ACCA P3 - Business Analysis - Study Text 2013

626 Pages·2012·9.18 MB·English

by  BPP Learning Media

ACCA Platinum Text IFC & IBC 2011 (for DIGITAL prints)_Layout 1 13/10/2011 12:28 Page 1
Maximise Your Exam Success with BPP Learning Media’s
Platinum Approved Materials
LEARN
Our Study Texts are the only Texts that have been reviewed by the examiner. This ensures that our coverage of the
syllabus is appropriate for your exam. By choosing our Platinum Approved Study Text you are one step nearer to
achieving the exam success you deserve.
PRACTISE AND APPLY
Our Practice & Revision Kits are the only Kits that have been reviewed by the examiner. Use our Kits and our i-Pass
CD-ROMs to reinforce and apply your knowledge. Kits are packed with past ACCA exam questions together with
full solutions and handy tutor’s hints.
i-Pass contains approximately 300 questions, covering all important syllabus areas.
REVISE AND RETAIN
Revise using our pocket-sized Passcards and then listen to our audio Success CD to give your revision a boost.
Our Interactive Passcards product takes the Passcards, adds additional tutorials, comments and lots of testing and links
them to the Study Text. The result is a truly interactive revision experience. Revise using the on-screen Passcards and
dip into the on-screen Study Text for more detail.
BPP LEARNING MEDIA CUSTOMER SERVICES
Tel: [phone] (UK) Email: [email protected]
Tel: [phone] (Overseas) Website: www.bpp.com/learningmedia
To help maximise your chances of passing, we’ve put together
some exclusive additional ACCA resources. To access the BPP
ACCA online additional resourcesfor this material please go to:
http://accaresources.bpp.com/student
n Create a user account if you don’t already have one.
Make sure you reply to the confirmation email.
n Log in using your registered username and password.
Select the paper you wish to access.
n Enter the codebelowwhen prompted. You will only have
to do this once for each paper you are studying.
S
T
U
D
Y

PAPER P3 T
E
X
BUSINESS ANALYSIS
T
BPP Learning Media is the sole ACCA Platinum Approved Learning Partner – content
for the ACCA qualification. In this, the only Paper P3 Study Text to be reviewed by
the examiner:
 We discuss the best strategies for studying for ACCA exams
 We highlight the most important elements in the syllabus and the key skills you will need
 We signpost how each chapter links to the syllabus and the study guide
 We provide lots of exam focus points demonstrating what the examiner will want you to do
 We emphasise key points in regular fast forward summaries
 We test your knowledge of what you've studied in quick quizzes
 We examine your understanding in our exam question bank
 We reference all the important topics in our full index
BPP's Practice & Revision Kit, i-Pass and Interactive Passcard products also
support this paper.
FOR EXAMS UP TO JUNE 2014
First edition 2007 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be
Sixth edition September 2012 reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in
any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical,
ISBN 9781 4453 9655 2
photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior
(Previous ISBN 9781 4453 7769 8)
written permission of BPP Learning Media Ltd.
eISBN 9781 4453 9215 8
We are grateful to the Association of Chartered Certified
Accountants for permission to reproduce past
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
examination questions. The suggested solutions in the
A catalogue record for this book exam answer bank have been prepared by BPP Learning
is available from the British Library Media Ltd, unless otherwise stated.
Published by
.
BPP Learning Media Ltd
BPP House, Aldine Place
London W12 8AA
www.bpp.com/learningmedia
Printed in the United Kingdom by
Ricoh
Ricoh House
Ullswater Crescent
Coulsdon
CR5 2HR

Your learning materials, published by BPP Learning
Media Ltd, are printed on paper obtained from
traceable sustainable sources.

©
BPP Learning Media Ltd
2012
ii
Contents
Page
Introduction
Helping you to pass – the ONLY P3 Study Text reviewed by the examiner! v
Studying P3 vii
The exam paper xiii
Part A Strategic position
1 Business strategy 3
2 Environmental issues 21
3 Competitors and customers 61
4 Strategic capability 87
5 Stakeholders, ethics and culture 121
Part B Strategic choices
6 Strategic choices 153
Part C Organising and enabling success
7 Organising for success 211
8 Managing strategic change 241

Part D Business process change
9 Business process change 261
10 Improving processes 281
Part E Information technology
11 E-business 307
12 E-marketing 343
Part F Project management
13 Project management 387
Part G Finance
14 Finance 451
Part H People
15 Human resource management 499
Part I Strategic development
16 Strategic development 521

Exam question bank 537
Exam answer bank 551
Index 583
Review form
Contents i ii
A note about copyright

Dear Customer

What does the little © mean and why does it matter?

Your market-leading BPP books, course materials and elearning materials do not write and update
themselves. People write them: on their own behalf or as employees of an organisation that invests in this
activity. Copyright law protects their livelihoods. It does so by creating rights over the use of the content.

Breach of copyright is a form of theft – as well being a criminal offence in some jurisdictions, it is
potentially a serious breach of professional ethics.

With current technology, things might seem a bit hazy but, basically, without the express permission of
BPP Learning Media:
 Photocopying our materials is a breach of copyright
 Scanning, ripcasting or conversion of our digital materials into different file formats, uploading them
to facebook or emailing them to your friends is a breach of copyright

You can, of course, sell your books, in the form in which you have bought them – once you have finished
with them. (Is this fair to your fellow students? We update for a reason.) But the e-products are sold on a
single user licence basis: we do not supply ‘unlock’ codes to people who have bought them second hand.

And what about outside the UK? BPP Learning Media strives to make our materials available at prices
students can afford by local printing arrangements, pricing policies and partnerships which are clearly
listed on our website. A tiny minority ignore this and indulge in criminal activity by illegally photocopying
our material or supporting organisations that do. If they act illegally and unethically in one area, can you
really trust them?

iv
Helping you to pass – the ONLY P3 Study Text reviewed
by the examiner!
BPP Learning Media – the sole Platinum
Approved Learning Partner - content
As ACCA’s sole Platinum Approved Learning Partner – content, BPP Learning Media gives you the
unique opportunity to use examiner-reviewed study materials for the 2013 exams. By incorporating the
examiner’s comments and suggestions regarding the depth and breadth of syllabus coverage, the BPP
Learning Media Study Text provides excellent, ACCA-approved support for your studies.
The PER alert
Before you can qualify as an ACCA member, you do not only have to pass all your exams but also fulfil a
three year practical experience requirement (PER). To help you to recognise areas of the syllabus that
you might be able to apply in the workplace to achieve different performance objectives, we have
introduced the ‘PER alert’ feature. You will find this feature throughout the Study Text to remind you that
what you are learning to pass your ACCA exams is equally useful to the fulfilment of the PER
requirement.
Your achievement of the PER should now be recorded in your on-line My Experience record.
Tackling studying
Studying can be a daunting prospect, particularly when you have lots of other commitments. The different
features of the text, the purposes of which are explained fully on the Chapter features page, will help you
whilst studying and improve your chances of exam success.
Developing exam awareness
Our Texts are completely focused on helping you pass your exam.
Our advice on Studying P3 outlines the content of the paper, the necessary skills the examiner expects
you to demonstrate and any brought forward knowledge you are expected to have.
Exam focus points are included within the chapters to highlight when and how specific topics were
examined, or how they might be examined in the future.
Using the Syllabus and Study Guide
You can find the syllabus and Study Guide on page (xiv) of this Study Text
Testing what you can do
Testing yourself helps you develop the skills you need to pass the exam and also confirms that you can
recall what you have learnt.
We include Questions – lots of them - both within chapters and in the Exam Question Bank, as well as
Quick Quizzes at the end of each chapter to test your knowledge of the chapter content.

Introduction v
Chapter features
Each chapter contains a number of helpful features to guide you through each topic.
Topic list
What you will be studying in this chapter and the relevant
Topic list Syllabus reference
section numbers, together with the ACCA syllabus

references.

Puts the chapter content in the context of the syllabus as
Introduction
a whole.
Study Guide
Links the chapter content with ACCA guidance.
Highlights how examinable the chapter content is likely to
Exam Guide
be and the ways in which it could be examined.
What you are assumed to know from previous
Knowledge brought forward from earlier studies
studies/exams.
Summarises the content of main chapter headings,
FAST FORWARD
allowing you to preview and review each section easily.
Demonstrate how to apply key knowledge and
Examples
techniques.
Definitions of important concepts that can often earn you
Key terms
easy marks in exams.
When and how specific topics were examined, or how
Exam focus points
they may be examined in the future.
Formulae that are not given in the exam but which have to
Formula to learn
be learnt.
Gives you a useful indication of syllabus areas that
closely relate to performance objectives in your Practical

Experience Requirement (PER).

Gives you essential practice of techniques covered in the
Question
chapter.

Case Study Real world examples of theories and techniques.

Chapter Roundup A full list of the Fast Forwards included in the chapter,
providing an easy source of review.

A quick test of your knowledge of the main topics in the
Quick Quiz
chapter.

Found at the back of the Study Text with more
Exam Question Bank
comprehensive chapter questions. Cross referenced for
easy navigation.

vi Introduction
Studying P3
Much of the P3 exam is concerned with business strategy. As a Chartered Certified Accountant you are
likely to find yourself dealing with matters that are of strategic importance to your organisation. It is
important, therefore, that you have an understanding of the way business strategy is conducted so that
your input is appropriate and properly considered.
However, the name of P3 is Business Analysis, not Business Strategy. Business Analysis is wider than
simply strategy and this paper will also draw from your financial and business skills gained during your
studies so far. It brings these concepts together and encourages you to take a wider view of the
organisations you are presented with in order to give your analysis of those organisations as a whole.
The P3 examiner
The examiner for this paper is Steve Skidmore, a very experienced examiner. He expects you to
demonstrate a highly professional approach to all questions – not just presenting information in a
professional manner, but also integrating knowledge and understanding of topics from across the
syllabus.
The nature of business analysis means that this exam is not simply about models and procedures which
can be learnt by heart, but about applying those theories to practical problems to generate sensible
suggestions and conclusions. In this respect, P3 is a very practical exam. The examiner is very keen for
students to demonstrate that they can apply their knowledge to the scenarios described in the questions.
There are relatively few marks available for simply describing theory.
Note the examiner’s comments from his review of candidates’ performance in the June 2008 exam:
‘Many candidates had a problem applying the theoretical knowledge they had learned to the context of the
scenario. At this level, there are relatively few marks available for describing a model. The vast majority of
the marks are for [recognising and applying the model] in the context of the case study scenario. Many of
the answers seemed to suggest that candidates had very little practice in the application of models.’
Syllabus update
The P3 syllabus has been updated for the June 2013 sitting onwards. The full syllabus and study guide
can be found in this Study Text on pages (xiv) to (xxvii). The main changes are the inclusion of a new
learning objective on full costing, and a change to the running order of this Study Text in order to bring it
in line with the syllabus and study guide.
This follows a significant update which has been in effect since June 2011. The changes to the P3 syllabus
made at that time is given below:

Introduction v ii
– Building the business case
viii Introduction