How often each topic actually gets tested

Not an official Pearson weighting — Pearson doesn’t publish one for this paper. This is what this course’s own research found by reading real mark schemes and examiner reports series by series, counted honestly rather than assumed. Use it to prioritise review time, not to assume a topic near the bottom won’t appear.

Richest by series count

Business objectives and strategy (mission, Ansoff/Porter's Strategic Matrix, SWOT, PESTLE/five forces)
3.3.1.1–3.3.1.4
Tested in 7 of 12 series reviewed for this course's own research, via 9 separate real questions — 3 of the paper's 4 confirmed 20-mark Section B/C essays on this evidence went to this topic. Real, named companies anchor every instance: Brompton, Dr Martens, Apple Watch vs Fitbit, Spotify vs Audible, Superdry.
Assessing competitiveness (ratio analysis, interpreting financial statements, HR strategy)
3.3.5.1–3.3.5.3
Tested in 7 of 12 series reviewed, via 10 real question-instances — a Section A ratio or labour-productivity calculation (always 4-mark Calculate) in 5 of those 7, an HR-strategy essay (12-mark Assess or 20-mark Evaluate) in the other 3. Gearing is the one ratio two separate, non-adjacent examiner reports independently flag as a real candidate knowledge gap.

Also very heavily tested

Influences on business decisions (corporate culture, stakeholder vs shareholder, ethics/pay & rewards)
3.3.4.1–3.3.4.3
Tested in 6 of 12 series reviewed, via 8 real questions split evenly between 12-mark Assess and 20-mark Evaluate — this topic supplied the paper's Section B/C headline essay in 4 of those 6 series, more than any other single spec area in the research reviewed.
Managing change (key factors in change, contingency planning)
3.3.6.1–3.3.6.2
Tested in 7 of 14 series reviewed for this topic specifically — a wider series count than the rest of this table, after a later research pass located two older series (Jan 2020, Jan 2021) beyond the usual twelve. No fixed tariff: confirmed from a 4-mark short-answer item up to 20-mark Evaluate, across both sub-points.

Solidly, repeatedly tested

Forecasting and investment appraisal (moving averages, payback, ARR)
3.3.3.1–3.3.3.2
Tested in 5 of 12 series reviewed, every confirmed instance sitting inside Section A's Question 1 rather than as an essay. Payback is the only sub-part confirmed at both ends of the range (4-mark Calculate and 12-mark Assess); NPV has no confirmed real-exam sighting in the series reviewed.
Decision trees, critical path analysis and contribution
3.3.3.3–3.3.3.5
Tested in 4 of 12 series reviewed — critical path analysis is the only one of the three sub-topics confirmed more than once, and every decision-tree or CPA hit is a 20-mark Section B/C essay built from two adjacent extracts late in the source booklet. Contribution's single confirmed hit is a 4-mark Calculate.

Thinner, but examinable

Business growth (growth objectives, organic/inorganic growth, problems from growth)
3.3.2.1–3.3.2.4
Tested in 3 of 12 series reviewed on an unambiguous count (Oct 2021, June 2022, Jan 2023); a fourth, franchising-based question is logged separately as a boundary case rather than folded in. Organic growth methods specifically, and overtrading in any form, have no confirmed sighting in any of the 12 series checked — the thinnest-evidenced topic in this table, though not so thin that tiering it would overstate what the source supports.