ACCA December 2011 exams - our feedback |
| Just how tough were the ACCA’s exams this time around? We asked our ACCA Exam Review Board to look at the papers one-by-one |
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Keeping it in proportion |
| Ben Dickson-Green helps you get your head around the tricky subject of ratio analysis |
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ACCA December 2011 exam feedback |
| Experts from CAMS College run the rule over the December exams |
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F9 - ATC's exam tips for December 2011 |
| ATC's Mike Ashworth takes you through the financial management paper |
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F8 - ATC's ACCA exam tips for December 2011 |
| ATC's Keith Rye looks at the audit and assurance exam |
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F7 - ATC's ACCA exam tips for December 2011 |
| ATC's Phil Bradbury suggests how to get examiner Steve Scott on your side |
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F5 - ATC's ACCA exam tips for December 2011 |
| ATC's Nick Ryan gives his tips for passsing F5 |
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P1 - ACCA exam tips December 2011 |
| ATC's Keith Rye gives you exam advice on passing P1 |
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P7 - ACCA exam tips for December 2011 |
| ATC's Keith Rye takes PQs through the steps to get a pass in the advanced audit paper |
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P5 - ACCA exam tips for December 2011 |
| ATC's Nick Ryan provides his guidance for the advanced performance management paper |
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P4 - ACCA exam tips for December 2011 |
| ATC's Mike Ashworth provides expert guidance on the test ahead |
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P2 - ACCA exam tips for december 2011 |
| ATC's Phil Bradbury explains how to get inside examiner Graham Holt's mind |
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P3 - ACCA exam tips for December 2011 |
| ATC's Peter Sargent looks at the P3 exam |
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Keep calm and don’t panic |
| LCA’s Dianne Ramdeen stresses now is the time to plan for success not failure |
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ACCA December 2011 exam tips |
| BPP provides its top tips for the December 2011 diet |
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December 2011 exam tips for ACCA students |
| Kaplan's team put together their tips for the December sitting |
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First Intution's exam tips for ACCA sitters |
| ACCA exam tips for December 2011 |
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Icount exam tips for ACCA exams |
| December 2011 exam tips for ACCA candidates |
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ACCA: Bucking the trend |
| Why has the F5 pass rate nose-dived? And what can you do about it? Geoff Cordwell explains all |
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Marks out of 10 |
| Lecturers from BPP, CAMS, Kaplan and First Intuition help PQ turn the tables on your favourite folk, the examiners. So what are they worth? |
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Getting it right |
| HMRC’s Simon Norris, Head of the Review of HMRC’s Powers, Deterrents and Safeguards, outlines proposals to tackle dishonest agents |
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Exam Surgery |
| Solve the equation
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ACCA 2011 JUNE EXAM FEEDBACK |
| Top tutors at BPP.give their paper-by-paper guide |
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ACCA 2011 JUNE EXAM FEEDBACK |
| Your paper-by-paper guide from Kaplans Content Specialists |
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ACCA 2011 JUNE EXAM FEEDBACK |
| FIRST INTUTION |
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ACCA 2011 JUNE EXAM FEEDBACK |
| ATC INTERNATIONAL |
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How clean is your annual report? |
| With the help of the Accounting Standards Board’s Jenny Carter, we outline why it is
important to tackle the ‘clutter’ in annual reports |
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Take your partner |
| Victoria Cavell looks at the tax implications for business partners |
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Money laundering: Catch me if you can |
| Paul Merison looks at how society in general and accountants in particular can help combat money laundering – and stay on the right side of the law |
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Do you have a Scooby doo? |
| So here they are your exam tips and much much more. |
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Lessons from the real world |
| Governance, risk and ethics examiner David Campbell explains what he wants from P1 candidates – and he wants more than he’s getting now! |
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Kelly’s heroes |
| F4 examiner David Kelly knows what he wants – do you? PQ magazine was at the examiners’ conference to hear what Kelly had to say about his corporate and business law paper |
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Don’t leave it late! |
| Examiner Graham Holt believes that it’s time to start being honest with students about the amount of work needed to pass P2. You don’t get something for nothing – especially when it comes to accountancy exams |
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Takeaways a VAT hot potato |
| For VAT specialists one of the most loved topics is the VAT liability of food and drinks, demonstrated by the infamous Jaffa Cakes, teacakes, Pringles and Innocent Smoothies cases. |
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Know your basic maths |
| Ruth Jenkins’ article explores an everyday mathematical tool, percentages, and its uses, in the second in our series on basic maths. So go on – test yourself |
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June 2011 ACCA Exam Tips: F4 - P7 |
| ACCA exam tips form First Intuition |
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June 2011 ACCA Exam Tips: F7 |
| ATC exam tips for F7 |
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June 2011 ACCA Exam Tips: P2 |
| ATC exam tips for P2 |
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June 2011 ACCA Exam Tips: F4 GLOBAL |
| ATC exam tips for F4 GLOBAL |
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June 2011 ACCA Exam Tips: F4 ENGLISH |
| ATC exam tips for F4 ENGLISH |
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June 2011 ACCA Exam Tips: P7 |
| ATC exam tips for P7 |
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June 2011 ACCA Exam Tips: F8 |
| ATC exam tips F8 |
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June 2011 ACCA Exam Tips: P1 |
| ATC exam tips P1 |
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June 2011 ACCA Exam Tips: P3 |
| ATC exam tips P3 |
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June 2011 ACCA Exam Tips: F4 - P7 |
| This is what the subject specialists at BPP think… |
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June 2011 ACCA Exam Tips: F7 |
| ACCA examiners’ conference: F7
A standard approach
Examiner Steve Scott explains how you can improvement your chances of passing F7 |
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June 2011 ACCA Exam Tips: P4 |
| ACCA examiners’ conference: P4
No maths for maths’ sake
The P4 examiner Shishir Malde explains where his paper is going |
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June 2011 ACCA Exam Tips: F9 |
| ACCA examiners’ conference: F9
A time to reflect
The F9 examiner explains that to pass this paper students need to learn how to reflect |
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Bribery Act: stay on the right side of the law |
| The all-new Bribery Act reforms the criminal law to provide a modern and comprehensive scheme of bribery offences that will enable courts and prosecutors to respond more effectively to bribery at home or abroad. |
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Tools of the trade |
| Kaplan Financial’s Caroline Bowkley offers some advice on what the new F5 examiner is thinking |
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Understanding Islamic finance |
| Now examinable for ACCA trainees, Islamic finance is growing in importance, says Richard Clarke. Here’s a guide to the basic concepts |
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Getting in tune |
| Lisa Weaver the P7 examiner explains what she wants, what she really, really wants
The Advanced Audit and Assurance (P7) examiner is Lisa Weaver. |
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Doing it by numbers |
| How good are you at basic maths? So do you want some basic maths tips? In all my years as an accountancy tutor a common student failing is the lack of aptitude and confidence in basic mathematical techniques, writes Ruth Jenkins. |
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‘Start revision earlier’ |
| ACCA students need to start their revision earlier, says a leading examiner. He told delegates at the ACCA’s examiners’ conference that PQs’ revision is often poorly planned and starts too late. |
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Top billing |
| The term disbursements has a specific meaning when it comes to VAT. Sian Beusch explains all |
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Where’s the dialogue? |
| The FRC wants to see an improvement in the dialogue between boards and shareholders and has put forward a seven-point plan, outlined here |
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Cash for books? |
| The ACCA’s promise that its approved publishers’ scheme would give students more choice when it comes to buying their texts seems to have stalled. |
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Marks out of ten |
| They mark your efforts, now it’s our turn to mark them! So how fair were the December exams? We enlisted the help of experts from ATC International, BPP and iCount – and here are their verdicts |
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Shades of grey |
| Peter Stewart walks you through the ACCA’s ethics module |
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Cram it! |
| Gina Xu goes undercover in China to experience the phenomenon of the accountancy ‘cramming school’ |
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‘ACCA server sucks’ |
| The Association ‘sorry’ that PQs had so much trouble accessing their results as traffic overloads web server |
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There’s no Plan B… |
| PQ’s Graham Hambly spent two days locked up with ACCA examiners in Nottingham. Here’s what the F8 examiner had to say |
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A road less travelled |
| Sian Beusch explains how you can stay on the right side of HMRC when it comes to your car pool |
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Cutting through the noise |
| Top tutor Richard Clarke of the Richard Clarke Academy helps you get in tune with financial instruments |
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Value judgements |
| Mike Ashworth explains how businesses should be valued when it comes to mergers and acquisitions |
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Risking it all |
| The FRC’s Stephen Haddrill believes the UK’s boardrooms need to spend more time thinking about risk |
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Exam feedback |
| PQ magazine’s Exam Review Board members cast their expert eyes over the December 2010 sitting |
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ACCA goes all flexible |
| The ACCA has unveiled its new suite of entry-level accounting awards – ‘Foundations in Accountancy’ – this month. |
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Beware ACCA June changes |
| ACCA students have been warned that they must use manuals and textbooks that incorporate all the changes the Association has made to the exam syllabuses. |
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ACCA Exam Review Board DEC 2010 |
| ACCA Exam Review Board DEC 2010 |
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Beware ACCA syllabus update |
| Risk and ethics is very much part of the ACCA syllabus, but the Executive Director of Learning and Products, Clare Minchington, told PQ in an exclusive interview that she feels that the message needed to be more transparent. |
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How is your body doing online? |
| PQ magazine’s latest survey provides a picture of how trainees are interacting with their professional body online. So how are they doing? Our survey is brought to you in association with Kaplan Financial |
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THE EU MAN COMETH |
| Prem Sikka looks at the state of the audit market and explains why he believes big changes may be needed |
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ATC's ACCA exam tips F4 ENG |
| ATC's ACCA exam tips F4 ENG |
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ATC's ACCA exam tips F4 GLOBAL |
| ATC's ACCA exam tips F4 GLOBAL |
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ATC's ACCA exam tips F5 |
| ATC's ACCA exam tips F5 |
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ATC's ACCA exam tips F6 |
| ATC's ACCA exam tips F6 |
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ATC's ACCA exam tips F7 |
| ATC's ACCA exam tips F7 |
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ATC's ACCA exam tips F9 |
| ATC's ACCA exam tips F9 |
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ATC's ACCA exam tips P2 |
| ATC's ACCA exam tips P2 |
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ATC's ACCA exam tips P4 |
| ATC's ACCA exam tips P4 |
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ATC's ACCA exam tips P5 |
| ATC's ACCA exam tips P5 |
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Kaplan's ACCA TIps |
| Kaplan's ACCA TIps |
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LSBF's ACCA exam tips |
| LSBF's ACCA exam tips |
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First Intution's ACCA exam tips |
| First Intution's ACCA exam tips |
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BPP's ACCA exam tips |
| BPP's ACCA exam tips |
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EXAM EMERGENCY SERVICE |
| Back by popular demand! SIGN UP TODAY!
PQ magazine has joined forces with Kaplan to provide ACCA and CIMA readers with a brand new Exam Emergency Service. |
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How to impress the ACCA markers |
| All ACCA papers are now marked using the online system called ‘Scoris’, writes Sunil Bhandari. |
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TIPTASTIC - How to pass Decembers F7 |
| So what is coming up in December – do you need some tips? |
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Home & away |
| Marion Hodgkiss considers the main tax issues arising where a UK company is considering investing overseas, and outlines how the rules have changed in the past 18 months |
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audit: get it sorted! |
| PQ looks at the damning report on the state of audit among the big firms from the profession’s regulator, the Audit Inspection Unit |
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ACCA support for failing PQs |
| Too many ACCA students failed to show basic understanding of depreciation and accruals in the F7 paper (pass rate 28%), according to ACCA director of education Clare Minchington. |
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Ban highlighters! |
| CAMS College’s Patch Fillery offers some thoughts on getting that vital pass mark. So bin that highlighter! |
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Local pass rates for local people |
| The worldwide pass rate for the ACCA exams is a meaningless statistic that should be replaced with local pass rates. Why? Graham Hambly explains |
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toolkit HELP |
| Free agent toolkits from HMRC are designed to minimise errors in tax returns, says the Revenue’s Brian Redford |
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Paying the penalty |
| Sian Beusch explains the ins and outs of the new ‘failure to notify’ penalty – something that could affect you personally |
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Immigration notice board |
| Dak Patel explains how students not from the UK can stay on the right side of the UK Border Agency |
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Why P4? |
| ACCA’s P4 exam has a reputation as a horror paper. But is it? Sunil Bhandari offers up his expert opinion |
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Learn to love double entry |
| ACCA financial reporting students need to understand their double entries, according to top tutor Rob Moulin. He’s back teaching F7 and P2 at LondonSam, and it’s hard to get away from his passion – this man really knows his stuff and loves accountancy. |
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Business Reporting Through the Lens of the Investor |
| For the third part in its series on business reporting (see also “IFAC project on business reporting”), IFAC interviewed six specialists with close ties to the investment community to get their recommendations on how to improve business reporting. |
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Business Reporting Beyond the Crisis: How to Make Sure That We Don’t Tumble Into Another Black Hole |
| “My general conclusion is that everyone is guilty,” says Jules Muis—former Ernst & Young partner, controller of the Word Bank, and director-general audit of the European Commission—about the financial crisis. |
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Good Governance and Sustainability Fundamental for Improved Business Reporting |
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“In times like this, the basic elements of managing a company, such as governance, accounting, and auditing, should stand out like a rock in the storm,” says Joe Kaeser, chief financial officer of Siemens, the Germany-based global company engaged in electronics and electrical engineering, in an interview with the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC). |
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The Clarified Auditing Standards |
| Steve Collings presents a summary of the main changes to come out of the audit clarity project. |
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Compound Financial Instruments |
| In this article, Steve Collings takes a look at the accounting treatment of compound financial instruments and looks at the provisions in IAS 32 ‘Financial Instruments: Presentation’ and IAS 39 ‘Financial Instruments: Recognition and Measurement’. |
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PQs must make ethics count |
| The financial crisis was made worse by ethical failings, says an ACCA report. |
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Closing the gaps |
| First Intuition’s Mike Prior takes a look at how the ACCA changes for 2011 will affect you |
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ACCA Exam Review Board |
| ACCA Exam Review Board |
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ACCA Exam Review Board |
| Our ACCA Exam Review Board goes over the June 2010 sitting with a fine tooth comb |
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A matter of substance |
| It’s vital that you understand the concept of lease accounting. Here Martin Jones explains a topic you are very likely to be tested on |
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What examiners want |
| Exam reviews of F7, F8, F9, P1, P2 & P3 |
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F8 Worse than death |
| Since the new syllabus was introduced in 2007, the F8 pass rate has hovered around 38%. This suggests it is one of the more difficult fundamental papers and it is more difficult, statistically, than any of the core professional papers. |
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Doubletrouble |
| Income tax basis periods continue to cause students problems in the exam hall. Lynne Wiseman offers some pointers on the best way to showcase your talents |
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That cheating heart |
| How well behaved are accountancy students in the exam hall? We asked the bodies |
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ACCA Exam Tips June 2010 |
| Health warning
These should only be used in conjunction with proper studying.
We cannot guarantee that these topics will appear in the actual exam as we have not seen the exam papers. Examiners are not predictable so it is vital that all core syllabus areas are revised fully.
For F7, F8 & P2 see this months magazine |
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Accounting for Leases and Hire Purchase Contracts |
| In this article we take a look at the accounting treatment for leases and Hire Purchase contracts from the perspective of both the lessee and the lessor. |
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ATC's ACCA Exam Techniques |
| Don’t forget the following advice while in the exam |
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ATC's ACCA Exam Tips (June 2010) F4GLO (Business and Company Law – Global variant) |
| The F4 paper contains 10 compulsory 10-mark questions, testing knowledge and understanding across the whole syllabus. |
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ATC's ACCA Exam Tips (June 2010) F4ENG (Business and Company Law) |
| The F4 paper contains 10 compulsory 10-mark questions, testing knowledge and understanding across the whole syllabus. |
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ATC's ACCA Exam Tips (June 2010) F5 |
| The pass rates for F5 have traditionally been very poor. This seems to be due to the big gap between F2 and F5 (or perhaps also because many exempt students do not even take F2). |
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ATC's ACCA Exam Tips (June 2010) F6ENG |
| This is the sixth exam of the new syllabus. The examiner, David Harrowven has established a consistent pattern, although the world pass rate has varied between 45% and 61%. |
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ATC's ACCA Exam Tips (June 2010) F7ENG |
| The examiner is Steve Scott, he has not published any articles in Student Accountant since August 2008. That article was on IFRS 3 (revised 2008), in the article he did state that he would be examining the new method of calculating non-controlling interest on a regular basis. |
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ATC's ACCA Exam Tips (June 2010) F8ENG (Audit and Assurance) |
| The examination in June 2010 will be the second examination set by the new examiner, Pami Bahl. So there is no past history to give any indication of what will be examined. |
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ATC's ACCA Exam Tips (June 2010) F9ENG (Financial Management) |
| The examiner identifies eight key areas of the syllabus |
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ATC's ACCA Exam Tips (June 2010) P1ENG (Professional Accountant) |
| The examiner, David Campbell, has now settled into his style and format. No changes are expected. |
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ATC's ACCA Exam Tips (June 2010) P2ENG |
| The examiners name is Graham Holt, he wrote 2 articles which were based on IFRS 3 (revised 2008) that appeared in the February and April 2009 Student Accountant. |
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ATC's ACCA Exam Tips (June 2010) P4ENG (Advanced Financial Management) |
| The examiner, Professor Bob Ryan, considers this paper to be at the level of a Master’s degree in finance. |
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ATC's ACCA Exam Tips (June 2010) P5ENG |
| There are many articles on the ACCA web site relating to P5. It is recommended that you read them all, as the examiner often tests these. |
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ATC's ACCA Exam Tips (June 2010) P6 |
| This is the sixth exam of the new syllabus under the current examiner, Rory Fish. The world pass rate have varied over the five previous diets from 28% (Dec 07); 36% (June 08); 41% (Dec 08), 37% (June 09) and 39% (Dec 09). |
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ATC's ACCA Exam Tips (June 2010) P7 (Advanced Audit and Assurance) |
| Liz Weaver, the examiner, is now well into her style. Do not expect any changes in her examination approach. Remember that P7 is a required examination on the road to becoming a registered auditor |
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The Future of UK GAAP |
| ASB’s top man Ian Mackintosh talks to PQ magazine. |
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ACCA Exams 2010 |
| How to pass the third level P1, P2 & P3 |
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ACCA Exams 2010 |
| Passing F7 |
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A global perspective - Sir David Tweedie |
| PQ magazine last interviewed Sir David Tweedie, head of the IASB, seven years ago for our launch issue – in January 2003. So we thought it was about time we caught up with accountancy’s main man to find out what has changed in the intervening years |
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ACCA exams - MARKS out of 10 |
| So what would we give the examiners for their efforts in December? Surely no-one dares to mark them – oh yes we do, with our help of our friends at BPP! |
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Measuring Goodwill |
| Following the revisions to IFRS3 Business Combinations and IAS27 Consolidated and Separate Financial Statements in January 2008 there is now a new way of measuring the goodwill that arises on the acquisition of a subsidiary. |
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ACCA exam tips for December exams |
| What do our experts think is coming up in December’s exams?
Here are top tips. More help coming here soon, promise
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Little Miss IFRS |
| IASB has published an IFRS for SMEs, so is this the beginning of the end for UK GAAP? And do acronyms rule? |
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ACCA Exam Tips for June 2009 from 7city |
| Top tutors 7 city provide you with what they think the examiners were thinking about 18 months ago when they wrote the June exam |
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ATC International exam tips for ACCA papers F4 and F7 June 09 |
| PQ Magazine is now read by PQs in Ireland, Pakistan, Malaysia and Zambia, to name a few, so we thought we would get the international view and ATC International have provide a wealth of exam tips. |
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F1 and F7 ACCA exam tips |
| Straight from the horses mouth you have examiners, Bob Souster and Steve Scott on F1 and F7 respectively. |
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ACCA Teachers' Conference |
| In yet another PQ magazine exclusive, ACCA examiners outline what they want from exam sitters. So do yourself a favour and read on |
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