This certificate is concerned with the commercial and organisational knowledge required for business analysis work. The syllabus is structured around the two key areas of Business Finance and Organisational Behaviour, and uses definitions, techniques and principles from the books specified in the recommended reading list.
Scope
Holders of the BCS BSD Certificate in Commercial
Awareness should be able to:
* Understand three techniques used to evaluate a
financial case.
* Understand
costing and pricing.
* Understand
cash flow forecasting and budgeting.
* Describe the
contents of financial accounting documents.
* Interpret
financial accounts.
* Explain
specified business performance ratios.
* Define the
elements and usage of Porter’s Five Forces Framework and Value
Chain.
* Define the
elements and usage of the Boston Consulting Group’s
matrix.
* Define the
performance measures and usage of the Balanced Business
Scorecard.
* Define the
elements of specified cultural analysis approaches.
* Explain the
different management structures and their
characteristics.
* Define the
different architectures that may be adopted by
organisations.
Target group
Anyone who wants to understand of the structure,
operation and behavior of organizations. It’s particularly relevant
to those in a business change role such as business analysts,
program or project managers, solution architects and service
managers.
Context
This
Foundation in Commercial Awareness certificate can be studied
alongside other BA Foundation certificates, prior to progressing to
Practitioner level.
Examination details
- Examination type:
Computer-based or paper-based multiple-choice
questions
- Number of questions:
40
- Pass mark:
65%
- Open book/notes:
No
- Electronic
equipment/aides permitted: Yes
- Time allotted for
examination: 60 minutes
- The Rules and Regulations for EXIN’s examinations apply to this exam.
Use of calculators
Simple
non-programmable calculators can be used during paper based
examinations (to be provided by the candidate). Candidates taking
on-line examinations will have access to an
on screen calculator. No
other calculators or mobile technology will be
allowed.
Training
Candidates can study for this certificate in two
ways: by attending training courses provided
by Accredited Training
Organisations or by self-study. An accredited training course will
require a minimum of 14
hours. A reading list to support self-study is provided
below.
Contact hours
The
recommended number of contact hours for this training course is 14.
This includes group assignments, exam preparation and short breaks.
This number of hours does not include homework, logistics for exam preparation and
lunch breaks.
Indicative study
effort
14 hours,
depending on existing knowledge