FAE September 2012

froggatt2011

How seriously is everyone taking the mocks? I'm kind of seeing them as a test drive in terms of what I'll bring in to the actual exams and to see how I cope with planning and composing my answers, timing etc.

froggatt2011

R0N BURGUNDY wrote: »

I think I am going to practice doing these for the next week and try to come up with an idiot proof method that is fast and efficient.

Paul Monaghan's wee tip = write "13/21" beside indicators that require a decision/conclusion. (because 13 out of 21 indicator requried one in previous exam)

Maybe have a traffic light system (lol) for highlighting:
red: company information/scenario/personal info
yellow:important point
green: indicator

I don't see how you could have time to read and re-read and write out great notes before even attempting some questions. I suppose it depends how quick you are at writing and thinking on your feet. But I reckon a well planned answer with good links to other indicators must come across a lot more professional to whoever is marking the paper.

I like this approach Ron. I am using the traffic light system when doing cases too and it's helpful. First of all I was writing important stuff on a separate sheet but that got me nowhere and I found myself basically rewriting the case.

Not sure what you mean with Paul's tip though Can you elaborate on this please?

Thanks

mrduffy

i am having trouble sleeping after aafrp result did not do good. does anyone have tips in how to just sleep and wake up refreshed for a good days study

Jame Gumb

13/21 indicators required a decision.

If you don't make a decision, you're automatically nominally competent.

The wrong decision well argued is better than no decision at all.

Just write "13/21" to remind yourself to come to a conclusion...

froggatt2011

Jame Gumb wrote: »

13/21 indicators required a decision.

If you don't make a decision, you're automatically nominally competent.

The wrong decision well argued is better than no decision at all.

Just write "13/21" to remind yourself to come to a conclusion...

Aha! Thanks for explaining. Makes good sense So that's 13 over 2 days if I understand correctly.

chursy

the 21 indicators is roughly what we should expect over two days right?? how is that split over the two days 10/11 over the two days??

Each Simulation tend to have 3 to 4 indicators typically each

froggatt2011

Username2011 wrote: »

Out of interest have u studied tax? Or DiD you start with cases?

R0N BURGUNDY wrote: »

Yeah - NI tax was freaking me out a bit also so it's all I have really studied. Went through the text book highlighting to try and get a bit up to date. It's fairly time consuming so that's why I'm doing that now and then I'll do a refresher tax study period closer to September. I'm not off until end of July and find it pointless trying to study after working all day so just going to have a bit of study on Sunday before the mocks. What else can you do like.

I have been going over notes and cases but I just hit a wall every time. I get so confused by it all, miss major points, forget to mention/deal with other taxes... I am annoyed at myself because when I did IATI I really got tax. Had at exemption at CAP1 so CAP2 was a bit of a shocker for me and I never really recovered!

I've gotten hold of a set of ACCA Advanced Taxation passcards for 2011/2012 and I must say that I find them very helpful for doing tax questions which we were given in class. I guess I'll find out today if they work for me for the cases.

Ron I have Monday to prepare for the mocks and two weeks leave over July and August. Not gonna be enough is it???

*Sigh*

froggatt2011

lala1987 wrote: »

hi there- just wondering can anyone help me out with APM?

I have lecture notes printed and past new fae and mocks.

what old exam papers can i print anything else? how people approaching it?

I have some cases somewhere which I can upload for you later if you don't have any cases to practice.
Use the cases and the last 2 years papers and mocks. Make sure you take your finance/management accounts notes and business leadership as there's a lot of overlap. The manual is very useful, know your way around it. Some of the info is out of date so if you rely on it in the exam make sure you state that your findings are based on information dated 20XX - apparently this shows competence.

froggatt2011

galr wrote: »

Audit Core: focus on tests and internal controls - board accepts that 1/3 of students sitting this exam have never and will never work in auditing so it can't be pitched at too high of a level.

This brings me great joy to read I have never worked on an audit in my life and hopefully never will :P

lala1987

froggatt2011 wrote: »

I have some cases somewhere which I can upload for you later if you don't have any cases to practice.
Use the cases and the last 2 years papers and mocks. Make sure you take your finance/management accounts notes and business leadership as there's a lot of overlap. The manual is very useful, know your way around it. Some of the info is out of date so if you rely on it in the exam make sure you state that your findings are based on information dated 20XX - apparently this shows competence.

HI froggatt that would be amazing if you could (and of course if its not too much trouble). have papers and mocks but just didnt think it was enough. will pull out sfma so from cap2 perhaps that may be easiest to look at. thanks a mil for tip on relying on old info.

p.s. i concur re audit have never worked in it and i found CAP2 audit a nightmare

froggatt2011

lala1987 wrote: »

HI froggatt that would be amazing if you could (and of course if its not too much trouble). have papers and mocks but just didnt think it was enough. will pull out sfma so from cap2 perhaps that may be easiest to look at. thanks a mil for tip on relying on old info.

Not a bother. More to come.

froggatt2011

More APM stuff... still more to come!

froggatt2011

Last batch. I'm attaching some Q&As which you may or may not have. Hope this helps!

lala1987

thanks a mil.

Flange/Flanders

I'm doing APM myself, read through all the pages for lecture 1 that the lecturer said to read, then I realised that basically the whole thing was summarised in those APM session 1 & 2 questions documents, could be very handy to bring into exam itself.

As for the rest, I'd like to tear into case studies for all subjects but I dont feel comfortable doing that when I havent studied BL before or Information management. So I've been trying to study them but some parts are so mind numbingly boring that I cant focus on studying them. Info management in particular seems to be about finding increasingly complicated words to describe how an office works. Torture. HR seems pretty basic, strategy havent looked at yet, Ethics might be better to work on questions for, marketing the same and change management the same.

froggatt2011

Just came across the online session "Tips to Support Competence with Ronan O'Loughlin"
Would recommend it for anyone who needs a wee motivational boost. It's just over an hour long.

BESman

mrduffy wrote: »

i am having trouble sleeping after aafrp result did not do good. does anyone have tips in how to just sleep and wake up refreshed for a good days study

I generally have problems sleeping (mild insomnia) but it got particularly bad during my CAP 2's. I think by the last day of the exams I had slept for about 7 or 8 hours in total that week. Anxiety causes it. Easier said than done but reduce the anxiety and you will sleep better. Some tips I find that help:

Exercise in the evening. I took up long distance running, clears the mind, helps you relax and knackers you out so you will sleep better.

Ensure your room is well ventilated. Leave the window open during the day. If the room is too warm open the window a little bit during the night also.

AVOID COFFEE! I have a coffee addiction but will only drink one cup in the morning. Don't go near coffee or other stimulants (like coke) in the evening. You might not think it has much affect but caffeine will mess with your sleep pattern.

Get into a routine of getting up and going to bed around the same time. I have a habit of sleeping in til late in the day sometimes and this obviously makes it difficult to sleep that night. Try going to bed around 11 or 12 and getting up at 8 or 9. Eventually your body will get used to the pattern.

Last resort, visit your GP. A doctor might prescribe sleeping tablets if s/he believes you are suffering from prolonged periods of sleeplessness. I was prescribed Stilnoct before but never used it because it's not a solution to the problem. I've also heard they are highly addictive and cause side effects. But if you really just need a night's sleep they can be useful.

At the end of the day, exams and results are not that important. Forget about the AAFRP result and start focussing on the main exams. See it as motivation to study even harder over the next two months. Once you get a routine going you will start to relax and sleep better. Best of luck.

froggatt2011

Some great advice there from BESman.

I've been under a lot of stress recently, totally unrelated to exams although that doesn't help, and have had trouble sleeping.

Herbal tea such as camomile really does help relax you, as does trying some simple relaxation. When you are trying to get to sleep tense one group of muscles at a time, start with your feet and work up to your face. Take is slowly. Inhale a deep breath and hold for about 5 seconds, tense the muscles when you hold your breath (don't strain) and then relax muscles as you exhale. Do this while listening to some calming music and you will nod off in no time.

I also use a free app called Deep Relax by Darren Marks. It really helped me when I was at my wits end.

luco123

Hi can someone scan the contents pages of the resource pack. im a repeater and want to know if anything new has been added or what notes i can remove. thanks.

Mr Grind

Just came across the online session "Tips to Support Competence with Ronan O'Loughlin"
Would recommend it for anyone who needs a wee motivational boost. It's just over an hour long.

Brilliant...........8 weeks to go motivational speech!

chursy

froggatt2011 wrote: »

Just came across the online session "Tips to Support Competence with Ronan O'Loughlin"
Would recommend it for anyone who needs a wee motivational boost. It's just over an hour long.

EXCELLENT LINK! LEGEND!

Accrual Intentions

mrduffy wrote: »

i am having trouble sleeping after aafrp result did not do good. does anyone have tips in how to just sleep and wake up refreshed for a good days study

I haven't slept for a few weeks now, but this is normal for me around this time of year. I find as soon as you make a good study plan/timetable and get a good productive days work done then you'll sleep that night. Its the uncertainty and anxiety that is keeping you awake. The only way to beat that is to stop procrastinating and get stuck into it.

leds

Moorstown wrote: »

So how does everyone feel about the AAFRP results?

I'm totally confused about my result.

I received NC and my feedback was as follows;

1. Try to improve your basic knowledge of accounting standards and journal entries
2. Sound knowledge of disclosures. Try to tailor your answer to the question
3. Excellent knowledge and application of standards

Point 1 and point 3 to me seem to contradict each other?

I would of thought I would of at least received a higher competency that what I scored.

Any thoughts?

Much Appreciated

If it helps I got the exact same comments in each of the sections and I got reaching competent.I would definetly appeal on the basis that your section three was deemed excellent and that you had sound knowledge of disclosures. fair enough section one was poor but i imagine it was poor for most as it was all or nothing that section.

froggatt2011

leds wrote: »

If it helps I got the exact same comments in each of the sections and I got reaching competent.I would definetly appeal on the basis that your section three was deemed excellent and that you had sound knowledge of disclosures. fair enough section one was poor but i imagine it was poor for most as it was all or nothing that section.

I second that. I got RC with same feedback except I had poor knowledge of disclosures (even though I thought I did ok on the disclosure section, but there ya go...).

supernova84

Anyone else having trouble viewing the live streaming lectures? I'm using a mac but have all software updated and all I'm getting is a blank screen when I go to view a lecture.

Mr Grind

Does anyone have overview of management accounting as per induction which they could share?

chursy

Can someone share their study plan please ?

froggatt2011

Mr Grind wrote: »

Does anyone have overview of management accounting as per induction which they could share?

Induction notes here
http://students.charteredaccountants.ie/Student-Information/Courses/Course-Timetables/

Is that what you were looking for?

mrduffy

BESman wrote: »

I generally have problems sleeping (mild insomnia) but it got particularly bad during my CAP 2's. I think by the last day of the exams I had slept for about 7 or 8 hours in total that week. Anxiety causes it. Easier said than done but reduce the anxiety and you will sleep better. Some tips I find that help:

Exercise in the evening. I took up long distance running, clears the mind, helps you relax and knackers you out so you will sleep better.

Ensure your room is well ventilated. Leave the window open during the day. If the room is too warm open the window a little bit during the night also.

AVOID COFFEE! I have a coffee addiction but will only drink one cup in the morning. Don't go near coffee or other stimulants (like coke) in the evening. You might not think it has much affect but caffeine will mess with your sleep pattern.

Get into a routine of getting up and going to bed around the same time. I have a habit of sleeping in til late in the day sometimes and this obviously makes it difficult to sleep that night. Try going to bed around 11 or 12 and getting up at 8 or 9. Eventually your body will get used to the pattern.

Last resort, visit your GP. A doctor might prescribe sleeping tablets if s/he believes you are suffering from prolonged periods of sleeplessness. I was prescribed Stilnoct before but never used it because it's not a solution to the problem. I've also heard they are highly addictive and cause side effects. But if you really just need a night's sleep they can be useful.

At the end of the day, exams and results are not that important. Forget about the AAFRP result and start focussing on the main exams. See it as motivation to study even harder over the next two months. Once you get a routine going you will start to relax and sleep better. Best of luck.

I am very thankfull for your insight I am trying to put the above into practice I have been constanly tired 24/7 tryin g to sleep and not sleeping at night.

06431755l

BESman wrote: »

There is a separate thread for the AAFRP results http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056547011

Best advice - put AAFRP behind you now and focus on the week in September. As is well documented, people have got C in the AAFRP and failed FAE and others have got NC and passed FAE.

Back to business, does anyone have a tried and tested method for study yet? I've been off now for a couple of weeks and have really struggled to get going at all. I think I'm going to take a subject per day approach for the next two weeks and then spend the rest of study leave on cases/exam papers. I'm finding just the logistics of getting material together and bringing it to a library etc very difficult and am still nowhere near completing my notes. This is the part of study I hate the most. When you think you've everything organised the Institute goes and puts more notes up on the site or changes previous notes. Very annoying!

Two weeks really? Im not sure that will be enough for me to cover technical bits of SFMA, audit, tax and financial reporting. I was thinkin 4 weeks technical and four weeks cases. But maybe leaving cases to late? I just find I dont have the knowledge to do them at minute.