P7 (Int) Exam tips from BPP, Kaplan, First Intuition, Icount, ATC, EXP – Dec 2011 sitting

BPP

There are a number of areas that candidates can expect to see in their exam, such as:
•A risk-based planning scenario in the compulsory section
•Questions based on articles published in Student Accountant (although not necessarily from the last six months)
•A number of requirements asking for audit procedures and required evidence in respect of specific financial reporting issues and ISAs
•A practice-based scenario looking at professional, ethical and quality control issues
•A reporting scenario of some sort – probably testing candidates’ knowledge of either the various modifications to the standard audit report or other forms of communication available to the external auditor.
We would also recommend that candidates read the examiner’s report from the June 2011 exam (in the context of the June 2011 exam paper) and keep the following additional issues in mind as part of their revision:
•Don’t forget key brought-forward knowledge from Paper F8 which candidates have traditionally struggled with at P7(audit risk, audit procedures and audit reports).
•Candidates should also not forget about practice-related issues (such as the terms of audit engagements, sampling and documentation) where topics such as quality control procedures, ACCA firm practising requirements and the ethical implications of one firm providing both internal and external audit services could be discussed.
•The correct accounting treatment of complex issues, such as IAS 19 Employee benefits or a newcomer for 2011 IAS 21 The effects of changes in foreign exchange rates or even the associated issues of disclosure (such as IFRS 8 Operating segments or IAS 33

Kaplan tips

•Engagement planning and risk assessment
•Ethics and professional issues
•Engagement reporting (ISA’s 700, 705, 706 in particular)
•Unmodified audit reports (ISA 700)
•ISA 540 Audit of Accounting Estimates
•Auditing in a Computer Based Environment

First Intuition

Business risk in a scenario
Identifying ethical and other professional issues in a scenario
Audit reports
Group audits
Money laundering
Forensic audits

Icount

•Audit opinion
•Evidence
•Transnational audits
•Business and financial statement risk
•Ethics
•Quality control

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.
* Being fully aware of current issues (e.g. review the PQ magazine, ACCA and IFAC websites for many current issues)
* Having an awareness of key real world issues (e.g. review the IFAC, ACCA, FRC websites)
* 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.
* Regularly visiting http://www.accaglobal.com/students
At the 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. Giving such tips should be outlawed.
So, blindly following “exam tips” is a danger to your health, wealth and sanity.

Liz Weaver
Liz Weaver, the examiner, is now well into her style. Do not expect any changes in her examination approach BUT be aware that question requirements may now be phrased in a different way to what you have experienced in past examinations. This does not mean that the answer will be different, but does give you broader scope for how you answer. If you have no idea what I am talking about READ LIZ’S ARTICLES ON THE CHANGES and review the June 2011 examination.
Remember that P7 is a required examination on the road to becoming a registered auditor – so expect the hurdle to be high and tough.
Read all of her past examiner’s reports and articles – as well as the articles of her predecessor, Kim Smith (you may need to go to the 3.1 archive on the P7 web pages).
Students continually make the same mistakes, so it is very clear that the majority do not read these reports and article – make sure you are in the minority and PASS!

AREAS TO CONCENTRATE ON:
• New audits, tendering
• Planning, materiality, sampling, analytical review
• Audit, business or financial statement risk
• Group audits, joint ventures, goodwill, joint audit
• Assurance services, PFI, KPI, due diligence, forensic audit, reviews, insolvency (UK and Ireland students only)
• Ethics, practice management and other professional issues
• Any audit matter covering IFRS (IAS 1 to 41 and IFRS 1 to 9 – see P2 syllabus)
• Close down procedures, opening balances, comparatives, other information, going concern, subsequent events, representation letter, emphasis of matter, audit reports
• Outsourcing, service providers, use of an expert
• Corporate governance, internal audit (relating to ethics, outsourcing), audit committees
• Current issues
Or, in other words, the whole syllabus.

Exam Technique
At this high level there is no excuse for not having read the examiner’s articles covering examination technique nor past examiner’s reports. It is critical that you fully understand how the examiner thinks and what she expects to see in your answers.
Understand the requirements of the question before reading through the detail of any scenario. Having done so – PLAN your answer before writing it. Does your plan cover all of the requirements? Are you answering the question set? Have you used the scenario?
Are you demonstrating the higher level skills expected, e.g. critical analysis and appropriate extrapolation?
As with any examination, question practice under examination conditions is critical. Ensure you do at least the last two papers under examination conditions and a further two papers planning each question. If your plan ties in with the suggested solution, you are thinking in the right direction.
Lastly, download the examiner’s September 2009 SA article on examination technique, as well as all her articles over the last two years (and relevant articles from the 3.1 archive).
You may also find the two recent articles on how to tackle exams and passing the professional level papers useful. Fail to read them at your peril.

EXP

• Outsourcing of the accounting function and its impact on the audit
• Going concern issue and its impact on the financial statements
• Ethical issues –tendering and lowballingto get business
• Forensic audit
• A group audit question

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

best of luck with exam!
ansi