F8 Exam tips from BPP, Kaplan, ATC and First Intuition – June 2011 sitting

BPP

Q1 (30 marks)
This question is likely to be based on a scenario and incorporate 3 or 4 distinct requirements.
Areas likely to be tested include audit risk, audit planning, audit procedures (substantive tests and/ or tests of control) and internal control.

Q2 (10 marks)
This is a factual or knowledge based question. It is likely to cover several areas of the syllabus with 2 or 3 separate requirements worth between 2 and 5 marks each.
There are many knowledge based areas in the F8 syllabus which could be examined in Question 2 and these include definitions such as audit risk, substantive procedures, tests of control, audit assertions, audit regulation and corporate governance.

Q3, Q4 and Q5 (20 marks each)
These questions will be scenario based but will also include some knowledge based requirements.
Areas which are likely to be covered in these questions include ethics, planning, the audit of specific transactions or account balances (including estimates), subsequent events, management representations, going concern, audit reports, internal control and corporate governance.
Note that the scenario may be set in the context of a profit making or non-profit making organisation.

First Intuition

Qn 1 : Qn on substantive audit procedures and tests of control on a key area of the Statement of Financial Position e.g. inventories or receivables
Q2 : short 10-marker on ISAs e.g. audit reports, fraud & error
Q3 : Qn on “identifying and explaining” the threats to auditor independence and ways of managing them
Q4 : Mgt letter : identifying the weaknesses, consequences and recommendations in a particular company
Q5 : subsequent events

ATC

History shows that the “well prepared candidate” stands by far the highest probability of
passing examinations.
Exam Tip
BE WELL PREPARED.
Being well prepared means, at the very least:
Working through all of the sessions within your study system (on the basis that a
good study system covers the whole syllabus and not just a “best guess” 70%).
Working through all past examination questions and completing all
monitoring/progress tests and mock examinations under full examination conditions.
Reading all of the examiner’s and other subject articles – they do not write for fun.
Note that examiners no longer write articles for the forthcoming examination – so
articles that are at least six months old could be very relevant (e.g. the articles on
analytical review and ratios for the December 2011 examination).
Careful study of the examiner’s reports on past examinations. These contain
excellent tips of what students should NOT be doing.
Ignoring “Exam Tips” that are just a list of somebody’s favourite topics.
For re-sit students, being aware of the changes made to the syllabus for June 2011 –
read the examiner’s article on these changes (study systems based on the
examinable documents will already cover them – Share capital, reserves and
directors’ emoluments will be new).
Regularly visiting http://www.accaglobal.com/students
At the recent 2011 ACCA Teachers’ Conference ALL examiners, whilst
understanding the desperation of students for examination tips, clearly stated
that such tips were a danger to a student’s ability to pass and MUST be ignored.
Having said that, it is only fair that I share with you what I thought was a “slip of body
language” by the F8 examiner, Pami Bahl, in one of her presentations at the ACCA
conference. As always, make sure you take a calculator into the exam with you as there
may be a question coming up on materiality, dealing with errors and extrapolation of test
results. It may be in June, or December or even next June (2012) as examiners tend to
write two or three exams ahead. Or, of course, I completely misread the situation.
Exam Tips – June 2011 Session
Pami Bahl
Pami Bahl, the examiner, does not leave an audit trail for you to follow to identify what will
be in her next examination. Just because a subject was examined in the previous
examination does not mean that it will not be revisited in June.
Ensure you regularly visit the ACCA student website for all F8 articles, e.g. her article on
her examination approach is essential reading. Reading this article and Pami’s examiner’s
reports makes it clear that her examination questions will be practical and a purely
theoretical study approach is unlikely to bring success. Her past exams have also shown a tendency for her to ask some “off the wall” elements within the questions – “out of the box” thinking required.

Kaplan tips

• Assurance engagements.
• Ethics including confidentiality/ conflicts of interest.
• Small/not for profit organisations.
• Systems: sales, payroll.
• Completion and auditor’s reports.

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

best of luck with exam!
ansi