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But in the Kaplan Revision Kit, only the SOFP is given in the question, and nothing is mentioned of the profits for the current year in the notes. How did they expect us to know of the profit for the current year?
Hi,
IFRS 15 became effective on 1 January 2018 but CIMA is still testing IAS 18. Is this correct?Hi,
I am also planning to write in November this year. Perhaps we can walk the journey together if we have the same approach.
My email address is LLMAQE@gmail.com and I can give you my WhatsApp number if you send me an email, if that is fine with you.
Hi,
I was in a similar situation and this is what I did for P7:
I used the Kaplan Revision Kit and they give a list of recommended questions as part of preparing for the exam. They say if you do all those questions under exam conditions, you are guaranteed a pass. And when I followed their instruction, I passed with very good marks.Feel free to contact me on LLMAQE@gmail.com and I can share my experience with you.
If you are left with two papers you are almost there, don’t give up.
Sabaaizaz, I agree with Suf23. I however recommend that you focus on lectures that deal with assumed knowledge required for P5.
I agree that ultimately it will come down to a personal choice. However, I preferred BPP because I was exempted from F5. I found that BPP gives more background reading than Kaplan, it leans more towards the direction of a text book. If you have n’t been studying for a while or passed the F5 paper a while back, perhaps you should consider BPP.
I however liked Kaplan for the questions that they give at the end of their revision kit. If you do all the questions recommended in their revision kit, under exam conditions, you are almost guaranteed a pass. This worked wonders for me when I was doing P7.
My recommendation is: Get a BPP text and a Kaplan revision kit.
It will probably depend on when last you did the F5 paper, whether you still remember everything from that paper. It will also depend on your workload and pressure at work, if you are not a full time student. But generally, I would aim for the September sitting if I were you. You don’t want your confidence to be affected because this paper is not the easiest ACCA paper!
Dear Tutor,
All the cost of equity (chapter 7) examples are based on listed companies. How is cost of equity calculated in a company which is not listed?
My private email is LLMAQE@GMAIL.COM
The paper has a 50 mark question and two 25 mark questions. You must get at least 25 marks from question 1, and score at least 13 marks from each of the choice questions.
It is easier to score marks from the 25 mark questions. So aim for 30 marks from section B. Then you need 25 from question 1.
Start by reading the requirements before reading the case study. Read the case study and make notes on the question paper. Then read the requirements again. Plan your answer before you start to write. Don’t rush to start writing. Plan the two small questions first. Don’t plan and write one question. Plan at least two question before you start writing. And reflect on your plan before you start writing.
I don’t know your personal circumstance but in my case, I really wanted to qualify and I understood what it would mean to me to write ACCA after my name…that kept me going regardless.
For me to pass, I used two stopwatches in the exam. And this I practiced over and over in my exam preparations. If I did not use this technique, I would n’t have passed. I identified time management as a problem in my specific case, and I don’t know your style of writing. But let me assure you. If you get 49%, as you say you have, the problem is presentation and not knowledge.
So you are there already, don’t lose hope. Make an analysis of what you are doing wrong. In my case I realised that I always write out 75% and I managed to pass all the papers. But when I got to optional papers, I needed to write more than 75% of the paper to secure a pass. And it took me a while to identify my own problem.
One more thing…when it gets to optional papers, you must pass all the questions. If you score 67% in your paper but you did not attempt all 4 questions, I think your final mark will be less than 50%; but that is just my subjective view. However, when I aimed to attempt all three questions and target a minimum of 55% in all questions, I passed.
I also tried P5 several times unsuccessfully but never gave up and I would advise you to do the same. I have just cleared P5 now in June. In my case I had several issues in my personal life but understood that if I were to stop exams, it would have been difficult to get back to studying.
To pass P5, in my case, I realised that the technique for writing P5 is also important; it’s not just about the knowledge.
I also found that reading the scenarios was becoming difficult and the examiner was using scenarios which were rather diffucult to absorb. In this regard, try to understand how different sector of the economy work, as well as the specific industries, e.g. in the last sitting, it was a retail business and I had read enough about FMCG companies from financial publications. This helps you to extract the strategic issues quickly and to use the right jargon for the industry, e.g. for a chain of retail supermarkets,which was in the last exam, the issues are: positioning, market segmentation, income levels in chosen areas, logistics and value chain, staff issues, customer service, differentiation or focus, etc. So it was easy for me to grasp the case study quickly.
Public transport is another popular industry for the examiner, and a favourite topic because the industry is well developed in London and Europe. And you have to know the main issues in public transport and apply topical matters to the scenario. Don’t limit yourself to the data given in the scenario, be as broad as possible.
Application is more important but raw knowledge is still critical.
Don’t give up, you can also qualify, just like me. Learn how to write a P5 exam.
Hi,
I don’t know whether anyone still gives tips for ACCA. I could not find any for the March sitting. If you found them, how accurate were they?Hi,
One of the tutors will probably give an authoritative response.
But for now this is what I can say as your fellow student:
The point you are raising is about the possible problems of implementation of the balanced scorecard. In the exam it will say what problems could be encountered in the implementation of the balanced scorecard. Then the issue of cascading the objectives downwards through setting KPIs for individuals would come in. However, it can also be relevant in a question which deals with performance appraisals, albeit a small portion.Any takers?
Can you believe that in my country, South Africa, ACCA is considered too easy and has no recognition, The local body undermines ACCA big time!!
Even part A of question 3 was not easy because it talks about risk appetites and performance management. When I saw “stakeholders” I jumped into it, and by the time it dawned on me that it is something else, it was too late to choose another question.
But when are they changing this examiner? He must be a real saddist
Dear Tutor,
In the detailed syllabus, specific mention is made of the Z-score and the A-score. However, several approaches are detailed in the Corporate Failure article. Can I take it that only the Z-score and the A-score are examinable?
Dear Tutor,
I have attempted this question twice yesterday and I am still battling with it. The scenario is so complex that if you are not familiar with the industry, it is difficult to relate to the scenario.
But why would the examiner choose an industry that is so specialised? It is not really testing your knowledge of P5.
Your comment would be highly appreciated.
Dear Tutor,
This model has not been examined yet. Is it in the syllabus? If I am wrong, I would like to attempt a previous exam question, please advise.
Kaplan have their own question on 7S model, called BRIGGS and I have the following issues on this question:
Part (a) asks for a brief description of the model, for 5 marks. In the solution, they listed all the seven elements and explained each. I would have thought it is not necessary to list all elements because they are required in part (b). I described what the model is about and what it does or seeks to achieve, without going into each element. Would I be penalised in the exam?
Shared values: I understood the diminished trust to be due to the size and complexity, not the hierarchy. To improve trust and teamwork, I suggested individual performance targets should be deived from departmental and corporate objectives and KPIs.
As a divisional structure is introduced and the expansion strategy is introduced, I thought growth would be a CSF in new countries and the relevant KPI would be market share.
The problem of teamwork and trust would still apply to new markets because it would be derived from the host country. And I had teamwork as another CSF and the relevant KPI as divisional strategy and KPIs
Can I please have your comments on my approach.
Dear Tutor,
You mentioned Q3 June 2014 but I think it is Q4 you meant, which I have attempted. Thanks.I have also attempted Q3 and I think it is a good question for Risk.
After attempting that Godel question, I am confident enough on any question he can bring on evaluating a budgeting system and evaluating a move to beyond budgeting. Thanks. If he can make that mistake of bringing such a question, he will know my name!!
