Fun The lighter side of life; and more great PQ giveaways

Continued from page 35 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.

Advanced Performance Management APM 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 compulsory question. In recent exams Q1 has often required linking 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.

The assessment of performance 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 commonly 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).

In section B, commonly tested areas include quality management, information reporting (e.g. big data, lean information), HR frameworks (e.g.

reward & appraisal systems), risk management 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 are 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 (e.g. characteristics of Big Data, lean information, six sigma).

Advanced Taxation ATX (UK) The exam will comprise of two compulsory questions within section A which will both be of a case study style. The first question will be 35-marks in length and the second will be for 25-marks. One of these questions will focus on personal tax issues and the other will focus on corporate tax issues. In Q1 there will be four professional skills marks, and in section A there will be five marks on ethics.

Section B will comprise of two compulsory 20-mark questions. These will be in a more succinct, note form style.

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.

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 issues -– this 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 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?

Advanced Audit & Assurance AAA 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.

Section A will comprise a case study, worth 50 marks, split into 40 technical marks and ten 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 (for topical issues, see technical articles below).

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 (for example, the impact of data analytics in September/ December 2020). There are also five exam technique articles that you must read covering ethics, risk, accounting issues, audit procedures and reporting.

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 (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: • 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.