Last weekend I finally received the results of the ACCA exams I sat at the beginning of December. I had passed 2 of the 3 so I am happy with that. I have 3 Skills modules left (the exam I failed plus 2 others) until I can officially call myself 'Part Qualified', I then have a further 5 Professional modules until I am fully qualified.
For anyone thinking about starting to study ACCA, I have some info and tips for you.
Check your exemptions. If you are AAT qualified you will be exempt from modules F1, F2 & F3 (I won't list all the modules here but they can be found on the ACCA website), if you have a relevant degree then you will be exempt from further modules, you would need to look into that as it will vary from degree to degree. From what I have observed in classes, AAT will prepare you better for studying ACCA.
You can sit the exams in any order. If you do need to sit F1-F3 you have to do so before you move on to the next set, or Skills Modules which are F4-F9. These can be sat in any order, I studied F6 & F8 first, then F4 (the exam I failed in December) & F5, leaving me F4 to resit and also F7 and F9. I have tried to work it so that I do a 'wordy' paper alongside a 'numbers' paper.
Study in a way which suits you. There are various different course providers, all offering different study methods such as classroom learning or distance learning, tuition course, revision courses and question based days or QBDs. I need a classroom situation as I do not have the discipline to self study. If you choose classroom study but can only attend 1 block of classes I would suggest the revisions blocks, I am sure that I learn more on these than I do on the tuition blocks.
Revise as little or as much as you know you need to do. I was advised to create a study plan once revision courses started. Work out how many weeks or days to the exams and decide how many questions you are going to attempt in each of your home study sessions. I didn't do this. I also listened to others in my group saying that they were doing 3 hours revision every night and 6 hours each day at weekends. If this works for you then go for it, I personally think that this is too much, particularly if you are working full time as well. I won't embarrass myself by saying how much revision I did, but it worked for me.
Don't put too much pressure on yourself. Unless your contract states that you cannot have more than a certain number of resits, you have 10 years to complete a maximum of 14 exams for which there are currently 2 sittings each year.
But most of all, enjoy your studies, I actually looked forward to classes more than work sometimes!
This weekend I finally received the results of the three ACCA exams which I sat at the beginning of December, I passed two (F5 - Performance Management and F8 - Audit & Assurance which is the one I failed in June) and failed one - F4 - Corporate & Business Law.
The Law module is the one that I struggled with right from the off. There are no calculations and no definites, it is all too woolly. This precedent says you can do this, this precedent says you can do the opposite. But I have to pass it as it is a compulsory module so the resit will be in June.
Also this weekend I finally bought a car! I am collecting it next Saturday and I can't wait, although when I am going to read now is beyond me, those two hours each day that I spend on the bus are my reading times.
I am going to do a post about the car dealers as they were lovely.
This weekend saw me start my 1940's diet experiment (it has been a busy weekend), so have been prepping and baking and cooking, I now have a week's worth of meals and snacks. Hopefully I will lose a bit of weight, feel healthier and save a bit of money.
I am trying to think if anything has happened this week and nothing springs to mind!
We had a bit of snow on Thursday but not enough to settle even though it was coming down on and off for most of the day.
Friday I had my first ever trip to Aldi, in this country anyway I tend to shop in Aldis when I go abroad but the stores in Europe seem so much different to those in this country. I picked up a few bits but I am not convinced that I could do a full shop there not least because it is so far from home. Maybe i should buy a shopping trolley.
Dad went away for the weekend, much to the dog's disgust. Mum fed her, brushed her, played with her and talked to her, as she does every day whether Dad is here or not, and I called in to walk her every day. When Dad got home earlier today, anyone would think that she had been shut in the house all by herself since Friday lunchtime! She was crying, squeaking, nearly wagging her tail off and trying to climb on Dad's lap. She is such a drama queen.
ACCA exam results week has FINALLY arrived, they are due out next Saturday, it seems so long since I sat them.
Fingers crossed.
So this week has seen the second sitting of my ACCA journey, and my feelings about the exams are the same as previously.
Three hours is far too long.
If you know your stuff, then the answers will flow and you can be easily finished in under two hours.
If you don't know your stuff you answer what you can and then stare at the walls, the floor, the person in front of you until the end of the exam.
You should be allowed to leave when you have done what you can.
If the ACCA insist that the exams remain at three hours, then you should be able to leave when you feel you have completed the script to the best of your ability.
It can't be any more distracting to other candidates for someone to leave than it is to see them apparently asleep at their desk.
Constant trips to the toilet.
Most of the candidates sitting the exams are early twenties, in some cases late teens, and yet they seem to find it impossible to sit through the exam without going to the toilet at least once.
This is a photo I took after the exam, you can see the corner of my desk at the bottom of the picture, the door you can see is the door out to the toilets. And yes, it was annoying when people were constantly passing me.
Tiny Desks
The desks really are small, the question paper and answer paper are both A4 size and there isn't room on the desk to open both out fully, they have to be folded back on themselves.
Still, they are over now, thank goodness, results are due out on the 8th February.
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