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Thanks for your reply…
The thing is that as per my mentor’s guidance, I performed a little bit comparison with regards to marketing mix and sales growth, between company A and B in Topic 18.
In their feedback, the marker says that I didn’t need to do that and doing so has made my findings interesting but narrow. In my RAP, the focus was on Company A but now they recommend that I can shift my focus to Company B if it is easier for me. I have shifted my focus solely on Company B without any comparison this time.
So would this be counted as changing the company?
Now reading the articles on this website, I understand that T18 does not required a comparison. My mentor’s approach was such because they failed his mentee on the bais that he didnt analyse the organisation against any benchmark company.
I was passed on Self Reflection (point 8) but failed on Communication Skills inc Presentation (point 9) because my presentation needs changing with assessor comments being “Your Presentation has the basics of being successful but needs to be up dated when you have re-focused your work as at the moment it does not fulfill the requirements for Topic 18”.
The overall SLS assessment, therefore, was a Fail.
Now my mentor says that I don’t need to submit a new SLS as I passed on Self Reflection and they only failed me because of presentation, but I’m not so sure about because the overall is an F.
Please tell me if there’s any need to submit a new SLS.
Also, they recommended me to shift focus to the competing company, as it might be easier for me, which I have done. Would this affect the areas previously passed in the assessor feedback?
Thank You
Hey Autumn, you’re welcome.
Just wanted to know if you finally got into your account?
Hey Autumn,
Congratulations on becoming an Affiliate! I can assure you that your situation is normal, not appearing in the passed finalists’ list and not being able to open your account. 2 of my friends faced the same issue but in the end they were able to log in after some days, although we don’t know why they didn’t appear in the list… Give it some time, you’ll be able to log in, don’t worry 🙂
Hi Trephena,
I’m thinking about doing the RAP on some organisation in which I was assigned as an Internal Auditor from my firm.
In my review, i gained quite a lot of information about the marketing processes which I think would give material for a good report. However, there were few positives identified in the company and a lot of negatives. So would it be okay to criticise the marketing strategy in the whole of my report while praising the aspects they are doing okay. Its an NGO and a relatively new one.
Also with regards to the referencing, my primary source of Info will be my audit review and there’s nothing much on the internet to quote. So how would that look like in the report.
I have a backup company in mind if this doesnt work out, but I just wanted to get your opinion before continuing, as it would be much easier to work on and there wouldnt be much need of research as I already have done enough in my Internal Audit.
Thanks
Yes, you are not allowed scrap papers in ACCA exams.
Most students write on their question papers in the 15 min RAP time at the start of the exam, and if need be, they copy the plan on their answer booklets.
After the RAP, why would you need a scrap paper when you can write on the answer booklet? Never cross out your plan and always head it “plan”
Personally, I would read through each line in the question and whatever sprang to my head, I would bullet point it, even if it’s irrelevant. You can debate whether to include that in your final answer when you’re drafting one.
Best of luck!
Hey,
No, you cannot enter any other optional paper until you get the results and the entry is clear… It’s ACCA’s policy
And don’t worry early bird entry will still be there for a week or two, so you can enter the Paper you want after the results are out, with the same cost that you would incur if you applied now…
Hello,
Out of curiosity I ask, why do you need past papers prior to Dec 2010? There have been lots of syllabus and format changes and 12 sessions (June 10 to Sep 15) give you enough questions to practice.
Anyway, if you didn’t know, P4’s examiner was changed after June 10, so all papers before Dec 10 are somewhat a waste of time. Still if you want to enhance your knowledge, its good enough 🙂
Best of Luck!
Hello,
I’m not a tutor but can confirm that every standard you studied in p2 will be examined. There was no ias 11 and 33 in p2 but questions have been set on these too.
They won’t be examined in depth, but there will be some complexity like knowing the criteria for held for sale/ development expense, calculating depreciation, among others
To address the tutor, post on Ask p7 tutor forums
Knowledge of p1 is not gonna help in p7, I’m sorry. The ethical code of objectivity is a major theme in p7, confidentiality is seldom asked and others are just assumed knowledge so won’t be appearing.
This will make p7 a very distant cousin of p1, I believe :p
I appeared for p1 and p7 both in June 2015. Might I say that my P7 knowledge helped me in P1 but nothing of the sort for P7, it’s entirely different
Hey,
To address Sir John, you should post on Ask P4 tutor forum.
As such, his method does not involve use of ticks. He does it more directly which is, I believe, much easier to understand.
You can also read the technical article available for interest rate management
And why don’t you watch the relevant lecture and, post on his forum if you don’t understand
Good luck!
To address Mike, you need to post on Ask P1 tutor forum. He rarely checks this forum as it’s for students to help each other.
Having given P1 myself, I would highly recommend that you read the latest technical article while also reviewing 3 other articles before that. The examiner writes those articles and there’s a good chance he’ll set a question on that.
You would be wasting your time with timed practice as there’s plenty of time in P1 to complete the exam, it’s not time pressured if you know what’s being asked.
Make sure you review areas that were ‘grey/weak’, when you were practicing so that nothing is left behind and you’re prepared for anything.
Best of luck!
Hello KoWoon,
Some of my friends did p1 with f8 and found it similar in some areas like internal audit, audit committee, ethics (only fundamental rules), Corp governance, among others.
I myself wrote p1 with p7 and attempted a full question on internal/external audit with my f8/p7 knowledge. So yeah your plan is fine and you can go ahead
Be aware that answering style of both papers is very different. Best of luck!
Notice that they haven’t separated out ‘Management threat’ in that article. Most authors don’t.
It does imply a Management threat and what they have written doesn’t fully explain why its a self interest.
You are acting as the Management, doing their work, but still not charging them. Does it not create Self Interest? You would be interested in collecting the fee rather than doing the audit unless the work is insignificant.
Okay, you weren’t clear about recruitment and I had seen a question where a manager was asked to work for the client
Now that you have clarified, recruitment services by an audit firm requires a separate engagement letter with separate terms and fees.
While on an audit, if the firm provides the service, they will be interested in collecting the fee for recruitment and this can affect the quality of the audit.
It depends on how big the position is. If it’s key personnel, separation of engagement is required.
It can also create intimidation threat and self review.
Hey,
I’m sure you are aware of the self interest threat. You have an interest with the client and that clouds your judgement.
When a member of an audit team is asked for recruitment within the client’s business, the member would do his best to please the client so that his recruitment is successful. This can involve following their instructions to hide fraud, not disclosing a fraud to the NEDS, among others.
Same goes with having shares in the client’s company.
It also creates a self review threat, having worked in the finance dept you are now assessing yours or your colleague’s work and that would prevent you from being objective.
It’s all about being objective with the audit.
I hope this answers your query.
@abdelbagi2004 said:
dear ali ifail p1 10 times last time got 45 any advice how to pass p1
thanksPlease check out the video seagoat referred to.
I’m really sorry to hear about this. I can tell that you don’t lack knowledge but rather cant provide what the marker is looking for, application
I can give you some pointers about application.
– Always, I mean, ALWAYS use the name of company and characters from the case. Its no good saying that the ‘manager’ should not have done that. If the manager has a name, write it!
– Keep referring to company’s name whenever its required in your answer. Like ‘Apple’ should promote greener mobile phone.
– I used this approach: state the case (only very briefly), state the theory, apply it and conclude. All of this in 2-3 lines.EG: Sara knew her actions would go against her profession’s codes, yet she chose to follow the instructions. This shows that she was using a consequentialist approach to ethics.She thought about the benefit of the greater number and hence she still acted ethically.
This could be a comment on her ethical behaviour. It could be used in some other ways like blaming her for breach of confidentiality or objectivity or praising her for her right actions.
-While practicing past papers, I would read the case and write down points I believe are answering the requirements.
-Compare your draft with the model answer and write down (in a different colour) things you didnt think of.
-Leave aside 4 recent papers
-In your final revision, attempt those 4 papers, the same way. No full answers, but points.
-Again, compare and use a different ink.
-On your final night just read the different colour points and you’ll be surprised how many you already knew.Its not as hectic as it sounds, it saves time, keeps you motivated and importantly, not boring as you learn something you didn’t think of.
Are you able to complete within the time? Please dont leave any requirement unanswered. The professional marks are a gift! Make sure, you can comment in a good flow. This involves using headings, where appropriate. Always sign off your memo, article, report, whatever, with the designation you are writing with, adding a short summary of whatever you just wrote above, concluding.
I hope this helps. Best of Luck now!
@seagoat said:
Abdel It is lack of application. Search in youtube videos of Marty Windle‘Why students fail P1 and P3’ or ‘Top 5 mistakes made by P3 students’. Although it’s about P3 also the tips are applicable for P1 as well.
He talks about time management, studying, application.
@Ali
I can agree that it is not necessary to know this but it is really helpful to have in pocket 5-6 real life examples – there is a chance that in exam they will be suitable which can really impress the marker and make difference between 49 and 50.Absolutely mate, we are there to impress the marker after all. Just my experience really, because people got me all worried up that you should read business journals and newspapers to keep informed.
I always believe in improving the quality of answers and if you can quote the real life alright, it’s gold, otherwise it will just look bad in front of the marker. I only advise against it because people try to force the examples into their answers and it doesn’t make any sense. So its better to refrain unless you believe it will improve the quality of answer.
You’re welcome mate, glad I could help 🙂
Post again if you need any help. Best wishes for you too!
Hey,
I can confirm that you do NOT need to know real world scandals to pass this exam. It got me so much worried as well that you should be reading newspapers and should know whats happening out there, the examiner can use any of them.
While writing the exam, nothing came to my mind of those ‘scandals’ and still I managed to pass with 70 at first attempt! Just watch the lectures here and add pointers to the lecture notes. After this read all past papers except for the latest 4.
After you are confident, attempt the 4 left and only make points and contrast with the model answer. Watch lectures again if required.
Post here if you dont understand anything and best of luck!
Uni tire board is headed by the chair and all execs and NEDs are in the same board.
In Multi tire boards, the execs and NEDS are separated. NEDS have an upper hand over the execs and act as a supervisory board. The execs, headed by the CEO, are responsible for the running of the company but their policies are reviewed by the Supervisory board, headed by the Chair.
Hey,
I did P7 and P1 together with P4 as well. I found P7 quite interesting but P1 was boring as hell! It is a good combination as I applied my P7 knowledge to some audit committee question in P1.
If you think you can manage 2 theoretical papers together, it would be good. I had one week’s time after P7, not so much for you now that the timetable has changed.
Good Luck!
Watch the lectures on this site and read the notes making your own additions as you watch.
I never read the P7 study text and passed first time.If you do need further guidance, I would say Kaplan. BPP explains ‘a lot’ and has unnecessary detail. Everyone has their own preference.
