ACCA F9 Financial Management

Nature of the ACCA F9  paper

ACCA F9 Paper – Financial Management – is concerned with managing the finances of a business. Some topics were introduced in Paper F2, particularly discounted cash flow and inventory control. These, and other new topics, are examined at a higher level.

Structure of the ACCA F9 paper

There are two sections to the exam:
Section A comprises 20 multiple choice questions of 2 marks each;
Section B comprises three 10 mark questions and two 15 mark questions.
The two 15 mark questions will come from working capital management, investment appraisal, and business finance areas of the syllabus. The Section A questions and the other questions in Section B can cover any areas of the syllabus.
There are three hours for the exam, plus 15 minutes of reading time.
Approximately 50% of the marks will be for calculations and approximately 50% will be written.

Emphasis of the ACCA F9 exam

Although most of the arithmetic involved is not difficult in itself, the calculation parts of questions are designed to check that you understand the techniques, and can decide what information is relevant, rather than checking that you have just learned rules.
For the written parts of questions there are several financial management theories that can be examined, but many of them are again checking that you understand the techniques and their assumptions and limitations.