The award-winning Queen Mary of London University free seminar series is back by popular demand, and this time we are looking at how accountants can save the world from climate change!
We are also hoping to get a visit from PwC’s sustainability hub.
Join us on 7 June at Queen Mary’s Arts 2 building to discover what your profession is doing to ensure we can all live in a greener world. Click here to sign up.
Tom Hodgson, Director - ESG & Sustainability Assurance at PwC
Sarah Reay, Climate Change Manager at ICAEW
David Rothera, Climate Change Project Manager at NetZero Now Mark Williams, senior advisor/consultant at CIPFA
Adam Williamson, head of responsible business & policy at AAT With more names to follow…
The Future is Net Zero – can accountants help to save the planet?
Date: Wednesday 7 June 2023
Venue: Arts 2, Queen Mary University of London, Mile End Road, Bethnal Green, London E1 4NS
Time: 18.00 – 20.30 BST, but doors will open for 17.00 for networking
This event is supported by
Where else can you read six pages of ACCA June exam tips, what big data is all about, and the best way to tackle questions on foreign currency hedging? Yes, your latest PQ magazine is here!
We also pick out the bones of GAAPweb’s salary survey, look at how the public sector can save the planet, and ask if the Big 4 can ever solve their ‘conflicts of interest’.
I think it is fair to say we managed to celebrate of 20th PQ magazine awards in style at Proud Embankment recently! Among the top guests were AAT CEO Sarah Beale and President Christina Earls. Our new PQ of the Year is the wonderful Evie Todd, who is studying towards the ACCA qualification, and our Accountancy Body of the Year award went to CIPFA. You can see who picked up this year’s coveted trophies in our short winners video at https:// tinyurl.com/59jntb3c.
Don’t forget we have another fantastic seminar coming up with Queen Mary University of London on Wednesday 7 June. This time we are looking at: ‘The Future is Net Zero – can accountants help to save the planet?’ You can sign up on Eventbrite – go to https:// tinyurl.com/n6mkesf4
Among the speakers so far signed up are ICAEW’s Sarah Reay, David Rothera, Climate Change Project Manager at NetZero Now, and AAT’s Adam Williamson.
Graham Hambly, Editor and Publisher, PQ magazine
12 Tech news
Microsoft’s thwarted in proposed purchase of Activision Features, etc
14 Have your say ACCA’s July launch date for new initiative is confusing; talent crunch is helping PQs; and what’s happening at Oxford Brookes? Plus our social media round-up
17 Awards 2023 in pictures
Three pages focusing on all the action at the PQ Awards, with photos of all the winners
20 CIMA spotlight
How to make online learning work for you
23 What is big data?
Karen Groves outlines the uses, values and limitations of big data
25 Remote learning
Why online training offers a more student-focused experience
26 ACCA spotlight
Got ACCA study worries? Well don’t worry, be appy!
27 EY’s audit U-turn
Can the Big 4 ever really sort out their ‘conflicts of interest’?
28 A question for Tom
Top tutor Tom Clendon explains the concept of fair value measurement
29 June ACCA exam tips
Six pages of top tips start here!
35 Beat the hackers
Can you defeat a ransomware attack? Security expert David Fleming can help you find out
36 Hedge your bets
Sunil Bhandari explains how to best tackle questions of foreign currency hedging
39 TARA explained
Teresa Clarke explains how TARA can help you understand and manage risks when making business decisions
p22
40 Sustainability
The public sector has huge role to play in saving the planet
42 The state of pay
We run the rule over the latest GAAPweb 2023 salary survey
43 Careers
Women at work increasing struggling with menopause and mental health; tackling your career issues; and our Book Club review
44 Fun
The lighter side of life – and accountancy
The columnists
Lisa Nelson It might seem obvious, but telling is not teaching 4
Robert Bruce Does anyone in government care about business? 6
something with it. This might be as simple as answering a question or thinking back on what was said last week; either way it takes effort (by the student) and that’s when the learning really happens.
Almost one in five (19%) of accountants aged 30 or under admit that their drinking habits are having a negative impact on their work or personal life, according to new research by the charity caba.
The study across the UK found that one in four (25%) regularly drink alcohol to lift their mood. Almost two-thirds (60%) said they regularly exceed the daily recommended intake for alcohol, with almost one in 10 (9%) saying they do so daily.
Meanwhile, one in five (20%) respondents admitted to drinking so much that they were unable to remember the evening before. This was most prevalent within the under-30 age group, with one in six (15%) saying they experience alcohol-related blackouts at least once a month.
A quarter (25%) of respondents said that a friend, relative or doctor
had also expressed concern over their drinking habits. While the number of respondents who said that they themselves take recreational drugs to lift their mood was low (1%), almost one in 10 (8%) stated that they had witnessed a colleague taking drugs. This rose to one in seven (14%) for those aged 30 or under.
Commenting on the findings of the survey, Dr Stefan Walters, psychologist and addiction specialist, said: “I’ve worked with many accountants and financial professionals over the years to support them through addiction.
The ICAEW March professional level exams are out, and for those who sat just one paper the pass rate was 74.3%. That means 25.7%, or 613 students, came away from the March sitting with nothing to show this time around. Some 316 students opted to sit three papers and 72.5% of these sitters passed all three, another 17.1% passed two out of the three they sat.
When it comes to the papers, Business Strategy and Technology had the highest pass rate at 91.7%. The lowest pass rate this time around was the FAR (UK GAAP) paper with 61.5%, but only 13 students sat this paper in March. All the other paper pass rates ranged from 74.8% to 80.5% (see
below).
A total of 3,937 students sat in the March 2023 session, and some 5,786 exams were attempted. In all 2,908 students passed all the exams they sat and some 914 now move on to the final level, having passed all the professional papers. Of these, some 433 passed all their level papers without failing an exam.
It’s a common issue, particularly for people in high-stress, highperformance jobs. The pressure of having to be a perfect version of yourself can take its toll, and often addictive behaviours arise as a coping strategy.
“The most important thing to remember is that you’re not alone. There is no shame in seeking help, and there’s always someone out there who is there to listen.”
To support ICAEW chartered accountants who are struggling with addiction, caba has launched a new online hub of support content for addiction.
In partnership with the mental healthcare experts at Psych Health, they have created help guides for spotting the signs of addiction, getting the right help and supporting a friend or family member with an addiction
Some 20 years ago PQ magazine held its first-ever awards night at the Cross in London’s King’s Cross. Much has changed in those 20 years, but there has been one constant – our PQs of the Year winners! Back in 2003 that winner was Emma James, an AAT from South Wales. Now a qualified ACCA, she is a senior lecturer in accounting and finance at Swansea University. Back in 2003 she made the PQ front cover along with her daughter Shannon, so it seemed only appropriate we show you them just about to go into the PQ awards 2023!
Technical issues at MyACCA
ACCA was recently forced to extend the standard entry exam deadline for another 48 hours due to ‘technical issues’ with MyACCA. Standard entry for the June exams had to be extended to midnight on 3 May (BST).
The move has led to some students wondering if the standard entry date should be moved nearer the exam permanently. As one student said: “They have proved they can still get us all booked in by 3 May, so why not push that
back even further.”
Another PQ agreed, and told PQ: “If the ACCA was really on our side, they would do away with the late closing date altogether and those mad fees that go with it.”
Espresso smart hacks for exam success
If you want to learn how to avoid revision pitfalls and how to find your ‘flow’, then you need an espresso short webinar from caba!
Our newly crowned PQ magazine Public Sector Lecturer of
the Year, Jenni Rose, led the latest session, which are designed for you to watch over a cuppa. Rose will help you create a revision plan that you will actually stick to and she was joined by FI’s Gareth John, who explained how to make every minute count in the exam.
For more go to https://tinyurl. com/yt7c85fe
Follow the money
If money is what made you chose accountancy, then you need to work in the pharmaceutical
industry
The latest GAAPweb salary survey has hit the streets and it found that that the average salary for an accountant working in the pharmaceutical sector is £92,206, with fintech following close behind with an average salary of £91,905.
London retained its reputation as the highest-earning location, and those working in Canary Wharf earned the most.
The survey also found 68% of accountants working hybrid. Check out more revelations on page 42
What a 20th awards night it was!
We had fire-eaters, acrobats, ‘accountants with talent’ and 24 coveted trophies to give away. It could only be the PQ magazine Awards 2023.
Check out who walked off with the prizes in the winners video at https://tinyurl.com/59jntb3c
Accountants Jean-Paul NoelCephine and Libby Walklett stole the show as our ‘accountants with
talent’. That meant we got show tunes and Elvis in the building, all for one night only!
For the second year Proud Embankment hosted the starstudded event, which saw Evie Todd crowned PQ of the Year. Lillian Okolie won Distance Learning Student of the Year and the Accountancy Apprentice of the Year was Anastasia Byard.
The Training Manger of the
Last year was another record one for ICAEW student recruitment, with 11,962 (2021: 11,049) new students joining the institute in 2022.
The newly-released annual report explains that student growth is considered crucial to the future success of ICAEW, which relies on the progression of students into its membership base.
The year-on-year 8% increase in ACA student numbers meant income from education and training continued to grow, to £18.5m for the year
Year award went to FC Training & Recruitment’s Jagruti Patel. Personality of the Year was Rachel Harris, and University of West London’s Xhulja Duka was Accountancy Graduate of the Year. This year’s Editor’s Special Awards went to Tom Clendon’s SBR podcast, e-Careers Karen Groves, and Open Tuition. The Lifetime Achievement Award went to LSBF’s Arron Etigen.
(2021: £17.4m). This is broken down to £12.8m from exam fees and £5.7m in student fees and charges. However, this does not include the sale of learning material, as these are lumped in commercial, events and sponsorship income of £13.5m.
There are now 36,084 students studying towards the ACA qualification.
Total ICAEW income for the year was £141.7m and the net result after tax for the year was £13.6m. Subscription and fees remained stable at £55.3m, reflecting steady year-on-year growth in membership numbers. ICAEW has 166,397 members.
Winner Jagruti Patel and the FC Training &
Check out the front cover and pages 17-19 for all the winners, and there will be more fun in the next issue of PQ magazine.
Contrary to what you may have read (including here in PQ magazine) the September ACCA exam results will be released according to the standard timetable. So you will get your results on 16 October.
ACCA had been planning some IT work, which may have required a system outage, but it has been able to avoid this, and so the results will be released as normal.
tone from the top. So it comes as no surprise to find that after the then Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s remark of ‘f*** business’, no ministers sought to take business issues seriously again. If the boss doesn’t take something seriously, no one else will. A shambles will ensue.
So it was no surprise to find in the latest report from the Public Accounts Committee that the now-being-disbanded business ministry waved through billions of pounds of loans and never bothered seriously trying to get them back. Or, as the committee put it, the department was showing “no real signs of making the improvements that would prevent the big mistakes it has made over many years, especially during the pandemic, happening all over again” So not only has the cash gone but nobody cares too much that it has.
Meanwhile, the committee found that Companies House had more or less gone AWOL while evidence of false identities and rampant fraud slid by. Since 2009 it has been a criminal offence to make a false declaration to Companies House. Yet there has only been one prosecution in the 14 years or so since. And that was when someone stuck down the name of Vince Cable, Lib Dem leader at the time, as a director to show how easy it was to register false details. F*** business, indeed.
Robert Bruce is an award-winnin g writer on accountan cy for The Times
The International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (IAASB) has issued proposed revisions to its current standard on going concern, International Standard on Auditing 570 (Revised), Going Concern
• The proposed changes aim to:
• Promote consistent practice and behaviour and facilitate effective responses to identified risks of material misstatement related to going concern.
• Strengthen the auditor’s evaluation of management’s assessment of going concern, including reinforcing the importance throughout the audit of the appropriate exercise of professional scepticism.
• Enhance transparency with respect to the auditor’s responsibilities and work related to going concern where appropriate, including strengthening communications and reporting requirements.
IAASB Chair Tom Seidenstein (pictured) said: “Investors, regulators and other stakeholders have repeatedly called for more robust audit procedures related to going concern and for increased transparency regarding
that work in the auditor’s report.
“The revisions proposed today are a step in that direction. The proposals seek to strengthen going concern requirements by substantially enhancing the auditor’s work effort in relation to going concern and providing enhanced, entityspecific information in the auditor’s report.”
The IAASB has invited all stakeholders to comment on the proposed revisions via the IAASB website
LSBF’s Paul Merison has launched a new series of free podcasts ‘Exam World Meets Business World’. The latest podcast looks at the collapse of cryptocurrency exchange FTX and what accountancy and business students can learn from it.
Merison explains: “When I was
studying business and accounting, my tutors told my class to read the Financial Times and The Economist, in order to immerse ourselves in business understanding. Many of us gave it a go, but we struggled to know which articles were relevant, and how they
Public sector sustainability reporting needs to significantly step up, and organisations must begin to work together before it is too late, says Professor Carol Adams.
Her new report for CIPFA, called ‘Public Sector sustainability reporting: time to step it up’, claims the public sector needs to avoid
continually reinventing the wheel, and draw on the existing standards and recommendations to improve their sustainable reporting.
CIPFA CEO Rob Whiteman agreed: “The public sector should be playing a key role when it comes to tackling climate change. Sustainability reporting in public sector bodies has long been
linked to our studies. Of course, that was because the FT and The Economist are not written for a student audience.
“Around 15 years ago I published my own newspaper for my students, taking the news and retelling it with a focus on the link to their studies. Now, finally, the newspaper has become a podcast.”
Check out the series at https:// tinyurl.com/4ssku77j. They are also available on Google and Spotify.
overlooked because no sectorspecific standards exist. This report aims to change that by proposing using already existing standards that fit the public sector’s unique needs.
“Time is running out. When it comes to sustainability reporting, public bodies need to step up and lead from the front.”
Check out Professor Carol Adams report at https://tinyurl. com/yucvvnpr
When will ACCA be introducing My Exam Performance to the Strategic Level, students have been asking PQ magazine.
ACCA explained that because it wants to maximise the benefits to students it first wants to understand their behaviours when using it. ACCA has now undertaken research with students on how they use My Exam Performance for Applied Skills and has promised to include what they discover into the
design of the Strategic Professional level. That all means we don’t have a launch date, but ACCA said they will let us know as soon as they do.
CFO steps down after ‘relationship with a colleague’
One CFO’s relationship with a member of staff recently saw him forced to resign from his role with a leading FTSE 100 company. In a notice to the Stock Exchange that hit all the financial news pages, RS Group’s David Egan said he notified
the board of a personal relationship with a colleague, and following a detailed review by the board he recognised there had been “some shortcomings of judgment on my part and my actions have fallen short of the high standards expected of RS’s leadership”. Egan felt it was therefore only right that he step down from his role.
EY abandons break up EY has said it is no longer proceeding with plans to separate its accountancy and consulting
arms. This follows months of wrangling and internal disagreements.
The US partners had already delayed any vote – that was supposed to happen last month.
Now a memo from EY’s global executive told partners that ‘Project Everest’ was dead. Separation turned out to be much more problematic than the firm’s executive team first believed, and it was felt creating viable businesses ready to compete was just not going to happen as quickly as some thought.
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Hardly a day passes without reports of English water companies dumping tons of raw sewage into rivers and seas. Such practices improve corporate profits and performance-related executive pay, but threatens human and marine life and biodiversity.
Water industry failures were summarised in a Ministerial statement in March 2018: “They have shielded themselves from scrutiny, hidden behind complex financial structures, avoided paying taxes, have rewarded the already well-off, kept charges higher than they needed to be and allowed leaks, pollution and other failures to persist for far too long.”
Nothing has changed. Puny fines have failed to curb anti-social practices. Since 2010, Thames Water has been sanctioned 89 times and paid fines of £163m. It continues to dump sewage. The government and ineffective regulators are complicit. For example, water companies have been given until 2050 to stop dumping sewage and reduce leaks to 50% of the 2017-18 levels.
In 1989, when water was privatised, the population of England was 47.7 million. Now it is around 56 million, but no new reservoirs have been built. There is no national grid to move supplies and dry spells are accompanied by warnings of droughts and restrictions of water usage.
There is an urgent need to curb anti-social practices. People need to be authorised to bring civil and criminal prosecutions of water companies and their directors. Customers must be empowered to vote on executive pay so that those engaging in anti-social practices are not rewarded.
Prem Sikka is Emeritus Professor of Accounting at the University of Essex
The Women in Accounting Top 50, supported by Ignition, has been released. Out of the 12 women on the list from the UK, three were at the recent PQ magazine awards, and one of these was picking up the Personality of the Year! Rachel Harris (pictured), director, striveX Ltd, walked off with that coveted PQ award, and she attended the awards alongside ICB’s CEO Ami Copeland and Caroline Hobden from Accountex.
However, if we are talking women who are “powerful change makers and trailblazers who have inspired us with their resilience, leadership and mentoring in 2023” then you would not need to look much further than ACCA CEO Helen
Brand or AAT CEO Sarah Beale. Both are not on the list, yet they have been promoting diversity, inclusion and equality for many
years. The current CIPFA Present Jayne Owen is another who would be on our list.
Anyway, winge over! Here’s the other incredible women who made the 2023 list from the UK: Becky Glover, FD VNC Automotive; Chengai Ruredz, FC, Open Energy Market; Chloe Britnell, senior manager, PJCO Chartered Certified Accountant; Eriona Bajrakurtaj, CEO, Majors Accounts and Co Ltd; Georgia Duffee, director, Benedetto Accounts & Tax; Lara Manton, director, LJM Bookkeeping Ltd; Nikki Adams, MD, Ad valorem Group; Palak Tewary, Associate Director, Price Mann; Sarah Ghosh, finance lead, UK Civil Service; and Sonia Dorais, CEPO Chaser.
The Institute of Financial Accountants (IFA) has announced a new partnership to provide capital support for SMEs. It has partnered with White Oak, one of the largest FCA regulated non-bank lenders in the UK.
The innovative agreement will enable IFA members – SME accountants – to support their clients with access to nontraditional routes of funding through White Oak’s diverse portfolio of lending products.
These will support all aspects of SMEs’ finance needs in excess of £25,000, providing VAT, tax and working capital loans, asset and invoice finance, as well as assetbased lending.
IFA’s CEO, John Edwards, said: “SMEs often struggle to secure lending via banks, so it’s important to have access to the right expertise they need through an alternative, recognised lender. Accounting practitioners who support SMEs are great advisers
to businesses and need to be able to direct to alternative options, where their clients seek or require funding.”
From 1 November 2023, all ICAEW members will be required to carry out a minimum number of hours of CPD a year, some of which will need to be verifiable.
Members affected by the regulations will be required to identify which CPD category is most applicable to them, based
The UK PM Rishi Sunak has published his earning and taxes paid for the last three years. His personal tax return from Evelyn Partners LLP shows he earned £4,766,962 and paid just over £1m in UK tax (£1,053,060).
By far the biggest chunk of money paid to UK coffers was Capital Gains Tax on his US-based investment fund. Taking all his income into account Sunak paid an effective tax rate of just 22%. There was something to pay in the US too, as it charges non-residents for tax due on dividends.
Critics have argued that the taxes on wealth
on the type of work they do. Most people, whether in practice or not, will fall into CPD category 3, as this is the default. The nature of the member’s role may, however, move them into a higher CPD category.
Each CPD category has a corresponding minimum number
and work should be standardised. In 2016, CGT was in fact reduced from 28% to 20%, by the Conservative government.
of hours of CPD that must be undertaken. Category 3 members working in practice will have to undertake a minimum of 20 hours CPD, of which 10 are verifiable. Category 3 members working outside practice will also have to undertake 10 hours, but only five of these are verifiable.
wins £4.9m
Football pundit Gary Lineker has won his £4.9m tax battle with HMRC – for now.
The tax authority said Lineker should have been classed as an employee of the BBC and BT Sport rather than a freelancer, between 2013 and 2018. Lineker argued all taxes were paid via his partnership Gary Lineker Media (GLM), which was set up with his ex-wife Danielle Bux in 2012.
The judge ruled Lineker was self-employed
for tax purposes, but this might not be the end of the matter as HMRC is considering an appeal. An HMRC spokesperson said: “The tribunal has confirmed the off-payroll rules apply to partnerships, as we have always said.”
The UK government is considering granting HMRC new powers to recover unpaid tax directly from digital wallets.
The proposal is one of a number of measures that are being considered as part of plans to modernise tax debt collection from non-paying businesses.
Why water isn’t working
AAT students are continuing to claim that the Q2022 software is still ‘not fit for purpose’.
One student who has sat three exams has had major technical issues with all of them! They have now given up their course.
We have heard of several recent sitters experiencing problems with their cursor in the Level 4 audit exam. As one sitter said: “I had issues typing again, and the cursor was all over the place. Could not copy and paste either.”
Another student who had technical issues sitting INAC back in February recently sat
DAIF and lost all their work. They explained: “The exam went really well until I came to submit. The system timed out and when it restarted all of my answers had gone. Looks like I’ll have to re-sit but need to wait six weeks to do so.”
Students have also started to question AAT’s claim that just 3% of sitters have been
affected. “It cannot be true,” said one disgruntled student.
Yet more ACCA students have been caught having someone in the room with them when they took a remote exam.
In the most recent case, a report from the invigilator explained they heard student Muhammadd Faizan Fayyaz “talking to someone during their exam”, and there was a concern
that “someone can be heard assisting the test-taker”.
Fayyaz admitted to ACCA that a family member had knocked on the door during the exam and this had been seen by the proctor. He said that he was provided with a warning, but was allowed to continue with the exam, However, the exam was then terminated.
The disciplinary committee decided Fayyaz should be removed from the student register of ACCA and ordered to pay a contribution to ACCA’s cost in the sum of £5,000.
Student Ayaz Akmal of Jhelum has also been removed from the student register, and Miss Momina was admonished for similar offences.
The FRC has issued a ‘final decision notice’ and imposed sanctions against KPMG and former partner Anthony Sykes over the 2020 audit of TheWorks.co.uk plc.
KPMG’s fine was reduced to £1,023,750 following its ‘co-operation’. The firm also received another severe reprimand, to go with the one it got for its audit of Luceco plc. The Big 4 firm was also told to take action to mitigate the effect or prevent the recurrence of the breaches.
Sykes received a severe reprimand and a financial sanction of £43,875.
The FRC said KPMG’s approach to the audit of inventory existence was flawed by a succession of failings, in particular:
• Failure to respond appropriately to variances in stock counts identified during controls testing.
• The adoption of a substantive testing approach, without adequate consideration or consultation.
• Failure to perform appropriate rollforward and roll-back procedures.
GrahamHamblypresentsTom ClendonwithaspecialPQaward forthecontributionthathis podcasthasmadetothestudent community.
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The support team is working hard to provide reassurance on how seriously AAT is taking these issues, and how much it values its students. Regular software updates are also taking place, and PQ magazine was meeting with the CEO Sarah Beale again as the magazine went to press. Checkoutthisaward-winningpodcaston
The March 2023 exam results show ACCA pass rates could finally be on their way up –they were on 10 out of the 11 Applied Skills and Strategic papers when compared with December 2022.
The New World Economic Forum has recently released a report on the future of jobs. It is expected that up to a quarter of jobs are to change in the next five years and we should be mindful of trends in order to keep up with the pace.
As you continue on your path to being qualified it’s useful to gain a sense of the makeup of the organisations and sectors you are likely to be contributing to in the coming years.
Increased technology adoption and digitisation are due to create a high level of labour market churn, with an overall net positive when it comes to job creation. However, risks to the labour market include supply shortages, inflation and a slower rate of economic growth.
Solid cognitive skills have emerged as increasingly valuable to employers, with the most critical skills for employees of 2023 reported as both creative and analytical thinking respectfully.
Technological literacy related to big data and AI in particular will become increasingly valuable in the next five years. Research has indicated that those with and without degrees can acquire critical skills in a similar timeframe, opening the door to introducing innovative approaches such as skills based hiring and industry accredited microcredentials.
The fastest growing jobs are listed as AI and machine learning specialists, sustainability specialists, business intelligence analysts and information security specialists, with the highest absolute growth expected in the education, agriculture and digital commerce sectors.
ACCA’s executive director of content, quality and innovation, Alan Hatfield, said: “We are extremely pleased with the March session results and congratulate all successful students. It is delightful to see an increase in pass rates across the majority of exams, especially the Strategic Professional Options exams, AFM, APM and ATX.”
The March pass rates for those options were: AAA 34%; AFM 45%;
APM 35%; and ATX 45%.
The only paper that saw a dip on the December pass rates was FM, which came down from 51% last time to 49% this time around.
In all, 87,305 students entered the March sitting, with 102,770 exams completed. A total of 3,278 students completed their final exam to become ACCA Affiliates.
Mitigo and ICAEW have announced a new partnership, with Mitigo becoming the appointed member rewards partner for cyber risk management to ICAEW.
With a rise in ransomware attacks and email account takeover among the profession, it is essential to recognise that cyber risk management is not the same as IT support. It is a different, independent discipline. Following an extensive due diligence process, Mitigo have been selected for their expertise and experience with professional service firms, suiting
ICAEW members’ requirements.
Andrew Stott, ICAEW’s Director of Corporate Partnerships & Operations, said: “Cybercrime is sophisticated, and defending against it is now a specialist job.
Mitigo can give ICAEW members real visibility of their cybersecurity risks, which means they can close any gaps, meet legal and regulatory responsibilities – and sleep at night.”
The UK government has announced a consultation on off-payroll working rules, commonly called IR35, as part of its tax admin day announcements.
The rules were introduced for clients in the public sector in 2017 and extended to include medium and large-sized clients in the private and
Businesses must place nature loss on the same level as climate change in their risk assessments, with more than half of global GDP moderately or highly dependent on nature, according to new PwC analysis.
The findings of new PwC research reveal the extent to which economic activities and natural ecosystems are linked, with 55% of global GDP – equivalent to about $58 trillion – moderately or highly dependent on nature, up almost onethird ($14tn) since 2020.
To help mobilise a response from the
in
2021. The proposed solution would introduce new legislation to share the income tax and NIC liability between the client and the worker, by estimating a set-off for tax and NIC already paid by the worker and their intermediary.
This would potentially work in a similar manner to existing provisions
business community, PwC is launching a global Centre for Nature Positive Business, which will double the number of nature specialists in the firm to 1,000, with up to 10% based in the UK.
EY makes big job cuts in US
EY’s US arm is cutting some 3,000 jobs after it was decided to drop plans to separate the consulting and audit businesses.
EY said that it was making the redundancies after assessing the impact of current economic conditions, strong employee retention rates and overcapacity in some parts of the firm.
However, EY US stressed that the move had nothing to do with the aborted separation.
Reporters who contacted EY UK were told there would no plans to reduce staff.
in the PAYE Regulations 2003 (SI 2003/2682), that can allow the offsetting of taxes already paid in certain circumstances where HMRC discovers that a directly engaged worker has been incorrectly classed as a self-employed sole trader, instead of employed, for tax purposes.
UK-listed companies issued 75 profit warnings between January and March 2023, the highest first-quarter total since the early stages of the pandemic in 2020, according to EY-Parthenon’s latest Profit Warnings report.
The report reveals that the number of warnings issued in the first quarter of 2023 exceeded the 72 issued in Q1 2022. It also showed that quarterly profit warnings have remained above the 10-year quarterly average, excluding 2020, for five consecutive quarters. The highest number of Q1 warnings was in 2020, when 305 were issued.
Persistent economic uncertainty has played a significant role in many of these profit warnings.
voluntary sectors
You need to become tech literateAnna Kate Phelan is Head of Product at Eintech ACCA MARCH 2023 EXAM RESULTS: TX 53%; FR 52%; PM 44%; FM 49%; AA 44%; SBL 50%; SBR 50%; AAA 34%; AFM 45%; APM 35%; ATX 45%.
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Microsoft’s proposed purchase of Activision (Call of Duty) has been blocked by the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) over concerns the deal would alter the future of the fast-growing cloud gaming market.
The CMA said that the deal would lead to a reduction in innovation and less choice for UK
gamers in years to come.
The announcement comes after Microsoft’s proposed solution “failed to effectively address the concerns in the clouding sector”.
Microsoft entered into a $68.7bn deal to buy Activision, one of the most popular video games publishers in the world, in January 2022. The CMA then
launched an in-depth review of the deal in September 2022, and in February 2023 provisionally found that the merger could make Microsoft even stronger in cloud gaming, stifling competition in this growing market.
Martin Coleman, chair of the independent panel of experts conducting the investigation, said: “Microsoft already enjoys a powerful position and head start over other competitors in cloud gaming and this deal would strengthen that advantage giving it the ability to undermine new and innovative competitors.”
for businesses to take action and implement strategies ever since the UK declared a climate emergency in 2019. Although accountancy sector emissions may not be as high as those from other industries, it is estimated in the UK that the sector is responsible for nearly 1% of annual business emissions. That’s about half-a-million tonnes of CO2e, equivalent to over 100,000 cars being driven for a year. There are over 280,000 accountants in Great Britain, advising over five million businesses and individuals. The influence and reach is enormous.
By understanding climate risk, accountants will be better able to advise and continue to support their clients in this continuously changing landscape. Some accountants already benefit from a Net Zero Accountancy Protocol, which was developed alongside the UK’s largest accountancy bodies, including ICAEW, ACCA, AAT and AIA.
Net Zero Now develops sector specific Net Zero Protocols to help businesses more easily navigate global guidelines such as the GHG Protocol and SBTi. In fact, one of the first Net Zero Protocols developed was for the accountancy sector as they believe that accountants can truly save the world.
To find out more look at www. netzeronow.org/accountants
The US online learning platform Chegg has said that ChatGPT has started to have a negative impact on its student numbers, as it reported a drop in revenue by 7% to $188 million. And revenues are predicted to fall even further in the next quarter.
Chegg’s CEO Dan Rosebsweig
explained: “In the first part of the year we saw no noticeable impact from ChatGPT on our new account growth and we were meeting expectations on new-signs. However, since March we saw a significant spike in student interest in ChatGPT. We now believe it is having an impact on our new
customer growth rate.”
Shares in Chegg fell by 50% after the warning and investors will now be looking closely at the impact ChatGPT has on others working in the education and publishing field such as Pearson, Udemy and Coursera, according to reports in Bloomberg.
Sage has launched Sage Intacct Planning in the UK. Already rolled out across the US, Canada, South Africa and Australia, the cloudbased solution should help UK organisations reduce the need for time-consuming spreadsheets for financial planning and budgeting tasks.
Sage says its Intacct Planning offers a more effective budgeting and planning solution, simplifying complex tasks such as advanced financial modelling and ‘what-if’ scenario analysis.
Features include:
• Integration with Sage Intacct Core Accounting, allowing customers to use their existing General Ledger accounts to
manage actuals, budgets and forecasts.
• Intelligent Planning Wizard enables customers using ERP
systems other than Sage Intacct Accounting to easily import and map data and dimensions from any ERP or General Ledger system.
• ‘What-if’ scenario modelling enables the evaluation of multiple options and variables simultaneously to confidently choose the best path forward.
• Multi-currency planning and reporting provides seamless collaboration with budget owners in every location.
• Advanced modelling facilitates the building of flexible budgets tailored to the organisation.
• Rolling forecasts make it easy to modify plans and pivot as business conditions change.
The European Union is to launch a crackdown on crypto trading following the collapse of several major players.
Many members of the European Parliament believe crypto trading has become a ‘wild west’ market, and needs to be regulated and licensed.
The new rules should mean crypto assets can be traced, which in turn will help prevent money laundering and other crimes. The
traders will also have to come clean about how much energy they are consuming. Cambridge University has estimated that bitcoin alone uses as much energy as Malaysia!
Moving forward, all companies that issue and trade in crypto currencies will have to be registered with a national regulator.
Replacing people with AI is happening IBM has paused hiring for jobs that it thinks AI could do, according to Bloomberg News.
The so-called ‘Godfather of AI’, Geoffrey Hinton, has quit Google because of concerns he has over the danger of artificial intelligence (AI).
Hinton joined Google 10 years
ago and was heavily involved in the early development of AI technology. He told the New York Times recently that the way AI creates text and images will mean most of us will “not be able to know what is true anymore”.
Hinton also ventured that AI is smarter than humans, and he couldn’t see how you can stop “bad actors from using it for bad things”. He even suggested that we should not scale up any more on AI until we understand if we can control it.
Like many, I’d like to congratulate ACCA on the imminent launch of their Study Hub, a free resource that should ensure every student worldwide has access to up-to-date study manuals and question banks. However, I do find their July release date odd and frustrating. For most ACCA papers, the September sitting marks syllabus updates. Why not release the Study Hub resources when courses for the September sitting are likely to start, rather than part way through the term? Currently, providers will have
I was shocked to read that Oxford Brookes University don’t want to work with ACCA on its BSc Applied Accounting degree programme any more.
It doesn’t make sense to me that they are continuing with the OBU Global MBA but not the degree. Does it mean that ACCA are about to announce a new partner, or was there something wrong with the programme? I can’t find a real explanation anywhere. I have just started on my journey to get the degree and now have until 2026 to finish everything, but is it going to be worth it?
Thousands of students have taken this route to get a degree but now I am worried I have made the wrong choice.
Name and email address supplied
I have to agree with my fellow PQ reader, who last month said a skills shortage is a good thing for us part qualified accountants. I have been at loggerheads with my boss about working from home. He thinks it’s time I was back in the office four days a week and I said it should be three!
I moved out of London during
to provide one form of material (and of course update it all for syllabus changes), only for a
second source to arrive partway through term. Given the Hub is produced by the ACCA, I imagine many students would want to use it straight away, and changing materials part way through is far from ideal for anyone.
The majority of students sitting in September will start studying in early June, which is only one month earlier than the current planned release date. Given the resource has had such a successful trial why not release it then?
Concerned of Blackwall, by email
Oh what a night! The PQ magazine 20th awards certainly lived up to the hype. We did accountancy Proud! And, you don’t have to take our word for it. Jagruit Patel said: “I must say it was truly remarkable,” and Brigita Petrova agreed: “Another amazing night celebrating talent, hard work and dedication. Thank you for a magnificent show.”
FI’s Nick Craggs added: “To say Graham Hambly knows how to put on a show is an understatement. The venue and entertainment at the 20th PQ awards was amazing.” Andy Murray said: “Such a great event, what an evening!”
Noah Davis explained on LinkedIn that although he didn’t come away with the trophy, just being shortlisted (for NQ of the Year) was a huge win for him. “And it just goes to show that reality can sometimes far exceed your dreams.” He brought his partner who said: “Who knew a night about accountancy could be so fun?”
the pandemic and have been able to buy a flat, something I couldn’t have done if I’d stayed in the capital. Immediately I said I may have to look for a job elsewhere he climbed down, and in fact is now trying to actively help me work more productively from home, rather than putting obstacles in
the way.
I have also been able to negotiate a pay rise – OK, it’s below the current rate of inflation but still a very healthy jump.
The current jobs market is certainly putting employees in the driving seat.
Name and email address supplied
For Lancaster University’s Adit Kaleka the awards night was a perfect excuse to momentarily eschew exam revision. He said: “What a surreal experience! How awe-inspiring to have been surrounded by and glean wisdom from so many esteemed industry luminaries. I especially loved the ‘Accountants Got Talent’ section, a showcase of some truly breath-taking performances.”
The big problem now is how we top that for our 21st!
Our star letter writer wins a fantastic ‘I love PQ’ mug!Noah Davis and his partner Bethan Jones, Adit Kaleka and Tanya Parry
Proud Embankment was filled to the rafters for the 20th PQ magazine awards.
Accountants Jean-Paul Noel-Cephise and Libby Walklett stole the show as they truly showed ‘accountants have talent’. For one night only we had Elvis in the building, and Calamity Jane’s “It’s Harry I’m Planning to Marry”.
Throw in a fire eater (Shade) and the Seifert Sisters swinging above the crowd, then it can only be the PQ magazine awards! Check out the highlights video at https://tinyurl.com/yc4j4fum
So, who walked off with the coveted PQ magazine award trophies? PQ of the Year went to Evie Todd, of only2nerds Instagram fame. It was her drive to help others that really caught the judges’ eye.
NQ of the Year was Laurence De Ste Croix, who never let people tell him what he could achieve!
Student Body of the Year went to the Chartered Accountants Student Society of London (CASSL) and Accountancy Body of the Year was CIPFA.
ACCA picked up the Study Resource prize for My Exam Performance and the Best Use of Social Media award went to the Study Fun Group (Facebook Group), set up by two CIMA students.
The British Airways Graduate Scheme also picked up an award for its programme, and the first-ever Podcast of the Year award was given to Kieran Maguire and his Price of Football.
n PQ OF THE YEAR: Evie Todd
n DISTANCE LEARNING STUDENT OF THE YEAR: Lillian Okolie
n ACCOUNTANCY GRADUATE OF THE YEAR: Xhulja Duka
n NQ OF THE YEAR: Laurence De Ste Croix
n ACCOUNTANCY APPRENTICE OF THE YEAR: Anastasia Byard
n STUDENT BODY OF THE YEAR: Chartered Accountant Students’ Society of London (CASSL)
n ACCOUNTANCY BODY OF THE YEAR: CIPFA
n PRIVATE SECTOR COLLEGE OF THE YEAR: First Intuition
n PUBLIC SECTOR COLLEGE OF THE YEAR: University of South Wales
n ONLINE COLLEGE OF THE YEAR: Premier Training
n PRIVATE SECTOR LECTURER OF THE YEAR: Matt Dean, Kaplan
n PUBLIC SECTOR LECTURER OF THE YEAR: Jennifer Rose, University of Manchester
n STUDY RESOURCE OF THE YEAR: My Exam Performance from ACCA
n INNOVATION IN ACCOUNTANCY: Queen Mary University of London Seminar Series
n BEST USE OF SOCIAL MEDIA: Study Fun Group (Facebook Group)
n PODCAST OF THE YEAR: Price of Football Podcast, Kieran Maguire
n TRAINING MANAGER/MENTOR OF THE YEAR: Jagruti Patel, FC Training & Recruitment
n ACCOUNTANCY TEAM OF THE YEAR: Mindful Education Tuition Team
n GRADUATE/APPRENTICE TRAINING PROGRAMME OF THE YEAR: British Airways Graduate Scheme
n ACCOUNTANCY PERSONALITY OF THE YEAR: Rachel Harris
n EDITOR’S SPECIAL AWARDS: Karen Groves, e-Careers; Tom Clendon’s SBR podcast; Open Tuition
n EDITOR’S LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD: Aaron Etingen, LSBF CEO
The PQ magazine 2023 awards were ‘loud and proud’ at Proud Embankment
ACCOUNTANCY GRADUATE OF THE YEAR
STUDY RESOURCE OF THE YEAR
BEST
ACCOUNTANCY COLLEGE OF THE YEAR
GRADUATE/APPRENTICE
ONLINE COLLEGE OF THE YEAR
STUDENT BODY OF THE YEAR Chartered Accountant Students’ Society of London (CASSL)
ACCOUNTANCY BODY OF THE YEAR
DISTANCE
With online learning resources, you can study whenever and wherever you like.
To successfully achieve the CGMA qualifcation you’ll need effective study sessions and a strong work ethic.
You can study more successfully if you remove distractions, prepare yourself physically and mentally, manage your time, and remember that less can be more.
Remove distractions
Staying focused is crucial. When distractions break your line of thought, your studying becomes less effective and learning takes longer. If you keep getting distracted, you could spend twice as much time studying.
Wearing headphones or earplugs can block background sounds and reduce distractions, helping you stay focused.
Silencing your email and social media notifications and activating your phone’s ‘do not disturb’ feature can also prevent interruptions. If you’re viewing a webcast, try watching from start to finish to stay engaged with the material.
Prepare physically and mentally
Gather the materials you need, such as stationery, calculator, headphones, and something to drink. Find a comfortable space where you can focus. This allows you to get straight into it, without having to break away often.
Allow yourself 15-minute breaks in longer study sessions and make sure you are prepared to take notes. Keep pen and paper or a digital notepad nearby. Putting information into your
own words aids in memory retention, and your notes will prove beneficial when preparing for your exams.
My learning journey would have been challenging if I had not taken notes. Taking notes aided my comprehension of the material and served as a valuable resource for me in so many ways.
For instance, my notes were a handy reference when answering questions before fully memorising the content. This allowed me to begin practising questions earlier on in the learning process. Additionally, my notes proved helpful when transitioning to other subjects where assumed or prior knowledge was necessary. Finally, my notes were invaluable when studying for case study exams, as they helped me to bring together all the knowledge I needed from different subjects and levels.
I even referred to my notes when I first started working.
A good night’s sleep whenever you can during study weeks is also key. If you are well rested, your focus and ability to study effectively and retain information improves.
If a long day has left you feeling tired and you have a study session or online class planned, try refreshing yourself by drinking a large glass of water or opening a window for fresh air.
Life is busy, and we can all put off studying if we don’t set a schedule and stick to it.
Time management is essential to making online learning work. Without a study plan you could fall behind, which can not only cause stress, but may also leave you without enough
time to prepare for the exam adequately. Designating days and times for studying each week can help. You can also keep track of assignments, deadlines, and progress using a digital calendar, planner, or to-do list.
Managing a busy schedule and maintaining a work-life balance can be challenging when working towards your CGMA designation. Perhaps you only have 20-30 minutes to study at the end of the day. That’s OK – you can still learn and progress with smaller time increments. The accessibility of online learning materials supports you in this effort.
I used to find it hard after a long day at work to be able to motivate myself to study, the thought of studying for an hour or two some days felt impossible, especially after so much screen time at work.
I decided to plan these study sessions to be short. I broke down the learning so I could complete a short section or just a question at a time. I found that I could give what I was doing my complete attention and it was very effective.
Online learning takes determination, forward planning, and self-motivation. Try writing your short- and long-term targets on sticky notes, so you have a visual reminder of your overall goal –focus on this goal, it is the motivation you need. Did you know? The CGMA Study Hub offers a wide range of study support and free resources. You’ve got a team of professionals working to help you reach your educational goals and find your dream job.
• Nasheen Wuisman, Senior Manager of Global Academic Progression at AICPA & CIMA, together as the Association of International Certified Professional AccountantsOnline learning can feel challenging and isolating, but with determination and the right approach, you can find success, says Nasheen Wuisman
Big data refers to extremely large data sets that may be analysed to reveal patterns, trends and associations relating to human behaviour and interactions.
Big data will include more than just financial data, and the data can come from anywhere, either internally or externally generated.
Internally generated data can include, for example, website tracking data and accounting systems. Externally generated data can include, for example, social media and industry data.
The characteristics of big data are:
• Value – big data enables an organisation to add value, for example, by identifying a customer’s purchasing habits and targeting the right products at them at the right time.
• Variety – refers to the different forms the data can take, including text, images, GPS data, video files and audio.
• Velocity – data will be constantly streaming from sources such as social media and is available in real time.
• Veracity – data sets may contain inaccuracies and bias, so the data needs to be verified before it can be relied on as accurate. This will require the users to apply professional scepticism to big data.
• Volume – big data is available in large quantities.
Some of the benefits of big data include:
• Faster decision making – real-time processing of data will result in faster decision making, giving an organisation a competitive advantage over their competitors.
• Focused marketing – a business can use big data to analyse trends in the market and focus their marketing.
• Insight and understanding – the data can reveal patterns and insight into how the organisation operates. This would help identify any potential unknown issues and improve productivity.
• Driving innovation – using the data from customers, would enable an organisation to understand a customer’s needs and improve products accordingly.
• Risk management – risk management processes can be supported by data analytics.
Some of the limitations of big data include:
• Security of data – if an organisation does not have the resources to manage the data, then
there is a risk of data being lost or leaked. The organisation must ensure they protect the data from leaks, hacking, or data losses.
• Data protection – some of the information collected via social media platforms is from personal sources. An organisation will need to ensure they adhere to the data protection principles.
• Lack of knowledge and skills – the systems are rapidly changing, so is the requirement of skills to use big data systems. A business will require skilled data professionals to manage big data.
Question
Which of the following is not a characteristic of big data?
• value
• variety
• visual
• velocity
• veracity
• volume
Answer – visual
• Karen Groves is an AAT tutor and Faculty Director – Accounting, at e-Careers.
Karen Groves provides the answer to this question by explaining the uses, values and limitations of big data
It’s common for some learning methodologies to place a high priority on exam results over a true understanding of the subject and ability to apply knowledge. The opportunity for a student to understand their areas of weakness, and therefore be able to focus on those areas can greatly improve results, without adding extra stress. We developed our online assessment platform, Rogo, to meet the specific needs of accountancy training providers and awarding organisations.
The platform is now used to help ACCA, AAT, CIMA and ICAEW students prepare for their exams. The knowledge we’ve gained working alongside training providers has helped us develop our platform to aid students in gaining an in-depth knowledge of the subject by, for example, being able to ‘build’ their own practice tests, concentrating on specific areas.
PQ accountants working on their professional development can find it difficult to juggle the priorities of work, study and personal life.
Distance learning enables them to learn at a time that works for them, as well as eliminating the need to travel to the class, saving them time and money.
Distance learning also allows for more flexibility, as students can learn at their own pace and review material whenever needed. This gives students more control as to when and how they study, creating a less stressful environment and directly improving studying productivity.
Distance learning also allows students to spend more time on topics they find more difficult to grasp and, conversely, move quickly through topics they are more familiar with, providing a more streamlined and engaging learning experience for anyone studying at different levels.
Online learning and assessments facilitate more thorough and effective feedback from assessors, as marking can be done more efficiently and accurately. Detailed automated feedback can provide more individual and focused guidance.
Feedback can be provided quicker and removes the need for some manual marking, as well as ensuring more consistent marking. Additionally, automated feedback helps students to identify their areas of strength and weakness, allowing for targeted learning.
Gone are the days of rooting around textbooks to find the right page, or sorting through practice papers to get to the one you’re looking for. Online platforms can offer all assessment and learning tools in one place, so students have everything easily accessible during their studies – making sure they can spend more time learning.
Features like these are exclusive to online assessment platforms and they can really elevate the learning experience for students and, in turn, improve understanding, student engagement and reduce dropout rates.
To find out more about Rogo and online learning and assessment visit www.getrogo. com
• James Carter is CEO of Eintech
ACCA’s Victoria Morgan shares the latest developments that make your Student Accountant app even better
careers advice, wellbeing, interviews with students and members, as well as a focus on global news that covers a range of relevant subjects.
Our latest update to the app has introduced new features to help support you even more with your study and exam preparation. These include:
• A new audio/visual section – where students can now easily access a whole range of podcast and video content in one place.
Highlights include exam-specific advice from tutors, how to achieve success at the Applied Knowledge, Applied Skills and Strategic Professional levels, as well as tips from your fellow students on the exam techniques that have worked successfully for them.
• A new events section – which highlights upcoming free exam-specific webinars led by members of the ACCA team and tutors, as well as other key deadlines that you need to know about.
And because we understand that student life can be stressful, the latest update also takes into account the importance of mindfulness. The app’s wellbeing offering has been enhanced by a new puzzles area to help provide you with both a mental workout and the ability to switch off from intense periods of revision when required.
When it comes to getting you through the exams, we’re always looking for ways to help. That’s why ACCA’s Student Accountant app has been updated to
enhance your user experience. Created to help guide ACCA students through their ACCA studies, our Student Accountant app includes important information about exams,
Why not check it out? Just search for ‘Student Accountant’ and download for it for free from the App Store (https://tinyurl.com/4v3u6csm) and Google Play (https://tinyurl.com/ae7euucc).
• Victoria Morgan is Education IP Editor at ACCA
DEVELOPING THE SKILLS OF THE SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS AND FINANCE
Paul Merison asks if break ups are necessary
In April, EY announced that they had changed their minds and were not going to sell off their audit division after all. KPMG immediately announced that they had never supported this policy, and PwC and Deloitte have also made clear they will not be doing it.
So why was this ever a consideration? And what happens next?
Audit quality – or more pertinently, a lack of audit quality – has been a big concern for many years and only seems to be getting worse. Too many audit reviews are showing up problems across the industry. Add to that the public outcry over the collapse of companies such as BHS and Carillion, plus the repeated fines for audit firms caught doing audits badly (or worse still, lying to investigators during a quality review), and audit is in a really bad place.
The UK government has instructed big audit firms to find a way to operationally separate (whatever that means) their audit divisions from the rest of the business. The logic seems simple enough – if audit partners earn no money other than from audit, then they would not care about
selling other services to audit clients and would focus on the audit and nothing else. Ethical threats caused by the desire to earn extra fees, and from growing too close to clients due to the large number of extra services being done, would disappear.
Nobody actually asked the big firms to go as far as splitting up, but EY announced that was their solution. Except now it is not.
What the firms will do next is anyone’s guess. Covid has helped to slow this whole process of improvement down, as we have understandably all been focussed on other things, but something has to be done and fast.
Thing is, there are more pressing issues than the sale of other services to audit clients. Take Carillion for example, where KPMG sold a relatively low amount of other services in the final years – other services were not, it seems, the problem.
The primary issue is the ‘client’ relationship between auditor and company being audited. We have had this issue for many years now, and it seems to me that there are much more
effective changes that could be made:
1. Stop companies choosing their audit firms, and audit firms therefore having to sell themselves to those companies. Do the accused get to select the police officers who investigate them? Do exam students get to choose their marker? Far better for an independent body to allocate audit firms to companies and take almost all the ethical threats away immediately.
2. Where audit quality is deemed below standard, the independent body should remove that audit firm at once and ban them from taking on any new clients for a minimum of two years (as has happened to EY Germany recently as a result of the Wirecard fraud). That would help to focus minds on audit quality.
3. Use the National Audit Office (or other government sponsored audit service) to audit those companies that are really high public interest, or those where the auditor has been removed for quality reasons. Breaking up accountancy firms sounds like a big deal but it is not clear how much, if any, benefit it would provide in terms of solving audit quality issues.
Whether anyone in power has the appetite and bravery to push for any of the above suggestions is, I am afraid to say, doubtful.
• Paul Merison is LSBF London’s Director of ACCA
Question
How do you arrive at the fair value when there are competing numbers given in a question? Can you please explain and illustrate?
Tom’s answer
The objective of the standard IFRS 13 Fair Value Measurement is to provide a single source of guidance for fair value measurement where it is required by a reporting standard. IFRS 13 does not extend the use of fair value, rather it provides guidance on how it should be determined when an initial or subsequent fair value measurement is required by a reporting standard.
Fair value is defined as “the price that would be received to sell an asset or paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date”. Thus, the standard defines fair value on the basis of an ‘exit price’ notion and uses a ‘fair value hierarchy’, which results in a market-based, rather than entity-specific, measurement.
So much for theory. Let us see how fair values are applied in practical situations.
Question: Brampton
An investor has acquired control of Brampton and is conducting a review of its net assets to ascertain their fair value at the date of acquisition in order to determine goodwill. Brampton has owned some land for many years adjacent to its head office in the centre of the city. The land is currently used by staff for parking. The land is carried at its original
cost of $2 million in the financial statements of Brampton. On the basis that the land is used as a car park then it is estimated that it has a value of $3 million. If the land were to be sold, then a buyer might be expected to pay $10 million because of the development potential.
Required
Explain the fair value of the land that Brampton will recognise.
Answer: Brampton
Fair value in the context of an asset is the amount that the asset can be sold for in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date. With a non-financial asset – like land – in arriving at the fair value it is necessary to consider alternative legal uses in order to arrive at the best price.
That Brampton has no plans to sell the land and uses it as a car park is therefore not relevant to determining its fair value. On the open market the land would be valued with its development potential in mind.
In the group accounts, the fair value of this land at the date of acquisition is $10 million. This results in a fair value adjustment of $8 million and in effect reduces the measurement of any goodwill that arises.
• Tom Clendon is an online ACCA SBR lecturer. See www.tomclendon.co.uk He loves WhatsApp (07725 350793) to communicate direct with his students
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Section A will have 15 two-mark OTQs on a wide range of topics. Expect a mix of calculation and discussion-based questions, note that there are no marks for workings in this section. Good time management is essential as it is easy to get caught up in a tough calculation which ultimately will only be worth 2 marks. Never be tempted to spend more than 5 minutes on any question in this section.
For section B there are three separate scenarios with five objective test questions on each scenario; each question is worth 2 marks. Questions are not dependant on each other and can be answered in any order. Each scenario could be a mix of topic areas or focused on one topic and will usually consist of two/three calculations and two/three narratives.
In section C there are two 20-mark questions, which could be from, but not limited to: budgetary systems, planning and operational variances, mix and yield variances and evaluation of the company performance (either as a whole, or on a divisional basis). Familiarity with the CBE software is important as you may be expected to use both a word processing and spreadsheet format for your answer. Learn standardised layouts for calculations such as variances, learning curves and limiting factors. This will save you time in the exam and also mean that you are less likely to make mistakes. The split of marks tends to be approximately 40% calculations and 60% discussion, so don’t neglect the written elements of this paper. Make sure that you always fully explain your ideas. Interpretation and application are important skills that are tested in this paper so make sure you make full use of the scenarios that you are given in the exam.
In section A there will be a wide range of topics tested as there are 15 OTQs. Tutors expect at least a couple of these OTQs to be devoted to the administration of income tax and corporation tax. So, candidates should ensure they are comfortable with the following:
• Due dates for the payment of income tax (including payments on account).
• Due dates for the payment of corporation tax (including instalments for large companies).
• Filing dates for the income tax and corporation tax returns.
• Penalties and interest for late payments and returns.
Other topic areas likely to be tested in section A of the exam are:
• VAT rules on registration, impairment loss (bad debt) relief, and the SME schemes relating to cash accounting, annual accounting and flat-rate schemes.
• Inheritance tax due on lifetime transfers both in the donor’s life and on death.
• Statutory residence tests for individuals.
• Identification of groups of companies for corporation tax loss reliefs and gains.
• Trading loss reliefs for both companies and sole traders.
In section B the questions will be like those of section A, but there will be a longer scenario to deal with. This means a slightly different exam skill is necessary as you have more information to work through and each OTQ will require you to find the relevant information or data in that scenario. It is not a difficult skill, but you must practise an extensive range of section B questions from the practice and revision kit before attempting the real exam.
In section C you will face the longer, constructive response questions with scenarios and much more open requirements. Your answers will need to show not just sound technical knowledge, but also the application of that knowledge to the question you have been asked.
At least 50% of your revision time should be spent answering the section C questions in the practice and revision kit to build confidence and speed in a way that will also maximise marks.
1. Remember to learn your income tax and corporation tax pro formas.
2. Calculations which require no more than two or three entries into your calculator can be included in the relevant cell of your pro formas (e.g. time apportioning a salary). Calculations which are more complex (e.g. company car benefits) need separate workings which are properly referenced (W1, W2 etc) and have a heading. Use the cell formulae to link the workings answer into your pro forma – then if you change the working the main body will be automatically
update.
3. Attempt the narrative parts of the requirement – aim for as many sentences as there are marks, with each sentence containing something technical. Keep your paragraphs to no more than 3 sentences long.
4. Your exam will be in the CBE software and the spreadsheets have some differences to the software you may not be accustomed to, so it is crucial you practice using the CBE software, especially for section C type questions.
5. Remember you cannot insert rows into the CBE spreadsheets. So, leave plenty of space on the page (especially when setting up proformas). You may need to add something in and you can always go back and move workings up the page. Show workings down the page, rather than across the page as it makes them easier to mark. Well-spaced answers are also easier to mark – and you always want to keep the marker happy. We know that the two longest questions will focus on income tax and corporation tax. These are likely to include the following:
• Employment benefits.
• Property income.
• Relief for pension contributions.
• Adjustments to profit to arrive at trading income for both companies and sole traders – in past sittings we have seen a number of questions whereby you have to correct errors in computations included in the scenario.
• Capital allowance computations.
• Chargeable gains calculations. Finally, remember the pass mark is 50%
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so you don’t need to be perfect. If you don’t know something have a guess and move on. Sometimes you have to do that in order to get follow through marks in section C questions. If you make a mistake, but then use that incorrect figure later in a subsequent calculation, then that’s fine – you can only lose the mark once. In sections A and B never leave an OTQ unanswered – have a guess if you don’t know the answer. It might be right!
Section A:
• 15 two-mark OTQs on a wide range of topics, including areas such as consolidation and interpretation of financial statements that will be covered in detail in section C.
• Expect a few questions on non-core areas (e.g. inflation, specialised entities).
• Read the scenario, requirement and answer options carefully and ensure you capture the correct information from the scenario to answer the requirement.
• Don’t leave any questions unanswered –there is no harm in guessing if you are unsure of the correct answer.
Section B (case questions):
• Three separate scenarios with five OTQs on each scenario; each question is worth 2 marks.
• Each scenario could be a mix of topic areas (for example revenue and receivables are often related, as are PPE and leases) or focused on one topic and will usually consist of two/three calculations and two/three narratives.
• Questions are not dependant on each other and can be answered in any order.
Section C (constructed response questions):
• Two 20-mark questions, one covering interpretations of financial statements and the other preparation of financial statements.
• One question is likely to be in the context of a single company and one in the context of a group, so you could be faced with a single company interpretation and a groups preparation or vice versa.
• Accounts preparation questions may require
full financial statements or extracts – read the requirement carefully. Students expect questions on statement of profit or loss and statement of financial position, but should not forget comprehensive income, the statement of changes in equity, and the statement of cash flows.
• Both questions will require knowledge from other areas of the syllabus, particularly the accounts preparation question which will have a range of adjustments covering various areas.
• A single entity accounts preparation question from a trail balance or restatement of given financial statements with common adjustments being for depreciation, revaluation and current/deferred tax (including deferred tax on revaluations) plus a mixture of adjustments on other syllabus areas e.g. leases, substance over form issues, financial instruments (change in fair value or amortised cost), share issues, government grants, inventory valuation, and revenue recognition.
• Group accounts preparation questions will provide the separate financial statements (or extracts thereof) of the parent and relevant subsidiary(ies) and associate. Candidates should be prepared to set out the standard workings for goodwill, non-controlling interests, movements in net assets, retained earnings as those are commonly examined. Other common adjustments are intragroup sales of goods, intragroup sales of assets, dividends and fair value adjustments.
• ACCA has clarified in the 2022-23 syllabus that a consolidation accounts preparation question could include up to two subsidiaries and one associate (previously it was one subsidiary and one associate) which allows additional scope for examining the disposal of a subsidiary (including as a discontinued operation).
• Candidates continue to find the interpretations question challenging. In both single entity and group interpretation questions, candidates must avoid making generic statements about the movement in ratios and instead focus on using the information in the question to, for example: identify key changes in the period (e.g.
change in sales mix, closed down an operation, purchased a new subsidiary); identify transactions that would cause inconsistencies between periods or between balances (e.g. revaluation of assets for the first time, particularly if the revaluation was at the end of the period); identify any changes in accounting policies or estimates, or classification (e.g. one company presents expenses as part of cost of sales whereas another presents as part of administrative expenses).
• ACCA has clarified wording in the 2022-23 syllabus to emphasise the importance of the statement of cash flows in interpreting financial statements.
In section A there will be three mini-case style scenarios, each with five 2-mark questions based on the scenario (30 in total). Each minicase question will test single topic areas of the syllabus and so will test syllabus areas A, B, C, D or E. Expect questions in section A to focus on areas A and E.
All three questions (one 30-mark and two 20-mark questions) in section B will be broken down into sub requirements and be scenario based. The majority of marks in each question will test syllabus areas B, C and/or D.
Areas expected to be tested in questions 16 to 18 include:
• Audit planning.
• Audit risk (identification and explanation of audit risks from a scenario and explanation of the auditor’s response to each risk).
• Internal audit.
• Internal controls (identification and explanation of deficiencies in internal control and the recommendation of suitable internal controls or description of tests of controls).
• Audit procedures (substantive procedures & tests of controls).
General advice: Where questions are based on a scenario it is essential that you use the information in the scenario to score the identification marks and then develop this to score the explanation marks.
The exam provides a table for you to complete your answer. For example, audit risk questions will have a table with two columns, one for ‘audit
risk’ and one for ‘auditor’s response’ with each properly explained point being worth one mark. Using this tabular approach encourages you to answer both parts of the question, therefore maximising your marks.
Pay attention to the verbs used in question requirements as these indicate the number of marks available. For example, the verb “explain” requires a sentence and will score one mark if properly explained whereas the verb “list” simply requires you to list out information with no further explanation and this will score 0.5 mark per point.
Finally, it is essential you read the Examiner’s Reports which are issued twice a year after the June and December exam sittings. These are an invaluable source of advice and provide a sample section A OTQ case style question as well as three constructed response questions from the March/June and September/December sittings. Not only do they provide the example questions but these are accompanied by a commentary from the examining team, which gives guidance on interpreting the question requirements and common mistakes/areas of weakness noted during the marking process. These reports can be found on the ACCA website: https:// www.accaglobal.com/uk/en/student/examsupport-resources/fundamentals-exams-studyresources/f8/examiners-reports1.htm
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Questions in section A will often be knowledge based (testing your knowledge of key technical terms), and will balance out the questions in section B and C of the exam to make sure that all aspects of the syllabus are examined. It is also likely that these questions will test your understanding of financial management and objectives (ratio analysis, the concept of shareholder wealth) as well as the economic environment and financial institutions topics (financial intermediation, fiscal and monetary policies).
Each section B case-study will be broken down into three 10-mark mini case studies. The case study will then be broken down into 5 separate 2-mark MCQs (so 15 questions in total). Areas expected to be commonly tested in this section are working capital management (e.g. the operating cycle, the impact of a change in credit period or accepting a factor’s offer), business or security valuations (e.g. methods of valuation), and financial risk management (currency risk and interest rate risk).
Section C’s two 20-mark questions will be broken down into sub requirements and be scenario-based. These two questions will focus mainly on syllabus sections C, D and E. Section C is working capital management, section D is investment appraisal and section E is business finance. Whichever of these three topics does not feature in section C is likely to appear in section B of the exam.
Questions from syllabus section C (working capital management) are likely to be broad ranging so a good broad knowledge of this syllabus section is important. Candidates are sometimes exposed by a weak understanding of working capital finance.
Questions from section D (investment
a calculation, you do not need to provide an explanation, unless this is specifically indicated in the requirement.
• Time-keeping is key to passing this question. A recent examiner report identified that students were spending too long writing detailed answers to the first parts of Q1 and then not attempting the later parts. The marker cannot award more than the allocated number of marks for each part of the question, so to maximise your marks, you must make sure you attempt each part of the question. Make sure you work out the time you have available for each question, and for each part of the question and then stick to it.
Question 2 - 20 marks, including two professional marks:
• Q2 will cover the reporting and ethical implications in a given scenario. Make sure you consider any threats to the fundamental principles of ACCA's Code of Ethics and Conduct in your answer.
• Two professional marks are available in this question and going forward the examiner has stated that the question will make it clear what these marks will be awarded for.
Section B will be two questions, worth 25 marks each:
appraisal) are likely to feature NPV with inflation and tax, however it is important to also be able to answer questions that include risk, leasing, asset replacement and capital rationing. Section E (business finance) questions often either feature an evaluation of financing options (interest coverage and gearing ratios are likely to be important here) or calculation and analysis of a company's cost of capital.
It is important that you read the examiner's approach article on the ACCA website. ACCA has also published several exam technique and technical articles that you should read as part of your exam preparation. These are available in the exam technique section of the SBR exam support resources section of the ACCA website www.accaglobal.com
The exam section A will be 2 questions, worth 50 marks in total – both are compulsory.
Question 1 - 30 marks:
• Q1 will be based on group accounting. Be aware that this question may test any aspect of group accounting, including consolidated statements of cash flows, overseas subsidiaries and associates and JVs.
• Make sure you provide calculations if these are asked for. A recent examiner's report stated that some candidates are not attempting the required calculations and therefore struggling to gain a pass mark on this question.
• To score well, you need to do the calculations and, where asked explain the principles underlying the calculations you have performed. If a question simply asks for
• Section B can deal with any area of the syllabus and may be based on a short scenario, a case study with several parts, or an essay.
• Section B will always include a question or part-question involving the analysis or appraisal of information from the perspective of a stakeholder. Make sure you have a go at answering this question. There is no 'right' answer at this level – marks will be awarded for sensible points that have been applied to the scenario.
• There are two professional marks available for the question that covers the stakeholder's perspective. To gain these marks, you must discuss the issue from the perspective of the stakeholder – e.g. if asked for the investor's perspective, you must answer from the investor's perspective!
• Current issues are usually examined in section B as a part of a question (not a full question). However, current issues could be examined in either section A or section B of the exam. A question on current issues may require the application of existing accounting standards to a current accounting issue - for example, accounting for cryptocurrency, or accounting for the effects of a natural disaster.
General advice: Make sure you plan your time at the beginning of the exam (and stick to it) to ensure you don't over-run on a particular question – it is 1.95 minutes per mark (or 1.8 minutes per mark if you allocate 15 minutes to reading the paper).
Generally, you will be awarded 1 mark for each relevant well-explained point in the SBR exam. Make sure you make enough points for the marks available – for example, if the requirement is worth 8 marks, you should aim to
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These tips should only be used in conjunction with proper study. We cannot guarantee that these topics will appear in the actual exam as we have not seen the exam papers. Examiners are not predictable so it is vital that all core syllabus areas are revised fully.
make 8 relevant, well-explained points. It will be easier for the marker to award you marks if you lay out your answers clearly, leaving space between your points. You can use the spreadsheet (and spreadsheet functionality) to do calculations. If you do use the spreadsheet, make sure you cross reference to any narrative discussion, if appropriate.
Some requirements state that you do not need to refer to an exhibit to answer that particular requirement. Where this is the case, then it is recommended that you follow that advice and stick to general discussion, rather than referring to the scenario.
Use the 'cut' and 'paste' tools wisely – e.g. do not cut and paste into your answer large sections of the exhibits as the examiner has stated in a recent examiner's report that this will be obvious to the marker, and will gain no marks. If you wish to use cut and paste, the examiner recommends just copying and pasting relevant parts of sentences and then adding your own comments.
As with all other ACCA current exams SBL is examined as a closed book examination. Unlike the other Strategic Professional level exams which are 3 hours and 15 minutes in duration, the SBL exam ‘lasts’ 4 hours. The exam builds upon the knowledge that you gained at the ‘Applied Knowledge’ and ‘Applied Skills’ levels. However, it does also have its own distinct syllabus content. That all changes in September 2023 with the introduction of a pre-seen! For the June exams you will not be issued with any pre-seen information in advance of sitting your exam as everything you will require will be made available to you within the examination itself. The SBL exam will focus on one main organisation, and all of the question requirements will relate to this organisation. You may have to take on a variety of roles, which may require you to adopt an internal or external perspective when answering questions. You will also be required to respond to a variety of people within the organisation. All of the questions in the exam are compulsory. The SBL exam will consist of 80 technical marks and 20 Professional Skills marks.
Question requirements in the exam will assess and link several subject areas from across the syllabus, and these will test your ability to construct appropriate responses and to carry out numerical analysis.
General advice: While 4 hours (240 minutes) can sound like a lot of time in which to attempt the exam, it is crucial not to become
complacent in how you use this time. ACCA recommend spending around 40 minutes reading, planning and interpreting the requirements and the information/exhibits provided. Based on this estimation when planning the amount of time you will spend on each requirement you should look to allocate 2.5 minutes per mark on offer. This time allocation is based on the fact that the exam is 240 minutes in duration, once the 40 minutes reading time is deducted this gives 200 minutes to type up your answer. There are 80 technical marks on offer so by dividing the 200 minutes by the 80 technical marks we derive 2.5 minutes per mark. You can earn the 20 Professional Skills marks by virtue of attempting the 80 technical marks on offer.
It is important to note that you can spend longer than the recommended 40 minutes reading and planning your answer. If you do choose to spend longer on this task then you will need to bear this in mind when you come to writing your answers. Alternatively, you may prefer to work on the basis of 2 minutes per mark (being 200 minutes divided by 100 marks).
Reading question requirements: The SBL exam will contain all of the information that you will require to answer the question requirements set. This information will be presented in a series of exhibits. To help you locate the exhibits most relevant to answering a specific question it is therefore important that you take the time to read the question requirements set carefully as this should help to direct you. Furthermore, reading the question requirements carefully is important as this will indicate the role and the perspective from which you are expected to answer the question. Identifying this early on is important as it will drive how you construct your answer.
Planning your answer: Clearly, if you have gone to the trouble of preparing an answer plan it is important that you use it when writing up your answer. To get the most from your answer plan it is therefore important that you include as much detail as you think will be helpful when the time comes to write up your answer. When planning your work it is important to bear in mind the ACCA’s guide of using 40 minutes for reading and planning. As mentioned earlier you need to remember that some question requirements may require you to conduct some numerical analysis. For example, you may be asked to analyse the performance of the organisation featured in the exam. It is important that you plan the numerical analysis that you intend to perform to ensure that you only focus on performing those calculations that are going
to support your answer and provide you with something to talk about.
Producing lots and lots of unnecessary calculations for the sake of it will only serve to waste your time in the exam.
Using computer software: Ensure you practise timed exam questions using the ACCA CBE software. You need to be comfortable reading and highlighting the exhibits on the screen as well as taking notes in the scratch pad. It will be easier if you plan your ideas and set up your answer structure in the software, in the form of headings. The exam software comprises a word processor, a spreadsheet and some presentation software. The word processor will be used for answering the majority of the tasks. Any calculations you perform should be in an appendix in the spreadsheet software. Tasks requesting slides should be completed in the presentation software.
Understanding the syllabus and the appropriate use of theoretical models in the exam: To stand the best chance of passing the SBL exam, you will need to have a good understanding of the entire syllabus. However, it is important to remember that unlike other exams that you may have sat in the past, questions in the SBL exam will not ask you to simply regurgitate your knowledge of a particular topic or theoretical model. Requirements will test your ability to apply your understanding of the subjects covered in the SBL syllabus in the context of the question scenario. Furthermore, requirements will not specifically ask you to use a particular model in answering the question. Whether to use a theoretical model when constructing your answer will be a matter of judgement that you will need to weigh up in light of the information presented to you in the exam. Attempting plenty of questions in the lead up to your exam is the most effective way of developing your judgement in this area.
Understanding the difference between technical marks and Professional Skill marks: Technical marks relate to the knowledge (which we discussed in the previous section), there are 80 technical marks on offer in the exam. By contrast the 20 Professional Skills marks are awarded for displaying the following skills and behaviours:
• Communication.
• Commercial acumen.
• Analysis.
• Scepticism.
• Evaluation.
Every Professional Skill will be tested in every SBL exam sitting. The Professional Skill being tested will be specified under each question
requirement. As you prepare to attempt the exam it is crucial that you take the time to attempt as many practice questions as you can. To increase your chances of exam success you need to ensure that you take sufficient time to develop your understanding of the Professional Skills.
Q1 section A:
Q1 of the APM exam will focus on a range of issues from syllabus section A (strategic planning and control), section B (performance measurement systems and design) and section C (strategic performance measurement).
Section A (50 marks) contains one question broken down into sub requirements. You will often be required to link a business’s mission to its performance objectives using the concept of CSFs and KPIs. You may well also have to critique and recommend improvements to performance reports and the balanced scorecard and/or information systems could well be tested in this context.
Assessing the performance of an organisation is also likely to be tested and this could easily include benchmarking as a theme. Financial performance measures (ROCE/RI/EVA etc) are also likely to be examined in this context, but don't neglect non-financial issues from syllabus section C such as quality management, value for management and reward systems.
Q2-3 section B:
ACCA have said that one of the section B questions will come from syllabus section D (performance evaluation). This means you need to have sound knowledge of the balance scorecard, building block and performance pyramid models. In addition you will also need to have a good working knowledge of activity based management (ABM) and value based management (VBM).
The other question can be sourced from a variety of syllabus areas including quality management, information reporting (e.g. big data, lean information), HR frameworks (e.g. reward & appraisal systems), transfer pricing and environmental management accounting.
General advice: APM is primarily a skillsbased exam which tests the ability to apply knowledge to practical problems. This is now even more important as 20% of the marks are awarded for professional skills. Make sure you aware what these skills are and that you are confident in your ability to integrate these into your answer to the technical requirements of a question.
However, application of knowledge is only possible if you have a good range of technical skills in place. So, even though APM is not about reciting technical knowledge, it is absolutely vital that candidates ensure that they have a good broad knowledge of core technical areas.
The exam will comprise of one compulsory 50-mark question within section A. The requirements will be detailed in the manager’s email marked ‘work to be carried out’ and there will be several exhibits containing further information. The answer will need to
be prepared in a specific format as set out in the manager’s email which will include mark allocations for the sub-requirements. Due to the size of the question it is possible that the scenario could involve more than one client or a personal client in addition to a corporate client. The question will comprise of 35 technical marks, 5 ethics marks and 10 professional skills marks. Each of the four professional skills will be tested.
Section B will comprise of two compulsory 25-mark questions. These will be in a more succinct, note form style, and will comprise of 20 technical marks and 5 professional skills marks. A minimum of two of the three professional skills will be tested in these questions (not including communication).
The exam will test candidates’ ability to analyse and evaluate the tax implications of various situations, numerical calculations will only be required to assist in producing an answer and no purely numerical questions will be set.
Due to the introduction of the professional skills marks, students will now have more time to attempt each question than under previous sittings. The ACCA has stated that the additional professional skills marks should not be considered as additional requirements but that the extra time they allow should be used for planning and thus to prepare a more comprehensive answer.
Topics/scenarios we would expect to see are:
• Personal income tax scenarios which could involve: investing in a pension; investing in EIS, SEIS or VCTs, share schemes; employment income possibly with termination payments; a personal service company; property income or a takeover.
• Unincorporated business – particularly including loss reliefs, partnerships or basis period rules.
• A question focussing on overseas issuesthis could be income tax, capital gains tax, inheritance tax or a corporate scenario.
• Capital gains tax versus inheritance tax including availability of reliefs.
• Corporate scenarios – likely to focus in more depth on intangibles; research and
development; losses; corporate groups or consortia.
• Special corporate scenarios such as liquidation; purchase of own shares; close or investment companies.
• A business transformation scenario question such as selling a sole trade business, incorporation, or, in a corporate context, the sale of shares versus the sale of trade and assets.
• Other common types of question/calculation to expect are:
• Reviewing a pre-prepared computation to spot, explain and correct errors.
• Calculations such as “tax saved through an action”, “after-tax proceeds”, “the value of a post-tax inheritance”, “net spendable income” or the “net of tax cost of something”.
Don’t forget that across the scenarios you can expect to see VAT marks available. Partial exemption, land & buildings, transfer of going concern, capital goods scheme, overseas VAT and registration/group registration/ deregistration tend to be frequently examined. There will also likely be a couple of marks for stamp duty points if you remember to think about it in your planning!
Finally, don’t forget your basic administration points are also likely to be examined – when do we need to pay tax, when do we file a return and what if either of those are late?
The most recent AAA exams have contained no real surprises, although you should be prepared for the look and feel of the embedded email and supporting exhibits and the split of both technical and professional skills marks.
Section A will comprise a case study, worth 50 marks, split into 40 technical marks and 10 professional skills marks, and will be set at the planning stage of the audit, for a single company, a group of companies or potentially several audit clients.
Candidates will be provided with detailed information, which will vary between examinations, but is likely to include extracts of financial information, strategic, operational and other relevant information for a client, as well as extracts from audit working papers, which could include the results of analytical procedures. The date will be set as 1 July 20X5.
Candidates will be required to address a range of requirements, from syllabus sections A, B, C and D, thereby tackling a real-world situation where candidates may have to address a range of issues simultaneously in relation to planning, risk assessment, evidence gathering and ethical and professional considerations.
Ten professional marks will be available in section A and will be awarded based on the demonstration of professional skill within a candidate’s answer, including communication, analysis and evaluation, professional scepticism and judgement and commercial acumen.
Section B will contain two compulsory 25-mark questions, with each being predominately based around a short scenario. The marks will be split into 20 technical marks and five professional skills marks. There are no
optional questions in AAA.
One question will always test syllabus section E, and candidates should therefore always be prepared to answer a question relating to completion, review and reporting. There are a number of formats this question could adopt, including, but not limited to, matters to be considered and evidence expected to be on file, a going concern assessment, the impact of subsequent events, evaluating identified misstatements and any corresponding effects on the auditor’s report. Candidates may also be asked to critique an auditor’s report or a report which is to be provided to management or those charged with governance.
The second section B question can be drawn from any other part of the syllabus, including sections A, B, C, D and F. Syllabus section G on current issues is unlikely to form the basis of a question on its own, but instead will be incorporated into the case study or either of the section B questions depending on question content and the topical issues affecting the profession at the time of sitting the exam.
Five professional marks will be available in each Section B question for demonstrating professional skill in analysis and evaluation plus at least one of professional scepticism and judgement and commercial acumen.
General advice: This subject often tests topical issues which have been covered by the examining team’s technical articles (e.g.
quality management in September 2022 and the impact of data analytics in September/ December 2020). Content on the CBE and how to improve your CBE technique can be found on the website. Note that from September 2022, as well as changes to audit quality, there has also been an increased focus on sustainability reporting. All the examining team's technical articles can be found online, including two recent articles on quality management, two articles on planning questions and risk, plus another two articles that discuss recent developments in social, environmental and sustainability reporting. Read them!
Advanced Financial Management AFM
All AFM exams will have questions which have a focus on section B of the syllabus (advanced investment appraisal) and section E (treasury and advanced risk management techniques). These syllabus areas are therefore high priority areas for your revision.
Q1 section A:
You can expect section A questions to cover at least two different syllabus areas. This emphasises the importance of having a good broad knowledge of the syllabus and not targeting your final exam revision on a small number of syllabus areas.
Section A questions are often based on core syllabus areas such as: project appraisal
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(domestic or overseas), business valuations and business/financial reorganisations; these areas often include cost of capital calculations.
Risk management may also feature in a number of different ways e.g. value at risk, real options, interest rate or current hedging, and risk management (e.g. mapping).
Q2-3 section B:
Areas to be tested:
• Risk management (currency or interest rate) including the functions and structure of a treasury department.
• Dividend policy and general financing issues.
• Real options including limitations of approach.
• Business reorganisation.
General advice: The examining team have stressed that exams are designed to make question spotting extremely difficult for this paper, so it is important to have a broad understanding of the key aspects of each syllabus area.
Don't over-emphasise numerical analysis in your final revision – remember that this paper is not a maths exam and, in all exam questions the examiner is interested in your ability to communicate well and to give good management advice that relates to the scenario in the question. This is now even more important as 20% of the marks are awarded for professional skills. Make sure you aware what these skills are and that you are confident in your ability to integrate these into your answer to the technical requirements of a question.
We’ve seen too many business owners having to endure it. The awful realisation that digital criminals are inside your business, stealing and encrypting confidential personal and business information and using it to blackmail you.
You know for sure that your business is going to be severely damaged, and you’re going to have to explain yourself to the regulator, the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), and your clients.
To help you avoid this, here are our top 10 areas that accountancy firms need to address to stop ransomware.
1. Anti-virus (AV) software
AV is the software application that is designed to stop malicious software getting a foothold on your devices and to prevent bad actors (hackers) taking control of your systems.
In the end-to-end journey of a successful ransomware attack, AV will have several opportunities to halt progress. Cyber criminals will attempt to switch it off as early in the journey as they can. Make sure it is centrally controlled, configured by a security specialist, kept up-todate and on every device as a minimum.
2. Email security filters
Email platforms have filters that check incoming emails for malicious software, dodgy links and if they came from an untrusted origin.
One of the attackers’ favourite ways into a business is via email. Setting your platform up correctly can make sure that employees are protected from this route in.
3. Web browsing controls
These controls are designed to stop or warn
users they are about to visit a dangerous or fraudulent website.
To get around the AV software, fraudsters will often take unwitting staff to fraudulent websites. This risk can be minimised by correctly setting the controls in the browser, the AV and the operating system.
4. Security patching
Software providers like Microsoft or Google (Chrome) issue regular software updates that patch (fix) known vulnerabilities.
Cyber criminals will use bugs in software to compromise your defences and this is often used in ransomware attacks to get control. The simple discipline of updating these patches is probably the most neglected.
5. Least privilege
Every user on your system is assigned privileges that define what they can control, run, and amend.
Ransomware attackers take over users’ accounts and the more privileges that a user has, the more damage the attacker can do. So an approach of ‘least privilege’ should be followed.
6. Remote authentication
When working at a non-work location (e.g. at home) how do you tell business systems who you are and how do they authenticate that?
Username and password are no longer good enough protection for remote connection. Adding another method of authentication would stop a significant proportion of ransomware attacks.
7. Test and scan externally facing assets
Tests and scans of firewalls, domain addresses, login pages and IP addresses will check for vulnerabilities and gaps in your security defences. You may not be scanning these, but the criminals are! So you need to find the open ports and poor configuration before they do.
8. Review access management
This relates to the documents, files, and folders that your system allows individuals to access. There is a generic setting of ‘Everyone’ in many systems. This means that everyone connected to the system can get to the documents, you do not even have to be authenticated. Access to documents should be defined by role.
9. Alerting and incident response
The controls and administration of your IT systems have alerts that warn you something is not right.
An incident response plan is a rehearsed set of steps that ensure businesses respond effectively to a cyber incident.
If you prepare these two things correctly you will have a chance of stopping a ransom attack in its tracks.
10. Back-up
This is the process by which your business takes a copy of the systems, applications, and documents for use in an emergency.
This is rarely configured correctly, which means that scarily few back-ups survive a ransom attack, with everything ending up encrypted. Get yourself confident that yours would survive.
• David Fleming, Chief Technology Officer, Mitigo CybersecurityForeign currency hedging is included in ACCA FM as well as AFM. As you would expect, there is more to cover in the latter compared with the former. The forward contract and money market hedging methods are regularly tested in both exams.
This article will explain and demonstrate how to present these hedges with the aid of an example.
Example: Lads Co
Lads Co is a UK-based company that regularly trades with companies in the USA. Several large transactions are due in three months’ time. These are shown below. The transactions are in ‘000’ units of the currencies shown.
Assume that it is now 1 June. Exports to:
Exchange rates: $US/£
Spot Rate 1.9156-1.9210
3 months forward1.9066-1.9120
1 year forward1.8901-1.8945
Annual interest rates available to Lads Co
from:
relevant rate.
To ensure you choose the correct value between the bid (left) or the offer (right), there are two ways to think about this.
From first principles, the banks in this case are trading the £. That’s their product. Like any business, they will purchase the product at a low price (bid). They then add a profit and sell the product at a high price (offer).
Lads Co is looking to dispose of £’s in exchange for $’s. They can then cover the net payment. This means that the bank will buy the £’s from Lads. The bank dictates the price. They will use the low value, the bid price, the one on the left.
This is a lot to think about in the heat of the exam room. So, I have a simple process to learn and use.
1. Check the presentation of the rates are indirect format.
2. You have a receipt or net receipt of foreign currency.
3. Divide (2) by the right-hand rate.
I call this the ‘R&R’ rule. A Receiver of FX divides by the Right-hand rate. If the transaction is a foreign currency payment or net payment, simply divide by the left-hand rate.
I accept that in ACCA AFM the exchange rates could be presented in the ‘direct’ format, but let’s leave that for a future article.
Now, we can complete this regularly tested hedge:
3-month forward rate ($/£)1.90663 month forward bid (left hand) rate Transaction at forward rate (£’000)
The MMH is different to the other hedges as it is not a derivative. The objective is to accelerate the exchange from the transaction date to today. As the current spot rate is known and certain, the FX transaction risk is removed.
The MMH requires the use of money market accounts for deposits and loans in the respective currencies. These accounts follow the simple interest rules.
Money Market Hedge
The first step is to net off the $ transactions expected in three months’ time:
The amount of £ needed to pay the $’s for the deposit
The £’s needed will be funded by a short-term loan
Based purely on the numbers above, the forward contract will be chosen as the sterling value in 3 months’ time is more favourable.
However, as an ACCA AFM student, you will need elaborate a little more to earn the professional skills marks, in particular acumen. Additional comments that could be made in this case include the following.
There are transaction costs involved when converting at the spot or the forward rates. The latter are likely to be marginally higher.
Both methods of hedging remove the chance of making a transaction risk gain should the value of sterling rise over the next three months. However, the data provided in the question indicates that this is unlikely to happen.
As Lads Co is based in the UK and it’s home currency is sterling, the two transactions in £’s can be ignored.
Before we prepare the two types of hedges, let’s take a careful look at the exchange rates: $US/£
Spot Rate 1.9156-1.9210
3 months forward1.9066-1.9120
1 year forward1.8901-1.8945
This is known as the ‘indirect’ presentation of the bid-offer rates for the £. The home currency (£) is locked at one and is being valued in $’s. To convert from $’s to £’s, the dollar payment will need to be divided by the
The forward rates are an indicator of the potential change in future spot rates. They are showing a decline in the value of sterling.
Then take the money market interest rates. These are nominal values and reflect the respective inflation rates of each country. The dollar rates are clearly below the sterling values. Hence, if the spot rates were forecast using the Purchasing Power Parity Theory (PPPT), sterling would be predicted to fall.
Conclusion
In this article, I have looked at the two most popular FX hedging methods tested in ACCA FM and AFM. However, in the latter the calculations extend to cover FX Futures and Options. These will be looked at in future articles.
• Sunil Bhandari is an ACCA AFM tutor with FME Learn Online. See www. SunilBhandari.com
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The TARA framework is a tool that can be used to assess and manage risk. It enables us to classify risks into two variables, the likelihood or probability of it happening; and the impact of it happening.
Likelihood or probability means the chance of it happening. The likelihood of it raining on a cloudy, overcast day in December is high. The likelihood of it raining on a sunny day with blue skies is August is low. Impact means the effect that it will have on the business. Getting rained on while out for a walk will have little impact or effect as we can dry off when we get home. Getting rained on when we are studying in the garden with our computer, phone and all our books out may have more impact as all our books, computer and phone may get damaged and need replacing.
The acronym TARA means: Transfer Avoid Reduce Accept
To transfer the risk means that the risk is shared with or transferred to another person or business.
To avoid the risk means the risk should be avoided completely.
To reduce the risk means reducing the risk to an acceptable level.
To accept the risk means that the outcome is more important than the risk.
To use TARA to assess a risk, we need to look at the framework in a diagram. Impact
There are different designs of this framework, but once you understand the concept you will be able to assess the risk using any of these designs. You might like to draw your own version of this, so research it online first and pick a style that makes sense to you. Use colours to remember it, too.
An example
A company has been offered a substantial new contract to manufacture a specialist medical product. However, they do not have the relevant expertise to manufacture the product in line with current legislation. If they go ahead and make the product, they may be prosecuted for failure to meet legislative requirements (the law) and suffer heavy fines or penalties, which could put them out of business.
There is a high risk of being prosecuted if they go ahead with the contract and the result or impact will be heavy fines.
Looking at the TARA model, we can assess that the likelihood of this happening as high, and the impact will be severe or high too.
The TARA framework illustrates that this project should be avoided as the probability or likelihood of failure and the impact should it fail are both high.
If you enjoy my way of explaining things, you might like my workbooks, which are all available from Amazon in both paperback and as eBooks. The links to all my workbooks can be found here: https://www.teresaclarke.co.uk/
• Teresa Clarke FMAAT
The timelines for achieving net zero are ambitious, and radical solutions will be needed to achieve them.
Carbon pricing is one such idea. While the scale of the challenge cannot be addressed through public finances alone, the sector can leverage its expertise in measurement and reporting through carbon pricing. The framework places a monetary value on emissions, encouraging behavioural shifts in production and consumption to less carbonintensive activities. For example, the revenue generated through policies such as cap-andtrade or a carbon tax can help to alleviate budgetary pressures and support the delivery of vital public services.
Considerable progress has been made in adopting carbon pricing in the UK, and there are opportunities for stronger follow-through in policies. The UK was among the first industrialised economies to commit to a legally binding target to achieve net zero by 2050. Common standards and practices in accountancy and audit can enable the managers of public services to understand cost drivers and behaviours in a shared language. Information can then be more readily aggregated, interpreted and exchanged. By better aligning economic activity with the cost of environmental impact, carbon pricing can form a part of a whole-system approach to national green transition.
Public financial management can support climate action through the reporting of carbon emissions data in a standardised and globally recognised format. The sector
can then integrate this with wider forms of reporting, while accelerating the alignment and harmonisation of existing frameworks.
National measurement and integration of carbon emissions data is mandatory under the Greening Government Commitments guidance
and HM Treasury’s sustainability reporting advice. This activity should be guided by what is happening across local jurisdictions.
According to the Climate Change Committee, an independent, statutory body established under the UK’s Climate Change Act 2008, local authorities can influence around a third of emissions through their statutory and discretionary public services, including engagement with local stakeholders. While local government is currently not covered in the guidance on Greening Government Commitments and sustainability reporting, public financial management professionals can play a constructive role in operationalising national goals into local practices.
In the UK, 21 central government departments are already required to measure their progress towards the GGC.
There can be a considerable difference in how emissions are measured, depending on the method used. For example, the Department for Business and Trade estimates that the public sector contributes 3% of the UK’s total emissions, compared with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs’ estimate of 8%. For local government, the choice between these two approaches can be equally significant – emissions from consumption can be up to twice that of production. In practice, the approaches should be considered as complementary rather than mutually exclusive. The Global Protocol for Community-Scale Greenhouse Gas Emission Inventories (GPC) standards blend these approaches with a degree of flexibility on the granularity permitted, based on local capacity.
As measurement incurs administrative costs and burden, the sector should consult existing tools that have been developed for local authorities. For instance, SCATTER, developed by the Department for Business and Trade, Greater Manchester Combined Authority and Nottingham City Council, quantifies the impact of capital and revenue projects while embedding the financial cost of carbon into decision-making across statutory responsibilities, such as housing and transport.
Similarly, Local Partnerships and the Local Government Association have produced a greenhouse gas accounting tool to help local authorities establish an annual baseline using the Greenhouse Gas Protocol.
The scale of climate change and consequences for inaction make net zero a target we cannot afford to miss.
• Jeffrey Matsu is chief economist at CIPFALondon : Birmingham : Manchester : Online info@fctraining.org
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GAAPweb has launched its annual 2023 salary survey, detailing the finer points of the working lives of more than 1,300 finance professionals, from salaries and bonuses to hybrid working policies and in-demand skills. With new-found employee expectations being brought to the forefront of the recruitment landscape, GAAPweb’s analysis reveals the impact of the past 12 months on the candidatedriven market.
This year has seen employers witness a year of financial turbulence, with pressure to provide increased remuneration and reward to attract new starters and retain loyal talent.
Some 60% of respondents received a salary increase (a 66% uplift on 2021 figures), with 51% being awarded an additional bonus. Another year-on-year augmentation reiterates the demands of the candidate-driven market and economic pressures on businesses, with many companies offering cost-of-living payments and salary boosts to those impacted by the crisis. Increases in salary were reported across a broad range of finance and accountancy job titles, including entry level jobs, junior roles on the hierarchical ladder, and PQ positions. Fifty-eight per cent of accountants saw a pay increase, alongside 47% of assistant accountants and 63% of management accountants. Salary amelioration aligns with an
increased bonus structure across the board, with 41% of those receiving a bonus taking home a 3%-5% supplement.
We’ve seen a soar in hybrid working, with the employer responding to the demands of the candidate. Some 68% of the GAAPweb audience were found to be in a hybrid working model, something that just over a quarter of respondents (26%) noted as the factor they valued most in their job. With a mere 1% difference between those who noted ‘salary’ (27%) as their top priority in a job, it’s clear to see the impact hybrid working has had on our work-life balance. The ‘structured freedom’ offered to PQs and fellow accountants alike not only aids employees on a practical level, it benefits both productivity and creativity in the workplace.
Turning to industry, 2023 brings a new leader to the forefront, with the pharmaceutical industry surpassing fintech for first position. Up 19%, candidates now earn an average salary of £92,206 a year, with fintech following in a close second with an average salary of £91,905. For those looking to switch sectors, or start their accounting venture, it’s good to note that the greatest pay increase lies with the IT and telecoms industry, with an impressive 27% uplift on 2022 figures. Regarding business type, FTSE 350 companies continue to lead the salary
league, closely followed by Big 4 accountancy firms.
The competition for salary naturally adheres to external factors such as location. Not surprisingly, London retains its reputation as the highest-earning location. In first place, the average salary comes in at £78,338 across the board, with those working in Canary Wharf reaping the highest pay.
Nationally, finance professionals based in Scotland saw the greatest salary increase; a 31% elevation of 2022 figures to be exact. Aside from the North-East revealing an 11% boost, other regions across the UK saw a slight dip in average wage. Despite the widespread implementation of hybrid working, Wales saw a 9% decrease and South-east England (outside of London) saw a 5% drop.
For our PQ niche, 54% are represented by women. Whilst the challenge to achieve gender parity in senior roles continues, 2023 brings us some subtle breakthroughs, with female representation in top paying sectors demonstrating welcome movement.
Women in fintech now stands at 52%, insurance at 63% and pharmaceutical – the top paying sector – at 76%. Since the GAAPweb survey analysis began in 2018, the pay gap has narrowed by 4%. If this rate of change continues, salary parity between genders won’t be achieved until 2051. With women in PQ positions taking the lead in representation and pay, we strive to see the continuation of the trend; with PQ accountants aiding the overall goal of gender equality and pay parity.
Go to 2023 GAAPweb Salary Survey to download the full survey. View the latest Part Qualified Accountancy & Finance jobs on site.
• Thanks to GAAPweb for this article
Ask PQ’s very own agony aunt Karen Young when you need advice from a real expert. Email your dilemma to graham@ pqmagazine.com, and he will pass on the best ones to Karen
THE DILEMMA
I want to help build a greener future, but I don’t know how to embark on a sustainable career pathway in accountancy.
Why do women increasingly feel unable to talk about mental and personal health challenges in the workplace
A growing number of women feel uncomfortable talking about their mental and personal health challenges in the workplace, according to a new Deloitte Global report, called ‘Women@Work: A Global Outlook’.
The research, now in its third year, surveyed 5,000 women in 10 countries, including 500 working women in the UK, to better understand the experiences of women in the workplace.
The research revealed that when it comes to menstruation and menopause, many employees suffer in silence: more than a quar-
KAREN’S RESPONSE
It’s promising to hear that you want to put your passion for sustainability into practice and a career in accountancy could certainly allow you to make a positive difference to the planet.
Firstly, familiarise yourself with today’s terminology such as Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) and what these terms mean for businesses. Many finance organisations today emphasize their ESG strategies, so accountancy roles that are centred on embracing these initiatives are increasingly crucial.
Sustainability is the ‘next frontier’ of reporting, and finance departments are playing a central role in integrating sustainability standard processes. Therefore, it’s a good idea to keep up to date with the latest news and trends when it comes to sustainability, as your knowledge will be your power.
If you’re currently working find out if your organisation offers training that will help you lay the groundwork for a successful sustainability career in accountancy.
Dedicate time to discover the sustainability roles available within accountancy, by speaking to a recruitment expert for example, so you’re clear about what pathways are available to you. Highlight your interest in sustainability in a job application, whether that be on your CV or in an interview, so your genuine desire and determination to make a positive contribution to the world shines through.
• Karen Young is a director at Hays. She is passionate about helping people to find the right job and companies the right person
FTSE 100 CEO pay up 12%
The median FTSE 100 CEO package increased by 12% last year – from £3.72m in 2021 to £4.15m in 2022 – based on Deloitte analysis of data from the first 55 companies to publish their 2022 annual reports.
CEO annual bonuses remained high in 2022, with a median pay out of 76% of the maximum award. This was lower than in 2021 when it was 85% of maximum, but slightly above typical prepandemic levels.
Median long-term incentive vesting – the extent to which performance conditions are achieved under long term incentive plans – was 58% of maximum, with share award values generally reflecting strong
ter of women (28%) experiencing symptoms related to menopause and 40% work through menstruation pain without taking time off.
Women in the UK experiencing challenges related to menopause are more likely than their global counterparts to work through pain (30% in the UK compared with 20% of global respondents).
There has been a significant decline in the number of respondents who feel comfortable
share price performance at the end of 2022 across most sectors.
Two-day minimum Lloyds Banking Group has told its hybrid workers they will have to come into the office at least two days a week. And the bank has told staff it will be using ‘card swipe data’ to make sure that this happens.
CEO Charlie Nunn announced the change just before the first May Bank Holiday in the UK, and said the move was driven by the need to increase performance, create a more supportive environment and ensure equity. He explained: “We want flexible working to be fair, inclusive and productive for all.”
Nunn also said the bank will
talking about mental health in the workplace: only 28% of UK respondents feel comfortable talking about it at work, compared with 45% last year.
Jackie Henry, managing partner for people and purpose, Deloitte UK said:
“Our research shows that there is a stigma around discussing mental health and women’s issues in UK workplaces, but it’s concerning to see that this has worsened in the last year.”
start a pilot into the concept of a ‘compressed working’ week, in effect a move to a four-day working week.
rise
The number of firms going bust in the first three months of 2023 came dangerously close to a 13-year high, according to a report in the independent newspaper.
The pandemic, rising borrowing costs and inflation wreaked havoc on businesses in England and Wales. The number of insolvencies surged by 18% on the same period last year to 5,747. There were also 4,739 creditors’ voluntary liquidations (CVLs), close to the highest quarterly level since records began in 1960.
Make Work Healthy: Creating a Sustainable Organization with High-Performing Employees, by John S. Ryan and Michael J. Burchell (Wiley £21.99)
The world of work as we know it has gone, and it was never aligned with sustainable performance anyway, claim John Ryan and Michael Burchell in their new book Make Work Healthy.
The authors want today’s leaders to focus on the concept of health, but move away from ad hoc, tick-box, tactical models that merely aim to reduce absenteeism and acute sickness. Instead, they need to take a strategic, data-driven and culturally based approach to improving productivity, work capacity and sustainability.
They believe we need to challenge all the old ways that make employees sick and replace them with cultures, systems, practices and processes that make work healthy.
That means we need to stop seeing health as the absence of illness and to focus on the aspects that make us healthy and resilient and our lives sustainable.
Ryan and Burchell say what people need is an ordered and consistent workplace, not a constantly chaotic one – we need to be able to understand and make sense of the madness.
Work also must have purpose. If the challenge is worthwhile then inevitably we
bring energy and determination to it.
They end their book quoting world-renowned performance psychologist Jim Loehr, who says stress is necessary for a highperformance life, but you need to build in recovery, as growth happens during recovery. The fitter you are the less time you need for recovery.
PQ rating: 4/5 We loved the stories of healthy success, from PwC and its personalised learning plan to Deloitte and its acknowledgement of burnout. These real-world examples of how companies are tackling the health crisis make this a really accessible book.
Who doesn’t love a shiny PQ awards trophy?
When you win one there is a tendency to want to show it off! AAT has one in a cabinet, as you arrive at their Canary Wharf HQ. Our latest PQs
This Australian TV romcom is a BINGE original series. It stars husband-and-wife team Patrick Brammall as Gordon and Harriet Dyer as Ashley.
So who is Colin from Accounts, we hear you ask? Well, spoiler alert: he’s the dog Gordon runs over in episode one. To save Colin will cost $12,000 and he will need a special set of wheels, too.
This is a laugh-out-loud series, but in truth there isn’t an accountant to be found anywhere! Still, we liked the title and Colin is cute, too.
have now all made it home, but we know one visited the Savoy Hotel with the Open Tuition crew to celebrate their win this year. The College of the Year trophy won by First Intuition
Dan Azeez had his careers all planned out. His parents stressed to him the importance of education, so he signed up to an accounting and finance degree at the University of Essex. He was thinking of a job
in the City was next up, when a chance encounter with amateur boxer (at the time) Anthony Joshua on a night off from his studies changed everything!
He finished his studying, with the aim of doing a bit of amateur boxing himself, and joined a wealth management firm on the side.
But it turned out he was quite good at boxing, and became a pro in 2017. He was British champion in 2020 and added the Commonwealth title to his collection. In March, he became European light-heavyweight champion. His record is 19-0, with a knock-out ratio of 68%.
appears to be ‘on tour’ and has already visited Wakefield and Leeds. It may have even been on a special journey to Hogwarts!
We would love to get some more pictures as our 24 PQs travelled to their new homes. Send them to graham@pqmagazine.com
Trans comedian and wannabe politician Eddie Izzard has explained moving forward she wants to be known as Suzy. Talking on the Political Party podcast recently, Izzard said she was still determined to become an MP – and has an eye on a job in the Treasury. She explained: “I studied accounting and financial management” and “running a country, you have to balance the whole thing out”.
WE V E G O T T H E L O T ’
Last month we revealed that Wiley had published the first set of its English language ‘Manga’ series covering business and self-development. Similar to Wiley’s For Dummies brand of books, Manga For Success will make what could be considered intimidating topics easy and fun to understand. The format is highly approachable and readers will be able to quickly gain a grasp on difficult concepts from the detailed explanation of core concepts in the story. Thanks to Wiley one lucky PQ reader can win the whole set as our giveaway this month.
To be in with a chance of being sent all six copies simply email us at giveaways@pqmagazine.com with your name and address and we will put you in the hat for a chance to win this prize. Head up your email ‘Manga for business’.
If you've been looking for a super-efficient and simple but effective way to plan and budget your money, you can stop looking now!
This book works with the envelope budget system to simplify your personal finances, see how much you spend in different categories, stop you overspending and help you save towards your goals.
We have three copies of the Budget Planner to give away.
To win one of these books in our three copies of ‘Budget Planner: Envelope budgeting system’ by Dan Smith, then just send an email headed ‘Budget Planner’ to giveaways@pqmagazine.com, along with your name and address.
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 23 June 2023. The main draw will take place on Monday 25 June 2023.
