Qualifications Scotland (SQA) National 5 Business Management Past Papers 2026

Knowledge + case-study application

Duration: 2 hours

Researched investigation

Duration: Up to 5 hours under some supervision and control

Justify questions — underdeveloped reasoning and single-perspective answers

Justify questions were flagged as demanding across all three years. The 2025 report notes candidates only described target marketing rather than justifying it. The 2024 report records that candidates justified working practices from only one perspective. The 2023 assignment report states conclusions without justification gain a maximum of 1 mark.

Question Paper, Assignment

Marketing mix — pricing strategies and product life cycle stages

The 2024 report records that some candidates found it difficult to describe pricing strategies fully — for example, stating 'high price is high price' rather than 'high price is higher than competitors'. The 2025 report found that many candidates incorrectly identified the stage of the product life cycle from the diagram, meaning their descriptions could not be credited.

Question Paper

Finance — breakeven terms, income statement labels, and sources of finance

The 2024 report states 'many candidates showed poor knowledge of breakeven terms' and that candidates struggled to describe sources of finance in sufficient detail. The 2023 report records that candidates 'could not identify the labels in the income statement, showing poor knowledge of key terms' and were still using old terminology such as 'net profit'.

Question Paper

Human resources — working practices, industrial action impacts, and payment systems

The 2023 report states 'candidates showed poor knowledge of working practices' and that 'many candidates could describe industrial action but not its impact.' The 2025 report records that 'many candidates showed a lack of knowledge of payment systems' and found it difficult to discuss piece rate.

Question Paper

Operations — methods of production confused with factors of production

The 2023 report explicitly warns that candidates confuse 'factors of production and methods of production', noting that 'some candidates were giving methods of production' when asked about factors of production. The 2025 report adds that candidates had knowledge of job production but failed to explain its costs and benefits.

Question Paper

Exam time-management — insufficient development for the mark allocation

The 2024 report advises that 'candidates should take account of the mark allocation of each question. This helps them give the relevant number of points and/or developments to reach the mark allocation.' Across all years, markers noted that candidates gave single-point responses to multi-mark questions, leaving marks on the table.

Question Paper

Business terminology — mixing up business types, sectors of economy, and stakeholders

The 2023 report records that 'many candidates gave either the wrong type of organisation or gave the sector of economy, showing poor basic knowledge.' It also explicitly warns centres that candidates confuse 'sectors of industry and sectors of economy' and 'stakeholders and external factors.' The 2024 report notes candidates gave only identification-level answers on sectors of economy when asked to outline.

Question Paper

Assignment evaluation — analysis marks lost through vague language and unlinked findings

The 2025 report records that candidates using language such as 'this negatively affects the business' must name the specific negative effect — without doing so, the analysis mark is not awarded. The 2023 report states that a few candidates did not give analysis of their findings, which meant the maximum mark allocation available to them was 6 marks. The 2024 report notes that a few candidates gave findings which were not specific to their topic.

Assignment