BPP Blog

Recent exam sittings of ACCA P7 Advanced Audit and Assurance have called on candidates’ grasp of current issues affecting the auditing profession. In December 2011 for example, the examiner wanted an evaluation of arguments both for and against the prohibition of auditors providing non-audit services to audit clients, while the June 2010 exam required a similar discussion, this time asking whether or not auditors should be doing more to highlight the going concern problems being faced by their clients. more

Excessive risk taking in commercial enterprises has corroded the trust in directors and led to calls for greater transparency, which is not necessarily in anyone’s interest. The solution, of course, is to appoint directors that investors can trust. more

With all the recent changes to CIPD qualifications, many of our CIPD students have been left wondering which one would be the next step for their career. We've provided answers to some of the most commonly asked questions. more

We can never predict exactly what is going on in the great minds of examiners, but there are some parts of the CFA Level 1 syllabus that are so core it would be a bit of a strange exam if they did not feature. So with that in mind, here is our must-know list for the upcoming exam with 3 top areas for each part of the syllabus: Ethics 1. Know your usage of the CFA designation and status as a candidate 2. Know the outline and objectives of GIPS 3. Know what you can and can’t do when leaving an employer more

Don't waste this time in the exam. During the reading and planning time you can write on the question paper, but not start writing your answer in the answer booklet. Principally, you should use the time to make a good decision on which 2 of the 3 Section B questions to do. Picking the wrong one could be a disaster here so make sure you take advantage of the time to read each one through right to the end, as you never know what unexpected horrors might be lurking there! more

One area which students often struggle with at ACCA F6 Taxation are the rules that apply to compute the assessable trading profits when a sole trader starts their trade. It’s important to approach this problem by using a step by step method. To begin you need to take the trading profit from the date trade commences to the following 5 April. Care needs to taken in identifying which tax year this relates to. There are two ways of getting this right. Firstly look at the start date and work out which tax year that falls into or alternatively the 5 April you are using should be the date the relevant tax year ends. The basis period for the first tax year will generally be less than 12 months. more

Why is Lloyds, which made a loss of £3.5bn for the year to 31 December 2011 and is 40% owned by the tax payer a major sponsor of London 2012? What has this got to do with ACCA F5? If we consider Lloyds to have shareholder wealth maximisation as one of its objectives how can we measure the benefits this will bring to the Bank? more

In most F9 exams there can at least 20 marks going for pure knowledge, which come in the form of a written requirement. If you have covered these topics in your revision you will find that these are the easiest marks to get in the entire paper as you don’t even have to think - all you need to do is reproduce the relevant sections from your course notes. more

Don't waste this time in the exam. During the reading and planning time you can write on the question paper, but not start writing your answer in the answer booklet. The whole exam is compulsory so you should spend your time reading the exam carefully and deciding in which order you want to do the questions. more

A typical scenario that appears regularly in the ACCA P6 exam is that of an individual planning to set up a business. This individual is unsure whether to form their business as a company or as a sole trader. To add to this dilemma the business is also expected to make trading losses therefore a clear knowledge of the different types of trading loss relief is essential at ACCA P6. more

In your revision dedicate almost as much time as you do to groups (which is probably about 25 marks of the exam, by the time you strip out the adjustments on other syllabus areas) to preparing for the discussion question (which is also 25 marks!). more

The ACCA P7 Advanced Audit and Assurance exam paper tests, among other things, candidates’ knowledge of auditors’ responsibilities as explained by International Standards on Auditing (ISAs) – among them ISA 250 Consideration of Laws and Regulations in an audit of financial statements. As organisations across the world continue to struggle in the current financial climate, a warning has come from both sides of the Atlantic that actions which ignore relevant laws and regulations could have serious financial consequences. more

For these questions you should be aware that 7 of the 10 marks are available for your knowledge of the law and only 3 marks for your advice. This means that you should focus most of your answer on explaining the area of law that is relevant to the question. more

There are a number of frameworks that are regularly tested in the ACCA P5 exam – including the balanced scorecard, the performance pyramid, the building blocks model and the performance prism. more

Real options are a common topic in the ACCA P4 exam. I have recently been working with the ACCA on an exam technique presentation to ensure that we able to communicate the examiner’s main concerns in this commonly tested area. It is well worth viewing this 20 minute presentation. It is based around a question more

From your F4 studies you will recall that directors have a duty to act in a way that will promote the success of the company for its members. Section 172 of the 2006 UK Companies Act specifically talks about considering the long term. However, institutional investors, who also have a fiduciary duty (which you recall is a duty to act in good faith) have increasingly been advised that their duty is for short term profits in their investments rather than long term gain. Those institutional investors then create pressure on companies to seek short term gain. more

Calculations will need to be practiced to time - 36 minutes to do and about 15 mins to debrief as a rule of thumb, meaning that you can realistically expect to do two questions in an evening session. Remember that workings and clear presentation are essential so that you can get follow through marks if you make a mistake in your calculations. more

The ACCA F4 exam is likely to include the following: Q5 Capital structures including the NEW TOPIC of treasury shares Q6 Company directors, maybe including some insider dealing or the NEW TOPIC of market abuse Q7 Employment law focusing on either employment contracts or distinguishing between employees and self-employed workers. View further details on studying ACCA more

The key to passing these questions is to put everything you have learnt about the audit risk model to one side and think from a practical point of view. Just think about whether something could be wrong with the financial statements. more

The ACCA F4 exam is likely to include the following: Q1 The English Legal System. Likely focus is on the court structures or differences between criminal and civil law Q2 Contract Formation covering offer / acceptance / consideration / intention Q3 Negligence (but not auditors) covering duty of care, breach of duty, causation or defences more