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Why Conclusions Matter at ACCA Strategic Level

Georgina Roberts

In Conclusion...

Youre nearing the end of the exam, you only have 5 minutes left: What should you do?
Many students run out of time and literally end the sentence they're on. This isn't the right approach.
Your conclusion is where you can secure your pass or fail.

End With Impact

A conclusion is the last thing an examiner is going to read of your answer. It should leave them with a clear overview of your thinking. It should hit with impact.

If you leave the examiner with any doubts about your response such as -  Did they address the requirement fully? Did they cover the key points I’m looking for according to my marking guide? - then they’re job just became a whole lot harder. 
You want to leave the examiner confidently handing out the marks to you, not having to dig around your answer trying to scrape together the total - they just don’t have time for this and a lack of confidence in your answer will likely mean a lack of marks.

What Our Marking Reveals

We're seeing some common threads running through the marking we're doing every day in the build-up to the exams at acowtancy.com. Here's what we're seeing:

  1. No conclusion at all, just an abrupt end. Timing issues.

  2. Weak conclusions.

  3. No referencing to the wording of the requirement.

  4. No recommendations offered in the conclusion.

  5. No lasting impact.

What You Can Do To Boost Your Conclusion

Even if you realise you’ve got two minutes left, look back at the requirement and look back at your introduction. 
Do you immediately address the question being asked? 
Read the opening line of each of your answer sections. Are you still meeting the requirement all the way through?
If all of this is on track, it’s now time to conclude with impact.

The 2 Sentence Conclusion

You can effectively write 2 vital sentences as an impactful conclusion:

  1. Sentence 1: Try to mirror the phrases from the requirement such as: ’In this report I have evaluated XYZ’ or ‘ This briefing note has set  out XYZ for the Board’s consideration’.

  2. Sentence 2: If you are asked to make a recommendation, your second sentence can be just that:  
    ‘In my opinion as Auditor/Accountant/Strategic Business Leader, as I have proven in this report/note/evaluation/presentation, I would recommend that XYZ should now be addressed and considered, and implemented by means of XX’

The ACCA examiner is left feeling confident in your response; you’ve summarised; you’ve reminded them that you’ve addressed the requirement and you’ve also given you opinion or judgement and recommendation. Job done!

Key Takeaways

Write your conclusion with conviction. 
Keep it precise, but remind the examiner that you’ve done exactly what was required of you in the question.
Make a lasting impact.

As you practise your exam answers this weekend, be conscious of writing your conclusions.

We hope to see many more of your impactful conclusions in our Ultra marking hub!

Best of luck for ACCA Exams next week! :)