TIPS ON CRUSHING ACCA PAPER F7 (Financial Reporting)

ACCA F7 – Nature of the paper:

ACCA paper F7 is the link between paper F3(Financial Accounting) and paper P2(Corporate Reporting). It goes beyond the ability to prepare financial statements and consolidated financial statements. It requires candidates to have the abilty to interprete the performance of entities based on their financial statements. It extends beyond the normal double entry principles. 

Structure of the ACCA F7 paper:

The exam is a three-hour paper, with all questions being compulsory, and with 15 minutes reading time. There will be two sections to the exam:

Section A will comprise 20 multiple choice questions of 2 marks each.

Section B will comprise one 30 mark questions and two 15 mark questions.(The 30 mark question will examine the preparation of financial statements for either a single entity or a group. The section A question and the other questions in Section B can cover any areas of the syllabus.)

Preparation Tips:

• Prepare well ahead of time. Success is inevitable when preparation meets opportunity
• Use the right resources. You can watch free lectures on www.opentuition.com and combine it with other resources
• Study all the IFRSs and IASs that are examinable in F7
• Practise tons of exam style questions.

Tips for the exam day:

If you have honestly done your revision then you can pass this exam. What you must do is remain calm and tackle it in a professional manner. The examiner stresses a number of points which you should bear in mind. These apply particularly to the long questions.

·        You must read the question properly. Students often fail to read the question properly and miss some of the information. Time spent reading the question a second time would be time well spent. Make yourself do this,don’t just rush into it in a panic.

·        Workings must be clear and cross-referenced. If the marker can read and understand your workings they can give you credit for using the right method, even if your answer is wrong. If your answer is wrong and there are no workings, or they are illegible and incomprehensible, you will get no marks for that part of the question.

·        Stick to the timings and answer all questions. Do not spend too long on one question at the expense of others. The number of extra marks you will gain on that question will be minimal, and you could have at least obtained the easy marks on the next question.

·        Do not neglect the short parts of the question. If you get a consolidation with a five-mark discussion topic at the end, leave time for that last part. You can’t afford to throw away five marks.

·        Make sure you get the easy marks. If an accounts preparation question contains something that you are unable to do, just ignore it and do the rest. You will probably only lose a few marks and if you start trying to puzzle it out you might waste a lot of minutes.

·        Answer the question. In a discussion-type question you may be tempted to just write down everything you know about the topic. This will do you no good. The marking parameters for these questions are quite precise. You will only get marks for making points that answer the question exactly as it has been set. Sodon’t waste your time waffling – you could be scoring marks somewhere else.

·        Note that you have 15 minutes reading time at the start of this exam, during which you are allowed to make notes on the question paper. Use this to read the questions carefully and underline important points. Make note of any points that occur to you which you may otherwise forget. Get really familiar with the paper and focus on what you can do, not the bits you think you can't do.