J Pro Business Training

Well after some time analysing my students, I have come to the following conclusions about the students and tuition providers

About the students
1. 80% are the lazy last minute kind and 20% are the hard working types
2. REAL Studying only starts after the results have been released
3. Students want to have full attention from their lecturers but large classes can be intimidating
4. Students need real feedback regarding their performance

About the tuition providers
1. Spread the classes to achieve utilisation of space & lecture cost
2. Assume that students can absorb from day 1 of the class till the end
3. ACCA is a volume game, the more students the higher the profit - capping the student numbers is difficult.

This has led to the development of J Pro Business Training - solution for last minute type.

I belief that students should only study nearer to the exam, increasing the overall retention of materials studied - hence the training for the students only starts in September 2010

I also belief that students need to be guided and require focused attention by the trainer, hence there must be a limit to the amount of students being taught - quality of learning is enhanced when there is focus.

I consider weekly classes are tedious on the student as well as the environment. The amount of time used in travelling to and from the lecture locations could be better utilised in self-studying and relaxation - hence classes should be clustered into "block training" (4D + 4D) x 8 hours = 64 hours

Most of the students said that the revision is the most important aspect of the overall preparation process for the ACCA examination - hence revision should be packed to the maximum (3D x 9 hours)= 27 hours

I am currently establishing the training centre in Kemuning Utama area - near the new KFC, this should take another 1 month. Once that is completed - this semester I will be offering P3 and P7 as the initial papers. For the June 2011, I should be getting the centre registered with ACCA and offering the F5 - P7 range of papers, as well as the CAT papers.

Hope my former students can spread the word and be supportive of this venture. Thanks for you support in advance.

Comment on which paper to select for P level ACCA Optionals

Actually this is hard for me to comment on. I can give my opinion but final decision is yours.

If your ACCA F5 paper was great and you are good with your ACCA P3 paper, this provides a good basis for attempting the ACCA P5 paper - which I feel is CONSULTANT paper - since it involves designing performance management systems for the company.

If your ACCA F6 & ACCA F4 was great and you fancy a career in the tax department in the future, then ACCA P6 looks like a possible choice (only if you are studying the same variant as your country - not worthwhile for o'seas students)

On the other hand if you liked ACCA F9 and fancy a job in the investment banking side, ACCA P4 would be ideal paper.

Finally the paper that I would be biased towards - ACCA P7 is a great paper if your ACCA P2 and ACCA F8 is in great shape. The F8 part is not that critical since, this paper is a partner level paper, whereas the ACCA F8 was manager level paper. I belief that all audit firms would want their audit staff to have ACCA P7 background.

So which is the easier paper? - Actually all are equally easy and hard, it depends on the level of previous knowledge, your understanding of what you have already studied and finally your career destination. If you are clear with what you want, studying it is easier, but if you select a paper because it is easy, more likely you are "following the letter rather than spirit" of studying, increasing the risk that you might actually fail the paper.

My final advice - use the force in selecting the path (Obi-Wan Kenobi to Luke Skywalker in Star Wars Episode 4)

Do you think crash courses for ACCA should be better?

It has come to my attention that most of the students seems to be asking questions about what they had studied only after the final revision (which usually focuses on questions practice) rather than full blow studies.
This indicates that most of the students are only really studying last minute - is this a generational effect or the norm of the ACCA/CAT student? I would suppose that it is a norm, but you can comment on this.
There is a study approach which has been used by other certification programmes - like SAP or ORACLE, which crams everything for the exam (0 to 100%) in say 7 - 16 days 8 hours class just before the exam. This seems to be in alignment with the current mentality of the students that take the examination - fast certification. Do you think that this is feasible within the ACCA or CAT tuition market?
Comment on this matter - since I am thinking of creating this crash courses for ACCA/CAT students.
A pilot test was done for P7 ACCA last round, where the classes only started after the results, and students had sessions over a 2 month period - which it seems to have worked so far.
Do you think say 64 hours of classes + 18 hours of revision (8 days of 8 hours + 3 days of 9 hours) is more than enough?
Well for F8/P7 if you think that is ok, comment here and I will arrange a class in KL or in Shah Alam.
Your views on this matter is appreciated.
I will be posting my view of the JUNE 2010 papers soon after the real exam papers have been released by ACCA
Overall comments that I can make for now
P7 - was a doable paper and designed for this level of knowledge
F8 - was a doable paper with most of the matters coming from within the syllabus (technically challenging)
T8 - was doable but I believe that paper was set a bit on the harder side
Most of the students that had a hard time are those that did not study the whole syllabus but rather spot only and had not fully grasp the paper
Mr.Jay MSc FCCA

Tips for T8 CAT June 2010

The analysis of the past papers has indicated that the following will definitely be present

Question

1. Internal controls question - could include general internal controls, limitations, ICEQ or ICQ on any system, general internal control objectives, internal control objectives for specific areas - sales, cash, nca or inventory. Consideration of weakness is most likely.

Question

2. Planning question focusing on audit risk related to specific area - AR, Inventory, Cash or general question like Finch. Audit acceptance procedures, include considerations for client risk, audit planning matters

Question

3. Audit procedures, audit assertions, audit of NCA, Bank, Bank letter, Written representation letter

Question

4. Audit report, reasonable assurance, confidentiality, materiality, ISA 540, ISA 520

The above are purely speculative and your examiner does not support topic spotting for the T8 examination, you should make sure that you have covered all the issues in the study guide. The best approach to study for T8 is to go through the slides that you got in class and review of the past year papers.

F8 & P7 ACCA tips for JUNE 2010

Well the below are the tips for both the auditing papers at ACCA from all the providers from the internet.

P7 Advanced Audit & Assurance ACCA JUNE 2010 by Kaplan
• Auditing in a Computer Based Environment
• Audit of employee benefits and discontinued operations
• ISA 570 Going Concern
• Engagement planning and risk assessment;
• Engagement reporting (ISA’s 700, 705, 706 in particular).


P7 Advance Audit & Assurance ACCA JUNE 2010 by BPP
• A risk-based and/or planning scenario in the compulsory section (Questions based on articles published in Student Accountant in the past six months - such as the article on Going Concern from February 2010 0
• A number of requirements asking for audit procedures and required evidence in respect of specific financial reporting issues
• A practice-based scenario looking at professional, ethical and quality control issues
• A reporting scenario of some sort - probably testing either emphasis of matter or other matter paragraphs
• Legal and regulatory issues affecting assurance providers, especially in the context of firms’ professional liability and the UK Companies Act 2006
• Specific procedures for obtaining evidence (such as analytical procedures and other ISAs that have changed following the Clarity Project) and evaluating the quality of audit work carried out, both for components and groups
• The requirements of other forms of assurance engagement, such as Value for Money (VfM) studies or agreed upon procedures
• The correct treatment of more complex accounting issues (such as employee benefits and adoption of IFRS) than has been seen before
• Specific ISAs may be examined in sufficient detail to warrant learning the key elements for regurgitation in the exam, such as comparatives (ISA 710) other information (ISA 720) or opening balances (ISA 510)
• Discrete topics that we have not yet seen such as questions using the context of internal audit or examples of other non-audit engagements
• The need to understand current issues such as globalisation, the impact of the recession on auditors, corporate governance, risk management and auditor liability - especially relevant in the context of the going concern article from February 2010

TIPS for P7 ACCA for JUNE 2010 by Open tuition

1. Audit risk ( 12/02, 6/03, 6/04 )

2. “Matters to consider and evidence you would expect to find / audit tests to be performed” ( 12/01, 6/02, 12/03, 6/05, 6/06, 12/06, 6/07, 6/08, 12/08 )

3. Going concern – Article from March Student Accountant ( 6/02, 12/08 )

4. Ethics ( Pilot paper, 6/02, 6/03, 6/04, 6/05, 6/06, 12/06, 6/07, 6/08, 12/08, 6/09 )

5. Audit reports including environmental issues, groups (Pilot paper ) and key performance indicators ( 12/08 )

Paper F8 Tips from BPP for JUNE 2010

• Not for profit organisations
• Risk assessment
• Ethics
• Computer based auditing
• Analytical procedures
• Fraud

Paper F8 ACCA tips for JUNE 2010 Exams by Open tuition
1. Sales system/receivables, including audit planning.
2. CAAT
3. Analytical procedures
4. Reasons for qualifying – Clarity statement
5. Events after the period end
6. Ethics and risk/client acceptance

Well thats all the papers that I have compiled to now. Students wanting to ask questions should probably ask in the blog, since the hand phone is going to be tedious, with the smsing.

Question sessions are available all the time at the comments sections.

New Standard - possible for P7 this sitting

Updates for T8/F8/P7 ACCA coming exams in June 2010

The latest standards for reporting

1. ISA 705 introduces the term - inability to obtain appropriate and sufficient evidence as opposed to the term limitation of scope (ISA 701)
2. ISA 705 introduces the term - material misstatement as opposed to disagreement (ISA 701)
Reason - increases the clarity of the issues that causes problems to the financial statement. Previous terms were deemed to be confusing since layman do not understand what those terms mean.
3. ISA 706 - emphasis of matter is no longer called modified (previously was parked under ISA 701), it just emphasis of matter paragraph. It only applies for limited situation (those that affects current year financial statements only)
It has provided the following as the conditions where it applies:
An uncertainty relating to the future outcome of exceptional litigation or regulatory action. (ISA 570 GC issues)
Early application (where permitted) of a new accounting standard (for example, a new International Financial Reporting Standard) that has a pervasive effect on the financial statements in advance of its effective date.
A major catastrophe that has had, or continues to have, a significant effect on the entity’s financial position.
It means that EOMP has limited application compared to the previous standard. ISAAB is trying to reduce the widespread usage of EOMP since it diminishes the value of communication and using it implies that matter is not properly disclosed in the FS (which constitutes a MM)

4. ISA 706 - other matter paragraph (OMP) is a new addition to the world of reporting. This is used for matters that are not within the scope of financial statement.
Matters that would be included in the OMP are
- comparatives have not been audited (ISA 710)
- comparatives have been audited by another auditor (ISA 710)
- material inconsistency with other information (ISA 720)
- modification in auditor report for comparative financial statement (ISA 710)

5. ISA 450 - Evaluation of misstatements found during the audit (critical for P7 students since impacts your audit report question and materiality issues significantly)
- Auditor is responsible to evaluate the identified misstatement found during the audit and aggregate uncorrected misstatement
- Auditor must perform additional procedures to determine if correction performed by management has reduced the misstatements in the stated accounts
- Auditor is responsible to obtain a written representation from the management whether they believe the effects of uncorrected misstatements are immaterial, individually and in aggregate, to the financial statements as a whole.
- Auditor must include in the audit documentation (ISA 230):
(a) The amount below which misstatements would be regarded as clearly
trivial (ISA 320 - Planning materiality x 5 - 10%)
(b) All misstatements accumulated during the audit and whether they have
been corrected
(c) The auditor’s conclusion as to whether uncorrected misstatements are
material, individually or in aggregate, and the basis for that conclusion
- Misclassification misstatement should be evaluated in terms of quantitative and qualitative basis - if a misclassification error is material but does not change the nature of the FS significantly, it could be classified as not being material (this is an example of auditor using qualitative factors to override quantitative materiality)
- Circumstances when misstatement is considered material when it lower than quantitative
a) Affects compliance with regulatory requirements;
b) Affects compliance with debt covenants or other contractual requirements;
c) Relates to the incorrect selection or application of an accounting policy that
has an immaterial effect on the current period’s financial statements but is likely to have a material effect on future periods’ financial statements;
d)Masks a change in earnings or other trends, especially in the context of general economic and industry conditions;
e) Affects ratios used to evaluate the entity’s financial position, results of
operations or cash flows;
f) Affects segment information presented in the financial statements (for
example, the significance of the matter to a segment or other portion of
the entity’s business that has been identified as playing a significant role
in the entity’s operations or profitability);
g) Has the effect of increasing management compensation, for example, by ensuring that the requirements for the award of bonuses or other incentives are satisfied;
h) Is significant having regard to the auditor’s understanding of known
previous communications to users, for example, in relation to forecast
earnings;
i) Relates to items involving particular parties (for example, whether external parties to the transaction are related to members of the entity’s management);
j) Is an omission of information not specifically required by the applicable financial reporting framework but which, in the judgment of the auditor,
is important to the users’ understanding of the financial position, financial performance or cash flows of the entity; or
h) Affects other information that will be communicated in documents containing the audited financial statements (for example, information to be included in a “Management Discussion and Analysis” or an “Operating and Financial Review”) that may reasonably be expected to

ISA 320 Materiality
- Standard materiality - planning and final materiality is based on turnover, PBT, TA or NA %
- Performance materiality - used in conjunction with ISA 450 to determine if uncorrected misstatement are material *note there are qualitative factors that can override the performance materiality
- Threshold materiality - level used to determine if error is trivial


Spots for the P7 paper - since I have completed all the revisions for this paper.
Based on my review, nothing has come to my attention that causes me to believe that the accompanying spots are not reliable

1. Forensic audit (proactive nature)
2. Internal controls
3. Risk question - either BR/AR/FSR -suppose higher aspects of issues impacting going concern since article is out + issues that had impacted Lehman Brothers, implies that BR question should include financial instruments as a source of business risk impacting going concern - do not talk about IAS 32/39 if it is BR question!
4. Group audit (ISA 600 + ISA 550)
5. Audit report (ISA 450 + ISA 705 + ISA 720 + ISA 710)
6. Current issues - new IFAC 2011 or note for going concern
Other tips were given directly in the class.


Note for JUNE 2010 EXAM - the exam question for part A will no longer be directly asked as in previous examination since there was a requirement to make the paper more practical (as per P6 paper)

DO NOT PANIC -when the exam question is:
Required:
(d) Respond to the email from your partner
(16 marks)
Requirement (d) contains professional marks which will be awarded for the format of the answer and for the clarity of the assessment provided (2 marks)

This means you have to read the emails from the manager, partner or client and determine the requirements.

Your professional marks will be:

Dear X

Responding to your email dated xx/xx/xx, I have put together an analysis of the business risk that is relevant for the planning of audit of ZZZ Plc. I have included the analysis in the attachment labelled XX.doc

Attachment

Issues - Explain the risk

Completed

Thats all for now - if there are questions shoot away, I will discuss the issues later. I still have one more revision to do - P1 in PAAC this friday.

Prepared by Mr.Jay MSc FCCA (lecturer for audit)

Question and answer

The following will be the first round of questions and answers for T8,F8 and P7 students. Please ask your questions about the knowledge aspect of the paper. I will try my best to answer them as soon as possible