KASNEB CS23 common mistakes
KASNEB CS23 · Understand the traps and how to avoid them.
Writes a general essay on the definition and importance of corporate governance instead of applying the specific governance principle (e.g. board independence, related-party transactions, directors' conflicts) to the facts in the scenario.
Revision is organised by topic headings, so the candidate recognises the topic word in the question and reproduces notes rather than diagnosing which principle the facts engage.
What to do instead
Practise a fixed four-step answer template for every governance scenario: name the principle, identify the facts that trigger it, state the risk or breach, and recommend a specific board action. Deliberately allocate at least a third of the answer to applying facts, and self-mark against that ratio.
Answers ethics questions with a personal moral opinion ('this is wrong') without identifying the ethical issue, the affected stakeholders, and a named decision framework or test.
Ethics is treated as common sense rather than as an examinable analytical discipline, so the candidate does not realise that marks are awarded for structured reasoning.
What to do instead
Build a one-page ethics checklist (issue, stakeholders, duties/conflict of interest, framework such as consequentialist versus deontological reasoning, options, recommendation) and drill it on short scenarios until it is automatic.
Cites a statute, section number, or regulation that does not exist, or attributes a requirement to the wrong Act, when advising on a secretarial filing, meeting, or resolution.
Section numbers are memorised as isolated facts without being anchored to the Act, and under time pressure the candidate invents a plausible-looking reference to sound authoritative.
What to do instead
Maintain a two-column table of Act and requirement for every filing, notice period, and resolution type in the syllabus, and learn only those. In the exam, if the section is not certain, cite the Act and state the requirement accurately without a section number rather than guessing.
Confuses board authority with shareholder authority when advising on matters such as appointing directors, declaring dividends, altering the articles, or approving a substantial transaction.
Resolutions are learned as a list without a decision rule, and the phrases 'board' and 'members' appear interchangeably in revision notes.
What to do instead
Build a resolution matrix with columns for the decision, who decides, the type of resolution (ordinary, special, board), notice required, and filing. Rehearse it on past-style scenarios until each item can be placed in under a minute.
Uses PESTEL, SWOT, or another analytical model as the answer itself, listing generic factors and trends that are never connected to the organisation in the scenario.
Models are memorised as content to be displayed rather than as tools whose only value is to generate implications for a specific organisation.
What to do instead
Adopt the rule that every model point must be followed by 'so what for this organisation' and 'therefore the action is'. Practise converting a list of six factors into three implications and three recommendations.
Describes management theory (for example Maslow, Herzberg, or the stages of team development) without answering the command word, which is usually to advise, evaluate, or recommend to a named manager or board.
The candidate equates demonstrating knowledge with earning marks and does not check what the verb in the question actually requires.
What to do instead
Underline the command word and the target audience before writing. End every paragraph with a sentence addressed to that audience stating the recommendation or consequence, and remove any paragraph that has no such sentence.
Mixes accounting profit with cash flow in investment appraisal, or applies tax and depreciation at the wrong point in the NPV calculation.
The proforma is recalled as a sequence of lines rather than as a logic, and the candidate does not distinguish operating cash flow from the accounting charge.
What to do instead
Write a standard proforma before starting the calculation: initial outlay, incremental revenues and costs, tax on incremental taxable profit, tax allowable depreciation or capital allowances, working capital changes, terminal value, discount factor. Check each line against the proforma before discounting.
Computes a ratio or valuation without stating the formula used, or uses inconsistent bases (closing versus average equity, book versus market values) and then offers no interpretation.
The candidate sees the calculation as the whole answer and assumes the marker will infer the formula and the meaning.
What to do instead
Use a three-line structure for every ratio: formula stated, computation shown, one sentence of interpretation compared with a benchmark or prior year. Use the same basis throughout and state it if the data forces an assumption.
Prepares final accounts from a trial balance without making the closing adjustments for accruals, prepayments, depreciation, irrecoverable debts, or closing inventory.
The candidate works line by line down the trial balance and treats the adjustments as an optional extra section rather than as changes to the figures already written.
What to do instead
Before writing any figure, list all adjustments in the question and tick them off as a checklist. Post each adjustment to both the statement of profit or loss and the statement of financial position before transferring totals, then re-tick the list.
Applies tax rates, thresholds, or allowances from memory that are out of date, or treats accounting profit as taxable income without reconciling the two.
Tax figures are revised from older notes and the candidate is anxious about running out of time, so the reconciliation is skipped.
What to do instead
Use the rates and thresholds supplied in the question or the current syllabus, and never substitute a remembered figure. Always show a reconciliation starting from accounting profit and adjusting for disallowed expenses, capital allowances, and exempt income before applying the rate.