干货!不得不看的ACCA考试难度大揭秘!
发布时间:2019-03-27
2019年3月的考试季已经过了,相信有很多小伙伴已经在准备着今年6月的ACCA考试了。但在报考的考生中仍有一部分还不太了解ACCA考试的难度,下面,小编就给大家简单介绍一下。
对于ACCA考试的难度问题,小编搜集了一些调查结果,得出的结果大概是这样的:
难度第一级:F1、F2、F3。普遍同学反应,这三门课程难度不是很大,基本上好好准备,认真听课就会过的。
难度第二级:F5、F6、F9。如果说有什么意外导致没过,那可能就是没准备。
难度第三级:F7。如果是会计零基础的同学来考F7,那是有一定难度的。需要配合大量真题,这样考试通过的把握才会大一点。
难度第四级:F8。审计与鉴证,其难度几乎是业内共识,没有合适的学习方法,不把基础打牢,PASS的概率很低。
考试难度相对,要怎么理解呢?尽管官方每一年都会给出ACCA的通过率,但是大家对于各科难易的认知并不一样。正如大家说的那样,难和易也只是相对而言的,毕竟ACCA每一科通过,都需要实力加持。
针对不同背景的考生而言,报考的难度也有区别:
1.如果是财会类专业的考生,财务会计、财务管理、财务报告可能是比较拿手。
2.如果是法学专业的考生,拿手的科目可能就是公司法和商法,但是会计、审计、财务管理就可能是较大的挑战。
3.如果是有事务所工作经验的考生,可能觉得审计与鉴证并不像别人所说的那么难。
4.如果是经济类专业的考生,可能对公司战略与风险管理、财务成本管理有较大的把握。
5.如果是非财会专业、非经济类专业的零基础考生,那么会计、审计、财务会计将是很大的挑战,另外经济法、税法、公司战略与风险管理也可能不轻松。
总的来说,每个人对于难易度的感知其实是不一样的,不同类型的考生所认为的比较难的科目也不尽相同,小编建议大家要结合自己的专业和知识背景具体分析每一科考试的难度。相信只要用心准备了考试,并且正常完成了考试,就有一半的概率是能过的!
下面小编为大家准备了 ACCA考试 的相关考题,供大家学习参考。
4 You are an audit manager in Smith & Co, a firm of Chartered Certified Accountants. You have recently been made
responsible for reviewing invoices raised to clients and for monitoring your firm’s credit control procedures. Several
matters came to light during your most recent review of client invoice files:
Norman Co, a large private company, has not paid an invoice from Smith & Co dated 5 June 2007 for work in respect
of the financial statement audit for the year ended 28 February 2007. A file note dated 30 November 2007 states
that Norman Co is suffering poor cash flows and is unable to pay the balance. This is the only piece of information
in the file you are reviewing relating to the invoice. You are aware that the final audit work for the year ended
28 February 2008, which has not yet been invoiced, is nearly complete and the audit report is due to be issued
imminently.
Wallace Co, a private company whose business is the manufacture of industrial machinery, has paid all invoices
relating to the recently completed audit planning for the year ended 31 May 2008. However, in the invoice file you
notice an invoice received by your firm from Wallace Co. The invoice is addressed to Valerie Hobson, the manager
responsible for the audit of Wallace Co. The invoice relates to the rental of an area in Wallace Co’s empty warehouse,
with the following comment handwritten on the invoice: ‘rental space being used for storage of Ms Hobson’s
speedboat for six months – she is our auditor, so only charge a nominal sum of $100’. When asked about the invoice,
Valerie Hobson said that the invoice should have been sent to her private address. You are aware that Wallace Co
sometimes uses the empty warehouse for rental income, though this is not the main trading income of the company.
In the ‘miscellaneous invoices raised’ file, an invoice dated last week has been raised to Software Supply Co, not a
client of your firm. The comment box on the invoice contains the note ‘referral fee for recommending Software Supply
Co to several audit clients regarding the supply of bespoke accounting software’.
Required:
Identify and discuss the ethical and other professional issues raised by the invoice file review, and recommend
what action, if any, Smith & Co should now take in respect of:
(a) Norman Co; (8 marks)
4 Smith & Co
(a) Norman Co
The invoice is 12 months old and it appears doubtful whether the amount outstanding is recoverable. The fact that such an
old debt is unsettled indicates poor credit control by Smith & Co. Part of good practice management is to run a profitable,
cash generating audit function. The debt should not have been left outstanding for such a long period. It seems that little has
been done to secure payment since the file note was attached to the invoice in November 2007.
There is also a significant ethical issue raised. Overdue fees are a threat to objectivity and independence. Due to Norman Co
not yet paying for the 2007 year end audit, it could be perceived that the audit has been performed for free. Alternatively the
amount outstanding could be perceived as a loan to the client, creating a self-interest threat to independence.
The audit work for the year ended 28 February 2008 should not have been carried out without some investigation into the
unpaid invoice relating to the prior year audit. This also represents a self-interest threat – if fees are not collected before the
audit report is issued, an unmodified report could be seen as enhancing the prospect of securing payment. It seems that a
check has not been made to see if the prior year fee has been paid prior to the audit commencing.
It is also concerning that the audit report for the 2008 year end is about to be issued, but no invoice has been raised relating
to the work performed. To maximise cash inflow, the audit firm should invoice the client as soon as possible for work
performed.
Norman Co appears to be suffering financial distress. In this case there is a valid commercial reason why payment has not
been made – the client simply lacks cash. While this fact does not eliminate the problems noted above, it means that the
auditors can continue so long as adequate ethical safeguards are put in place, and after the monetary significance of the
amount outstanding has been evaluated.
It should also be considered whether Norman Co’s financial situation casts any doubt over the going concern of the company.
Continued cash flow problems are certainly a financial indicator of going concern problems, and if the company does not
resolve the cash flow problem then it may be unable to continue in operational existence.
Action to be taken:
– Discuss with the audit committee (if any) or those charged with governance of Norman Co:
The ethical problems raised by the non-payment of invoices, and a payment programme to secure cash payment in
stages if necessary, rather than demanding the total amount outstanding immediately.
– Notify the ethics partner of Smith & Co of the situation – the ethics partner should evaluate the ethical threat posed by
the situation and document the decision to continue to act for Norman Co.
– The documentation should include an evaluation of the monetary significance of the amount outstanding, as it will be
more difficult to justify the continuance of the audit appointment if the amount is significant.
– The ethics partner should ensure that a firm-wide policy is communicated to all audit managers requiring them to check
the payment of previous invoices before commencing new client work. This check should be documented.
– Consider an independent partner review of the working papers prepared for the 28 February 2008 audit.
– The audit working papers on going concern should be reviewed to ensure that sufficient evidence has been gathered to
support the audit opinion. Further procedures may be found to be necessary given the continued cash flow problems.
– Smith & Co have already acted to improve credit control by making a manager responsible for reviewing invoices and
monitoring subsequent cash collection. It is important that credit control procedures are quickly put into place to prevent
similar situations arising.
(b) Describe the advantages of external recruitment. (5 marks)
(b) External recruitment describes the situation where the organisation decides to fill a staff vacancy and recruit from outside the organisation.
It may be essential if particular skills or expertise are not already available within the organisation and is necessary to restore depleted staffing levels or when for some reason the organisation urgently needs new employees. New staff members bring new ideas and novel approaches to the organisation and to the specific task, often providing experience and work methods from other employers.
(ii) Construct the argument against Professor West’s opinion, and in favour of Professor Leroi’s opinion that
a principles-based approach would be preferable in developing countries. Your answer should consider
the particular situations of developing countries. (10 marks)
(ii) Principles-based approach
Advantages of a principles-based approach
The rigour with which governance systems are applied can be varied according to size, situation, stage of development
of business, etc. Organisations (in legal terms) have a choice to the extent to which they wish to comply, although they
will usually have to ‘comply or explain’. Explanations are more accepted by shareholders and stock markets for smaller
companies.
Obeying the spirit of the law is better than ‘box ticking’ (‘sort of business you are’ rather than ‘obeying rules’). Being
aware of overall responsibilities is more important than going through a compliance exercise merely to demonstrate
conformance.
Avoids the ‘regulation overload’ of rules based (and associated increased business costs). The costs of compliance have
been a cause of considerable concern in the United States.
Self-regulation (e.g. by Financial Services Authority in the UK) rather than legal control has proven itself to underpin
investor confidence in several jurisdictions and the mechanisms are self-tightening (quicker and cheaper than legislation)
if initial public offering (IPO) volumes fall or capital flows elsewhere.
Context of developing countries
Developing countries’ economies tend to be dominated by small and medium sized organisations (SMEs). It would be
very costly and probably futile, to attempt to burden small businesses with regulatory requirements comparable to larger
concerns.
Having the flexibility to ‘comply or explain’ allows for those seeking foreign equity to increase compliance whilst those
with different priorities can delay full compliance. In low-liquidity stock markets (such as those in some developing
countries) where share prices are not seen as strategically important for businesses, adopting a more flexible approach
might be a better use of management talent rather than ‘jumping through hoops’ to comply with legally-binding
constraints.
The state needs to have an enforcement mechanism in place to deal with non-compliance and this itself represents a
cost to taxpayers and the corporate sector. Developing countries may not have the full infrastructure in place to enable
compliance (auditors, pool of NEDs, professional accountants, internal auditors, etc) and a principles-based approach
goes some way to recognise this.
1 Rowlands & Medeleev (R&M), a major listed European civil engineering company, was successful in its bid to become
principal (lead) contractor to build the Giant Dam Project in an East Asian country. The board of R&M prided itself in
observing the highest standards of corporate governance. R&M’s client, the government of the East Asian country, had
taken into account several factors in appointing the principal contractor including each bidder’s track record in large
civil engineering projects, the value of the bid and a statement, required from each bidder, on how it would deal with
the ‘sensitive issues’ and publicity that might arise as a result of the project.
The Giant Dam Project was seen as vital to the East Asian country’s economic development as it would provide a
large amount of hydroelectric power. This was seen as a ‘clean energy’ driver of future economic growth. The
government was keen to point out that because hydroelectric power did not involve the burning of fossil fuels, the
power would be environmentally clean and would contribute to the East Asian country’s ability to meet its
internationally agreed carbon emission targets. This, in turn, would contribute to the reduction of greenhouse gases
in the environment. Critics, such as the environmental pressure group ‘Stop-the-dam’, however, argued that the
project was far too large and the cost to the local environment would be unacceptable. Stop-the-dam was highly
organised and, according to press reports in Europe, was capable of disrupting progress on the dam by measures such
as creating ‘human barriers’ to the site and hiding people in tunnels who would have to be physically removed before
proceeding. A spokesman for Stop-the-dam said it would definitely be attempting to resist the Giant Dam Project when
construction started.
The project was intended to dam one of the region’s largest rivers, thus creating a massive lake behind it. The lake
would, the critics claimed, not only displace an estimated 100,000 people from their homes, but would also flood
productive farmland and destroy several rare plant and animal habitats. A number of important archaeological sites
would also be lost. The largest community to be relocated was the indigenous First Nation people who had lived on
and farmed the land for an estimated thousand years. A spokesman for the First Nation community said that the ‘true
price’ of hydroelectric power was ‘misery and cruelty’. A press report said that whilst the First Nation would be unlikely
to disrupt the building of the dam, it was highly likely that they would protest and also attempt to mobilise opinion in
other parts of the world against the Giant Dam Project.
The board of R&M was fully aware of the controversy when it submitted its tender to build the dam. The finance
director, Sally Grignard, had insisted on putting an amount into the tender for the management of ‘local risks’. Sally
was also responsible for the financing of the project for R&M. Although the client was expected to release money in
several ‘interim payments’ as the various parts of the project were completed to strict time deadlines, she anticipated
a number of working capital challenges for R&M, especially near the beginning where a number of early stage costs
would need to be incurred. There would, she explained, also be financing issues in managing the cash flows to R&M’s
many subcontractors. Although the major banks financed the client through a lending syndicate, R&M’s usual bank
said it was wary of lending directly to R&M for the Giant Dam Project because of the potential negative publicity that
might result. Another bank said it would provide R&M with its early stage working capital needs on the understanding
that its involvement in financing R&M to undertake the Giant Dam Project was not disclosed. A press statement from
Stop-the-dam said that it would do all it could to discover R&M’s financial lenders and publicly expose them. Sally
told the R&M board that some debt financing would be essential until the first interim payments from the client
became available.
When it was announced that R&M had won the contract to build the Giant Dam Project, some of its institutional
shareholders contacted Richard Markovnikoff, the chairman. They wanted reassurance that the company had fully
taken the environmental issues and other risks into account. One fund manager asked if Mr Markovnikoff could
explain the sustainability implications of the project to assess whether R&M shares were still suitable for his
environmentally sensitive clients. Mr Markovnikoff said, through the company’s investor relations department, that he
intended to give a statement at the next annual general meeting (AGM) that he hoped would address these
environmental concerns. He would also, he said, make a statement on the importance of confidentiality in the
financing of the early stage working capital needs.
(a) Any large project such as the Giant Dam Project has a number of stakeholders.
Required:
(i) Define the terms ‘stakeholder’ and ‘stakeholder claim’, and identify from the case FOUR of R&M’s
external stakeholders as it carries out the Giant Dam Project; (6 marks)
(a) (i) Stakeholders
A stakeholder can be defined as any person or group that can affect or be affected by an entity. In this case, stakeholders
are those that can affect or be affected by the building of the Giant Dam Project. Stakeholding is thus bi-directional.
Stakeholders can be those (voluntarily or involuntarily) affected by the activities of an organisation or the stakeholder
may be seeking to influence the organisation in some way.
All stakeholding is characterised by the making of ‘claims’ upon an organisation. Put simply, stakeholders ‘want
something’ although in some cases, the ‘want’ may not be known by the stakeholder (such as future generations). It is
the task of management to decide on the strengths of each stakeholder’s claim in formulating strategy and in making
decisions. In most situations it is likely that some stakeholder claims will be privileged over others.
R&M’s external stakeholders include:
– The client (the government of the East Asian country)
– Stop-the-dam pressure group
– First Nation (the indigenous people group)
– The banks that will be financing R&M’s initial working capital
– Shareholders
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