ITX Exam - any words of advise? And study order for the remaining modules.

Vlee

Hello

I'm very demotivated so wondering if anyone has any tips or advice for this exam. I have a week left to revise but back problems, strong painkillers and general laziness are not helping. So how did you find the exam, was it similar to the practice ones, any areas they may try to trip me up on?

I've already worked through an up to date Kaplan book and am going to use an old BPP book to revise plus the Kaplan revision book, the practice tests and green lights again. Oh and the Osbourne online tests.

I'm probably winding myself up about how hard these tests are so any reassurance or advice would be great.

Then I can get stuck into the more difficult modules once the girls are in nursery.

I'm thinking AP1, AP2, cash management and costs and revenues. Is this the best order and which is the easiest/shortest? I will have about three weeks from the ITX exam until nursery starts - so I could do cash management first, it is the thinnest book but would this not be the sensible order?

Thanks!

Nps

Make sure you are very familiar with the on screen help bit, as once you know what's there, you'll see that there's actually very little to learn. Just have a rough idea of where the info is and in the exam, you'll be able to go straight to the bit with the answer in, leaving you more time to concentrate on the final tax return question.

Nps

I'd do AP1 first as (for me) it felt like 'proper accounting' which was the whole point of studying AAT. I enjoyed it as it was quite a logical subject and throughout the book, I could see how I was building on my knowledge in each chapter. I think it would be a good subject to keep your interest and therefore your motivation. (Was it you who said they enjoy maths puzzles like sudoku etc? If so, I think you'll like AP1 and 2).

I'd even consider sitting AP1 and 2 together as I really felt like it was just one subject but split into 2 parts. I seem to remember that AP2 was actually a very small module. You won't forget the AP1 stuff as it is so integral to AP2 that your AP2 study could easily be your AP1 exam revision, hence I'd advise you to sit them on the same day.

Nps

Oh, and Cost and Revenues seems to be the one that people find most difficult. I certainly see more questions asked on the forum about C&R than the other 3 modules. I can't remember much about cash management but I don't seem to answer many questions about it so assume it is fairly straightforward.

steve2008

I've just finished going through the Osborne cm book. It's too easy imo. If your good with maths there is little in the way of concepts to learn, although you do need to have an understanding of accruals and prepayment which you learn in ap.
Cm is doable without doing ap first imo, but easier afterwards

The only hard part of itx is understanding the tax return. Practice a few of them, and as nps said, most of the info is available in the exam

Vlee

Thanks for this. I was surprised that almost every sub chapter referred to the reference material and I basically didn't have to learn anything. I've done and passed the practice tests without using it but it's on my mental (but forgetful) to do list. Is it best to read the version in the latest text book or on the online tests, or both for familiarisation of how it works?

I do like logic type puzzles, like sudoku, so I did find BA stuff fairly easy, but the text book was so long winded. I like maths as long as I have a calculator. Mental arithmetic, on the other hand, makes the numbers jump around on the page/computer screen. The AP1 book looks huge and scary. It sounds like I should either have a break from study or start cash management. We have a trip to Peppa Pig World to plan plus a wedding and birthday event to attend anyway.

It has been tricky booking exams as I can only do Saturdays so I will have to really plan it out carefully to do AP1 and 2 on the same day.

I might have a read through the books to get a feel of things. I have read the accruals bit a while back and it's something I've done in a previous job. I have seen all the costs and revenues stuff so I'm burying my head in the sand for now and hope it will click with me. Is it related to basic costing at L2 because that was incredibly easy? It must be a huge step up.

Right Saturday tomorrow so I will get back into things, either at the library to by forcing husband to take the kids to the park.

Nps

I'd just concentrate on the info on the practice assessments as that's exactly what you'll get in the exam.

Don't be put off by the size of AP1, you're guided through it quite nicely and it's a nice feeling to get to the end and see how far you've progressed.

Vlee

Weekend was a flop. No discipline. I did map out the various topics and identify the bits to make extra notes on. I'm now working my way though the reference material and feeling relieved about the amount of info in it. I've only identified one thing so far no included - the tests and timings for registration. I will finish this, make the notes from the BPP book and start working through the Kaplan revision book. Then all the practice tests to do before creating a flash card to read on route. I'm such a crammer - my only first in my degree finals was the one I revised least for.

Vlee

Can anyone give a really simple rule for Tax Points. Every time I think I understand I get tripped up. I'm really struggling to revise this one. Blurry eyes every night and no time in the day, roll on September!

Just for my records I'm going to concentrate on the return, registration rules, schemes and this damn tax point. I did note HMRC visits weren't covered in enough detail too. The things not in the guidance should fit on a postcard for revision.