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correct, I struggled so hard fighting the temptation to bombard the examiner with SA calculations but then i figured that i would only be wasting precious time doing something that’s correct but irrelevant and unyielding …
but i added the formula though NPV of project/PV of each variable within the porject as that helped to establish the point about the subject itself
and by the way, was anyone else caught out (or nearly so) with 360 days to use for receivables calculation? I had gone a bit far into the calculation using 365 days before i realized at the end that examiner pedantically specifies 360..
The factor wasn’t a viable option anyway… well, that’s what i deduced. don’t know if i was correct.
hi guys, personally i didn’t have sufficient time to practice and revise and so i think that i could have done way better today – but hey, I will stay positive no matter what.
As for a few comments re: venture cap’s – Yes they are intermediaries however i think that they are NOT institutional investors/intermediaries. Pension funds, insurance companies are institutional investors. Not sure how the question puts it again but i think it asked for ‘institutional investors’ in which case Venture cap isn’t a part of.
IRR i think i got 17.2 (cant rememeber now, i know there were two figures with 17.something but it was the 17.something with the lower digit)
Ev for selling price i used 29 as well…
I immediately spotted my knowledge gap the moment i opened the question booklet and although not excusable, it was all down to insufficient question practices and no past question revision :/
best wishes
After a couple of months now using this F5 material, here’s my verdict:
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VERDICT 7/10
Having used and observed other materials, some albeit in more detail than others, I would say that Becker’s ACCA course books are a worthy contender but of course with some striking demerits.
THE GOOD >> +7 pts
– Detailed and sensible explanation to the topics, concepts and theories
– Good topic sequencing (There’s one of the providers [LSBF] that’s notorious for odd sequencing and even unforgivable omissions in some of their texts)
– Providing Side Notes (like a caveat or some important FYI’s on the side of the pages)
– Good layout
– Extensive ACCA syllabus coverage
– Quality of paper used
– Relevant examples usedTHE BAD >> 0 pt (-1pt)
– Not enough examples within each topic
– Page numbering is a bit weird and unconventional (it may just be them wanting to be different with such odd numbering style but I think the usual 1,2,3 … to whatever volume there is, would have been better)
– The charts and diagrams (especially the diagrams) within the text book can sometimes be too over ambitious…it often fails to be simplistic in its presentation of diagrams and charts. This may not necessarily be a bad thing but in my world, it doesn’t sit too well
– Revision Kit needs some more examplesTHE UGLY >> 0 pt (-2pts)
– Explanation of the examples and revision texts are inadequate. Their reasoning doesn’t resonate with me, in that the solutions in the book are supported with very little explanation of how certain figures are arrived at. The theoretical aspects of the solutions are covered fairly well, but the calculative bits are just so unimpressive. You just need to be new to a particular topic and attempt to get explanation from their solution bank over a quiz to understand how frustrating their calculations/workings are.
I honestly feel it’s not up to par in that regard and have already written to their team about my dissatisfaction. They’ve promised to review my comments. Whether they will actually heed and take it onboard is a completely different issue.
********************
So overall, Becker is to me offers good and competitive course material in terms of richness of content. Well, to sum up my take on the product, I intend to continue using Becker’s course materials again and again – for my two last F papers and the P papers, and will complement my study with OpenTuition lectures as I normally do regardless of which book I am reading.
Hope this helps
I have just bought one of the study packs too and I will write a review once i am done using it.
Hi, only just coming across your post, otherwise would have shared this link with you https://opentuition.com/topic/how-to-pass-f8-2014-onward/.
Really sorry to hear about your situation with F8. I am hoping you have done well enough in June to pass this time.
Very best wishes
well, as far as ACCA is concerned, what ‘costs much’ is sometimes a relative term. I say this because 1 mark could be the reason for a pass or fail, so every little mark counts.
To the original poster: As for not putting zero for the non-adjusted figures; well, in the marking scheme half marks are typically given for every zero/non-adjustments made.
If you didn’t state ‘zero’ for the non-adjusted items but instead highlighted them in your computation, stating that they are non-adjusted figures and are NIL, I think the markers should be lenient enough to award the same half mark.
What I think would earn NO mark at all is when one completely ignores the items without mentioning or stating them simply because they are non-adjusted. Hope this helps. Well, not that it changes anything now anyway 🙂
@Irshad, my best guess is that you were well prepared for the exam, ‘cos having up to 30 mins to spare in an ACCA exam is an indication that one is adequately prepared, so well done for that.
Indeed the dividend was a bit tricky at first, but like you said with a bit of persistence, one would get the answer eventually.
All the best with the result, cos with ACCA exams, you just never know but be hopeful.
@Aleem you’re right but then in order to calculate IHT as a result of death, is it not necessary to have determined, hence revise, any prior CLT/PETs? Unless I’ve misunderstood the argument, lifetime gifts need to be revised as a result of death. Surely, if there were any CLT gifts within 7 years to time of death, these will impact on the applicable death’s NRB (by way of reduction). So to me, it is a case of one calculation preceding the other 🙂
And oh @Aleem, going by the wording of the question, I think the 20% is already deducted for the VAT question. Please don’t quote me on this particular question though 😛 But seriously, often the way to know whether or not to make any 20% adjustment is to watch out for the terminologies used in setting the question requirement.
For example, when you see questions that state that the “figures are VAT exclusive”, then you are likely expected to adjust for the 20% rate, unless of course it is stated otherwise . As the question used words like “VAT charged” and “VAT incurred”, this is an indication that the VAT rate has already been applied, hence the VAT figures ‘charged’ or ‘incurred’.@Opentuition_team
Okay fair enough. Thanks for listening 🙂suggestion to OT regarding this poll:
Can you pls add the 2 extra factors/options below to the current poll list?
– Exam was too hard (PS: not because one did not study enough)
– OtherRegards
I read it myself in one of the PQ magazines this year, and so i called ACCA. The person I spoke to sounded clueless and so left me on hold for quite a while and came back advising that he’s double checked and thinks (note, he wasnt certain) that it is something in the pipeline but they haven’t been advised of such and he confessed hearing of it for the first time from me.
i expressed how surprised i was that something that crucial was made public and neither he nor his manager could give a more definitive answer.
anyway, long story short, the head of ACCA exam is indeed considering the possibility of this, but i don’t think she intends for this to take off at the start of 2014 but at the latter part of it.
Like you guys, i feel it will be such an awesome development for all ACCA student subscribers. i for one will be immensely advantaged as i will stop sitting 3 papers in one go with slimmer chances of passing all, but instead will spread it out effectively within the year whilst increasing my chances of passing.
when ACCA effects this development, it will prove beyond doubt that the body is truly interested in the success of its candidates, and we will love them forever! 🙂
Thanks. i will check it out
i only wonder whether indeed one needs to contact ACCA to notify them of this as someone has suggested or just allow it
perhaps you should raise this concern with ACCA. If they get lots of similar complaints, they may add it to their instruction manual that’s being read out prior to each exam.
personally i have never experienced such around me so i can’t relate as such to the concern you have raised, but clearly you have experienced it and i think it is fair that people are aware of other candidates around them truly, and behave thoughtfully.
best wishes
hi everyone,
I share the same concern with Meeha. In all my exams, i have a bad habit (well someone else might consider it sensible) of ticking off, even before paper starts, questions which i know for sure that there is no way in the world i would not attempt e.g. Q1, Q2 in F7 or Q1,Q2 in F6 or Q1 in F8. Clearly these are questions with a much bulkier mark allocation, hence i figured there’s no way i would chance it by not attempting them at all before time elapses, hence the reason i tick them even before i start the exam.Duing F7, i did the same, ticked off Q1 &2 before starting the exam, but because of the time pressure, I completely forgot to return to tick off the 3 other questions answered….not because I finished them, but because we are at least required to do so if we attempted the questions. Quite often in most exams, i do feel time pressured but somehow i manage to complete the questions. whether i have written the correct thing or not is a completely different issue. sometimes, even, I would have a few minutes to spare and crosscheck my chances of passing through an immediate assessment of my answers to each of the questions. but not this time, for the first time, an examiner actually had to come snatch off my answer sheet from me (well, not literally but you know what i mean).
Anyway, so my question, like Meeha asked, is that would ticking off Q1&2 as expected, but leaving out ticking off 3,4,5 at the front of the booklet mean that the marker may not mark my paper or penalise me? I know there is a general perception that ACCA folks are a bit of a hard bunch (at least in my view) but surely they must have a human heart enough to let candidates off in seemingly trivial areas like forgetting to tick off the answered questions.
I really beat myself hard for that oversight and i hope, in fact pray, that the markers are a bit lenient in this.@nagutta said:
failed- 38% 5th attempt somebody come to my rescue@debs989 said:
Hard luck. Its a very hard paper. I failed at Christmas with 41% so I know how frustrating it is to fail but thankfully I managed to increase it to 81% by changing my approach to the paper. This time i watched numerous video’s on you tube on how to pass F8 and the common pitfalls to avoid .(Youtube has some great videos and opentuition has some reat articles on it. I read the examiners report on all F8 exams for the last few years. This again was very usefull in identifying what not to do in the paper. One of the biggest pitfalls identified was Audit risk. If you see the words “audit risk” then think FINANCIAL STATMENTS, FINANCIAL STATEMENTS, FINANCIAL STATEMENTS. It is very easy to get zero in this by looking at things from the prospective of the business rather than the auditor. (I went wrong on this at Christmas) An auditor is concerned about the financial statements and if you consider the effects the scenario has on the financial statements rather than on the business you should gain some marks.(i.e goods soiled by flood damge, the audit risk is “are the goods overvalued in the financial statements? do they need to be written down/written off? Business risk is they may not have goods to supply to customers which could annoy customer and cause them to go elsewhere to do business next time) . This time I also covered exam papers back to June 2009 and some mock papers to cover different types of questions that could possibly come up. I kept repeating the question until i was scoring full marks in them.( you may think you know a topic but as soon as you do it without the notes you go blank). I never did a full exam type sitting as this would drive me mad but i did do individual questions.(just jotted down points as did not have time to write out the full question. It wouldnt work for everyone but did for me. Practice is key in this subject. Best of luck in December, I hope it works out for you!!brilliant tip from Deborah for the lad who asked the question above (@naqutta), and certainly for others who are looking to pass F8.
Here’s what I’ll add from personal experience: I didn’t practice as many past questions as I would have liked on my second but final attempt at F8, however i agree that it is one of the key ways to pass F8 as the questions seem to carry similar themes year after year.
One hard lesson I learnt after I failed F8 at my first attempt (which by the way dazed me as I never anticipated a fail), was to read the questions CAREFULLY during the exam. It is very easy to answer a good answer to a different question with this paper, and what could be more frustrating than failing not because you weren’t prepared, but because you didn’t adequately read the requirement.
Another tip is to take note of what Deborah said above regarding Audit Risk vs business Risk. As this is a vital topic within the F8 syllabus, it is more than likely to be repeated in the questions that carry huge marks.. get this concept wrong and you may be dropping your waters in a perforated barrel. This mistake stung me in December paper but i learned thru a fabulous 57 minute kaplan video on youtube about audit risk..check it out, it will help you.
the final bit I’ll throw in for now, is that you should ensure to cover the entire syllabus so as to gain sufficient knowledge in whatever areas will come out. this is primarily to ensure that you answer every question of the paper as opposed to getting to one or two questions and getting blank.. trust me, a mark can be the difference between a fail and a pass with F8.
Although i passed mine the second time, i am sure glad i did cos F8 is somewhat easy theoretically speaking but technically speaking, F8 has got to be one of the trickiest papers at skills level cos you’d think you’d written well enough for a pass only to be shocked with a FAIL on the morning of the result.
You have my best wishesYeah, Fidget is right about nothing being free when it comes to ACCA. In respect to exemption fees, it beats me too… Since the idea of exempting students from certain papers is based on the recognition that the student has a proportionate knowledge or qualification enough to move on to the next paper level without having to sit the exams, I really don’t see (personally) why the exemption fees have to be as high as if one were actually sitting those papers. In fact, I don’t see the reason for paying at all, except maybe paying an insignificant amount for admin charges.
I am not exactly sure about Fidget’s facts, that exemption fees are the same as actual exam fees, as I think the exemption fees are slightly less than the exam fees, Nevertheless, I still don’t feel that a high exemption fees, such as the one ACCA is currently imposing, is justifiable. After all, they are not having to make any provision for papers, materials, human resource in cases of exemptions. Besides, the mere fact that ACCA charges such rates for exemptions is enough reason to believe that they grant exemptions carelessly, cos at the end of the day, they get their cash whether or not a student is truly well cooked enough to deserve an exemption. It saddens me that everyone sees ACCA (and rightly so) as a money-milking Body as opposed to one that unwaveringly projects professionalism – too bad I have to say!
Many thanks for clarifying this for me… Yeah, I think I’d feel a lil safer jotting down a few cases
LOLzzz… those colleagues of his have definitely not taken the ETHICS module… Respectable accountants breaking into their mate’s locker haha
Heres a very good answer to your question, given by member acltang72 1 week, 2 days ago. S/he has said it all.
Here:
Civil Law
•Private law
•Aim is to provide compensatory remedies (no concept of punishment)
•Claimant sues (makes a claim against) the defendant
•Decisions made by the judge (liable/not liable)
•Cases cited in the form of Brown V. Brown
•Case must be proved on the “balance of probability” (Claimant must convince the court that it is more probable than not that their assertions are true)
•Both parties may chose to settle the dispute out of court if they wish
•Buying/ selling goods, starting/finishing employment contract – Governed by civil law
————————————————————————————
Criminal Law
•Public law
•Aim is to punish offenders and to enforce the law, because it is the community as a whole which suffers as a result of the law being broken i.e. harmful to society
•State prosecutes the accused (wrongdoer)
•Generally the custody officer (police) takes the initial decision to prosecute the defendant, and then it is consulted to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) before bringing forward sufficient evidence to provide that there’s a realistic prospect of conviction
•Regulates behaviour not approved by the state
•Decisions made by the jury (guilty/not guilty)
•Cases cited in the form of Regina V. Brown (indicates that the state takes action on the behalf of the crown)
•Receives more media coverage than civil law
•Person’s guilty of a crime may be punished by fines payable to the state, imprisonment, or a community-based punishment
•Some prosecutions are started by the director of public prosecutions
•Case must be proved “beyond reasonable doubt”
@ acltang72, well done. Good answer..
@shaz178, ‘tang72 has said it allThanx to all of you for your kind contributions. Sorry for this abysmally late response (after 3 months).. I got so lost in the hoo-haa of what course to go for that I didn’t even remember to come back to the forum – just accidentally came by my question today 🙂
I reason with your views, as they are each valid. I have decided to look at the bigger picture in terms of depth of financial/accounting understanding, and have gone for ACCA. I figured that the prospects may be more doing ACCA, and even if I decide later on to go more into management accounting, I could do so much easily having had an ACCA background than if I had to go from CIMA into any specialised role via ACCA.
I wish me, and you all, the very best in all career endeavours.
Cheers
