Get up to date with KEY information from the Examiner's Report!

One of the best things that I've found you can do when revising for the exam is read the Examiner's report - after all, they will be the ones looking at your exam paper in May! In order to help you get started, we have collected some of the key themes from the February Examiner's Report. The full report is available right here: SCS February 2017 Examiner's Report. We suggest that you read through this yourself very carefully - it could really help you get that pass.

Learning lessons from those who mark and assess the exam themselves could be all the difference between a pass and a fail this May. Every sitting I analyse the report and share the important findings, so students do not make the same mistakes. The examiners often have to repeat themselves on where students are going wrong, which we don't want to happen for the next sitting! With this in mind, here are the top three key themes that I picked out from the latest SCS report..




1. Technical knowledge could be improved

One of the first points made in the exam was about candidates use of technical knowledge:
“It is very clear that candidates are becoming weaker at technical accounting questions and better at management questions which is not ideal."

If you feel like your technical knowledge in these areas is not your forte, now would be the time to brush up on this knowledge. If you are finding some of the information a little tricky to understand, why not post up a query on our Strategic Disqus message board which is available at the end of this page, speak to a fellow student or try a different method of revision. This could be watching a video about the information instead of reading a study text. We are always here to help with technical knowledge, so don't be afraid to ask!

2. Don't forget to study Ethics in your revision!

Unfortunately, the examiner's noted that many candidate's knowledge of Ethics could be improved. This is a comment that comes up quite regularly in the examiner's report:

“There were several weak areas which candidates must improve at in the future. Ethics was one poor area..”

This is a comment that the examiner's often mention in their reports and is a topic that we very much encourage you to study, because it simply comes up so many times in the exam. In fact, in the November exam, Ethics featured in 3 out 5 variants! You simply can't afford to let Ethics pass you by because it could be the difference between passing and failing! In order to help, we have created our very own Ethics pack, which tells you all you need to know.

3. Know exactly what the Examiner is asking.

Another topic the examiner's mentioned was about some candidate's take on the pre-seen and its industry :

“The main problems were candidates failing to answer what was asked and writing everything  they knew on the topic being asked about. There still seems to be a problem with a significant number of  candidates presenting answers which lack sufficient depth and  development."

The February SCS pre-seen was based on the interesting world of reality TV industry. As the industry is relatively well known, with lots of information available, it can be easy to write about everything you know. Even if it is an industry that you are passionate about, it's really important to just focus on what the examiner is asking and structure your answer accordingly. A good way to prepare for this is to make a plan whilst doing a timed mock and making sure that all of your points relate back to the question. 


As already you may have gathered, it is VITAL that you look at what the examiners have found in previous sittings as you can then ensure you have considered these issues before your own exam. I hope that this has helped with your revision, don't forget to give the report a read through yourself, so you are completely up to speed with the examiner's thoughts: SCS February 2017 Examiner's Report.