P5 – Advanced Performance Management

The Advanced Performance Management syllabus further develops key aspects introduced in Paper F5, Performance Management, at the skills level and draws on aspects of the material covered from a more strategic and operational planning perspective in Paper P3, Business Analysis.   The syllabus introduces candidates to the strategic role of management accounting as a discipline for planning and controlling performance so that strategic objectives can be set, monitored and controlled. It also covers the impact of external factors on strategic management issues, such as macro economic, fiscal, market and environmental impacts on performance.From appreciating the strategic context of performance management and the impact of wider factors, the syllabus examines, at an operational level, the issues relating to performance measurement systems and their design.   The syllabus then moves from performance management systems and their design to the scope and application of high-level performance measurement techniques in a variety of contexts, including not-for-profit organisations and multinational businesses.   Having covered the strategic aspects of performance management and operational systems for the measurement and control of performance in a variety of contexts, candidates are then expected to synthesise this knowledge in the role of an advisor to senior management or independent clients on how to assess and control the performance of an entity, including the recognition of whether a business is facing difficulties or possibly failure.   Finally, the syllabus deals with current developments in performance management and with emerging issues as they might affect or influence the management of performance within organisations.