External Auditing aq2013 studying and exam advice?

rvs29

I am really pushed for time to finish level 4 before 31 december. I am resitting cash management in November but not feeling too confident as the exam was really difficult.
I am thinking to self study External Auditing and sit the exam just before Christmas.

Does anyone have any advice on how the exam went? I am aware its 32 tasks? Mostly consisting of multiple choice/drag&drop and 3 written questions?
How did you prepare for the exam, and how long would you say it takes to study the content? I would be looking over it every evening for a few hours, and will have around 4 weeks to do this.

Does anyone have any materials I can buy that you found useful? I have always used Kaplan, but if anyone can recommend another provider which has good study material?

Any other advice/points would be hugely appreciated!!!!

Clintm15

I used Osborne books for AAT, I found them to be more than enough.

http://www.osbornebooks.co.uk/aat_accounting_aq2016

rvs29

@Clintm15 did you self study? and how long did it take you? I can see you probably did this over 4 years ago now! but would be great if you could remember did you pass first time?

Clintm15

I self studied AAT and all of ACCA so far. Passed all exams first time. I completed AAT level 2 in about 2 months, level 3 at the back end of 2012 (about 6 months) and level 4 took a year or so.

rvs29

Wow, that's pretty amazing!

Any tips on method of studying this, as I will only have 4 weeks!

Clintm15

I can tell you my method.

Read the book, but don't get bogged down or worried about the details at first.

As you read it, make notes, but do them in spidergram form. The centre of the spidergram being the 'subject' you want to remember and then attach as many SIMPLE points as you can to it. This maps out the whole syllabus in your brain.

When you have completed those notes, write some questions and answers based on your spidergram notes. The process of writing them out is a form of studying itself as you are tailoring the material to your own way of thinking.

Look at the notes and questions you have made until you know them quite well.

For audit specifically, where it is mostly procedural, this process should be easy to do.

As an example I can attach a portion of my Corporate Law notes I have saved on my OneDrive and the questions too.

rvs29

@Clintm15 Never thought of doing it like this! And it's clearly worked for you, so I will definitely try this method

Do you think 4 weeks is enough time before taking the exam?

Clintm15

If you complete the spidergram notes in 1 week, then the questions in 1 week, that leaves 2 weeks to study your notes. Should be enough.

Good luck.