General ACCAMy ACCA journey

@victornewman said: I just wanted to share my ACCA experience. I took 11 exams from September 2016 to June 2017. I have been unemployed for two years in London, I decided to convert myself to accounting. I studied full time, alongside short term jobs to pay for the rent (estate agent on Saturdays, French teacher one to one etc.). In September I took F4, F5, F6, F9. F4 was tricky despite its high pass rate and I scored less than I anticipated, as a French the English law system is a bit obscure. I spent more time than expected to prepare it, don't get fooled by its high pass rates. I enjoyed F5 and found it easy, the easiest of all exams indeed. I spent most of my time studying F6 and scored 86%, I really spent hours on it. With P2 and P5 it is the one I spent the most time to study. I neglected F9 and I got surprised by very theoretical questions, I managed to pass with a poor score for a CFA charterholder. In December I took F7, F8 and P4. I enjoyed F7 and scored in the mid eighties. F8 was a nightmare, I have never done any audit but managed to pass in the high fifties. I was not sure what the examiner wanted, describing processes (e.g. paying cash in a shop) sounds awkward to me. Regarding P4 I panicked on a swap of currencies, 25% of the exam and believed I completely failed it, aiming for 35-40% in addition my priority was to complete the Fundamental serie. I got surprised to get 60%, my highest score in Professional exams. It is the only exam I really panicked, sweated, starring at the clock! Overall I scored 73% in Fundamental exams with three exams above 80%. Then things became much more difficult. In March I took P1-P2-P3. I was disappointed by my scores in P1 and P3 in the high fifities as the exam contained no surprise and I enjoyed the questions (yeap, I am a bit geeky). Regarding P2, when I sat at the exam I understood I registered for the UK version! I knew nothing about F101 rules etc. It was a bad surprise but I manage to pass. Lastly in June I took P5. I spent many hours of study on it, as it was the last exam. I did not want to fail it. I also wanted to have first pass for all my exams. The day of the exam, I sat at my table and I pinched a nerve. I ran to the exit to get fresh air but I fainted! A fuse of the body when the pain becomes too intense. The paramedic wanted me to go to the hospital, I managed to crawl back to my seat with 2h30 left only out of 3h15. My back was extremely painful and blocked and I could not get aspirin from the paramedic. I could not concentrate on the questions and entered automatic mode, just reading the questions and hardly reading the two pages of case studies. The exam was very unusual, I was lucky as F5 and P3 were still fresh. I managed to pass! This exam is doomed, I don't recommend P5, I felt the book (Kaplan) was easy and did not learn much. However the marking seems to be harsh and I would take P6 instead if I had failed it. Takeaways: Avoid P5 Big drop in scores from F (73% average) to P (57%) Take two exams at a time maximum if you work If you panic, breath and think survival and aim for easy points, one here, two there, it adds up! Don't stress too much, if you fail, you can take it again next quarter. If you think it is a fail during the exam, aim for the highest score as it will be a benchmark later when you take it again and will motivate you. Read questions first, and twice. Understand what is asked. Focus on the question. Don't try to be original, focus on past exams. Thank you opentuition, when I get a job I will make a donation,thanks a lot to tutors, Thanks for other students for their opinions and experiences. Don't waste money on classes, buy Kaplan books, redo past exams of the last three years. Thanks invigilators at ExCel for their help in June! My back is fine now. I am using my free time for sport now (and to improve my German, due to Brexit and relocation). I rushed through the exams, being under-employed. Go at your own speed. Don't get sick of it! Bonne chance!

@victornewman said: Hello Sa1pw! I remember reading your comments on F8 in December, it seems such a long time. And I read your comments on P5. Despite my issue, I believed I would have had a much better score. Questions seemed easy, I found the ROCE computation straightforward and it plugged well with "ROCE is too short term, myopia leading to dysfunctional behaviour". In addition I managed to complete the paper, there are the extra 10 points I had. It was an unusual exam as you pointed out. F8 and P5 are the exams I liked least, easy to understand, difficult to score.

@victornewman said: Sap1w, you did well so far and you got a strong grade in P3. How many exams have you passed and how many left? Enjoy August and do some cycling, swimming or other sport. Maybe skip September as it is the worst time for exams

@victornewman said: I don't have any secret sauce. I used Kaplan books and did all past exams of the past three years available on the ACCA website. My scores in the P exams are average (53%-60%). I had a strict discipline regarding time during the exam and I have always completed 100% of the exams, always keeping 15 minutes at the end to come back on some questions. I also paired and scheduled the exams nicely (numerical with wordy ones). Having gone through the classes preparatoires in France and the CFA, I am used to this kind of exams and time pressure. I initially aimed to do it in six months! (three sessions) however P1 and P5 occur the same day and I would probably have failed P5. Some people may prefer classes, however I get bored and daydream usually. Opentuition forum is excellent to motivate each other and tutors answer all your question in a timely manner, even one week before the exam!