Please Note
Tips should not be relied on – they are only intelligent guesses.
Their only purpose is to give you suggestions for topics to concentrate on in your last few days of preparation.
Do not exclude other topics from your overall preparation.
Tips for ACCA F1 – F3
No exam tips available – Multiple choice questions cover entire syllabus
Tips for ACCA F4 Corporate and Business Law (Eng)
1 Supreme Court article in January Student Accountant or /ratio/obiter/reversing (June 05)
2 Meetings and resolutions – special resolution, special notice, special business (Dec 08)
3 Company secretary (June 05) or difference between executive and non-executive directors (June 08)
4 Debentures – ( fixed and floating ) (June 04) or comparison of debentures with shares (June 08)
5 Agent authority (Dec 01)
6 Employment law – explanation of unfair and wrongful dismissal (Dec 07/ Dec 08) or difference between employed and self-employed (June 08)
7 Tort and remoteness of damage (Dec 07)
8 Usual question 8 – contract law with invitation, offer, counter-offer, option period, breach – advise the parties
9 Partnership / liability of partners (June 08) / (Dec 08)
10 Insider dealing (June 09) or Money laundering (Dec 05)
Tips for ACCA Paper F5 “Performance Management”
Question 1
ABC
Question 2
Linear Programming or Decision Theory
Question 3
Budgeting written + preparation of flexed budget
Question 4
Mix & Yield variances
Question 5
Divisional performance measurement + transfer pricing
Tips for ACCA Paper F6 “Taxation” (UK)
F6 is very predictable so no tips as such
Practise as many exam standard questions as you can.
Make sure you do to time. After the 15 minute reading time you have 1.8 minutes per mark. If a question is split between part (a) 10 marks and part (b) 10 marks then only spend 18 minutes on part (a) and then move on to part (b).
Look at all the requirements of the question, can you answer an easy parts first, for example one part maybe standalone and on something very straightforward, so do this part first
You do not have to answer the questions in the order they are set, if question 5 is the easiest do this one first.
Question 3 will be the hardest so leave this until last but make sure you leave 36 minutes to answer it.
Do not panic if you can’t remember something in a question, don’t spend too much time trying to remember it, have a go or even guess. Then you can move on to other parts of the question.
Above all you need 50% to pass, so find the marks you can do. There will always be more than 50% of the question which is examining core areas of the syllabus, only a few marks will be fringe areas, but you do not have to worry about these as you can find the 50 marks you need to pass
Tips for ACCA F7 Financial Reporting (INT)
1 Consolidated Statements of Income and financial Position with subsidiary and associate
2 Preparation of a company’s financial statements from an adjusted trial balance
3 Report on a company’s performance including ratio calculations. Maybe with a relatively straight forward cash flow
4 Construction contracts
5 IAS 8 on prior year adjustments and changes in accounting policies
Tips for ACCA Paper F8 Audit and Assurance (INT)
Sales system/receivables, including audit planning.
CAAT
Analytical procedures
Reasons for qualifying – Clarity statement
Events after the period end
Ethics and risk/client acceptanc
Tips for ACCA Paper F9 Financial Management
WACC / NPV / IRR
Debtors Management / EOQ / overtrading
Business Valuation etc (Q54)
Foreign exchange risk
Tips for ACCA P1 Professional Accountant
1) Something to do with External and Internal Actors – Student Accountant Article from August 2009 . Scenario involving chair who is also chief exec, too few neds, domination by one person and ineffective other board members. Role of Corporate Governance and critical commentary about why this company fails and how it could improve. 5 marks worth of definition about transparency and integrity
2) Report ( or memo ) requiring identification of business risks and recommendations of how to best manage those risks
3) Role, function and responsibilities of internal auditors and maybe a comparison with external auditors
4) Scenario question with some very questionable ethical activities – maybe incorporating problems for both directors and auditors
Tips for Paper P2 June 2010 exams
Q1 Foreign Consolidation, such as the questions Memo, Ejay and Rybi from the Revision Kit
Q2 & 3 Multiple IAS Questions (with multiple parts in a question testing various IASs: Revenue. Earnings per share, Contingencies, Share based payments, Financial Liabilities)
Q4 Recent IFRS for small and medium enterprises (May Student Accountant article)
Tips for ACCA Paper P3 Business Analysis
PESTEL/SWOT/BCG
Quality – CMMI
E-business/e-commerce/e-marketing
Ashridge portfolio display matrix
Prahalad and Hamel – (resource-based v position-based strategy)
Tips for Paper P4 Advanced Financial Management
1 Big NPV involving calculation of WACC using CAPM (gearing and ungearing betas), possibly a foreign investment needing forecasting of exchange rates,
2 Financial appraisal of a business (from sets of accounts) and calculation of Z-score (in which case formula will be given)
Section B:
3 Foreign exchange risk – futures and options
4 Either interest rate risk (futures and options), or possibly Option Pricing (share options and delta hedge)
5 Written question – impossible to guess, but possibly – “Quantitative easing”. What is it? Why do it? Risk involved in doing it?
Tips for Paper P5 Advanced Performance Management
A
1) Financial & Non-Financial Performances Measures (Including Preparation of Budget/Actual Profit Statement)
2) Learning Curves / Target Costing
B
3) Residual Income / Return on Investment / Economic Value Added
4) Written question on problems with Budgets / Behavioral Aspects
5) Decision Making and Probabilities
Tips for ACCA P7 Advanced Audit and Assurance (INT)
Q1 Audit risk ( 12/02, 6/03, 6/04 )
Q2 “Matters to consider and evidence you would expect to find / audit tests to be performed” ( 12/01, 6/02, 12/03, 6/05, 6/06, 12/06, 6/07, 6/08, 12/08 )
Q3 Going concern – Article from March Student Accountant ( 6/02, 12/08 )
Q4 Ethics ( Pilot paper, 6/02, 6/03, 6/04, 6/05, 6/06, 12/06, 6/07, 6/08, 12/08, 6/09 )
Q5 Audit reports including environmental issues, groups (Pilot paper ) and key performance indicators ( 12/08 )
Probable that “Clarity Project” will be in the exam somewhere, either directly or indirectly.
jamweetwa says
abbreviation in aswering exam Q in p2 and p7, are they allowed. for instance financial statement as f/s
madizworld09 says
they are helpful for exam prepration… a guideline that u can easily follow… but, shouldn’t relay solely…
mudassarh says
its a good thing for exams prepration.
kool buddy says
its sad that may is about to end but p5 tips are not available yet.
malanga says
this tips can mis lead big tym!!!!!!!!!
kofiemml says
So what are the chances for these tips (for F7 & F8) appearing in the exams?
vashish says
tips for cat t7
trinistudent001 says
I agree with you Changa
changa says
How soon should i expect the tips for P5. kindly note that time is running out.
magen1226 says
does anyone have tips for F8 & P7
admin says
Can’t you see? tips are on this page!
tahir1451991 says
hello….! i hv noticed that acca does not repeat questions so is it worth studying the past papers or goin through it
admin says
Of course, you have to!
How else are you going to practice?
Past exams and revision kit is a must!!!
ali.hbc@gmail.com says
u have to develop understanding…….
vippatel82 says
hi is their any tips for P6-ATAX ?
keinnayee says
Paper F9, Biz Valuation Q54 stand for where?
naomiramgobin says
I am very appreciative of the P5 and P7 podcasts.
twisty09 says
were these tips accurate for the past few exam sittings?
admin says
will come – when tutor finalises them!
scorpian says
hi
Where is P5 tips ?
Reply
thanks
admin says
sorry but opentuition does not fully support CAT,
maybe other students will help you out on the forums (go to CAT group/forum)
wildrose says
well r there anyh exam tips for CAT papers for june 2010? plz can u provide?
angel7 says
Many thanks for the exam tips – well done!
uzairhanif says
were these tips accurate for the past few exam sittings?
have u ever compare from past attempts that how many chances that these tips will accurate….
salamat says
Thanks for the tips am still strugling with F8 paper since long to get success
admin says
sorry P6 is not supported