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This is not a question. Just my approach on how I prepared for SBR and passed in 1st attempt. This was after a 6 year gap in studies.
I work full time and have 2 kids. I did not have as much time available as some people do.
I started studying in Sep. I only studied 1-2 hours during week days and about 6 hours each day on weekend until Oct.
In November I studied for 2-3 hours in weekdays and about 8 hours each day on weekends.
I also booked a week off work in Nov and studied about 7-8 hours every day in those days.It took me a while to get back in to studying mode after a long gap. People who have recently passed Financial Reporting may not need that many hours. It will depend on each individuals learning capabilities.
So what did I do in those hours.
1. I printed all the notes in Sep and went through all the lectures by end of Sep. Anything I found important I wrote that down on my notes. So that when I look at them in future I can also revise that important information.
2. From Oct I started practicing. I used BPP P&R kit. I divided number of questions on my available hours and made a plan so that I have practiced all the questions by middle of November. It did not go as planned and I finished a week later but hey-ho!
I solved all the questions in order started from question 1. I did not focus on standards or topics because one question normally covers different topics and standards so no point doing it that way.
Wherever I struggled I refereed to my notes and after solving the questions. I thoroughly went through the answer with the aim to improve where I went wrong.
3. I go to work on train. In the evening I used to do at least 1 practice question and during day on the train or at work during break I used to just go through lecture notes just to keep the knowledge fresh in my mind. I continued doing that until just a couple of days before exam.
This is because when you are practicing in question order you focus on one topic at a time for a couple of days and then move on to next topic.
when you keep looking at lecture notes which takes about 10 mins per chapter on avg it really helps during practice cos most of the stuff is fresh in your mind.4. After doing all the questions, I also did all 5 mock exams at the back of P&R kit. 3 of them in exam conditions on weekend. Before this I never timed my answers when I practiced questions but I think I should have because I struggled a little during my mock exams.
One thing that was not in notes in as much detail and also in P&R kit is the exposure drafts in syllabus. Notes and P&R kit only touch these topics but they are always examined. Do not ignore them. They are easy marks. Please spend some time on them. they are not hard. As long as you know what’s been proposed in them you should be able to answer the question.
I found this website useful.
https://www.iasplus.com/en/news/2015/05/cf-ed
Above plan is what suited me best. Everyone’s commitments and time available is different. I suggest make a plan that suits you and you stick to you. YOU WILL PASS.
Make sure you do all the questions in P&R kit with the aim of testing your knowledge about those topics and learning from them.
Manage your time in exam. In the exam I read the paper for first 7-8 mins and decided which questions/parts I will do first. Then I just went for it.
Before doing every part I worked out time available for it e.g 10 marks X 1.8 mins = 18mins for that part. This exercise takes 2 secs and if you start timing your answers from when you begin practicing this will become your 2nd nature by the time you sit for exam.I finished my exam 2 minutes before time and just quickly looked through my answers in last 2 mins.
I came out not so confident but still passed. All thanks to Chris.
I am sure you will too. it’s all down to practice.
Good Luck!
Congratulations and thank you for sharing your story. It has few very useful tips which I can apply to my studies.
It is not a surprise for me to see that the plan I applied for all my exams is pretty much the same shared in here…I sat P3, P1, P5 and SBR and passed all at first attempt…
I dedicated 2 months per exam and took one exam at a time…I had my local CPA exams mean time but this schedule pretty much allows me to study for 2 months, relax for 1 month…
I also spend around 1-1.5h a day during business days and 5-6 hours a day during holidays…I started my studies by watching all videos of OT and taking notes that I found important…
Then I studied using Kaplan text book. After I finished I moved to Kaplan exam kit to study questions…I did not solve any questions, but studied, read until I really understand the answer and read again…Then I reviewed questions asked in recent year (last 3 years I had picked) and questions from topics asked more frequently…
I had a quick review session on Kaplan text book and spend another week on questions…
I always leave last several days empty on my schedule giving the fact that exams are during my company’s reporting deadlines, for any unpleasant surprise…
Exposure Drafts is a tricky topic per my opinion because it is an “on going” status…I had found in ACCA websites about which EDs I will be responsible an I printed them out and read couple of times…
Hi,
I watched lectures on opentuition, used their notes and for practice I used BPP revision kit.
Hassan
Hassan, I sat P2 and ATX and failed both. I am now planning now planning to go for SBR and Audit in June. For SBR i got BPP and Kaplan notes.
I am really confused and do not understand which material to use.
Do you suggest that OT lectures and note + Bpp exam kit would be help me pass the exams. I have 4 months in total and i can apply 2 months each to each subject.
ANy suggestion would help guys, struggling at the moment.
if I’m allowed to make any comment taimur, I would suggest you to take one exam at a time…
Hi Taimur
I’ve never used Kaplan notes. Its just a personal choice. My friend is ACCA qualified and he just used Kaplan material. I have 3 exams left and I have always used BPP material.
I think they are both equally good. see whichever suits you best.
I am sorry I have not used Kaplan material so I am unable to answer your question.
I used OT notes and lectures. After that practiced using BPP revision kit and I passed.
Key is to make a plan to cover and practice all areas of syllabus and then “sticking” to the plan no matter what.I also agree with that if you can you should do one exam at a time for example one in June and other in Sep that way you focus only on one paper at a time and its easier that way. I am saying because you have tried to do two exams and failed and I am assuming it is because you could not focus on both at the same time. You can easily plan and practice for one exam. ACCA’s policy to conduct exams every quarter also helps massively.
Good luck
I am almost in similar situation as yourself. Haven’t sit any exam since June 2013.
Have 2 kids and starting to prepare now. Where are you based buddy?
Let me know if I can discuss some more thing with you.
Congrats on passing the paper. This has definitely motivated me to take the SBR paper in June 2019.
@ Masood
I started studying again because of my kids. I want them to have a good future that’s my motivation. and yes sure you can ask any questions. I live in Bradford.
@ak93 Thank you. Go for it. make a plan and make sure you stick to it at any cost. This is the key.I am in the same situation have two little kids, will apply your suggested way of study. I hope this time after long break of almost 10 years will get through my remaining exams.
Thanks for sharing your experience. It’s very motivating. I was to go to sleep without completing my plan of studying today but after reading your post I decided to stick to the plan!
hi, I am a working mom and need to start studies as i have only the final stage to go in acca. The plan is to do one paper at a time. i have downloaded the notes given in opentuition. Please let me know whether these notes are sufficient to pass the exam or should I get any other material like Kaplan ???
Hi
I am in same situation as you are but I am a father of 2 kids. I also have same plan of doing one paper at a time.
I passed SBR in 1st attempt and I have now passed SBL in 1st attemp.
I only used hard copies of notes from opentuition along with the lectures.
And after completing all lectures I did all questions from BPP exam kit and some mock exams at the end of exam kit.
That’s all nothing else
But everyone is different and it depends on your learning style too. I suggest you do what you think works for you.
I came up with my own plan and it worked for me. I posted it online so that others who like this plan can benefit from it.
You may come up with a better plan for yourself or use mine.
Key is to stick to your plan no matter what and you will pass.
I hope I have managed to answer your question.
Hassan
I started studying after 12 years, after my boys went to university. I am now ACCA Part Qualified. (Passed my exams at first attempt). I also work 4days a week. It’s very hard at my age but it requires sheer hard work and determination. No looking back! I am now determined to finish my remaining 4 exams and call myself a Certified Chartered Accountant.
Hi,
Just a quick question, I have got my Kaplan textbook and will be using open tuition lectures and notes. However, I am unsure on where to begin when creating my revision plan? Did you approach learning chapter by chapter of a textbook?
Well done @Nichani. Passing all your exams at first attempt is some achievement. There is no doubt that hard work and determination is the key. I hope you pass the rest of the exams soon. Good luck.
Hi
There’s a reason why the chapters in an order. I recommend following the order because some chapters later on may be based on the assumption that you have studied previous chapters.
As far as using a textbook is concerned. I only used it when i did F2 which was long time ago. It is very useful if you have time and covers every topic in great detail. It increases chances of getting more marks. But you don’t have to use it. I only used notes from this website, lectures and a BPP revision kit and it worked for me which doesn’t mean it will work for everyone. I suggest approaching once chapter at a time and in the same order as textbook or notes whichever you prefer.Good luck.
HassanI have a revision kit but the version is (For exams in September 2018, December 2018, March 2019 and June 2019). Should I buy new updated ones?
hi hassan ,
I am actually planning to take SBR and SBL in the march 2020 session .can you advice me about whether i should take both the papers at same session .previously failed p2 for four marks .so it will be a resit .also how big the syllabus for SBL and how much time should one devote for SBL .i usually use bpp workbooks and practice and revision kit with OT lecture videos .Hi Sorry for late reply I have been away. I know it might be too late that I am replying 4 months later but I will still respond.
@Confideans: I would suggest not taking any risks. P&R kit costs much less than exam fee and the time wasted. ACCA keeps updating their syllabus so latest kit should be used. Saying that you can also compare latest syllabus to the one in the kit and see if there are any major differences. If there are then definitely get a new one.
@ahista: Resit doesn’t mean that you don’t take next attempt seriously. People fail more than once because of this reason. If I don’t keep revising I start forgetting stuff after 1 week. Don’t know about others. I have to keep refreshing knowledge in my head.For you or someone in your situation It would depend on how much time you have available for preparation. count time needed per lecture, per question, mock exam that you need and add that up for both exams. If you have enough time then I don’t see a problem. In past I have done 2 exams and passed both at the same time but everyone is different.
My rule of working out total time required is if a lecture is for 1 hours, it takes me 2 hours on that lecture because I pause make notes sometimes rewind if I zone out etc and for practice I do all the questions so for a 25 mark question if there are 50 mins I add another 15 20 mins to review the answer and learn from it. So add total hours for lectures and hours for practice also time for refreshing knowledge of chapters that you’ve already covered in past which takes about 5-10 mins per chapter. Compare total with time available and if you can then don’t waste time and pass as many as you can as quickly as you can. Good luck (I hope your exams went well this week)so dear OT notes plus revision kit will be helpful? i am in same shoes mother of three did manage to gave APM and AFM same as your startegy..just wanted to know for SBR will OT notes and lectures plus revision kit will work?
Hi Misbah Kiran
Congratulations on passing APM and AFM. That’s a wonderful achievement.
I only used OT lectures, OT notes and BPP Revision Kit. That’s it. Oh and the a couple of mock exams before exam day in exam condition. I think you can now practice them on ACCA website if you’re doing CBEs. Key is to practice as much as possible. I did ALL of the questions in the kit. Kit covers any gaps left by notes so it is important to do all the questions.
Something new I did when I did APM. I bought a separate small A5 notebook. After attempting every question and reviewing it. I used to quickly make notes from that particular questions on one page. Just the bullet points. for example if question was on six sigma then made notes of DMAIC etc. It used to take 5 mins. This was like my own version of pass cards but based on practice.
During revision I continuously stayed on top of what I learnt from questions by reviewing those notes every now and again. This helped keep the knowledge learnt from practice fresh in my mind. This also helped massively during exam.
See if you can apply this with SBR. You may find this useful.
Like I said before everyone is different. I am a slow learner so I have to work harder than most people to get a pass. Which is why I come up with these ways of revision.
Good luck
thanks a lot hassan for your kind response..making notes on A5 is a great idea will defo do this time..i read and note down all your valuable advices…AFM i passed last year september but APM i attempted this march 2020 …Hoping to pass it inshAllah..
hi
one more quick question Hassan
From where did you cover part A of Syllabus “Fundamental ethical and professional principles”
TIA
Hi Hassan.
Thanks for your post I found it very inspiring.
I am in a slightly similar situation to which you are. I have not studied for like 6 years properly. I have exemptions from degree level.
I work for an accountancy firm. SBR is the first exam I intend to sit very soon.
I have some knowledge of accounts from degree level & from work.But my question really is would it be a good idea to re-learn/learn F7 first and then proceed to learn SBR. Or does the SBR study kit cover everything.
I hope that question makes sense!
Kind regards
Sugan
Hi misbahkiran
Sorry for late response. I only used the notes from OT and kit. Notes don’t cover everything but exam kit does so making notes after questions practice will help.
Answering your question Sugan. If you have time then you can do a quick review but I didn’t do that. I didn’t remember anything from F7 when I started preparing for SBR and still passed. You may find easier reviewing F7. Why dont you try SBR first and practice. Only refer to F7 if you struggle. This will save time.
Thanks
Hassan
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