Densmore Blog

Purely case-based final assessments in December 2020. What does this mean for you?

As a student preparing for a purely case-based exam, it is important to make sure your case skills are sharp and to spend time WRITING and DEBRIEFING cases as you get ready for the final assessment.

Here are some things to consider when WRITING cases:

1. Cases are time constrained and to perform well, you need to plan and budget your time to respond to each of the questions or “requireds” you have been given in the case.
2. Quantitative analysis in cases can eat time. You need to manage your time carefully to ensure you do not spend too much time on the calculations and not get enough in the written component.
3. Being organized in your quants will help the marker understand what you are trying to say. Label clearly, show your formulas or how you came up with your numbers, and use notes to support any assumptions you made. Conclude on what the analysis tells you.
4. Make sure you are applying the case facts to the relevant technical. Your discussion should be case-specific, not generic. When you are writing, go back to the case and use the specific case facts to make your arguments.
5. Conclude where you are asked and make recommendations where appropriate.

DEBRIEFING a case means you take the time to understand where the answer came from in the case. Yes, it means you trace the case facts used in the response to where they show up in the case to understand how they were integrated or used in the discussion. This takes work and is painful at first, but it will make you a stronger case writer. Every case you write should have an equal amount of time spent in the debriefing stage as the writing stage, after it has been marked. This is going to help you see the pattern of how requireds are asked, how case facts are used to support a discussion, and most importantly, how much is needed to score a Competent ranking.

Invest time in improving your case skills now and it will pay off for you. We have practice cases available with full walkthroughs where our experienced instructors demonstrate skills for Core 1 and 2 (and each Elective area as well). This can be a great way to help increase your chances of passing.

https://dcscpa.com/PEP

The Densmore Team

(October 30, 2020)