TARC ACCA 2005

ACCA Exam Tips June 07 Part 3(a) collected from help of Coolly

ACCA 3.1 Exam Tips

FTC

Q1 Risk appraisal, risk management and audit strategy
Q2 Assurance services - reporting on narrative statements egg environmental reports
Q3 Matters and evidence when reviewing files before signing audit reports
Q4 Audit reporting - application of ISA 700
Q5 Professional conduct and ethics
Q6 Current issues

BPP

Questions 1 and 2

Scenario questions in the context of audit risk/business risk/financial statement risk. One of these is likely to have a non statutory audit theme.

May also include:

* Control suggestion and/or evaluation
* Audit evidence on Paper 2.5 accounting areas (see also Q3 suggestions)
* Group audit issues (including audit work on fair values)
* Planning/practice management/quality control issues
* Assurance services, e.g. performance measurement or prospective financial information

Question 3

Audit evidence. Comment on the matters you would consider and the audit evidence you would expect to find as audit manager conducting a review of audit files.

Likely to be several scenarios covering various Paper 2.5 level accounting standards, e.g:

* Events after the balance sheet date
* Provisions
* Impairments
* Earnings per share
* Segment information
* Related party disclosures
* Deferred tax
* Discontinued operations
* Standard costing
* Intangible assets
* Revenue recognition
* Borrowing costs

Section B

Question 4

Part (a): Any syllabus area. Part (b): A related question on reporting.

Question 5

Ethics, professional and quality control issues scenario question.

Question 6

Discussion question on current issues, e.g:

* Fraud and auditor liability
* International convergence
* Audit exemption for small companies
* Risk-based auditing
* Related parties
* Corporate governance
* Laws and regulations

The discussion question often covers a scenario on a topic where the examiner has written an article in your Student Accountant magazine in the months prior to the exam. You should check the magazine/ACCA website for new articles in the months leading up to your exam.



ACCA 3.3 Exam Tips

FTC

* Contribution based decision-making – possibly involving expected values, maximax, maximin & minimax regret.
* Practical aspects of pricing policy
* Performance evaluation - NFPIs
* The strategic framework – specifically a question based around the examiner’s article on “Business Strategy and Performance Models” (Student Accountant – April 2006). This is likely to focus on Porter’s 5 Forces

BPP

There were some be new areas in the syllabus from June 2006 which the examiner has already included in the latest paper;

Ansoff's growth vector matrix
BCG matrix
Porter's five forces model

Section A

To date the large question in this section has contained some elements of budgeting (short term planning) and recently it has also examined return on investment. This will be heavily numerical with a small written element.

The shorter question has often tackled some element of performance measurement with the majority of the marks being for numerical analysis.

Section B

There is usually a high discursive element in this section with 2 questions being wholly or heavily discursive. If it has not made an appearance in Section A performance measurement will make an appearance here it may even appear if it has already been seen in Section A.

Many of the modern management and management accounting techniques have been examined here;

Numerical topics do still appear in this area, topics that such as transfer pricing (which can also include qualitative issues) can be complexand confusing on first read, as can questions relating to and uncertainty in decision-making.




ACCA 3.4 Exam Tips

FTC

• Value of information systems
• Groupware
• Data warehousing and data mining
• Outsourcing
• SWOT
• Earls three legs
• Earls Grid
• Information strategy
• Virtual company
• Business and IT strategies

BPP

Section A
This is the last sitting so expect no great surprises here – again expect the scenario will be a business with significant system issues linked to a business plan or some strategic view. The following are some outstanding topic areas that are either so core to the syllabus or were not covered in recent exams.

The requirement areas could include

There will always be an I.T link to the business strategy maybe with a specific reference to Earl’s 3 legs.

A SWOT analysis on the scenario.

Impact of I.T on the organisation once implemented – i:e: the organisational and social impact.

E- commerce with reference to the internet in a specific system / business opportunity.

The academic framework could be McFarlan’s / Peppards grid suggesting development priorities.

Section B

Soft Systems methodology. Unusually this popular topic has been absent for a little time so this may be its final bow. Probably with the emphasis on the root definition and conceptual model elements.

Change management. This could be a section A topic as well . Maybe a question based on the 3C's and /or another model such as Davis and Olsen.

Parsons IS Strategies and Nolan’s Stage Hypothesis. Still tipping these two. A possible section B academic discussion could appear on either or both of these models.

Knowledge management and databases. A topic again that has been absent for a little time, that could appear in a mini scenario requiring a suitable technical explanation.

Porter's value chain. An outside bet, but maybe the examiner will finish with this model, just as he started the exams with it.

China Website

• TPS, MIS, DSS, EIS and Expert system
• Knowledge management & data management#
• SWOT analysis and its application
• IS, IT and IM strategies
• Earl’s 3-Leg analysis, Reasons for IS Strategy, Systems Audit Grids#
• Parson’s 6 generic IS strategies#
• Nolan’s 6-stage growth model#
• Ws framework
• McFarlan Strategic Grid# and Peppard application portfolio
• Project risk
• Gap Analysis and 3Cs
• SSM – SSM stages, Root Definition (CATWOE) and Rich Picture
• Application package solution & bespoke solution (strategic issues)
• Outsourcing#
• Systems changeover
• Impact of IS

# - spare topics

posted by Unknown @ 12:27 AM