ACCA F9 Exam Tips March 2017:

ACCA F9 Exam Tips March 2017 Session are given below by famous tuition providers

Kaplan
Part A: MCQs will be from any syllabus area.
Part B: Some frequently tested areas in the past were
 NPV with Inflation and Taxation
 Cash operating cycle
 Receivable, Payable & Inventory Management
 Financial Gearing
 Cost of Equity & Debt
 WACC
 CAPM & MM
 Foreign Exchange Risk Management
 Interest Rate Risk Management
 Sources of Finance

Don’t just keep focusing on numbers. Although the numbers are important but approximately half of
the marks are for the written elements. Prepare every topic thoroughly to increase chances of
passing the exam.

BPP
Section A:
15 multiple choice questions worth 2 marks each. The MCQs will largely be knowledge based 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 likely that some of the MCQs 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). The efficient
market hypothesis is likely to be tested here too. But bear in mind that the whole point of setting MCQs
is to test good coverage of the syllabus in the exam.

Section B:
Three 10 mark mini case-studies. Each case-study will be broken down into 5 separate 2 mark multiple
choice questions (so 15 questions in total). Areas expected to be 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 (most likely mainly in the form of currency risk but it is possible that an aspect of interest
rate risk is examined here)

Section C:
Two 20 mark questions which 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 is likely to feature NPV with inflation and tax.
Section E is business finance; either an evaluation of financing options (interest coverage and gearing
ratios are likely to be important here) or a cost of capital calculation are most likely. Whichever of these
three topics does not feature in section C is likely to appear in section B of the exam.
ACCA F7 Exam Tips March 2017:
ACCA F7 Exam Tips March 2017 Session are given below by famous tuition providers
Kaplan
MCQ’s can come from any syllabus area.
Consolidation of Financial Statements
For the consolidation question you will benefit from having the proforma/standard workings of your
final answer set up first. For example if the question requires a consolidated SFP then drawing up the
SFP with open brackets beside those numbers that do not need a standard working can get all the
easy adding across 100% of the Parent and subsidiary figures. The other headings can have the
standard working number written beside them instead. A couple of lines would need to be left for each
section of the SFP in case other things come up in the additional information.
In addition to this setting up the standard workings can also be done. The subsidiaries’ share capital
figures and the year end retained earnings can be put into these without reading any of the additional
information. In addition to this the parents retained earnings figure can also be put into W5 (Retained
earnings) without reading any additional narrative.
With all of the proformas and standard workings set up, it means that you are able to tackle the issues
in the order that they are presented in the question. It also allows you to deal with both sides of any
adjustments as everywhere is set up to make the adjustments. It hopefully prevents non-balancing
accounts and means that each issue only has to be addressed once; thus helping with time
management. Also if you run out of time, you will get full credit for all that you have already done
provided everything is referenced through.
A similar process can be applied to the income statement equivalent of setting up final answer and
workings to help tackle the issues that come up.
Single Company Financial Statements
As with the groups question, it may be possible to get the proforma of the final answer set up,
particularly if the data in the question is set up with the draft financial statements rather than the trial
balance. If possible it then means that open brackets can be used and the draft figures placed in them,
ready for adjustments as they arise. Generally speaking there are often more adjustments required
for cost of sales figure in the income statement and the PPE figure in the SFP. As such I would suggest
these are likely to need separate workings rather than just a bracket beside the final answer.
If there is a topic/adjustment that you are unsure of, come back to it. You are better to get the
adjustments that you are comfortable with done first. It is easy to get bogged down and waste time on
a difficult adjustment at the expense of doing an easier one that appears later in the question.
Performance Appraisal
With a performance appraisal question you may be asked to calculate ratios or prepare a statement
of cash flow or both. When calculating ratios, if you are unsure of a particular calculation always have
a go, as even if the calculation is incorrect you will be awarded merit for your discussion of the incorrect
number in the written section of the question. It also really helps the marker if you note your formula
down so that your working is clearly identified.
When preparing a statement of cash flow setup you proforma immediately and begin to get the easy
marks in the cash flow such as finding the movement in the cash and cash equivalent balance, and
finding the movements on basic shares and loans. You will also find the operating activities section
familiar and useful for scoring marks. If there are any cash items that you are unfamiliar with come
back to these at the end after you have dealt with the items that you can do.
Finally, when appraising the performance of a company ensure that you always refer to the scenario
provided to ensure maximum credit is awarded.

BPP
Section A:
 Fifteen 2 mark multiple choice questions 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).
Section B:
Case questions
 Three case study questions each with five 2 mark questions
 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
 Questions are not dependant on each other and can be answered in any order Long questions
 Two twenty mark questions, one covering interpretations 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 have a single company interpretation and a groups preparation or vice versa
 Accounts preparation questions may include extracts or stand-alone calculations or full statements
of profit or loss and other comprehensive income and/or statement of financial position
 Both questions will cover the accounting for items from other areas of the syllabus
 May include a short separate part, e.g. with a statement of changes in equity, statement of cash
flows extract, earnings per share calculation or linked written topic
 A consolidation question would include one subsidiary and often an associate, with adjustments,
e.g. fair values, deferred/contingent consideration, PUP on inventories/PPE, intragroup trading
and balances, goods/cash in transit
 A single entity question could be preparation from a trial balance or restatement of given financial
statements with the usual adjustments 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 amortized cost),
share issues, government grants, inventory valuation, revenue recognition or construction
contracts.
 Interpretation questions are unlikely to be straightforward and you should be prepared to analyze
a group or a single company with a significant change in the year.

ACCA F5 Exam Tips March 2017:

Kaplan
MCQ’s can come up from any syllabus area so cover the breadth of every topic.
Section A:
ABC, Life Cycle costing, Target Costing and Throughput Costing are very commonly tested topics
while Environmental costing is rarely tested.
Section B:
Usually there are two questions from this area. Commonly tested topics are
– Relevant Costing
– Pricing
– Cost Volume Profit Analysis
– Limiting Factor
– Make or Buy or Shutdown Decisions and other Short term decisions
– Dealing with Risk and Uncertainty

Section C:
There are two questions from this area. Variances analysis is more commonly tested topics while
Budgeting is also tested off and on. Every exam has some variances in it and could be basic or
advanced variances.
Section D:
Performance evaluations is another area where questions always come up – very hard to learn a set
method as each one is different. The important thing is to read the question carefully and make sure
you link your analysis to the scenario. Commonly tested areas are
 Transfer Pricing
 Balance scorecard
The examiner does not like students who simply quote from the textbook, writing information that is
not relevant to the question. The examiner also likes you to have an opinion – has the company done
well or not? Clearly state your opinion and reasons why it is so.

BPP
Section A (30%) Objective Test Question:
15 questions worth 2 marks each. This will examine all areas of the syllabus.
Section B (30%) Objective Test Case Question:
3 scenarios, each with 5 sub requirements worth 2 marks each. Each requirement will be independent
and can therefore be answered in any order. This will examine all area of the syllabus.
Section C (40%) Constructed Response Question:
2 questions worth 20 marks each – these can be further broken down into multiple parts of varying
length This will examine syllabus areas B-D only.
As any syllabus area could be tested in sections A&B the best advice is to study all areas of the
syllabus.
Section C: Areas expected to be tested in Section C include (but are not limited to) planning and
operational variances, mix and yield variances and evaluation of the company performance (either as
a whole, or on a divisional basis).
F5 has the following syllabus areas:
 A: Specialist cost and management accounting techniques
 B: Decision making techniques
 C: Budgeting and control
 D: Performance measurement and control

General advice:
There is no longer any formal reading and planning time at the start of the exam. However, you are
strongly advised to plan answers to section C questions before starting to write. Ensure that you make
reference to the scenario in your answer. Finally the examiner has repeatedly stated that she expects
students to study broadly for all of the syllabus areas meaning that question spotting is not a good
idea, instead students should expect the unexpected. Since the introduction of multiple choice
questions this advice is even more critical because more topics can be tested. 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. Interpretation and application are crucial, especially in section C.