Forum Replies Created
- Posts
Congratulations. If you are studying full time then this is what I would consider normal. In my final year on my degree I was doing 12 main exams per year with added assesments and projects in between. While ACCA is a little more tricky, 8 exams per year is very achievable to a full time student.
I myself work full time in finance (thankfully) and have a 10 month old baby at home. How things change.
Time is a key factor in exam success. If you have lots, you will pass easily with multiple exams.I would end up in the same position in a few years if deciding to practise myself or stay in industry. TBH I would resign the membership and practise. No professional body will dictate how I progress through my career.
I studied hard enough to be where I am, and a lot more to do in order to get the career and job I want.If at that point the ACCA does not support me in this endeavour, I would personally walk.
@just_bilal said:
it just doesnt make sense why they would not publish the question papers as well as the answersIt is very shady on their part.I found some section B’s were asked differently etc. I think it also lacks transparency and is of no help to students. A crucial element of preparation is gone.
As a full time student you should be able to take three papers and pass very well.
@robertj said:
Acca are doing this and moving to multiple choice question to cut costs. In doing so exams become easier to pass. I honestly believe that as I have taken a few f papers under the old way and new way. Way easier. Just look at the pass rate of f4.
Ultimately though it’s about perception. Once Employers know there is 1 less exam and more multiple choice questions on the others they will value the qualification less.OK. So with the multiple choice question you MUST be 100% correct in your answer. no sympathy marks given. If you are 50% correct in a non multi-choice exam you will pass. If you are 50% correct in a multi choice exam you fail. Exams being easier is down to the questions, not the question scheme. Look at the F5 paper for example. Muti choice questions cover EVERYTHING. More is covered compared to what a 5 question exam may cover. So the student needs to have more coverage. This is a blessing and a curse. If employers value the ACCA less, then that is their issue.
ACCA is becoming the number 1 choice in a lot of countries and their global presence is getting more prominent.@robertj said:
I’m sick of Acca dumbing down this qualificationThis qualification will be worthless in a few years
What makes you think ACCA are dumbing down the qualification?
You are familiar with the pass rates on the ACCA exams?I can only echo what has been said. I had F5 and F9 this sitting. I think F5 went really well and F9 I made mistakes, but that is entirely my fault. John’s lectures were absolutely supreme and covered everything. This with exam practise gained me knowledge that I needed to pass.
Although my F9 exam was not as good as I would have hoped, pass or fail, John is the man and I have 100% confidence in his lectures and knowledge. And I can safely say that any shortcomings on the exams is on my head due to exam hall panic/breakdown lol.Thank you, Sir.
@alexanderrobert1989 said:
Gonko, you are assuming a lot. It does seem like an odd way to do it, but in the exam you are weighing up the options. Below is something J Moffat posted.“Leading is paying early, so the lead payment simply means paying the euros now, instead of waiting until it is due in 6 months time.
So we convert at the current spot.
However, in order to convert now means having to borrow money and so because of the interest the cost in 6 months time will be the money borrowed together with the interest.
(It is, of course, a silly thing for them to do – it would be more sensible to put the euros on deposit rather than pay the supplier immediately (which is what is happening with the money market hedging). Therefore it is not surprising that the lead payment is the most expensive of the three choices.”
Unfortunately we have to assume a lot in these exams as the questions are often not 100% clear. So we are borrowing to pay early. I thought the question stated that hedging the funds are borrowed and then deposited etc. If we are leading,we have nothing to hedge against. The payment is made at spot and the transaction closed. Why we or any company would borrow for a specified period for a lead payment is not logical. At my work I make FX payments and we typically lock out with FRA agreements. But I’ve never come across borrowing for a lead payment. Its normally pulled from a concentration account, converted and paid. We certainly would not sit on a six month loan for it. Bt again as I have said elsewhere, reality does not equal exam testing and I must have been wrong on this one. Just trying to highlight logic here lol.
@asmith61 said:
With regards to the Inv App question, part b on the limitations, did anyone else write about the fact that 400,000 units was the maximum that could be produced and so future investors may not invest as profits are never going to increase, etc?Found the multi choice questions difficult.
I did acknowledge this, but left it out of my answer as unit production ceilings and profit ceilings may differ. This could be through greater economies of scale in production, labour efficiency growing thus costs reduce overall and profit goes up. Plus if the product is in high demand, there may even be scope for small price increases. Thinking back to my F5 bits here on market skimming and PED.
But again I may be wrong. As there is logic, and then there is what the examiner wants.
@alexanderrobert1989 said:
Lead payment is at the spot rate then you apply interest to it because you are assuming you need to borrow it. Every past exam I have looked at that is the way to do it.Usually and in the exam it was the most expensive option I think?
If we lead at spot, why would we assume a repayment over six months. If we are leading, surely the six month thing becomes irrelevant…..we are choosing to pay today. Conversely if we were to lag, what repayment period would we use. I believe the question said that funds for the hedge would need to be borrowed. If leading, I would have assumed this was pulled from cash reserves and paid off early. Matching the payment against the liability. I would have assumed if funds did need borrowing, they would just use the overdraft facility if anything.
I do understand your logic however and I am not saying I am correct. but following logic, borrowing for AP payments over six months is not something I would be familiar with. At my work, we pay down using a credit facility. individual payments would not be leading in the manner you are suggesting in real life (certainly at my work). But to be fair, exams and real life are exactly that lol. One is real and one is relatively fairy tale for the most part.
@aimeer85 said:
I also put a note in my working capital workings that I’m assuming the money will be used for w/c on the new machine.
A fair assumption I’d say seeing as the w/c is already in place from the previous machineI done the exact same myself. But added that if the project had come to an end, the WC would be taken back in full. I think we were correct to assume this and make the point.
So if we are in Euroland, we are quoting against the Dollar? Therefore the Dollar should be on the bottom. This is the one part I find so confusing on the whole syllabus.
Is there a hard and fast rule.
Which currency do we take as “base”.
When you say quoted against, are we quoting our CCY against USD or are we quoting their USD against our EUR.I thought it was a fair enough exam also. I did not have a lot of time to study on this one. Maybe 6 weeks with an F5 repeat. F5 took probably 60% of my attention. I am also due to start P1, but I am going to keep going over F5 and 9, particularly f9. I kind of froze in the exam and made some silly mistakes. It wasn’t a lock of knowledge, just a total brain freeze. But to be fair, the exam itself was straight up and fair. If I pass F5 I will be happy and take F9 in March with correct preperation. Who knows though, I may be over the line.
I always believe the home currency or base currency goes on the bottom of the equation so it was 1.02/1.05?
As we are in the US, our rate is on the bottom?? No?
I forgot to use the IRR to calculate the redeemable loan note, and also on the question regarding offering customers a discount, I multiplied the whole answer by the short term cost of capital figure. I am pretty sure it should have just been the AR movement that was hit with the cost of capital.
Marks lost, but I think on balance there will have been enough positive marks to pull through.
Why limit the resits? A first time pass or a 5th time pass is still a pass. Either you meet the standard or you don’t. Passing a 5th resit doesn’t mean the exam is easier, but that the student has had time to go away and get better until it was a high enough standard. Determination and never giving up is a golden quality in anyone. I failed f5, learned my lesson, went away and took f5 and f9 in Dec 15. I have a full time job and a new 10 month old baby. I cannot dedicate every free hour to acca study. But I do my absolute best and myself and family make sacrifices around study time. I will never give up for me or for them as this acca qual betters our future . And anyone that thinks a few resits degrades the qualification…….how? I COULD NOT complete this if I had to do 5 in one sitting as a a family man. The flexibility of acca is being compared to a poorer quality qualification here. Rubbish. Just because I didn’t go with ICA or ACA and get rode by an audit firm for 3.5 years for what they will tell me is he better qualification. ….cause they supply cheap labour to the firm’s via trainee contracts. It is set up to be inflexible for he sake of the firks. Plus hube exam leave.. My employer gave me the day of the exam as half day. I was back in work at 3pm. Some opinions on here seem to be from spoon fed perfectionists who think a first pass is the golden dish. Makes you wonder HOW hey may deal with failure in the future, if this is their attitude now. An attitude that will hold anyone back in life in my opinion.
Looking at these now I made so many mistakes . I think I had a good section A. Section B I made a mess of the wc question. I hit the entire benefit with the cost of borrowing, not just the receivable movement . Will be a tight pass on this one. I also forgot the IRR on the redeemable note on the wacc. I froze in the exam for some reason.
@ehsanshah said:
You need to take assumption here… 75% will take discount and pay in 30 days.. + rest 25% will pay normal.. soo these two add up make receivables after discount…This sounds correct. Adjusting the days is something I forgot on the 75% uptake. Rookie mistake. I know my adjusted AR is wrong anyway yippee. Lol.
The receivables increased due to the increase in revenue. Receivables from 24-28.8m. But the reduction in days was for an industry average. I don’t recall our company offering 30days. However I must admit i possibly missed this. I calculated the reduction in bad debts, added admin costs and cost of discount and hit all that with the COC. The question was information overload to be fair. A lot of unnecessary gibberish to jumble around numbers.
