2013 CAP2 Discussion Group

http://www.acarevisions.ie/?page_id=187 or the grind school? Aca revisions is over 150e cheaper I think when you factor in the discount. Hmm

jus_tin4 wrote: »

any experience on aca revision tho?

went to the sfma CA, thought it was quite good! Must be a few people on here that went to the sfma, fr or audit interim revision class too?

I am looking for CAP2 SFMA past exam papers.

I am studying for my Honours Accounting degree and our lecturer keeps telling us that our exam will be at the standard of CAP2 SFMA.

If I could get the past few years past papers to practice, it would be of great benefit.

Thanks

Diarmuid

prettyrestless wrote: »

I haven't gone to any of the actual revision courses but I know quite a few people that have. They found them really good and great for motivating them to study. I've also had the notes passed onto me after a few courses, and the notes are excellent - concise and succinct with all relevant material but no waffle.

Do you work for the grind school then?

bigmc23 wrote: »

though at the point when the grind school is on should you not,ideally, be at a point where your going through past papers on your own rather than going over standards and getting yet more notes?

The notes I got from CGS are a lot better than the notes I got from Chartered.

I would have to print off several hundred pages of notes and questions for each subject to bring into college. CGS gave me a book for each subject with a couple hundred pages max. Everything was condensed down to what I needed to pass the exam along with a couple of examples of questions.

Also sitting in CGS for a whole day getting everything drilled into my head again worked for me. If I was at home I would never to as much study in a day and might miss a lot of what was pointed out in CGS.

CGS to me was about passing the exams and it worked. Doing them again this year for FAE.

Has anyone signed up for Chartered Education's online courses or know anyone who has?

Can anyone suggest which is better CGS or ACA revision? As I missed the FR last weekend with CGS but FR is on this weekend with ACA revision. Is anyone else going to the one this weekend? Also how did those who went to the CGS last weekend find it? Thanks :-)

40 and 38 in SFMA and Tax. Felt like Tax was easier than some past papers though so not putting much stock in that. Hadnt covered half the course going in though.

Pretty disappointed with Audit Interim Assessment. Thought it went very well, yet I just scraped a Pass. How did others go?

FYI everyone, I received this e-mail today:-

PLEASE READ - CAP2 INSTRUCTIONS TO EXAMINATION CANDIDATES

Cap2Exam <Cap2Exam@charteredaccountants.ie> 11 June 2014 12:11


Dear Student,

Please see below instructions to examination candidates sitting CAP2 Summer examinations. Please read all instructions carefully.


Wishing you the very best of luck.


Aileen



** IMPORTANT INFORMATION – PLEASE READ **
*** CHANGE TO END OF EXAMINATION PROCESS ***

YOU MUST SIGN OUT YOUR EXAMINATION BOOKLET DURING THE COLLECTION PROCESS (SEE INSTRUCTION 13)

CAP2 EXAM TIME TABLE

· TAX (NI) & (ROI): Tuesday, 24th June 2014 at 9:30am - 1:20pm

· Audit & Assurance: Wednesday, 25th June 2014 at 9:30am - 1:20pm

· SFMA: Thursday, 26th June 2014 at 9:30am - 1:20pm

· Financial Reporting: Friday, 27th June 2014 at 9:30am - 1:20pm|


INSTRUCTIONS TO EXAMINATION CANDIDATES – CAP2 SUMMER 2014

(1) The examination will commence each day at the time stated on the attached ttimetable above. Candidates should be in attendance at least twenty minutes before the stated time and should have their letter of notification (emailed on 6th June 2014) and photographic identification placed on their desk ready for inspection by the Invigilator. Candidates should enter the hall and take their seats in accordance with the instructions of the Invigilator.

The Professional Exams Committee has agreed to allow 20 minutes reading time for each of the papers at CA Proficiency 2. During this time candidates will have the exam papers and will be permitted to make notes etc., but will not be permitted to open or write in the answer booklets. At the end of the 20 minute period, the invigilators will signal that students are permitted to use the answer booklets.

Each candidate must take his/her seat at the desk bearing their examination number. When the exam papers have been handed out you must not touch the paper until you have been given permission to do so. In fairness to all candidates, the exam will not start until everyone has been given their exam paper.

(2) Any explanation with regard to late arrival, illness or otherwise must be given to the Invigilator. Under no circumstances will a candidate be allowed to take his/her place after one hour has elapsed from the commencement of a sitting. No candidate will be allowed to leave the examination hall until a period of one hour has elapsed. If a candidate arrives late during the first hour of an examination, he/she must still finish on time.

(3) At certain venues, candidates may be allowed to park at the venue in the grounds adjacent to the examination hall. Where such parking is permitted, the Institute cannot accept responsibility for any loss or damage to candidates' cars (or valuables therein) while parked, if any such loss or damage occurs. Candidates should take care not to park in prohibited areas at examination venues.

The Institute will not incur any parking costs.

(4) After the examination has commenced, no candidate may leave the examination hall without permission. A candidate who completes his/her answers before the end of the examination may, with the permission of the Invigilator, retire from the examination hall but is expected to do so as quietly as possible once they have handed up their answer booklet and signed out. A candidate retiring early from the hall must advise the Invigilator as to the reasons why.

The candidate must also submit an answer book, even if there are no answers therein and sign out their answer booklet on the attendance sheet.

Any candidate who takes his/her place, receives a paper and signs his/her attendance sheet in respect of any of the papers which he/she is required to sit will be deemed to have attempted the examination, regardless of whether or not he/she submits any examination answers in his/her answer book.

Candidates will not be permitted to retire from the examination hall until one hour has elapsed.

Candidates will not be permitted to leave the examination hall during the last 30 minutes of the examination.

(5) CA Proficiency 2 exams are operated on an open book basis, except TAXATION which is a closed book examination.

During open book examinations, candidates are permitted to bring into the examination hall any reference material of their choice. Candidates should be very selective with regard to the material brought into the examination, primarily because attempting to look up a lot of material during the examination is likely to be time consuming and unproductive. Also, the space available in the hall is limited.

During closed book examinations i.e. Taxation, candidates may not retain at their desk any book, paper or manuscript before, during or after the examination. Any candidate infringing this rule will be liable to disqualification. In Taxation, candidates may only refer to the inserts enclosed with the paper.

(6) The Institute cannot accept any responsibility for any loss or damage in respect of any property brought into the examination hall.

(7) The name of the candidate must not appear anywhere in the answer book, either within the text of an answer or otherwise. Any candidate infringing this rule will be liable to disqualification.

(8) Candidates must bring their own stationary including calculators and rulers.

(9) In any paper where it is appropriate, candidates may elect to answer in accordance with either the law and practice of Northern Ireland or the Republic of Ireland. However, the election must apply to the entire paper and must be clearly indicated on the answer book cover. Separate versions of the Tax paper will be provided for Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.

(10) A candidate must indicate on the answer book front cover his/her examination number (NOT Student Number) and the questions attempted by him/her, in addition to the part and paper which he/she sat.

(11) A candidate will not under any circumstances be allowed to amend, or insert any written material into, his/her answer book at any time after his/her answer book has been collected by the Invigilator and the candidate has retired from the examination hall.

(12) Candidates may use their own calculators in all papers in all Parts of the examination. The regulations governing the use of calculators are set out further in this document.

CONCLUSION OF EXAMINATION

(13) At the conclusion of each examination, the Invigilator will announce the end of the examination, at which point all candidates must stop answering the examination questions. Candidates must stop writing and put down their pens.

The attention of candidates is drawn to the fact that, if they fail to comply with a request from the invigilator to stop writing or to hand up their answer book, they will be in breach of the examination regulations. In such circumstances, the Invigilator has authority to report the breach of the regulations on the part of the candidate to the Professional Examinations Committee (PEC)

Candidates are required to remain seated at their examination desk until the Invigilator has collected their answer book. Candidates must sign out their answer booklets on the attendance record when requested by the invigilator during the collection process. It is the responsibility of the candidate to ensure that he/she has handed the answer book to the Invigilator before he/she leaves the examination hall. Any script removed from the examination hall will be deemed by the Professional Examinations Committee as thereby invalidated.

Candidates will not under any circumstances be allowed to insert any written material into their answer books at any time after their answer books have been collected by the Invigilator and they have retired from the examination hall.

Candidates must also sign out their answer booklet at the end of the Examination during the collection process. Candidates will do so by signing their signature against their examination number on the attendance records. Candidates must obey invigilator instructions at all times.

Once their answer book has been collected, and candidates have signed out their examination script, candidates will be expected to retire from the examination hall.


ELIGIBILITY, SECURITY & DISCIPLINE

(14) At the time of the examination, a student attempting CA Proficiency 2 must:

a. be serving under a Training Contract; or

b. be admitted to the examination as an Elevation student

(15) Candidates must not bring into, or remove from, the examination hall any items of examination stationery i.e. answer booklets

(16) A candidate may not communicate with, receive assistance from or copy from another candidate during the examination.

(17) Smoking and the consumption of alcohol is not prohibited in the examination hall at all times.

(18) Candidates may not bring into the examination hall any form of wireless communication e.g. mobile phones, computers. You are not allowed to have on your desk or on your person mobile phones, any form of computer, or other electronic equipment. Any such item should be switched off and left at the top of the hall or stowed in your bag. If an invigilator notices a phone or other electronic device on your person / desk, they will remove the device to the top of the hall. You can retrieve the device when you are leaving the examination hall. No responsibility will be taken by Chartered Accountants Ireland for devices lost, stolen or damaged.

(19) All candidates are reminded that they are permitted to enter and sit for the Institute Examination on the basis that, at all times, they agree to be bound by the examination regulations and the decisions of the Professional Examinations Committee. A candidate who is in breach of any of the regulations may be liable to disqualification from the examination.

(20) On the morning of each exam, the Invigilator will make routine announcements prior to the start time of the exam. We would ask all candidates to pay attention to these announcements as they are of significant importance.

(21) Candidates are not permitted to wear a hat, cap or have a hood covering their head during examinations. Candidates are also not allowed to use headphones or ear muffs during examinations.

SUBMISSION OF REPRESENTATION TO PROFESSIONAL EXAMINATIONS COMMITTEE (PEC)

(22) Candidates may make representations to the PEC regarding extenuating circumstances affecting their examination performance e.g. medical condition, bereavement. All such representations must be submitted within a specified period after the final day of the examination concerned. The specified period is:

· 7 days from the final day of examination

Representations received by the due date will be given consideration in the adjudication of results. Representations received after the due date will not be considered.

Candidates must fill out the application form which can be found at the bottom of the CAP2 Exam Information page on the Institute website and submit original supporting documentation i.e. medical evidence

Please note that if you submit original supporting documentation and wish this to be returned then you will need to specifically request this to Aileen Finn, CAP2 Exam Executive. Under Data Protection, please be advised that your medical information shall not be kept for any longer than is necessary for the purpose for which you submitted it. After this time it will be confidentially destroyed unless you specifically request this documentation to be returned. You can request this evidence to be returned by enclosing a stamped addressed envelope with your application.

STUDENT FEEDBACK

(23) CASSI, through the local student societies, prepares a submission to Chartered Accountants Ireland containing student feedback on the examinations. If you have any feedback on the examinations which you wish to submit, please forward it to your local student society.

REGULATIONS GOVERNING THE USE OF CALCULATORS IN THE EXAMINATION

(24)

· The calculators which may be used by candidates must be battery/solar operated, pocket-sized (approx. 3" x 6"), non-programmable, noiseless, cordless and without print-out facilities.

· The decision of the examination Invigilator with regard to the acceptability of any particular model of calculator will be final.

· Candidates using calculators should ensure that the steps which they have followed in reaching their solution to a particular question are shown clearly in their answers.

· The borrowing or sharing of calculators in the examination hall will not be permitted.

· The Institute cannot accept any responsibility or liability for any loss or damage to calculators in the examination hall.

GUIDANCE ON STUDENTS ON HOW TO USE THE ANSWER BOOK

(25) GUIDANCE – GENERAL

· Where part of an answer to a question is written on a page(s) which is separate from the main body of the answer, the student should cross-reference the material using the pre-printed page numbers.

· Where a student does not want a part of his/her answer or rough work to be considered, he/she should simply draw a line through that part.

· Students are encouraged to plan their answers before commencing to write, and to try to present them in the correct order.

· Writing pages are provided in the answer book and candidates are asked to utilise the appropriate form of answer paper for the various questions.

· Answers are to be written on the answer book supplied, in accordance with the following instructions:

· Answers are to be written in ink or biro. However, red ink or red biro should not be used. Computations may be written in pencil.

· The answers to each question must be commenced on a separate page. Where a question consists of two or more parts this instruction does not apply to the separate parts.

· The name of the candidate must not appear anywhere in the answer book, either within the text of an answer or otherwise. Any candidate infringing this rule will be liable to disqualification.

· It is not intended to provide students with a second answer book during an examination sitting. The answer book is designed to be large enough to accommodate all of a student’s answers at any one sitting. Students are expected to manage their answer books and utilise the answer pages appropriately.

· Examination answers may only be written on the pages of the answer book. Students may not insert into the answer book answers written on extraneous pages.

· General neatness and the manner of setting out answers will be taken into consideration in the marking of scripts. Candidates are recommended to take care with English grammar when composing their answers to narrative questions.

· The responsibility for legibility of handwriting resides exclusively with the candidate. The examiner(s) will make all reasonable efforts to read each script submitted. However, in cases where the examiner(s), following reasonable effort to decipher handwriting, conclude(s) that all or any part of a script is illegible, the responsibility for the consequences of such illegibility, in terms of any marks not awarded which might otherwise have been awarded, had the script, or any part thereof, been decipherable by the examiner, shall reside exclusively with the candidate.

KingsbryKev wrote: »

Hi all

Has anyone got the summary of standards that Margaret was using in the FR revision day?

Cant find it on the course materials either

I have a few questions about the CAP 2 exams and this seems like the best place to ask.

My degree exempts me from the CAP 1 exams so if I sign a 3.5 year chartered contract with a firm say tomorrow, would I typically start studying for the CAP 2 exams at the end of this year and start studying for the FAE's at the end of 2015 and then just work without any further exams for the final 1.5 years of the contract?

Is it possible spread the CAP 2 exams into two sittings to have a better chance of passing first time?

How many hours and nights are you in college each week when studying for each of CAP 2 and the FAE'S, and when does the ACA college period run from/to.

I've read that there are 6 weeks study leave for CAP 2. Are you guaranteed to get this and your 20 days annual leave, or does it vary from firm to firm?

Thanks

No haven't heard, but I'm 99% sure I'm one of those who failed!!

Whoop whoop...thank god for bell curves ! Passed them all