ICAP Strategic Case Study study plan

Build a one-page decision map linking PESTEL, five forces, value chain and TOWS analysis to the type of case question each answers

Apply PESTEL and five-forces analysis to two unseen case scenarios and write the three most decision-relevant implications for each

Practise identifying the single strategic question in a case before writing, across three 25-minute timed exercises

Compile a personal list of external-environment data sources (industry structure, macro indicators, competitive positioning) you will cite in answers

Generate and screen three strategic options for a case using suitability, acceptability and feasibility criteria, and justify a ranked recommendation

Draft an implementation plan covering structure, culture, resourcing, KPIs, stakeholder impact and change-management risks

Link strategic options to financial appraisal by building an option-scoring template with cost, benefit and risk dimensions

Answer two timed case questions on strategy evaluation in 30 minutes each

Summarise recognition and measurement rules for revenue, leases, impairment, provisions and financial instruments, and flag where they affect case numbers

Compute and interpret eight ratios from a set of financial statements, explaining what each signals to a strategist rather than an accountant

Identify three accounting-judgement red flags in a set of published accounts and state the analytical consequence of each

Outline headline requirements of integrated and sustainability reporting and where they change a company's narrative

Calculate WACC, NPV, IRR, payback and gearing for a case scenario, stating every assumption explicitly

Evaluate financing choices (debt versus equity, lease versus buy, dividend policy) and recommend one with justification

Assess working-capital and valuation implications using both discounted cash flow and market multiples

Complete two timed numerical case questions of 25 minutes each without referencing notes

Distinguish external audit, assurance and internal audit, and map independence and ethical requirements onto a scenario

Build a risk register by identifying ten case risks, scoring likelihood and impact, and proposing a specific mitigation for each

Explain the auditor's response to fraud risk, going-concern uncertainty and related-party transactions

Convert three internal-control weaknesses into prioritised management recommendations

Map governance code principles onto a board scenario, identifying five breaches with a remedy for each

Apply a structured ethical decision framework to three dilemmas and reach a defensible, reasoned conclusion

Summarise the headline tax rules (corporate income tax, indirect tax, withholding) and legal or regulatory constraints most likely to affect case decisions

Rehearse professional-skills marks by structuring two written answers with clear headings, judgements and conclusions

Sit a full three-hour integrated mock under exam conditions with no interruptions

Diagnose the three weakest topic areas by mark lost per domain

Re-attempt the lowest-scoring question and rewrite it to a model standard

Assess time allocation across sections and adjust the plan for the final week

Close the top three remediation gaps by reworking notes and answering two targeted questions per gap

Sit a second full mock and compare the per-domain score profile with week 7

Rehearse a fixed time-allocation and answer-structuring routine for each question type

Condense all eight weeks into a single one-page revision sheet for final review