COPYRIGHT 2010 BY Mohammad Faizan Faroo

FFQA 1

KAPLAN EXAM TIPS F4 Corporate and Business Law

English Legal System Tribunals Judicial precedent Contract Law Acceptance/postal rule Terms Exclusion Clauses Interpretation of statute Human Rights Act

Consideration Capacity Breach of contract

Torts Breach of Duty Employment Law Common law duties Agency Relationships Types of Partnership Fraudulent Behaviour Money Laundering Company Law Types of companies Meetings Different Types of Directors

Professional Misstatement

Defences to Negligence

Summary dismissal

Redundancy

Remedies

Insider Dealing

Fraudulent/wrongful trading

Articles of Association Class rights Voluntary Liquidation

Resolutions Directors duties

F5 Performance Management
Payoff tables Regression analysis Multiproduct breakeven Linear programming ABC Performance management

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FFQA 2

F6 Taxation
Income tax Husband and wife Adjustment of profits Joint investment income Some exempt income

Gift Aid donations/personal pension contributions - extending basic rate band Calculation of PA based on adjusted net income Employment Income - benefits National insurance Income tax trading loss

Corporation tax Possibly a long/short period of account Capital allowances including IBA [IBA cannot be examined after this sitting] Penalties for late filing of return Interest on late payment of corporation tax Groups - Losses

VAT Separate part of question 1 or 2 or whole question 4/5 (as in June 2009/ June 2011) VAT return including some discounts and impaired debts relief Cash accounting scheme/Flat rate scheme Overseas issues

Capital gains tax Individual making disposals Transfer between spouses Rollover and gift relief

Disposal of chattels Principal private residence relief Corporate chargeable gains

Sundry topics for questions 4 and 5 Groups Losses / Gains Group Income tax Basic Planning comparative scenario with calculation of net cash consequences IHT

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FFQA 3

F7 Financial Reporting
Question 1 Consolidated statement of financial position* including an associate. Possible adjustments to include: - deferred consideration/share exchange - net asset fair value adjustments - intra-group loan/current account - goodwill impairment** - impairment of the investment in the associate - PURP Question 2 Preparation of financial statements from trial balance including a SOCIE*. Possible adjustments to include: - revaluation - depreciation - financial liabilities (possibly redeemable preference shares or finance - lease) - provisions - revenue recognition - tax and deferred tax - prior period adjustment

Question 3 Possible mixed cash flow/interpretation question to include: - The preparation of a statement of cash flow (or part thereof) - Calculation of ratios and a short interpretation exercise using the statement of cash flow and ratio results. Questions 4 and 5 Lease Impairment Non-current (fixed) assets Intangible asset possibly to include research & development Government grant Investment property

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FFQA 4

F8 Audit and Assurance

Audit risk including analytical procedures Assurance engagements Ethics including fundamental principles/confidentiality Systems: payroll, inventory Evidence: payroll, inventory, share capital, reserves, opening balances Specific standards/topics: - ISA 530 (sampling) - ISA 220 (review of working papers) - Audit committees - Not for profit organisations - ISA 520 (analytical procedures) - Audit regulation International standards on Auditing - Completion (ISA 560 subsequent events) - Auditors reports

F9 Financial Management
Investment appraisal This is a key topic which seems highly likely to be examined every time. The most common technique assessed is NPV with inflation and taxation although be prepared for a twist, possibly involving capital rationing or sensitivity calculations. Working Capital Management Another key topic which is likely to examined every time. Exams to date have covered much of this topic but its been a while since weve seen the more numerical aspects surrounding receivables management or the models for cash management. Valuations This has been examined in virtually every F9 exam to date although to a lesser extent in recent sittings. Asset and cash flow based values have yet to be examined although the PE ratio and dividend valuation methods still appear to be the more examinable areas. Business Finance This topic has been heavily examined recently and in particular the impact of financing on ratios is an area the examiner likes. Weve not seen much in relation to rights issues recently. Cost of Capital This topic features in virtually every exam to a greater or lesser extent. Good coverage of all of the syllabus areas is therefore essential to ensure you can handle any eventuality on the day. Risk Management Within this section of the syllabus, foreign exchange risk has been examined more often than interest rate risk. However, both are fairly under-examined areas of the syllabus as a whole and so this is a topic worth being on top of. The Financial Management Function and the impact of the economic environment upon it These topics have largely been ignored thus far although a general discussion of the relationship between investment decisions, dividend decisions and financing decisions was required in the June 2010 exam. Despite the examiners assertion in his first article about F9 that all topics carry equal weight we can probably expect these topics to continue to take a back seat. Having said that, a questions relating to the objectives in both the corporate and NFP sectors could be a potential.

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FFQA 5

P1 Governance, Risk & Ethics

Corporate governance: external actors stock exchanges & Company secretary Sound system of Internal controls Normative / instrumental stakeholder views Deontological and Teleological Ethical Decision making Tucker/AAA CSR / corporate citizenship Remuneration committee Risk perception and ALARP Role of Chairman and/or NEDs Directors Performance Evaluation

P2 Corporate Reporting

Group statement of financial position Retirement benefits Financial instruments Non-current assets & assets held for sale Deferred tax Revenue recognition Entity reconstructions Conceptual framework / Fair Value Measurement Management Commentary

P3 Business Analysis
Section A Question 1 may well be less strategic than we have seen in the past. It could feature a large element of project management for example. But it should have some element of strategic analysis, possibly a SWOT. Project management links well to other areas of the syllabus such as strategy and people and process redesign. Section B This will combine all elements of the syllabus (strategic analysis, choice and implementation). Pricing Project appraisal Strategy and people Change management The only chapter from Kaplans official study text that has not yet been examined in any detail is the chapter covering finance, so students should ensure that they are comfortable with this chapter as it may appear as part of an option question.

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FFQA 6

P4 Advanced Financial Management

The examiner has expressed his desire to move the paper away from the highly technical papers set by the previous examiner and to make them more strategic and practical. This has been a feature of the last 2 exam papers in December 2010 and June 2011. At the March 2011 ACCA Lecturers Conference, the examiner explained that question spotting is dangerous at this level it is important that students should study all parts of the syllabus in detail. However, for December 2011, we would advise students to focus on the following core syllabus topics in particular: Net Present Value including foreign currency cash flows Bond yields and bond values Risk adjusted WACC Discussion of financing options Interest rate hedging options, futures and FRAs

P5 Advanced Performance Management

It is not easy to predict questions for this paper and the examiner may test a topic that has come up in the last or recent exams. CSFs and KPIs Strategic analysis tools, i.e. SWOT, benchmarking Gap analysis External analysis Ethics / CSR Budget preparation/forecasting IT developments Performance measurement Not-for-profit organisations Quality League table and targets in the public sector Evaluation of financial and non-financial performance (may examine the performance pyramid / prism)

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COPYRIGHT 2010 BY Mohammad Faizan Faroo

FFQA 7

P6 Advanced Taxation

Overseas aspects of CGT Corporation tax groups with consortium relief VAT groups IHT vs CGT Lease vs buy assets Employment income: share options and redundancy payments

P7 Advanced Audit and Assurance

Core areas (as per examiners approach article) likely to be examined in every paper:

Engagement planning and risk assessment (business risk?); Engagement procedures (i.e. evidence); Ethics and professional issues; Engagement reporting (ISAs 700, 705, 706 in particular);

Subjects of recent articles yet to be examined:

Unmodified audit reports (ISA 700) (October 11 article). ISA 540 Audit of Accounting Estimates. Auditing in a Computer Based Environment;

Significant topics not examined for at least 18 months:

Laws & regs (ISA 250); Fraud Money laundering; Forensic audit; Written representations; Quality control (ISA 220); Obtaining work; Outsourcing/internal audit;

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