Why 6 Out Of 10 Students Failed ACCA PM In June 2026
Performance Management recorded a 41% pass rate in the June 2026 sitting. That is the lowest of the Applied Skills papers, and it means close to six in every ten candidates who sat PM did not pass it.
For context, here is how the Applied Skills papers compared in the same sitting.
Paper | June 2026 pass rate |
|---|---|
Corporate and Business Law (LW) | 82% |
Taxation (TX) | 55% |
Financial Reporting (FR) | 52% |
Financial Management (FM) | 48% |
Audit and Assurance (AA) | 47% |
Performance Management (PM) | 41% |
The interesting question is not why PM is hard. It is why PM is hard for students who genuinely know the syllabus — because that describes most of the people who fail it.
PM is not a knowledge paper pretending to be one
Most students prepare for PM the way they prepared for Management Accounting: learn the techniques, practise the calculations, memorise the formulae. That approach gets you through Section A and Section B comfortably.
It does not get you through Section C, and Section C is where the paper is decided.
Section | Format | Marks | Where students stand |
|---|---|---|---|
A | 15 objective test questions, 2 marks each | 30 | Usually fine |
B | 3 case scenarios, 5 objective questions each | 30 | Usually acceptable |
C | 2 constructed response questions, 20 marks each | 40 | Where the paper is lost |
A student who scores well in A and B and poorly in C typically lands somewhere in the low forties. That is the classic PM failure profile, and it is almost never caused by not knowing what a variance is.
The four things that actually cost the marks
1. Calculating when the requirement said explain
This is the single most common PM failure. A twenty-mark Section C question might allocate eight marks to calculation and twelve to interpretation. Students produce immaculate calculations, then write three lines of comment, and cannot understand how the answer scored nine.
The calculation is the easy part and it is usually the smaller part. The marks sit in explaining what the number means for the business in the scenario — why the variance arose, what management should do, what the limitation of the technique is in this context.
2. Treating the scenario as decoration
PM scenarios are not background colour. They contain the specific facts that the marks are attached to. A generic statement about adverse material price variances earns very little. The same point tied to the fact that this particular company changed supplier in Q2 earns the mark.
A practical habit: before writing any Section C answer, underline three specific facts from the scenario and make sure each one appears in your answer.
3. Running out of time in the wrong place
PM runs for three hours and carries one hundred marks, which gives you roughly 1.8 minutes per mark. Section C should therefore take about 72 minutes in total, or 36 minutes per question.
Students routinely spend fifty minutes on the first Section C question because it is going well, then have twenty minutes for the second. The second question is worth exactly the same twenty marks. There are no marks for finishing one answer beautifully at the expense of the other.
4. Writing a lot instead of writing precisely
Length is not a proxy for quality. Four well-applied points score better than nine listed ones. Examiner commentary on PM regularly notes that candidates write at length without addressing the requirement as set — volume feels productive while you are doing it, and scores nothing.
What to do about it
- Read the last four examiner reports for PM before you practise another question. Write down every repeated complaint and convert each into a rule you follow.
- Practise Section C questions only, under timed conditions, for two weeks. Sections A and B are already your strength; stop revising them.
- For every question you attempt, spend as long reviewing the answer as you spent writing it.
- Allocate time by marks before you start writing, and stop when the allocation runs out even if the answer is unfinished. This will feel wrong. Do it anyway — it protects the marks in the next question.
- Get at least one full PM paper marked by someone other than yourself. You cannot see your own habits.
The uncomfortable conclusion
If you failed PM, the instinct is to go back and learn the syllabus more thoroughly. For most candidates that is the wrong response, and it is why so many students fail PM more than once — they repeat the preparation that did not work, only harder.
The 41% pass rate is not evidence that PM requires more knowledge than the other papers. It is evidence that PM requires a different kind of answer, and that most students are never taught to write one.
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Frequently asked questions
Add these with FAQPage schema markup.
What is the pass rate for ACCA PM?
Performance Management recorded a 41% pass rate in the June 2026 sitting, the lowest of the Applied Skills papers. Pass rates vary by sitting but PM is consistently among the most difficult papers at this level.
Why is ACCA PM so hard?
Because it tests application rather than technique. Sections A and B are manageable for most well-prepared students, but Section C carries 40 marks and requires interpretation, scenario application and judgement rather than calculation alone.
How do I pass ACCA PM Section C?
Allocate time by marks, answer the requirement verb as set, use specific facts from the scenario, and put more effort into explanation than calculation. Most Section C marks sit in interpretation, not in the numbers.
How many marks do I need to pass ACCA PM?
Fifty out of one hundred, as with every ACCA exam. There is no negative marking.
What are the most common mistakes students make in Accountancy exams?
| Common mistakes include: |
| Ignoring working notes |
| Writing answers without proper format |
| Calculation errors in partnership questions |
| Missing adjustments |
| Avoiding these alone can increase scores by 10–15 marks. |
How should I revise Accountancy one day before the exam?
| One day before the exam, revise only: |
| Formats (Balance Sheet, Cash Flow, P&L Appropriation) |
| Important journal entries |
| Ratio formulas |
| Adjustment list |
| Avoid starting new chapters to prevent confusion. |
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