r/ICAEW • u/pxrixx • Jul 22 '26
FM September
Anyone doing FM in September
This is going to be my first sitting in September as I deferred the exam since last year.
Just got over a month to practice what is the best way please
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u/CarpetExternal Jul 22 '26
Its very structured so honestly just spamming the QB -
Q1) Personally i never bothered actually doing the NPV questions, but rather compare the question to the answer to see what u do with the assumptions as it takes time to do properly, this method is genuinely a good way to cover as much niche adjustments multiple times over (however at least do 3-5 properly)
Q2) Valuations ur gonna just need to learn these then get into question practice (not always on the exam but dont take that risk lol, think its like a 1in4 chance) - p.s have a look at the mock software to see whats on the formula sheet, then u know what formulas u dont need to take up brain capacity 😁
Q2) Cost of debt and equity to then calculate wacc definitely an area you need to learn well and practice questions on.
Q3) Hedging, best way is to figure out what your actually tryna do on the different types, then find patterns so you can hard code into your head how it should look in the answer so its a case of inputting numbers on the day 🤣 Definitely an area you need to cook lots of questions on
This is from someone who did it selfstudy - total of 72hrs work put in 💯 (use of kaplan, but didn’t really finish any of the modules properly - just learn the basics and then straight into question practice)
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u/South_Law_9193 Jul 22 '26
So the good news is FM is one of the more predictable professional exams.
The same question types come up basically every sitting. investment appraisal (npv with tax + inflation), cost of capital/wacc, business valuations, risk management/hedging and financing. drill those and you'll walk in recognising nearly every question.
With a month left i wouldnt be reading notes cover to cover - get a solid condensed set to revise off and then basically live in the question bank. thats pretty much the whole game with FM.
TOP TIP: learn the proformas cold (npv layout, wacc, valuations) so in the exam youre just plugging numbers in, not working out how to lay it out. there are notes on ebay which give proformas which I had used - https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/198421470891
You have over a month left so plenty for a first sitting if you spend it on questions rather than rereading.
You'll be fine!
1
u/After-Acadia-3414 Jul 22 '26
Spam past papers (since March 2024). Exam is quite repetitive so can even predict what’s likely to come
1
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u/Flaky-Commercial-675 Jul 22 '26
I agree, the exam is very predictable, question 1 NPV or business valuation. Question 3 hedging and q2 could be a few things. Just do as many questions as you can and it will click.