AAT Level 4 Synoptic Exam

Lindi

lindsaymay said:

My exam is tomorrow afternoon!!

I've done all the mocks in my Kaplan and Osbourne books...I just feel there are so many things that could come up I'm unsure what to focus on!

Have any of you done any prep with the pre release? Without talking about the actual content I've highlight bits I think are important and put a few key words next to certain bits...What have you done?

Good luck to all about to sit the exam this week.

Sounds like you're good to go lindsaymay. Good luck!

Charley1995

Ive just resat mine and i would say key things to be comfortable with a budget types, advantages and disadvantages of them and how to flex a budget

I also found that contributions and non financial factors about making a decision were useful

Obviously you need to be comfortable with completing a full SWOT analysis

I worked out ratios based on the pre release material which helped me a lot as i had an understanding of the position of the company

nala

Zubair123 said:

nala said:

Hello to everyone

I am studying to my 4th synoptic exam .... Could someone do ma a favor and explain in easy words the 'arbitrary allocation of fixed costs ' and tell me how it works ?? I use osbourne book and I cannot find any information.

I would be very gratful if someone let me to understand it

I think it means the allocation of the fixed costs is not realistic as it is just an estimate due to lack of data etc

But feel free to correct me if I am wrong

Dear Zubair123,

Thank you for reply

What if I need to do calculations and fixed costs are split into 'fixed costs' and 'arbitrary fixed costs' Would you include them or omite ? I assume I should include only normal fixed costs ? Could you please confirm if I am correct ??

lindsaymay

> @Charley1995 said:
> @TashaJNB I was completely shocked i worked really hard leading up the exam and felt much more confident i seem to have done a complete 360 and the questions i passed the first time i didnt do very well on this time and the ones i failed on last time I've achieved this time! Not knowing what to revise is definitely the hardest part! If you send me your email i will forward you some notes people have kindly sent onto me

Hi Charley do you still have these notes please?

Zubair123

nala said:

Zubair123 said:

nala said:

Hello to everyone

I am studying to my 4th synoptic exam .... Could someone do ma a favor and explain in easy words the 'arbitrary allocation of fixed costs ' and tell me how it works ?? I use osbourne book and I cannot find any information.

I would be very gratful if someone let me to understand it

I think it means the allocation of the fixed costs is not realistic as it is just an estimate due to lack of data etc

But feel free to correct me if I am wrong

Dear Zubair123,

Thank you for reply

What if I need to do calculations and fixed costs are split into 'fixed costs' and 'arbitrary fixed costs' Would you include them or omite ? I assume I should include only normal fixed costs ? Could you please confirm if I am correct ??

I am assuming the arbitrary fixed costs are included the in the full fixed costs figure but if not I would assume you need to include them. But I am not entirely sure.

Sorry

nala

Zubair123 said:

nala said:

Zubair123 said:

nala said:

Hello to everyone

I am studying to my 4th synoptic exam .... Could someone do ma a favor and explain in easy words the 'arbitrary allocation of fixed costs ' and tell me how it works ?? I use osbourne book and I cannot find any information.

I would be very gratful if someone let me to understand it

I think it means the allocation of the fixed costs is not realistic as it is just an estimate due to lack of data etc

But feel free to correct me if I am wrong

Dear Zubair123,

Thank you for reply

What if I need to do calculations and fixed costs are split into 'fixed costs' and 'arbitrary fixed costs' Would you include them or omite ? I assume I should include only normal fixed costs ? Could you please confirm if I am correct ??

I am assuming the arbitrary fixed costs are included the in the full fixed costs figure but if not I would assume you need to include them. But I am not entirely sure.

Sorry

I am confused I have the reason to ask about it as it is based on my previous experience and I cannot find clear answer whether include it or not.

Anyway thank you for your opinion.

Charley1995

> @nala i believe the attribution of fixed overheads is how they are split across each product or shop. They are irrelevant when making decisions such as what products to discontinue as they are fixed costs which means they will be incurred even if the product is no longer made. The contribution per unit wouldn't take them into account as they are fixed costs. I would say that the question will tell you if any portion if the overheads are variable

Charley1995

> @lindsaymay said:
> > @Charley1995 said:
>
> Hi Charley do you still have these notes please?

Yeah i am happy to send on if you send me your email

lindsaymay

> @Charley1995 said:
> > @lindsaymay said:
> > > @Charley1995 said:
> >
> > Hi Charley do you still have these notes please?
>
> Yeah i am happy to send on if you send me your email

Thanks - I can't see how to message you privately but my email is:

nala

Charley1995 said:

> @nala i believe the attribution of fixed overheads is how they are split across each product or shop. They are irrelevant when making decisions such as what products to discontinue as they are fixed costs which means they will be incurred even if the product is no longer made. The contribution per unit wouldn't take them into account as they are fixed costs. I would say that the question will tell you if any portion if the overheads are variable

Charley,

Thank you for explanation. Hopefuly I will not have questions about arbitrary fixed costs

By the way can I get the notes as well ?? My email is lucka.natalia@gmail.com

thanks a lot.

Joannesetter

@Charley1995 I'm taking the exam Thursday for the first time and am really struggling what to revise, I would love if you could send me your notes if that's not too much trouble
Jojo_setter@hotmail.co.uk

Bricking it!!

Kieran24

@Charley1995 I'm also taking the exam on Thursday but my lecturer has opted to help the majority of students who have fell behind, as a result I am self studying this exam. If you could also send me your notes it would be a big help kieranallen278@gmail.com

Thank you

EmilyRose

I am sitting this exam today, and still don't feel prepared! I feel like this is such a broad exam I really don't know what to expect!

Sineadp

I am sitting this tomorrow and im really not prepared, im not sure what to expect.
Task 2 & 4 I just can't answer I don't even know how to attempt the questions.
@Charley1995 If there is notes that you wouldn't mind emailing to me this will help me out so much. sinead1@yahoo.com

Lindi

Aww good luck everyone. As you don't know what you're going to be asked, there's no point in stressing. Make sure first and foremost you go in with a fresh mind, read the questions as thoroughly as you can, even if it feels like you don't want to waste time reading. The question is probably the most important part of the whole exam so you need to make sure you understand what they are asking you.

I am going to admit it is hard for AAT to make any sense most of the time, but you have to try and see what they want from you. Sometimes there are catches in the questions, red herrings or additional information you'd normally take for granted, but if you read and re-read the question you will spot the words you missed the first time.

Try not to panic if you don't know the answer to a question, AAT are famous for throwing students' confidence out the window on the first task, don't let them win! This is your exam, your hard work and time and effort, don't give them the satisfaction of making you do it again.

I have full faith in you! Best of luck! Celebration drinks tonight to celebrate your hard work, regardless of the outcome in 6 weeks.

Venoxulous

Second sitting of this exam is due in 5 hours. I've had multiple tragedies recently so I'm not overly concerned with passing this time, but in light of that I want to be prepared for the next attempt.

I once saw a list on here but can't find it anymore, it showed the potential key areas of each task,

Task 3 - Potential errors
Task 4 - Relevent costs
Task 5 - Ratio analysis

Don't suppose anyone here recognizes that list and can point me in the direction of it, please?

Lindi

@Venoxulous this is old (sept 17) but I don't think any of the tasks have changed since then? Can't really see any headings as such at first glance but perhaps it will give you an idea on what's covered.

Venoxulous

Thank-you, I'll have a flick through it now, see if I can narrow down exactly where my revision should be focused.

jack93

@Charley1995 Can you send me your notes as well please? Sitting my resit tomorrow and want to see another set of notes to compare get fresh ideas.

jackhtracey@outlook.com

siddique1992

Charley1995 said:

> @lindsaymay said:

> > @Charley1995 said:

>

> Hi Charley do you still have these notes please?



Yeah i am happy to send on if you send me your email

@Charley1995 - Could you send me the notes please?

My email address siddique.mohammed@outlook.com

SophieW3122

Hi! Just wondering if anyone who sat the assessment yesterday/ this week has any feedback on it? Was it better or worse than you expected? I know we cannot discuss exam content, but do you feel that the two sample assessments on the AAT website prepared you? Sitting my exam tomorrow and am truly terrified!! Due to the lack of resources for this exam, the best advice my tutor could give was 'go through the AAT model answers and hope you get similar questions'...

Lindi

SophieW3122 said:

Hi! Just wondering if anyone who sat the assessment yesterday/ this week has any feedback on it? Was it better or worse than you expected? I know we cannot discuss exam content, but do you feel that the two sample assessments on the AAT website prepared you? Sitting my exam tomorrow and am truly terrified!! Due to the lack of resources for this exam, the best advice my tutor could give was 'go through the AAT model answers and hope you get similar questions'...

Poor show. Not much on First Intuition or Youtube either. No-one knows honey, we might as well have done a course in mind reading.

I bought all the study books from all publishers going, got help from a second learning institution and only just scraped through on my second attempt, but if you are interested the best help I could ask for was with Clive at Peak Accountancy Training. Perhaps you can contact him to see if he can do something for you that's useful and affordable.

Good Luck!

EmilyRose

Sophie

SophieW3122 said:

Hi! Just wondering if anyone who sat the assessment yesterday/ this week has any feedback on it? Was it better or worse than you expected? I know we cannot discuss exam content, but do you feel that the two sample assessments on the AAT website prepared you? Sitting my exam tomorrow and am truly terrified!! Due to the lack of resources for this exam, the best advice my tutor could give was 'go through the AAT model answers and hope you get similar questions'...

Hi Sophie,

I sat my synoptic yesterday... I thought I was prepared, went through all the AAT study material, Osborne work book was completed, we had spent 4 sessions on this at college and I was totally bamboozled by it! I got one question that Id done previously when revising and that's it. Just do your best! Read each question carefully, I'm sure you'll do just fine!

Good luck!

Greigc123

Sat my synoptic assessment today, without disclosing actual content of the exam, it was very much like the mock exams a part from the odd question here and there. Although I did find the budgeting task 1.2 very vague in what it was asking.

Feel like I done okay but the 6 week wait is under way to find out whether that is AAT done with!

badger636

Greigc123 said:

Sat my synoptic assessment today, without disclosing actual content of the exam, it was very much like the mock exams a part from the odd question here and there. Although I did find the budgeting task 1.2 very vague in what it was asking.



Feel like I done okay but the 6 week wait is under way to find out whether that is AAT done with!

I've got mine this afternoon, I've been studying so hard for it but really am a bit concerned about what questions they are going to throw at me, as I have found the budgeting task (2) to be very vague on the AAT website too, I just read the questions, look at the answers, and just don't think they are very clear of what they are actually asking for...

Best of luck though, fingers crossed for us all!

Venoxulous

SophieW3122 said:

Hi! Just wondering if anyone who sat the assessment yesterday/ this week has any feedback on it? Was it better or worse than you expected? I know we cannot discuss exam content, but do you feel that the two sample assessments on the AAT website prepared you? Sitting my exam tomorrow and am truly terrified!! Due to the lack of resources for this exam, the best advice my tutor could give was 'go through the AAT model answers and hope you get similar questions'...

I can't be the only one to think that's terrible advice from a tutor!

Looking at your previous exam scores, it looks as though you have a better understanding of the mandatory topics than many other people so the only area I can really suggest focusing on is the "Accounting Systems and Controls" textbook. Task 3 and 6 seem quite dependent on it.

Best of luck for today! You can do it.

tinkerbell0406

Good luck ? to all. I re did mine Tuesday!! I will not be re sitting if i fail again x

SophieW3122

Venoxulous said:

SophieW3122 said:

Hi! Just wondering if anyone who sat the assessment yesterday/ this week has any feedback on it? Was it better or worse than you expected? I know we cannot discuss exam content, but do you feel that the two sample assessments on the AAT website prepared you? Sitting my exam tomorrow and am truly terrified!! Due to the lack of resources for this exam, the best advice my tutor could give was 'go through the AAT model answers and hope you get similar questions'...

I can't be the only one to think that's terrible advice from a tutor!

Looking at your previous exam scores, it looks as though you have a better understanding of the mandatory topics than many other people so the only area I can really suggest focusing on is the "Accounting Systems and Controls" textbook. Task 3 and 6 seem quite dependent on it.

Best of luck for today! You can do it.

I must admit it didn't fill me with hope but there are just so few resoucres available for this exam compared to others... Feeling okay but really don't know what to expect! All I can do is try my best... 3 hours to go... eek!

Greigc123

badger636 said:

Greigc123 said:

Sat my synoptic assessment today, without disclosing actual content of the exam, it was very much like the mock exams a part from the odd question here and there. Although I did find the budgeting task 1.2 very vague in what it was asking.



Feel like I done okay but the 6 week wait is under way to find out whether that is AAT done with!

I've got mine this afternoon, I've been studying so hard for it but really am a bit concerned about what questions they are going to throw at me, as I have found the budgeting task (2) to be very vague on the AAT website too, I just read the questions, look at the answers, and just don't think they are very clear of what they are actually asking for...

Best of luck though, fingers crossed for us all!

I had the same issue with the budgeting question, my advice to anyone sitting it is to read the question and try to make as much sense of it as possible. How did you find the exam?

Good luck everyone who sat their exams recently!

SophieW3122

Hi @Greigc123
I sat my exam on Friday afternoon.
Honestly... it was tricky but nothing unexpected. When we came out, we all had the same general feeling of 'should we laugh or cry'??
On the one hand it was very similar to the AAT exams provided, but there were some questions that seemed so vague it was hard to work out whether you had actually answered it or not!
Fingers crossed for results but honestly I am not hopeful, I really feel like this could be my first ever fail...

How did everyone else find the exam?