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Here is an extract of my email replied to one of ACCA Manager when asked to provide more tips after I have had a very positive experience with remote CBE.
Hope that help you all on how to pass exams on first attempts (yes you can pass more than one per exam period with full time job, I got 70 for SBL and 72 AFM).
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1, maybe I am lucky facing no connection in Australia (even though my work internet at that time was ~15 Mbps – normal speed in Australia should be 50 Mbps). Heard that people at some other places got technical issues trying starting the exam & verifying ID. I don’t know if this is an isolated or a widespread problem.
2, Biggest adjustment with CBE for me is screen size. In order to display 6-7 exhibits and the response window simultaneously at the same time, honestly 15’6 inch laptop screen size is not enough. I used my 27′ work monitor.
My sincere recommendation, do a real test on CBE practice platform, it’s exactly the way you’ll have it on exam day. If one has no problem on the platform, it is highly likely one will easily sail through the real exam.
Overall, my experience went very smoothly. Essentially, you logged in 15′ before exam time, verifing ID (~5-10′) and waiting till the exam starts. If there is no issue, time flies unnoticed. If there is any issue, they contact you through a chat and resolve it fairly quickly.
I gave my CBE experience 9.8/10 (0.2 mark off as only on the exam, I found out, I could not use the multiplication (*) on the top right hand side of the stand-alone keyboard – which works just fine on the CBE practice platform. This is the only difference I encounter between CBE practice platform and the real exam).
For those who are still hesitant about this format, let assume something does indeed go wrong. ACCA literally gives two exit options – mitigating factors or option of withdrawal. It is hard to argue either of these two if one takes exams in a physical centre, but it is way easier to argue either of those if one really encountered a technical issue. An ‘out of jail’ free card! (What else can we want?)
One more thing about how to pass exams on the first attempt (especially if you work full time like me and plan on doing multiple exams per each exam period).
Many have said this before me, many will say this after me, this is not a secret: Understanding and connection. Understand the concept, and how the theory connects to the scenario. Imagine if that’s your client in the scenario, what would you do? What is the common sense in that situation?
If, in the exam, you do not remember the theory, that’s ok, breathe, go back to the basics, write something that makes sense (not just write fillers for the sake of writing). Again, if that’s your client and you have to say something, what would you say? That thinking will get you starting off on the right foot. These are not baby exams, obviously, but it is not rocket science, either.
For exams with lots of calculation (i.e., AFM), practice is a must component, but more importantly is to truly understand what you practice. Mechanically applying a formula into the numbers will not get you far. You might even go through every exercise in BPP revision kit and still fail.
Take my words as a HD student with a Bachelor degree in Finance, AFM still threw me off guard (I got 72, but given my background that is outright low). Of course one contributing factor is my increased work duty during that time (thus the lack of practice) and the fact that I was preparing for 2 exams instead of one. The more important fact to note is that the examiners WILL throw curve balls, they WILL twist the scenario to make it unlike anything you have ever seen. If you learn by rote memory (even ‘perceived’ understanding’), you are doomed to fail.
It is embarrassing (for someone with my background) to say this but I admit I struggled during the AFM exam. It was 1 hour left and I could not figure out how to tackle the calculation of both 25 marks questions. The unimaginable thoughts of me going to fail a finance subject crossing my mind.
Before I got myself swallowed into the full panic mode, I went back to basics, starting at what I know, wrote down all the core calculations, trying to score as many marks as I could. If I could not figure out what I need from the prompt, I make the most reasonable assumption and proceed based on that assumption (reasonable assumption really is the trick of the trade and exactly what we have to do in real life with real clients).
The moral of the story: you only lose marks once, and as long as you keep putting down on paper what you know to be true, you will keep having chance of getting marks. You only fail when you stop.
The more important moral of the story, what saved me from that spectacular fall from grace? Understanding. I understand the numbers, understand the formulars, understand why they are where they are. While memory will fail you, true understanding will never abandon you. In my case, it saved me from my lack of practice too.
To wrap this up, If one can give potentially strenuous exams in the comfort of one’s home, I do think the advantages clearly outweigh the disadvantages.
Given the world situation, remote exams seem to be the ‘new normal’ now, and it is here to stay. At least, I do think ACCA already did a fairly good job of rolling out CBE. Personally, I have little to complain about this new normal. This is a necessary change and it does seem like this is a change for the better.
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Hope that help you fellow students.
