Andrew have scored 90% in June 2015 Exam. It is the second year in a row Andrew received Genius Hunt prize.
Please tell us in which country you live, and what work do you do.
I live in England and work in general practice – predominately undertaking accounts preparation and tax compliance/advisory work to a wide variety of clients.
How much time each week did you spend studying, on average?
For P6 I commenced study around 12-13 weeks before the exam. Initially I was studying for around 15 hours per week but this increased in the weeks immediately prior to the exam.
Which study resources did you use?
A variety. I enrolled on a distance learning course with Kaplan, but also used a BPP study text and question bank. Before studying P6 too deeply, I refreshed my F6 knowledge using the OpenTuition resources.
Did you get support from your firm?
Yes, my employer financed my distance learning course and also gave me time off to study.
What was your approach to your studying?
Initially I skim read the syllabus to get an overall picture of its scope, before reading the study text (in ‘bite size’ chunks!!). Once complete, I focus on detail by again reading the textbook (a few times!).
Finally, I enter the ‘question phase’ by completing every past exam question I can obtain, along with completing mock exams. All questions are done under exam conditions (‘closed book’) keeping rigidly to 1.8 minutes per mark. I spend a lot of time reviewing my answers and ensure that I learn from my mistakes by referring back to study texts on weaker subjects.
What would you say was the most important factor that helped you to achieve such a high mark?
Time management and question practice (exam technique) are very important. As with any ACCA exam, the entire syllabus must be learnt and I feel that my closed book question practice aids this, especially paying attention to areas of weakness.
Any advice to student sitting P level exams for the first time?
The P level exams are different in style to the F level, the latter being much more ‘knowledge’ based and the former requiring more analysis. The difference is presumably widened following the introduction of the MCQ sections.
Questions in the P papers tend to contain a lot of information requiring analysis and it is important to learn how to extract the key points under exam pressure. This can only be achieved through practice.
It is easy to open a P paper and panic; again practicing lots of questions should build confidence so that the scale of information given (and response required) isn’t too intimidating.
Anything else to add?
The ACCA qualification isn’t just about sitting exams. Don’t forget to compete the ‘ethics’ component. Also, there’s the “Professional Experience Requirement”, or PER. I believe it’s important to consider these throughout studying as not only will in enable a quicker transition to membership but they are also very relevant to the exams being taken.
Some elements of the PER can be difficult to achieve – it is important to look at each requirement and consider how it may be met in the workplace – such planning will help their timely completion.
sarah mwaba says
congrats,are my inspirational !