ACCA F1_Accountant in Business_20130531(Q & A)

(1) How F1fits within the overall structure of the ACCA

Qualification?

The fundamentals level is divided into two modules-Knowledge and Skills.

The Knowledge module introduces students to business in general. This is done through the F1 Accountant in Business module-which sets accounting into a wider business context—and F2 and F3, which cover the core areas of financial and management accounting. This provides the platform from which the other technical accountancy areas will be studied in greater detail in the Skill module. (2) Is there an overall concept or theme for F1as a paper?

It introduces the student, who may not have a business background, to business as a subject area. It also sets business and its environment in context. It does this by exploring the purpose and objectives of business organizations and their stakeholders; how companies are governed, structured and managed and most specifically, how accounting plays a central role in business operations.

In other words, the F1paper gives the aspiring accountant, who is aiming to become a technical expert in the specialized

aspects of accounting, the bigger picture about how accounting relates to the rest of the business and its environment. The following phrase sums up this idea: The accountant sees the wood and the trees. This refers to the fact that accountants need a broad view of the business organization-how it is structured, integrated and managed- to help them focus their specialist skills and decision-making appropriately towards meeting wider organizations goals.

(3) As you explained earlier, there is an overall concept for the

paper, but are there any other broad themes which run through the syllabus? F1is

essentially

about

examining

knowledge

and

comprehension of the business as a whole before student accountants get into the technical detail of the various financial disciplines. There are, however, several main themes this overall concept.

Theme1: how a business is organized, to whom it has obligations and how it is governed effectively and ethically. Theme2: how a business is structured and the different functional areas.

Theme3: the business environment which can affect and is affected by the business

Theme4: business accounting, its origins and its specialized functions.

Theme5: business management, the leadership of individuals and teams and recruitment, learning and development within the business.

(4) I note that the syllabus for F1 is structured into six main sections. Can you explain the main content of these syllabus sections please?

The first syllabus section is a fairly large section containing subject areas on organizational structure, culture, stakeholder, IT, committees, corporate governance and ethics.

Section B, which is much smaller, covers the business environment including political and legal, economic, social, technological and competitive factors. These areas will be further developed in P3 at the Professional level.

Section C, is a fairly limited section, introducing the student to the origins and role of the accounting system as a core functional area within business.

Section D, is a comprehensive section covering the different aspects of accounting such as financial reporting, tax, audit, performance management and finance including treasury. It

also focuses on internal control and security within business systems and the prevention and detection of fraud.

Section E and F cover the people management aspects of the business such as leadership, team and individual behavior and communication. They also cover the recruitment, training and motivation of employees.

(4) Having explained the main content of the syllabus for us, can

you tell us a bit about the exam itself?

As with all papers within the Knowledge module, the completion time for this exam is two hours.

F1 is a wholly objective testing paper, so students must answer short questions by selecting the right option from a choice of two, three, or four alternatives. Where there are two or three alternatives, each question will attract one mark; all other questions will attract two marks. In the current format of the exam there are multiple choice questions including true or false, and the CBE version also includes multiple response matching questions. All questions test knowledge, comprehension and some application where relevant. All questions must be answered and there is no choice available.

(5) Why is there no choice of questions offered at the

Fundamentals level?

This is because, as the name of the level implies, all subject areas and main capabilities within these papers are ‘fundamental’ to having a sound grasp and technical proficiency in all these topics.

(6) Is there any advice to give about revising effectively for, and

passing, F1?

Firstly, there are the main exam strategies, focusing on key areas and then there are some specific tips forF1 candidates during their revision, and for the examination itself.

I would recommend the best strategy to adopt in the revision phase is to focus only on areas of the syllabus that a student may not be sure of, but more importantly, it is essential to complete lots of practice questions from the official study text for F1 and from the pilot samples available on the ACCA website.

As far as a revision approach is concerned, it is best to ensure that the student understands the business from the top down-in the order that the syllabus is laid out. Key areas to focus on, therefore, are how the business is structured, organized and governed and who its stakeholders are. The student needs to have some understanding of environmental

influences on a business such as legal, political, economic, technical and social. There needs to be some focus on the origins of accounting, but most emphasis should be placed on understanding how accounting systems work and link together and of the differences between accounting disciplines such as financial reporting, audit, tax, performance management and finance or treasury. Finally, a significant part of the syllabus concentrates on people management from leadership and team behavior, to business communication and motivation, including the recruitment and development of staff.

The following are my there main revision and exam tips: My first tip is for the student to gain an understanding of the business as an overall entity, which is interacting with its environment and responsible to its stakeholders. Students should also understand that business are structured in many different ways to suit their environments and have an accounting department with several key functions, the aim of which is to support, manage and control the business as a whole. Finally, students must know the named theories about people management and leadership, including communication and group and team behavioral theories.

My second tip is to advise students not to learn section or subject areas of the syllabus in too much depth to the exclusion of other areas. The philosophy in the Fundamentals knowledge module is about breath rather than depth. This means that it is important to be familiar at a general level with all the sections and subject areas of the syllabus, but always in the context of business as a whole.

My final tip is practice questions as much as possible. There is no substitute for actually attempting exam style questions or for experiencing the computerized exam simulation if taking the computer-based version.

(7) Can you tell us what you believe to be the main potential

pitfalls in preparing for and taking the F1exam?

The main pitfalls I have seen students fall into are the following: Many students come into the exam unprepared, without a sufficient knowledge or understanding of certain areas of the syllabus or of how the syllabus links together. Students need to ensure that they, or their tutors, cover the whole syllabus to avoid this problem and ensure that links between sections are explained and understood.

The second main pitfall is rushing through questions through

fear of not completing all 50 in the allotted time. This can be a temptation for nervous students who are fearful of the relatively high number of questions to complete. In practice most students will have plenty of time to complete the exam, so students should take care to read and fully understand the question, including the question statement where relevant, to give them the best chance of answering questions correctly.

The final pitfall is leaving questions unanswered through lack of time or knowledge. To avoid this, effective time management is important, but remember not all questions will take the standard time allowed. If lack of time or knowledge becomes a factor, students should ensure that always make a reasonable guess and that they have answered all the questions on the paper.

(8) It is clearly important to follow the tips and avoid any common

pitfalls in exam revision and performance, but is there other information that can help students prepare?

Students should be aware that F1is a global paper. As a result, any knowledge of law, regulation or codes, such as with corporate governance for example, will not be examined specifically. Tuition providers covering these areas are,

therefore, welcome to refer to any legislation or regulation, either locally or in another jurisdiction, for illustration purposes and to put them into context. They should concentrate on the broad principles within such legislation and the purpose served. Everyone must be aware that detailed knowledge of law, regulation or codes from any jurisdiction is not required.

(9) Do you have any concluding advice about the F1 examination

paper?

I believe there are some key summary points to mention about the exam questions themselves.

Students must always read the question and, where relevant, the accompanying statement as carefully as possible, and make sure they have understood them.

Where there are statements included in an objective test question, a student is usually expected to think about and apply some knowledge to a specific situation in a particular context.

Student must also remember not to dwell for too long on any question that they are not sure about, don’t understand or simply don’t know the answer to. As there are 50 questions to

get through, think about each question carefully, but briefly, and if the answer isn’t sufficiently clear, move on and return to it later. As I mentioned earlier it is important to ensure that by the end of the examination all questions have been answered even if some are just guesses. (10)

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