The Case Study is the last paper of the Professional level. It does not ask what you know. It asks what you can do with what you know, in one written report for a client or an employer. This topic explains what the paper tests, the twelve skills behind its marks and why preparing for it differs from preparing for your other papers.
In 30 seconds
The Case Study tests professional skill, not recall. You receive a pack of exhibits, work out what the client needs, analyse the numbers and the narrative, and write one report with an executive summary and appendices. Marks come from a competency-based assessment (CBA) key, which rewards skills you show. There is no single right answer for the whole report.
Calculations matter, but they form only a small part of the total.
What the paper is for
Chartered accountants are financial and business advisers. Their advantage over lawyers, marketing specialists or human resource advisers is that they can read financial and other business data and explain the underlying issues clearly. The Case Study tests exactly that skill.
By now you have studied the other subjects. This paper checks that you can use them together on complex, connected business issues. You analyse financial and non-financial data, exercise judgement, draw conclusions and make recommendations. Each case is based on a real-life situation and usually centres on a request for advice from a client or from your boss. Marks are given only when you clearly demonstrate these professional skills.
The twelve skills that earn marks
| Stage | What you must show |
|---|---|
| Read the case | Identify business, technical and ethical issues. Apply technical knowledge to those issues. Place the business in its lifecycle (start-up, transition, maturity or decline) and name the issues that stage usually brings. Understand the wider situation. |
| Analyse | Choose suitable tools. Use relevant data, link related facts and generate new ideas. Build analysis from financial and non-financial data. Apply professional scepticism and show ethical awareness. |
| Conclude and communicate | Judge the outcome of your analysis clearly. State conclusions and any reservations. Make recommendations that follow from the analysis. Write a well-structured, tactful and objective report, with an executive summary and suitable appendices, in language the reader understands. |
How the Case Study differs from your other papers
There are three differences: in structure, in preparation and in assessment.
| Feature | Other Professional papers | Case Study |
|---|---|---|
| Output | A compulsory 30-mark scenario question, then three 20-mark questions chosen from five | One report with an executive summary, a few sections and appendices |
| Time | Three hours plus 15 minutes of reading time | Four hours including reading time |
| Preparation | Topic by topic, in the weeks before the paper | A development programme across your whole training, because the skills cannot be built in a few weeks |
| Marking | Marks for knowledge and technique in each question | All marks for skills you demonstrate, against a competency-based key |
| Right answer | Often one | Not for the report as a whole. A single calculation may have one, but calculations are a small part of the total |
Even a well-prepared candidate finds four hours too short to say everything. The challenge is discipline: answer the requirements and give your advice briefly.
Common mistakes
- Treating the paper as a theory test and listing everything you know.
- Leaving preparation to the last few weeks.
- Waiting for a single right answer instead of reaching a reasoned judgement.
- Padding the report with detail the client did not ask for.
- Leaving out ethical issues and professional scepticism.
Quick revision
- Purpose: advise on complex business issues in one written report.
- Twelve skills in three stages: read, analyse, conclude and communicate.
- Marks follow a competency-based key, and there is no single right answer.
- Build the skills across your whole training, not in a few weeks.
Practice questions
These are original questions in the style of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria exam. Try each one before you open the answer.
Question 1. Marks in the Case Study are awarded mainly for:
- Recalling standards from memory
- Demonstrating professional skills
- The number of pages written
- The number of ratios calculated
Show the answer
B. Every mark rewards a professional skill you show in the report.
Question 2. In the four hours you write:
- One report for each requirement
- One report with an executive summary, sections and appendices
- Three short reports
- One report for each exhibit
Show the answer
B. The paper asks for a single report.
Question 3. Which statement is correct?
- All the marks come from calculations
- There is one right answer for the whole report
- Marks go to skills shown, and a single calculation may have a right answer
- Preparation can wait until the last month
Show the answer
C. Calculations form only a small part of the total, and the report as a whole has no single right answer.
Question 4 (6 marks). Explain three ways in which the Case Study differs from your other Professional papers.
Model answer
Show the model answer to Question 4
1. Structure. You write one report, with an executive summary, a few sections and appendices, in four hours. Other papers have separate questions. (2 marks)
2. Preparation. The skills come from professional experience and cannot be built in a few weeks, so you need a development programme across your training. (2 marks)
3. Assessment. A competency-based key awards all marks for skills you demonstrate. There is no single right answer for the report, and calculations are only a small part. (2 marks)
The next topic covers the four-hour paper, the case pack and a time plan.
Pathfinder on What the Case Study paper tests and how it differs from other papers
These are the ICAN Pathfinder questions that test this topic. ICAN owns the questions and the suggested solutions, so we point you to them and do not copy them. Open your Pathfinder, attempt each question under exam conditions, then check your answer against the notes above.
Each case asks for one report to a named reader, with two requirements and appendices. Notice how every pack mixes emails, financial statements and industry data.
Revise first: How the Case Study differs from your other papers
The examiner’s report records that very few candidates scored 50% and that the case needed both a report and two appendices. See how the twelve skills decide the marks.
Revise first: The twelve skills that earn marks
Source: ICAN Pathfinder, Case Study. Diets covered: November 2014, May 2015, November 2015, May 2016 and the Sadeco Cocoa Processing Limited case.
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