Following on from ‘Developments in IT and the impact on performance management – part 1’ (see ‘related links’), this article looks at some more recent developments in IT; specifically process automation, artificial intelligence (AI), data visualisation and the internet of things. Process automation Process automation is the concept of processes being performed by machines rather than by humans. Machines can

This article explains what professional marks are, how they are awarded in the Strategic Professional exams and to remind potential candidates how best to achieve these additional, and often crucial, marks. Professional marks were introduced to the ACCA Qualification to allow candidates to demonstrate – and the ACCA examining team to assess – particular professional communication skills and high-level capabilities

This article looks at what you can do to improve your chances of passing ACCA’s Strategic Professional exams. Strategic Professional exams are a step up from the Applied Skills level and candidates require a different approach to these exams in order to pass and move on towards becoming an ACCA member. A useful resource is the articles about stepping up

A major part of performance management involves managing employees and managers, as their performance will have a major effect on the performance of the organisation as a whole. This article looks at how reward schemes can be used to influence the behaviour of employees Meaning of reward schemes A broad definition of reward schemes is provided by Bratton: ‘Reward system

This article looks at the nature of human resource management, and at the link between human resource management and performance management. It then examines aspects of the staff appraisal system, and considers the impact of these on the performance of an organisation. Nature of human resource management Human resource management is defined by Bratton as ‘a strategic approach to managing

Activity-based management (ABM) can be defined as the entire set of actions that can be taken on a better informed basis using ABC information. The aim is to achieve the same level of output with lower costs. During the 1980s, many businesses started to introduce activity-based costing (ABC) systems. The aim of these was to achieve a more accurate calculation

This article is intended to help students understand environmental management accounting, its increasing importance, and new developments. The global profile of environmental issues has risen significantly during the past two decades, precipitated in part by major incidents such as the Bhopal chemical leak (1984) and the Exxon Valdez oil spill (1989). These events received worldwide media attention and increased concerns