I recently had the privilege of completing this paper along with #F6 – Taxation in December 2018. This paper has consistently had the lowest percentage pass rate among all skills papers. For example the pass rate for this paper in June 2018 was 38%. I mean its not much lower than the next hardest paper – according to statistics – #F8 – Audit & Assurance which recorded a 40% pass rate for the same time period.
While doing my studies I realise that there isnt really much information on just how much hours is needed to complete an ACCA course. I know this is probably so because everyone learns at different rates and what might take me three hours to understand may take the other person less than thirty minutes however I still think an idea as to how much is really needed should be out there. Based on this I would recommend that you at least study for three (3) hours each day over the three (3) month period leading up to the examination.
One thing I have also realized from these ACCA papers is the fact that they just don’t want you to regurgitate information but to apply knowledge in order to pass. Studying the actual information needs to take place over the four (4) to six (6) weeks within the three months period leaving at least six (6) weeks for practicing past paper questions.
#The Role of Past Papers
Unlike any program I have done ACCA really requires you to practice past paper questions. You cannot successfully complete any of these papers – at least easily – without doing past papers which are readily available on the ACCA website. It is also important that you do questions first before you review the ideal answer as this will give you the needed feedback as regards to the areas that you may need to improve on before the actual exam day.
#Technical Articles
Do not forget to read those technical papers. Sometimes this is the only place that you can get information on any new topics recently added to the syllabus. Yes the technical papers are sometimes complex to read but I have realized that reading them assist you in passing the papers because they write up these articles to assist you in understanding the way they will structure future questions.
Additionally you need to understand that every single mark counts when doing ACCA exams. So if you can get those two (2) additional marks from reading a paragraph in a technical article by all means “make it happen!”
I have heard about a lot of ACCA students who fail by a mere one (1) or two (2) marks requiring them to painfully have to do over the entire paper.
#Variance Analysis
Another area that requires its own paragraph is #Variance Analysis especially if you were exempted from F2 – Management Accounting. This topic is heavy to say the least. It requires a lot of practice and you are also required to remember the formulas which are not given to you in the examination. You can guarantee that every single paper will have questions on this topic as the examiner has realized that it is a challenging topic for most candidates. Oh how they like to torment ACCA students – they ensure that you work really hard for this qualification.
#Time Management
Another issue with this paper is #time management – if you don’t manage your time you can find that you do not get a chance to complete the entire paper. The multi-choice questions can be very time consuming and may require you to move on to the next question if the allocated #1.8 minutes have passed and you haven’t figured out the answer. The multi-choice questions are heavy – require a lot of calculations – but above anything else requires analysis before you can even attempt the actual question.
The results for this exam will be out on January 14th and I wish everyone who did the exam the very best! I have one more #ACCA skill paper to do – #F9 Financial Management – before I am onto Level 3 of the program.
Stay tuned for my write up on my experience completing other ACCA papers. I am reluctantly doing the new and improved #Strategic Business Leader paper in March. Let me know how you found this paper if you have already successfully completed it.
If there are any specific papers you will like me to write feedback on please feel free to comment below or send me a message.
Also if you have any recommendations for papers you have completed please feel free to make a comment below. Helping other students become ACCA qualified should be the aim of all presently qualified ACCA professionals – hey isn’t that what we learnt while completing the #Ethics and Professional Skills Module (painfully for over twenty (20) hours)? Remember the #Golden Rule?
#ACCAF5 #ACCAPerformanceManagement #HelpcompletingF5
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