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Useful Mnemonics for ACCA P1 Governance,

ethics and risks


Preparing for exams, I have noticed that such enormous amount of new information is not able to be
retained in my mind (!) How to improve the memory? The answer of this question is given by mnemonics.
Many of teachers at Opentuition, BPP & LSBF use this technique in their lectures to improve the
memorizing of their students.
I have collected some useful mnemonics for ACCA P1 Governance, ethics and risks. Hope it facilitates you
to remember the relevant. :)
Ethical principles
PrOFIT
Probity
Openness
Fairness
Integrity
Transparency
Internal controls - categorisation
OPA SPAMS
Organisational Controls
Control over the organisation structure including managers having specific
Responsibilities and delegations tasks.
Authorisation
Controls to ensure that transactions do not proceed until an appropriate individual has
given approval.
Physical
Protection of assets against theft, unauthorised access or use.
Supervision
Oversight of work of other individuals to ensure tasks are carried out correctly.
Personnel
Controls in place to ensure the suitable people are employed.
Arithmetic Accounting
Checking accounting transactions for accuracy, includes use of accounts and
reconciliations (e.g. bank reconciliation).
Segregation/rotation
Different people for each transaction to Authorise, Record, Maintain physical custody of
any assets (i.e. petty cash), pay for it.
Management Controls
Control actions taken by management depending on the contents of reports received.
Managers should be involved in the day to day supervision of staff.

Internal control - objectives

SCARE
Safegard Assets
Comply with Laws&Regulation
Accurate Financial Information
Reduce Fraud
Efficient Business
Corporate governance - concepts
HAIR DRIFT

Honesty / probity
Accountability
Independence
Responsibility
Decision taking / judgement
Reputation
Integrity
Fairness
Transparency / openness
Corporate governance - purposes
PIGCREW
Practice methods - governance provides practice methods to aid those who are managing a company
Investment - governance creates assurity and trust thereby attracting investment
Growth - governance creates conditions for growth of the economy
Control - it is set in place to control excessive behaviour in the organisation
Rules - it creates rules within which the organisation is operated
Employment - it creates employment as well as deals with several employment issues
Wealth - it supports a wealth creating capitalist system
Audit committee - role and function
CLARISSA
Creat a climate of discipline and control
Lend credibility in financial statements
Assist CFO providing a forum
Review financial statements to improve quality
Independent judgement
Strengthen position of the internal auditor
Strengthen position of the external auditor
Assist in the resolution of disputes between external auditor and the board
Types of Stakeholdres
PINK LAVR
Primary or secondly
Internal or external
Narrow or wide
Known or unknown

Legitimate or illegitimate
Active or passive
Voluntary or involuntary
Recognised or unrecognised
Role of Non-executive Diretors (NEDs) (in accordance with Higgs report)
StRiP Performance
Strategic roles
Risk assessment roles
Peoples role
Performance role
Role of Chairman (in accordance with Higgs report)
RAISE DIP

Run the board


Active engagement by board members
Induction programme
Sufficient time for complex decision
Effective communication with shareholders
Development needs of directors
Information provided accurately and timely
Performance evaluation
American Accounting Association approach to ethical issues (AAA model)
FEN ABCD

Fact
Ethic (Independence, Obedience, Confidentiality)
Norm (Objectivity, Governance, Independence, Transparency)
Alternative Course of action.
Best Course of action.
Consequences of each action
Decision
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)
PELE
Philanthropic - what is desirable?
Ethics
- what is right?
Legal
- compliance with law
Economy
- focus on profitability
Approaches to CSR
PRAD
Proactive
Reactive

Accomodative
Defensive
Gray, Owen and Adams seven position on SR
PRESSSD
or
Please Eat Salad Soup Sandwitch Regularly Dad
Pristine Capitalist
Radical Feminist
Expedients
Social Contract
Social Ecologist
Socialist
Deep Ecologist
Quality characteristics of good information
ACCURATE
Accurate
Complete
Cost beneficial
User targeted
Relevant
Authoritative
Timely
Easy to use
Corporate code of Ethics

SPICES S
Social
Position
Implementation
Customer relations
Employees
Suppliers
Shareholders
Tucker ethic decision making question
Please Look For Red Shoes
Profit ?
Legal ?
Fair?
Right?
Sustainable or environmentally?
Risk framework
ALARM

Appetite
List (risk register)
Assess (TARA)
Response
Monitor
General Guide to some risks
FROP LIFE
Financial risk
Reputation risk
Operational risk
Product risk
Legal & political risk
Information technology risk
Fraud risk
Entrepreneurial risk or economic risk

Macro-environmental factors analysis


PESTEL
Political - tax policy, labour law, environmental law, trade restrictions, tariffs, and political stability
Economic - economic growth, interest rates, exchange rates and the inflation rate
Social - health, population growth rate, age distribution, career attitudes and emphasis on safety
Technological - R&D activity, automation, technology incentives and the rate of technological change
Environmental - weather, climate, and climate change
Legal - discrimination law, consumer law, antitrust law, employment law, and health and safety law

Here are a few ACCA P1 Exam Tips in order to maximise your chances of success while
actually sitting the exam.

Reading time:
You have 15 minutes reading time during which you can write on the exam paper
(but anything you do write on the exam paper will not be marked), but during
which you cannot write in the answer booklet.

Use this time to:

read the requirements for the Section B questions and underline or


highlight key words in the requirements.
o at this stage, identify which of the three option questions that you will
not attempt. Read it anyway there may be some useful phrases or
ideas that you can work into the other answers
o beware the word and within the requirement! The requirements
often ask for more than one thing in the same sentence for
example, identify and explain
o the identification and the explanation will both carry marks, but it is
easy in the middle of the exam to identify and then forget to explain.
Underline or highlight the words identify and explain and you will
find it much more difficult to forget either
then reading the Section A 50 marker requirement so that youre aware of
what youre looking for in the question when you read it
next, read the question highlighting key words as you go along and
effectively making the skeleton of an answer plan
Section A
50 marker compulsory question 90 minutes
this 90 minutes should be allocated as 25 minutes PLANNING your
answers to the various parts of the question and 65 minutes writing your
answer to those various parts
the question will most likely be broken down into 5, 6 or 7 sub-questions
with the fifth or sixth asking for a report, a draft press release, an address
to the members or something similar worth 14 16 marks

the remainder of the marks will typically ask for generalities about for
example corporate governance, the role of a board sub-committee or
general comments about ethical standpoints
it is vital that you stick rigidly to time allocation in this question. There
should be no question of you finishing the 3 hours and saying I didnt have
time to do parts e) and f) of question 1. There HAS to be a proper attempt
at ALL parts of the questions that you elect to attempt
Section B
choice of 2 from 3 questions worth 25 marks each 45 minutes each
planning time here is 12.5 minutes for each of your two chosen questions
so use it wisely
make sure you write something for every part of every question. You are
unlikely to be able to finish every part of every question either because
you run out of time or you get stuck but you can always write something.
each comment that you make should be within its own sentence and leave
a line between your sentences effectively making them into paragraphs
time yourself copying sentences from a book and stop after 1 minute and
18 seconds. Thats the time that you have available to write one sentence
containing just one markable point.
youre unlikely to get past the third line and thats the MAXIMUM length of a
sentence / paragraph in the exam
make sure that your writing is legible. If a marker cant read your script, he
cant give you credit for your thoughts!
if you write one long paragraph containing several points, then there is a
danger that the marker will miss some of the points.
start each part of each question on a new page in the answer booklet (if
you run out of pages you will be provided a supplementary booklet!).

that way you can always go back to questions and you will be able to add
more to your answer neatly, if you have time left at the end of the exam.
do make sure you make it clear at the top of the page which part of which
question you are answering.
for a non-numerate exam like P1, be aware of just how many marks are
available for each part-question and plan sufficient points to include within
your answer to get the majority of those marks. Remember, one correct
point earns one mark.

ACCA P1 Exam Tips December 2015


Posted on October 9, 2015 by Staff Member in Exam Tips, P1 with 0 Comments

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ACCA P1 Exam Tips December 2015 session given below are just intelligent
guesses from exam point of view provided by famous tuition providers. These exam tips
must not be relied on totally. To increase chances of success in Exams you must prepare
full breadth of syllabus and topics

ACCA P1 Exam Tips December


2015:
ACCA P1 Exam Tips December 2015 Session are given below by famous tuition
providers

Kaplan
Each P1 paper offers 4-6 marks for displaying professional skills, which can easily be the
difference between a pass and a fail. The marks are available for both format and the
tone and style of your answer, where you may have to prepare a speech or write a letter
on behalf of the Board addressing specific concerns. Take a look at the Article of 24
August 2009 for more guidance and some great hints on style.
P1 is a very wordy paper, and the examiner wants to ensure that you have a good grasp
of the theories behind the questions, but also that you can successfully apply the
theories to given scenarios. Therefore, it is very easy to get lost within a question if your
layout and approach to a question is poor.
A good approach is to apply 3 rules in your answer:

Introduction this should be very short, but can help you get over any writers block. It
might include a read back of the question, or a definition of the subject matter (for
example, if the question asks for the roles of NEDs, start by very quickly defining what
an NED is)
Theory this section will show the examiner that you actually understand the issue
being questioned, again, as with the introduction, this should really be kept short, it can
be a section quote from the code, or a reference to an author (Cadbury or Greenbury et
al).
Application This will be the main bulk of your answer and should relate directly to the
scenario. This is often the most difficult section of the answer, but should be made
easier by the use of the introduction and theory sections.
In addition remember the golden rules of written questions:

Plenty of white space

Headings as required
Short punchy meaningful paragraphs

Following are some of the famous topics that were tested in past

Corporate governance critique and improvements.


Effective internal control systems, reporting within differing jurisdictions.
Influence of and intervention by institutional investors.
Diversification of Board
Function and importance of internal audit.
Risk definition, analysis of risk and the role of the Board of Directors.
Risk correlation and strategies for management of such risks.
Ethical standpoints and their application to business decisions.
Corporate codes of ethics critique and improvements.
Tuckers ethical decision making model.
Social and environmental footprint.
Sustainability accounting.
Integrated Reporting
Conflict of interest and independence
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)

BPP

Corporate social responsibility strategy check out recently published article.


The use of stakeholder.
Ethical and other CSR theories apply them to the scenarios.
Use of risk and governance board of directors, remuneration and reporting.

LSBF
Ethics is most important section of P1. In the ethics section there are number of
different ethical theories which you need to learnt off. These are deontological &
ontological as well as absolutist and relativist approaches.
In the exam you may be asked to argue from absolutist or relativist point of view so you
may be asked to discuss how an individual in the scenario actions will be influenced by
their position as absolutist or relativist.
Remember in a question like this the examiner is asking you to explore different courses
of action. Examiner does not want you to explain what you believe personally or what

you would do in that situation. You can maximize marks by thinking about different
course of action from absolutist or relativist point of view and why they would choose
these course of action.
Agency is an important aspect of P1 syllabus. Remember you need to learn in detail
about this relationship rather than just definitions. You should also know about the
agency problems and how they link to agency cost. Agency cost includes monitoring
cost so you need to learn why these cost increase in relation to agency problems.
Corporate Governance (CG) is an important part of P1 syllabus. It is important to learn
at the professional level papers why each of the provisions of CG is important. It is not
enough to just learn of these provisions one by one. So each CG requirement
should ensure that company is efficiently managed in some way.
Internal controls is very familiar topic to all students studying P1 paper. In P1 exam
question usually focuses on analysing internal controls issues in the company in
scenario. As such in this area you need to focus heavily on the application of internal
control theory and not just learning the theory itself so you need to be able to recognise
the evidence of poor internal control system.
Stakeholder theories, another important area of syllabus, must be linked to other topics
in the syllabus while studying. You may be asked to identify the stakeholders in the
scenario or categorize them in some way or you may be asked how stakeholders are
affected by other issues raised throughout the syllabus.

Key Examinable Areas:

Rules vs Principles.
Importance of stakeholders.
Internal control disclosure.
Risk diversification.
AAA model.

Beckers Professional
Coming Soon

First Intuition
50-mark scenario question to include: ethics, governance, single v. two-tier board
structures, also corporate social responsibility.

Optional questions to include internal controls, governance committees and directors


remuneration, business risks, integrated reporting and environmental reporting.

Open Tuition
Section A
50 marker compulsory question 90 minutes

this 90 minutes should be allocated as 25 minutes PLANNING your answers to the various

parts of the question and 65 minutes writing your answer to those various parts
the question will most likely be broken down into 5, 6 or 7 sub-questions with the fifth or sixth

asking for a report, a draft press release, an address to the members or something similar
worth 14 16 marks
the remainder of the marks will typically ask for generalities about for example corporate

governance, the role of a board sub-committee or general comments about ethical standpoints
it is vital that you stick rigidly to time allocation in this question. There should be no question
of you finishing the 3 hours and saying I didnt have time to do parts e) and f) of question 1.
There HAS to be a proper attempt at ALL parts of the questions that you elect to attempt

Section B
choice of 2 from 3 questions worth 25 marks each 45 minutes each

planning time here is 12.5 minutes for each of your two chosen questions so use it wisely
make sure you write something for every part of every question. You are unlikely to be able to

finish every part of every question either because you run out of time or you get stuck but
you can always write something.
each comment that you make should be within its own sentence and leave a line between

your sentences effectively making them into paragraphs


time yourself copying sentences from a book and stop after 1 minute and 18 seconds. Thats

the time that you have available to write one sentence containing just one markable point.
youre unlikely to get past the third line and thats the MAXIMUM length of a sentence /

paragraph in the exam


make sure that your writing is legible. If a marker cant read your script, he cant give you

credit for your thoughts!


if you write one long paragraph containing several points, then there is a danger that the

marker will miss some of the points.


start each part of each question on a new page in the answer booklet (if you run out of pages

you will be provided a supplementary booklet!).


that way you can always go back to questions and you will be able to add more to your
answer neatly, if you have time left at the end of the exam.

do make sure you make it clear at the top of the page which part of which question you are
answering.
for a non-numerate exam like P1, be aware of just how many marks are available for each
part-question and plan sufficient points to include within your answer to get the majority of those
marks. Remember, one correct point earns one mark.

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