financial Accounting

lgarside

Hello is osmeone able to tell me to what extent I need to learn the Frs's for this unit. In the exam will they just ask questions based on a written answer and definitions or will they require a full understanding of the double entry for them all. It seems really hard to get to grips with them and I heard they often only put one or two in and all they want is a short written answer???

peugeot

Generally the AAT have only thrown in a couple of questions relating to the IAS's in the last few sittings, despite there being 22 out of a possible 36 standards examinable.

Your double entry knowledge is required at DFS level because of various adjustments that you may need to do to a trial balance before preparing an income statement/balance sheet (now known as a statement of financial performance/statement of comprehensive income and statement of financial position).

With regards to the standards themselves you really need to get a basic knowledge of all of those that are examinable. My fear is that DFS has become somewhat predictable over the last few sittings and there is a risk this predictability may be short lived. You mustn't focus on the fact that only a couple of them have come up in previous sittings - there could be more next time, there could be less. This, and the fact that you aren't able to identify which standards will be examined, means that you would be better prepared for the exam if you revise all those that are examinable. For those that are examinable, have a look in the student resource centre on the students homepage.

More importantly than 'rote learning' the standards themselves is being able to apply the standards to questions. It is pointless knowing all about IAS 36 'Impairments' if you are not able to apply the standard to a scenario/question.

Good luck.

Kind regards
Steve

peugeot

Hi Lgarside,

Could I also make a suggestion regarding the accounting standards. There is a book writtenby Clare Finch of Kaplan entitled "A students guide to international financial reporting standards" which is aimed at all levels of qualifications where studying for IAS's are necessary. The book is far easier to use than a standard text book (which just regurgitates the standards). It breaks the standards down into easy to digest paragraphs and is structured in order of the standards complexity.

If you follow this link to an article I have written the link to purchase the book is in there. You can order it from Kaplan for £30 inc P&P but postage is free on Amazon.

The link is:

http://www.accountancystudents.co.uk/cms/news/read/a_technical_summary_of_ias_19_employment_benefits/

the second paragraph contains the link.

Just a thought if you are struggling to deal with the IAS's.

Kind regards
Steve

lgarside

Thanks steve