About
As the pace and volume of change in the environment affecting organisations in all sectors increases, company secretaries/governance professionals must seek to understand what is happening and play their part in determining the organisation’s response. All organisations are faced with the challenge of strategic direction either to grasp new opportunities or to overcome significant problems.
The aim of this module is to provide the elements, processes and techniques involved in the development and implementation of organisational strategy. As part of the senior management team, company secretaries/governance professionals have a significant role to play in ensuring that strategy fits organisational purpose, is acceptable in terms of risk, and is consistent with good governance as well as with stakeholder requirements and concerns.
Download Development of Strategy syllabus. This syllabus was rebranded in July 2021 but there weren’t any changes to the content at this time.
Study text
If you have not yet downloaded your study text for this module and need it urgently, please email enquiries@cgi.org.uk or call +44 (0)20 7580 4741 during business hours.You will need to purchase a copy of the study text and you can visit our Bookshop using the link below.
| Module |
Study text |
Status |
|---|---|---|
|
Development of Strategy |
This is the recommended study text for the June and November 2024 session. |
Case study
All of the Part Two modules, Risk Management, Development of Strategy and Boardroom Dynamics will have pre-released case studies. Three of the questions in each exam paper will be based on the pre-released case, so you will need to read this case and do some reading associated with it before you come to the exam.
Note to candidates: when preparing responses that reference the UK Corporate Governance Code, use the 2018 UK Corporate Governance Code references.
Exam material
In the table below you will find:
- Exam paper - this is the paper that was set at the exam session
- Mark scheme - this is the document markers used to assess students' answers
- Examiner's report - this is the examiner's comment on the examination performance
- Student answers - for some sessions we can show examples of answers students wrote in the examination
- Pass rates - These pass rates refer to exams from the United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland and Associated Territories (all territories administered by the Chartered Governance Institute’s office in London)
| Exam session | Exam paper | Mark scheme | Examiner's report | Student answers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| June 2024 | View | View | View | |
| November 2023 | View | View | View | |
| June 2023 | View | View | View | |
| November 2022 | View | View | View | |
| June 2022 | View | View | View | |
| November 2021 | View | View | View | Exam paper 1 (pass) Exam paper 2 (distinction) |
| June 2021 | View | View | View | |
| November 2020 | View | View | View | Exam paper 1 |
| November 2019 | View | View | View | Question 1 (fail) Question 1 (merit) Question 1 (distinction) |
| Sample paper | View | View | Not available for sample paper |
You are able to view resources from the previous version of the Qualifying Programme in the ‘Archive’ tab above.
Webinars
We deliver a number of study support webinars for each exam session covering topics ranging from planning your study to exam strategy. You will get details of upcoming webinars via email. Each session is recorded and can be found in the 'Learning resources' area, so you can view it at a time to suit you.
We plan to deliver webinars that are subject specific to the Qualifying Programme modules. You will receive an invitation to join these live webinars and the recordings can be accessed below.
- Development of Strategy examiner webinar and Slides for June 2021 session. The examiner analysed questions from the recent exam session and provided guidance on exam strategy. You can view the student answers in the 'Exam material' tab above.
- Development of Strategy examiner webinar and Slides for November 2019 - this is an introduction to the syllabus, covering the sample paper exam questions and how to prepare and plan for the exam.
Archive
The previous version of the Qualifying Programme, the Chartered Secretaries Qualifying Scheme (CSQS), ran from June 2011 to June 2019. Some of the modules were very similar to the content of the new Qualifying Programme, particularly the strategy, governance, corporate law and secretarial practice content.
You may find it useful to refer to this material while preparing for your studies, but please remember this material has not been updated since the exam was set; also, remember that the new exams have a different format to CSQS exam papers.
Past papers
| Exam session | Exam paper | Suggested answers | Student answers |
|---|---|---|---|
| June 2019 | View | View | |
| November 2018 | View | View | |
| June 2018 | View | View | Response to question 2 Response to question 3 |
| November 2017 | View | View | |
| June 2017 | View | View | Response to question 3 Response to question 4 |
| November 2016 | View | View | |
| June 2016 | View | View |
Response to question 1 Response to question 2 Response to question 3 |
Webinars
- Strategy in Practice Examiner webinar and slides for November 2018. Please use the link to view the recording.
- CSQS Exam Day tips webinar and slides for June 2018 - this session dealt with exam day practicalities. Please use the link to view the recording.
- Strategy in Practice Examiner webinar from November 2017. Please use the password sip2017 to access the webinar.
- Exam strategy webinar from November 2017. This session dealt with exam techniques, what you can learn from the examiners’ reports and reminders for exam day.