FAE September 2012

R0N BURGUNDY

How do u get your script back?

MPBC123

R0N BURGUNDY wrote: »

How do u get your script back?

You can lift them in Dublin or they will post them out in a "few weeks time"

Jame Gumb

R0N BURGUNDY wrote: »

How do u get your script back?

Pick it up from CA House before 19.00 today...

upnorthchick

Sure lets drive to dublin! they must think we have nothing better to do!

R0N BURGUNDY

Cool cheers = not in Dublin so guess I'll have to wait.

I knew it would be fairly rubbishy results like but it is making me question everything that I'm doing now in preparation for the main ones. Just need to keep the head for 34 days

upnorthchick

aye keeping it is the hard thing!! but sure !

Trend Setter in Training

Anybody have the Marlborough House Case Study Solution - No sign of it on the or last years thread.

TBH don't even know if it a great case study but after trying to do it now and with no solution to compare to my answer it is annoying me.

Thanks.

Siobhang4

R0N BURGUNDY wrote: »

Cool cheers = not in Dublin so guess I'll have to wait.

I knew it would be fairly rubbishy results like but it is making me question everything that I'm doing now in preparation for the main ones. Just need to keep the head for 34 days

Do you know anyone that can collect it for you this eve that is in dublin.. I rang the institute and they said you can have it collected by someone else so long as you give them your student number aswell..

Cliona2012

Mock results .....hmmm no comment!

Im looking at this Enver Plastics q after work now, and dont get it!

My understanding is that the € is appreciating against the $ eg €1 = $1.5, then €1 = $ 2.3 etc.

As we buy our oil in $, doesnt that mean oil is now cheaper for us when we convert it back to €?

Dee29

Cliona2012 wrote: »

Mock results .....hmmm no comment!

Im looking at this Enver Plastics q after work now, and dont get it!

My understanding is that the € is appreciating against the $ eg €1 = $1.5, then €1 = $ 2.3 etc.

As we buy our oil in $, doesnt that mean oil is now cheaper for us when we convert it back to €?

Totally agree - spent hours on it two days ago. The solution can't be right. I have asked somebody else to take a look at it and will let you know what the verdict is.

froggatt2011

R0N BURGUNDY wrote: »

Cool cheers = not in Dublin so guess I'll have to wait.

I knew it would be fairly rubbishy results like but it is making me question everything that I'm doing now in preparation for the main ones. Just need to keep the head for 34 days

Hang in there man, the mock results were never going to be good for most of us. You can do it!!

ferike1

Not quite. Everything is booked in using the rate they give you 1.4. So even when the dollar is cheaper. You still have to use the internal rate meaning you don't benefit from the changes.

Dee29

If that was the case and the budgeted rate is also 1.4 there wouldn't be an ecxhange rate variance. Also the solution talks about a strengthening dollar!

ferike1

Sorry I may be wrong. I did the question and it made sense when I did it but was on my phone with that response. Will have a look at it again. It took me ages to wrap my head around it.

The only way it makes sense for me is like this

If they have to buy $100 worth of oil, they will buy it at $1.4 dollars which costs them €71 euro roughly. However, $100 worth of oil should actually only cost them €66 euro because the dollar is at $1.5 and so on. They should be getting it cheaper but as prices are set by head office they can't take advantage of the strong euro. Its counter-intuitive to be sure.

Cliona2012

Dee29 wrote: »

Totally agree - spent hours on it two days ago. The solution can't be right. I have asked somebody else to take a look at it and will let you know what the verdict is.

Glad Im not alone! - As you said, it totally makes sense the other way around, but the way they put it makes it seems like the Euro is strengthening against the dollar, which is surely beneficial for the cost and the sp is based on that even with the 1.4 rate.

froggatt2011

I have totally had it with the resource pack cases. The subjective and arbitrary marking frustrates and demotivates me. For Core I am going to focus on the past/sample papers, challenging questions and cases in the books, the Derry Cotter book (although the solutions are also messed up in places but thankfully I have some worked examples from class), ACCA cases from their more recent past papers and the management questions in the CGS book. We were given a list of industries which we should be paying attention to, so I am making sure I read up on those as well. Other than that I don't know what else to do....

ferike1

Hey, what industries should we be paying attention to?

I read reuters and economist everyday and for me recently this has been big:

Social Networking - failed FB IPO/ potential revenue streams from this
Smartphones - RIM & NOKIA total fail. Apple and Samsung suing eachother worldwide for patents. Also Tablets more prominent than laptops
Banks - HSBC terrorist funding/laundering, Barclays libor fixing
Something to do with the sovereign debt crisis
The olympus scandal was pretty big too - could have CG/ improper accounting issues.

What was mentioned to specifically look out for?

froggatt2011

ferike1 wrote: »

Hey, what industries should we be paying attention to?

I read reuters and economist everyday and for me recently this has been big:

Social Networking - failed FB IPO/ potential revenue streams from this
Smartphones - RIM & NOKIA total fail. Apple and Samsung suing eachother worldwide for patents. Also Tablets more prominent than laptops
Banks - HSBC terrorist funding/laundering, Barclays libor fixing
Something to do with the sovereign debt crisis
The olympus scandal was pretty big too - could have CG/ improper accounting issues.

What was mentioned to specifically look out for?

Can't rem which lecturer it was, quite possibly Fearghal McHugh?? Anyway...
Mobile Phones
Motor Vehicles
Professional Services
Hotels/inward tourism
Call centres
Construction
Specialist retailing
Logistics
Travel agencies
Environmental services/recycling
Air travel
Food industry
Engineering & manufacturing
Software development
Virtual service providers
Sport & leisure
Coffee shops
Licensed drug manufacturing

Also:
FDI in general (transfer pricing/divisions & strategy)
Privatisation

Look at some of the cases... Motorvation being a prime example. I wouldn't have had a notion if that came up in the exam. So be aware of what's affecting these sectors.

chursy

ferike1 wrote: »

Hey, what industries should we be paying attention to?

I read reuters and economist everyday and for me recently this has been big:

Social Networking - failed FB IPO/ potential revenue streams from this
Smartphones - RIM & NOKIA total fail. Apple and Samsung suing eachother worldwide for patents. Also Tablets more prominent than laptops
Banks - HSBC terrorist funding/laundering, Barclays libor fixing
Something to do with the sovereign debt crisis
The olympus scandal was pretty big too - could have CG/ improper accounting issues.

What was mentioned to specifically look out for?

These are more recent events i dont think will capture our exams because arent the exams set way early. I agree with the above list which is pretty similar to what Paul gave out in this Wrap Up lecture ( can stream it).

Good to have an overview of the industry but do we have time to be reading all the new papers etc ? I was going to just rely on the info that paul gave out and probably just google a few things in some spare time may be!

chursy

froggatt2011 wrote: »

Can't rem which lecturer it was, quite possibly Fearghal McHugh?? Anyway...
Mobile Phones
Motor Vehicles
Professional Services
Hotels/inward tourism
Call centres
Construction
Specialist retailing
Logistics
Travel agencies
Environmental services/recycling
Air travel
Food industry
Engineering & manufacturing
Software development
Virtual service providers
Sport & leisure
Coffee shops
Licensed drug manufacturing

Also:
FDI in general (transfer pricing/divisions & strategy)
Privatisation

Look at some of the cases... Motorvation being a prime example. I wouldn't have had a notion if that came up in the exam. So be aware of what's affecting these sectors.

Motorvation !! one random case!! If i remember think it had that cash statement as well isnt it? random Ethics indicator LOL!

froggatt2011

froggatt2011 wrote: »

Can't rem which lecturer it was, quite possibly Fearghal McHugh?? Anyway...
Mobile Phones
Motor Vehicles
Professional Services
Hotels/inward tourism
Call centres
Construction
Specialist retailing
Logistics
Travel agencies
Environmental services/recycling
Air travel
Food industry
Engineering & manufacturing
Software development
Virtual service providers
Sport & leisure
Coffee shops
Licensed drug manufacturing

Also:
FDI in general (transfer pricing/divisions & strategy)
Privatisation

Look at some of the cases... Motorvation being a prime example. I wouldn't have had a notion if that came up in the exam. So be aware of what's affecting these sectors.

Just looking at today's business news on the Independent's website (UK):-
Shares in global satellite firm Immarsat have jumped
July downpours hit hotels and caterers
US broker in software bug fiasco gets credit lifeline...

All on the list in some way or another...

leds

Reviewed the 2012 mock solution's and indicators for the core paper and I am a bit downbeat.

Like when I do any of the actual past FAE core exam papers without looking at the solution I feel that I am in a better position to pick up on the indicators and provide reasonable answers.

I dont know what others think but I feel that if I was to sit that Mock paper for the core in September I wouldnt have a chance of passing.

I know mocks tend to be tougher but I felt the standard of that Mock was very high.

I am thinking I should just put the mock behind me as its intended to get students into gear for the real thing. I can see that there are a number of good topics covered in the core paper but I cant even see how now after having done the mock and gone through the solution I would have been able to identify the indicators asked. Any Thoughts!!

For Tax Elective I was happy with that even though I failed just really my main concern is that I was well off the point of identifying some of the indicators in Core.

ferike1

Haha all those industries are basically in our resource pack. Quite a wide net.

Also I read somewhere that should something massive happen the paper could be amended. Something tells me sovereign debt crisis will feature somehow.

To be honest most cases are random!

froggatt2011

ferike1 wrote: »

Haha all those industries are basically in our resource pack. Quite a wide net.

Also I read somewhere that should something massive happen the paper could be amended. Something tells me sovereign debt crisis will feature somehow.

To be honest most cases are random!

And the Ulster Bank/RBS systems failure disaster.

mrduffy

They can not asked something that is not on the course

ferike1

No but they can have the case incorporate a huge potential IT failure for the client and what risks that would cause and how you would fix it.

Jame Gumb

Surely the Ulster Bank fiasco is too recent?

My understanding is that the papers were set ages ago.

froggatt2011

ferike1 wrote: »

No but they can have the case incorporate a huge potential IT failure for the client and what risks that would cause and how you would fix it.

Especially the how would you fix it part, because as accountants we are expected to have broad IT technical knowledge!!!

ferike1

That is correct that the exam papers were set a long time ago but I know I read somewhere that in exceptional circumstances it can be amended to reflect massive current events (which doesn't mean that it will be changed but just something to be aware of)

Also as for the IT comment. The level we are expected to have is bloody ridiculous. Specific features of IT systems for companies in different industries. Its a joke but no one is laughing!

froggatt2011

ferike1 wrote: »

That is correct that the exam papers were set a long time ago but I know I read somewhere that in exceptional circumstances it can be amended to reflect massive current events (which doesn't mean that it will be changed but just something to be aware of)

Also as for the IT comment. The level we are expected to have is bloody ridiculous. Specific features of IT systems for companies in different industries. Its a joke but no one is laughing!

I am just imagining the scenario when we are business planning in work and I tell the Service Delivery Manager what the IT requirements of the business will be in 2013 and what he would need to consider. He would laugh me out of the room.

Oh but wait!! Silly me. I only need to give advice if he hints or rather indicates that he doesn't really understand this or that. With my amazing accounting powers of deduction I realise that he is indicating that I should give him some advice in the form of a memo, with a clear decision as to what he should do. :rolleyes: