FAE September 2014

Androma1984

ya totally agree,would make sense to allow us to use book from start for that reason, as a lot of the main background issues or even indicators come up in the first two pages when you are within the first half hour and i find that is the time i actually start filling in notes under each subject. As a solution, I think the fast read is definitely a good idea,highlight the obvious indicators and get a feel for the whole paper,without spending time jotting down too many notes, then the minute the half hour is up start into the plan. Give an extra 30-45 mins to complete detailed read, filling out notes as you go. Can't see any other way to avoid duplication of notes and as mentioned they may take some value from your planning this way.

Dreaming of sunshine

Did the Core 2011 paper today and missed indicator 4 re PM...soul destroying. Even reading it now, I still don't think I would have picked up on it as an indicator. Must stay positive....!

Muzi5434

There's no need to plan your answer on the answer book. I planned it on my own paper and never transferred it onto the answer book and passed no problem. I was writing in my first half hour
hour.

As long as you plan somewhere. When you answer indicators the examiner will know straightaway if it's planned or not. Don't need to show evidence of it

kenner24

Need some help with audit elective if someone would be so kind....

The whole area of reporting to third parties.... does anyone have a mind map or a "cheat sheet" on how to arrive at the right report to use? I ALWAYS end up picking the wrong report .

Think it has something to do with the institute introducing us to an entirely new topic through an online session. Kind of a twisted thing to do really.

Anyway any help at all with this would be much appreciated!

Nothin but the Truth

Muzi5434 wrote: »

There's no need to plan your answer on the answer book. I planned it on my own paper and never transferred it onto the answer book and passed no problem. I was writing in my first half hour
hour.

As long as you plan somewhere. When you answer indicators the examiner will know straightaway if it's planned or not. Don't need to show evidence of it

If you do not follow this advice then u are admitting that you are incompetent as ur worried u cannot finish the exam and need the plan as an insurance policy as u cannot decipher info in a reasonable time and offer a valid analysis. No one is silly enough to change their method of planning now so we should all get back to finishin of on our last bits of study next week.

20 Times 20 Times

I heard the plan is worth one indicator :-)

Dellboy2007

20 Times 20 Times wrote: »

I heard the plan is worth one indicator :-)

Planning isn't coming up this year, Paul said this right after he found a cure for Ebola and did the ice bucket challenge.

myshirt

I planned inside the booklet for core comp, and outside the booklet for core sims this year just to see.

I got commented quite strongly on both. Good use of answer planning, encouraging. And no evidence of answer planning, a plan would have assisted your answer, poor.

I agree that a planned answer should show through, regardless of evidence of plan, but they seem to actually want evidence of planning and timings put to indicators. I don't get it.

It has been a massive struggle for me, I always planned outside booklets.

20 Times 20 Times

Dellboy2007 wrote: »

Planning isn't coming up this year, Paul said this right after he found a cure for Ebola and did the ice bucket challenge.

Heard if you plan on a sticky they have to accept it!!!

20 Times 20 Times

myshirt wrote: »

I planned inside the booklet for core comp, and outside the booklet for core sims this year just to see.

I got commented quite strongly on both. Good use of answer planning, encouraging. And no evidence of answer planning, a plan would have assisted your answer, poor.

I agree that a planned answer should show through, regardless of evidence of plan, but they seem to actually want evidence of planning and timings put to indicators. I don't get it.

It has been a massive struggle for me, I always planned outside booklets.

What did you do last year??

eitodsdraob

How are people going about planning for the SIMS paper? I am at a loss trying to figure out what the best approach is for this so any advice is much appreciated.

maninblack

eitodsdraob wrote: »

How are people going about planning for the SIMS paper? I am at a loss trying to figure out what the best approach is for this so any advice is much appreciated.

Yeah, I'm at a bit of a loss with this myself!

In the mock, I read both sims back to back and that took about 45 mins

then went and did sim 1, but by the time I was getting to sim 2, I felt I needed to quickly re-read it again to refresh my memory which seemed like a bit of a disaster tbh.

I think I'll prob just do a detailed read of sim1 in the first half hour, then plan for circa 15/20 min. get sim1 out of the way and then start fresh with sim 2.

curious to hear how others are approaching it

acastudent

maninblack wrote: »

Yeah, I'm at a bit of a loss with this myself!

In the mock, I read both sims back to back and that took about 45 mins

then went and did sim 1, but by the time I was getting to sim 2, I felt I needed to quickly re-read it again to refresh my memory which seemed like a bit of a disaster tbh.

I think I'll prob just do a detailed read of sim1 in the first half hour, then plan for circa 15/20 min. get sim1 out of the way and then start fresh with sim 2.

curious to hear how others are approaching it

I think I will read two cases in 30 min . Plan 1st and start writing in 30 min after reading time is up . Then when I finish that I'll read 2 nd one more time just to refresh my memory ,plan it and start writing ( hoping it will take 20 to 30min)
It really depends on the case I.e in the mocks 2nd sim I find easier to read and pick the indicators

myshirt

Last year I figured I had to read and do both anyway; so I read one, planned one, wrote one, then mid exam done next.

Same for elective, read one, planned one, and began writing the answer from moment pens could be picked up.

All planning outside booklets.

Now some girl posted here that she passed by planning outside, so I don't know will planning outside be fatal.

What I would say is from here on, get very, very familiar with whatever 'A Folder' notes you have; know your planning method / exam strategy; stick with it; practice it; and no more isolated technical material, as tempting as it is.

Get off boards if it's making you nervous or confusing you. Mental game has to be strong!

1 week guys!

Abbey14

Hi - does anyone know how to get the capital employed figure in the mock? Thanks.

House of Wolves

Hey all,

Just going over my checklists in advance of this.

Looking at my FR checklist and its currently looking like this:
1. Do first & CAPTURE ALL FR indicators
2. State the info
3. State the standard
4. Recognise mistake/error in accordance with standard
5. Give Journal Entry (with explanation of JE)
6. Does it need to be disclosed - material error (IAS1.97)
7. It is an adjusting event
8. Implications for Finance/etc
9. Watch out for onerous lease
10. Deferred tax implications on revaluations

Does anyone have anything else good on their FR checklist that it looks like I'm missing?

littlemiss123

House of Wolves wrote: »

Hey all,

Just going over my checklists in advance of this.

Looking at my FR checklist and its currently looking like this:
1. Do first & CAPTURE ALL FR indicators
2. State the info
3. State the standard
4. Recognise mistake/error in accordance with standard
5. Give Journal Entry (with explanation of JE)
6. Does it need to be disclosed - material error (IAS1.97)
7. It is an adjusting event
8. Implications for Finance/etc
9. Watch out for onerous lease
10. Deferred tax implications on revaluations

Does anyone have anything else good on their FR checklist that it looks like I'm missing?

That's a great list! I've noticed across a few indicators that it is important to always clearly state that something is wrong/isn't working, e.g. If you're asked to recommend a new IT system, clearly state that the current IT system isn't sufficient or optimal and explain why it isn't before launching into your solution to the problem! Sometimes it can be the difference between RC and C.

House of Wolves

littlemiss123 wrote: »

That's a great list! I've noticed across a few indicators that it is important to always clearly state that something is wrong/isn't working, e.g. If you're asked to recommend a new IT system, clearly state that the current IT system isn't sufficient or optimal and explain why it isn't before launching into your solution to the problem! Sometimes it can be the difference between RC and C.

Yeah thats a good point.

Also on the options point, its really crucial to remember that the two options may not be ideal and to consider whether they actually fit the needs of the company. Missed making that point on running through one of papers and I think it was an auto RC. Pretty obvious, but just good for the checklists.

acastudent

Oh my nerves . absolutely wrecked and exhausted .

Tricky1979

acastudent wrote: »

Oh my nerves . absolutely wrecked and exhausted .

How are people going to manage the bad habits they picked up over the study period?

I'm passing a lot of wind on my own studying so I hope on the day I remember there's somebody behind me!! Never mind the audio !

Tricky1979

In a lot of solutions it refers to " deferred r&d". Is this the same as capitalising r&d? Thanks

glencairne

Has anyone looked at Argon Visio steps case? Looking at the (4100) variance for materials price I would say this is favourable as it is negative but the solution continues to say is it Adverse - any help would be greatly appreciated as variances are not my strong point, many thanks

galway321

Tricky1979 wrote: »

In a lot of solutions it refers to " deferred r&d". Is this the same as capitalising r&d? Thanks

Yes same thing - its capitalised and then amortised. So the expense is deferred from hitting the P/L in full in the current year but released over its useful life.

galway321

glencairne wrote: »

Has anyone looked at Argon Visio steps case? Looking at the (4100) variance for materials price I would say this is favourable as it is negative but the solution continues to say is it Adverse - any help would be greatly appreciated as variances are not my strong point, many thanks

Its just the way this question/solution is laid out, all unfavourable movements are in brackets and favourable are not - all the calc's are done so you dont have to decipher what's positive and negative - You take them as displayed.
I think it states the price went up in the text also which corresponds with the negative price variance shown in the figures.

glencairne

galway321 wrote: »

Its just the way this question/solution is laid out, all unfavourable movements are in brackets and favourable are not - all the calc's are done so you dont have to decipher what's positive and negative - You take them as displayed.
I think it states the price went up in the text also which corresponds with the negative price variance shown in the figures.

Many thanks for this - hope exam isnt as 'hard' to decipher, quickly looking at it I thought the brackets etc were the 'actual' variance calculation solutions.. typical paul & his mind games!

glencairne

As a repeater I thought I would share the overall comments from the examiners comments which I paid for following failing core last year (although on a plus I got Tax NI elective first time), if I had seen something like this from another student last year I think it would have helped me understand FAE 'marking' more clearly

COMP
Your answer is well presented e.g. use of the paragraphs, report format, response to each issue on a new page.
Limit your executive summary to providing recommendations rather than writing a contents page – this will save valuable time.
You make a good attempt at Indicator 7 which demonstrates competence in Audit & Assurance. However, the time taken in this indicator would appear to have limited your time to complete the remaining indicators which appear to be very brief. Time management is critical at FAE for success –
please consider a time plan for the future.
You have taken the time to establish the exact requirements of each indicator which is good. Plan your answers further to help focus your responses

SIM 1
Overall, you did demonstrate some good skills in this case, especially in relation to:
- Information Management (5.1)
- Corporate and Individual Tax Planning (3.1)
You should consider the areas of segregation of duties and corporate governance and ensure that you can apply theory and best practice to the individual needs of a case study.
You handwriting was neat, which is good. You provided your answer in a letter format with a number of annotated enclosures, which was both appropriate and professional.

SIM 2
You made a reasonable attempt at this case study. You identified and attempted all four indicators and your answer was well presented.
Overall you need to elaborate and discuss the points that you are addressing in more detail.
Improvement required particularly for indicator four. ''

My results last year were:
Decile ranking 7
Sufficiency grouping 0

Audit - G
Tax - G
IMP - G
PM - Y
Finance - Y
BL - R

autumnbelle

Anyone any advice on what to do for the last week, so worried about passing now.

Dellboy2007

glencairne wrote: »

As a repeater I thought I would share the overall comments from the examiners comments which I paid for following failing core last year (although on a plus I got Tax NI elective first time), if I had seen something like this from another student last year I think it would have helped me understand FAE 'marking' more clearly

COMP
Your answer is well presented e.g. use of the paragraphs, report format, response to each issue on a new page.
Limit your executive summary to providing recommendations rather than writing a contents page – this will save valuable time.
You make a good attempt at Indicator 7 which demonstrates competence in Audit & Assurance. However, the time taken in this indicator would appear to have limited your time to complete the remaining indicators which appear to be very brief. Time management is critical at FAE for success –
please consider a time plan for the future.
You have taken the time to establish the exact requirements of each indicator which is good. Plan your answers further to help focus your responses

SIM 1
Overall, you did demonstrate some good skills in this case, especially in relation to:
- Information Management (5.1)
- Corporate and Individual Tax Planning (3.1)
You should consider the areas of segregation of duties and corporate governance and ensure that you can apply theory and best practice to the individual needs of a case study.
You handwriting was neat, which is good. You provided your answer in a letter format with a number of annotated enclosures, which was both appropriate and professional.

SIM 2
You made a reasonable attempt at this case study. You identified and attempted all four indicators and your answer was well presented.
Overall you need to elaborate and discuss the points that you are addressing in more detail.
Improvement required particularly for indicator four. ''

My results last year were:
Decile ranking 7
Sufficiency grouping 0

Audit - G
Tax - G
IMP - G
PM - Y
Finance - Y
BL - R

You must have been very close. What do you think it was in BL? Obviously they commented on CG but there's always a few BL indicators.

It seems like a lot of people fail on BL.

IR1SH RANG3R

Do we get our scripts back after the results or what? Or do we get individual comments?

m1ck007

Does anyone know if in the uk, if u are incorporating and u have sole trade losses incurred and b'fwd in ur last year and u claim terminal loss relief etc, can the remaining losses be carried forward into the company??

Dellboy2007

IR1SH RANG3R wrote: »

Do we get our scripts back after the results or what? Or do we get individual comments?

Haha! Do you not see the problems that would create?

Nothin but the Truth

glencairne wrote: »

As a repeater I thought I would share the overall comments from the examiners comments which I paid for following failing core last year (although on a plus I got Tax NI elective first time), if I had seen something like this from another student last year I think it would have helped me understand FAE 'marking' more clearly

COMP
Your answer is well presented e.g. use of the paragraphs, report format, response to each issue on a new page.
Limit your executive summary to providing recommendations rather than writing a contents page – this will save valuable time.
You make a good attempt at Indicator 7 which demonstrates competence in Audit & Assurance. However, the time taken in this indicator would appear to have limited your time to complete the remaining indicators which appear to be very brief. Time management is critical at FAE for success –
please consider a time plan for the future.
You have taken the time to establish the exact requirements of each indicator which is good. Plan your answers further to help focus your responses

SIM 1
Overall, you did demonstrate some good skills in this case, especially in relation to:
- Information Management (5.1)
- Corporate and Individual Tax Planning (3.1)
You should consider the areas of segregation of duties and corporate governance and ensure that you can apply theory and best practice to the individual needs of a case study.
You handwriting was neat, which is good. You provided your answer in a letter format with a number of annotated enclosures, which was both appropriate and professional.

SIM 2
You made a reasonable attempt at this case study. You identified and attempted all four indicators and your answer was well presented.
Overall you need to elaborate and discuss the points that you are addressing in more detail.
Improvement required particularly for indicator four. ''

My results last year were:
Decile ranking 7
Sufficiency grouping 0

Audit - G
Tax - G
IMP - G
PM - Y
Finance - Y
BL - R

That's a tough break, looks like ur on the right track anyway. What result did you get in AAFRP as I see they gave u comments on ur EPS last year which wud suggest an RC in that indicator. Just tryin to see if u think u got 2Cs and 2RCs but passed PM with a yellow. I' sure ur goin to fly thru this year with the experience behind u.

glencairne

Yes I was very close as I knew someone that passed with being in decile ranking 7 - thats why I decided to pay for the report etc.

BL for looking further into the comments:
COMP #3 pros & cons of itech proposal not as much details, more info on template to assess proposal in my answer
COMP #4 brief answer not enough breadth - ran out of time

SIM1 #2 CG - didnt link completely to the case & how procedures could improve performance

SIM2 #1 reasonable attempt, more in depth analysis needed & not to present answer in manner that highlighted issues to be considered before proceeding & more clear adv's + disadv's

myshirt

Glencairne... so harsh.

Rooting for you this year; did you pass the mocks?

Delboy2007 - BL isn't supposed to be a risk area according to the oracle, but there is no doubt a chunk of people failing on it, including mise. And I went to that Blackwater day.

PM is always a risk.

Don't think anyone will fail on IMP this year, but happened in 2012... and what a joke, really harsh.

glencairne

IR1SH RANG3R wrote: »

Do we get our scripts back after the results or what? Or do we get individual comments?

No you dont get your scripts back neither do you get them back if you pay the 'hefty' fee to get a comment on your script which is what I did

glencairne

Nothin but the Truth wrote: »

That's a tough break, looks like ur on the right track anyway. What result did you get in AAFRP as I see they gave u comments on ur EPS last year which wud suggest an RC in that indicator. Just tryin to see if u think u got 2Cs and 2RCs but passed PM with a yellow. I' sure ur goin to fly thru this year with the experience behind u.

I got HC in my aafrp

Dellboy2007

myshirt wrote: »

Delboy2007 - BL isn't supposed to be a risk area according to the oracle, but there is no doubt a chunk of people failing on it, including mise.

I've heard of more people failing on BL than any other area. That's completely anecdotal but it seems to me the main area where people fall down.

I don't agree with a previous posters who said the number of people failing on BL is very small, circa 50.

The thing with BL is you could be so far off the ball and not even realise it. From looking at the comp statement, I see areas that I think might come up but in terms of what they might look for is beyond me.

LOccitane

Glencairne, thanks so much for the insight, it's really appreciated.

I agree with DellBoy - I have heard of technically brilliant people who had an A1 exam record all the way through failing on BL - these are people who would do an IFRS transition exercise in their sleep for example.

For me, I'm beyond concerned about BL. Unlike PM, there is not much scope for preparing for it beyond the development of your own notes etc. and application of these to practical scenarios. Depth is a massive issue as well and was for me in the Mocks on BL, hence the RED.

7 Days to go folks. Keep it steady. In a few days I'll be coming off here and returning after the exams. I don't think speculation or post mortems mid stream (during) the exams will do anything for nerves, especially my own.

glencairne

m1ck007 wrote: »

Does anyone know if in the uk, if u are incorporating and u have sole trade losses incurred and b'fwd in ur last year and u claim terminal loss relief etc, can the remaining losses be carried forward into the company??

the remaining losses arent carried forward into the company but the can be used by the sole trade ie now director to offset against his future personal income ie remuneration/dividends

but remember to ask why should a loss making ST incorporate - if only for tax reasons then its not really recommended.

littlemiss123

glencairne wrote: »

As a repeater I thought I would share the overall comments from the examiners comments which I paid for following failing core last year (although on a plus I got Tax NI elective first time), if I had seen something like this from another student last year I think it would have helped me understand FAE 'marking' more clearly

COMP
Your answer is well presented e.g. use of the paragraphs, report format, response to each issue on a new page.
Limit your executive summary to providing recommendations rather than writing a contents page – this will save valuable time.
You make a good attempt at Indicator 7 which demonstrates competence in Audit & Assurance. However, the time taken in this indicator would appear to have limited your time to complete the remaining indicators which appear to be very brief. Time management is critical at FAE for success –
please consider a time plan for the future.
You have taken the time to establish the exact requirements of each indicator which is good. Plan your answers further to help focus your responses

SIM 1
Overall, you did demonstrate some good skills in this case, especially in relation to:
- Information Management (5.1)
- Corporate and Individual Tax Planning (3.1)
You should consider the areas of segregation of duties and corporate governance and ensure that you can apply theory and best practice to the individual needs of a case study.
You handwriting was neat, which is good. You provided your answer in a letter format with a number of annotated enclosures, which was both appropriate and professional.

SIM 2
You made a reasonable attempt at this case study. You identified and attempted all four indicators and your answer was well presented.
Overall you need to elaborate and discuss the points that you are addressing in more detail.
Improvement required particularly for indicator four. ''

My results last year were:
Decile ranking 7
Sufficiency grouping 0

Audit - G
Tax - G
IMP - G
PM - Y
Finance - Y
BL - R

Glencairne sounds like you were so close, really rooting for you this year!! I'm also terrified about BL, just don't know what to expect, you can study all the material from cover to cover and still not be prepared.

Just a question, my understanding is that if you got red in BL you should have had a sufficiency of more than 0 no? Just when I think I finally understand the marking scheme I get confused again!!

Aidodub87

littlemiss123 wrote: »

Glencairne sounds like you were so close, really rooting for you this year!! I'm also terrified about BL, just don't know what to expect, you can study all the material from cover to cover and still not be prepared.

Just a question, my understanding is that if you got red in BL you should have had a sufficiency of more than 0 no? Just when I think I finally understand the marking scheme I get confused again!!

Nope you can get sufficiency 0 in that you got enough C's to be competent but if ya get a red in any of the subjects you automatically fail

glencairne

littlemiss123 wrote: »

Glencairne sounds like you were so close, really rooting for you this year!! I'm also terrified about BL, just don't know what to expect, you can study all the material from cover to cover and still not be prepared.

Just a question, my understanding is that if you got red in BL you should have had a sufficiency of more than 0 no? Just when I think I finally understand the marking scheme I get confused again!!

exactly, thats why i put my marks up etc - how the final results are sorted etc is down to the board no point trying to figure them all out. best just try & reach yellow in all the subjects

Dellboy2007

littlemiss123 wrote: »

Glencairne sounds like you were so close, really rooting for you this year!! I'm also terrified about BL, just don't know what to expect, you can study all the material from cover to cover and still not be prepared.

Just a question, my understanding is that if you got red in BL you should have had a sufficiency of more than 0 no? Just when I think I finally understand the marking scheme I get confused again!!

Sufficiency is your performance across all 6 subjects. It is the level 1 test.

Glencairne failed the depth test in that he did not get C the required number of times in BL hence the red.

Depth/Breadth test is shown by way of a colour.

littlemiss123

Dellboy2007 wrote: »

Sufficiency is your performance across all 6 subjects. It is the level 1 test.

Glencairne failed the depth test in that he did not get C the required number of times in BL hence the red.

Depth/Breadth test is shown by way of a colour.

Ok, I'm following I think! Says a lot about an exam when you can't understand the marking scheme!!

myshirt

To pass:
1. Get an average of C's in PM and BL.
2. Get a minimum of one RC in Audit, Finance, Tax, IMP.
3. And get as many RC's / C's out of remaining indicators.

That is the minimum to pass you.

glencairne

Not a tall wrote: »

Has anybody done the Argon Visio STEPS Case?

Any idea how the contributions from the contributions from the different projects were calculated? And how did they arrive at the €500k provision against the Twinkle project?

Has anyone figured this out?

Accountant81

In tax; is an asset sale the same as "selling the trade"?

Dellboy2007

Accountant81 wrote: »

In tax; is an asset sale the same as "selling the trade"?

See sim 2 of 2012 paper, this should answer your question.

Accountant81

Dellboy2007 wrote: »

See sim 2 of 2012 paper, this should answer your question.

Cheers for that!

galway321

Has anyone got the solution to the leathers of Ireland case? The case was posted on here a few weeks ago but I can't find a solution to it.
Thanks