Skip to main content
Loading Explore guides…
CIMA MCS Cartn Pre-seen Analysis · Acedra
Home
Explore
Business
CIMA MCS Cartn Pre-seen Analysis
Sign in to save
Chat
If YouTube asks you to sign in, open the video on YouTube.
Watch on YouTube
Reload player
Transcript
119 segments
Copy
Hide video
0:00
The CIMA MCS pre-seen for May August 2026 is out. And if you're sitting this exam, this video is exactly where you need to start. We're talking about Cartn, a global food and beverage packaging manufacturer with 27 factories, 23,000 employees, and 1.2 billion age dollars in revenue. They make the cartons your milk comes in and the tops your ice cream sits in. but they also a consultancy business and the dual model is the heart of every exam trigger in this sitting.
0:36
Now if this is your first CIMA case study then welcome. MCS is also known as the gateway exam. So what are we going to cover in this video? We will kick off with Nisha our expert MCS tutor who will walk you through the Cartn company background who they are how the two divisions work together and the financials and what they really are telling us. Then we cover your role as a finance manager
1:01
and the core competencies you'll be tested on. Of course, that will be based on the 2026 CIMA blueprint. After that, a clear breakdown of how the MCS exam is actually structured. And then we finish with two most cross-pillar exam topics you need to know. acquisitions, which touches F2, P2, and E2 all at once, and performance management, where Cartn's consultant is head over, tells a very specific story. 1 hour of free content. Grab a coffee, get your notes ready, and let's go.
1:42
Welcome to the management case study pre-seen analysis for your May and August 2026 case study session. So the company or the hypothetical company may I say is Cartn group and we operate within the food packaging industry. Now if you look at this document or the pre-seen you're given in your exam, you are simulating the role of a finance manager within Cartn's head office based in Harlem which we will discuss in the introduction. So you report to Elizabeth Manda
2:24
the senior finance manager. Now your answers need to reflect the fact that you're in the management level and you are a management. So if you look at some of the colors the labels you would see as we go through this document you will notice green theory areas relating to P2 theory areas relating to F2 will be in blue and theory areas relating to E2 will be in purple. Then if something is in red,
2:58
that means it's a critical pre-seen area, a high priority exam area. If you see something with a gold observation with this mark, you could see that this is a deep analytical inside. So this will determine between passing the exam and getting a good pass. So basically a good score to get a good mark. So you can pass the exam with 81 out of 150 or you can pass the exam with we'll say
3:32
maybe even over 100 out of 150 that is considered a good score. So we of course want to work towards a good pass mark because that will help you definitely get through the exam confidently. So these are critical areas we need to pay attention towards. Now remember in your management case study there is no calculations but instead you need to interpret, you need to explain, you need to draft, you need to advise. So now let's jump in to the real meat of the pre-seen.
4:11
So first let's talk about the introduction. So this is the introduction part of your pre-seen. So what is the company? What is your role? and what's the context in which you are operating within the company. So the pre-seen establishes this for us. So the company is Cartn they provide food packaging solutions but of course there are two divisions of the company. One is the manufacturing division that of course manufactures these food packaging solutions and second is
4:49
the consulting aspect. the aspect to consult how maybe food companies consult to set up their food packaging facilities for them. So the two revenue streams are very different if you look at it right one is a manufacturing aspect one is a little bit of a service. So you need to understand how this difference will have an impact and how our service offering needs to offer certain quality aspects
5:26
when it comes to consultancy. So of course the industry we serve is the food industry including beverages. So the key point here is our key customers. Therefore, we don't serve in customers rather our customers are other businesses. So, when it comes to B2B customer relationships, quality becomes paramount because if we don't offer something of quality, that is going to affect them. They want clear contract terms, clear prices, discounts and also we need to foster close
6:03
relationships with them because they are likely to purchase. They're not buying one or two packages. They buy in bulk and it's a continuous relationship. So basically we offer packaging materials designed to meet the manufacturer's specific needs. So there is a little bit of tailoring in here which is very important. So we need to tailor based on what they want maybe the what should be in the packaging etc. Additional services we support in design and install in the
6:42
packaging facilities in their manufacturing in their manufacturing facility. So it's basically a consultancy based aspect. So it's relating to we take it on as a project. So therefore different revenue aspects will also apply. Maybe different stages of revenue recognition will be applicable in comparison just to manufacturing. In terms of our scale as a company, Cartn is one of the world's largest manufacturers. So that means we are a key global player. We probably are
7:23
a key global player. Probably we have economies of scale, global operations. So we are not just a local company just based in Harlem but we are a multinational group. So aspects such as IAS21 relating to currency transfer pricing all become very applicable. When it comes to patents we hold many patents for our innovative design features. So we are a company therefore we're not just sticking in we're trying to stand out. We do have patents for what for the packaging we offer. So
8:06
that would definitely be an IAS38 application. Then location Harland the currency is the H dollar. Again this probably is our functional currency but what about our presentation currency as we have many subsidiaries. So our functional currency and presentation currency right now is the H dollar. But if the presentation dollar presentation currency of some of our foreign operations, sorry, if our functional currency of our foreign operations may be different, we will
8:41
have to change it to our presentation currency when we are preparing our financial statements.
8:50
Harland company law requires us to prepare prepare our financial statements in line with IFRS compliance. So this makes all the IFRS standards applicable to you. So your role is you're a finance manager. So you report to the senior finance manager as well as probably in certain instances you might be having contact to the board level but you alone will not set the strategy because you're still at the management level. So that's basically the basic aspects of
9:29
the introduction and of course your reporting line therefore is also given. So if you look at this the persona you need to write answers in your exam. So this is a goal aspect because it's very important. You need to write not as a student but as a finance manager. So this is where we come to the part where applying aspects relating to the exam requires that you do not you have to have some level of authority. You need to simulate that you are working within Cartn.
10:07
You are at Cartn. You are an employee of Cartn. So you want to not just give theory, parrot it out, but rather you want to make sure as it says here to anchor Cartn's numbers, people and strategy into your answer because that is what will show that you're actually an employee of carton, right? If not, it'll just become a theory, a paring of some theory. So from this introduction, we can definitely get a few F2 triggers. one relating to use of IFRS. Uh next consolidation
10:46
because we are a multinational company. We're a group of companies. We have 27 factories globally. So they will be our subsidiaries. So we have cons we have to prepare consolidated financial statements. IAS-21 becomes very applicable to us on how we have to translate our foreign operations to our presentation currency which is the edge dollar and you your role as a finance manager in assisting with regards to financial reporting and management accounts.
11:23
So with that established now we have a basic introduction of the company. So now let's go through the company itself. So now let's look at the history of the company, the structure, the products, board of directors as well as our business model. So first let's look at the history and structure of carton. So how did carton come to be? So it was founded by engineers in 1960. So that means this is not a new company. This is a fairly established
12:03
company if we were founded in 1960. So engineers origins explain carton's emphasis on technical innovation and patents. So intellectual capital is a core to our identity. Then in 1978 plus 18 years you have us becoming a listed company in the Harland stock exchange. So once we became a listed company a public company now we are under the eye of the public both in Harlem and whatever country
12:39
we expand to. So we need to be accountable to our shareholders. We have dividend related obligations and we need to abide by corporate governance. Now this we will talk about it when we talk about the board of director structure. Then in 1983 the founders sold remaining shares. So now there is a clear separation of 5 years post becoming a public company as the initial engineers the founders they sell off their rights. You see a clear separation now between ownership and
13:15
management. Carton is professionally managed not founder control. Now why is this important? Because this brings in the classic principal agent situation. The principal is separate and the agent managing the company is separate. So that makes corporate governance crucial or corporate governance is important. So we'll talk about this in towards the latter part of this video. Then if you look at present we have 23,000 employees, 27 factories worldwide, six consultancy officers,
13:56
one of the six largest carton tub manufacturers globally. So this is present day. So seems like we have done well. We have grown. We're a large company. Having 23,000 employees just from an E2 perspective means we have so much of human resources. Operations aspect, 27 factories, six consultancy officers. We are one of the largest one of the six largest cotton cub manufacturers globally. This should really show you what a big company we are. So managing
14:38
it is extremely crucial. Now if we look at our manufacturing a deep dive into our manufacturing this is our primary revenue source. So basically this is where we are manufacturing our cartons and tubs for other manufactur food manufacturers. So we have a B2B relationship business to business. So it's very important that we prioritize cost because no one wants to spend a very high price for cartons that are disposed or tubs. So we have to manage cost at the same time quality
15:16
logistics and our customer relationships. Absolutely vital areas to consider. If you look at our revenue by customer segment, our largest revenue generated by customers come from the dairy product and dairy products substitute customers with a 48% contribution.
15:44
So when we're talking about this, we're talking about fresh milk cartons, those that have a shorter shelf life. We're talking about ultra high temperature cartons which go through the process of keep to keep the integrity. They go through the process of heating them at very high temperatures and they are sterilized. Then you have yogurt tubs and you have alternate plant-based milk substitutes. So this is the largest and most complex segment. Uh and remember when it
16:15
comes to daily you need to keep the coal chain integrity. Of course, this is not really what we do because we are manufacturing the cartons, but we need to make sure that for an example, our ultra high temperature cartons have used the septic process. That means this high heat process and sterilization process to make sure there won't be any bacteria that will grow and there won't be any contamination. The next largest segment is fruit juicers. So it's similar to the
16:52
construct. In terms of construction, it's similar to milk cartons. But remember we are dealing with an acidic content. So it's very important. Remember the lining we discussed under the industry structure of the manufacturing of cartons. Yes. So we need to make sure the careful lining separates the juice between the aluminium. So the paper portion or the plastic portion separates it from the aluminum because we cannot have quality issues contamination.
17:22
This will lead to liability on our end. Then the next customer segment is fresh and frozen food for so these are tubs. So we have ice cream tubs. So these can be paper or plastic. They are designed generally for low temperature stability. So for an example, a ice cream carton needs to be temperature resistant. It should be able to tackle very low temperatures and of course they come in standard sizes. So how do our products reach our customers? So when it comes to cartons, I think
18:01
we discussed this even in the industry section. The cartons we manufacture them in terms of rolls ra laminated rolls plus their plastic caps. Then customers have their production lines that fold and seal it using machinery. But we need to make sure we're manufacturing the roll well based on the required standard so that there won't be any issues. Tubs are of course already shaped with the
18:33
lids given. We stack it. We stack a number of tubs together so that efficient shipping is possible. But compared to cartons, tubs we give the finished product. Now customization is a key part of our process and of course a very crucial part because we're dealing with B2B or we're dealing with businesses. So they are at the end of the day different food manufacturers who want to supply their product to the end customer. So they need specific design software. They need to be able
19:10
to specify the graphics and text they want. So we allow this. So generally the customers will email their designs to us and their exact specifications and we help them design it so that this can be included either in the carton or on the tub. The pattern of ordering tends to be frequent smaller orders. So we don't have our customers asking for large infrequent orders. So it's done so that our
19:39
manufacturers or businesses we offer can maintain lower inventory. Standard sizes are one liter, 500 ml and uh 0.2 L for cartons. There can be larger cartons but it's s basically based on the customer needs. And some small cartons are supplied with straw. So this is an important part. We do supply certain small cartons with straws. Now what's very important to identify is when it comes to cartons,
20:16
we do not do the final assembly of the cartons. We supply the materials and it's the client's machinery that does the folding and sealing. But this is where our consultancy comes into play because we do have a role here. We must ensure for an example our laminated material is manufactured perfectly so that there won't be any fall because any defect will create downtimes to our customers
20:46
production line and can be costly to us as well. So this is where our consultancy wing comes into play. This is our secondary revenue stream. This is where we we offer the needed help to set up the manufacturing process when it comes to packaging or coming up coming up with the cartons. So what do we offer? So this is primarily a service. This is not here. We're not really offering any kind of we're offering a service to design and install packaging equipment. We're not doing
21:27
it for them. We're not it's only advisory. It doesn't mean we are supplying or installing it, but we offer that advisory aspect how to do it. We I think we tie them up with certain recommended specific equipment manufacturers and models. So we are assisting them and remember this is a very different revenue avenue. Here we are talking about implications of FRS15. The performance obligation is satisfied over a period of time. This is a projectbased work. In terms of the
22:02
scale, we have 800 design and technical staff working in six officers worldwide working in the consultancy wing. So they are obviously specialist workforce. They have specialist skills on how to set up the design systems, how to set up the packaging equipment, how to align it with our compatible equipment with our cartons. So important to retain this staff. It wouldn't it will not be easy to train new staff. It will not be easy to get new staff. So retaining the
22:43
existing staff, making sure they're happy is a key part of HR. Then client brief. So client brief is when we start working with the client. They give us a brief. We they work with the design team. They talk about the product size, the type, the temperature, the packaging, and then our engineers design systems compatible with their production lines. So generally the brief is the start. So you
23:12
will have the brief. So the brief is the start of the engagement until completion. So a brief will determine how we will cost how we will cost our client. So the cost generally we currently follow is we take based on the brief we look at the time we will need for this project. We'll look at the seniority of engineers use. So if it's a fairly simple one or for an example, if the client is not
23:43
too specific, we might use maybe moderately senior engineers. But if it's a complex process, client wants precision, we might use senior engineers. So this will push the price up further. So it seems like we're using a timebased or you would say a cost plus pricing. But of course, given that we're offering a consultancy, something to consider is could we move on to a more valuebased pricing proposition? We don't really have to go to a cost plus. We can go to a valuebased
24:20
the perceived value of the service we offer. Now remember, if there's cost runs, if it's our fault, we buy. But if it's the clients because of client delays or client not giving a a correct briefing in the start it it is it becomes additional revenue for us and it's recharge to the client. But remember this is where risk management comes into play. For an example if we it's caused by us we will have to bear that additional expense. It will erode profitability if it's our mistake.
25:00
Then strategic value. So the strategic value of offering this consultancy. The question is why should we offer it? Is it needed? Yes. Because even though it has a aspect of a margin drag, consultancy clients often become our manufacturing customer. So there is a there is a value addition that happens and maybe that's why we just price it at a cost plus reason. We give them a good pricing. We satisfy them. They like our cartons. They like our tubs. They become our manufacturing
25:43
customers. When we look at our financial se financial section, you would see that biz does have an impact on our overall margin compared to our closest competitor who doesn't offer this. But this probably is the reason we offer it because it offers an ability to transition to work with our clients to establish a relationship and to transition them to long-term manufacturing clients. So the benefit is we can work with clients,
26:19
we can build relationships and trust I would say and convert them to to long-term clients in the manufacturing angle.
26:40
So I would think the consultancy service the consultancy angle will come first and then you will have the manufacturing or it can work together but generally consultancy might be the first aspect when you are talking about the briefing and ultimately we they would become our manufacturing clients. So from an F2 perspective you have IFRS15 revenue recognition. So the steps involved in it. So that is for the service aspect. Of course for the manufacturing contract we will
27:20
recognize the revenue at the point when control of the goods passes. We don't have to recognize the revenue in stages. And remember if back again if you're talking about the service if we receive cash in advance for an example if the client pays us in advance it's a liability a contract liability until we can recognize it whereas if they don't it becomes a contract asset because remember when it comes to the consultancy base we can recognize this income over time. So we have
27:54
to choose how do we recognize it over time not at a single point recognize it based on completion of work percentage of completion. Then from a PTO perspective pricing comes into play for our consultancy. Should we choose a more valuebased pricing relevant costing? So sometimes we might have capacity constraints or we might have to decide if it makes sense to take on a particular client. Should we take on a particular consultancy engagement? So then we will need to use relevant
28:33
costing principles or even to decide what is more profitable we might use contribution analysis. we would take the options that maximize the contribution per engineer. So we will obviously go for the most profitable work for us. Then from a E2 perspective the whole consultancy being is actually a project. So you have how to manage a project project initiation documents, how to plan the project, net charts, CPA, how to interpret a CPA, how to form the team for the project, how
29:14
to handle conflicts between the consultancy team that is handling a particular client engagement, how to manage scope. What do we know? what can we say is a part of the current scope and what is considered an overrun of the scope and we should charge it to our client. So a lot of key areas can come into play when we especially look at the consultancy wing the consultancy wing as opposed to our manufacturing wing. So next we can move on to our board structure. Now if you look at
29:48
our board structure we have the CEO Geeken Lee. So he obviously handles the overall leadership and strategic direction of the company which is important for such a big company as us. So that is excellent. So offers the group leadership and strategic direction. He makes decisions on major acquisitions. So I'm sure with the rest of the board but basically the overall head of the company moving a bit downward you have the CEO E the sorry the non-executive chair Elyn so first
30:30
aspect good we can say in terms of corporate governance the role of CEO and chairman or is it chairwoman chairwoman or we'll say chair is separate so that is good. Generally the role of CEO and chair should be separate and that we can see in this instance. Then if you look at our operations director we have Allison. She is in head of HR as well. So she looks at operational efficiency, labor relations, factory management, capacity planning and all these aspects.
31:14
Then you have heam a marketing director looks at pricing decisions, new customer acquisition, marketing strategy. Then we have VFI looking at product development. The director of product development. So more on research and development and sustainability. So all sustainability matters are probably handled by wii. Then we have Mario. This is your finance director. So, Elizabeth, the senior finance manager, reports to Mario and you report to Elizabeth. Then you have, of course,
31:56
the non-executive chair and then you have the non-executive directors. There seems to be three non-executive directors. Most likely, they oversee the the different committees. Of course, we don't know. So there's no direct mention of the committees in your precinct but we can assume there may be. Now if you look at the balance between executive and non-executive directors there's one two three four five executive and there's four with the chair it
32:25
should be without but with the chair there's four executive director so I would say lack of balance lack of balance between executive and non on executive directors can be observed here. It's questionable if we have the committees. We should but not sure because the precinct doesn't clearly mention if we had the committees. If you look at the skills, the experience of the board and what they bring on, I would say the operations director and the HR director should be very different.
33:11
We should have a global HR director. Operations director shouldn't be handling HR. Reason being we have I think 23,000 employees. So we are a company with 23,000 HR me HR or human resources. So we need a separate HR director. HR director. It's not something small. We need an entirely separate HR division within the company. Absolutely vital. We even need a director for legal affairs. I would say we need a director for legal affairs and that's because again we are a big company. We
33:59
operate in different jurisdictions. So director of legal affairs is also quite important for a company like us. So these are certain aspects where our corporate governance can improve on overall seems like we're having a balanced board but the board can enhance itself in terms of these areas. So finally we'll look at our business model in this video. So the business model is a very important area you need to understand and fully comprehend and remember not just understand
34:41
not just comprehend but remember for your exam. You get a lot of questions. Your examiner loves to give you questions on the impact of something on your business model and for you to really evaluate that. So to be able to do that you need to have a firm grounding on a business model. So first of all how do we define value according to the preceding carton defines value for its packaging customers. So we have both the packaging customers and the consultancy clients.
35:15
So for the packaging customers by supplying excellent products that enhance the perceived quality of food in retail settings. So if I was to highlight some of the key points, I would highlight sorry I would highlight excellence quality of food. So basically quality is paramount quality of our products that enhance the final application of it. Then if you look at the consultancy applying engineering expertise to recommend
36:02
optimal packaging solutions. So optimal packaging so a balance between expertise to recommend optimum packaging solutions to our plan. So again offering value offering expertise is what we are looking at. So I would say value and expertise. Then how do we create this value? We define we create this value through our expertise in manufacturing of packaging and the creation of packaging solutions. So we heavily invest in staff training and development so that customers and clients
36:49
are provided with a consistent and a reliable service. So consistent and reliable service at the promised quality they want on time at the promised quality. So we create this value through training. We offer manufacturing expertise. So we have our patents, our innovation. So we use this, we use our human resources and we offer them consistent, reliable delivery at a promised quality. Now we have created the value. How do we deliver this in a practical sense? We have our
37:33
packaging factories and design consultancies in several countries. So operation in several country countries globally is one way we deliver value. So we are accessible. So we remain accessible and our packaging customers and packaging solution client benefit from the company's ability to understand local conditions for the manufacturer and sale of packaged food products. by establishing our
38:04
serve globally and local I will say adoptation. So by having local operations in these countries we are we understand the local climate the local terms the local laws for food safety and we tailor it to them so we are able to clearly meet their needs. How do we capture residual value? How do we capture? They should be capturing residual value. How do we capture this residual value? So we benefit from the commercial success of our customers and consultancy clients. So basically we
38:46
benefit when our end customers do well. Meeting their needs boost demand for packaging and for consultancy services. So it's like a cycle. They do well, we do well. If the if customers are happy with what they buy from them, we will get they will have more demand, we will have more sales. So if food manufacturers grow, their packaging orders will also grow. So there is a synergy between the
39:16
two main lines of business for us as well. So if we if we offer good consultancy services we will have packaging clients who want our packaging. So we understand this link and that's how we capture residual value simply by understanding the link between customer happiness and demand for our products. Now the just understanding our business model at each stage is something you should be doing. I want you to spend time to understand each and every step because you will be given
39:59
certain things on the day of your exam that can distort sometimes the way we create value compared to how we say we want to create value or how we even capture residual value or any other aspect. So then you need to evaluate if we should go ahead with it whether we shouldn't. So you need to be very familiar with our business model. If you look at E2 from a E2 perspective, business the business
40:25
model can be used for the balance scorec card to identify in order to meet our business model. What are the financial, the customer base, internal process base and learning and growth base KPIs we can use to monitor how well we are doing in these avenues. Then you have our strategies. Are we our current strategies in market penetration? Are we going to go for market development or are we going
40:55
to diversify? Then integrated reporting can also come into play. The six capitals how that will be affected with our business model. And realizing the key thing here brought out in your precin. clear synergy between consultancy and manufacturing. It's a huge strategic asset for us. So maintaining our consult consultancy well ensuring quality is absolutely vital. So in our next video we will discuss the relevant financial analysis.
41:42
Okay. So, let's talk about the CIMA management case study. First things first, you need to forget everything you think you know about exams. Seriously, this isn't about memorizing a bunch of facts. It's about stepping into a role. And today, we're going to break down exactly what that role is, and more importantly, how you can totally own it. Look, you've done the hard work. You've passed
42:02
the objective tests. You've absorbed all the theory. But this case study, it asks a completely different question. It's not about what you know. It's about what you can do with what you know, like on your first day at a new job. So, the real question is, are you ready to hit the ground running? Let's just be crystal clear on this. This is not a test. It's a full-on business simulation. You get all this pre-cene material about a company, right? And on exam day, you're not just
42:30
walking into some exam hall. No, you're walking through the front doors of that business. You're sitting down at your new desk. And guess what? The problems are already piling up in your inbox. Now, you might be wondering why this format. Well, it's pretty simple. We live in a world that's being totally transformed by AI. Anyone can look up a fact. A machine can crunch numbers. But you
42:51
know what can't be automated? Those uniquely human skills like critical judgment, strategic thinking, influencing people. CIMA designed this whole simulation to build those exact skills, making you not just qualified, but genuinely indispensable. So, you're not a student anymore. at least not for the purposes of this exam. In this simulation, you've got a brand new identity. So, let's meet
43:12
the professional you're about to become. Welcome aboard. Your new job title is finance manager. And what does that mean? Well, you're the critical link. You're the bridge between the boardroom's massive long-term vision and the practical medium-term plans that actually make it all happen. You're not just reporting on what happened yesterday. You are actively shaping what the company does tomorrow. And hey, don't just take my word for it. This is straight from the horse's
43:37
mouth. This is CIMA's own job description for you. You're the one who monitors, you implement, and you translate that highle strategy into real tangible action. This right here, this is your core mission. And you are definitely not working in a silo. Nope. You are right at the center of this whole professional network. You're working with your own team, sure, but you're also talking to business leaders, partners, suppliers, even customers. This simulation is designed to
44:05
prove that finance isn't just about spreadsheets. It's about people and influence. All right, so what does a finance manager actually do all day? Well, CIMA breaks your new job down into five core activities. Let's take a look at what they are. Think of these as your five main missions. These are the key areas where you're going to prove your worth. every single task, every challenge that gets thrown at you in the exam, it's going to test you on one of these core areas. This isn't
44:32
just a to-do list. This is basically your road map for the entire exam. Let's just zoom in on that first one. Evaluating opportunities. So, imagine the company's thinking about launching a brand new product. You're not just the person who runs the numbers in the background. No way. You are the strategic adviser who has to look senior management in the eye and tell them if this is a brilliant game-changing idea or a total disaster waiting to happen. That's the level we're
44:58
talking about here. Okay. So, doing these things is one thing, but how do you actually prove to the examiner that you've got the skills? This is where everything clicks together. This is where your core activities connect directly to what CIMA calls your competencies. This slide shows the magic connection perfectly. So, the exam gives you a task, a core activity like implement a decision from the top. But your answer isn't just about doing the task. It's about showing
45:24
your skill. You're not just writing an answer. You are actively demonstrating beyond any doubt, hey, look, I can manage a project effectively. See the difference? Now, this diagram might look a little complex at first glance, but it's really a simple, powerful story about your role. It all starts with raw information. You use your skills to turn that data into valuable insight. Then you
45:46
use that insight to influence key decisions. And finally, that influence creates a real tangible impact on the business. That's your journey from numbers on a page to real world results. Okay. So, we've covered the role, we've covered the tasks, but there's one more piece to this puzzle, and honestly, it might be the most important one of all. It's your mindset. Listen, this is so, so important. CIMA isn't just testing your technical skills. It's looking at your
46:13
professional attitude. Having the knowledge is just the price of admission. It gets you in the door. But real success, both in the simulation and in your actual career, comes from applying those skills with the right professional mindset. And these are what CIMA calls your power skills. And trust me, they're not just buzzwords. Professional skepticism means you don't just take information
46:34
at face value. You question it. You dig deeper. Seeing the big picture means you connect the dots. You see how your part affects the whole company and communication. It means you can explain really complex ideas in a simple persuasive way. These are the skills that will make you stand out. So as we start to wrap this up, I want you to remember this one thing. The management case study isn't
46:56
some final academic hurdle you have to jump over. It's the bridge. It's the bridge that connects everything you've learned in the classroom to your future professional career. It's your big chance to step out of the textbook and into the boardroom. You see, when you really understand your role, when you embrace these core activities, and when you adopt that professional mindset, you're not just preparing to pass an exam anymore. You are preparing to launch your career. So,
47:21
let me ask you one last time. Are you ready to step into the role? Now, the management case study, you'll be given some pre-seen that's released a few weeks before uh the real exam and that will give you background on a particular industry. Now, the idea is you can expect somewhere between 20 and 30 pages there. It will tell you about a particular industry and a particular company within that industry. There will be articles, reports, emails,
47:56
extracts of financial statements, all kinds of things to get everyone up to the same starting point as they walk into the real exam. Be careful with this preceding. It's important to analyze it. It's important to think, what is this telling me? But what you shouldn't do is spend your entire preparation period before the exam um analyzing that pre-seen to death and sort of finding out every single possible thing you can about that industry in the real world because at the end
48:29
of the day you're not expected to be an absolute industry expert in that particular industry. that the purpose of the pre-seen is to give you the industry information you need to set you up for the real exam. Now, u most of the tasks that are given to you in the exam actually reflect some new information that's given to you on the day and pre-seen is very much about the background. Now, yes, you need to understand that pre-seen and for example, you might need to do some analysis
49:01
on some of the financial statements that are within it to to with with from a point of view of understanding some of the messages within those financial statements, but you don't need to go overboard. We'll talk about this more later on, but the the main thrust of your preparation time should be spent practicing questions based on the on the real preceding, but we'll we'll come back to that later on. The management case is split into four 45minute sections. Each one
49:30
is equally weighted score-wise, and each section will have several subtasks within it. So you'll be given some new information, sometimes known as unseen or trigger information on the day. Um and then within that information, you'll be asked to do several things. Each subtask can um examine more than one syllabus area and they quite often bridge even different papers. So there could be an
49:56
element of E and an element of P within a subtask for example. Now this next step is important. You can think of this exam as as being four 45 minute exams because if you finish one section early, you can go on to the next section early, but you cannot bank that time. So if you finish the first section 5 minutes early, um all that means is you're going to finish the exam 5 minutes early. So the key message here is there's no point in finishing a section early. If you've got a bit
50:28
of spare time at the end, use that time to polish up, even if it's just making it look better on the screen, but no point in moving on um early at all. You will be asked to reply in a variety of formats and this uh reflects the fact that this is a work-based simulation. So, it could be um for example, emails, memos, reports, briefing notes. It's it's useful to know the basic formats of
50:55
these things. And so for example with a report we want to from subject date brief introduction main body of the report and then a a conclusion and sign off at the end. But what's very important to note here is the tone of the um of your answers. So if you're writing a memo or an email they are that they are often internally focused so won't be as formal as a report for example. And that is um your ability to communicate appropriately in the right format is also being tested here
51:30
because that's part of your ability to function well in the real world. You're given some uh word processor type software to use. Um practice using that software on the CIMA website. um it's it is a word processor but it's it's restricted in terms of its functionality compared to some other word processors you might be used to using. So I would suggest when you are practicing questions do it as much as you can in the real exam software and let's say that's available
52:01
for you to have a have a play with on the CIMA website. There aren't any detailed calculations in this exam. The detailed calculations are tested as part of the OT's. So, you're not likely to be hammering away on your calculator in this exam. It's not to say you won't be working with numbers, but it's more likely that you'll be given some numbers that you need to talk about. So, you might be given, for example, an investment appraisal that someone else has prepared.
52:28
You need to interpret it, maybe talk about the assumptions that have gone into it. Talk about the implications and maybe some of the non-financial considerations behind the investment proposal. It's all about interpretation. You will be given tables as standard. So present value, cumulative present value and normal distribution tables are given to you, but it's very very rare that in the real exam you will actually need to use them.
52:56
Now we are approaching the final part of your MCS pre-seen analysis. So actually this is not the precinis but what we're going to do here is understand practically how you can use your pre-seen and how you need to answer subtask and attempt mocks and prepare for the exam. So first of all something crucial for you to understand is what will help you pass the exam, what will not help you pass the exam. Now many students they fail the exam and they're quite
53:35
clueless why they failed the exam. They feel like first of all they gave theory points, they gave applicable points or sometimes they even explained things but yet they failed to pass the exam. So your examiner very clearly states that a weak and a strong answer that means a weak answer is marked at a as a level one answer whereas a level three answer is a answer that evaluates gives justification and uses the precin context. So if you want to
54:14
pass your exam, you need to learn to not just give theory just straight from the study text, but you want to give applicable answer points. So you only give applics that matter. And again, you don't just give the theory, but you apply it to carton specific situation. For an example, even if you're using a theory, you don't have to state it very directly. For an example, we'll say you're talking about stakeholder management and you're in your mind
54:51
using Mendel's matrix. You can say we can refer to Mandelo's matrix, but you don't have to go on with theory. Say Mendelo's matrix says you have key players. Key players are those with high power, high interest. You can give a key player maybe a key player will be a major shareholder and mention how they have high interest how they have high power to influence decisions and actions of cart.
55:22
That way you are applying theory but to carton's context. You're not just vomiting out theory. Next, sometimes students give good, valid, practical answer points. So, this is where you identify the point, but you're not explaining it. So, you need to always explain your answer points in at least three to four lines. So, in a brief paragraph is very important and always in carton's context. And your explanation should be commercially sound. So sometimes
55:58
when we look at a mock, we have answer points that are not commercially sound. They don't make sense in business context. You will not do this in business context. These are things that will not really work in reality. If that's the case, you shouldn't be including it. You only want to include commercially sound points for the applicable situation. You want to discuss specifically what the exam is requiring. So you want to stick close to the
56:35
examiner's requirement. You don't want to deviate. So you want to answer exactly what is asked, not what you want to answer. And you want to have a right in the voice of a finance manager. So you're not you're not in the operational level neither are you in the strategic level. So you cannot say we should do this or we should do we should go ahead with this strategy. But as a financial manager you carry a particular weight in the management level. So therefore you want to
57:14
bring this weight out in your answers and if you are asked to evaluate you want to always justify your conclusion give both pros cons or argue for both sides. Another important point before we get into the topics I want to discuss with you is always make sure you are writing enough answer points or sufficient answer points that are explained for the subtask way. So for an example we say 25 marks per section and you have a weightage of 60%. This will be 25 marks
57:55
into 60. So that will be 15 marks. So 15 marks will be we'll say two marks per explained answer point. You need to have at least seven explained answer points. Structure your answer in this way. Similarly if it's a 40% you will have to write about five answer points. If it's 50% about six answer points. So we'll learn how to train so that you can achieve this level three answer. If you
58:30
can do your best and achieve a level three answer, there is no reason why you will fail the exam. Remember this is a strategy. So as we attempt task mocks, you will learn this strategy. But the key is staying focused and actually putting the work in. do these marks, do this task. Of course, that's the next step. But now, let's move back into context with the pre-seen. So, one key area that's highly examinable for you is basically I would comment on would be acquisition
59:07
of a competitor or a supplier. A very probable area in your exam. So your examiner could ask you what will happen if we maybe acquire wellbox or any other global rival. What will happen to us? So typical questions might be first of all explain how the goodwill will be calculated. So you're not asked to calculate it but rather you will be given reference material. you need to use it and explain how goodwill will be calculated and the difficulties in doing so. So there
59:47
are two subp parts of this subtask. Number one, how good will is calculated. Secondly, second is difficulties in calculating. So first mental image on how goodwill is calculated. So you have your fair value of net assets, fair value of consideration. The difference between these two will give you your goodwill. So you need to explain this. One paragraph can be determining the fair value of the net assets. Next paragraph you explain fair value of consideration. Then
1:00:29
you comment on how the difference of this is the goodwill and you can also if you want com comment on how you would do annual impairment reviews. Then the second part difficulty. So what are the practical difficulties in ascertaining goodwill? Your answer will give you a lot of information. It'll give you information relating to maybe some of the difficulties. Maybe negotiation of the price is hard. Maybe determining the fair value of the net assets is hard. So you will be
1:01:03
given these. Maybe they have certain contingent liabilities which might be hard. So you require a lot of professional judgment and there is a risk of misstating goodwill. That is what you want to bring out in your answer. Then if you move on to the next question when it comes to acquisitions of a competitor or a supplier is explain the business risk of the acquisition. Now we're going ahead with an acquisition. Now if you just say there's financial risk, there's operational risk,
1:01:36
there's strategic risk, I think that's obvious, but you want to go into detail. You want to talk about specific risk. And remember your unseen your mock will give you clues as well. You will have reference material that might give you clues. So there are some clues given here. For an example, risk of integrating the business. For an example, if you're acquiring wellbox, we're talking about integrating another big company. Risk related to impairment of goodwill. We might ascertain
1:02:10
the goodwill to be some amount but we might in reality just be overpaying regulatory risk. So if you're talking about combining two of the six largest global carton manufacturers this might anti-competitive this might be considered an anti-competitive activity or regulatory risk. If Valbox's culture, business culture is different, this will be a risk. Many other risks, but you need to explain these in paragraphs. You're not just giving the risk. First of all,
1:02:42
your risk shouldn't be generic. Second of all, your risk has to be explained. Next, how should the sale and purchase agreement be negotiated? So, this is a negotiationbased question. So, you want to talk about how we would negotiate. So you want to focus on things like what's our aims of negotiation. You won't just focus on writing step by step. You would talk about why are we negotiating. We'll talk about what is the price we are willing to pay the max and minimum price.
1:03:18
Then we'll talk about the strategy we are going to follow when negotiation negotiating based on the value of the negotiation. And then of course we will talk a good answer will also bring out points like using good negotiators within uh within cotton to negotiate. So key knowledge points number one IFRS3 goodwill. So identifying how to calculate goodwill. Associate accounting not so common but yes you can have questions on it as well.
1:04:00
Performance management. So we have KPIs we balance scorec card based. So given that we have two divisions. We have both the manufacturing and the consultancy division. These may require different performance measures, different KPIs. So if we use for an example the balance scorec card from a financial perspective, what are some of the key KPIs we can look at? We can look at our GP margin, ROCE, our return on capital employed. So our KPIs need to meet
1:04:35
the smart criteria. They should always meet the smart criteria in specific city. They should be good. They should be specific. They should be measurable. These are the main ones I highlight under these. They should be relevant of course and time bound. I would say relevant and realistic here and they should be time bound. If you cannot achieve it within a particular time frame, you cannot measure it. It is very unrealistic and not specific.
1:05:07
the whole KPI is gone. So even with our customers, how could we achieve cross-selling synergy? So we can track how many consultancy clients become our packaging customers. Then in internal processes, so about for an example the CO2 emissions, how can we improve in this regard with targets that keep improving learning and growth? How? So here R&D towards single use material for our cartons come into play here maybe fully to make it fully recyclable.
1:05:48
Then if you look at our divisional performance so you look at performance across manufacturing and our consultancy based. So should each division be treated as a profit or an investment center? So it's arguable. So if it's a profit center, they the they are accountable only for cost and revenue and profits. But if it's an investment center, you're also accountable for investments in addition to the cost and revenue and profits. So depending on how each division can control
1:06:29
these elements. So controllability is the key aspect you want to talk about here. If they can control their cost then they can be a cost center. If they can control their revenue they can make changes to influence revenue they can be a cost plus revenue and a profit center. If they also control the investments they make for their center then they are can be an investment center. So it's up to you to decide. There's no correct or wrong answer. The importance is clear
1:07:05
logical explanation in line with what's given to you in your unseen. So from we have a few more topics. So from topic 6 to 11, we'll discuss this in the next video. So that's your carton precin unpacked. Now you know the company, you know the two topics that cut across the three pillars and you know what the examiner is looking for. But this is just the surface. There are 11 exam topics in total that we discovered. And the real skill is being able to write level
1:07:39
three answers under time conditions in the real exam format and with the depth that actually earns marks. That's exactly what our full MCS course at practices academy is built to do. We have packages depending on where you are in your preparation from the complete course with carton specific practice tasks and model answers all the way up to full mocks and written tutor feedback and priority marking. Everything is available right now. No waiting, no drip content.
1:08:10
You buy, you access, you start. The link is in the description. And if you found this video useful, please give it a thumbs up. It really helps more MCS students find this content. And if you want free MCS resources throughout the sitting, make sure you subscribe. Good luck. You've got this.
Here to help you learn
Sign in to keep a private conversation with your course tutor.
Ask me anything about the material…
Sign in to chat