CAT: June 2007 Exam Tips (BPP)

Exam tips by BPP Learn Online for Paper 1-10 (no variance).

Paper 1

Because the exam is entirely multiple choice it is easier for the examiner to cover the whole syllabus of 1 in any one sitting. The following topics are however key topics and we would expect them to appear somewhere on the paper.

• Understanding and accounting for various business transactions, eg sales, purchases, expenses, trade and settlement discounts
• Transaction documentation: invoices, credit notes, statements etc
• Basic VAT
• Cash handling (eg petty cash, recording in the cash book)
• Posting to the general ledger (debits and credits)
• Bank reconciliations
• Sales/purchase ledger reconciliations
• Capital v revenue expenditure

Paper 2

The ACCA don’t issue complete past exams so it is difficult to try to predict what will come up. This means that you will need to cover the whole syllabus and make sure that you have a good breadth of knowledge, covering the main areas i.e.

– Using computer systems safely and effectively
– Security, confidentiality and legal issues
– Management information
– Income and expenditure and comparisons
– Decision making

Paper 3

– Non-current assets
– Accounting standards/principles
– Partnership accounts
– Trial balance adjustments/errors in accounts

Paper 4

– Cost classification and behaviour/inventory
– Marginal versus absorption costing
– Process/job costing
– CVP analysis

Paper 5 

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

Paper 6

– Preparation of financial statements for a limited company
– Conceptual and regulatory framework
– Consolidated balance sheet or P+L a/c
– Ratio analysis

Paper 7

– Principles of cost accounting/collecting cost information
– Variance analysis
– Preparation of budgets
– Performance indicators
– Decision making scenario/cost management

Paper 8

– Regulatory framework
– Accounting systems/control cycles
– Audit reports
– Audit personnel and planning

Paper 9

– Income tax computation, property, investment & income tax payments for self-employed – Income from employment, NICs
– Corporation Tax adjustment of profits and CGT computation, with reliefs
– VAT registration, basic & actual tax point for VAT

Paper 10

– Capital investment appraisal techniques
– Debtors management and credit granting
– Cash and liquidity management, cash cycle
– Sources of debt finance, short to long term