EXAM TIPS!!!

I found this on the net (apparently given by BPP)

The examiners deliberately try to avoid question spotting. Use the tips as areas to have a good look at, but remember that no-one knows what’s in the exam except the examiner. Your safest bet is to achieve good syllabus coverage in your revision, as the examiner aims to do in the exam.

CAT5 BPP Tips:

* Business and accounting environment
* Internal controls and MIS
* Motivation, leadership/teams
* Personal planning and communication
* Health and Safety at work, and security

CAT 5 Health Check
If you can answer the following questions positively then you will be well placed for the exam.

Can you explain the political, economic, social and technological issues affecting a business and who the different stakeholders are in the business?

Do you know how an organisation is structured , the systems and procedures that are likely to be in place and how the accounting department co-ordinates with other functional areas?

Do you know the difference between internal and external auditors and what the management should do with respect to internal control?

Do you know the control procedures that there are in an accounting system, the main ways to prevent fraud and how management information systems help?

Can you describe the work of the main theorists concerning authority, responsibility, leadership and management, including the weaknesses?

Can you distinguish between a group and a team and know what makes them tick or not tick, including the key theories of motivation?

Do you know the main ways to improve individual effectiveness at work, including interpersonal skills and communication?

Can you describe how to make sure that training is effective, how the process of learning should occur in the workplace and then how workers should be assessed and appraised?

Can you outline the main provisions of relevant legislation on Health and Safety, what sources of danger there are in the workplace and how to prevent this danger?

Cab you describe possible sources of security breach in a workplace and how to prevent them?

CAT7 BPP Tips:
Following are the important Topics for this attempt.

* Principles of cost accounting/collecting and analysing cost information
* Variance analysis
* Forecasting/time series
* Decision making scenario/cost management/performance indicators

CAT 7 Health Check
If you can answer the following questions positively then you will be well placed for the exam.

Do you know about the role of a management accountant in detail, the limitations of management accounting information and how to collect, maintain and improve the information?

Do you know how to analyse and present information, including the use of index numbers?

Can you explain the budgetary process, including functional and departmental budgets, and how this ties into the planning and control cycle within an organisation?

Can you prepare master budgets and all the component parts of them, including the use of time series and scatter diagrams?

Can you calculate variances that arise from a flexible budgeting system, both in terms of physical units as well as pounds?

Can you explain why variances arise, how they are inter-linked and what action to take in response to a variance?

Can you work out suitable performance measures for an organisation (including job, batch, contract, service and process costing environments) and discuss the problems with selecting and monitoring the measures?

Do you know the different types of cost behaviour and apply these to different decision-making situations?

Can you prepare and explain break-even charts and profit-volume charts and then describe the advantages and disadvantages of using the analysis produced?

Do you know modern management theories including Life Cycle, Target, Activity Based costing and Total Quality Mangement?

CAT8 BPP Tips:
Following are the important Topics for this attempt.

* Regulatory framework/third parties
* Audit of balance sheet items/testing
* Accounting systems/control cycles
* Audit completion – analytical review/report qualifications

CAT 8i Health Check

If you can answer the following questions positively then you will be well placed for the exam.

Can you describe the chronology of an audit and explain the various parts of the audit in detail, including where the regulatory framework has an impact?

Can you describe the statutory powers and duties of auditors and how they are required to behave ethically?

Can you explain the different types of audit risk and how these affect the work that is needed on an audit?

Do you know the different types of controls that are likely to exist in a company and how to design tests that fit into the controls that are available, and how to design tests if controls are not available in the company?

Do you know how CAATs are used for control/compliance or substantive testing purposes?

Do you know why audit sampling is relevant to the auditor, can explain terms such as confidence intervals and outline various types of sampling with their advantages and limitations?

Can you explain the procedures involved with auditing all major balance sheet categories?

Do you know the function of review procedures in an audit, including analytical review, post balance sheet events, contingencies, opening balances, letters of representation and management letters?

Can you describe the purpose, significance and content of an audit report?

Do you understand auditor’s liability and responsibility?

Thats all folks =) Happy Studying for exams and best of luck. WE ARE GETTING OUT OF CAT THIS TERM!! Cheers ! Take care too people.