Forum Replies Created
- Posts
It’s a hard case challenging the ambiguity of question 1a), I know in hindsight it’s alot easier than in an exam pressure situation but checking the exam question again I think it is clear what the requirement is. Evaluate the performance report (strengths v weaknesses) rather than Evaluate the current performance of the Company. I only figured this out after checking the financial information provided in the question and realising that there is not much to comment on given 1) lack of financial data provided and 2) budget v actual variances were minimal in the report
If I remember correctly, the question was to Evaluate the current performance report I.e. more historical info, competitor info, market info, numbers could have been rounded down, balance sheet and cash flow info would be useful, more non financial indicators etc…
On several occasions during the exam I found myself checking the front page of the question paper to make sure I was actually sitting the P5 exam. I can understand the new examiner’s desire of having their own style of questions but this needs to be introduced in a more incremental way.
I self study for all my exams and for the past 2 months I focussed purely on past exam papers and exam technique for the P5 exam, time management and understanding the question requirements became manageable for me the more past questions I practiced so I cannot say these were an issue in this exam.
Please can you send me the P5 material to vishalsidhar@hotmail.com
@andriy said:
Pass! Thank you, God! Now I am affiliate! Tonight is time for cold vodka and hot girls 🙂LOL – Good on you! Well done.
For the last 3 acca exams I came out with the same mindset, that I had made a complete mess of the papers and started light reading in preparation for the next sitting. I was pleasantly surprised when the results were issued, I had managed to scrape a pass in all 3 papers. My advice is just to hold off doing anything at the moment in a panic, the results are only a few weeks away and you never know of the outcome. If you do have to resit (hopefully not!) then you’ll have your notes from the previous sitting plus additional material that you will collect prior to the June 2013 exam. The “waiting game” for the results is probably a more painful time then leading up to the exam, so I know where you are coming from. Just hold back a few weeks, wait for the result and then take it from there.
In the current climate I would expect a salary of £40k upwards for a newly qualified accountant. However, although you don’t want to oversell yourself for a particular role, you do want to make sure you are getting paid at the going market rate – your current salary mentioned seems on the low side to me. Carl29 is right regarding level of experience, I am not qualified and still have 3 exams to sit (June 2013) however, I am getting paid £10k more than newly qualifieds because of the relevant experience I have which is now over 8 years. Note, the word relevant – it’s one thing posting journals on a month on month basis for 8 years but getting involved in reporting and consolidation (or similar responsibilities) is seen as invaluable experience by most firms.
Photo id with exam docket is sufficient. I was in the same situation as you, I hadn’t received any photo id from ACCA so have relied on my passport / driving licence as proof.
@anjali18 said:
question 1 has indicators of going concern as losing key staff and had only 20 customers and had an overdraft and a liquid ration of 0.5 and a current of 1 if i remember very cleary. i think they were indicators of going concern. and also the mention of contingent fees that management were dicussing about. as a stakeholder you would raise question on going concern before investing in such a company .Agreed – finally someone who understands where I am coming from.
@belize202 said:
low cash balance but still able to cover current liabilities,saying one supplier is a gg concern issue is very absurd,sales decline doesnt mean failure production line,high debt equals gg concern is also very elaborate, directors leaving left on good terms with the company and immediately replaced – the very least is rmm since new directors might not have experience in the industry or experience preparing the fs of the company, saying its a gg concern issue again is very elaborate.I’m only stating what I have read in the texts and learnt from the past papers, Im only saying that there are indicators of going concern issues – reliance on one supplier, If you refer to page 16 of the attached, the first paragraph will reflect what I am trying to point out i.e) loss of suppliers, loss of key staff
https://www2.accaglobal.com/pubs/members/publications/sector_magazines/in_practice_ireland/archive/2008/43/going_concern.pdf
I don’t think highlighting operational issues which maybe seen as a potential risk to going concern are absurd in anyway, the question said identify the business risks.Low cash balance, only one supplier, failure of production line, high borrowings, senior directors leaving = going concern issues
This was an unintentional error on your part and by issuing you with a new answer paper the invigilator recognised this too. You would have been removed from the exam hall should the invigilator had concluded that you had deliberately tried to gain an unfair advantage. I would not worry about this.
Looking back I don’t think q2 was as difficult as it would have seemed in the exam. The pressure in the exam and unexpected format of q2 would have made many people panic. Overall 9 small scenarios with 2 marks for stating risk of misstatement and sufficiency of audit evidence. Doesn’t seem too bad. It’s all easy in hindsight though.