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Does Acca get harder as you progress?

Forums › ACCA Forums › General ACCA Forums › Does Acca get harder as you progress?

  • This topic has 10 replies, 4 voices, and was last updated 4 years ago by newts2k.
Viewing 11 posts - 1 through 11 (of 11 total)
  • Author
    Posts
  • July 21, 2020 at 8:49 pm #577589
    newts2k
    Participant
    • Topics: 7
    • Replies: 18
    • ☆

    I was just wondering as I’m just on MA (F2) at the moment. I find some of it difficult, does it mean I will probably not have a chance of passing all the exams?

    July 22, 2020 at 7:37 am #577610
    Kim Smith
    Keymaster
    • Topics: 133
    • Replies: 8305
    • ☆☆☆☆☆

    Underlying principles/concepts don’t change so once you have grasped them they can’t get any harder. Many students struggle with concepts initially because they are new and unfamiliar. Are you following John’s lectures on the topics you are struggling with?

    July 22, 2020 at 3:10 pm #577666
    newts2k
    Participant
    • Topics: 7
    • Replies: 18
    • ☆

    Ok thanks, yeah Ive watched Johns lectures, they’re v good, its just sometimes questions are asked differently to how he teaches them. I just took the exam and failed, got 45, feel pretty gutted as got 67 on practice exam. Do many people fail one of the F exams as wonder if there’s any point in carrying on if I can’t even pass the basic ones. There was only 1, 2 mark question on performance management despite it saying there will be a 10 mark question on the ACCA website so I spent loads of time doing financial ratios etc for nothing!

    July 22, 2020 at 3:26 pm #577667
    Kim Smith
    Keymaster
    • Topics: 133
    • Replies: 8305
    • ☆☆☆☆☆

    What can I say – performance measurement isn’t just ratios and I would be surprised indeed if the whole of syllabus area F was examined in just 2 marks. That said, it is in the nature of professional exams that syllabuses are broad and an exam – especially just a 2-hour exam, cannot examine everything. Knowledge is never “wasted” – financial ratios are relevant to FA, PM, FR, AA, FM … and on upwards into all the strategic professional exams.

    Have you taken a look at the MA retake guide to see if there is anything that you are overlooking? https://www.accaglobal.com/gb/en/student/exam-support-resources/fundamentals-exams-study-resources/f2/retake-guides.html

    I suggest you write down what you can remember of your exam experience – were there topics that slowed you down? To what extent do you feel that you were “guessing”? Did you leave any questions not attempted? etc, etc. Then take a break for a couple of days to recharge your batteries.

    At 45% you really are not too far off – if you have worked through all the MCQs you can find on this site and a BPP or Kaplan revision kit and the CBE Specimen and additional MTQs you could consider investing just £14 in three practice tests https://www.accaglobal.com/gb/en/student/exam-support-resources/practice-tests.html

    MA lays the foundation of PM (in particular) so when you pass this hurdle you will have a sound basis for progression.

    July 22, 2020 at 10:05 pm #577703
    newts2k
    Participant
    • Topics: 7
    • Replies: 18
    • ☆

    Yeah appreciate the help, need few days off from it as worked really hard for it! I just think it’s ridiculous how I have no feedback at all from acca, just you’ve failed! I have no idea what I got wrong and yet I’ve had to pay them several hundred pounds for membership and exam. Yeah I understand they try and make as many fail as possible as That’s how they make their money.

    I think I have forgotten a lot of the questions as I prob wasn’t thinking clearly but suppose that was the pressure but guess I know one or two
    Areas I kind of guessed at so willl need to check those out. I will give it another go, it was weird how it was very different to the specimen papers.

    July 23, 2020 at 7:27 am #577721
    Kim Smith
    Keymaster
    • Topics: 133
    • Replies: 8305
    • ☆☆☆☆☆

    Thomas, you are mistaken in making such assertions about a professional body. It is in the nature of a profession that real exams are not returned/details fed back to candidates. Any professional body wants full members who will pay higher subscriptions for the remainder of their working lives – they want and need candidates to pass. All ACCA’s fees are a fraction of other bodies I could mention and ACCA invests a huge amount of money in providing high quality resources to students – mostly for free. I wonder that you should even consider wanting to be a member of a body that you view so negatively.

    July 29, 2020 at 6:05 pm #578711
    artipha
    Member
    • Topics: 0
    • Replies: 3
    • ☆

    Well, found it very hard which was strange. Took exam Monday 27th and managed 47%. I invested in the £14 ACCA specimens and passed all 3 but come exam day, i don’t know as I straight way was shocked to find a lot of questions I had not come across in the revision. I am kicking myself that it was probably 2 questions that could have pushed me over the line. I am revising now and hope to take another exam after a week and this time will be in the morning so my brain is fresh. last one was 2pm (not great especially if I sleep late) baby and studying.

    August 2, 2020 at 4:57 pm #578983
    newts2k
    Participant
    • Topics: 7
    • Replies: 18
    • ☆

    HI Kim, apologies, I suppose you’re right that they might want me to pass as I would be paying subscriptions for life. I was just frustrated at the time as I worked really hard but perhaps I didn’t remember as much as I would like in the exam so needed to get away for a few days. Think I know the areas where I didn’t do so well, for example there was a question about velocity etc and big data and believe that wasn’t on the lecture notes so I looked it up elsewhere. I knew what big data was from open tuition but i hadnt covered what the question was asking so I think I will take it again in a month whilst looking for new job.

    August 2, 2020 at 5:02 pm #578985
    newts2k
    Participant
    • Topics: 7
    • Replies: 18
    • ☆

    Hi Artipha, bad luck, you were even closer than me! please let me know how you get on, best of luck!

    August 24, 2020 at 3:16 pm #581768
    boychenkove
    Participant
    • Topics: 16
    • Replies: 92
    • ☆☆

    I failed F3 with 43 and F5 with 49. First time passes: f4- 81, F6- 58, F7- 72, F8 -63 and F9- 65.
    You’ll get used to it and will find your own way through.

    December 13, 2020 at 12:56 pm #599816
    newts2k
    Participant
    • Topics: 7
    • Replies: 18
    • ☆

    Congratulations, I have pretty much given up as ACCA wa making me unhappy and everyone else was convincing me to give up

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