← Management accounting to inform decision-making
The recommendation (every paper, identical wording)
The largest single block of marks in the paper, and the most predictable.| Required element | What it looks like |
|---|---|
| A clear decision | "Noa should add video." Never "it depends". |
| Financial evidence with figures | Break-even, margin of safety, budgeted cash position, profit comparison |
| Your own additional calculation | A profit projection, a per-unit cost, a percentage change the paper did not give you |
| Non-financial factors | Two, specific to the scenario, each linked to the decision |
| Justified conclusion | Why your option beats the alternative, and what is being given up |
Marked as one holistic judgement. A recommendation with no figures cannot reach Merit; figures with no decision cannot either.
Exam-style A complete recommendation, in miniature Should Noa add video to his wedding photography package, or work contract for a local photographer over winter? DECISION: Noa should add video to his wedding photography package. FINANCIAL EVIDENCE: break-even is 40 weddings, and reaching his current $29,400 profit needs 54 weddings — both achievable given his growing booking trend, whereas contract work caps his income at a fixed rate with no growth potential. ORIGINAL CALCULATION: at his current 32 weddings, adding video and growing bookings by just 22 more over time reaches the 54-wedding target — a realistic growth path rather than a distant one. NON-FINANCIAL FACTORS: video skills let Noa build a stronger long-term brand, but the added winter workload may reduce family time compared with the more predictable hours of contract work. CONCLUSION: the stronger long-term income potential and brand-building from video outweigh the short-term workload cost, so adding video is the better choice despite the trade-off in family time. ✓ Every one of the five required elements appears, each doing real work rather than being mentioned in passing — this is the shape a full-credit recommendation takes, whatever the specific scenario.Common ways a recommendation loses marks it should have earned
- A decision is stated but never explicitly justified against the alternative that was rejected.
- Figures are quoted but never tied back to why they support THIS decision over the other option.
- Non-financial factors are listed but not linked to a consequence for anyone named in the scenario.
- The conclusion restates the decision without saying what is being given up by rejecting the other option.