PQ magazine, February 2016

AIA’s ‘ACCOUNTANCY MEDIA OF THE YEAR 2015’

PQmagazine

February 2016

www.pqmagazine.co.uk / www.pqjobs.co.uk

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CONTENTS

News 08ACCA exams It’s full steam ahead for CBEs 10Social mobility It pays to be posh if you want to get ahead 12ICAEW exams Advanced level pass rates on the rise 14New survey Accountants have no moral compass, says report Features, etc 06Mind your Ps&Qs How can I disguise gaps in my CV? Why can’t ACCA give a firm results day? Plus the best of social media 16Interview Meet Myriam Madden, CIMA’s new – and only second woman – President

18CIMA lecturers’ conference What those at the coalface think about the Strategic and Management level exams 21Let’s get technical Gareth John explains all you need to know about non-current assets

22ICAEW spotlight Tackling the challenging FAR exam; plus a Quick Look at rollover relief

24ICAS study tips How to stay

motivated in the tough times 25Volunteering overseas How working abroad could change your career – and your life

26ACCA F4 Employment law can

be a minfield for PQs. so we explain the salient points to help you pass this tough paper

Social class still matters

February 2016 27Career survey People who

change career to become an accountant are delighted with the switch, says a Kaplan poll 28CIPFA opportunities Check out public sector roles on offer 29Tempted to temp? Temping now can pay off in the long term 30Careers Life at First Intuition; your career issues tackled; and our Book Club review 34Fun time Bill Bailey’s troubles; morning exam blues; and we’ve four great giveaways this month!

The columnists Robert Bruce ‘Global’ standards should be just that 8 Prem Sikka Shrinking workers’ share of GDP is road to disaster 10 Carl Lygo Let’s all take a positive approach to the next 12 months 12 Subscribe to PQ magazine It’s FREE – see page 33 or go to www.pqmagazine.co.uk ABC July 2014 – June 2015

32,233

Publisher’s statement: We send a digital issue of the magazine to an additional 8,299 requested readers

Tinie Tempah recently revealed that he never wanted to be a rapper – no, what he really dreamed about was being an accountant! Tinie’s real name is Patrick Okogwu, and he is the son of hardworking Nigerian immigrants. They worked hard to get off a rough south London estate and into their Plumstead semi. I have little doubt that if Tinie had decided on an accountancy career he would have been successful, but he may have needed a lot of luck and could expect to earn less than the posh kids. Research from the American Sociological Review shows that the ‘class gap’ in accountancy is nigh on ÂŁ5,000. So while someone from a privileged background can expect to earn on average ÂŁ47,216 as an accountant, a colleague from more humble background in a similar role earns just ÂŁ42,276.

There is some good news. Accountancy, says the research, is one of the most meritocratic of the professions. The gap between posh and estate kids going into law is a whopping ÂŁ18,304. Many of the professional bodies are trying to address this issue of social mobility.

Access Accountancy is a positive initiative that ensures work placement opportunities for schools in areas of high deprivation. But, as the ACCA’s CEO Helen Brand says, more can and needs to be done by all – professional bodies, employers, education providers and government departments (see page 10).

This year is going to be a big one for the ACCA and its PQs. The CBEs are coming and you can find out what is planned in our exclusive interview with director of qualifications Catherine Edwards (page 8). ACCA candidates will, she promises, still receive their marks – and you will still need 50% to pass!

Finally, I have sad news – we didn’t win the ICBGlobal Luca Award! Still, as we always say, it was great just to be nominated. As we go to press we will be shortlisting for the PQ awards – watch out to see who is up for a ‘PQ’.

Graham Hambly, PQ magazine editor – graham@pqaccountant.com

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PQ have your say

email graham@pqaccountant.com Does honesty pay?

This may seem like a strange request, but I want to know how honest I need to be on my CV. I don’t want to lie, but I am very worried that my past career ‘mistakes’ could prevent my career progression. I am on the final stages of my CIMA qualification now, but it has been a hard slog.

At one time I had some personal issues that affected both my work and study. I failed some exams (more than one) and went part-time at work for a bit to help me get

“I doubt they’ll believe this gap on my CV!”

back on track. My employers weren’t particularly helpful during this time and I now feel ready to move on. But how should I cover this period on my CV? Name and address supplied The editor says: This is a really tough one and there is a real worry that many employers will not be sympathetic when it comes to your previous issues.

But there is a way to keep honest without dressing up these issues too much. The work/life/study balance is incredibly difficult to get right – read our interview in this issue with CIMA’s President Myriam Madden (it’s on page

The writer of the star letter each month wins a fantastic ‘I ❤ PQ’ mug!

We need a date

Am I right in assuming the ACCA will be releasing the December results on Monday 18 January? A colleague and fellow studier has pointed out that the association’s website says ‘week commencing’ 18 January, which isn’t exactly the same thing. It would be really wrong to keep students waiting beyond that date.

Also, can we expect the results to start coming out at a minute past midnight, or are they scheduled to hit our inboxes at 9am? The ACCA seems to be a bit vague about this most important date.

Name and address supplied The editor says: We have to agree – the time is right for an official results date/time for each exam sitting. What do you say, ACCA?

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It’s a mugs game

I really enjoy my monthly PQ magazine, definitely an evening-sitdown-with-a-hot-drink read. Really interesting topics and stories – now I just need a PQ mug!

Satesh Kaushal, by email The editor says: For your sheer cheek we will send you one of our much-sought-after mugs – but we won’t make a habit of it! Generally, the best way to get hold of a PQ mug is to write to us and hope your letter gets picked as our ‘star letter’. So do please keep emailing us with your thoughts.

What do you do if you discover that CIMA is rewarding some students with a special offer on exam paper fees, but the offer doesn’t apply to you? Well, PQs in the CIMA Strategic Level Study Buddy Group had the answer – “someone tag Graham Hambly”. He is, of course, the PQ magazine editor. He was able to quickly establish that the CIMA offer was a region-specific deal, which was targeted at students in areas that had experienced huge foreign exchange rate movements, doubling the cost of their entry to sit assessment. We are sure when UK students see the bigger picture they will understand!

Finally, our September ACCA pass rates story is still doing the rounds.

PQs can’t believe not one pass rate at the sitting was above 50%!

16). Her exam failure never hindered a wonderful career.

Both the ACCA and CIMA also offer students the chance to study full-time, so this should not count against you.

To help our readers with their career problems we have enlisted the help of Walker Dendle’s Jordan Dodds. He has a regular column on our careers page (page 30 in this issue). If you have a workplace ‘issue’, or something you need advice on then email graham@pqaccountant.com, heading up your email ‘Careers Advice’. And don’t worry – your confidentiality is guaranteed.

Hot & Tweet

Firstly, we’d like to thank the ICPA’s Tony Margaritelli for calling out @PQMagazine as one to watch in 2016. He is a great PQ champion and says: “Qualifying is hard, so make it a tad easier by subscribing to PQ.” We have to say, Tony is right.

We have been tweeting away as usual. Christmas is now well and truly behind us, but we did only find one good accountancy Christmas cracker joke: Q: How does Santa value his sleigh?

A: Net present value!

The only one that came near was: What do you call an accountant without a calculator? Answer: Lonely.

Another favourite retweet was the news that KPMG partners have taken a £90,000 pay cut (to an average £623,000). This was because of investment and a decrease in its advisory business. Another tweet you might have missed is the fact that female graduates currently earn £8,000 less than their male colleagues, even when they study the same subject, according to a leading equality watchdog.

Follow us @PQmagazine

PQ Magazine Fourth floor, Central House, 142 Central Street, London EC1V 8AR | Phone: 020 7216 6444 | Email: graham@pqaccountant.com Website: www.pqmagazine.co.uk | Editor/publisher: Graham Hambly graham@pqaccountant.com | Advertising manager: Polly Thrasivoulou polly@pqaccountant.com | Associate editor: Adam Riches | Art editor: Tim Parker | Subscriptions: dom@pqaccountant.com | Contributors: Robert Bruce, Prem Sikka, Carl Lygo, Tony Kelly, Phil Gammon, Jo Daley | Origination and print services by Classified Central Media If you have any problems with delivery, or if you want to change your delivery address, please email dom@pqaccountant.com

Published by PQ Publishing © PQ Publishing 2016

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PQ news

ROBERT BRUCE ‘Worldwide’ standards should be just that There are some things that are so bizarre that they are very difficult to explain. And we are not talking about the selection policies of the national cricket, football or rugby teams here.

Those thought processes are complex enough to try to explain. But how do you make sense of the US? And we are not talking about their politicians, their gun laws, or anything else which seems to make no sense to the rest of the world. We are talking about something much simpler – the ability to report corporate results in the same way that, by and large, the rest of the world does.

The system of IFRS, international financial reporting standards, is pretty much universal. Or where it is not, it is getting to that point. Only in the US do they insist that US GAAP, their homemade system, is so sacrosanct and tied up with their corporate cultural identity that it cannot be changed, and certainly not for the local domestic companies, let alone national champions like Ford. It is an extraordinary situation. It is not that they think that IFRS are not fit for purpose. They happily recognise that overseas companies listing in the US under IFRS are fine. Recently, Ferrari listed on the New York Stock Exchange. It did it with Italian financial statements prepared in accordance with IFRS. As Hans Hoogervorst, chairman of the promulgators of IFRS, the IASB, said just before Christmas in the lion’s den of Washington at the annual conference of the US profession, the AICPA, “this is not a healthy position”.

Dead right.

Robert Bruce is an award-winning writer on accountancy for The Times

CBE EXAMS ARE COMING

It’s full steam ahead for the towards the end of April. introduction of CBE exams this PQ also discovered that ACCA September, says ACCA Director of plans to use a specialist supplier to Qualifications Catherine Edwards. provide its worldwide computer In an exclusive interview with PQ, based centre network. The supplier Edwards revealed that ACCA will be is very established at running releasing specimen papers computer-based in late April for the newexams worldwide look exams. and will ensure The computer-based dedicated centres exams have been three for ACCA students. years in the making, and Edwards stressed students will be expected that ACCA will be to answer using spreadrunning parallel sheets and word exams – both paper processing with table and CBE exams.

Catherine Edwards creation functionality. In She said a CBE-only addition to specimen exams, ACCA offering will happen only when is planning to release a blank students and tutors are ready, and spreadsheet and word processing will be introduced on a country-bysheet so students can practise with country basis, starting small with them. Again, these will be released selected centres available in certain

PQs average £33k as CIMA salaries on rise The average UK CIMA PQ earns £33,031 a year while their qualified colleagues have a yearly pay packet of £62,791, nearly 100% more!

The latest CIMA annual salary survey also provides the average salaries for PQs at the different qualification stage: operational – £29,399, management – £31,599, and strategic – £35,283.

On top of base salaries some 58% of students in the UK said they would be receiving a bonus in 2015, the average being around 7% of annual salary.

If you are a CIMA PQ who is chasing ‘the money’ then you need to be in banking – it is the highest paying sector. A student with one to two years’ experience will be earning £40,084 on average. That’s

a basic salary of £36,695 and a bonus of £4,116.

A newly qualified in banking can expect to be earning just over £60,000.

The current average take home pay for CIMA newly qualifieds is £46,765 a year.

CIMA asked its students and members where they would most like to relocate to if the opportunity arose. Australia and the US came out as number one and two here.

The UK was third and Canada fourth.

The top reason for relocating was an improved quality of life.

Experiencing a different culture and new career opportunities were also deemed important. An improved salary only came in fourth.

ACCA wins award The ACCA’s hugely successful Advantage 2015 careers event has won the ‘Best Use of Event Technology’ at the Association Excellence Awards. In its second year now ACCA Advantage is the UKs largest accounting and finance virtual careers fair, attracting 3,500 registrations. Among the employers involved were Amazon and Grant Thorton.

Tax gets digital UK taxpayers will now be able to manage their tax affairs online with the launch of Personal Tax Accounts. More than a million ‘customers’ completing their self assessment will be directed to their new online Personal Tax Account (PTA). According to the Revenue, the PTA will provide a clearer view of the tax paid and entitled benefits. It will also enable taxpayers to update their details in real time, removing the need to resubmit information.

In brief HMRC’s speculative letters HMRC has been sending speculative letters to high street accountants accusing them of tax avoidance.

The concern is no evidence is being used to substantiate the claims. The letters say firms are under no obligation to reply, but being quite means HMRC may assume the firm is involved in tax avoidance and it could lead to an investigation.

8

cities initially. UK and Ireland will be one of the first to come online.

Edwards said under the new CBE regime PQs will still receive a mark for their exam and sitters will still need 50% to pass. When it comes to the CBE exams themselves, she explained they won’t all be the same. ACCA has taken steps to ensure all exams are of the same standard, and as the exams are controlled across the different time zones steps will be taken to ensure the exam content is protected. It will be releasing details of how the model works.

All has been explained to the regulators, who are all said to be happy. ACCA has had to work closely with the regulators – the likes of SQA, QAA and FRC, and a number of others around the world.

Ground breaker: Nika Nykyforova, senior tax consultant at KPMG, has become the first student to become an ICAEW and CIOT member via the ACA CTA Joint programme. She is pictured with CIOT president Chris Jones and the ICAEW’s Shaun Robertson

Uganda deal to boost education

The accountancy profession’s global body (IFAC) has selected ICAS and CIPFA to partner the Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Uganda (ICPAU) to help strengthen accountancy education in the country.

ICAS and CIPFA will also look at the accounting qualification, exams, quality assurance, CPD and public sector financial management.

In 2014, IFAC received £5m from the UK Department for International Development (DFID) to fund professional accountancy organisation capacity building in 10 emerging countries over seven years. The Ugandan joint venture continues to build on the promise of the 2014 funding agreement.

PQ Magazine February 2016

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PQ news

PREM SIKKA Shrinking workers’ share of GDP is road to disaster Since the 2007-08 banking crash, austerity has been the bane of ordinary people. Wage freezes and welfare cuts have blighted the lives of many. The UK state pension, as a fraction of average wage, is one of the lowest among the OECD countries. Yet still the government believes that the UK is on the road to economic recovery.

This road is marked with danger signs. The share of GDP going to workers has declined. In 1976, 65.1% of GDP went to workers in the form of wages and salaries. The most recent statistics show that this has declined to 49.3% of GDP, the lowest-ever recorded. This figure includes bankers, fat-cat executives, premier league footballers and others. So the percentage going to ordinary workers is much smaller. Lengthening queues at food banks and decimation of local high streets show that ordinary people are unable to support a sustained economic recovery.

In principle, the government could stimulate the economy by redistributing wealth, but it is not doing so. It could borrow, but is committed to eliminating the fiscal deficit and actually having a surplus by 2020. Instead, it is expecting ordinary people to take on more debt.

Personal debt in the UK is about £1.46 trillion. The government’s economic recovery plans assume that by 2020 this would rise to about £2.5 trillion. Can this ever be repaid?

Rising personal debt and a shrinking of the workers’ share of GDP is a recipe for a future financial crisis.

Prem Sikka is professor of accountancy at the University of Essex

IT PAYS TO BE POSH

It still pays to be posh if you want to earn more as an accountant, according to new ground-breaking research. However, the good news is accountancy is much less ‘class biased’ than both medicine and the law.

The class gap in accountancy is worth just under £5,000 (£4,940).

The difference in earnings between individuals from privileged and humble backgrounds in similar roles is a whopping £18,304 in law and £17,004 in medicine. Study author Mike Savage, of the London School of Economics, said employers are not allowed to discriminate by gender, race or

sexual orientation, but class is not mentioned – even though the class gap is almost as big as the gender pay gap.

The class gap is 10% even after accounting for factors such as age, gender, education, type of employer and hours worked. By the same

The power of one

ICAS is calling for a renewed focus on personal ethical responsibility and believes its CAs can lead the way.

CEO Anton Colella recently helped launch ‘The Power of One’ initiative, and is proposing that moral courage be added to the accountancy profession’s existing five fundamental ethical principles.

Collela said he is now calling on all 21,000 members around the

world to embrace taking personal responsibility and doing the right thing, especially when they encounter dubious or unethical behaviour.

He believes the public’s trust in business and accountants is at a low ebb. However, he admits that it is often a very lonely place for an individual to stand up against unethical behaviour. He said: “The Power of One aims to show

Leeds! Leeds! Leeds!

Anton Colella businessmen and women who meet unethical behaviour that they are not alone – thousands of chartered accountants around the world stand behind them and indeed expect their colleagues to stand up and be counted.”

The First Institution Leeds team

First Intuition’s expansion has now reached Leeds. The Leeds operation is headed up by First Institution stalwarts Gareth John and Stuart Brown. The college, based at 1 Aire Street, Leeds LS1 4PR, is holding open days on 27 January and 2 March. And if you book a course on your visit you will receive a 10% discount. The open days run from noon to 7pm.

KPMG under fire The chairman of the Treasury Select Committee, Andrew Tyrie, has called on the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) to open an investigation into the role played by KPMG in the failure of HBOS. The call follows recent findings highlighting the bank’s flawed audits.

Tyrie believes FRC has to act to “maintain its public and professional credibility”. FRC is reported as saying it was considering Tyrie’s request.

EY firm fined £12m EY’s Japanese firm has been fined £12m over its work for Toshiba, which recently released a 10

Brand: ‘access to the profession must be fair’

measure the gender pay gap is 12%.

Savage’s report has been followed by what the ACCA is calling a damning social mobility report from the Social Mobility Commission.

According to the ACCA, the situation remains bleak in the UK when it comes to social mobility.

“For many children, wealth continues to be more important than ability at school,” said CEO Helen Brand.

She stressed that providing opportunity is part of the ACCA’s DNA, and she believes access to the profession must be transparent and, above all, fair.

profit warning and announced thousands of job cuts. Japan’s Financial Services Agency (FSA) also suspended EY ShinNihon from accepting any new Toshiba HQ engagements from 1 January until 1 March 2016. The FSA claimed that partners in the firm had attested that Toshiba’s financial statements contained no material mis-statements, when they clearly did.

Double danger for banks Banks face a twin threat from software giants in the battle for graduate talent, says Deloitte.

The first worry is that banking is increasingly

not the first career choice for many graduates.

By 2022, software and computer services will be a more popular choice. Banking is also failing to attract students with the digital skills needed for competing against fintechs and new entrants. It could all mean that banking is just seen as a ‘stepping stone’ career.

Rethink over high earners’ pay A third of companies are overhauling how they reward their higher earners due to new restrictions on the amount people can pay into their pension tax free a year, says PwC research. From April 2016, the current £40,000 annual tax-free pension limit will be reduced to £10,000 for anyone with a gross income of over £210,000.

PQ Magazine February 2016

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PQ news

CARL LYGO It’s easy to be cynical, so let’s be positive instead Welcome to 2016, a promising year with an extra day for all of us to enjoy (it’s a leap year). We will see the Olympic/Paralympic games hosted in Rio, while France will host the football Euros. The Chinese will be entering the year of the Monkey. The Hebrew calendar turns 5777, the Assyrian calendar reaches 6766 and the North Korean calendar makes it to 105.

Whatever the precise number, it feels like we are in the age of cynicism. All around us are examples of where trust has (allegedly) been betrayed and this leaves the public feeling cynical. This cynicism is everywhere, fed by recent examples of Volkswagen, FIFA, doping issues in athletics, MPs’ expenses (again), LIBOR rigging, and even the older examples such as Enron.

Even the charity sector is not above this cynicism, with recent examples of charities’ aggressive fund-raising activities aimed at vulnerable people, and the collapse of Kids Company. For people of my generation this is also compounded by the fall of childhood favourites such as Jimmy Savile, Rolf Harris, It's a Knockout’s Stuart Hall and Gary Glitter.

Good ethical and professional behaviour seems to be under attack like never before. So let's make 2016 (5777, 6766, 105) the year of the fight back against cynicism. Let's take a stand for professionalism.

Doing the right thing when nobody is looking has never been more important. Your profession needs you!

Have a great 2016.

Professor Carl Lygo is chief executive of BPP

ACCA retake pass rates improve

The ACCA’s move to four sessions a year has thrown up some interesting early stats, according to the ACCA’s Catherine Edwards.

Students are entering fewer exams, with the paper average falling from 1.8 to 1.2 for September.

Perhaps more importantly, the ACCA has found that the retake pass rates are up. It has been noted that it is still early days, but the ACCA is hoping this trend will continue.

The association has also released two new videos on how to use the new feedback that incorporates two sittings at a time. Edwards said it

was a matter of “quality rather than quantity” here. She also reiterated that the Examiners’ Reports are still being published after each session and are ‘must reads’.

One thing the examiners are keen to get away from is students simply rote learning past answers.

“Students have to understand that a past exam question won’t come up again,” she said.

Edwards stressed the importance of using all available resources.

There has been a rebranding of material on the website too, to make it more apparent where it is and what is available.

ACA exams average up The year ended on a high for both the ICAEW and PQs as the advanced level results were released. The average pass rate was 80% for the winter series of exams – the highest since July 2014.

The top pass rate this time around was in Strategic Business Management at 85.1%. The Corporate Reporting pass rate was

79.2% and the case study 75.7%.

PwC student Shabbir Merali was placed first in the case study and won the Whinney Prize.

In all, 3,982 students sat the November session attempting 7,297 papers, with 2,752 PQs passing all the papers they took.

The average number of papers taken at this session was 1.8.

ICAEW ADVANCED 2015 EXAM RESULTS Nov July Case Study 75.7% 75.6% Corporate Reporting 79.2% 76.8% Strategic Bus Man 85.1% 86.6%

MASTERING IT SKILLS IS KEY

Do the current accountancy qualifications prepare accountants for the dynamic impact IT is having on their careers? This is one of the key questions coming out of the consultation paper released recently by the International Accounting Education Standards Board (IAESB).

The IAESB believes the role of accountants is changing, with an increased depth and complexity to accounting issues. Added to this is a growing range of specialisms, with distinct learning needs. Finally, demand is growing for accountants to work in different jurisdictions and national boundaries. The trends suggest that a stronger focus on CPD may be required, with the real impact of IT requiring different competences among professional accountants, suggests the IAESB.

The four session resources can be found at: • http://accastudent.newsweaver. co.uk/1owem88a32p-n5hqpwv7n1? email=true&a=11&p=49565084 (highlighted in 2 December Student Accountant – direct mailing to students taking an exam in December 2015 session) • http://accastudent.newsweaver. co.uk/1cr0lrp7y58-n5hqpwv7n1? email=true&a=11&p=49563232 (highlighted in 2 December Student Accountant – direct mailing sent on 2 December to students not taking an exam in December 2015 session)

EY accountant ‘pervert’ jailed

Former EY manager George Thomas has been jailed for four years for secretly filming thousands of people using toilets and changing rooms across London. Thomas, from Deptford, south London, gathered more than 650 hours of footage by hiding tiny cameras in bathrooms between 2009 and 2015. Those filmed include his work colleagues at EY. Thomas (pictured) was finally arrested after one of his female co-workers discovered a miniature device in the unisex showers at their office changing room.

A spokesperson for EY said: “These criminal charges concern a disturbing invasion of individual privacy which we find appalling. We have been doing everything we can to support those individuals from EY affected and to assist the police in their ongoing investigation.”

Thomas, who pleaded guilty to all 15 offences, was jailed for four years and given a Sexual Harm Prevention order for 10-years.

FRC CORNER DISCLOSING TAX RISK The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) is calling for the transparent disclosure of tax risks in corporate reports. The aim is to encourage more transparent recording of the relationship between tax charges and accounting profit. The FRC believes the required disclosures are key to helping users understand the significant factors that could affect that relationship in the future.

AMENDMENTS PROPOSED The FRC has issued two Exposure Drafts (FRED 63 and FRED 64) proposing limited amendments to two UK and Ireland accounting standards.

12

FRED 63 arises as a result of the annual review of FRS 101 Reduced Disclosure Framework. The annual review aims to ensure that FRS 101 continues to be cost-effective as the IFRS, on which it is based, changes. FRED 63 principally proposes disclosure exemptions in relation to IFRS 15 Revenue from Contracts with Customers.

FRED 64 proposes amendments to FRS 103 Insurance Contracts to reflect changes in the regulatory framework, with the introduction of Solvency II, including updating some of the terminology used. However, established accounting policies can continue to be applied if an entity so chooses.

STEWARDSHIP TIERING The FRC has decided to introduce a public tiering of signatories to the Stewardship Code, from July. The aim is to improve reporting against the principles of the code. FRC will assess signatories reporting against the code and make public its assessment. Signatories will be assessed as: Tier 1 – meeting reporting expectations in relation to stewardship activities.

Tier 2 – not meeting those reporting expectations.

Before making its assessment public FRC will give firms feedback and allow for improvements.

PQ Magazine February 2016

PQ news

ACCOUNTANTS HAVE NO MORAL COMPASS! Unethical practices are worryingly rife in the accountancy profession, despite corporate scandals such as WorldCom and Enron and the concerted efforts to tighten professional standards.

Latest research conducted by CareersinAudit recently revealed nearly half of accountants (48%) had either been pressurised (or knew someone that had) by a manger or partner to ignore an adjustment that should have been made to a set of accounts.

In addition, 40% were aware of a senior colleague who deliberately chose a commercial result for the company or client even though the

decision could be unethical. The majority of those surveyed believe that their managers do not appear to be able to act independently from these commercial pressures.

A significant number of accountants believe those in the profession are helping clients create a set of accounts that are deliberately misleading, but are worried about coming forward because whistleblowers are not protected. Worryingly, threequarters of accountants said that if an employee reported the conduct of a colleague their organisation wouldn’t support the whistleblower against victimisation or dismissal.

Some 54% of respondents believe their boss should be doing more to promote awareness of ethical standards.

CareerinAudit’s Simon Wright said that simply identifying and articulating ethics is not enough.

He went on: “There is a school of thought that accountants tend to focus on the technical issues and lack ethical sensitivity to recognise ethical dilemmas involved with their work, which could ultimately lead to making wrong decisions.

“Perhaps accountants could be trained or guided to identify the moral dimension of seemingly technical issues.”

Pre-seens are out there Our big tip for CIMA’s February case study sitters is to make sure they have eaten before they start getting into the pre-seens!

The Operational case study is all about First Class Bakery and the managerial homes in on ‘Pizzatime’.

So at the bakery you can get your teeth into slab cakes, occasional cakes and desserts. The 23-page case goes into great detail about the ingredients and baking processes.

Brand awareness is, however, low, hence the new sales and marketing director. The FD Rajiv Patel is also new and has a team of four working for him – you are one of the junior accountants.

For the managerial case (also 23 pages) the sitter assumes the role of financial manager based in Pizzatime’s head office, with responsibility for management

KPMG UK unveils revenues of £1.96bn KPMG has announced a 2.6% increase in UK revenues to £1,958m for the financial year to 30 September 2015. The UK operation now has 11,652 staff and 617 partners. Average partner remuneration has, however, fallen by 13%, from £715,000 to £623,000, reflecting the investment in the business and a decrease in the advisory business’ performance.

KPMG received 28,000 graduate applications in 2015 for the 1,000 places up for grabs.

14

accounts and preparing group budgets for 970 restaurants.

Another responsibility is overseeing the regional financial managers.

Costs and pricing for impromptu projects is also on the job description. Franchises make up 50% of the operations, which require no capital outlay from Pizzatime.

The strategic case study is a bit

heavier, coming in at 32 pages this time. The candidate here works as a senior finance manager for Rio Fashions. Reporting to the FD, you give advice on special projects and strategic matters. Again, franchising has a role to play in this case. The supply chain and ethical sourcing are other key areas. Rio is all about ‘fast fashion’ – or as one clipping calls it throwaway fashion!

A helping hand

CIMA’s attempt to help cash-strapped international students has not been appreciated by some UK-based PQs. Massive exchange rate movements in certain parts of the world at the tail end of 2015 meant some regional directors felt they had to use some of their resources to help students sit the exams. In parts of Africa, for example, the cost of sterling doubled. As students have to pay for sitting the exams in their own currency students pleaded directly to CIMA for help.

The institute confirmed the discounted exam offer was only available in certain parts of the world and this was not something that happened regularly. An insider said students might be more sympathetic once they have studied P3, which includes currency exchange rate issues!

We want a fixed exam date please

The time has come for the ACCA to have an official day for exam results, say both students and tutors. Currently, the ACCA only guarantees results in the ‘week commencing’ date for the four sittings. So for December it is the week commencing Monday 18 January. But as one PQ pointed out to us, in theory that could mean the ACCA could release the results on any day from the Monday to the Sunday (that’s the 24th). One tutor told us: “Perhaps they think that the six day difference isn’t material.”

PQs said that with four sittings they realised they needed to be more organised, but some ventured that the ACCA wasn’t helping by being vague with the date. “We have to adhere to deadlines yet the ACCA seems to want to give itself a bit of leeway, and that doesn’t seem fair,” said another student PQ spoke to.

• The standard entry deadline for the March exam session is 1 February 2016.

AAT moves into Poland

AAT has launched its accounting qualification in Poland for the first time. It is partnering Sepera training school, and the qualification will be initially ‘available’ just in Opole. The plan is to expand into more Polish locations over the next few years.

Prospective students can register their interest at www.sepera.org.pl AAT global development manager Justin Kyriakou said: “Poland became the 41st country where the AAT qualification is available, joining countries such as Botswana, India, South Africa and New Zealand.”

PQ Magazine February 2016

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PQ interview

TIME TO GET STUCK IN

PQ chats with CIMA’s new President Myriam Madden about her career and her plans for the institute’s future

Getting back to her student days, Madden explained that her company had an October year-end, so she was encouraged to take the exams at the May sitting. That meant having a proper study plan, which she admits she didn’t always stick to: “I was in my 20s, away from home, and having a good time.” She did come down to London for a two-week revision course, but the rest was home study (distance learning).

She passed all her CIMA exams first time, except tax. Madden admits that failure was a real shock to her system.

Her immediate reaction was disbelief and then huge frustration, as she had to study one of her least favourite subjects again!

She didn’t want to sit tax a third time so she compared notes with other students who had sat and passed to see where she needed to concentrate and then just got stuck in big time (taking her own advice).

W

e recently met up with Myriam Madden at CIMA’s plush new HQ at The Helicon in the heart of the City of London. She feels this new, open-plan environment says a lot more about CIMA and its transparency and outward looking approach. It certainly looks a better place to work than the old Chapter Street HQ! Madden is only the second female President of CIMA (the first was Claire Ighodaro, some 12 years ago). She was, however, quick to point out that two of the five chairs of CIMA policy committees are women and two of the vice-chairs are also women. That’s 40% representation in key posts.

Irish roots Madden grew up in Cork, in the Republic of Ireland, and when she finished high school she admits to having a burning desire to travel, but decided to get a good degree first. It was a toss up between law and business, but she finally opted for a business degree at University College Cork – she felt she would have found a law degree a little dry.

After her studies she wanted to understand what made a successful business, and so steered away from joining a chartered accountancy firm and instead opted for industry.

She joined Hewlett Packard, based in Scotland, and it was then that CIMA entered her life. She had studied their organisation and management style at university, so was pleased as punch to get on to their graduate training scheme.

She stayed for over 12 years, working in different finance functions getting valuable operational experience. An opportunity then arose to move to London and work with the internal audit team. It also involved travelling two weeks every month. That meant Italy, Germany, Turkey, Switzerland and France; three years of travelling that got her travel bug sorted.

She then moved back to Scotland and helped set up Hewett Packard’s first business partnering unit.

Fast forward to today, and her last role before becoming CIMA President was as director of finance at Historic Scotland, where she managed a team of 40 staff.

She is taking a sabbatical year now, so she could concentrate on properly fulfilling her CIMA role.

16

Myriam Madden: ‘our students will rise to the challenge’. Below, CIMA’s new HQ

CIMA exams are hard!

We asked Madden if she found the CIMA exams hard. “Of course they were! They are always tough going and a test of stamina and will power,” she said. As many of PQs today would understand, her friends were always out on the town enjoying themselves while she studied. “I had my head in a book on a Friday night, a full-time job and was struggling to get the work-study-life balance right.”

She said there are always reasons to put things off, so her advice is to “just get started and get stuck in”. She feels that getting the CIMA qualification is about investing in yourself and your future.

ABOUT MYRIAM

Pub or club? Pub Favourite TV programme: The Bridge 3 Music: Haven’t got Adele25 yet, she is a strong, soulful woman Book: Remeption Falls by Joseph O’Connor. But best book I have read recently is Rubbernecker by Belinda Bauer Hero: Michael O’Leary of Ryanair – he has turned the airline industry on its head. Or maybe Martin Luther King, for his courage and eloquence

Being a student now Looking at CIMA today, Madden feels she would rather be a student now. The flexible new approach suits both students and employers. “When I sat, the set-up was more employer-orientated,” she suggested. CIMA PQs can now do the exams anytime and that flexibility is ‘simply fantastic’.

Will power and discipline are still just as important and PQs have to be motivated. But Madden stressed that if you are studying to be a management accountant then you have to get used to setting your own deadlines – it’s what happens in the real world. It does make it a bit more challenging for students, but she told PQ not to underestimate CIMA’s students. She said: “They will rise to the challenge and embrace the new way of assessment.”

Joining forces As President, she wants to ensure the institute is at the cutting edge, meeting the needs of business and its members (and future members). By joining forces with the AICPA Madden believes the two can create a truly global footprint.

Together, the two now represent over 600,000 members and students across the world. She feels they can achieve greater market recognition, with employers saying, ‘I want a CGMA, as they know what one looks like, the skills they have and what they will bring to the business.’

Madden is keen to ensure CIMA takes its rightful place at the top table and will be working hard to ensure it moves in the right direction during 2016. PQ PQ Magazine February 2016

PQ CIMA lecturers’ conference

THE MANAGEMENT LEVEL For the management level you are expected to take on the role of a manager. What has the first nine months of the new syllabus brought to light?

F2: pass rates 2015 Overall exam pass rate: % of students who have passed the exam after one or more attempts First time pass rate Total exam pass rate

Jan–May 60%

Jan–Sept 64%

.

Variance +4%

49% 48%

48% 47%

-1% -1%

Section A’s sources of long-term finance is the big problem for F2 sitters – and that includes even those passing the paper. It is, however, new to the syllabus (it comes from F3) and only amounts to 15% of the syllabus. PQs should also note that financial reporting, which is 60% of the syllabus, has some new areas. These include accounting entries applied to revenue, leases, provisions and deferred taxation and ethical accounting policies.

Three articles have been publishing for F2 on ratios (two) and ethical accounting. The past nine months of results show successful students are performing strongly in sections B and C, with unsuccessful students poor overall.

P2: pass rates 2015 Overall exam pass rate: % of students who have passed the exam after one or more attempts First time pass rate Total exam pass rate

Jan–May 58%

Jan–Sept 62%

.

Variance +4%

44% 43%

44% 41%

0% -2%

CIMA has found that area A – cost planning and analysis for competitive advantage – is the one students struggle with most. Successful students are just about passing all sections, with the opposite for failing students.

The institute’s assessment manager directed students to various articles available for P2 that are already out there.

There is a P2 OTQ types with example article, one on WACC and another on investment appraisal.

E2: pass rates 2015 Overall exam pass rate: % of students who have passed the exam after one or more attempts First time pass rate Total exam pass rate

Jan–May 91%

Jan–Sept 92%

.

Variance +1%

86% 85%

85% 83%

-1% -2%

With a pass rate of 83%, CIMA feels students are performing strongly in most areas. The one area where weaker performance can be found is in section D, managing change through projects. There is a new section and learning outcome, which comes from E3 – discuss the concept of organisational change and recommend techniques to manage resistance to change. For D2a,c there has also been a verb upgrade to ‘discuss’.

CIMA pointed students to three articles published for E2 on project management, big data and managing change through projects, so search these out.

18

Management case study Exam session Industry February 2015 Construction company May 2015 Shipping company August 2015 Fragrance manufacturer

Company Bild Flote Scent

Pass rate 33% 62% 77%

.

The lead marker felt it was too soon to generalise about the case study; the problem was the number of weak attempts in March. Happily, the quality of scripts picked up in May and August. The hope is candidates (and tuition providers) are getting an idea of what is expected.

A big tip for sitters is to read the question and answer the question. By all means think about the pre-seen, but don’t answer the question you have ‘spotted’ in advance.

The marker stressed that there are no optional questions in the case and a weak answer to one question may not be compensated by another if they are different competencies. And if the answer is coming straight from study materials then it is probably not answering the question directly.

Finally, it was explained that the length of the answer says very little about the likely mark achieved. Although spelling errors appear to be getting worse you will not be marked down for these. The only thing that really matters is that the markers know what the candidate is trying to say.

They also like headings and paragraphs. The better answers often cite models or technical issues and then set about demonstrating their use to resolve the specific requirement. PQ

PQ Magazine February 2016

CIMA lecturers’ conference PQ Shop talk: CIMA’s Peter Stewart (this page) and Noel Tagoe address the 2015 Lecturers’ Conference

THE STRATEGIC LEVEL You have made it to senior management, so where are the tricky bits at the strategic level?

E3: pass rates 2015 Overall exam pass rate: % of students who have passed the exam after one or more attempts First time pass rate Total exam pass rate

Jan–May 71%

Jan–Sept 75%

.

Variance +4%

59% 58%

61% 59%

+2% +1%

CIMA felt E3 had a ‘satisfactory pass rate’, with over 60% of students passing it first time. Passing candidates are doing well across all syllabus areas. Candidates who fail the exam seem to struggle, particularly in areas B and C. This is a problem because area B, evaluating strategic positions and strategic option, is the biggest syllabus area (30%). It was also pointed out that there is a shift in focus here from change management to leading change, in area C. To add to all this is the fact that both passed and failed students seem to find area E – the role of IS in organisational strategy – the most challenging one. While this area is not totally new it has been a standalone syllabus area in 2015. Search out the new article on information systems in E3 by John Murphy, which was published in November 2015.

P3: pass rates 2015 Overall exam pass rate: % of students who have passed the exam after one or more attempts First time pass rate Total exam pass rate

Jan–May 57%

Jan–Sept 64%

.

Variance +7%

48% 47%

49% 47%

+1% 0%

The stats show an upward trend, which means more students are passing this exam – about a half first time. CIMA says that on-demand exams has helped facilitate progression here. While passing candidates perform well across all five sections failing students are the exact opposite – they seem to know none of the five areas well enough! Area C, internal controls to manage risk, appears to be a common weakness in all PQs, although this is not a new area.

1mentor 21 PQ Magazine February 2016

F3: pass rates 2015

Overall exam pass rate: % of students who have passed the exam after one or more attempts First time pass rate Total exam pass rate

Jan–May 54%

Jan–Sept 64%

.

Variance 10%

45% 45%

48% 47%

+3% +2%

Again, there has been a good improvement in the overall pass rate of this exam. There is, however, room for improvement when it comes to first-time sitters.

CIMA pointed out that the performance differential is extreme between passing and failing students, and it wants to discourage the ‘hit or miss’ approach of many candidates. The weakest area for sitters is corporate finance (area C), which also happens to be the largest area of the syllabus at 40%. Students were told that two articles have been published specifically for F3 on dividend policy (area B) and on company valuations and free cash flow (area C).

Strategic case study Exam session Industry February 2015 Technology company May 2015 Oil exploration August 2015 Football club

Company Look Slide Glory

Pass rate 46% 70% 67%

.

It all looks very positive now, but there were too many weak attempts in March – answers were short and parts missed out. The quality of scripts was vastly better in May and August. Here the answers were longer and models were being used but applied to the scenario.

It was emphasised that there is no time to look up the pre-seen during the exam. Although you should know it well the call has come out for students not to question-spot from it.

Generic answers will also not gain many marks; specific ones that use the context given will score better. You cannot answer by lifting big chunks from the study texts, either.

The examiner’s report has said candidates are very weak on ethics, so more work needs to go into this area. And as with the other case study presentations there was an emphasis on using headings so that your answer looks structured (even if it isn’t!). PQ

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AAT exams PQ

LET’S GET TECHNICAL

the accumulated depreciation (since this was linked to the cost). The accumulated depreciation is a credit balance so we need to post a debit to remove it. The balancing credit entry goes to the Disposals account: Debit Motor vehicle accumulated depreciation £6,000 (remember we had posted to this account in both the first and second years) Credit Disposals £6,000 At this stage the Disposals account contains a debit of £10,000 and a credit of £6,000, meaning that it effectively contains the Net Book Value of the asset of £4,000.

Wiping away a tear, top tutor Gareth John explains all you need to know about disposals of non-current assets

A

few months ago I wrote an article about how to account for depreciation using my beloved Mini as an example. Well, the bad news is that, recently, my Mini reached the end of its ‘useful economic life’. That means it broke down one too many times and had to go to the big scrapyard in the sky. It was a sad moment for me as it was the first car I had owned from new, but one upside was that I managed to sell it for more than I thought it was worth.

Businesses often dispose of assets and need to know how to account for it in their nominal ledger and year-end accounts. It’s an area students often find tricky in the Accounts Preparation assessment.

First, let’s remind ourselves of the basic transactions used to record the purchase (or acquisition) and the subsequent depreciation of a non-current asset.

Acquisition of a non-current asset When we buy an asset that is going to be kept for several years, such as a motor vehicle or a machine for the factory (or the factory itself for that matter), it is known as a non-current (or fixed) asset.

The cost of this asset needs to be shown on the balance sheet as it is something that is owned by the business. This process is known as ‘capitalising’ the asset.

The double entry for buying a car for £10,000 would be: Debit Motor vehicle cost £10,000 (the asset in the Balance Sheet) Credit Cash £10,000 If the asset has not yet been paid for the credit side of the double entry would be posted to a liability (or creditor) account.

Depreciation of a non-current asset As time passes the car that we bought will lose value. This loss in value is depreciation and needs to be recognised as the cost of owning and using the asset. If we expect that we will eventually sell our car after three years for £1,000, then in total we are going to lose £10,000 – £1,000 = £9,000 in value.

This loss in value is the total cost of owning the car, which according to the accruals concept needs to be spread over the three years that we thought we were going to own the car for (£9,000/ 3 = £3,000 per annum). Assuming that the depreciation cost is the same in each PQ Magazine February 2016

year is known as ‘straight line’ depreciation.

The double entry to record this annual depreciation charge in our ledger accounts is: Debit Depreciation charge £3,000 (this is an expense in the P&L) Credit Motor vehicle accumulated depreciation £3,000 (which is offset against the debit in the cost account to give the Net Book Value of the asset) After two years of owning the asset we would have posted this double entry twice and would therefore have a total balance of £6,000 in the accumulated depreciation account, leaving a Net Book Value of £10,000 – £6,000 = £4,000. The accumulated depreciation account builds up each year that we own the asset. The depreciation charge of £3,000 is written off to the P&L each year.

Disposal of a non-current asset Let’s say that at the start of the third year we sell the car for £2,500. When we dispose of an asset we use a ledger account called the Disposals account to record the transaction and work out if we have made a profit or loss on disposal.

I like to think of this as a three-step process: 1. As we no longer own the asset we need to remove the original cost from the balance sheet. Since the cost was set up as a debit balance we need to credit it to eliminate it. We post the balancing debit to the Disposals account: Debit Disposals £10,000 Credit Motor vehicle cost £10,000 2. As we are removing the cost from the balance sheet we also need to remove

3. We now post the proceeds of disposing of the asset to the Disposals account. As the cash received will be a debit to the cash account we credit the Disposals account: Debit Cash £2,500 Credit Disposals £2,500 This gives us a third entry in the Disposals account which now looks like this: Dr Disposals Cr Narrative £ Narrative £ 1. Motor vehicle cost 10,000 2. Accumulated Depreciation 6,000 3. Cash 2,500 To work out the profit or loss on disposal we compare the Net Book Value (this is what the asset is worth in the accounts) to the proceeds generated from the disposal.

Our car had a NBV of £4,000 when we sold it but we only received £2,500.

Selling an asset for less than NBV gives a loss on disposal, in this case of £1,500. If we had managed to sell the asset for £5,000 we would have made a profit on disposal of £1,000.

The other way to work this out is just to balance off the Disposals account as follows: Dr Narrative £ 1. Motor vehicle cost 10,000

10,000

Disposals Narrative 2. Accumulated Depreciation 3. Cash Loss on disposal (Bal Fig)

Cr £ 6,000 2,500 1,500 10,000

The fact that the balancing figure is on the credit side of the Disposals account means that we would need a debit in the P&L to complete the double entry. This proves that it is indeed a ‘loss’ on disposal as a debit in the P&L reduces profit for the period. PQ • Gareth John is a tutor/director with First Intuition and helps to manage their AAT distance learning programme.

He was PQ’s Accountancy Lecturer of the Year in 2011 21

PQ ICAEW spotlight

MAKING THE JUMP Bridging the gap between the Certificate Level Accounting and the Professional Level Financial Accounting and Reporting modules isn’t as tough as it sounds, says Andrea Cook

F

inancial Accounting and Reporting (FAR) is a challenging exam and many students find the jump from Accounting a difficult one, not least because the syllabus is so large, containing nearly 30 International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRSs). In addition, the exam requires students to demonstrate a multitude of skills, such as explaining a particular financial reporting treatment and preparing financial statements and disclosure notes for individual companies, as well as groups of companies.

So what can you do to make the jump less challenging? Firstly, you should ensure that any gaps in your knowledge from Accounting are addressed before you start studying for FAR. You will find FAR very challenging if you do not have the foundations necessary to build on.

Pull out your ICAEW Accounting question bank and have another go at some of the questions. Although you won’t see objective test questions in FAR, topics such as property, plant and equipment; inventories; irrecoverable receivables; and tax and errors are all commonly tested. In addition, practising the long-form questions in your Accounting question bank will put you in good stead.

A strong understanding of double entry bookkeeping is also essential to understanding the new concepts introduced in FAR. Furthermore, it is a common requirement for students to be asked to provide the necessary journal entries for a transaction.

While students benefit from the use of a

permitted text – the IFRS book – which offers template financial statements and financial reporting rules, FAR is a timepressured exam and students who repeatedly refer to this book typically tend to struggle with time management. So it may help you to sign up to the Bookkeeping and Accounts Preparation Programme, to help supplement your knowledge and bridge the gap between the two papers. The online programme enables you to apply the theoretical rules learnt at Accounting to a real business scenario, which embeds your understanding of the fundamental accounting principles – important for performing well in FAR. For more information or to sign up visit icaew.com/bookkeeping In addition, in the FAR exam you are guaranteed a question that asks for the preparation of one or more financial statements. In some cases you may be expected to prepare financial statements from scratch; in others you may be asked to revise a draft set of financial statements.

Therefore, it is essential you are confident with principles underlying their preparation. To help build this confidence,

A QUICK LOOK AT...

Rollover relief is an important relief available to both companies and sole traders, but there are some twists to watch out for.

These include: 1. The asset that is sold and the replacement asset must both qualify for rollover relief.

Neither the asset sold nor the replacement asset can be shares. Also, goodwill is a qualifying asset for a sole trader but not for a company, although there are similar deferral rules that relate to companies and intangibles.

2. Where the replacement asset, rather than the asset being sold, is depreciating, the base cost of the new asset is not reduced. A depreciating asset is essentially one that has an 22

expected life of 60 years or less, so could be plant and machinery or a lease. In this case, the gain on sale does not reduce the base cost of the replacement asset. Instead, it is deferred until the earliest of the sale of the replacement asset, the time when that asset ceases to be used in the trade or 10 years from the acquisition of the new asset, whichever is earliest.

3. Always compare the proceeds from the sale with the cost of the replacement asset. Any proceeds not re-invested are immediately chargeable to tax, so work out this figure first and only the balance can be rolled over.

4. There will be a restriction on rollover relief

the final task in the Bookkeeping Programme is the preparation of a complete set of financial statements. While preparing these financial statements, you’ll be presented with a number of regularly tested issues such as property disposals, tax under-provisions and inventory adjustments. It also introduces a selection of new topics in addition to those seen in Accounting, including property revaluations and the Statement of Comprehensive Income.

Revaluations are one of the more complex areas of property, plant and equipment in the FAR syllabus and the programme includes a tutorial guiding you through the basic principles of accounting for a revaluation. Familiarising yourself with this topic and the statement of comprehensive income in advance of studying for FAR will put you in a strong position when embarking on studying for this Professional Level exam.

For more help with your exams, visit icaew.com/examresources. PQ • Andrea Cook is manager of ACA development and special projects at ICAEW

ROLLOVER RELIEF where there is non-trade use of the assets involved. For example, assume business premises are sold where one-third of the property is let out as surplus office space, a non-trading activity. This means that one-third of the gain cannot be rolled over. However, only two-thirds of the proceeds need to be re-invested in new trading assets.

5. A rollover relief claim cannot be restricted by choice, but by the issues described above.

• Cath Hall is an AIA Achieve e-tutor. The AIA Achieve team is producing a series of ‘A Quick Look at…’ articles throughout 2016.

More articles can be found on the AIA website: www.aiaworldwide.com/a-quick-look-at.

PQ Magazine February 2016

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PQ ICAS spotlight

Six ways to stay

MOTIVATED

Becoming a CA is very hard work, and the road to qualification is far from smooth. So here’s some tips on how you stay motivated and avoid distractions

have a habit of straying onto Facebook and other sites, consider using an app such as SelfControl to limit the time you spend on them (without blocking them completely!).

3

Do what works best for you When it comes to successful studying, you’ll soon discover what your most effective approach is. For some people, working by themselves is better, while others may prefer to study with friends to help keep their energy levels up. It is recommended that you study in the evenings, but there is no need to go overboard and study late into the night, every night. You may also find that you are more productive in the mornings, or at weekends, so try to vary the times when you study. Where you study is just as important as how you study, so make sure your study space is comfortable and free from the things that might distract you!

4

Remember the big picture Sometimes we can get stuck in a downward spiral when it comes to our studies, and forget why we are doing it in the first place. Remember that qualifying as CA is a great achievement, and something that will be worth all the effort you’re putting in. When you’ve got there you won’t look back and wish you hadn’t studied, you’ll be glad you worked hard and got your qualification. If you are feeling demotivated, try to remind yourself why you are doing this – every minute you spent studying helps bring you closer to your goal of becoming a CA and the rewards that can bring.

5

S

tudying for the CA qualification is tough, and the sheer volume of material you need to learn for your exams can feel overwhelming at times.

Whether you are at TC, TPS or TPE level, finding (and keeping!) the motivation to keep going can be a challenge. However, with the right motivation you are much more likely to go the extra mile with your studies and be more focused on your success. Here are six ways you can boost your motivation levels.

1

Break it down We often feel demotivated because the task we face feels too big, too hard or too much of a challenge. That’s why it’s important to break your studying down into smaller, more manageable chunks of work. The idea of revising an entire module in one go can be rather daunting, so make 24

things easier on yourself. Take a more structured approach and plan out what you will study week by week. Developing your own personal study planner is a useful way of keeping track, and it can be as simple as blocking time out in your diary, or using a handy study app such as GoConqur or iStudiez to get organised.

2 The new ICAS CA student blog can be found at https://www.icas. com/educationand-qualifications/ ca-student-blog

Deal with distractions Whether it’s your email, WhatsApp or Facebook notifications popping up, the lure of ‘just having a quick browse’ online or friends asking you to meet up – distractions are part of everyday life. However, they are also a major drain on your time, so it’s important to take control of them. One simple things you can do to help stay focused is switching off the notifications on your phone and diverting calls to voicemail while you are studying. If you

Don’t leave questions unanswered When you are studying it can be demotivating when you don’t know the answer to something. Make notes about anything you are not sure of, and don’t leave any questions unanswered – these are gaps in your knowledge which need to be plugged. Talk to your tutors about any niggling doubts you have about the course material – it’s much more motivating to know you’ve got everything covered than to hope that everything will just ‘come right’ in the end.

6

Take a break and reward yourself You won’t feel 100% motivated if it feels like you are studying every hour of the day – that’s not healthy or productive.

Although the CA qualification requires a lot of hard work, it’s important to factor in regular breaks and down time to help you stay at your best. Setting yourself clear targets to work towards is a great approach, as once you’ve reached them you can give yourself a well-earned break. Physical exercise is a great way of taking your mind off things, so even though you might not feel like it, going to the gym or playing sports can help you feel refreshed and ready to go. PQ • Thanks to ICAS for this article PQ Magazine February 2016

volunteering overseas PQ

Broaden your horizons

Thinking about a career in international development but can’t gain the relevant experience? Accounting for International Development (AfID) has assignments available for part qualified accountants just like you

H

ave you ever wondered what it would be like to volunteer overseas? If so, you may well have imagined yourself teaching English, handing out mosquito nets or painting the walls of an orphanage. As worthwhile as this work is, would it be the best way to make the most of your skills and experience?

As a part qualified accountant, a whole new network of professional volunteering opportunities is open to you. Charities and NGOs across the developing world are doing extraordinary work, often in the most difficult of circumstances, but they all too often struggle to obtain the essential skills training needed to run their operations effectively and meet the financial reporting requirements of their donors.

Accounting for International Development (AfID) was founded in 2009 with a commitment to providing longterm support to their charity partners, involving several volunteers over a number of years. This approach means that there is always a need for accountants from all backgrounds and levels of experience, from PQs and newly qualifieds right up to those with senior level industry experience.

One recently returned volunteer, Erin Petaski, left on assignment to South-east Asia before knowing whether she had passed her final exams with CGA Canada. She travelled to Cambodia to support two wildlife conversation organisations, Samson Mlup Prey and the Sam Veasna Centre.

Petaski said it came as a surprise to her that she was able to use her newly gained expertise before fully qualifying: “When I first came across AfID I knew it was something I wanted to do at some point in the future. It was only through speaking to them that I realised I could do it right away. I’d made the assumption

that they would only be interested in fully qualified accountants with vast experience.”

Petaski said that it’s normal to have some fears – and second thoughts – on whether you have the necessary skills to help an overseas organisation, but that these fears were soon allayed. She said: “Before speaking with AfID I felt underqualified, and only went ahead after being assured that my skills would be of good use and value. It was reassuring to understand how they match a volunteer’s individual background and experience to one of their charity partners.

“Once I started, I found that I was

Petaski: ‘the need for meaningful financial information is as necessary for a director in Cambodia as it is in Canada’

comfortable and that they had provided a good match not only to my personal preferences but also to my accounting background.

“As soon as I arrived I found the local accountants were eager to tell me about their department and offer areas where I might be able to provide assistance. I soon found not only how needed any professional office experience was, but also that I personally could be of value to my partner organisations.”

She added: “I think that sometimes we can take for granted the most basic knowledge we learn in school and our entry level positions, as well as the ability to consult with supervisors and teachers with questions and doubts we may have.

“I was surprised to realise that often in the developing world there simply is no one to ask for help, no supervisor or peer, the network of relevant knowledge and experience does not exist, yet the very real need for accurate and meaningful financial information is as necessary for a director in Cambodia as it is in Canada.

“That is how I realised how important AfID is and how we, especially as young students and accountants, can really lend a meaningful hand and not only make a difference in the organisation you support but also the individuals you work with and mentor on a daily basis.”

As a PQ accountant you can truly make a difference, and you just might make a few great friends, meet other volunteers from across the world, and experience places tourists don’t usually get to see too. Could this be your next challenge?

To find out more about AfID’s work, read first-hand volunteer experiences and to take the first small step to arranging your own volunteering experience visit www.AfID.org.uk. PQ • This article first appeared in NQ magazine, December 2015

For the latest issue see issuu.com

NQ magazine is an e-mag for newly qualifieds who want to get ahead

All the back issues are available too – type NQ magazine into www.issuu.com

Sign up today via the PQ magazine website – www.pqmagazine.co.uk PQ Magazine February 2016

25

PQ ACCA F4 paper

DISMISSAL: rules and remedies E

mployment law is an important area of the syllabus for F4 (English). There are a number of types of dismissal that you need to understand, which are: • Wrongful dismissal.

• Unfair dismissal.

• Redundancy.

Wrongful dismissal Wrongful dismissal occurs when the employer ends the employment contract in a way that is in breach of the employment contract. The usual situation in which this would occur is when the employee is dismissed without being given the notice they are contractually entitled to.

Notice of dismissal is normally an express term of an employment contract agreed between employer and employee.

However, the Employment Rights Act states minimum notice periods based on length of service, and the employee must always be given at least this amount of time, though the employment contract can extend these further.

If the employee is dismissed without sufficient notice this is referred to as ‘summary dismissal’. Summary dismissal is always seen as being ‘wrongful’ unless the employee has been dismissed for gross breach of conduct; or has accepted less notice, for example, when receiving a payment in lieu of notice.

Example Javier is entitled to three months’ notice under his employment contract. His employer dismisses him, giving him no notice of termination for repeatedly coming into work late despite numerous warnings. Although Javier has been summarily dismissed he has not been wrongfully dismissed as the termination of his contract was due to a fundamental breach of contract on his behalf.

If the employee has been wrongfully dismissed they can make a claim to the County Court or High Court (depending on the size of the claim). This must be done within six years of dismissal. If the court finds in their favour the usual remedy is damages.

Unfair dismissal Under the Employment Rights Act, the employee has a right not to be unfairly dismissed. This occurs when they are either dismissed for something that is not 26

Nicola Floater explains what you need to know about employment law to get a pass in F4 a fair reason, or following something that is not a fair procedure. If the employee believes they have been unfairly dismissed they should make a claim to an employment tribunal within three months.

When making a claim for unfair dismissal the employee must prove two things: • That they have two years’ continuous service (unless they were dismissed for an inadmissible reason such as becoming pregnant).

• That they were dismissed.

The second requirement means the employee cannot usually make a claim if they ended the employment contract.

The exception to this is in cases of constructive dismissal. This is when the employee ends the employment contract but they do so because of the employer’s actions.

If the employee proves they were dismissed it is then up to the employer to prove that the dismissal was for a fair reason (Devis W & Sons Ltd v Atkins (1977)). There are five statutorily fair reasons for dismissal. These are: • Capability or qualifications.

• Conduct.

• Redundancy.

• Contravention of a statute.

• Some other fair reason.

If the employer cannot prove that the employee was dismissed for one of these five statutorily fair reasons then the tribunal

• Nicola Floater is a specialist law and tax Tutor, Kaplan Financial

will award a remedy for unfair dismissal.

The employer must also prove that they used a fair procedure for dismissal. This includes having a set disciplinary procedure involving the use of warnings and a proper inquiry and hearing.

The remedies available for unfair dismissal are reinstatement (an order for the employee to be given their old job back), re-engagement (an order for the employee to be given a new job with comparable terms) or compensation (a financial payment). The most usual remedy is compensation unless the employee wishes to return to their job.

Compensation can comprise up to three different elements. The basic award is based on the employee’s age, weekly pay and years of service. The tribunal can add onto this the compensatory award to reimburse the employee for losses suffered and expenses incurred.

Finally, an additional award may be added on in cases where either the employee was dismissed on grounds of discrimination, where the employee was dismissed for an inadmissible reason, or where the employer was ordered to reinstate or re-engage the employee and they refused.

Redundancy Redundancy occurs when there is no longer work available for the employee.

This could be because the employee has ceased the type of business the employee was engaged for, or because the business has ceased in the location where the employee was originally taken on.

Redundancy is a statutorily fair reason for dismissal but the employer must follow a fair basis for selection of employees. If the employer does not follow a fair selection process this becomes an inadmissible reason for dismissal and the employee does not need two years’ service to claim unfair dismissal. The employee would also be entitled to an additional compensation payment in this situation.

If an employee is made redundant they are legally entitled to at least a minimum redundancy payment which is calculated in the same way as the basic award for unfair dismissal. If they do not receive this they can make a claim to an employment tribunal within six months of being dismissed. To make a claim the employee must prove they have two years’ service and that they were dismissed. If they can prove this the tribunal will presume they were made redundant, and order the payment.

Conclusion Dismissal in any of its forms could be the subject of a section A or a section B question in the F4 English exam. PQs should be able to understand the rules and remedies for wrongful dismissal, unfair dismissal and redundancy and be able to apply them in a scenario. PQ PQ Magazine February 2016

Kaplan survey PQ

Change is good!

Career changers are delighted to become accountants, says a new survey

I

n the UK, more and more people are taking the decision to re-train as accountants.

With a good salary once qualified, real growth opportunities and a growing demand for accountants across all industries, it’s no wonder many see it as a strong choice.

Recently, Kaplan investigated this trend in more detail. It wanted to understand exactly why so many career changers consider accountancy/finance roles as their preferred option and what their perception is now they are working in the industry.

So at the end of 2015 Kaplan asked 13,947 UK accountants: if they had changed careers to retrain as accountants, how did they find the career change process? And why did they decide to become accountants?

Surprisingly, 55% of respondents told Kaplan that they had started out working in a different industry – most from an existing office/adminbased role. Customer services and retail roles also featured highly on the list. The high proportion of career changers indicates a really positive perception of the industry.

Disappointingly, even though many came from an existing office/admin role, only one-third of them were able to retrain within their current

PQ Magazine February 2016

company, suggesting the opportunity for horizontal movement and re-training support from UK employers has room for improvement.

When asked why they had chosen finance/ accountancy as their preferred industry, they sited ‘better earning potential’, ‘better career progression’ and ‘an enjoyment of working with numbers’ as their top three reasons.

Their top three concerns for putting off a career change mainly centred on lack of qualifications and the cost and time required to study. Some 27% were worried about the cost of training, which clearly shows a lack of awareness about funding options available to students to make studying more affordable.

Another 23% said they were concerned they did not have the correct qualifications. Driving awareness of entry level qualifications open to anyone seems like a good way to alleviate some of these concerns.

Positively, the phrases “I didn’t understand what an accountancy role involved” and “I believed accountancy to be a boring profession” both scored very low on the list of concerns – showing some of the stereotypes associated with accountants don’t ring true!

Now the big question: how many of them are

actually happy with the choice they made?

Kaplan asked respondents to rate their job satisfaction on a five-point scale from ‘extremely unhappy’ to ‘extremely happy’. An overwhelming majority of 80% rated themselves as either happy or extremely happy, highlighting that they were pleased with their decision to move into the industry. Even more impressive was that 83% of respondents would actively recommend a career in accountancy to one of their friends or family.

Kaplan hopes this research will encourage more new accountants into the industry and highlight the wealth of opportunity and levels of job satisfaction accountancy can bring.

If you would like to see the full research visit blog.kaplan.co.uk/careerchange PQ • Thanks to Kaplan for this article

27

PQ CIPFA opportunities

New year – new job?

CIPFA have a range of trainee scheme vacancies via partner organisations which provide fantastic opportunities for talented graduates to start a rewarding career in public finance and accountancy.

As a CIPFA Trainee, you will be placed with a leading employer on a three year fixed term contract with full sponsorship and will also study our renowned Professional Accounting Qualification.

Finance Management Trainee – NHS England

Finance Fast Stream – Civil Service

Location: Nationwide Salary: £25,000 and £2 7,000 starting salary Start date: September/October 20 16

Location: various Salary: circa £23,000 wi th cost of living allowance where applicable Start date: 1 Septembe r 2016

Finance Management Trainee - Wales

Location: Wales Salary: £20,167 starting salary Start date: 5 September 2016

Finance Management Trainee - Scotland Location: Scotland Salary: £22,896 Start date: September 2016

Finance Management Trainee – NHS Regional

Location: South West, South Central and West Midlands regions Salary: circa £18,878, rising to £27,965 Start date: 1 September 2016

Trainee Accountant – Newcastle City Council Location: Newcastle upon Tyne Salary: £16,572 - £18,376 Start date: January 2016

Graduate Finance Trainee – Society of London Treasurers

Location: London, East Midlands Salary: competitive Start date: May - Augu st 2016

Contact us For more information about our trainee vacancies, visit www.cipfa.org/tv 28

PQ Magazine February 2016

careers PQ

WHY TEMPING CAN WORK Karen Young offers advice on how to make the most of your temporary assignments

I

nterim accountancy professionals, or temps, generally work across all levels of finance, from transactional roles to qualified team leaders and even round the board table, to help organisations meet the peaks in demand of business activity.

In fact, the Hays UK Salary & Recruiting Trends 2016 report found that nearly half (42%) of those finance employers planning to recruit in the coming year expect to recruit temporary staff, and our recruiters are seeing that opportunities for finance temps are more plentiful than this time last year. For an ambitious finance professional, temping can provide the opportunity to gain broader experience of different industries and quickly learn how to adapt to different working environments.

Looking ahead, many organisations are approaching financial year-end and with increased business activity for many finance departments now is the time to be

PQ Magazine February 2016

looking at the opportunities for temporary work. We expect that as business growth continues and employers plan to hire in the coming year there will be many opportunities for you to take full advantage of the career benefits of temping.

If you are temping in the lead up to the end of the financial year, here’s how to make the most of your assignment: • Temping allows you the opportunity to work on different projects and move on to new challenges more frequently, giving you a broader range of skills and experiences in different environments and different industry sectors.

• The exposure you can gain from temping can also help you understand where your strengths lie and help you form your overall career plan.

• When temping, you will work under a number of different management styles and temping allows you to build up new people skills and a strong professional network that can make you more attractive to new employers in the future.

For more about Hays Accountancy & Finance and current opportunities visit www.hays.co.uk/pq PQ • Karen Young, Director, Hays Accountancy and Finance

29

PQ careers

YOUR CAREER PROBLEMS SOLVED – THANKS TO

Q

Preparing well will help beat interview nerves, says Walker Dendle’s Jordan Dodds

Although I have a great CV I struggle when I get to the interview stage. I am not naturally a gregarious person, and often my nerves get the better of me. There also doesn’t seem to be a halfway house with me, I either go into nonstop chatty mode or take too long to think up a response to a basic question. I know you only have a short time to make the right impression and I think I may need to go to interview classes or something!

J

ordan says: I’ve seen many candidates like you and I can safely say these nerves can be overcome.

Before the interview, ensure you prepare yourself in every possible way.

This includes full interview practise (it surprises me how few candidates who struggle have tried this!) so you are prepared for even the most ludicrous questions. When applying through an agency speak with your consultant; they should be able to provide you with a wealth of information on the business, and also offer you full interview guidance to ensure you perform well.

Where confidence is an issue, full preparation can help to alleviate this, too. It would be wrong of me to suggest you shouldn’t be nervous; interviews matter, so to not feel even a little nervous would be unusual.

Remember, a client has shown a commitment and serious interest in you by blocking out their diary to see you, so if you walk into the interview having fully rehearsed and researched the company you should be fine.

One final thing to remember is that interviewers are human too! Chances are they would have been through an identical interview process, so they empathise with how you’re feeling.

With that in mind, always remain calm, think logically and never fabricate the truth – you’ll always be better off being honest.

• Got a problem at work, or worried about your career path? Contact PQ magazine with your ‘issues’ – email graham@pqmagazine.co.uk Next month: Jordan Dodds tackles another of your career quandaries 30

Life at First Intuition Gareth John, 43, describes himself as “an entrepreneur working somewhere between Cambridge and Leeds”. He has worked for the tuition provider for seven years. A qualified ICAEW, Gareth has an economics degree from the University of York What time does your alarm clock go off on a working day? 6.20am, although I’m normally awake before it goes off.

What’s the first thing you do when you get to your desk?

Write a list of priorities for the day.

What’s on your desk? My list of priorities for the day. And lots of other piles of “work in progress”.

What’s the best thing about where you work? The energy, excitement and enthusiasm of the people I work with.

Where’s your favourite place to go for lunch? Venice.

What (or who) can you see when you sit at your desk?

Depending upon the desk it will either be one of the members of my team or my dog.

What are your favourite

websites and why?

Winesearcher.com for tracking down those hard to find vintages, Amazon for getting hold of new books to feed my voracious reading habit.

Which websites do you use for work? firstintuition.co.uk, aat.org.uk,icaew.com, cimaglobal.com, accaglobal.com How many hours a week do you spend in meetings?

15 – 20 hours.

What time do you leave the office? It varies, from 4pm to 8pm.

How do you relax? Cantering on a horse (he’ll spot a mile off if I am tense).

What’s your favourite tipple?

Mature Australian shiraz

How often do you take work home with you? Always, but then it’s not work when you love it.

What is your favourite TV programme? Suits.

Summer or winter? Spring.

Pub or club? ‘Olde worlde’ pub with a roaring fire and a wide selection of guest ales.

Who is your hero? Anyone who refuses to let circumstance dictate the outcome of their life.

If you had a time machine, where would you go? Surely the question should be ‘when would you go?’

If you hadn’t chosen your current role, where might you be right now? Tending to some Tempranillo vines on a gently sloping hill overlooking the Med.

Value your best asset Many companies may claim that ‘people are our greatest asset’, but research from CIMA shows that few bother to value that asset in practice. Its survey revealed that while nearly 97% believe that good management and investment in employees has a positive impact on business performance, some 57% of senior decision-makers are either unaware of or do not use any

data on their human resources when deciding business strategy.

In brief Heart beats head When it comes to the big decisions, business chiefs still follow their heart over their head, says a new KPMG/ACCA study. In the knowledge-based economy, the optimised use of data is central to helping organisations make better decisions. However, this study found that almost 40% of finance professionals believe decisions at the top are still primarily based on ‘gut feel’.

Staines leads the way What is the business creation capital of the UK? Well, Ali G will be pleased to hear that UHY Hacker Young have found it to be Staines. It has 43 more new businesses per 10,000 population than a year ago, mainly due to its proximity to London and low rents.

The PQ Book Club: books you should read Game of Thrones on Business

by Tim Phillips and Rebecca Clare (Infinite Ideas, £9.99) So what does Tywin Lannister have in common with Steve Jobs? Well, read this book and all will become clear! Yes, Tim Phillips and Rebecca Clare have found a very novel way of breathing new life into management theory and career building that could really register with fans of the megahit TV series.

Tywin Lannister is a kingmaker, master strategist and ‘the’ alpha male. But he is also a pragmatist. Justifying the shocking killing of Robb Stark he says: “Explain to me why it is more noble to kill 10,000 men in battle than a dozen at dinner?”

He manages in a time of crisis and we are pointed to Blake and Mouton, who termed ‘produce or perish’ in their managerial grid. With no time to think, Tywin is getting the job done. In the age of the servantleader Tywin’s style seems uncomfortably authoritarian, so surely somebody who tried to run a business like this today wouldn’t last long?

Well, guess again, say the authors, as Steve Jobs enters the fray. Jobs’ style of management has been described as single-minded and success orientated. He has also been called an ‘ass-hole’! He publically humiliated the whole MobileMe team for their failure to create a better product, saying: “You should hate each other for having let each other

down”, firing the team leader at an employee meeting. But as his biographer says, people will talk about Jobs in the same breath as the other entrepreneur ‘assholes’ Edison, Ford and Disney.

The highly moral Starks come in for some stick in this book, which seems to point to the fact that having high morals mean you lose in business. But the point being made here is the Stark’s actually stand for nothing and simply stand against wrong.

PQ rating: 4/5 A real fun read.

You do, of course, need to know all about the sex, swordfighting and ice monsters that is Games of Thrones.

PQ Magazine February 2016

forging real partnerships Financial Accountant

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PQ jobs pqjobs.co.uk

YOUR PATH TO A FULFILLING CAREER Hays specialises in part-qualified recruitment, working with leading organisations to ofer you access to a wide range of jobs across the UK. With many years’ experience recruiting for accountancy and finance jobs, we currently have over 2,000 vacancies for part-qualified accountants in the commercial and public sectors, as well as professional accountancy practices.

If you are studying towards your professional qualifications, whether that be management, financial or commercial accounting or tax, we can find you the most suitable jobs to advance your career.

To find out about the range of opportunities we can ofer you, email karen.young@hays.com or call 07834 260 029.

Alternatively, you can visit us online.

hays.co.uk/pq

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PQ got a story, funny or serious, you want to share? Email graham@pqaccountant.com

‘LIMBOLAND’ ACCOUNTANT

Bill Bailey’s latest hit show (Limboland) features a segment on his hapless accountant – for all the wrong reasons! He tells the audience that she was sent an email by scammers pretending to be him, saying he (Bailey) needed thousands of pounds wired very quickly to an obscure Turkish address. Despite the poorly worded email, she duly sent the cash without speaking to him. Bailey explained that he is now thinking of reverting to hiding his money in a tree stump – obviously a safer bet than entrusting it to his accountant!

LEG BEFORE WICKET JUST CHECKING MY PHONE New South Wales Treasury team members have recently admitted that they used a long-lost gold nugget as a makeshift wicket for cricket games in office corridors. The 10.7kg nugget was unearthed in 1887 and is worth AU$3.7m (£1.8m). It was placed in the safe keeping of the finance civil servants while the state government decide where to display it. It was placed in a box and then forgotten, with the box being used as ‘stumps’. Howzat!

How addicted are you to your smartphone? We (that’s everyone in the UK) collectively check our smartphones 1.1bn times a day, says a Deloitte report. That’s 400bn times a year. Deloitte’s fifth annual mobile consumer report confirms what we already know – that mobile owners are increasingly obsessed with their devices! Over a third (36%) of smartphone owners who responded to the survey look at their device more than 25 times a day. A sixth (16%) look at their smartphone more than 50 times a day. Deloitte’s head of technology, Paul Lee, pointed out that for these people the cost per glance is less than 2p for a £700 handset kept for two years. And that is before allowing for trade-in value.

STRESS WON’T KILL YOU

W E ’V E

New research published in The Lancet has found that unhappiness and stress will not send you to an early grave. Oxford University’s Professor Richard Peto said while stress won’t kill you how you cope with it might – such as turning to drink and fags!

We have three sets of the Daily Telegraph’s bumper new collection of the best sudoku puzzles to give away this month. The books are compiled with both addicts and novices in mind, with the puzzles graded according to their level of difficulty, from ‘moderate’ through ‘tough’ to ‘diabolical’. Each set, which consists of four books, retails for just shy of £24.

To enter this giveaway all we need is your name and address – and that’s it! Email these details to graham@pqaccountant.com, heading up your email ‘Sudoku giveaway’

PQ magazine is always on trend, so we have another opportunity to win adult colouring books, which will help you find your inner calm with a ‘Colour Yourself to Mindfulness’. We have three copies of these stress-reducing mandalas and mofits to colour to give away.

Just email graham@pqaccountant.com, along with your name and address. Head up your email ‘Colour me calm’

UNFAIR TO TEENAGE BRAINS! Teenagers should not be forced to take exams in the morning as their brains have not properly woken up, says a Wellcome Trust study. A-levels, GCSEs and university exams should all be confined to afternoons to avoid penalising adolescent candidates who just can’t function before noon. The body clocks of 16 to 21 year olds shifts dramatically, apparently, which means a 9am exam feels like 6am to the teenager.

SAY NO TO FULL STOPS

Can it be true?

Apparently, ending a text message with a full stop comes across as insecure (it is all a question of tone).

It may be grammatically correct to punctuate text messages properly, but full stops are rarely used, so by adding one the writer can cause confusion. This is construed as insecure or even passive-aggressive.

GOT THE L OT

A bumper pack

Mindfulness the key

MORNING EXAMS

The man who thought different Steve Jobs’ path was never predictable. He was given up for adoption at birth, dropped out of college after one term and at the age of 21 created Apple in his parents’ garage with a friend called Steve Wozniak. We have three copies of Karen Blumenthal’s biography ‘Steve Jobs: The man who thought different’ to send you! All we need is a name and address and we will put your name in the PQ hat!.

Send your entry to the usual email address – graham@pqaccountant.com – and put ‘Steve Jobs’ in the subject box

Max your memory

Packed full of ingenious exercises, ‘Max your Memory’ is a fun and engaging programme to help increase your memory power. You really will stop forgetting things and reading this book should help you improve your overall mental ability. The book is written by Dr Pascale Michelon, founder of The Memory Practice.

To be in with a chance of winning one of three books send your details to graham@pqaccountant.com.

Head up your email ‘Max your memory’

Terms and conditions: One entry per giveaway please. You must send your name and address to be entered for the draw. All giveaway entries must be received by Friday 5 February. The main draw will take place on Monday 8 February 2016

TO ENTER THESE GIVEAWAYS EMAIL GRAHAM@PQACCOUNTANT.COM 34

PQ Magazine February 2016

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