P5 Exam tips

Hi,
I don’t know whether anyone still gives tips for ACCA. I could not find any for the March sitting. If you found them, how accurate were they?

Kaplan ACCA Exam Tips June 2016 Papers
also see ACCA Exam Tips June 2013 by ACCASUPPORT.COM

F4
English legal system

Types of law
Court structure
Court vs tribunal
Interpretation of statute
Human Rights Act
Tribunals
Contract law

Exclusion clauses
Offer and acceptance
Consideration/privity of contract
Express and implied terms
Intention to create legal relations
Tort of negligence

Duty of care
Breach of duty
Professional misstatement
Employment law

Common law duties
Remedies
Redundancy
Agency/partnership

How agency relationship arises
Liability of agents & partners
Termination of partnership
Company law

Separate personality/lifting the veil
Articles of association
Statutory books
Choice of business structure/private v public company
Treasury shares
Class rights
Loan capital/charges
Kaplan Financial June 2013
Appointment/removal/disqualification of directors
Directors authority
Directors’ duties
Meeings
Auditors
Company secretary
Corporate governance
Fraudulent behaviour

Money laundering
Market abuse
Bribery
Fraudulent and wrongful trading
F5
Environmental Management Accounting
Throughput accounting and TOC
Learning curves
Variances: Sales Variances, Market size and market share
Decision Trees
Pricing Equations and Pricing strategies
Activity based budgeting
Non Financial Performance Indicators
F6
Income tax

– Husband and wife

– Joint investment income

– Some exempt income

– Adjustment of profits

– Residence

– Mileage allowance

– Loss reliefs against gains

– National insurance

– Self assessment

– Interest/penalty – explanation/calculation

Corporation tax

– Possibly a straddling and/or short period of account

– Definition of a CAP

– Property income

– Chargeable gains to calculate, with rollover relief

– Capital gains group – transfers, elections and group rollover relief

– Single company losses and / or group loss relief – with some tax planning

– Overseas branches

– Penalties for late filing of return

– Quarterly instalment payments

– Interest on late payment of corporation tax

Capital gains tax

– Husband and wife making disposals

– Transfer between spouses

– Wasting assets or chattels

– Exempt assets

– PPR, gift and entrepreneurs’ relief

VAT

– Separate part of question 1 or 2 or whole question 4/5

– VAT registration – futures test

– Invoices

– VAT return – including some discounts and impaired debts relief

– Pre-registration input VAT

– Deregistration

– Default surcharges and errors

– Payment dates

Sundry topics for questions 4 and 5

– Partnerships

– IHT (full question)

– Comparative scenario or other new style question

– Self assessment

F7
Q1

Consolidated statement of financial position (with possible statement of profit or loss). Adjustments to

include: PURP, share exchange, current accounts, impairment, revaluation, fair value adjustment

Q2

Published accounts to include statement of profit or loss, statement of financial position and statement of changes in equity from trial balance. Possible adjustments to include: revenue recognition, depreciation, revaluation, tax & deferred tax, convertible loan, share issue.

Q3

Statement of cash flows with interpretation element.

Q4/Q5

Qualitative characteristics, finance leases, intangible assets, events after the reporting date, earnings per share.

F8
Audit Framework: confidentiality / conflicts of interest / audit committees

Internal Audit: Role and function

Planning and Risk: Audit risk including analytical procedures

Internal Control: Cash / purchases system (including tests of control)

Audit Evidence: Purchases / payables; bank and cash; review engagements

Completion & reporting : Subsequent events (ISA 560) Auditor’s reports

Specific standards/topics:

? Elements of internal control: Control Environment (recent article) (ISA 315)

? Elements of assurance

? Expectation gap

? Professional clearance

? Audit strategy/plan (ISA 300)

? Risk assessment procedures (ISA 315)

? Materiality (ISA 320)

F9
Investment appraisal

This is a key topic which is highly likely to be examined every time. The most common technique assessed is NPV with inflation and taxation although be prepared for a twist, possibly involving some of the more basic methods of the applications of NPV such as replacement analysis or lease v buy. It is also worth bearing in mind that IRR has not been tested for three years so may pop up in some form.

Working Capital Management

Another key topic which is likely to examined every time. Exams to date have covered much of this topic but it’s been a while since we’ve seen the more numerical aspects surrounding cash management. A discussion about funding strategies is a key discursive element.

Valuations

This has been examined in virtually every F9 exam to date. Cash flow based values have yet to be examined although the PE ratio and dividend valuation methods still appear to be the more examinable areas. There are often high scoring discursive elements in this area of the syllabus for being able to discuss the implications of something on the value of the business or perhaps the relative methods of the valuation methods.

Business Finance

This topic has been heavily examined recently and in particular the impact of financing on ratios is an area the examiner likes. Make sure you’re able to discuss the impact that different policies may have on a company by being able to both calculate and interpret financial ratios.

Cost of Capital

This topic features in virtually every exam to a greater or lesser extent. Good coverage of all of the syllabus areas is therefore essential to ensure you can handle any eventuality on the day.

Candidates should feel confident when calculating the overall cost of capital (WACC) and going on to discuss the impact of the cost of capital on investments. It’s been a while since we’ve seen CAPM based calculations.

Risk Management

Within this section of the syllabus, foreign exchange risk has been examined more often than interest rate risk. However, both are fairly under-examined areas of the syllabus as a whole and so this is a topic worth being on top of.

The Financial Management Function and the impact of the economic environment upon it

We can probably expect one specific topic from these syllabus areas to feature as a tag on discursive element within one question on the exam. This part of the question can provide some easier knowledge-based marks and therefore is worth some focus.

P1
TARA
Teleological and deontological approaches to ethics
Kohlberg’s moral development
Gray, Owen and Adams contents of a corporate code of ethics insider trading audit committees internal control statements internal controls – systems separation of roles of Chairman and CEO ‘transparency’ in the context of corporate governance directors’ remuneration influence of and intervention by institutional investors normative and instrumental view of stakeholders direct and indirect environmental reporting
P2
Q1 Groups and ethics

A SOFP has been examined for in the last 4 examinations (both exams in 2011 and 2012) – perhaps it is time for a GSOCI (QBD) or a statement of cash flows (revision mock) group accounting question. In either event, it is likely to include a change in group structure (acquisition and/or disposal of subsidiary in the year). Accounting issues possibly examined within this question include:

– Financial instruments

– Joint arrangements

– Foreign currency

The ethical issue will normally focus upon an incorrect or inappropriate accounting treatment in the group accounts question. As IFRS 10/11/12 are relatively new, it could focus upon determination of whether one entity has control over another, and whether an appropriate accounting treatment has been applied.

Q2 and Q3

Possibly a focus upon P2-only reporting standards, and those which require the exercise of judgement.

Accounting issues possibly examined here include:

– IAS 19 Employee benefits – in revision mock

– IFRS 2 Share-based payment – in revision mock

– IFRS 9 & IAS 39 Financial instruments – including hedging – in QBD

– Entity reconstructions including accounting issues – in the revision mock as not yet examined since it was included in the syllabus in 2011.

Q4 – Essay-style question

This is difficult to call. I was going to include a question in the revision mock or QBD dealing with current developments in hedging, but at the Examiners’ Conference, in answer to a question about how likely or detailed such a question could be in an exam, it was described as “horrific” and ,my only attract a small number of marks within a bigger question.

Instead, the focus is perhaps more likely to be on current standards which may be lacking or deficient in some way – hence drafting a question for QBD dealing with revenue recognition and leasing in one question.

Although this is unlikely to be the format of such a question, it does represent “hedging bets” by covering two topics in the same question. The essay-style question in the revision mock deals with clutter in company accounts – something the Examiner made specific reference to at the Conference.

P3
Project management
Benefits management
Supply chain management
Business process change
Stakeholder analysis
Decision making techniques
P4
Net Present Value – including foreign currency cash flows
Risk adjusted WACC
Discussion of financing options
Interest rate hedging – options, futures and FRAs
P5
Divisional performance
BCG matrix and link to CSFs, KPIs
Public sector NFP – link between mission and CSFs, KPIs
Evaluate PM system
Evaluate format and content of a PM report
EMA
Building Block Model
Risk – maximax, etc
P6
Corporation tax

– Group relief / consortium relief

– Capital gains groups: NGNL and rollover relief

– Overseas aspects: branch vs sub / CFCs / transfer pricing

– Acquisition of subsid /pre entry capital losses and trading losses

– R&D

– Close companies

Capital gains

– Reliefs: Rollover, holdover, gift, incorporation, PPR and letting

– Overseas aspects

Inheritance tax

– Lifetime gifts

– Valuation of shares / related property

– Deed of variation

– New IHT rate for charitable legacies

– Death estate computation

– Business property relief

Income tax

– Sole traders closing year rules

– Income tax comps at marginal rates

– Benefits: car, accommodation

– Share incentive plans

– Overseas aspects

Personal financial planning

– EIS / seed EIS

VAT

– Partial exemption

– Land and buildings

– Group VAT registration

Scenarios

– Lease vs. buy assets: net cost

– Incorporation

– Company purchase of own shares

– Personal service companies

– IHT vs CGT for gifts

Stamp duty and SDLT

Ethics

P7
Core areas (as per examiner’s approach article) likely to be examined in every paper:

• Engagement planning and risk assessment (audit risk);

• Engagement procedures (i.e. evidence);

• Ethics and professional issues;

• Completion (matters to consider/evidence on file) and engagement reporting;

Subjects of recent articles:

• Planning (October 2012)

Significant topics not examined for at least 18 months:

• Subsequent Events (ISA 560)

• Due diligence

• Auditor’s responsibilities regarding fraud

• Limiting liability

• Changing auditors

Current topics:

• Competition in the statutory audit market

• Improving the audit report.

Please note: the UK variant is also very likely to include an aspect of Insolvency (wrongful & fraudulent trading?).

Please be aware that the whole syllabus is examinable. Whilst the above topics are likely to be examined in forthcoming sittings this does not mean candidates should avoid other areas of the syllabus in their exam preparation.

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