AAT Level 4 Synoptic Exam

Kelly87

Isn't it where it's a five yr fixed plan , they're not asking managers for their input going forward? So that leads it to top down budgeting?

unicorn1905

@kelly87 thank you, that does make sense. I didn't know if they meant when the budget was originally set.

DanielEvansSouthall

Urgh, just sat the level 4 synoptic assessment and wow was it horrible. Not so much with the range of information you're required to know but in how the questions are posed. I average a pass mark of 80% but fairly confident I've failed that

Lindi

DanielEvansSouthall said:

Urgh, just sat the level 4 synoptic assessment and wow was it horrible. Not so much with the range of information you're required to know but in how the questions are posed. I average a pass mark of 80% but fairly confident I've failed that

Sorry to hear that, maybe you'll feel a little better in a few days. The questions are very confusing and not very clear at all, I found it a cryptic maze as they were very basic - almost as if they were trying to catch me out. I'm only resitting in December, but sure you will have passed this by then

student

I sat the synoptic today for the third time and I can confirm it was horrible.

DanielEvansSouthall

Thanks, bit gutted as I put so much effort in... oh well

student

I cant get it. what does swot analysis has to do with costing.

Lindi

They are trying to get degree answers out of a technician qualification at an astronomical pass mark. Something is just a bit wrong here. The more ACCA material I look at to try and understand their minds, the more I realise that a lot of that is what we are doing yet ACCA's pass mark is 50% because they acknowledge that the content is tricky ..........

student

Did you have it in question 4 or 6

DanielEvansSouthall

I interpreted that as for instance, a weakness my might be how they cost the stock as in at most recent purchase price whereas a more effective costing tool might be FIFO? That's what I answered anyway!

93jw11

Just sat the synoptic and thought it was harder than the first time around!! So annoying when I revise all this stuff and none of it comes up! Instead I get stuff I don't understand what they're actually asking me.

shalls

Taking this exam for the first time tomorrow! Already dreading the results in 6 weeks time Any last minute advise?

NatalieSarantos

@shalls write and explain as if you were speaking to a person who doesn’t understand anything about accounts.

DanielEvansSouthall

I'm sure there will be a question about whether to continue a product line or area of the business so make sure you can calculate contribution, contribution per unit, marginal costing, etc...

student

Exactly I revised everything and I came across the very new sort of questions it was my third attempt. completely hopeless. My other classmates was shocked to see me there since I had passed all my exams very well

sjd85

M92Z said:

> @DanielEvansSouthall said:

> I'm sure there will be a question about whether to continue a product line or area of the business so make sure you can calculate contribution, contribution per unit, marginal costing, etc...



I just took my retake. I got a question about relevant costing, something which I did not revise about at all and I did not find in any of the books, or was not made aware of in any lectures. I feel I done well in other parts, however I messed up that question which could ruin it for me. It's just a pain having to wait another 6 weeks for the results .

I feel the same, feel questions 1,2,3,5,6 went okay but 5 has let me down fully. Potentially 15 marks lost from something which not see in any revision notes/material.

Lindi

M92Z said:

> @DanielEvansSouthall said:

> I'm sure there will be a question about whether to continue a product line or area of the business so make sure you can calculate contribution, contribution per unit, marginal costing, etc...



I just took my retake. I got a question about relevant costing, something which I did not revise about at all and I did not find in any of the books, or was not made aware of in any lectures. I feel I done well in other parts, however I messed up that question which could ruin it for me. It's just a pain having to wait another 6 weeks for the results .

Look at Colin Drury's book Management and Cost Accounting, I've only got the 7th edition from Amazon but chapter 9 talks about relevant and irrelevant costing, opportunity costs, limiting factors, product discontinuation. I found it helped me understand the concept a little bit better. Not confident I will be able to do the calcs without revising further but it's a good foundation knowledge you won't find anywhere in the AAT course grrrr.....

Lindi

From memory I think relevant costs are those which will remain when a decision is made to discontinue a product or service. Irrelevant costs are those which will be lost (ie direct production costs for the line which will be discontinued).

So if you have 3 production lines, and 1 of these is making a loss, you have to look closer at the cost breakdown as the one making the loss might actually also be carrying a portion of fixed costs spread across all lines.

Then there may be other types of costs apportioned to it as well which will remain payable even if the line is discontinued.

You need to look at the bigger picture. If this one is stopped, can the other two lines cope and will you still make a profit if these relevant costs are being carried by the remaining lines? Does that make sense?

Lindi

But then it also said be careful when considering relevant and irrelevant costs, as don't always assume fixed costs are always relevant and variable costs are always irrelevant as if you were to REPLACE a line with another, the variable costs may stay the same and therefore will need to be considered as a relevant cost when looking at your options (at decision making stage)

Lindi

If it will help you guys I can scan in the Chapter 9 Summary as an image when I get back to work tomorrow as it really helped me. Sorry I sound like a stuck record but again referring to this being ACCA material

GemGem17

@Lindi Relevant costing is an absolute mine field. We went through it in class and it was horrible, it broke into a class debate for about an hour because none of us could get our heads round it. But you're right with how you've described it

Lindi

@GemGem17 This is interesting as we never discussed anything of the like in my classes. You must have had a good tutor.

GemGem17

@Lindi I remember we went through a question and it had relevant costing in it, none of us knew about it so the tutor had no option to explain it to us. It's incredibly confusing though to get your head around. You'd think AAT would be sending out study materials for everything they want covering in this exam.

steady88

Lindi said:

@GemGem17 This is interesting as we never discussed anything of the like in my classes. You must have had a good tutor.

I spent 20 minutes answering the question unsure if I was going down the right route, and then rewrote when I thought other costs should be eliminated, so I had a long debate to myself about it in the exam. Either I got it completely it right and horribly wrong.

shalls

Help needed please.. I've learnt SPAM SOAP however please could someone tell me which questions I should be looking to apply this? Many thanks

Lindi

shalls said:

Help needed please.. I've learnt SPAM SOAP however please could someone tell me which questions I should be looking to apply this? Many thanks

Aren't those the Control Activities? I would think it is part of internal controls.

Here's a rough breakdown of the synoptic by task per examiners report:

Task 1

This task uses multiple choice question types and is computer marked. It tests Learning Outcomes 1
and 2 of ASYC and requires students to demonstrate an understanding of the roles and
responsibilities of the accounting function within an organisation, and examine ways of preventing and
detecting fraud and systemic weaknesses.

Overall students are performing reasonably well. However, there are some areas where students are
struggling. These include:

• the detection of errors
• what should and should not be included in cash flow
• knowing which decisions lie in the hands of directors and which require shareholders to
decide.

Task 2

This task is an extended writing task, which is marked by AAT markers. It tests Learning Outcomes 1
– 3 of ASYC, Learning Outcomes 3 and 4 of MABU, and Learning Outcomes 1 and 2 of MDCL. It
requires students to evaluate budgetary reporting and its effectiveness in controlling and improving
organisational performance.
In this task students are given information about an area of internal control, for example, budgetary
information, and asked to evaluate the scenario given, suggesting solutions or improvement.

Task 3

This task is an extended writing task, which is marked by AAT markers. It tests Learning Outcomes 2
and 3 of ASYC and requires students to evaluate an organisation’s accounting control systems and
procedures, by detecting weaknesses and/or scope of potential fraud. As an example, if the question asks the student to identify a problem area and suggest probable ways of solving the problem and this attracts five marks, it is fair to assume that just naming the problem and identifying one possible solution will attract only some part of the overall marks

Task 4

This task is an extended writing task, which is marked by AAT markers. It tests Learning Outcomes 1
– 4 of ASYC, and Learning Outcomes 2, 4 and 5 of MDCL. It requires students to analyse an
organisation’s decision making and control using management accounting tools. This task also covers
the consequences of ethical and sustainability issues of managerial decisions.

As an example, if students are asked to recommend whether a product should continue to be
manufactured, and this attracts 10 marks, it is fair to assume that just identifying one or two
contributing factors will attract only a small part of the overall marks. Additionally, whilst providing the
basis of correct answers, students are then failing to relate this specifically to the task scenario
provided, which will hinder their ability to gain higher marks.

Task 5

This task uses multiple choice question types and is computer marked. It tests Learning Outcomes 1 -
4 of ASYC, Learning Outcomes 1 and 5 of FSLC, and Learning Outcome 4 of MDCL. It requires
students to analyse an organisation’s decision making and control using ratio analysis.

Overall students are performing very well, however there are some areas where students are
struggling. These include:

• deciding what affects gearing
• indicators to measure efficiency and productivity, and in particular, ROCE.

Task 6

This task is an extended writing task, which is marked by AAT markers. It tests Learning Outcomes 1
- 4 of ASYC, Learning Outcome 1 of FSLC, Learning Outcomes 4 and 5 of MDCL, and Learning
Outcome 3 of MABU. Students should be able to analyse the internal controls of an organisation and
make recommendations for improvements.

Although some students perform well, the majority fail to include sufficient detail to cover the full
scope of the question asked. For example, if the question requires a SWOT analysis, all four aspects
of a traditional SWOT analysis would be expected in the response. Frequently students offer only a
partial answer and do not link it back to the scenario given.

@marialucas this last sentence might answer your earlier question. From this I gather they want you to demonstrate an understanding of how SWOT works, which parts are of key importance and then relate it to the company. In my assessment I only related it to the company and failed the task, so I think they are looking for a mixture and needless to say lots of quality written answers. (not like me who tends to drivel on a bit)

shalls

Thanks Lindi! Sounds like its going to be used more in Q3 when trying to identify weaknesses.

007

Relevant costs are those avoidable costs and it will make a difference of the cost (differential costs) whatever choices you make, e.g. Fixed costs that will only incur with one product line. Allocated fixed costs are not relevant as whatever decision you make they will still be incurred or have already incurred,
Relevant costs example: variable costs, marginal costs
Not relevant costs e.g. Sunk costs (historical costs because they are already spent, not relevant anymore whatever decision you make), allocated fixed costs, committed costs (costs that you've entered into contract but have not spent yet).

DanielEvansSouthall

Great feedback! And good luck!!! I got 86% in my budgeting exam so thought that would be my strength going into the pdsy, and then that relevant cost question did me over.

Lindi

And then that bit never to assume as some Fixed Costs can be irrelevant and some Variable Costs can be relevant depending on the outcome of the decision. I don't trust AAT to give me a straight forward question so am preparing for the inevitable.