T
Trevor
Member
Hi,
I just started trying out CP3 by jumping into past exam questions straightaway without studying any materials, as this was the advice from work colleagues given I have Excel modelling work experience.
After doing a few early years past exam questions, I think it is do-able, however I have a few comments:
Can I know how much weight does a "correct" modelling answer carry?
I apologise in advance if any of the question seemed obvious, I had no briefing or background understanding of the exam but attempted past paper questions straightaway.
Thanks,
Trevor
I just started trying out CP3 by jumping into past exam questions straightaway without studying any materials, as this was the advice from work colleagues given I have Excel modelling work experience.
After doing a few early years past exam questions, I think it is do-able, however I have a few comments:
- Excel modelling can be subjective, there may be many ways to build a model / formula mechanics to make something work. For example, dynamic ranges or advanced functions using INDIRECT() or DATEDIF() functions. Are these acceptable?
- Different treatments of calculation, for example converting annual interest rates to monthly rates
A theoretical way is to take the 12th-root of it, such that taking the 12th power will give back the interest rates,
however to tailor advice to non-technical audiences, we may simplify the calculations by simply dividing the rates by 12 (eg: 3% pa approximated to 0.25% instead of 0.2466%)
This may yield different result after many years of projection. Will marks be penalised for getting a "wrong answer"?
- Subjective judgements
There are situations where we have to make a judgement whether to accept any unusual data or trends. For example if we were required to plot a graph to project future results, I might have decided the past data exhibits a trend, therefore use it as projection. However the sample solution does not consider that a trend.
This again, leads to different final result. Will the "wrong answer" be penalised?
- Different interpretation of question wordings
At times I get a very different answer from the sample solution because I understood the question differently and had different calculation treatments.
- Complex scenarios
I remember coming across a modelling question which there are way too many possible combinations of events. As my first CP2 past paper practice, I realized it is very difficult to cover all scenarios (thousands of billions possibilities for that particular example).
Not knowing I can simplify the scenario by setting assumptions, I was tempted to consider all the scenarios using Excel VBA macro (For loops).
I had a feeling that VBA macro will not be acceptable (as it gives unfair advantage for candidates with work experience).
However, in an exam setting I will not be sure if making such assumption is valid as it wouldn't have met the "client's" requirement fully.
Is there a way to tell if any simplification is allowed for exam purposes?
Can I know how much weight does a "correct" modelling answer carry?
I apologise in advance if any of the question seemed obvious, I had no briefing or background understanding of the exam but attempted past paper questions straightaway.
Thanks,
Trevor