CAP 2 - General Chat

aka accounts 2010

Hey guys..

I'm heading into my 4th sitting of these exams...Just have FR to do at this stage...I have friends who still have 3 or 4 exams to do heading into their 4th sitting..

Just wondering how many sittings it's taking people to get through these horrible exams?

R0N BURGUNDY

3 years worth. up to a maximum of 6 sittings. but if u only do 1 sitting in a year, that is still 1 year used up.

so assuming you're doing the following:

sit, resit
sit, resit < where you're at now

you have the following left if u fail this resit coming up:

sit, resit


think that is correct.

Sean Bateman

The OP didn't ask for advice regarding the time limits for sitting the exams.

OP, go to the Chartered Grind School for starters.

Try and get help internally in work...speak with your HR department and they might tee up accountants, auditors and tax consultants to help you with grinds. Some firms even bring outside lecturers in to help their students (for example BDO got Sandra Gleeson in).

A few tips that helped me:

- Treat the exams as closed book exams with the opportunity to quickly cheat and look at your notes without being caught.

- Be ruthless when it comes to time. Ditch a question once you've exceeded the allocated time.

- Don't give a f..k about balance sheets/SOFPs balancing. I've never had a balance sheet balance in my life and I'm about to do FAE.

- Rather than obessing about technical points try and relax and stand back and think about questions. I don't work in Audit and failed CAP2 Audit the first time. I sat down and spoke with an auditor for 40 mins and then just "got it". Went from 38% to 72% with no extra work.

- For FR isolate examples of specific types of questions (e.g. consolidated cash flow statement, JVs etc). Just keep doing them until it becomes second nature. If you haven't a rashers ignore the lecturers' advice to avoid auditing solutions. Get questions and get the solutions and work through the solutions. After a while you'll get it. Then in the exam just find a question from your notes that's similar to the exam question and copy the methodology. I know that's contrary to my advice above about treating it as a closed book exam but I'm talking about situations when you haven't a rashers.

To be brutally honest I'll pass FAE and still won't have a clue about much of financial reporting compared to others in my class. In my view it's about maximising your marks in the areas that you are comfortable and not wasting any time on questions that you're clueless about. It's very easy to get (say) 3/10 in a question you know very little about. It's also relatively easy to get 7/10 in a question that you're really comfortable with. And 3/10 and 7/10 equals 50%...that's the key to passing tough exams in my view.

smcgiff

Sean Bateman wrote: »

To be brutally honest I'll pass FAE and still won't have a f..king clue about financial reporting.

Excellent post, but do you want your name associated with the above remark?

Sean Bateman

smcgiff wrote: »

Excellent post, but do you want your name associated with the above remark?

Sorry...I'm probably downplaying my own FR knowledge. Obviously I've more knowledge than the average punter but I'm convinced that I'm towards the lower end of my FAE year in pure FR technical terms. The point I'm trying to get over to the OP (with a view to allaying his or her fears) is that you don't have to be an FR maestro to get through this process. There's no way that I am. But what I do is read questions carefully and try and stay chilled out in exams. And if what looks like a tricky question rears its ugly head, I focus on maximising my marks in the areas that I do get and avoid wasting time on the bits that are a mystery.

Clanno

Sean Bateman wrote: »

The OP didn't ask for advice regarding the time limits for sitting the exams.

OP, go to the Chartered Grind School for starters.

Try and get help internally in work...speak with your HR department and they might tee up accountants, auditors and tax consultants to help you with grinds. Some firms even bring outside lecturers in to help their students (for example BDO got Sandra Gleeson in).

A few tips that helped me:

- Treat the exams as closed book exams with the opportunity to quickly cheat and look at your notes without being caught.

- Be ruthless when it comes to time. Ditch a question once you've exceeded the allocated time.

- Don't give a f..k about balance sheets/SOFPs balancing. I've never had a balance sheet balance in my life and I'm about to do FAE.

- Rather than obessing about technical points try and relax and stand back and think about questions. I don't work in Audit and failed CAP2 Audit the first time. I sat down and spoke with an auditor for 40 mins and then just "got it". Went from 38% to 72% with no extra work.

- For FR isolate examples of specific types of questions (e.g. consolidated cash flow statement, JVs etc). Just keep doing them until it becomes second nature. If you haven't a rashers ignore the lecturers' advice to avoid auditing solutions. Get questions and get the solutions and work through the solutions. After a while you'll get it. Then in the exam just find a question from your notes that's similar to the exam question and copy the methodology. I know that's contrary to my advice above about treating it as a closed book exam but I'm talking about situations when you haven't a rashers.

To be brutally honest I'll pass FAE and still won't have a clue about much of financial reporting compared to others in my class. In my view it's about maximising your marks in the areas that you are comfortable and not wasting any time on questions that you're clueless about. It's very easy to get (say) 3/10 in a question you know very little about. It's also relatively easy to get 7/10 in a question that you're really comfortable with. And 3/10 and 7/10 equals 50%...that's the key to passing tough exams in my view.

Any advice for passing the FAE next week...

Sean Bateman

Don't spend too much time lurking around on boards.ie when you should be studying!

EveT

I just did FR for first time and got 70 in it, posted in another thread my advice, dont have time to find it now, in the other CAP 2 thread.

I def dont think treat it as closed book, I was all over my notes in the exam, my hand made bog standard notes, 4 page guide to consol and adjustments, if you can do something like that by building it up on all questions you answered its v helpful.

IAS's index them to bits and make sure you can find your stuff quickly in exam.

Pick maybe 6 or so consol q's to include as many adjustments as possible including JV and associate, disposal of sub, foreign sub translation and practice them to bits, dont do 20 different questions.

I did CGS and swear in FR got me from 30 to 70.(in audit didnt help so much!)

good luck!

upnorthchick

aka accounts 2010 wrote: »

Hey guys..

I'm heading into my 4th sitting of these exams...Just have FR to do at this stage...I have friends who still have 3 or 4 exams to do heading into their 4th sitting..

Just wondering how many sittings it's taking people to get through these horrible exams?

Sean brilliant post but arent you cocky abt next week?? or is it just confidence? obviously giving none of your fellow class mates any tips?

anyway... i had to sit FR Cap2 - and on the third time i got it all for the grace of consolidated cashflows...

but do not get worried as Sean was saying abt getting your balance sheet to balance - it never will... but it in suspence account

i started with doing the IAS's and making sure you at least understood them! then moved to Consolidated section of Ciarans book and thrashed the life out of it along with the pack of questions we got given - - try questions and audit them too.

try and reference certain type of questions so you can get your hands on them easily enough.

also have a consolidated file!!
and a file with all your IAS;s in - good luck and i hope this helps.

smiley00

Sean, or anyone else..any advice for passing CAP2 Tax??

Sean Bateman

upnorthchick wrote: »

Sean brilliant post but arent you cocky abt next week?? or is it just confidence? obviously giving none of your fellow class mates any tips?

Sorry if I came across as cocky. I just expect to pass. The aim was to give the OP the sense that someone can pass these exams and still be pretty uncomfortable with certain areas of the course (like me with FR but I don't let it get to me).

As for FAE, why would I be qualified to give my classmates tips when I haven't passed the exam yet?

smiley00 wrote: »

Sean, or anyone else..any advice for passing CAP2 Tax??

Because it's closed book, there's more of a pattern to what comes up. Focus on past papers and get all over CT. Main thing is just don't get down about things and don't let naysayers in work etc get you down.

Shane732

Sean Bateman wrote: »

Sorry if I came across as cocky. I just expect to pass.

There wouldn't be much point in sitting the exams it you didn't expect to pass.

Clanno

Sean Bateman wrote: »

Sorry if I came across as cocky. I just expect to pass. The aim was to give the OP the sense that someone can pass these exams and still be pretty uncomfortable with certain areas of the course (like me with FR but I don't let it get to me).

As for FAE, why would I be qualified to give my classmates tips when I haven't passed the exam yet?



Because it's closed book, there's more of a pattern to what comes up. Focus on past papers and get all over CT. Main thing is just don't get down about things and don't let naysayers in work etc get you down.

I hear ya - we all expect expect to pass, but the there always a few that fall short. the amount of past papers are a wee bit restrictive coz last year was the first year of the new fae's so any words of wisdom with a few days left would be appreciated! apart from the obvious as above...cheers!

Sean Bateman

Clanno wrote: »

I hear ya - we all expect expect to pass, but the there always a few that fall short. the amount of past papers are a wee bit restrictive coz last year was the first year of the new fae's so any words of wisdom with a few days left would be appreciated! apart from the obvious as above...cheers!

Read the questions more carefully than you read my post! The "past papers" tip related to CAP2 tax rather than FAE.