With just a month to go before the May 2024 exams, we repeat our frequent reminder to all CIPS learners that you must not rely on the content of the CIPS study guides for your exam preparation! Although they have been published by CIPS, they are actually written by independent freelancers and, at times, the technical content is misleading and inaccurate. Even CIPS itself makes it clear that it does not assess the content of its own study material, for reasons that we explain below.
Take for example the CIPS Level 4 study guides that were reviewed and updated as part of the 2024 syllabus refresh. These constitute the Second Edition (published 2023) and provided the perfect opportunity for CIPS to correct some of their previous mistakes. However there are still notable errors that prevail.
One obvious problem area is in the CIPS L4M3 Commercial Contracting study guide. Here we have a study module based on contracting for an international audience. The syllabus does not indicate which legal system or jurisdiction applies, and so students should be able to use any knowledge on contracting from their own applicable law as long as it fits with the published syllabus content. Unfortunately, the CIPS L4M3 study guide is totally entrenched in English law. It references a significant number of legal cases as “precedent” but does not offer any guidance as to whether learners should know these for their exam - which they do not!
This places learners in a very difficult position when revising for their exam, with only the boldest of students having the courage to ignore large sections of the text.
To be fair to the author of the CIPS study guide, there are occasional caveats inserted in the text informing learners that the principles and rules vary in different legal systems. However, this is too vague to be of any help or instructional value to learners. For example there is a sizeable section on consideration (rightly, as per the syllabus) but no mention of the fact that countries whose legal system is based on a civil code (e.g. Swiss law) do not recognise consideration as a required tenet of a contract. These mistakes cause confusion for learners.
Elsewhere, in the CIPS L4M4 Ethical & Responsible Sourcing study guide the author suggests the UK is still subject to EU legislation, even though this guide was published three years after Brexit. This study guide has also missed a significant section on ratio analysis (liquidity, gearing, etc) even though there is a clear mention of this type of financial analysis in the CIPS syllabus.
In L4M8 Procurement & Supply in Practice, CIPS has revised the syllabus to include numerical calculations in the areas of finance and costing. But unfortunately the CIPS study guide gives incorrect information suggesting that depreciation is an asset within the Balance Sheet (!?) and even suggesting that the desired outcome of the liquidity quick ratio is less than 1.0 (!?).
These technical errors are disappointing and they distract from the overall integrity of the CIPS study guides as a learning resource. They cause unwelcome confusion for learners and highlight the necessity of proper professional teaching advice.
“Whenever studying for a CIPS exam, you must focus primarily on the CIPS syllabus document and not the study guides. While they can be useful reference tools, the CIPS study guides contain human error. They are not written by CIPS assessors and CIPS has a policy not to test the study guides!”
Nothing beats the value of class discussion with a professionally-qualified and competent procurement tutor. Your tutor will be able to help you navigate through this confusion and highlight which areas of the syllabus are likely to be tested in your exam.
Here at Cordie, we will work with you to understand all of the technical syllabus content and prepare you well for your exams. We will highlight where the errors are in the study guides and provide comprehensive learning material to help give you confidence on each subject.
Talk to us. We would love to hear from you and discuss any areas of the CIPS syllabus that need greater clarification. Even if you are not one of our learners, please feel free to use the contact form at the bottom of this webpage. Let’s keep the dialogue and our learning growing!