Forum Replies Created
- Posts
Keep the faith. I’ve lost count of the times I was certain I failed an exam, but actually made it through!
You might be ok. The ACCA have specifically said that you are not required to use any models when answering, so long as your answers are reasonable and you can back them up. Incidentally, SAF itself it not a model, it only serves to organise your thinking. So if you didn’t use SAF, that in itself means nothing. What matters is that you were able to pick up on the key points in the exhibit and evaluate them. Good luck!
I had acquisition of smaller player and I used SAF to conclude that the acquisition should go ahead. I used Lewin as a model to manage the change. For the pros and cons of sustainability, in honesty I thought the answers were in the question and I just analysed the info given. On the risks of new software, I basically said PVS shouldn’t touch it, based on feedback from staff.
What did people answer for the scenario where the audit team and partner were in place for 7 years but there were no other teams or partners available to rotate them with?
I said to rotate the partner out for one from another office of the firm. And I said that the members of the audit team should be rotated out maybe one by one over time to make sure knowledge is transferred.
Couldn’t think of anything else at the time.
My second attempt at AAA and I feel I did even worse this time. Very information dense paper, 5 really chunky exhibits full of text in Q1 about an oil company. So much to read, could barely absorb any of it, never mind make linkages between exhibits. And nothing that was tipped came up…..nothing on sustainability, nothing on quality, nothing on analytics. I got busiess risk which wasn’t expected to appear. Nightmare of a paper. If I had another hour then yeah, maybe.
I used online classes at a school in the country where I live. They used to offer only classroom based tuition before the pandemic, but when they transitioned to online classes they never went back. It suited me very well because of family commitments and in honesty, if I had to battle traffic to get to a physical location one or two evenings a week and some weekends, I don’t think I would have done it.
Drop me a note on moran17030@gmail.com if you like and I’ll be happy to tell you more.
Welcome back to study! I too started a long time ago and had a break in between due to life and family commitments. I took it up again from December 2021 and sat just one paper at a time. I was going to take two papers at my first sitting because like you, I was able to devote a lot more time to study than the average student who would probably only have evenings to study. However, a few weeks in I was already beginning to struggle. So I dropped back to sitting just one paper at a time and I passed first time every time up to the end of applied skills. I am now on strategic professional and that has been a real struggle, but that’s a different story.
Anyway, my experience has been to take one paper at a time. Slowly but surely, that’s the approach that worked for me. Good luck!
Just curious to know how you are getting on with the exams? I too am mid/late 40’s and battling with the struggle as well!
My audit opinion was a qualified “except for” opinion with a corresponding basis of qualified opinion paragraph. It resulted out of a material disagreement with the application of the accounting standards.
I don’t think this was an unfair exam. The difficulty at this level is that no matter how many questions you practice, it’s always an entirely new scenario when you get into the exam. And when you’re under time pressure with no time to consider the scenario like you would in real life, it makes it very difficult. Honestly I could have easily used up another hour in the exam.
My exam was a complete train wreck.
For a start, I was late to the exam centre due to circumstances beyond my control. So I was already very anxious and annoyed before I even began. This is my 11th ACCA exam and I’ve passed first time every time. I always use flash cards in the minutes and seconds before the exam to memorise last minute stuff that I then write down first thing when the exam begins. I was not able to use my flash cards this time because I was so rushed getting to the exam centre, and in honesty I could actually have used what was on them, I didn’t remember the sensitivity formula correctly for example – I forgot to account for the tax effect.
Anyway, I had no time to make my answer plan at the start and I had no opportunity to lay out my time plan for the exam either. I had to launch straight in to question 1 without having even reviewed questions 2 and 3. It is crucial when doing exams at this level that you plan your approach carefully, and I did none of that.
I think I did address every part of every question, but nowhere near to the level required. I was so focused on getting text down on the page that I don’t think I made a good hand at applying my knowledge to the given scenario, and again that is a big red mark on these exams. You might know everything there is to know in the text book, but if you don’t apply it, then you don’t get the marks.
I’m 90% sure I’ll be seeing this exam again in either September or December, and it’s all down to bad management of my exam. I feel very upset about it, but what can I do. Got to get over it and try again.
Hi everyone,
I failed with topic 13 at the P45 submission. The feedback I received was very brief, short and lacking in detail. I guess I could copy and paste the feedback here, however I would imagine that OBU would frown upon that. The gist of it is that my referencing was not up to scratch.
I accept that I did not make the cut. However, the feedback I received did little more than point out to me which section or aspect of my RAP needs improvement. The difficulty I have now is that I do not understand specifically what the marker saw an issue with. In preparing my submission, I was very careful to study all the relevant guidance videos provided by OBU on YouTube, and I carefully studied the assessment criteria etc. contained in the information pack. I was diligent with my referencing, learning about and carefully applying the Harvard system. I specifically asked my mentor to examine my referencing for me, which he did, and indicated that he could identify no issue with it. So while I accept that the marker found it inadequate, I am at a loss because I thought I did my referencing in accordance with the available guidance.
Like many others here, I put a lot of effort and money into my RAP submission. My confidence took a severe blow when I received my result, but I managed to shake it off and thought the feedback would point me in a good direction for a resubmission. But it didn’t, and now I’m back feeling very demotivated and isolated with no real sense of direction. Of course I could make amendments and resubmit, but the fact is that I do not have much money available to me and I need to try and continue with the professional level of my ACCA as well. If I am to make another submission, it means I will be taking time from other priorities and would have to borrow the submission fee. Under those circumstances, I feel a great sense of insecurity about a resubmission because I really would need to get it on the second attempt. Unfortunately, with the feedback I was given being very limited, I feel I would be doing little more than stabbing around in the dark with a resubmission.
I really do not know what to do. My sense of “get up and go” is gone. If I had clarity, I believe I would enthusiastically resubmit, but I have no clarity. I could not afford either the time or the money to fail again.
If anyone has any thoughts, please share. Like I said, I feel really isolated here because unlike a situation where I might be a full time undergraduate student attending the university, we do not have the option to speak to anyone at OBU for guidance. Additionally I do not know anybody else personally who is going through a RAP or has done one in the past.
Thanks for reading!