ACCA Advanced Performance Management (APM): study notes The 2026/27 syllabus, area by area, with case scenarios and quizzes.

1. 01A. Strategic management and value creationHow strategic management accounting links strategy to measurement: the levels of planning and control, stakeholders and Mendelow's matrix, SWOT, PEST and Porter's generic strategies, the balanced scorecard, benchmarking and risk appetite. Then the performance hierarchy from mission to CSFs and KPIs, with Lynch and Cross' performance pyramid and the planning gap; financial measures from ROCE and EPS to TSR, EBITDA, RI, NPV and EVA; non-financial measures including net promoter scores and brand loyalty; and sustainability, with integrated reporting, the four environmental cost categories and three EMA techniques, followed by a quiz.6 lessons · 5h 30m+

   • Strategic management accounting60 min
   • The performance hierarchy55 min
   • Financial performance measurementFree preview75 min
   • Non-financial performance measurement55 min
   • Sustainability70 min
   • Module 1 quiz15 min
2. 02B. Performance optimisationHow organisations plan, control and improve performance. The module evaluates budgeting methods, planning and operational variances and beyond budgeting; links reward, accountability and management style to strategy through Fitzgerald and Moon's standards and rewards and Hopwood's styles; and applies improvement techniques from Porter's value chain, value-based and activity-based management to Kaizen costing, Six Sigma, the costs of quality and business process re-engineering. It ends by adapting performance management to service businesses, not-for-profit and public bodies, multinationals, alliances, supply chains and service level agreements, followed by a quiz.5 lessons · 4h 40m+

   • Budgetary planning and control65 min
   • Performance and reward60 min
   • Performance improvement models and techniques70 min
   • Performance optimisation in specific contexts70 min
3. 03C. Performance reportingHow to judge and improve the reports a performance management system produces. You will evaluate a management report and its narrative commentary against the organisation's mission and objectives, the needs of its users, the risk of information overload and best practice in presentation; assess charts, graphs, maps and animation; explain how numbers and narrative can mislead; and write a useful commentary yourself, followed by a quiz.2 lessons · 1h 15m+

   • Management reportsFree preview60 min
   • Module 3 quiz15 min
4. 04D. Data science and technology for performance and insightsHow technology and data shape performance management. The module advises on unified databases, data warehouses, process automation, AI, RFID, cloud and network technology; the problems data silos cause for the accounting function; ERP, knowledge management and CRM systems; the risks to systems and data and the controls that protect them; and lean information judged with the 5 Ss. It then covers big data, the data science process, the four types of analytics and the data they use, regression and bias, machine learning and the assessment of a model's output, and the ethics of collecting and processing data, followed by a quiz.3 lessons · 2h 30m+

   • Technology and information systems60 min
   • Data science and analytics75 min
   • Module 4 quiz15 min
5. 05E. Professional skillsThe four professional skills that carry 20 of the 100 marks in every APM exam: communication, analysis and evaluation, scepticism and commercial acumen. Each lesson explains what the skill means in APM, sets a weak answer against a strong one on the same critique of a performance report, and shows you how to practise it. The module finishes with a quiz.5 lessons · 3h 15m+

   • Communication45 min
   • Analysis and evaluation45 min
   • Scepticism45 min
   • Commercial acumen45 min
   • Module 5 quiz15 min
6. 06F. Employability and technology skillsHow to sit the APM computer-based exam: the structure of Sections A and B, budgeting your time, reading a case from its mission and objectives through to its data, using older practice material after the 2026/27 restructuring, and laying out a report to senior management. The module finishes with a quiz on exam technique.2 lessons · 1h 5m+

   • The APM exam: working through the case50 min
   • Module 6 quiz15 min

• AStrategic management and value creation
• BPerformance optimisation
• CPerformance reporting
• DData science and technology for performance and insights
• EProfessional skills
• FEmployability and technology skills

Questions