ATXACCA Paper ATX September 2020 Exam was.. Instant Poll and comments

What did you get?

What questions were asked?

I studied a lot for this exam and found it very tough. Wearing a mask didn't help stress levels in there. The 35 mark question was for the most part about whether a company should take 20% or 30% ownership of a company in a foreign country. There was about 10-15 marks for questions around this and I wasn't able to make many points at all. On the whole I found the questions to be styled very differently to the Kaplan exam practice kit. I would be surprised if I got over 40 marks so not feeling too up beat about it!

Hi what were the questions today?

I wrote about the ability to surrender losses. in both the cases the parent company wudnt be able to use the losses asit did not form part of the 75% group. And ya i felt the overall style was different too. There was 80% explanation to perform considering its ATX, thats odd, there shudve been more calculation as we wud still get follow up marks if we mess up somewhere. And left close companies question and shat my pants when i saw there were 6 participators and we had to prove that it was a close company. Am now reading the rules and they r actually simple so fml.

IHT calculation CGT and Incorporation relief(explanation) E.R Ethics question- upto what extent can experience from other clients can be used Ways of loss relief CFC purporse Vat and many other i cant remember them now

Different questions for remote CBE i guess

Thought the exam was fair, first part related to the technical article on ACCA's site regarding CFC charges and tax implications regarding permanent overseas establishments. Other computations were quite fair, standard relief questions available, but required less specific details in terms of discussion and also stated which relief to be applied which was somewhat helpful. That being said, hope I passed!

Exam was harsh but fair in my opinion (didn’t play to my particular strengths). There are a lot of decent ATX articles on the website. Too many for me to read through and remember on top of all the past papers for this sitting... I’ll have to work on this for December.

Was not easy but I think a fair exam; Q1) Consortium group with 70% + choice of 20 or 30%- here I think it was 20% to avoid the CFC charge. Q2) Incorporation relief(explanation) of a sole trader business in a company wholly for shares + IHT calculation + E.R Q3) Ways of loss relief against current total income or previous total income, tax saved was PA 12500 at 20% - 8000 CGT at 20% Roll-over relief replacement of building gain = 32 000, only 75% used as business and also 3000 (86000 - 83000 not reinvested) so 11000 taxed now and 21000 deferred Vat - deregistration Q4) close company - this was about a penalty charge of 32.5% as the shareholder got a loan from the company, loan can be reimbursed due to certain conditions.

You are right. I didn't get any cfc, perm establishment questions in my sitting. I had capital losses and buildings sold in a group. Wish I had cfc and perm establishment as that's my strength. Don't think it's fair that Acca change questions for cbe depending upon what time you sit. Quite harsh

I'll definitely be resitting in December (sigh!)

roll over relief was not available on the forklift as its not a fixed plant and machinery and over all there was no roll over relief available as the amount not reinvested were more than the gains. And ACCA had to ask from the 2 topics i skipped-Perm establishment and consortium group. They many fail me this time. Im coming back for these marks in Dec. Floor gang.

I found the exam v difficult and extremely time pressured as expected. Wearing a mask in a stuffy room for 3.25 hrs whilst concentrating hard was torture. There seemed to be lots of bitty parts to each question, the manager’s email went on and on and on. I understood the aspect of each question but couldn’t articulate it all onto the screen. Professional level exams should on paper and not computers. It got so damn confusing opening the different attachments, emails, requirements etc. You can’t draw timelines on a computer screen which is imperative for IHT questions, you could potentially pick up a few marks for that if the examiner can see what you’re trying to do, can’t do that with CBE’s. They are just not appropriate for professional level papers. I don’t buy the whole thing about reflecting the workplace doing it on a computer. It’s an exam. There’s no correlation. I know I’ve failed but I wouldn’t have passed with any more time to study either.

Yeah I know that through me completely. And absolutely agree on the explanation. I thought I was prepared for a lot of explanation questions but didn't expect it to be 80% of the exam. I think there was probably a lot of easy but very niche marks. The main concepts of each tax were not the focus, it was very niche elements and rules of the taxes. I did best in the final question and over some of the residency rules but I really wasn't expecting such an enormous focus in question one on a foreign company. I was expecting a question on consortium or capital gains groups but it was so specific. I guess it goes to show how huge this syllabus is, if I get above 40 it'll show me that I can do it but 99% sure I didn't pass

I sat mine in Southampton and the experience was awful. The exam was 1h20mins late, we were all sat staring at a blank screen for this long waiting. There was no explanation from the invigilators and no apology. The computer equipment was awful, tiny screens and my mouse didn't work properly. There was even a girl behind me left the room crying because her software had crashed. The computer screens were tiny and the CBE software is horrible and you can't open more than one box at a time which makes it very hard to understand the question fully and refer back to the scenario etc. The questions themselves I don't think were too complicated at all however the CBE software, stress of exam being late and masks and old computers made it a very difficult experience. I am thinking of making a formal complaint to be honest, not sure if this will affect my results though.

What did everyone think of the afternoon sitting? The CBE setup threw me off from the start and my plan went out of the window. As for the questions, I struggled on the 18k loss relief on Q3 didn’t see how that was 8 marks? Obviously I missed something off. I found the VAT group question went into a huge amount of detail which I haven’t seen previously.

The whole idea of CBE at professional level is a big disadvantage to those who are going to be doing their professional papers. Since it is first time in the Uk for students sitting their CBE exam, it is vital for ACCA to conduct a survey and ask students about their views, challenges and recommendations and overall experience of the CBE Exam. I came out of the exam hall with the expectations to get prepared for December exam. So is another failure for me. I wish I’m wrong!!

I also sat the exam in Southampton, was chaos from the minute we arrived! They were quite clearly missing a sheet of paper from the list when they signed us in but kept telling students they weren’t down to be sitting the exam and to take a seat at the side. I had an hour of not knowing if I was going to be able to sit the exam before the 1hr 20 delay. I have complained and lots of other students in the exam were planning on it too. Definitely didn’t pass that one...

The CBE for my audit and tax papers have being awful. I had audit yesterday in London and there was a massive It issue and glitches. People who were on the 9am exam had to wait until the afternoon session as they couldn't fit everyone in My exam was delayed by 2.5 hrs. Invigilators were walking around logging random people at will without any structure or communication. The screens were small and just not suitable for a tax exam where you have to do calculation and explanation for the same requirement and then link it back. At the same time you need to read the scenario notes and extracts of requirements. That's 4 different windows in one screen!! I found it hard to read and comprehend information without going back and forth to the requirements and on top of that the intense time pressure you are under I am sure like myself a lot of people missed vital information and points due to so much information in a screen. I hope common sense prevails and Acca decide to withdraw CBE exams for professional papers, or atleast give an option to do paper based. I am also looking to get in touch with Acca regarding the horrible experiences with Cbe, not sure how that will impact results. Why change something if ain't broken?

With a paper exam, hundreds of people can sit the exam in a centre, they all get the same exam and there are no complications with CBE centres being oversubscribed and these technical issues which simply add to the stress for students. It’s an old fashioned way to sit an exam but well tested and works. With CBE’s everyone seems to get different questions which means we are not all on a level playing field. It surely is more difficult to moderate the results. I can see the merit of CBE’s for the F papers which have multiple choice and maybe some written elements etc but for complex exams like ATX which involves several “exhibits” it just does not make sense to run this kind of exam on computers. These papers are clearly not ready to be put on CBE either as is clear by the issues that many students suffered during their sitting today. ACCA need to restore the paper option for Professional level exams for the sake of everyone.

I had a similar experience Claudia - similar points for your answers. Surprisingly I had a bit of a nightmare with the taxable benefits and provision of loan vs company paying for Dorian's travel assistance and the time pressure didn't help for that. Good luck! Sat it in Ealing, London (Viglan) house, equipment wasn't too bad and had a generally pleasant experience despite some delays. I think for CBE at Professional Level there should be a paper copy provided also in addition to the software as I find typing my answers and spreadsheet software so much more efficient then pen and paper.

well u seem u prepared very well. my answers were almost the same to urs except the permanent establishment(i skipped that). and that any no. of directors can be participators is right so yup. i feel like time was an issue as with all acca papers, but a doable paper with very little technical questions and much more foucessed on the basic tax rules.

I knew loads of stuff for this exam but new very little about close companies and overseas companies. The syllabus is just so big. I would have loved a question on groups and buildings like other people got. Didn’t realise there was more than one paper??? Hoping for a borderline pass but doubt it. Going to keep on doing the exam kit anyway otherwise I will forget all this in my head. Tip from tutor that helped me: copy the requirements into your submission document - then close the requirements tab. You can always then delete after you have answered. Good luck with the results everyone!

Was hard, yes I had the 18k loss question. I only thought of two options, CY then carry back or carry back only

That sounds like a very bad experience. I absolutely agree on the tiny screens and the amount of information you need to look at. You need to have the email from the client, manager and the requirements out + the spreadsheets and word document to actually answer. You are left trying to minimise to a point where you can read everything and its not really a sufficient way of you being able to answer the questions adequately in the time limit. I know this is the first year of CBE exams for professional papers so maybe they need to have a hard look at that. I don't think I'll be taking another exam until masks are not required as I really struggled with the heat, breathing and being able to think clearly with it on. That's not to say if you really know your stuff you can't pass. I don't think your complaint will fall on deaf ears as I can see a lot of people giving bad feedback on candidates ability to read and answer the questions.

I agree with this. Depending upon the time you sit your exam, you are given different questions I did not get the CFC and permanent establishment question which a few people did on here and that is one of my strengths. It's not fair Acca can change the questions at this level as its not level playing field. You can get lucky if you sit in a different session and turns out to be a question you were hoping for as opposed to another person who sits in a different session

This if from memory so correct me if any of this is wrong!! I got: (some of this probably is wrong!!) Q1) sale of land and buildings - group losses: - building 1 couldn’t use lose as PECL - building 2 can’t use as in group NGNL transfer Base cost of building 3: - received in NGNL in old group so will be original cost This loss can be transferred but only 9/12 as time in the gain group wasn’t full year SDLT - payable on NGNL on building 3 as they left the group within 3 years VAT on buildings - only if opt to tax (wasn’t) or commercial building under 3 years old - only applied to building 3 Ethics - ok to use prior knowledge? I put yes as provides competence as long as it doesn’t breach confidentiality or create a conflict of interest? Get consent off both parties for acting for two in the same industry? Q2) income tax savings on gifts - dividend income for one opposed to the other On gift of shares - rental income if house gifted - I thought DTR must be on UK tax due to the amount she received?? This might have been a bad guess!!! Haha ER v GR - ER doesn’t defer but charges 10%, while GR defers gain to recipient but could be 10/20% depending on their banding at the time - CGT for gift of house I believe - gain = MV - Cost + capital expenditure - no GR as not QA so change CT at time I think IHT question - I definitely got the NRB on gift incorrect as looked at transfers from 7 years from death not the gift date but outside that: AEA CY and PY NRB at death 0 if gift made Fall in value relief for house No taper relief as died within 3 years Q3) trading loss - can be used CY or PY or CY claim v gains Do a working for all three above - I split rental income between years using cash basis but incorrectly said PY had to be after CY - hoping it doesn’t cost me too much! CGT on warehouses - CGT/IT implications - I went for ROR but only for 75% as business use so deferred some of the gain Forklift cannot be used for ROR but will have capital allowances so IT implication is a deduction of full value due to AIA - again could be wrong!! Group VAT - not sure on when but same rules for filing so no extension and annual accounting not available Q4) I had a shocker on this one! Why a close group - 5 participators must have control - I got 5 to not come to 50%? So went on about control not only being shareholding Someone help as this one is annoying me!!!! Loan - date change changes when company gets tax paid on loan back and when loan becomes dividend income for individual? Taxed as HR on 32.5% due to banding Two options - taxable benefits become dividends, parking exempt, mileage allowance doesn’t cover all fuel costs - I missed the interest free bit being a benefit! VAT filing - I got the penalties wrong I think after the 100 fixed penalty but filing date was 3 months after notice Please feel feee to correct me and throw additional information in - just trying to see how this lines up to others!! I am not happy with how I did and would not be shocked to be doing this exam again come December! Hope you all fared better than me!!

I got exactly the same sitting as you Conor, great memory!! It was hard but sounds like you did enough to pass, I’m hoping I did too but reading these makes you question it haha.. Wrt the close companies, I was lucky I read it as going into exam.. it’s any numbers of directors and 5 or fewer shareholders. In this case Dorians dad owned shares, therefore he and Dorian became one individual. In this case this made it a close company. It’s my last one so I’m praying I won’t have to do it again!

Might have been my maths!! I added him and his dad together and got 28% then I thought all the other shareholders had 5%? More likely I’ve misread it! But obv based on the above I got 48% between 5! Also sure you’ve done fine - hopefully you qualified!! If all the above is correct then I should be fine but I question a lot of it!!!!!