http://41.66.247.10:8080/xmlui/handle/123456789/172 AUGUST 2022 PAST QUESTION AND SOLUTIONS Sat, 02 May 2026 01:42:08 GMT 2026-05-02T01:42:08Z http://41.66.247.10:8080/xmlui/handle/123456789/634 STRATEGIC CASE STUDY (PAPER 3.4) INSTITUTE OF CHARTERED ACCOUNTANT GHANA, ICAG EXAMINER’S GENERAL COMMENTS AND STANDARD OF THE PAPER The paper described Bazar Stores Company Ltd (Bazar), a retailing store company that started as a family business and has since spread to most reginal and district capitals in Ghana with ongoing acquisition plan of Little Bee although not listed on stock market with challenging finance data, incomplete. Among the market leaders in Ghana, Bazar business model is not clear however there are number of challenges including Chairman dictatorship, high employees’ turnover, low remuneration and weak Human Resources and Organisation culture. As a result of the challenges, the management attempted to introduce various measures but with limited impact on the bottom-line profit. Corporate governance structure is not clear but made up of the executive management and the Chairman. No clear coordination between Regional Managers and District Management, resulting in mistrust due to unannounced visit to shop flows. Supply chain management system is fragmented with manufactures and small farmer who are segregated and treated differently resulting in tension amount the key stakeholders due to the practices of discrimination. The pre-seen was detailed and well-prepared candidates should have been able to provide good answers in the context of the retail stores industry. The unseen scenarios were interesting and presented some realistic questions on the industry. The standard of the paper was extremely good, and the questions were clear with preambles to assist candidates. The coverage was broad and in line with the syllabus. The paper was heavy on the strategic application. All the questions were based on the recommended syllabus and study material of the Institute. Marks allocation followed the weightings in the syllabus and was fairly distributed to each question. PERFORMANCE OF CANDIDATES The overall performance of candidates was below expectation given how familiar or relatable the industry is and the depth of information provided especially the preseen. Many appeared to be ill-prepared for this examination and did not demonstrate the required level of technical knowledge and application of knowledge to the case study. Overall, candidates performed very well, especially question number Four and Six. There were a number of concerns relating to candidates performance in several other areas, this applies to most of questions especially question one, five and seven. In many cases candidates described wrong strategic models despite the fact that the questions required specific models. Model application to the case study remains a challenge to candidates resulting in loss of valuable marks to achieve a pass. All answers must be applied to the case study and should bring in aspects of the pre-seen information as well as the unseen (additional) information material. Answers which are purely rote learning were quite common in some requirements and this approach is awarded very low marks. There were also a number of candidates who gave very theoretical answers and did not apply them to the case study. Many candidatePage 2 of 38 answers lacked depth of development and therefore, although demonstrating a basic understanding and application of knowledge, they failed to accumulate sufficient marks due to not developing their answers sufficiently. Some answers were just shallow. Few candidates set their own question and answer which is very strange but evidence of lack of preparation Mon, 01 Aug 2022 00:00:00 GMT http://41.66.247.10:8080/xmlui/handle/123456789/634 2022-08-01T00:00:00Z INSTITUTE OF CHARTERED ACCOUNTANT GHANA, ICAG EXAMINER’S GENERAL COMMENTS AND STANDARD OF THE PAPER The paper described Bazar Stores Company Ltd (Bazar), a retailing store company that started as a family business and has since spread to most reginal and district capitals in Ghana with ongoing acquisition plan of Little Bee although not listed on stock market with challenging finance data, incomplete. Among the market leaders in Ghana, Bazar business model is not clear however there are number of challenges including Chairman dictatorship, high employees’ turnover, low remuneration and weak Human Resources and Organisation culture. As a result of the challenges, the management attempted to introduce various measures but with limited impact on the bottom-line profit. Corporate governance structure is not clear but made up of the executive management and the Chairman. No clear coordination between Regional Managers and District Management, resulting in mistrust due to unannounced visit to shop flows. Supply chain management system is fragmented with manufactures and small farmer who are segregated and treated differently resulting in tension amount the key stakeholders due to the practices of discrimination. The pre-seen was detailed and well-prepared candidates should have been able to provide good answers in the context of the retail stores industry. The unseen scenarios were interesting and presented some realistic questions on the industry. The standard of the paper was extremely good, and the questions were clear with preambles to assist candidates. The coverage was broad and in line with the syllabus. The paper was heavy on the strategic application. All the questions were based on the recommended syllabus and study material of the Institute. Marks allocation followed the weightings in the syllabus and was fairly distributed to each question. http://41.66.247.10:8080/xmlui/handle/123456789/633 CORPORATE REPORTING (PAPER 3.1) INSTITUTE OF CHARTERED ACCOUNTANT GHANA, ICAG STANDARD OF THE PAPER The standard of the paper was moderate. The questions were based on the syllabus and were largely straight forward and of the right level. The mark allocation followed the weightings in the syllabus and was fairly allocated to each sub-question. Most questions were clearly stated and followed higher order learning outcomes. Questions that required considerable amount of work were commensurate with the allotted time and marks. PERFORMANCE OF CANDIDATES The general performance of candidates in this exams diet was better than previous diets. There was a marginal increase in the pass rate. Candidates who performed well demonstrated a clear understanding of the subject matter. Some candidates also showed abysmal performance. The poor level of preparedness of some candidates reflected in their poor performance. Mon, 01 Aug 2022 00:00:00 GMT http://41.66.247.10:8080/xmlui/handle/123456789/633 2022-08-01T00:00:00Z INSTITUTE OF CHARTERED ACCOUNTANT GHANA, ICAG STANDARD OF THE PAPER The standard of the paper was moderate. The questions were based on the syllabus and were largely straight forward and of the right level. The mark allocation followed the weightings in the syllabus and was fairly allocated to each sub-question. Most questions were clearly stated and followed higher order learning outcomes. Questions that required considerable amount of work were commensurate with the allotted time and marks. http://41.66.247.10:8080/xmlui/handle/123456789/632 ADVANCED TAXATION (PAPER 3.3) INSTITUTE OF CHARTERED ACCOUNTANT GHANA, ICAG EXAMINER’S GENERAL COMMENTS This report sets the tone for assessments of the questions and the performance of the candidates of the August 2022 examination with the view to enhancing the quality and standard of the paper. The report also presents a snapshot of events before, during and at the marking of the scripts and also events after marking with the hope that it serve as source of reference to stakeholders. Having completed the marking, it is quite instructive to give feedback on the performance of candidates to the managers of the examination with the view to improving the examinations process. Generally, the paper was a very good one in terms of content and requirement. Candidates who studied for a maximum of two hours each day should be able to pass the examination with ease. The paper quality was good and the type setting was impressive and followed the usual pattern. On the whole, candidates did not perform badly at all. The performance appeared incredible and impressive. However, some candidates have no clue of what they were required to do while others demonstrated lack of adequate preparedness. It was observed that most candidates did not read the examiners’ report of the previous sitting before they sit for the examination. This means that candidates repeat mistakes which are being highlighted diet after diet by the examiners. STANDARD OF THE PAPER The questions reflected what in the real world confronts taxpayers and tax consultants on daily basis. This provides confidence to candidates that they will be able to offer relevant practical solutions in future in tax related issues. In effect, the standard of the paper was a reflection of what to expect in the field of taxation in real life situation. The marks allocation appeared appropriate for each of the questions asked. The sub questions were also appropriate for a final level paper and standard. Another aspect of the questions worth commenting was the one which tested the understanding of candidates on the taxability of resident individual and corporate entity. All the questions were taken from the syllabus. The spread of the paper covered the entire syllabus. There was no question administered from outside the syllabus. The paper tested skills and application of the candidates. A candidate who made a pass mark really demonstrated great aptitude Mon, 01 Aug 2022 00:00:00 GMT http://41.66.247.10:8080/xmlui/handle/123456789/632 2022-08-01T00:00:00Z INSTITUTE OF CHARTERED ACCOUNTANT GHANA, ICAG EXAMINER’S GENERAL COMMENTS This report sets the tone for assessments of the questions and the performance of the candidates of the August 2022 examination with the view to enhancing the quality and standard of the paper. The report also presents a snapshot of events before, during and at the marking of the scripts and also events after marking with the hope that it serve as source of reference to stakeholders. Having completed the marking, it is quite instructive to give feedback on the performance of candidates to the managers of the examination with the view to improving the examinations process. Generally, the paper was a very good one in terms of content and requirement. Candidates who studied for a maximum of two hours each day should be able to pass the examination with ease. The paper quality was good and the type setting was impressive and followed the usual pattern. On the whole, candidates did not perform badly at all. The performance appeared incredible and impressive. However, some candidates have no clue of what they were required to do while others demonstrated lack of adequate preparedness. It was observed that most candidates did not read the examiners’ report of the previous sitting before they sit for the examination. This means that candidates repeat mistakes which are being highlighted diet after diet by the examiners. http://41.66.247.10:8080/xmlui/handle/123456789/631 PUBLIC SECTOR ACCOUNTING & FINANCE (PAPER 2.5) INSTITUTE OF CHARTERED ACCOUNTANT GHANA, ICAG GENERAL COMMENTS The standard of the question paper administered was very good. The questions were clear, practical, unambiguous with almost a 100% syllabus coverage. There has been a significant improvement in the quality of responses offered by candidates. The presentation skills of candidates have improved drastically, perhaps as a result of the interventions and outreach programmes of the Institute. Consequently, the performance of the Candidates has witnessed tremendous improvements over the past sittings. In all, 50% of Candidates who wrote the examination passed as against 18% and 34% pass rates in April 2022 and November 2021 examinations respectively. This may serve as an inspiration to prospective Candidates knowing that when the right things are done in the exams, they will surely pass. STANDARD OF THE PAPER In line with the approved examination structure in the syllabus, the paper consists of five questions of which the Candidates were required to attempt all questions. The questions were equally weighted. In order to have a wider coverage of the syllabus, each major question was structured into sub-questions and sub-sub questions. In all, the paper has five (5) major question, nine (9) sub-questions and twelve (12) sub-subquestions, providing near 100% syllabus coverage. In my estimation using Bloom’s Taxonomy (Armstrong, 2016), the test items ranked as follows: understanding (15%), application (70%), analysis (15%) and evaluation (5%). This is consistent with the learning outcomes set out in the syllabus. The standard of the paper was very good and comparable to the previous years. Nevertheless, exam setters are encouraged to explore innovations in making the questions clearer, practical, i Mon, 01 Aug 2022 00:00:00 GMT http://41.66.247.10:8080/xmlui/handle/123456789/631 2022-08-01T00:00:00Z INSTITUTE OF CHARTERED ACCOUNTANT GHANA, ICAG GENERAL COMMENTS The standard of the question paper administered was very good. The questions were clear, practical, unambiguous with almost a 100% syllabus coverage. There has been a significant improvement in the quality of responses offered by candidates. The presentation skills of candidates have improved drastically, perhaps as a result of the interventions and outreach programmes of the Institute. Consequently, the performance of the Candidates has witnessed tremendous improvements over the past sittings. In all, 50% of Candidates who wrote the examination passed as against 18% and 34% pass rates in April 2022 and November 2021 examinations respectively. This may serve as an inspiration to prospective Candidates knowing that when the right things are done in the exams, they will surely pass.