ACCA March exam tips PQ
YOUR MARCH EXAM TIPS How ready are you for the March sitting? Can you tick off all these subjects on the exam tip list from our friends at BPP? Performance Management PM As any syllabus area can be tested in sections A&B the best advice is to study all areas of the syllabus. But you knew that already! In section C expected to be tested on: 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). This is a performance management paper, so you are advised to be prepared to evaluate some performance. General advice: Plan your answers to section C questions before starting to type and make sure you make reference to the scenario in your answer. The examining team have said that they expect students to study broadly for all of the syllabus areas, meaning that question spotting is not a good idea – instead you are told to expect the unexpected. The exam will be approximately 40% calculation and 60% discussion, meaning that it is not sufficient to be able to perform all of the calculations to pass. Interpretation and application are crucial, especially in section C. Taxation TX (UK) 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 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 similar to 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 have to practise an extensive range of section B questions from the practice and revision kit PQ Magazine March 2022
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 on the face 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. Actually 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 three sentences long. 4. Your exam will be in the CBE software and the spreadsheets have some differences to the software you may 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 pro-
formas). 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. Finally, remember the pass mark is 50% 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! Financial Reporting FR Section A: • Fifteen two-mark OTQs on a wide range of topics including several on consolidation and interpretation of financial statements. • Expect a few questions on non-core areas (e.g. inflation, specialised entities). Continued on page 28
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