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This paper completely threw me off. i felt like the information provided were hard to interpret unlike other exams ive taken. as soon as i saw defined benefit question, i knew it was going to be a tough one. i blabbed for most part
i got 443 too – though i was scratching my head trying to work out the WACC when it was already given!
as for performance report Q, anyone recommend whether the suggested report was “fit for purpose”@henry1acca said:
I failed at 45% but i cannot understand why. Knew most models and applied them adequately and completed 17 pages of pure logic and business acumen. Out of all the papers i have completed i never felt so confident of passing than i did with this one. I really cannot understand where i went wrong whereas if i has failed on a certain few other papers i could understand where i went wrong through an educated guess after sitting the exam. Well done to those that have passed. I will be attempting this again but like many others i am very sceptical just how the ACCA mark these papersHi Henry, sorry to hear that but don’t give up! With this exam, our tutor kept on emphasising on the fact that it’s not about learning all the models, it’s about applying what you know even if it’s not related to any particular models. The models are there to help you plan your answer but won’t necessarily give you the answer if that makes sense. And also, don’t fit your answer around a model because that will restrict on your writing content. And one of the key to success is to attempt as many exam questions as possible.
@navjot23 said:
Hey all just a short breakdown on what I wrote1) there were a lot of risks which you could have mentioned . The ones I mentioned where
– shareholders want to be listed soon and that requires full compliance with the structure of the board which they don’t meet, not taking that seriously would have adverse effects and compliance risk also seen my clients as a bad thing – unable to win or retain contracts (high impact, high likelihood)
– management motivation – it mentioned that the directors were already unhappy with us (the consultanty firm) joining and proving advice to tt4u. Could also be seen a risk as they are hesitant to change
– risk that the survey was seen as a ad hoc rare exercise. Won’t be able to understand clients needs therefore difficult to win contracts and retain
– then all the risks to do with the survey
– risks of the confidentiality breach impact reputation and legal fees also another risk affecting winning new clients etc
-competitor analysis also wasn’t done so they aren’t able to see where they are in the market. Another risk you could talk about
-risk of falling behind they are a tech company and should be at the forefront of innovation risk of getting left behind1) for the next part I used suitability feasibility and acceptability for both. I overall went for the government one due to the fact the company only have 75 staff doesn’t look like they have the resources for the internet home appliances sector Which would also need a lot of financial backing or maybe if they target one sector within the market it may be feasible. Both were risky but the government one overall I felt had less risk it was also more in line with the strategic position of the company providing similar services to a new market which is ‘market development ‘ also shareholders may prefer government service might be good for reputation. There was a lot to talk about for both projects in all.
1) the controls I mentioned things such as control environment setting tone from the top, then control activities such a segregation, passwords, authorisations, training, physical access, reporting on compliance and regaularly testing the controls in place, also carrying out a risk assessment regularly to make sure the controls are in place . And monitoring2) reviewing the work of the investment appraisal obviously the work was done by a junior new member so can question all his creditentials coming from a new department, wasn’t reviewed by the FD either so another issue. Forecasting sales revenue went up 99.6% from Y1 to Y5 that’s a very optimistic assumption need to get the detail behind all those. The marketing costs flatlined after year 3 which didn’t make sense but also if you are launching a new cloud softaware surely you would incure a lot of marketing costs in the first year not the subsequent years didn’t make sense . The tax rate remains unchanged but surely that would change as profits would be made. The discount rate used would need to take into account risk but it was also under the assumption of the old loan they previously had. What if they need a new loan to finance this venture can’t use the old loan assumptions to work out the discount rate.
2) e marketing was A nice one. talked about the traditional push marketing approach and how everything is more pull marketing where the customer generates the initial interaction. Followed by the 6’is and applying them to the cloud computing option as much as possible
3) this is where it gets interesting I figured that the MOBEID approach was a transformational change as they kept mentioning in the paper but the factor to think about was also the speed of the change. Surely they couldn’t just do it overnight therefore I said the change would be a transformational change at an slow pace which is – evolutionary change (according to the model) and the advice I gave to the CEO was to use LEWINs model of – unfreeze: change and then refreeze. And giving step by step guidance on how to do that.
3) the ceo letter was pretty self explanatory
3) the information for the new board structure I mentioned needs to be a balance of NEDS and EDs but also the fact that committees would be useful to satisfy all stakeholder groups risk, nomination, audit, remuneration. Also mentioned how the board should be diverse from all backgrounds, genders, variety of skills . Also no mention of a directors induction which would be good, and a CPD done so everyone could keep up to date on skills
3) qualities of information given to the boardI talked about
Accurate info
Relevant
Reliable
User targeted
Timely
Forward looking
Highly summarised
Non routine info
Maybe incorporate environmental reporting
And maybe consider integrated reportingThis way all stakeholder groups can benefit. The Meiobid approach was all about the client and stakeholders being at the heart of everything that was done so giving them that kind of information (above) should keep them happy
Let me know what you guys think
please let us know your results in april! this is very good!
i actually liked the size and content of each of the exhibits because it did not bombard me with soo much information and make me feel overwhelmed though it still didn’t stop me from panicking, mioebed question threw me off
@S.tirmizi said:
I don’t know if I remember the requirement. I thought in report we have to give our conclusion whether they ask for it or notfrom what I understood, I summarised my points in my conclusion but didn’t recommend which option to go for and said TT4U would need to consider costs vs benefits of each option because we weren’t given any financial info to consider profitability.
the first and second question was ok for me,
does anyone remember what they wrote for the ethics question about the threatening letter?
I did nearly all the questions in the kaplan exam kit and I still found it hard! Surely practice should make it easier, yet the examiner was very UNFAIR and completely blew me out of the water in the exam. It should be about testing our knowledge, not tricking us!
just completed the feedback form – i hope acca takes some of our thoughts into consideration!
Alot of inspirational stories on here! I have decided to self study for P2 and P3 which I have failed and Ive decided to use OT along with my Kaplan study materials! definately motivated to pass this time round
