Detailed syllabus
A Role and responsibility towards stakeholders
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The role and responsibility of senior financial executive/advisor
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Financial strategy formulation
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Conflicting stakeholder interests
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Ethical issues in financial management
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Environmental issues and integrated reporting
B Economic environment for multinational organisations
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Management of international trade and finance
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Strategic business and financial planning for multinational organisations
C Advanced investment appraisal
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Discounted cash flow techniques
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Application of option pricing theory in investment decisions
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Impact of financing on investment decisions and adjusted present values
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Valuation and the use of free cash flows
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International investment and financing decisions
D Acquisitions and mergers
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Acquisitions and mergers versus other growth strategies
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Valuation for acquisitions and mergers
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Regulatory framework and processes
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Financing acquisitions and mergers
E Corporate reconstruction and re-organisation
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Financial reconstruction
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Business re-organisation
F Treasury and advanced risk management techniques
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The role of the treasury function in multinationals
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The use of financial derivatives to hedge against forex risk
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The use of financial derivatives to hedge against interest rate risk
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Dividend policy in multinationals and transfer pricing
G Emerging issues in finance and financial management
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Developments in world financial markets
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Developments in international trade and finance
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Developments in Islamic financing
Approach to examining the syllabus
The P4, Advanced Financial Management, paper builds upon the skills and knowledge examined in the F9, Financial Management, paper. At this stage candidates will be expected to demonstrate an integrated knowledge of the subject and an ability to relate their technical understanding of the subject to issues of strategic importance to the organisation.
The study guide specifies the wide range of contextual understanding that is required to achieve a satisfactory standard at this level.
Examination Structure
The examination will be a three-hour paper in two sections:
Section A:
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Section A will contain a compulsory question, comprising of 50 marks. Section A will normally cover significant issues relevant to the senior financial manager or advisor and will be set in the form of a case study or scenario. The requirements of the section A question are such that candidates will be expected to show a comprehensive understanding of issues from across the syllabus. The question will contain a mix of computational and discursive elements. Within this question candidates will be expected to provide answers in a specified form such as a short report or board memorandum commensurate with the professional level of the paper in part or whole of the question.
Section B:
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In section B candidates will be asked to answer two from three questions, comprising of 25 marks each. Section B questions are designed to provide a more focused test of the syllabus. Questions will normally contain a mix of computational and discursive elements, but may also be wholly discursive or evaluative where computations are already provided.
Total 100 marks