如何准备P3.4 BIM Paper

2007年，P3.4 Business Information Management (BIM)将因考纲变更而随之消失，或许因为这门课的内容无法跟上日新月异的IT产业变革的步伐，或许因为它的内容与其他课程有太多重叠，或许是其他的原因。为了不辜负数位考友的盛情之邀，也为了些许的怀念，我在此留下一些感想与建议，希望对仅剩3次考试机会的P3.4BIM的复习准备有些帮助，是为题记。

选择P3.4 BIM的几个理由

1、 知识结构完善性。ACCA为什么有optional paper自然有其道理，3.1审计实务，3.2高级税务都是非常professional的课程，如果在事务所里面做审计或者税务的朋友或者有志于去事务所（特别是Big Four）里面从事该职业的朋友，可以选择这两门中的一门。3.3业绩管理和3.4信息管理更适合于企业背景的朋友报考。另一方面，3.3和3.4的知识结构相辅相成，两门一起学习为3.5战略管理打下了很好的基础。其实，3.5中很多内容在3.3和3.4中都已经有较详细地阐述，并且3.4和3.5的答题风格极为相似，所以我的首选组合是3.3和3.4放在一起考。

2、 难易程度。这也是一个非常重要的考虑因素。从2001年12月至2005年6月的8次考试通过率来看，3.4是4门optional paper中平均通过率最高的一门，而且通过率极为稳定（最高54%，最低50%）。相比之下，3.1和3.2的平均通过率保持在40%左右，远低于3.4的通过率。出于时间和金钱的考虑，也应该选3.4。

3、 专业知识难度小于预期。回避3.4的考友多数担心3.4讲IT的内容，自己从来没学过，怕根本看不懂。事实上，尽管3.4涉及信息系统与信息管理的内容，但是难度并不大，其中涉及到的E-Commerce大家都有感性认识，应该也不难理解。3.4更偏重于讲思想而不是技术。

我的考试经历

3.4我考了两遍，虽然成绩一般（49分和56分），但也可谓“经验老道”了。

迫于时间紧张，第一次考试我书看了7章半（共9章），练习册没碰过，真题看了2/3吧。战场上，有12分的题和考官的文章有关，这篇文章考试之前重点看了一下，很有帮助。其他的必答题还算能勉强回答，但是后面40分的出乱子了。我回避了一道关于data warehousing的题目，因为考前我这部分没怎么准备，选择了第4道和第6道。后来看答案，第4道答题思路完全错了，这道题其实是与第九章Impact of IT on work practice相关的，我却按Knowledge Management中的不同的信息系统种类去举例了，估计分被扣的满惨的。哎,书没看完的严重后果啊!第六题我匆匆忙忙做了10分左右。结果非常不幸，我49分被关，我怀疑阅卷考官故意把我拉下来的。

（Jun 2005/Q4 Identify and discuss five examples of how, in your opinion, the introduction of business information management systems can significantly affect working relationships and the communication of management information between employees and employers within an organisation.）

第二次考试，把剩余为看完的书看完了，没空做习题，考前照例把历届考题review一遍（其实还是没看完，data management这一块我还是放掉了），把考官的文章重点学习了一遍。这次考试比上次顺利些，终于在三小时内完成了100分的题量。考官的文章覆盖了必答题中十多分的题。

复习技巧总结

1、 看完书、看透书。理解书的内容和思想是学习3.4的价值所在，如果可以用一句话来概括整本书的思想的话，那便是’Enable Business Strategy through IT Application’。国外，信息部门被称为Enabling Function，顾名思义，信息部门的任务就是保障战略实施、提供战略优势，而并非通常意义上的辅助职能部门，我想3.4反复强调的也就是这么一个思想。附录中有一篇IFAC2004公布的研究报告<The Diverse Roles of Professional Accountants>中的文章摘录<Enabling Functions – What that Means in a Global Company>，对大家理解3.4这门课很有帮助。

2、 总结模型。3.4中有许多经典模型，他们经常出现在考题中，考前好好的梳理一下各个模型的主要思想对考试大有裨益。列举如下：

n PEST，SWOT

n ‘Where We Are, Where We Want to Be, Going to Get There’

n Nolan’s Six Stage Growth Model

n Parson’s IS Strategies

n Porter’s Value Chain, Porter’s five forces

n Earl’s Three Legs Analysis

n Zuboff’s ‘Automate, Infomate, transformate’

n Checkland’s SSM

3、 考官的文章非常重要！3.4的考官通常半年至少写一篇文章，而这篇文章多数会成为下一次考试的topic之一，一般涵盖10-15分的题目。好好学习考官的文章有助于进一步理解模型，更有助于通过考试：）

4、 关于习题。3.4全部是Essay Question，要求写得快，写得多。一、原则上应该多做习题，平时多练笔，多写写，以避免考场上“知道模型怎么回事，但是三言两语就写不出东西了”的尴尬境地。（郑重申明：本人学习态度不够端正，千万别以我为榜样；p）二、历届真题的重要性远远高于练习册。熟悉答题风格，考过的模型会经常换着花样的考，要重点准备。

5、 复习时间紧张的救急办法：背考官文章；看tips，准备你认为这次最有可能考的几个模型；烧香拜佛，求老天保佑，哈哈。

Appendix

Enabling Functions – What that Means in a Global Company

An Interview with Jon Fundrey

Jon Fundrey is, to give him his formal title, Financial Manager, Enabling Functions, at the industrial gases giant, The BOC Group, based at its UK headquarters. Enabling Functions covers a diverse range of responsibilities across the wide range of information management, human resources, safety and finance. “A major part of that role,” he said, “is supporting Information Management. BOC is a global business in fifty countries so staff are dispersed all around the world, though IT services are increasingly delivered from a global data center in Guildford in the UK. We also charge out to the business for our services.”

BOC spends about £100 million a year on information management with some £60 million globally but the emphasis is changing, as Fundrey reports, towards providing support and project-evaluation services.

Enabling Functions also covers financial standards. Here Fundrey’s responsibilities are more systems focused. He explained, “It is a question of ensuring that our strategic enterprise software (SAP’s R/3) works on a consistent basis across our geographies. We are rolling out a global template and defining the Finance components of that template and helping people out as we put it in.”

Fundrey is also responsible for the group’s consolidation and monthly reporting system. “We have over 200 reporting units around the world and those results are consolidated centrally on an Essbase database,” he explained. Summing up his role, he said, “Half my role is the finance function and half is systems-based responsibilities.”

Fundrey sees the contribution to BOC as being about helping driving IT/IM costs down. In his words, “Data and hardware costs fall consistently within the industry, so we need a continual review of our cost base. For example, we spend significant amounts of money with IBM and so we continually evaluate whether we are getting a good deal from them and our other suppliers. And we are driving down our systems costs. For example, with a standardized template, data flows more consistently. We need to create more process efficiency.”

Fundrey sees the added value that his efforts provide for BOC as being intertwined with the four main BOC core values: accountability, collaboration, transparency and stretch. “It is all about being very clear about what our financial objectives are and ensuring that we deliver against them. Within the finance function, it can be a tricky balancing act helping our information management colleagues deliver against their objectives.” Fundrey added, “They have a duty to their finance colleagues to ensure that accounting-wise it’s above board and viable. There is also the cultural point with a dislike of surprises. There is a duty of confidentiality to information management customers but at the same time you owe ‘no surprises’ to the finance function. It is a question of understanding the issues and an understanding of the information management issues and an ability to bring to bear financial tools and strategy. ”

Fundrey started his career in public practice.

He recalled, “I am one of the last refugees from the Big Eight. I qualified with Deloitte, Haskins & Sells in 1984 and moved into their management consulting systems side.” From there, he joined BOC in 1990. Several attractions led to this decision. “BOC is a large company and is well regarded. It does innovative things and is a global concern,” he remarked. Within the group, he has had six or seven very different roles, from selling a small computer training business to implementing an early form of EIS (Executive Information System).

Potential conflicts between corporate and professional obligations are well managed. Fundrey explained, “BOC’s core value of transparency does hold true. We have always been conscious of it but Sarbanes-Oxley reinforces it. BOC has finance as a strong point of its corporate structure. ‘If in doubt do what’s right.’ Where there might be a conflict is the capital versus revenue conflict. I need to ensure that something needs to be expensed rather than capitalized.

Also there are implications, for example with international financial reporting standards. Provisions on leasing could mean a greater amount of disclosure for us. But BOC has never been ‘financially innovative,’ meaning creative accounting. And that policy has been reinforced in recent years,” he stressed.

On the topic of continuing professional development, Fundrey called it a mixture.

“There is a fair amount of in-house work, for example, on implementing international financial reporting standards and providing information and training on them,” he remarked.

But he thinks that most value can be achieved from networking at conferences, noting that discussing issues with your peers in the industry can be the most valuable approach.

Summarizing his thoughts, Fundrey said, “The accounting profession is becoming more relevant to professional accountants in business. It is a question of the basic positioning of ourselves. In BOC we are clearly viewed as the control side of the business. And we also fulfill the ‘trusted advisor’ role, so we have a high degree of credibility and that is valued.”

Slogan:

“The accounting profession is becoming more relevant to professional accountants in business.”

Source: <The Diverse Roles of Professional Accountants> in Business Published by the Professional Accountants in Business Committee Nov. 2004, Available on http://www.ifac.org/