Budgeting Exam

WAD2001

Hi
Due to sit the level 4 budgeting exam in a weeks time & just wondered if anyone has sat it recently? Are the ones on the AAT website similar to the real thing. Im not concered with the first part of the exam but am slightly panicing about the report writing and interpreting the figures any tips?
thanks

uknitty

I sat my exam 2 weeks ago and it went OK (much better than FNST anyway )

The layout of the exam is pretty much identical to the practice CBE's. Each question will be the same "style" of question to the practice exams - just with different figures!

For the written questions I got asked to draft an email explaining the budgeted increase in labour costs and then the final written question asked me to explain the benefits of using a standard costing system (which I have to admit initially surprised me mainly because it was not the sort of question I expected to show up on this particular paper, but I was OK to answer it )

If you have done the practice CBE's and are comfortable with those then you should be fine with the real thing.

Good luck, and let us know how you get on.


Good luck, and let us know how you get on.

reader

I've got my budgeting exam tomorrow, so thanks for the info, uknitty, and I'll let you know how I get on, WAD

Have you done financial performance, uknitty? How long does it take? Is it similar to budgeting?

reader

I sat my budgeting exam today

As everyone has already mentioned it is identical to the practice assessments on the AAT website in format; however the numbers and the written questions are slightly different.

uknitty

Glad to hear it went OK Reader

I started studying FNPF 2 weeks ago and I am almost halfway through the text. Initially I found it quite heavy going because the way variances are explained makes them much seem more complicated than they actually are !

I'm aiming to sit my exam the last week of November or first week of December. Then I'll be pushing through to get ICAS done over the Christmas holidays and then just 1 optional unit left in the new year.

How much have you got left to do ?

reader

Awesome!

I think I am going to start the ICAS project tomorrow; I think I'll be giving Kaplan a call as I do not have a clue what to do for this unit.

Then I'll probably take a break from ICAS in 2 months time to revise financial performance over Christmas and the first week of Jan 2011 and do the financial performance exam in the second week of Jan 2011.

Then carry on with ICAS after financial performance exam and finish ICAS off.

Then hopefully by the end of March 2011 everything is marked and finished.

Then I'll apply for MAAT and MiP status in April 2011 next year (I've been working in an accountant's firm for about 1.5 years).

I'm already a student member of ATT so I'll start doing those exams in May 2011 next year.

When do you expect to finish?

reader

This time last year, well December 2010, I had a plan to finish ICAS over the 2010 Christmas holiday, 1 year later, I haven't even started ICAS!

I've been doing AAT since August 2009; it has been dragging on way too long!

When did you start AAT?

uknitty

I started at level 2 in January 2010, I'm also planning on being finished around March 2012 meaning it will have taken me 27 months to study AAT from start to finish.

I need to be done by spring as I want to sit the ACA financial accounting top up paper in June. From there I'm considering a few options - I'd love to secure an AAT-ACA training contract but competition is of course very stiff. The other way to continue with my studies would be

http://www.business.mmu.ac.uk/pro-accounting/


I've a few ideas that I am considering but not fixed on any one path just yet as it is a bit too early yet !

reader

Have you submitted your project planning form for ICAS? This could hold you up if you want do get your ICAS done quickly.

Do you have any idea about what you want to do your ICAS on? Sales ledger? Purchase ledger? Do you work in practice? Case study?

uknitty

I'm currently on a fixed term contract for a local CVC, so I have already decided that I am going to use an AAT case study as the basis for my project.

I'm going to give it another couple of weeks before I give the project too much thought - right now I'm directing my energy to getting through the FNPF textbook and just covering the sylabus. Once I am in to the revision stages of this unit I'll start the planning stage of the next !

With the case study there is a 16 week time limit, so I want to apply for the material late November with a view to getting the majority of the work done in December. Once I have applied for the study I will probably be quite focussed because the clock will be ticking !