Part 1 June 2007 Exam Tips (BPP)

April 19th, 2007 — June

Paper 1.1 (Int.)

Paper 1.2

Paper 1.3

Paper 1.1i (International Stream) Exam Tips

Section A - 25 compulsory MCQs (50 marks)
Each question is allocated 3.6 minutes
The examiner sets MCQs that intentionally have wide syllabus coverage but often have a similar style.  Therefore lots of question practice is the best way to approach this part of the exam.  Students should use the question bank in their P&R Kit and  past exam papers.

Common areas examined are year end adjustments, including calculation of accruals and prepayments, amendment of errors, bad and doubtful debts, inventory valuation and non-current assets (including depreciation).  The examiner usually sets questions on reconciliations – both bank and control accounts – often by getting students to correct an existing reconciliation that has been performed by a trainee accountant.  Expect to see a question on the accounting equation either in section A or B. 

It would be worthwhile reviewing past MCQs on partnerships to become familiar with the examiner’s style for these questions.

A significant number of the questions will be written rather than computational.  Topics examined in this way include accounting policies & estimates, regulatory framework and application of standards.  However students with a good basic understanding should be able to eliminate incorrect answers and should not struggle too much with these.

Certain key areas will be examined via a number of MCQs if they are not examined in section B.  Therefore students should be well prepared on the following areas: interpretation of financial statements, cash flow statements, group accounts.  Based on past exams it seems to be more likely that cash flow statements will be examined this way in June.

Section B - 5 compulsory questions  (8-12 marks each to a total of 50 marks)

Expect there to be a mix of computational and discursive (written) questions, normally with two written questions per paper.

Common topics for computational questions

• Consolidated Balance Sheet. - This has not been tested since Dec 05. It is always good for students to be well prepared for such a question as they have a strong chance of gaining high marks. This has been examined in December every year for the past 5 years and therefore has a good chance of coming up again this year. 
• Preparation of a Balance Sheet or Income Statement  - however this could be for a sole trader, partnership or limited company so students must ensure they are familiar with all the proforma formats.  Could be set as part of an incomplete records question see below:
• Incomplete records – Balance Sheet or Income Statement.  The examiner has not tested since Dec 05 but always possible to come up as it incorporates lots of the key elements of bookkeeping such as error correction, T-accounts and journals.
• Suspense accounts -  error correction and profit adjustments have been tested in the last four out of six sittings.

Topics for written questions

• Interpretation of Accounts - likely to be a discussion question with computational elements. Be prepared for a fairly open requirement: eg “calculate some profitability ratios” “Assess the company’s liquidity using ratios” which means you need to know which ratios fall under these headings and also their formulae. A large proportion of the marks will be for commenting on the ratios so students should practice questions from the P&R kit so they have a wide range of comments on ratios at their disposal.
• Accounting issues – maybe with some computations/disclosure notes – often related to accounting standards.  Typical topics could be events after the balance sheet date, provisions and contingencies, intangibles.  Alternatively could ask students to explain company specific items such as share capital and reserves.
• Accounting concepts and principles  - a favourite of the examiner.  In June 06 going concern was tested. Be aware this area may include a questions on the advantages and disadvantages of historic cost accounting – there are some good questions in the P&R kit to help practice this area.

REMEMBER TIME MANAGEMENT IS VERY IMPORTANT, 1.8 MINUTES PER MARK

Health Warning:  The examiner deliberately tries to avoid question spotting.  Just because a question featured last time, doesn’t mean it won’t feature this time.  Use the tips as areas to have a good look at, but remember that no one knows what is in the exam, apart from the examiner.  The safest bet is to achieve good syllabus coverage in revision, as the examiner aims to do in the exam.

Useful Articles

Articles written by the examiner and other individuals pertaining to paper 1.1 are published on the ACCA website:
www.accaglobal.com/students/study_exams/qualifications/acca_choose/professional_scheme/part1/paper1_1/tech_articles/

Of particular use to 1.1 studies are:

Remember that these articles are written for both UK and International syllabus students, so International students only need to know the parts relevant to International accounting standards.