Cap 2 2016

TitianGerm

Lyra Fangs wrote: »

I'm on the train home, I'm worried I'll get upset if I do fail

At the end of the day there are things a lot worse than failing a few exams.

Like BigMc said if we want them enough we will get them. Yes we may have set backs on the way but that's life.

Ill give them a good blast in October and see where we are (Failed FR a few times now in the mid forties)

GoldFour4

Was sitting audit and tax and passed them both comfortably in the end which was nice.

Lyra Fangs

emmetkenny wrote: »

At the end of the day there are things a lot worse than failing a few exams.

Like BigMc said if we want them enough we will get them. Yes we may have set backs on the way but that's life.

Ill give them a good blast in October and see where we are (Failed FR a few times now in the mid forties)

I passed! Omg I'm so happy!

TitianGerm

Lyra Fangs wrote: »

I passed! Omg I'm so happy!

Brilliant news. I suppose everyone on the train is looking at the weirdo who was cheering

Lyra Fangs

emmetkenny wrote: »

Brilliant news. I suppose everyone on the train is looking at the weirdo who was cheering

I'm doing my make up too so they probably think I'm just super vain and loving my reflection lol

bigmc23

AtticusFinch86 wrote:

I'm doing CAP 2 through distance learning. I noticed that there are some videos under the "recorded sessions" tab on the student page (after you log in). I've tried clicking on them but they just take me to a page that asks me to install microsoft silverlight. I can't seem to progress any further than that page, even after installing the silverlight software. Any ideas whats up? I don't want to miss any streamed lectures.

emmetkenny wrote:

Like BigMc said if we want them enough we will get them. Yes we may have set backs on the way but that's life.

emmetkenny wrote:

At the end of the day there are things a lot worse than failing a few exams.

emmetkenny wrote:

Ill give them a good blast in October and see where we are (Failed FR a few times now in the mid forties)

Take some time off and Forget about them now. Give me a shout at a later point and I'll send ye on my notes which helped me massively

TitianGerm

bigmc23 wrote: »

Take some time off and Forget about them now. Give me a shout at a later point and I'll send ye on my notes which helped me massively

That'd be brilliant BigMc.

I failed FR this time with mid 40s. I made a few errors on the Consolidation where I took the wrong exchange rate and think I easily lost 5 marks for that.

bigmc23

emmetkenny wrote:

I failed FR this time with mid 40s. I made a few errors on the Consolidation where I took the wrong exchange rate and think I easily lost 5 marks for that.

Not to worry man, easily fixable for the repeat

AtticusFinch86

I see that the exam numbers of the Top 10 Prize Winners have been released on the student portal. Just out of curiousity, what would typically be the average mark of students those prizes? I notice they are all Big 4 Students.

bigmc23

AtticusFinch86 wrote:

I see that the exam numbers of the Top 10 Prize Winners have been released on the student portal. Just out of curiousity, what would typically be the average mark of students those prizes? I notice they are all Big 4 Students.

Bare in mind they get the most generous study leave so have an advantage for sure

Lyra Fangs

My bf is finished with study and has a ton of FAE books that we were gonna throw out. Would anyone here based in Dublin be interested in/need them? Just thought I'd ask as would prefer to have someone make use of them than recycle them.

dyanne

Anyone sitting SFMA Interim Assessment in September?

dyanne

Or, if not.... does anybody fancy being a good old soul and having a look at the SFMA pre-seen material? Maybe give an opinion on what areas I should cover please.? I've come up with some myself but am on my own and I really am not sure if I'm on the right track or not, a new perspective or opinion would be greatly appreciated

Humour Me

dyanne wrote: »

Or, if not.... does anybody fancy being a good old soul and having a look at the SFMA pre-seen material? Maybe give an opinion on what areas I should cover please.? I've come up with some myself but am on my own and I really am not sure if I'm on the right track or not, a new perspective or opinion would be greatly appreciated

What areas have you identified so far? I can take a look when I am in work tomorrow.

dyanne

Humour Me wrote: »

What areas have you identified so far? I can take a look when I am in work tomorrow.

Thank you!!

Ok, so looking at the last four items set out in the Agenda;

I 'think' I should cover Finance CAP1 Capital Investment Appraisal, CAP2 Investment Decisions, Foreign Exchange risk, Ratios

Mgmt Accounts; CAP1 Decisions, Break Even, Decision Making Scenarios and Balanced Scorecard
CAP2, Topic 4 Divisional Performance Management and 5 Transfer Pricing

It's all very general I know but any insight you could give or if you could tell me if I'm way off and have any better ideas, I'd be much obliged

Thanks for taking the time!

Lyra Fangs

dyanne wrote: »

Thank you!!

Ok, so looking at the last four items set out in the Agenda;

I 'think' I should cover Finance CAP1 Capital Investment Appraisal, CAP2 Investment Decisions, Foreign Exchange risk, Ratios

Mgmt Accounts; CAP1 Decisions, Break Even, Decision Making Scenarios and Balanced Scorecard
CAP2, Topic 4 Divisional Performance Management and 5 Transfer Pricing

It's all very general I know but any insight you could give or if you could tell me if I'm way off and have any better ideas, I'd be much obliged

Thanks for taking the time!

I'd be happy to help as well. If you can send on the pre-screen material

Humour Me

dyanne wrote: »

Thank you!!

Ok, so looking at the last four items set out in the Agenda;

I 'think' I should cover Finance CAP1 Capital Investment Appraisal, CAP2 Investment Decisions, Foreign Exchange risk, Ratios

Mgmt Accounts; CAP1 Decisions, Break Even, Decision Making Scenarios and Balanced Scorecard
CAP2, Topic 4 Divisional Performance Management and 5 Transfer Pricing

It's all very general I know but any insight you could give or if you could tell me if I'm way off and have any better ideas, I'd be much obliged

Thanks for taking the time!

You are definitely on the right track with the areas you want to cover. A couple of things jumped out at me from a few reads of the case study:
The company is very focused on financial indicators for measuring performance, i would consider what non-financial indicators could also be used. Make sure that the indicators are relevant to the division and industry, eg number of new authors signed up
May be a theory question on managing conflict in the divisionalisation, the heads of the divisions are on the Board - is the division or overall company performance more important? Agency Theory?
Diane has identified a potential investment in digital sales. You may need to do a NPV calc to assess viability. Alternatively you may need to calculate the oppertunity cost in a digital sales investment rather than investing in the new printing equipment.

Overall there are a lot of calculations provided in the case study with more information to be given on the day. I would do a template answer for all of possible calculations you have to complete with the gaps to include the missing information. You will be under a lot if time pressure in the exam, so if you have the templates ready you just have to copy the information into the exam paper. Make a list of possible theory questions that could come up and have a list of points ready for each with relevant information from the case study.

dyanne

Humour Me wrote: »

You are definitely on the right track with the areas you want to cover. A couple of things jumped out at me from a few reads of the case study:
The company is very focused on financial indicators for measuring performance, i would consider what non-financial indicators could also be used. Make sure that the indicators are relevant to the division and industry, eg number of new authors signed up
May be a theory question on managing conflict in the divisionalisation, the heads of the divisions are on the Board - is the division or overall company performance more important? Agency Theory?
Diane has identified a potential investment in digital sales. You may need to do a NPV calc to assess viability. Alternatively you may need to calculate the oppertunity cost in a digital sales investment rather than investing in the new printing equipment.

Overall there are a lot of calculations provided in the case study with more information to be given on the day. I would do a template answer for all of possible calculations you have to complete with the gaps to include the missing information. You will be under a lot if time pressure in the exam, so if you have the templates ready you just have to copy the information into the exam paper. Make a list of possible theory questions that could come up and have a list of points ready for each with relevant information from the case study.

Thank you for taking the time! I've printed your reply and will refer to it when studying, some very specific observations which is great, mine was all very general with no focal point

Thanks for the tips and advice also!:D

Cap22016

Hi, i did the course for the 4 subjects - but i split up the exams(deferred a module) - i sat one module in summer and i am sitting the 2nd module now in Autumn. I found this manageable and i passed both exams (financial reporting and SFMA) in summer! I couldnt imagine sitting the 4 exams at once.. these exams require a lot of study time, so only having sit 2 at a time was a lot easier.

Cap22016

Hi i am sitting Cap2 Auditing and Tax in October , i deferred this module from summer. Does anyone have any recommendations on how to study auditing? I am finding it very difficult as i dont work in audit. Tax i presume the best study method is past papers?

Fiskar

Cap22016 wrote: »

Hi i am sitting Cap2 Auditing and Tax in October , i deferred this module from summer. Does anyone have any recommendations on how to study auditing? I am finding it very difficult as i dont work in audit. Tax i presume the best study method is past papers?

Waste of time sitting the Audit exam without attending the revision session, believe it runs over 2 days. Check the Chartered Accountants Ireland website for details. I found it real useful in May. Think it runs this weekend or next......

TitianGerm

Fiskar wrote: »

Waste of time sitting the Audit exam without attending the revision session, believe it runs over 2 days. Check the Chartered Accountants Ireland website for details. I found it real useful in May. Think it runs this weekend or next......

I didn't attend any revision day and passed audit so I think your a little over the top saying your wasting your time sitting without that course.

Humour Me

I don't think calling it a waste of time is right, but the revision session is extremely helpful to understand how to approach the exam questions. There is a technique to identifying what the examiner is looking for and providing that answer. I think this is why some people have such issues with audit, if you understand the exam technique it helps to focus your study approach. I definitely would not have passed if I hadn't attended the revision session.

Fiskar

emmetkenny wrote: »

I didn't attend any revision day and passed audit so I think your a little over the top saying your wasting your time sitting without that course.

OP has not done audit work previously, that alone makes it difficult to attempt the exam and gain the pass mark required.

I don't have audit experience but found the techniques on offer and the challenging and questioning of every audit item as presented by the tutor on the revision course extremely helpful and got me the exam in the end.

TitianGerm

Fiskar wrote: »

OP has not done audit work previously, that alone makes it difficult to attempt the exam and gain the pass mark required.

I don't have audit experience but found the techniques on offer and the challenging and questioning of every audit item as presented by the tutor on the revision course extremely helpful and got me the exam in the end.

I'm not saying the revision course is no good im saying you don't need it to pass.

I hadn't worked in audit up to 6 months ago so had no experience before that.

AtticusFinch86

I have no audit experience and i didn't go to any of the revision classes either. I passed all exams so going to the revision classes is certainly helpful bit not a prerequisite. Its very passable without going. Watch the online lectures, create summary notes for yourself and practice exam and session questions and you should be fine. Of all the exams, I'd say audit is the one that relies most on logic. It can be hard to see that though, especially when exam pressure is kicking in.

ACA2015

The lectures for audit I personally found to be a waste of time at CAP2. Lecturers running through theory slides, fine if you are willing to give up your evenings to go to lectures but it's a waste of your own time imo. Further, it is unlike most other subjects in that the book is limited in the help it provide you.

You need to be able to apply to practical situations. I thought the revision class was excellent in that it focused on exam technique. Doing past papers and looking at the solutions is what is needed as it will tell you what they want. They do not want the book or theory regurgitated to them.

Additionally, working in audit can be a detriment to doing the audit exam. Sure you know auditing, but you have to be specific in the exam. i.e. many auditors the first thing they will do with a listing is tot it out of habit, but they will forget to write that down as a procedure in an audit exam as it is so second nature to them. It isn't like working in tax where there is right and wrong at ACA level, there is a grey area in audit.

vikings2012

Hi everyone,

Sorry now to be raking up an old thread and annoying ye all!

I am due to sit all four cap 2 exams near the end of June. I am worrying a lot about them and I feel like I don't have enough time left.

I am assuming many of ye have passed the CAP 2 exams, so I would greatly appreciate any advice or guidance you would have for me at this stage.

For those that scraped a pass, how much work did you put in ?

I am living in Cork so I did not get a chance to attend any of the grinds school unlike most of my colleagues.

I know most are ye are busy at work or focused on study for the FAES but I would appreciate any help you can offer!

Thanks a million!

jasonrwc

vikings2012 wrote: »

Hi everyone,

Sorry now to be raking up an old thread and annoying ye all!

I am due to sit all four cap 2 exams near the end of June. I am worrying a lot about them and I feel like I don't have enough time left.

I am assuming many of ye have passed the CAP 2 exams, so I would greatly appreciate any advice or guidance you would have for me at this stage.

For those that scraped a pass, how much work did you put in ?

I am living in Cork so I did not get a chance to attend any of the grinds school unlike most of my colleagues.

I know most are ye are busy at work or focused on study for the FAES but I would appreciate any help you can offer!

Thanks a million!

I sat and passed the CAP2s a couple of years ago and to be honest didnt go to any lectures for audit or tax as they are a waste of time about half the SFMA ones and most the FR ones.

I would say 3/4 weeks of study would be more than enough time maybe 4/5 hours a day any longer than that and you will burn out. This would include taking weekends off!!

in all honesty theres about 3 days study in tax and you would know it back to front.

Audit i would just jump straight into exam papers the notes and books are pretty ****e when it comes to the exams and at the end of the day all you wanna do is get the exams not know everything about audit!!

SFMA and FR are a bit trickier but i would suggest using the exam papers and notes. go through as many exam papers as you can at the start with you notes. do out the solutions as many times as possible, your notes will then be split by a few decent slides and these solutions into the sections that they fall into. If you do the exam papers enough times with ur solutions and notes you should try attempt them without your notes. I know they are open book but the main thing thats a killer in the exams is time. No point saaying to yourself i dont really know a section but its alright il have my notes because you wont have time to go through them to figure stuff out.

Main thing to remember is that there is only so much stuff that they can ask in the exams in an exam structure. All these areas have been covered in previous exams or mocks so there will be absolutely nothing new that will come up on the day you haven't already seen if you do all these. They may be phrased a little different but you should be able to figure out what they are asking!!

I wouldnt be worried about going to grinds or any of that craic too many notes is a bad thing too!!

I am very much of the school of thought that if you do the exam papers and make your own notes you will be fine. Id try run through every exam paper twice for each subject then concentrate on specific papers that contained a lot of stuff or stuff you are not fully comfortable with!!

These exams are very passible at the end of the day all you need is 50% dont spend ages on a question to get the last 5% move on and spend that time starting on the one thats worth 30% much better chance of getting 5% of it!!

vikings2012

jasonrwc wrote: »

I sat and passed the CAP2s a couple of years ago and to be honest didnt go to any lectures for audit or tax as they are a waste of time about half the SFMA ones and most the FR ones.

I would say 3/4 weeks of study would be more than enough time maybe 4/5 hours a day any longer than that and you will burn out. This would include taking weekends off!!

in all honesty theres about 3 days study in tax and you would know it back to front.

Audit i would just jump straight into exam papers the notes and books are pretty ****e when it comes to the exams and at the end of the day all you wanna do is get the exams not know everything about audit!!

SFMA and FR are a bit trickier but i would suggest using the exam papers and notes. go through as many exam papers as you can at the start with you notes. do out the solutions as many times as possible, your notes will then be split by a few decent slides and these solutions into the sections that they fall into. If you do the exam papers enough times with ur solutions and notes you should try attempt them without your notes. I know they are open book but the main thing thats a killer in the exams is time. No point saaying to yourself i dont really know a section but its alright il have my notes because you wont have time to go through them to figure stuff out.

Main thing to remember is that there is only so much stuff that they can ask in the exams in an exam structure. All these areas have been covered in previous exams or mocks so there will be absolutely nothing new that will come up on the day you haven't already seen if you do all these. They may be phrased a little different but you should be able to figure out what they are asking!!

I wouldnt be worried about going to grinds or any of that craic too many notes is a bad thing too!!

I am very much of the school of thought that if you do the exam papers and make your own notes you will be fine. Id try run through every exam paper twice for each subject then concentrate on specific papers that contained a lot of stuff or stuff you are not fully comfortable with!!

These exams are very passible at the end of the day all you need is 50% dont spend ages on a question to get the last 5% move on and spend that time starting on the one thats worth 30% much better chance of getting 5% of it!!

Cheers thanks a million for your reply!!!