 - 60) 46 41 48 41 37 45 42 42 40
Local Investment Appraisal 26 27 - 25 - 23 25 20 -
Asset Replacement Policy - - - - - - - - -
Capital Rationing 20 - - - 16 - - - -
Lease vs. Loan Option; Rental Models - - - - - - - - -
A Portfolio Management - - - 16 - - 17 - -
Cost of Capital - - 24 - - 22 - 22 -
Adjusted Present Value - - - - 21 - - - -
International Investment Appraisal - - 24 - - - - - 21
Short Term Decision Making - - - - - - - - 19
Risk & Uncertainty - 14 - - - - - - -
B VALUATION (15 - 20) 20 17 18 25 23 24 23 20 25
RISK MANAGEMENT (15 - 20) 17 17 19 15 17 15 16 18 17
C Currency Rate Risk Management - 12 19 15 6 10 16 18 -
Interest Rate Risk Management 17 5 - - 11 5 - - 17
MANAGEMENT CONTROLS (10 - 20) 17 25 15 19 23 16 19 20 18
Working Capital Management - - 15 - - 16 19 - -
D Transfer Pricing - 25 - - 23 - - - -
Forecasting & Budgeting - - - - - - - - 18
Standard Costing & Variance Analysis 17 - - 19 - - - 20 -
100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100

BUSINESS FINANCE DECISIONS MUHAMMAD SAMIE

 ANALYSIS OF RECENT 2 PAST PAPERS
Question 01 Question 02 Question 03 Question 04 Question 05
(b) (b) (a) (a), (b) 0 MARKS
01 MARK 06 MARKS 06 MARKS 04 MARKS
04 MARKS

Summer - 21 21 MARKS THEORETICAL DISCUSSION

BUSINESS FINANCE DECISIONS MUHAMMAD SAMIE

 ANALYSIS OF RECENT 2 PAST PAPERS (cont’d)

Question 01 Question 02 Question 03 Question 04 Question 05

(b), (c), (d) (b) (b) (b) (c)
(3), (3), (5) 08 MARKS 05 MARKS 07 MARKS 05 MARKS
11 MARKS

Winter - 20 36 MARKS THEORETICAL DISCUSSION

BUSINESS FINANCE DECISIONS MUHAMMAD SAMIE

 Dos & Don’ts of BFD
Pre-exam

 Key ingredients: Conceptual strength; ability to read, comprehend and plan;

decent past paper practice (Each subject needs customized focus and attention)
 Practice to polish your concepts – IT IS MUST
 Building Concepts from solutions of questions – A Big NO
 Time Management – Attempt at least 2 or 3 complete papers
 Repeating/Re-solving the same past papers again and again?
 For those who are re-appearing in BFD - Channel your energies on your problem
areas
 One Day Before Exam

BUSINESS FINANCE DECISIONS MUHAMMAD SAMIE

 Dos & Don’ts of BFD
During exam (3 hours & 15 minutes)

 How to handle first 15 minutes?

 The art of time management
 Evaluate each question after time lapse
 Don’t try to be perfectionist in every question at the expense of allocated time
(Mentioned in Latest BFD examiner’s comments as well)

 Avoid the pressure of inability to solve 100% - But target for 100%
 Begin by reading the requirement – (Destination gets cleared & data mining gets focused)
 Invest time in reading the question (This investment is better than beginning with hurry)
 Start with Solution Plan OR Working?
 Get ready for newness in the paper

BUSINESS FINANCE DECISIONS MUHAMMAD SAMIE

 Discussion on Selected Past Papers

BUSINESS FINANCE DECISIONS MUHAMMAD SAMIE

THANK YOU