DFS help needed

Barry

I have been to college for the 2nd time and we are having a lot of problems already with our teacher. She makes a lot of mistakes and seems to always put it down to having blond moments which she has a lot of. She rushes through everything and next week we are starting on exam papers. None of us are ready for this and a girl in our class said that we aren't ready but she just said that we should use the next few days to get ready.
We have barely touched consolidations or any accounting standards. She had also said that we need to revise the new goodwill rule as that is new for December exam but my book doesn't mention anything about it.
I feel really stressed about my studies and so are the rest of us in my class. Can anyone offer any help or advice?

Primble

look through the threads for tuff by Steve. everything will be explained

Andypandy

DFS is one of those subjects that you will get stressed about.......untill it makes sense 3 weeks before the exam. Just put in as much time as you can & try not to get your 'knickers in a twist'. You'll be glad to know that it's (eventually) one of the most satisfying subjects aswell. Just breath deeply:)

Gem7321

Start with a blank sheet of A4 and do LOADS of cash flows and consolidations, the layout will soon be imprinted forever on your brain!

meibaker

hi, there will be a answer sheet for the DFS, so all the layout is there, except reconciliation i think. it makes life so much easy!

Gem7321

But doing it from scratch will help your understanding so still practice it

Steve Collings

Hi,

First of all, it is too early to be diving into exam standard questions - especially if this is only the second time you have been to college! If you are all having problems with your tutor, then it may be advisable to suggest a couple of you (not all of you) having a word with your tutor before the start of the next lesson to address your concerns (calmly). Tutors invariably care about their students and I am sure your tutor would want to know if you think she is doing things wrong.

As others have said, consolidations are quite tricky but there are lots of posts on here by me (as well as articles on AccountancyStudents) which look at this difficult subject area. I cannot offer you any 'short-cuts' where consolidations are concerned - the only way you can get to grips with consolidations is to practise, practise and practise and do them in a methodical way!

Unfortunately your tutor is not correct about goodwill. DFS and the new FNST continues to examine proportionate goodwill because IFRS 3 (revised) still allows this treatment. I think some tutors are misunderstanding what happened between the revised IFRS 3 exposure draft being issued and the revised standard being finalised. The ED suggested only full goodwill would be used for purchased goodwill in a business combination, but the IASB back-tracked and still allowed proportionate goodwill as an option - therefore you can expect to be examined using proportionate goodwill in D10. However, in the event you are asked to use full goodwill, you need to be told the fair value of the non-controlling interest share of goodwill and simply debit this amount to goodwill in non-current assets and credit NCI in the equity section of the consolidated statement of financial position.

Don't despair, but if this is only your second visit to college, it might be better to voice your concerns to your tutor prior to the next lesson. Your tutor might not understand how you all feel if you don't have a word.

Good luck,
Steve

meibaker

hi, i also bought the chare finch book, a student's guide to international financial reporting standards, and it really help me to understand cash flow and reconciliation.
i bought it from amazon.
good luck

beverly hudson

I have read far too many bad stories about colleges and other third party "tuition providers" who are simply not qualified to undertake courses. You have to make sure you course is always approved and not being run by people that think they can do tuition in a day or so. This is where your problems start. Approved courses are the only way to succeed.

Barry

Thanks everyone for your help. I will suggest we meet with our teacher before the next class. Meibaker I have Claire finch book and Steve's book which are both helping a lot. I just find our college course causes more confusion at the moment.
Beverley I believe my course is approved as it is a college. It's the tutor that's the problem:(

flower

Sounds like the tutor I had. No help whatsoever and that was an approved college.
Think Steve,s threads are really helpful

jewels.p

I always wondered if I made the right decision in doing the AAT Distance Learning but having read some of the posts over the time I have been studying, going to college is sometimes not helping people at all!

Surely there is someone that can help those students that are not happy with the tuition they are getting at college.