PEAF rant...

SammyRPA

Failed my PEAF today and I am MORE than annoyed with myself

I feel like it is, mainly, just common sense with knowledge thrown in for good measure and am so peeved that after coming so far and so close to finishing level 3 I would fail this exam

It is probably me just getting ahead of myself as I only had this and Costs&Revenues next week left to do..but does anyone have any pointers that could help me for my re-sit?
I'm just waiting for my tutor to get back to me so I can get the feedback form - I'm hoping I only failed by very few marks (although that may rub more salt in the wound!)

Thanks in advance

Sammy

Vlee

Sorry to hear that Sammy. This exam sounds like it's tripping a few people up. I'm currently revising for it and a little worried that the course books aren't covering the topic sufficiently. Someone suggested buying the Osborne book. Which book are you using and which things did you feel unprepared for in the exam? I have Kaplan which I've seen here is meant to be not so good. I'm going to print off a copy of the actual AAT ethics guidance which may be a good revision tool for your resit. Good luck!

Jo Clark

I'd recommend the PEAF book from BPP

Vlee

I went and ordered the Osborne book but I told my husband yesterday I wasn't taking any chances with L4 and will order brand new BPP books. Plus BPP make exam booking so much easier than another provider who won't confirm my exam date until five days after they receive a form - by post due to lack of technology my end, leaving me in complete limbo about when the exam will be. We bought a new printer scanner yesterday so printed off the code of ethnics this morning to read in the car. Yawn!

Kris1990

Hi Sammy

I was slightly annoyed after sitting PEAF last week, I passed but would of been fuming if I'd failed. The exam is 50-60% based on the AAT code of professional ethics and the rest on the actual syllabus.

What's the point of a syllabus if the exam isn't going to test you on it?

As for pointers for your re-sit, learn the AAT code of profession ethics. There were quite a few questions that you could easily lose marks on such as "What professional body is AAT a member of?" ACCA, CIPFA etc. If you can learn the answers to those type of questions, you should be fine :001_smile:

Good luck with the re-sit.

SammyRPA

Thank you everyone, sorry for the delay in reply
I'm with a college so it's their materials..it's so much reading to do though isn't it not like the others where you actually put the theory to practical formulas/methods -- grr!
Got my re-sit 30th July so fingers crossed i can now concentrate on my cost+revenues Thursday, pass that and then I've got plenty of time to just read and re-read every point within every principle ha!
I have taken all of your advice on board thank you very much! I will get the actual code of ethics and if not sinking in I will consider ordering Osborne or BPP books

ackeeandsaltfish

Done This Exam Yesterday Must say nothing like the AAT practice exams so found it a bit challenging but passed,
Common Sense and make sure you read, read, read the code of practice.

Good Luck

Danny

superwizon

Hiya,
I found this exam the hardest one to date. It was the only exam I came out of thinking "oh sh*t I've failed" (fortunately I passed, more by luck I think).
The things that threw me were question about AAT sanctions as I don't recall it being mentioned at all. Things like the stages of AAT disciplinary actions, I didn't have a clue :-(
Good luck anyone taking this exam.

SammyRPA

Well done superwizon :thumbup1:
Did you find that there was a lot of trick questions as well? I think that's what I failed on more then anything, they caught me out on what I thought were quite simple questions, but looking back I got it wrong because, for example, they were asking about a 'severe' risk when I would answer in relation to just a 'cautious' approach or vise-versa

Sammy :001_smile:

superwizon

I'm not sure if i would call them trick questions but i just found a lot of the questions didn't ring any bells at all so we can't talked about it at college. and yes i think the wording of the questions was a bit ambiguous maybe? i don't think it helped either that i went into this exam very complacent because i had read our study material 5 or 6 times and found the practice assessments really easy.

confusedatwork1

Hi all thanks for all the above advice I take my exam on Saturday and am not looking forward to it. Remembering facts is not my strong point so have really struggled to learn all the text. Any other advice or tips would be much appreciated. thanks

Vlee

Confusedatwork1 I took the exam a few weeks ago and I'm not sure what other advice I can give save what's been mentioned on this and other threads. Read the text book, read another if you can, make notes and charts of how the info fits together. I also found it useful to come up with 'words' to remember the principles, objectives, data protection rules, Nolan principles etc. for example AISHOOL for the Nolan principles - my husband came up with that one!

Lots of practice tests - AAT, your provider's and Osbourne website, read the code, learn the CPD cycle and discipline, but not in massive detail. The questions that tripped me up, and I will be careful to keep to the rules and not give too much away, was on assurance engagements and to do with criminal convictions. There was another question on commission which I found a bit vague to be sure. Most was fine but there were five questions I was unsure of and like others I just didn't know the answer. However most questions are easy if you learn the key parts of the code from the text book and five marks or so won't make you fail.

Get your family, friends, colleagues to test you - there was a PDF with revision questions I found online. It was a bit vague in parts but useful to test you know your stuff. I'll try to find a link. Good luck, I sit ITX on Saturday and I'm currently revising.

Vlee

http://meadowgatetraining.co.uk/resources/aat+peaf+revision+review+questions.pdf

And watch out for things that are out of date, check online for AAT sponsors and members of the international body. My text book is still valid until December but wasn't up to date on some bits.

steve2008

Vlee wrote: »

Confusedatwork1 I took the exam a few weeks ago and I'm not sure what other advice I can give save what's been mentioned on this and other threads. Read the text book, read another if you can, make notes and charts of how the info fits together. I also found it useful to come up with 'words' to remember the principles, objectives, data protection rules, Nolan principles etc. for example AISHOOL for the Nolan principles - my husband came up with that one!

I went for SHOOLIA. I have my PEAF exam on the 2nd Sept, so can't offer any advice on it.

Roblar

I did mine at level 2. Absolute nightmare exam.

Did alot of studying on these ethics, principles and several acts. Only about 30% of what I revised was there, the rest of it was things I've never even heard of. Just had to use common sense and educated guesses on it Did not meet a a few but I passed thank god!

swiftragecage

I thought it was easy...

It seem most people on here seem to struggle with PEAF but i learnt the whole sylabus in just one evening, i was working full time so could not do it in the day and my funding had just stopped (so had to do it by the end of the month) i had no lessons as they were not due until after my funding was finished so i ahd no clue to start with, i found the Kaplan book really helpful and simple to follow, i then did the Green Light test and a couple of past papers and was very confident the next morning, in the exam room, that i copuld easily passed and i did with just one did not meet

CharlotteS

swiftragecage wrote: »

It seem most people on here seem to struggle with PEAF but i learnt the whole sylabus in just one evening, i was working full time so could not do it in the day and my funding had just stopped (so had to do it by the end of the month) i had no lessons as they were not due until after my funding was finished so i ahd no clue to start with, i found the Kaplan book really helpful and simple to follow, i then did the Green Light test and a couple of past papers and was very confident the next morning, in the exam room, that i copuld easily passed and i did with just one did not meet

You're a new member and you use your first post to brag about how you taught yourself a whole module in one night and passed it easily?? On a thread where people say they are really struggling!! I'm lost for words!! :mad2:

Vlee

I don't think most people struggle with PEAF but a few members expressed surprise at what came up in the exam because it wasn't covered by the books, some of these people passed despite this. Becaue of these reports a few of us put in extra time and read the full code and supplementary documents. The Kaplan book was overly wordy and didn't explain things particularly well, I have a background in government so followed it well and knew what SOCA was before the book gave the full name and not just the abbreviation. A lot of people would struggle with the language used as this is a course often taken by school leavers right through to high calibre graduates looking for a second career. We are a diverse bunch and we have to consider that when we comment - some of us could have passed with one night of study but want to make absolutely sure they know the subject inside out before taking the exam, particularly if we are paying for our own study and exams. Additionally the feedback is no indication of how well you did, in percentage terms you may not have scored as highly as you think.

wabisabi

Very well put, Vlee, and a timely intervention.

swiftragecage

Oh sorry, i didnt mean to brag it's just i didnt overly find it hard and, given my curcimstances at the time, i was still able to pass and take the exam in confidence. i am terrible with words and remembering stuff in general so if i can do it anyone can do it! what i would recommend to people is to use a reliable book for studying, green light test when they feel confident and then practice exams when they have all greens in the green light test, this will highlight any problems occured and give a sense of what the actual exam is like rather than just questions on a screen.

swiftragecage

You are correct good sir! but i was just stating my recommendations and what i achieved because of it, additionaly i don't care about my % score as i still passed as competent, i am not saying people should just pass by the bare minimum standards by any means, i am just saying in the end aslong as it says competent then im happy

CeeJaySix

My experience - the book (Osbourne) is enough to pass. In fact it was enough to more or less get everything in the practice assessments. The actual exam had a lot more questions directly related to the AAT Code of Ethics, which I'd glanced through but by no means learned - as a result I scraped through (judging from the feedback sheet). It is an easy subject as it only really requires common sense and a few facts, but do take the extra day or two to read the Code thoroughly.

hazelcat

I recently failed this exam and found a fair bit of stuff in the exam not covered by the book so glad to see its not just me! Is there a way of finding out what % you scored? The only feedback I ever receive is competent or not competent on the aat website.I am studying at home and it is not easy!MY book is 2 years old so thinking there may be a more up to date one I need to buy?

j1994

Where can i find the 2010 cba's for professional ethics?