Here’s our feedback from the latest ACCA sitting – the good, the bad and the ugly…
Audit & Assurance (AA)
Some sitters worried that the exam felt ‘easy’. Finishing all the questions didn’t help diminish that worry! Others said it was very predictable, with lots of tests of control, risk and substantive procedures.
In the Open Tuition Instant Poll, 53% of sitters ticked the ‘OK’ box, and 25% the ‘hard’ one. Another 15% said they had a ‘disaster’.
Advanced Audit & Assurance (AAA)
Q1 was very challenging, according to one AAA sitter. One in five (21%) of sitters voting in the Open Tuition Instant Poll said the exam was a ‘disaster’. Another 34% found the September test ‘hard’.
Taxation (TX)
Section C was the hard part of this exam. With section A and B described as ‘normal’.
In the Open Tuition Instant Poll some 44% of sitters said the exam was ‘OK’. That left 33% finding it ‘hard’ and 18% having a ‘disaster’.
Strategic Business Leader (SBL)
‘Average’ is how one sitter described the September sitting.
Another agreed it was ‘OK’, but just struggled with time management.
The three hours 15 minutes flew by for many.
There was a lot on sustainability and ESG in some papers. Robotics also came up, which confused some.
In the Open Tuition Instant Poll some 54% of sitters felt the exam was ‘OK’. Another 29% found it ‘hard’. It was described a ‘disaster’ for more than one in 10 sitters (11%).
Performance Management (PM)
Not a bad exam according to some, with an OK section A. Some sitters expecting variance analysis in section B or C were surprised it didn’t come up for them. Instead, they got expected value in part B and C, and as one sitter said: “They seemed very similar, so it was slightly confusing.”
In the Open Tuition Instant Poll 15% of sitters said the exam was a ‘disaster’ and 31% found it ‘hard’.
That left 46% saying it was ‘OK’.
Advanced Tax (ATX)
The September sitting was deemed ‘weird’ and ‘hard’. Time was an enemy for some here, too.
The bulk of the marks in section A were to do with inheritance tax.
Many sitters admitted they spent too long on section A.
Interestingly, one PQ went on ChatGPT and retyped the question they had just sat to see if their answer was close.
In the Open Tuition Instant Poll a massive 33% of sitters said they had a ‘disaster’ this time around.
Another 37% found it ‘hard’, leaving just 24% saying the test was ‘OK’.
Advanced Performance Management (APM)
Many students found the September exam hard, with over 41% clicking the ‘hard’ box in the Open Tuition Instant Poll. Another 15% said they had a ‘disaster’. This left just one in three (34%) sitters claiming the exam was ‘OK’.
As one sitter said: “ACCA wasn’t kidding when they said they added some new things to the syllabus. It immediately gets tested.”
So, there was a question on budgeting, predictive analysis, and brand awareness and brand loyalty.
Financial Reporting (FR)
The lack of consolidation question annoyed some, due to the revision time they had put in towards that area.
In the Open Tuition Instant Poll some 20% of sitter said they had a ‘disaster’ and another 34% found the September exam ‘hard’. That left 45% thinking the exam was ‘OK’.
Strategic Business Reporting (SBR)
As one student put it: “What was this exam!” Another said it was simply torture. Other words used to describe the September sitting were ‘brutal’ ‘horrific’ and ‘awful’.
A sitter explained: “It was so difficult this time. I am resitting from June (got 49%), and now this!”
Another said: “I don’t care what ACCA says, this exam was designed to fail students.”
The groups P&L with foreign associate disposal threw many.
Hardly surprising then that in the Open Tuition Instant Poll some 45% ticked the ‘disaster’ box (that might be a record). Another 36% said the September test was ‘hard’ and just 18% felt the exam was ‘OK’.
Financial Management (FM)
Sitters said the exam felt like answering a lot of past paper questions – which was good! Quite a few sitters also admitted the paper went well, which is rare. But that wasn’t the case for everyone.
In the Open Tuition Instant Poll some 40% of sitters said the exam was ‘OK’. Another 41% said they found it ‘hard’. That left 15% having a ‘disaster’ – the rest found it ‘easy’.
Advanced Financial Management (AFM)
Those who have sat previous AFM exams felt the questions were ‘kinder’ this time around. Another said: “The questions were as good as they will ever be.”
There were quite a few students telling us they had problems with the remote exams. Lagging was a key issue.
This sitting was deemed ‘OK’ by half of sitters in the Open Tuition Instant Poll. Some 28% found the exam ‘hard’ and 15% admitted they had a ‘disaster’.
