Actually most helpful paper in working life should be P6 & P7. As I understand a lot of the degree course/prof course didn't have advance level for Audit and Tax, but ACCA got this 2 paper. That's why those time a lot of student take 3.1 and 3.2 even it was very hard.

But since ACCA new syllabus give student more choice for work as Finance, Audit or Tax, so they split 2.4 to FM and PM and put 3.7 (P4) as a optional paper. P4 and P5 got related, truely can help each other.

That's the main reason P4 & P5 or P6 & P7 is a better combination lo.

Since I already wrongly choose 3.2/P6 & P5, so if I'm you still haven't go to option paper yet, then I'll more prefer P6 & P7.

The 4 factor of resistance by (Kotter) is :
1) Desire not to lose something valuable  (staff scared lose job security / comfort)
2) Misunderstanding  (lack of communication between staff & boss)
3) Non-sensical to staff  (top management has no holistic view or fault in decision making)
4) Low tolerance to change  (these are "coconut head" people)

You can also apply Kanter, Schein & Jick factors (I think its easier to remember   ) :
1) Loss of control
2) Fear of the unknown
3) Distrust
4) Fear of losing job security
5) Lack of confidence
6) Increased in workload (leading to stress)

Top tips from people in the know for the upcoming exams – tutors at Kaplan and FBT

F4 CORPORATE & BUSINESS LAW
*English legal system – delegated legislation/interpretation of statutes.
*Obligations – formation and terms of a contract. Duty of care in tort or professional negligence.
*Employment – dismissal.
*Company law: incorporation procedure or articles; maintenance of capital; termination of directors office and directors powers; types of meetings and resolutions; and fraudulent behaviour – money laundering.

F5 PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT
*Budgeting.
*Learning curve.
*Performance appraisal.
*Transfer pricing.
*Risk and uncertainty.
*Throughput accounting.
*Variances, including mix and yield.

F6 TAXATION
*Income tax – sole trader with adjustment to profit.
*Corporation tax – 12-month period straddling two financial years, possibly with a loss.
*Partnerships.
*Benefits in kind.
*VAT.
*Company tax losses.
*CGT – shares and relief.
*Overseas.

F7 FINANCIAL REPORTING
*Consolidated statement of comprehensive income and consolidated statement of financial position for a parent and a subsidiary company.
*Published accounts from a trial balance and notes.
*Ratio analysis and interpretation of accounts.
*Constructive contracts/IASB framework.

F8 AUDIT AND ASSURANCE
*Planning – risk assessment (two big questions in June and December 2005, only 10 marks since then).
*Controls Q1 purchases or payroll (sales last time).
*Substantive testing Q1 – stock (only a few marks recently, high risk, compliance and sub tests), creditors.
*Ethics – conflict of interest/ confidentiality.
*Review – overall review, checklist (probably not g/c!).
*Reports – scenario question, what sort and why (types tested last time).
*Internal audit – question tested last two sittings so less likely this time.

F9 FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT
*Investment appraisal.
*Sources of long-term finance.
*Re-gearing and de-gearing betas.
*Working capital management.
*International risk management.

P1 PROFESSIONAL ACCOUNTANT
*Transaction cost theory.
*Performance appraisal.
*Shareholder dialogue.
*Audit committee.
*Ethics theory.
*Internal audit.
*Stakeholder categorisation.
*Board structure.
*Corporate social responsibility (CSR).

P2 CORPORATE REPORTING
*Group cash flow.
*IFRS 3 Business combinations revised.
*Impairment.
*Financial instruments (again).
*Non-financial reporting.
*Related party transactions.
*Ethics.
*Cash flow statements.

P3 BUSINESS ANALYSIS
*Analysis-type question – PESTEL or on risks.
*Product choice use of BCG.
*SWOT, Ansoff and change management.
*Opportunities and problems of different growth strategies, eg acquisition and organic growth.
*CSF and PI – relate to a scenario.
*Ethics – business benefits of being socially responsible (short question).
*Quality – six sigma linked in with the CMMI model (possibly technical).
*Project management – stages of the project with stakeholder mapping of project members.
*Supply chain management.
*IT – general question relating to the benefits of e-commerce. Also use of the internet and development of a niche strategy.

P4 ADVANCED FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT
*Investment appraisal – overseas investments (FDI).
*Business valuation.
*Option pricing – Black Scholes Model.
*Interest rate hedging – futures and options.
*Stakeholders and conflict of objectives.
*Bond pricing and credit spreads.

P5 ADVANCED PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT
*Divisional performance and benchmarking.
*Transfer pricing.
*Activity based management.
*Profit calculation.
*Modern developments.
*Corporate failure.
*Environmental management accounting.

P6 ADVANCED TAXATION
*Corporate tax.
*Income tax.
*Inheritance tax question – this is the only question that is likely to be largely numerical and therefore require lots of calculations. Written parts, if any, are likely to be on trusts, deeds of variation or interaction with CGT.
*Incorporation of a business (lifecycle of a sole trader style).
*Share for share exchanges, perhaps to create a group of OMBs.
*Tax efficient ‘remuneration’ planning for a director.
*Industrial buildings allowances, specifically on a building being sold.
*Controlled foreign companies.
*Gift relief and lifetime gifts.
*Car and loan benefits.
*Business property relief.

P7 ADVANCED AUDIT & ASSURANCE
*Ethics/professional issues.
*Planning/risk assessment (audit risk).
*Forensic auditing.
*Prospective financial information.
*Evidence gathering.
*Reporting.
*Corporate governance.

ACCA Exam tips for December 2007

NOTE:  These exam tips should only be used in conjunction with proper studying.  We cannot guarantee that these tips will appear in the actual exam as we have not seen the exam papers.  The tips are based on Kaplan’s experience and understanding of the ACCA exams.

F4 – Corporate and Business Law

English Legal system - Interpretation of statutes and Human Rights
Contract - Formation and remedies.
Tort - Negligence
Employment - Dismissal
Partnership - authority of partners
Company Law
- Doctrine and veil of incorporation,
- Memo and articles
- Capital Maintenance
- Directors
Corporate Governance
Fraudulent Behaviour

F5 – Performance Management

ABC
Variance analysis, including mix and yield and interpretation
Learning curves
Performance measurement, including NFIs, the balanced scorecard and Fitzgerald et al
Decision making

F6 – Taxation

Income Tax,  Income from employment, Income from self, the computation of taxable income and income tax liability, the self assessment system
Corporation tax, Profits chargeable to corporation tax [in particular, the allowable expenditure in calculating the tax adjusted trading profit, capital allowances, property business profits, and relief for trading losses.]
Value Added Tax, the circumstances of registration, the computation of VAT, the  annual accounting scheme.
Capital Gains Tax, Computation of capital gains, computation of the amount of allowable expenditure for a part disposal, computation of a chargeable gain on disposal of a chattel, computation of exemption when PPR is disposed, Share identification rules – Individuals, Computation of capital gains tax payable by Individuals, Exemptions and reliefs

F7 – Financial Reporting

CBS or, slightly more likely, CPLA
Published Accounts with mixed standards
Interpretations or CFS, with latter more likely, maybe with bits of Interpretation
Standards with concepts, such as Leasing, DT, Construction contracts, Impairment, Depreciation with Revaluation, etc
Standards with concepts (other standards, standard setting, human assets, conceptual framework, etc)

F8 – Audit and Assurance

Ethics – objectivity, conflicts of interest
Planning – identifying and explaining/addressing risks in a scenario
Internal controls – weaknesses and recommendations
Audit evidence – substantive tests, sales and debtors
Completion – overall review
Internal audit – role, reliance by external auditors

F9 – Financial Management

Investment appraisal – especially NPV with tax and inflation.  Additionally make sure you know the advantages and disadvantages of each appraisal method.
Working capital management –  especially cash operating cycle and associated calculations.
Finance – especially financial and operating gearing and financial and business risk.

P1 – Professional Accountant

Director Remuneration Packages
Roles / Problems with NEDs
Unitary v 2-Tier Boards
Criticism of a company's current Governance
How/whether companies should deal with stakeholders
Board - Performance Evaluation
Role of internal Audit + Audit Committees
Different Ethics Models in business
Identification + Management of risks in a company

P2 – Corporate Reporting

Group accounts - foreign currency or cash flow
Accounting standards set in a case study environment including - impairment, financial instruments, pension, retirement benefits
Discussion - conceptual framework

P3 – Business Analysis

A fundamental appreciation of the key activities associated with strategic analysis, choice and implementation will always be required in interpreting the scenario.
The relevance of ethics and corporate governance to strategic decision making
Issues related to globalization and international business management
Be able to comment in general on how things like HR and IT can help underpin a strategic plan
Also review the pilot paper and make sure you know what CMMI is

P4 – Advanced Financial Management

Business Valuation through acquisitions
Foreign exchange hedging
Investment Appraisal and risk
Cost of capital and sources of finance
Advantages and disadvantages of listing and corporate objectives

P5 – Advanced Performance Management

Corporate failure.
Performance improvement strategies.
Value based management approaches.
Environmental management accounting.
The changing role of the management account in today's business environment

P6 – Advanced Taxation

Corporation tax including IBA, loss relief (S393A), group and consortium relief, group gains and VAT.
Overseas aspects of corporation tax including controlled foreign companies and transfer pricing.
CGT vs IHT for lifetime gifts
Employed vs self-employed (IT and NICs)
Badges of trade (IT vs CGT)
Employee vs partner (IT and NICs)
Sole trader/partnership vs company (IT, NICs and Corp. Tax)
Extraction of funds from company: salary vs dividend (IT, NICs, Corp. Tax)
Incorporation (IT, NICs, VAT, CGT), perhaps with incorporation relief vs gift relief
Comparison of employment packages and benefits (eg. cash vs car, share options vs bonus)
Corporation tax – disposal of business: sale of shares vs sale of assets
Property business profits including conditions for FHL and the advantages.
Close companies - maybe a letter on this.
VAT – cash accounting scheme, annual accounting scheme, due date for registration, partial exemption for VAT
Financial planning – sources of finance, lease versus buy, investments including EIS vs VCT, the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000, pensions
Ethics

P7 – Advanced Audit and Assurance

Audit Risk Assessment and Management
Matters and evidence
Professional conduct and ethics
Reporting
Assurance Services - CDD

Tips from kaplan site
Anyone has BPP's tips?

I guess have not released yet

I heard advanced audit is very application based. I known a friend who passed professional audit with ease (he has the knowledge & experience) but still stuck in fundamental audit (bcos its very formulaic approach = right wording, tabular form....etc). He said the paper did not add that much value to students knowledge.

That's why sheila & phillip stop teaching this paper bcos there is not much to teach. Anyhow my audit lecturer in fundamanetal level also recognise the fact that audit is not something should be learned but experienced since every comp have a different system.

Anyhow it depends on the student's liking & scope of work.  . The reason i think P5 will not add much knowledge bcos from students feedback P3 & F5 alone covers more than 50% of the syllabus already.

I guess i'm comfortable with Sunway, why do you guys say that the lecturers are inexperienced? I think the lecturers are very dedicated and I can understand what they teach.

---

Added on November 16, 2008, 8:22 pm

Ya, cause more and more students taking up accountancy courses nowadays, at least she is still teaching P2.

Anyone have exam tips for paper F7 and F8 for coming December 2008 sitting?

Need some tips as I am not taking any lecture for both papers.
Not sure if anyone mind to share though...

well is good for her to focus her teaching in P2 and ICAEW
as far as i know, if this sitting the requirement not up to standard, Sunway might lose the platinum status

Platinum status is one story, but experience lecturer is another story. I know study in Sunway got a lot of advantage, but doesn't means they got experience lecturer (Except for Menon).

If you still don't believe me, you can ask the senior here about the college lecturer.

Btw, money is your, non of my biz. If you still think Sunway lecturer is better than KSA/Mc Orange due to their platinum status, then go ahead. But in future, please no more asking me already for the experience lecturer.

Lastly, please do not only just look at the platinum status or prize winner to choose college. Since you are study full time, so think careful what you want for this 2 year:

If you truely want to enjoy college life, then go ahead Sunway and forget about experience lecturer unless you plan go to KSA/Mc Orange for additonal tuition.

If college life for you is just so so only and at the same time you want to follow experience lecturer, then think about KSA/Mc Orange.

That's all. Clear?

I guess have not released yet

i guess no one studying P4 now...

I think it is released, since some sites have it on them already, but is trying to earn some "Premiums" by setting those tips available for VIP status only.
Can't confirm whether it's validity though.

well is good for her to focus her teaching in P2 and ICAEW
as far as i know, if this sitting the requirement not up to standard, Sunway might lose the platinum status
refer few post above on you

people, i need a lil help on ROE. suddenly get a lil confused.

ROE= PAT/Equity.

My question is the Equity should be solely OSC or OSC+ RE?

For example:

Year 0                                 
OSC: 10                                        
RE: 24.1                                     

Year 1
OSC: 10                                        
RE: 24.1+ Current Year RE 1.83= 25.93

So ROE for Year 1 is:
(a) PAT of year 1/ (10+ 24.1)
OR
(b) PAT of year 1/ (10+24.1+1.83)
OR
© PAT of year 1/ 10
?????

Thank you very much.