ICAEW BTF 2026 EXAMS SET QUESTIONS AND
ANSWERS SURE A+
✔✔What is Ansoff's matrix of product/market strategies for growth? - ✔✔Existing
product in an existing market - market penetration
New product in an existing market - product development
New market for an existing product - market development
New product in a new market - diversification
✔✔What is the SAF criteria for evaluating strategies? - ✔✔Suitability --> are we
capable?
Acceptability --> are the shareholders happy?
Feasibility --> do we have enough money?
✔✔How can we break down risk? - ✔✔Business risk and non-business risk. Business
risks are specific to the business and its choices rather than more general.
, Non-business risk can be broken down into financial risk (credit and market risk), and
operational risk (general risk everyone faces to do with processes/people/law/etc.)
✔✔What are 4 key risk concepts that determine the scale of risk? - ✔✔Exposure -
measure of the way a business is faced by risk
Volatility - how the factor to which a business is exposed is likely to alter
Impact - what loss will be suffered by the undesired outcome?
Probability - how likely is that outcome to occur?
✔✔What is involved in the risk management process? - ✔✔Awareness and
identification, analysis (probability*impact) then response and control.
✔✔How might we respond to different types of risk? - ✔✔High probability and impact -
avoid (don't do)
High probability but low impact - reduction (make less likely)
Low probability but high impact - sharing (transfer through insurance)
Low probability and impact - accept (do nothing)
✔✔What are key differences between crises and disasters? - ✔✔A crisis impacts on
customers, employees and other stakeholders, it therefore impacts externally. Can have
a financial crisis (go bust), PR crisis (major cock-up), or strategic crisis (out of touch).
By contrast, disaster typically doesn't have a direct impact on stakeholders. Disasters
can lead to a crisis if left unchecked. A good example might be a fire at an office or
factory. Disasters threaten business operations but can be mitigated with good
contingency planning.
✔✔What are the key characteristics of good information? - ✔✔ACCURATE: accurate,
complete, cost-beneficial, user-targeted, relevant, authoritative, timely, easy to use
✔✔What are the 4 Vs of big data? Which is unique to big data? - ✔✔Volume, Velocity,
Variety, Veracity
Key point is the velocity which is unique
✔✔What is the distinction between structured and unstructured data? - ✔✔Structured -
obtained with a particular purpose in mind (e.g. survey)
Unstructured - obtained without a particular purpose (e.g. captured data from
smartphones, or user generated data like tweets)
✔✔What are the two underlying assumptions that financial information must be
prepared under? What does the IASB say are the key qualitative characteristics of
useful financial statements? - ✔✔Accruals basis accounting and going concern.
ANSWERS SURE A+
✔✔What is Ansoff's matrix of product/market strategies for growth? - ✔✔Existing
product in an existing market - market penetration
New product in an existing market - product development
New market for an existing product - market development
New product in a new market - diversification
✔✔What is the SAF criteria for evaluating strategies? - ✔✔Suitability --> are we
capable?
Acceptability --> are the shareholders happy?
Feasibility --> do we have enough money?
✔✔How can we break down risk? - ✔✔Business risk and non-business risk. Business
risks are specific to the business and its choices rather than more general.
, Non-business risk can be broken down into financial risk (credit and market risk), and
operational risk (general risk everyone faces to do with processes/people/law/etc.)
✔✔What are 4 key risk concepts that determine the scale of risk? - ✔✔Exposure -
measure of the way a business is faced by risk
Volatility - how the factor to which a business is exposed is likely to alter
Impact - what loss will be suffered by the undesired outcome?
Probability - how likely is that outcome to occur?
✔✔What is involved in the risk management process? - ✔✔Awareness and
identification, analysis (probability*impact) then response and control.
✔✔How might we respond to different types of risk? - ✔✔High probability and impact -
avoid (don't do)
High probability but low impact - reduction (make less likely)
Low probability but high impact - sharing (transfer through insurance)
Low probability and impact - accept (do nothing)
✔✔What are key differences between crises and disasters? - ✔✔A crisis impacts on
customers, employees and other stakeholders, it therefore impacts externally. Can have
a financial crisis (go bust), PR crisis (major cock-up), or strategic crisis (out of touch).
By contrast, disaster typically doesn't have a direct impact on stakeholders. Disasters
can lead to a crisis if left unchecked. A good example might be a fire at an office or
factory. Disasters threaten business operations but can be mitigated with good
contingency planning.
✔✔What are the key characteristics of good information? - ✔✔ACCURATE: accurate,
complete, cost-beneficial, user-targeted, relevant, authoritative, timely, easy to use
✔✔What are the 4 Vs of big data? Which is unique to big data? - ✔✔Volume, Velocity,
Variety, Veracity
Key point is the velocity which is unique
✔✔What is the distinction between structured and unstructured data? - ✔✔Structured -
obtained with a particular purpose in mind (e.g. survey)
Unstructured - obtained without a particular purpose (e.g. captured data from
smartphones, or user generated data like tweets)
✔✔What are the two underlying assumptions that financial information must be
prepared under? What does the IASB say are the key qualitative characteristics of
useful financial statements? - ✔✔Accruals basis accounting and going concern.
