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Walk into the ACCA Financial Management (FM) exam and you are handed help before you write a single answer: a printed formulae sheet and a set of maths tables sit inside the computer-based exam, on tap for all three hours. The trap is assuming that sheet carries you. It does not. The ACCA FM formulae sheet gives you ten formulas and two discount tables — and leaves every ratio, every appraisal method and most of the day-to-day workings for you to know cold. Knowing exactly where that line falls is the difference between revising smart and revising everything. This guide walks through every item that is printed for you, then every item that is not.
What the ACCA FM formulae sheet actually is
The ACCA FM formulae sheet is a two-part reference built into the exam software: a Formulae Sheet listing the model equations you are expected to apply, and maths tables — a present value table and an annuity table — for discounting when you would rather read a factor than key one in. In the computer-based exam it lives behind a tab or a scratchpad button on screen, so it travels with you from the first objective-test question to the last constructed-response case.
Think of it as a memory aid for the shapes of the big models, not a crib for the whole syllabus. It tells you the structure of WACC or the capital asset pricing model; it will never tell you which number is the cost of equity, when to degear a beta, or why your net present value came out negative. That interpretation is exactly what the marks are for.
One habit pays off before you ever sit the real thing: open the sheet during every practice question so you know the running order of the formulas by heart and never lose seconds hunting on exam day. If you would rather build that fluency inside a structured programme than piece it together alone, a guided ACCA Skill Level preparation course drills the FM models question by question until the sheet feels like a map you already know.
Every formula printed on the FM formulae sheet
There are ten formulas, and they cluster into three families plus the two tables. Learn them by family, not as a flat list — it mirrors how FM questions are set.
Working-capital and cash management
Economic order quantity (EOQ): EOQ = √(2C0D / Ch), where C0 is the cost per order, D is annual demand and Ch is the holding cost per unit per year. The same EOQ logic underpins the Baumol cash model, so one formula quietly serves two topics.
Miller–Orr model: the return point = lower limit + (1/3 × spread), and the spread = 3 × [ (3/4 × transaction cost × variance of cash flows) / interest rate ]1/3. The cube root is printed for you, but you must still set the lower limit yourself — the sheet never does that.
Cost of capital and business valuation
Capital asset pricing model (CAPM): E(ri) = Rf + βi(E(rm) − Rf). The sheet gives the line; you decide whether β is an equity or an asset beta.
The asset beta formula: βa = [Ve / (Ve + Vd(1−T))]βe + [Vd(1−T) / (Ve + Vd(1−T))]βd. This is the Modigliani–Miller degearing/regearing engine. The formula is handed to you; the sequence — degear a proxy company, then regear to your own capital structure — is not, and that is where marks are won or lost.
The Growth Model (dividend valuation model): P0 = D0(1+g) / (re − g), rearranged in the exam to find the cost of equity or the share price.
Gordon’s growth approximation: g = b×re, linking the retention rate b and the return on reinvestment to the dividend growth rate g.
Weighted average cost of capital (WACC): WACC = [Ve / (Ve + Vd)]ke + [Vd / (Ve + Vd)]kd(1−T). The two-source version is on the sheet; the component costs ke and kd are yours to calculate.
Inflation, interest and foreign exchange
The Fisher formula: (1+i) = (1+r)(1+h), splitting a money rate i into a real rate r and inflation h.
Purchasing power parity: S1 = S0 × (1+hc)/(1+hb), forecasting a spot rate from the two countries’ inflation rates.
Interest rate parity: F0 = S0 × (1+ic)/(1+ib), giving a forward rate from the two interest rates. Candidates routinely flip the country subscripts under pressure — the sheet shows the form, not which currency is “c” and which is “b”.
The two maths tables
Below the formulas sit the present value table (the discount factor (1+r)−n for periods 1 to 15 and rates 1% to 20%) and the annuity table (the cumulative factor [1 − (1+r)−n]/r over the same range). They cover single cash flows and level annuities. Anything outside that grid — a rate above 20%, a perpetuity, a delayed or growing annuity — you handle by formula, by hand.
Given versus must-memorise: the line that catches candidates
This is the single most useful thing to internalise before results season. The models you most associate with FM — net present value, internal rate of return, the accounting ratios, the cost of individual sources of finance — are not on the sheet at all. The table below draws the line cleanly.
| Topic area | Printed on the sheet | You must memorise |
|---|---|---|
| Investment appraisal | ✓ PV & annuity tables | ✗ NPV layout, IRR interpolation, payback, ARR, PI, perpetuity & growing-annuity factors |
| Working capital | ✓ EOQ, Miller–Orr | ✗ Inventory/receivables/payables days, the cash operating cycle, EOQ-with-discounts decision |
| Cost of capital | ✓ CAPM, WACC, asset beta, DVM, Gordon | ✗ kd of redeemable debt (after-tax IRR), irredeemable debt I(1−T)/MV, preference d/MV, historic g = (D0/Dn)1/n − 1 |
| Business valuation & ratios | ✗ none | ✗ P/E and earnings valuation, net-asset basis, EPS, gearing, interest cover, dividend yield & cover, TERP for rights issues |
| Risk & FX hedging | ✓ Fisher, PPP, IRP | ✗ Money-market hedge steps, forward/futures/options mechanics, interest-rate hedging tools |
Source: ACCA FM official formulae sheet and maths tables; ACCA FM syllabus.
Read that table twice. Roughly half of what FM tests — and almost everything in the ratio-heavy valuation and working-capital questions — depends on formulas you carry in your own head. The sheet rewards method, not memory.
Want the must-memorise list drilled until it is automatic?
NIFM’s ACCA Skill Level preparation runs FM question by question in Hindi and English, so the ratios, appraisal layouts and degearing steps the sheet leaves out become second nature well before exam day.
Explore the ACCA Skill Level preparation course →What is not on the FM sheet (and why it trips people up)
Two famous models are conspicuously missing, and candidates who studied from the wrong resource walk in expecting them. The Black–Scholes option-pricing model is not on the FM sheet, and neither is the standard normal distribution table that feeds it. FM does not examine option valuation at that depth, so the sheet simply does not carry them.
Where do they live? On the next paper up. Black–Scholes and the normal distribution table belong to Advanced Financial Management (AFM), where real-options analysis is squarely on the syllabus. Mixing up the two sheets is a classic unforced error.
| Model / table | FM sheet | AFM sheet |
|---|---|---|
| CAPM, WACC, asset beta, DVM | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes (carried forward) |
| EOQ, Miller–Orr, Fisher, PPP, IRP | ✓ Yes | ✗ Less central |
| Black–Scholes option pricing | ✗ No | ✓ Yes |
| Standard normal distribution table | ✗ No | ✓ Yes |
Source: ACCA FM and AFM formulae sheets.
If your study goal is the strategy and exam-craft of FM rather than the reference layer, our companion piece on where the FM exam is really won covers how examiners award marks across the constructed-response section — the perfect pairing to this reference-sheet breakdown.
How to use the sheet under CBE exam timing
Having the formulas is worthless if you burn minutes locating them. FM runs for three hours as a computer-based exam, and the formulae sheet opens in its own window over your workings. Candidates lose time toggling back and forth or, worse, mis-transcribing a subscript. A simple four-step routine keeps the sheet an asset, not a distraction.
A four-step routine turns the formulae sheet from a time sink into a safety net
Source: NIFM Editorial, based on the ACCA FM CBE format.
- Locate before you calculate. In your first read of a requirement, decide which sheet formula it points to — or whether it points to one you must supply yourself.
- Confirm every variable. The commonest error is a right formula fed wrong inputs — a market value where a book value belongs, or the inflation rates swapped in PPP.
- Plug in on the scratchpad, showing your substitution. FM awards method marks, so visible workings earn credit even when the final figure slips.
- Sense-check the sign and scale. A negative NPV, a cost of equity below the risk-free rate, or a forward rate moving the wrong way are all signals to recheck before you move on.
Timing itself is a learned skill. If you are unsure how the on-screen tools, the scratchpad and the formulae window behave on the day, our walkthrough of ACCA exam-day rules and the CBE screen shows the environment before you meet it live.
What to do next with the ACCA FM formulae sheet
Treat the sheet as the map, not the territory. Download ACCA’s current FM formulae sheet, keep it open through every practice question, and build two lists of your own: the ten printed formulas you simply need to recognise, and the must-memorise set — NPV and IRR mechanics, the ratios, the costs of debt and preference capital, the degearing sequence — that no sheet will ever hand you. Rehearse both until the exam feels like revision of a page you already know. That is how strong FM candidates convert a reference sheet into marks instead of a time sink.
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Start the ACCA Skill Level preparation courseFrequently asked questions
Is a formulae sheet given in the ACCA FM exam?
Yes. Every ACCA FM exam provides a formulae sheet and maths tables inside the computer-based exam software. It lists ten core formulas — EOQ, Miller–Orr, CAPM, the asset beta, the dividend Growth Model, Gordon’s approximation, WACC, Fisher, purchasing power parity and interest rate parity — plus a present value table and an annuity table. You do not need to memorise those ten; you do need to know when and how to apply each.
Is the net present value or IRR formula on the ACCA FM formulae sheet?
No. Neither NPV nor the IRR interpolation formula is printed. The sheet gives you the present value and annuity discount tables that feed an NPV calculation, but the NPV layout, the IRR interpolation method, payback and accounting rate of return are all workings you must know yourself.
Is Black–Scholes on the ACCA FM formulae sheet?
No. The Black–Scholes option-pricing model and the standard normal distribution table are not on the FM sheet. They appear on the Advanced Financial Management (AFM) formulae sheet, where option valuation is examined. Expecting Black–Scholes in FM is a common mistake.
Do I need to memorise the formulas on the ACCA FM sheet?
You do not need to memorise their exact form, because they are printed. You absolutely need to understand them — what each variable means, which to use when, and how to rearrange them. Marks come from correct application and interpretation, not from reciting the equation.
Where can I download the official ACCA FM formulae sheet?
ACCA publishes the current FM formulae sheet and maths tables in the exam support resources on its website for the applicable syllabus period. Always use the edition matching your sitting, print or bookmark it, and keep it open during every practice question so the layout is familiar on exam day.
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