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Passed first try with 57%. Honestly gobsmacked that I managed it. I was certain that I had failed. Thank god, if there was one exam I definitely DID NOT want to resit, it was this one. Absolutely hated it from start to finish. Just P6 left to sit in June and then I’m done!
First attempt here. That was a rough exam. I didn’t attempt Q5, but I wish I had in hindsight because Q4 didn’t click with me the way I thought it would. All three scenarios seemed to have the exact same ethical risks with only one or two exceptions so I’m concerned that I will lose credit for repeating myself for each part of the question.
Q1 was pretty nice in my opinion but Q2 was brutal. I just hope and pray that I managed to scrape together a pass. Easily my toughest ACCA exam yet.
Either way, I’m sitting P1 in two days so no use dwelling on P7 – there’s nothing more I can do about it now!
As alkemist said above, it is not important for you to remember the names of the standards, just remember what they require and you will be fine. I have just read the examiner’s article on exam technique for risk assessment and it says that no credit is awarded for merely remembering the names of the relevant standards.
As for the professional marks, these are potentially four very easy marks to obtain and could be the difference between a pass and a fail in such a tough exam.
If the question asks for briefing notes, which is the most common layout they will ask for, you should do the following:
1) Start your answer with a title ‘Briefing Notes’
2) Include the following lines underneath – From: (make sure to say ‘Audit manager’ or whoever the question says you are, do not use your real name)
To:
Subject:
Date:3) Add an introduction which summarises all of the question requirements. ‘In these briefing notes, I will [question requirement A], [question requirement B] and I will also [question requirement C].’
4) USE SUB-HEADINGS. I cannot stress This enough. Your introduction should have it’s own sub-heading. Each individual risk you point out should have it’s own sub-heading. Not only will this score you a professional mark, but it will be much easier to mark and so the examiner will be on your side.
5) Make sure your answer is logical and coherent, and that it flows naturally. If one specific paragraph of the scenario gives rise to two separate risks, describe them one after the other if possible. Don’t let your answer jump all over the place if you can help it as this will require additional effort on the examiner’s part.
6) Add a conclusion (with it’s own sub-heading). This is easy to forget as it would be added right at the end, usually I run out of time to add a conclusion, however it’s generally worth a whole mark so try not to miss it. This should simply state something along the lines of “the above briefing notes show that ‘X Co’ is a high-risk engagement, we should do ‘Y’ to mitigate these risks where possible”.
The format for a report is more or less identical with only one or two small changes, I would recommend learning the above as a basic template and looking at the answers to Q1’s in past papers to learn the differences between briefing notes and the other layouts.
If due diligence came up as a full question last sitting (I wouldn’t know as tomorrow will be my first attempt), I would assume that it will only come up as a small requirement at most this time around. So I would still suggest having a look through it to refresh your knowledge of it, but I imagine it wouldn’t be the end of the world if you didn’t.
For me, due diligence is something I cannot wrap my head around so I am very pleased to hear that it was examined thoroughly in September! Hopefully it won’t crop up this time.
I have also heard that NOCLAR was examined in September, so I would imagine that knowledge of it will not be too important for December.
IFRS16 Leases is obviously a new standard, I would bet my life that it will appear in some form this time. Thankfully the standard is not too dissimilar from the standard it replaced, so understanding it should be relatively simple.
P2 knowledge is important in that P7 requires in-depth knowledge and understanding of accounting standards. However if you sat P2 a long time ago, it is likely that some standards will have since been updated or replaced so it would be in your best interests to look up the relevant standards for yourself if you don’t already know them.
You need knowledge of accounting standards as there will likely be questions requiring assessment of risks of material misstatement or audit risks, and the examiner will expect you to explain the appropriate accounting treatment and then apply this to the scenario given. Not doing so will only allow you to score minimal marks.