ACCA December 2007 Exam Tips

ACCA December 2007 Exam Tips
WARNING: Use the tips as areas to have a good look at, but remember that no-one knows what’s in the exam except the examiner. Revise everything

F5 - Performance Management

BPP
■ Decision-making techniques – linear programming, relevant costing, pricing, risk &
uncertainty
■ Budgeting - possibly focusing on conflict between techniques such as incremental or ZBB
■ Performance measurement and control: ROI/RI,transfer pricing, financial and non-financial measures
■ Variance analysis
■ Management accounting techniques:target/lifecycle costing

Marcus Evans
■ Decision-making under uncertainty
■ Linear programming
■ Relevant cost decision-making
■ Planning variances
■ Budgeting and forecasting techniques,eg zero-based budgeting
■ Interpretation of performance indicators

F7 - financial reporting

Marcus Evans
■ Group accounts - including associate
■ Published accounts - from TB (including:
revaluation of NCAs, finance leases, deferred tax)
■ Cash-flow and analysis/interpretation
■ IASB framework
■ Provisions
■ EPS
■ Construction contracts
■ Intangible NCAs
■ Impairment


BPP
■ Consolidated income statement (P&L) and/or balance sheet
■ Accounts preparation/restatement with adjustments
■ Interpretation and/or cash flow statement
■ Theoretical/conceptual question

F8 -Audit and Assurance

Kaplan
■ Ethics - objectivity, conflicts of interest
■ Planning - identifying and explaining/addressing risks in a scenario
■ Internal controls - weaknesses and recommendations
■ Audit evidence - substantive tests, sales and debtors
■ Completion - overall review
■ Internal audit - role, reliance by external auditors

Marcus Evans
■ Ethics/independence - with conflicts of interest
■ Identification of audit risks (scenario-based)
■ Internal controls - computerised system (payroll or purchases)
■ Substantive testing - covering a number of items
■ CAATs
■ Corporate governance (including role of internal auditor)
■ Management representations
■ Fraud
■ Appointment/removal
■ Analytical procedures

BPP
■ Audit procedures such as revenue and receivables, purchases and payables or inventory
■ Internal controls, the auditor’s use of computer assisted techniques
■ Audit ethics
■ Audit risk
■ Corporate governance and its links with either internal or external audit
■ Internal controls, possibly with requirements in the style of a ‘report to management’







F9 -Financial Management

Marcus Evans
■ Working capital
■ Investment appraisal and cost of capital
■ Sources of finance including capital structure implications
■ Valuations

P1 - Professional Accountant

BPP
■ The purpose and aims of good corporate governance, together with an appreciation of the relevance of different approaches (rules or principles)
■ Aspects of the combined code or Sarbanes-Oxley, even a comparison between the two
■ Identification and assessment of all aspects of business risk, using a methodical approach to identify, categorise and assess the array of risks facing an organisation
■ Internal control systems and their review by internal audit and the board
■ Professional values and ethics, using the array ethical theories and frameworks in the syllabus,with emphasis on the role of the professional accountant
■ Corporate social responsibility and environmental management systems

P2 - Corporate Reporting

Kaplan
■ Group accounts - foreign currency or cash flow
■ Accounting standards set in a case study environment, including impairment,
financial instruments, pension, retirement benefits
■ Discussion - conceptual framework

P3 - Business Analysis

BPP
■ Assessing options for growth
■ E-marketing
■ Software packages
■ Change management
■ Six sigma
■ Project management





P4 - Advanced Financial Management

Kaplan
■ Business valuation through acquisitions
■ Foreign exchange hedging
■ Investment appraisal and risk
■ Cost of capital and sources of finance
■ Advantages and disadvantages of listing and corporate objectives

P5 - Advanced Performance Management

Kaplan
■ Corporate failure
■ Performance improvement strategies
■ Value-based management approaches
■ Environmental management accounting
■ The changing role of the management accountant in today’s business environment

P7 - Advanced Audit & Assurance

Kaplan
■ Audit risk assessment and management
■ Matters and evidence
■ Professional conduct and ethics
■ Reporting