F7 (Int) Exam tips from BPP, Kaplan, First Intuition, Icount, ATC, EXP – Dec 2011 sitting

BPP

Q1: Consolidated SOCI and/or SOFP with one subsidiary plus associate with intragroup adjustments and fair value adjustments. May include written part on a group topic.
Q2: SOCI and SOFP preparation from TB or restatement with usual adjustments for depreciation, revaluation, current/deferred tax plus others such as leases/substance, financial instruments (change in FV or amortised cost). May include discontinued operation/EPS/SOCIE.
Q3: Interpretation and/or statement of cash flows. Could focus on specific part of SOCF or specific ratios.
Q4 & Q5: One question in context of conceptual framework, and the other containing one or two discrete topics, such as regulatory framework, inflation, government grants, discontinued operations, impairments, deferred tax, leases or intangible assets.

Kaplan tips

Question 1
Consolidated statement of financial position including an associate.
Possible adjustments to include:
deferred consideration/share exchange
net asset fair value adjustments
intra-group loan/current account
Question 2
Preparation of financial statements from trial balance including a SOCIE
Possible adjustments to include:
revaluation
financial liabilities
revenue recognition
tax and deferred tax
Question 3
Possible mixed cash flow/interpretation question to include:
calculation of ratios and a short interpretation exercise using the statement of cash flow and ratio results.
Questions 4 and 5
Leases
Impairment
Intangible asset
Investment property

First Intuition

Q1 Consolidated SFP, with associate, deferred consideration, Pups and fair value adjustment downwards
Q2 Single company accounts questions, including contract, lease, and intangible assets
Q3 Statement of cash flow and comments there on with no ratios
Q4 The framework with computation for no current assets
Q5 IAS 37/IAS 12 and deferred tax computation

Icount

•Consolidated group accounts with parent, sub and associate – with intergroup trading, items in transit and FV adjustments.
•Redraft of single entity accounts with adjustments 3. Statement of Cashflow with liquidity ratios.
•EPS/Construction Contracts
•Features of a finance lease, with computations.

ATC

The examiner is Steve Scott, and he has written an article in July 2010 Student Accountant relating to IFRS 3 group accounts. This is no major indicator as we know that Q1 will be a consolidation issue, however, please ensure that you have read this article.
The June 2010 pass rate from this paper was very poor, at 28%, and ACCA have now enhanced the F7 guidance for students in their website. Please ensure that you do visit the F7 specific area of the website and read the various articles included. It should be noted that these articles have not been written by the examiner but they should all be helpful in increasing your knowledge base. The December 2010 pass rate showed a marked improvement to 47% but the June 2011 pass rate was again very poor at 38%.
Q1 will be a consolidation question.
Q2 will be a final accounts question.
Q3 will be a ratio analysis or cash flow question or a mixture of the two.
One of the main reasons students fail the exam is their inability to write and discuss accounting issues, many students focus on the numerical parts of the exam, which may only account for 65% of the marks. You must ensure that you are able to write and discuss about financial reporting issues.

Exam Tips
Common areas that feature on a regular basis in the exam are as follows
• Leases
• Revenue recognition
• Substance vs form
• Convertible instruments (IAS 39)
• Accounting for taxation
• Accounting for assets, particularly IAS 16

Important areas that have not been examined in either question 4 or question 5 include the following
• Accounting for Taxation
• Lease accounting
• Impairment of assets

In the October 2011 issue of Student Accountant the examiner has written an article on the conceptual and regulatory framework that underpins IFRS. This topic features on a regular basis as a question 4 in the exam.

Exam Technique
Don’t forget the following advice while in the exam:
• Answer all questions, including the written elements of questions. It is very difficult to pass the exam by learning the numbers.
• Cross reference your workings, they are an integral part of your answer.
• Make sure you get the sign the right way round with any cash flows, the examiner sometimes only awards the marks if the sign is correct.
• Answer the question set, not the one you wished had been set, focus on the requirements especially relating to the written part of the answers.
• Look at the marks available for each part of the question, do not write pages of answers for a 3 mark part similarly if the question has allocated 6 marks then make sure you adequately answer that part, a line is not enough to get you 6 marks.

• For a 25 mark question you should be spending no more than 45 minutes on it.

EXP

Q1: Consolidated income statement, with associate, fair value adjustments, provisions for unrealized profit, intra group dividends;
Q2: Single company accounts from trial balance, including finance lease, revaluations, provisions, investments;
Q3: Question on interpretation of ratios;
Q4,Q5: Mixed transactional: IAS8, IAS18, IAS12, IAS17.

source – PQ Magazine
https://www.pqaccountant.com

best of luck with exam!
ansi