ACCA exam tips December 2010 by LSBF

Paper F5
Probables

• Activity based costing.
• Decision making under uncertainty – (maximax, maximin etc).
• Advanced variances – mix variances.
• Performance measurement – NFIs or divisional performance appraisal.

Possibles

• Learning curve.
• Throughput accounting.

Paper F6

• Income tax for husbands and wife.
• Employment income, including the evaluation of benefits, car, fuel, mileage allowance, and accommodation benefit.
• Income for ISA including the rules for individuals aged 50 years and over.
• Corporation tax – adjustment of a trading profit and the computation of capital allowances on plant and machinery and industrial buildings maybe long period of account.
• Due date for VAT registration.
• Cash accounting scheme.
• Contents of VAT invoice.
• Disposals including the matching rules for shares and rights or bonus issues.
• Sole trader/partnership in business making trading losses and deciding on the best way to relieve the losses.
• Employed versus self employment or pensions.

Paper F7

• Q1- consolidated income statement with IFRS 3 (Revised) discussion, or both CSFP and CIS in same Q (last one Dec 2008).
• Q2 – re-drafting or published accounts.
• Q3 - interpretation mainly, with or without cash flows.
• Q4 - mixed standards, especially leasing, impairment, EPS, grants.
• Q5 – depreciation, provisions, deferred tax, standard setting.

Paper F8

• Appointment.
• Ethics.
• Risk.
• Non-current assets.
• Liabilities.
• Reporting.

Paper F9
Probables

• Investment appraisal – tax and inflation.
• Cost of capital – project specific discount rates.
• Business finance – rights issue and gearing.
• Risk – parity theory and currency hedging.
• WCM – financing of WC and receivables.

Possibles

• Valuation – PV of FCF.
• NPV – sensitivity analysis.

Paper P1

• Audit committees.
• Board performance evaluation.
• Importance of independence.
• Transaction cost theory.
• Industry-specific risk categories.
• Gray, Owen and Adams positons on CSR.
• Kohlberg moral development theory.
• Role of corporate codes of ethics.

Paper P2

• Complex groups.
• Cash flow statement.
• Revenue.
• SME.
• Segments.
• Provisions.

Paper P3
Strategic position – external analysis.
Strategic choice – joint ventures/alliances.
Culture and its effect on strategy.
Life cycle.
Change management.

Paper P5
We have a brand new examiner so all bets are off I’m afraid.

Paper P6

• IHT with the death estate including BPR and valuation rules. Transfer of unused nil rate band between spouses. Changing the will after a person is dead.
• Corporation tax including relief for trading, losses, groups, consortium relief, overseas aspects including DTR and, anti-avoidance legislation S768 ICTA 1988.
• Capital gains tax – mergers, takeovers, reorganizations shares including bonus and rights issues and losses on the disposal of unquoted shares.
• Employment income – share options, share incentive plans and taxable and tax free benefits.
• Property business profits including furnished holiday letting property.
• Enterprise investment scheme, venture capital trusts and corporate venturing scheme relief.
• Partnership -= with wife being employed or being introduced as a partner.
• Partial exemption for VAT, opting to tax a building, electronic filing of the VAT return, flat rate scheme.
• VAT implications of selling the business as a going concern.
• Purchase of own shares by a company.
• Personal service companies.
• Ethics and deliberate tax defaulters.

Paper P7

• Business risk/due diligence.
• Audit work on segment information/related party transactions/provisions/intangibles.
• Social/environmental reporting and assurance reports.
• Evaluation of proposed audit report.
• Advertising by audit firms.
• Ethical threats and safeguards