In my previous post, I had talked about preparation strategies for 2 major components of SCMPE - theory & practical questions. In this post, I am going to cover the most important component - case studies. Read on...
How is a Case Study (CS) different from any other question?
A CS is nothing but a set of facts and issues presented in a story form, followed by a set of questions asking for your recommendations, strategies, evaluations, etc. A normal question in SCMPE usually is crisper and direct, with some numerical data as inputs and expecting you to numerically argue about the correct option or finding variances, costs, etc as per the need of the question. In this respect, a CS question is slightly lengthy to read, more open-ended to answer and may or may involve any numerical computation. More often than not, a CS question is based on the theoretical concepts of the subject, requiring you to apply frameworks, theories and concepts to logically provide certain solutions/strategies/conclusions.
What is being tested in a CS?
The introduction of the New Syllabus has seen the ICAI shift focus on testing the analytical abilities of students. And there can be no better medium to test the analytical skills of a student than to present before him a real-life scenario where the student would be expected to apply his/her learnings and provide logical and meaningful conclusions. Normally, the following aspects would be tested in a CS:
Evaluation of cost management techniques in real-life business situations
Evaluation of performance management techniques in real-life business scenarios
Sharpening & testing skills in solving practical business issues in day-to-day operations
Enhancing the quality of decision-making and facilitating the creation of stakeholder value
Understanding of inter-linkages between cost management, strategic management, financial management and performance management in the context of running an organization successfully
How to approach a CS?
Now that you know what is being tested in a CS in SCMPE, let's see how to approach the preparation for solving CS and scoring good marks. When you are preparing for SCMPE, it is highly advisable that you first complete Modules 1 & 2 - which cover the entire syllabus of SCMPE, before starting studying Module 3 (Case Studies). The reason for this is that the CS cover all topics from the first 2 Modules. As such, it would be counter-productive to read the CS without first understanding the theoretical concepts which form the fundamentals of that particular CS.
The major pointers you need to keep in mind while preparing to tackle CS questions are as follows:
Read the entire CS with a cool, calm head. Keep underlining key facts, issues and points in the story. Keep a separate note of the facts & figures relevant for numerical computations.
Make sure that you understand the requirement of the question and your expectations in the answer clearly. If the question is asking you for some recommendations, you will first have to write the guidelines, link them with the case story, and finally conclude with your recommendations.
The first thing after reading the CS should be to prepare a mental plan on how to go about analyzing the CS and answer the questions which follow. At this stage, you should roughly decide on what models or theories to use and which issues to prioritize as per the requirements of the questions.
The next step would be to identify the possible solutions and alternatives for the each of the issues identified. It would be useful to make a rough bulleted list of all the relevant concepts which need to be touched upon for the solutions/recommendations and the calculations required, if any.
After all this planning is over, now is the time to start answering the questions one by one. Since you would be working under a lot of time crunch during the exam, it is highly advisable to have sufficient written practice beforehand. The objective should be that the above steps for planning on solving the CS come naturally to you and would be completed in not more than 5 mins after having read the entire CS.
Once you start writing, always keep in mind the requirements of the questions and keep referring to that rough list of concepts you had made under Point 4 above. This way, you will be able to ensure a logical flow in your answers.
In trying to get to the conclusion/solution/recommendation, you will have to be aware of providing a detailed analysis of all the issues identified, their impact and the relevant concepts involved. You recommendations need to flow logically with proper justification and explanation. It need not run into pages, but of course, quality matters over quantity.
Remember not to go too over-board on numerical computations. In the exam hall, you will be the best judge on what the question demands and how to approach answering that particular question. It would be advisable not to attach too much importance just to the calculations. The focus should be to write logically, with your calculations only supporting the issues identified or recommendations proposed.
Your recommendations should come right at the end of the discussion. The recommendations or solutions proposed should be logical, keeping in mind the management objectives involved in the given CS. Always try to provide recommendations by visualizing yourself as the CEO of the particular organization mentioned in the CS. The recommendations should include the following 3 important points in order:
What to do?
Why to do it?
How to do it?
Lastly, refrain from introducing any new point or issue in your recommendations. Identification of all the issues and points should have been completed before beginning to write the recommendations section of your answer. This section will only refer to what all has already been written before it.
Best sources for Practice
Undoubtedly, the more you practice, the better you will get at attempting CS and scoring well. Here are some of the best free sources for practice:
The ICAI Study Material has some really good CS questions and a lot of them. This is the best place to start written practice of CS. Try to solve at least 1 CS every day to be in that groove and momentum.
The next source for practice after you have exhausted the ICAI SCMPE Study Material is the Case Study Digest uploaded on the ICAI website. This publication has been recently uploaded on the website and contains some really interesting case studies.
Next come the Revision Test Papers, Mock Test Papers and Past Papers. There have been a few instances already where the entire 20 marks compulsory CS question has come copy-pasted from the ICAI publications - either the Study Material or the RTP.
Lastly, if you still feel short of practice, there are a lot of SCMPE tutors in the market. And you would be the best judge of who has the best material; I have no say here.
Conclusion
A CS can loosely be termed as just an extension of the Strategic Management subject you all have studied in CA Inter. Yes, you need a lot of theoretical backing for solving the CS questions well, but that now largely holds true for all the subjects in CA Final - some more, some less. Getting good marks in a CS will need proper planning on approaching the recommendations or solutions, as I have clearly explained above. But above all, is the need for written practice with a timer - you should effectively try to wrap up a 20-marks CS question in not more than 40 minutes. This itself is a great challenge and it would require a lot of practice to be a master in solving case studies and scoring good marks.
This marks the end of a 2-part series on how to study SCMPE. If you have missed reading the first part, you may refer to my previous post here:
More subject-specific guidance for CA Final:
Thanks for reading:)