FRA fail! fail! fail!

valentino46
valentino46 Registered Posts: 124 Dedicated contributor 🦉
well i cannot put into words the dogs dinner i have made of the exam earlier today!!

the bits i got correct were the parts that i revised at the last minute over the last couple of days!

my god i screwed up the first question that was simple and ive done tens of times at home, god knows what attitiude i went into the room with today, i failed to balance the trial balance in section 1 as i completely missed the boat when it came the balance sheet that was provided!

i put so much revision time in over the last couple of months and feel that when i came to answer the questions today i had no idea! a complete brain freeze.

did any one else find this paper a bit daunting and different to the many practice exams on this website??
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Comments

  • Carolyn77
    Carolyn77 Registered Posts: 11 New contributor 🐸
    Me me me

    I looked at lots of the practice papers from past exams and I agree. I found today's very different in layout to most of the other ones.

    I also found the wording strange. Dunno maybe its just me.
  • valentino46
    valentino46 Registered Posts: 124 Dedicated contributor 🦉
    yeah i agree with the wording too, i got straight in when i got home and looked at the past papers, excluding one there was a prepayment or an accrual to be recorder in the relevant account and low and behold today it was depreciation with a hint of depreciation. i didint struggle with the intitial calculation of the prov for depreciation and disposal account it was the following 3 tasks and i didnt understand them due to the wording

    how did you feel with regards to the rest of the paper?
  • Carolyn77
    Carolyn77 Registered Posts: 11 New contributor 🐸
    Rubbish. It took me forever to get through the first section, and just as long to get through the second. I was there the full time, couldn't get anything to balance. I kept going back and re working figures. Kept re reading the questions and data given thinking that there was something I missed.

    Obviously since lots of people found it relatively easy, I'm just thick.

    Will be totally surprised if I managed to pass.
  • valentino46
    valentino46 Registered Posts: 124 Dedicated contributor 🦉
    i wish id have stayed till the end i left 20 mins early as id re written that many of the tasks in the space provided that i had no room left to alter anything!!ha ha
    id asked for 7 pieces of blank paper during the exam i think the assessor guy was going to bring me the pad!
    im a distant learning student and wonder whether it would be worth going to college for technician level as if i found this paper hard to understand, well ecr, i might as well just forget it!!
  • mrspnut
    mrspnut Registered Posts: 70 Regular contributor ⭐
    i wish id have stayed till the end i left 20 mins early as id re written that many of the tasks in the space provided that i had no room left to alter anything!!ha ha
    id asked for 7 pieces of blank paper during the exam i think the assessor guy was going to bring me the pad!
    im a distant learning student and wonder whether it would be worth going to college for technician level as if i found this paper hard to understand, well ecr, i might as well just forget it!!

    I did this year at college, and not having done foundation, I know I wouldn't have passed without it being taught to me. It's also the fact that I have spent a day a week practising with guidance that I wouldn't have had distance learning.
  • Carolyn77
    Carolyn77 Registered Posts: 11 New contributor 🐸
    It can be good having the access to the instructors.

    I did the part time and didn't do the foundation either, but even with all the studying and practicing I did to prepare, I didn't do that well.

    I was thinking of doing my technician's training from home next year because I've had such difficulties with conflicting schedules due to work. Now I'm thinking I'll just have to suck it up and go to night classes.
  • valentino46
    valentino46 Registered Posts: 124 Dedicated contributor 🦉
    well im going to be the pesimist (if thats how you spell it) this time round so if i do pass it will be a really pleasant surprise, maybe the competence i showed with the prep accounts and working s may pull me through. highly unlikely though.
  • kerrybibby77
    kerrybibby77 Registered Posts: 6 New contributor 🐸
    FRA nightmare

    I could not get my BS to balance. I even done a P&L instead of a balance sheet on section two. I was so worried I had gone wrong horribly in section 1 I had not read the question right.

    I could kick myself I am so annoyed x
  • valentino46
    valentino46 Registered Posts: 124 Dedicated contributor 🦉
    yeah work for me is a big aspet too, ive enquired about the night courses also but my tutor is great with the company that i use (Premier Training).

    fingers crossed for you anyway with your result
  • valentino46
    valentino46 Registered Posts: 124 Dedicated contributor 🦉
    how did you do with the depreciation task in section 1?x
  • Carolyn77
    Carolyn77 Registered Posts: 11 New contributor 🐸
    I know what you mean. I feel pessimistic myself.

    though I'm reading the fact that lots of people didn't balance, so maybe the pass rate won't be a huge % and we'll stand a chance.

    Here's me with my fingers crossed!!!
  • meibaker
    meibaker Registered Posts: 481 Dedicated contributor 🦉
    Carolyn77 wrote: »
    I looked at lots of the practice papers from past exams and I agree. I found today's very different in layout to most of the other ones.

    I also found the wording strange. Dunno maybe its just me.
    well i cannot put into words the dogs dinner i have made of the exam earlier today!!

    the bits i got correct were the parts that i revised at the last minute over the last couple of days!

    my god i screwed up the first question that was simple and ive done tens of times at home, god knows what attitiude i went into the room with today, i failed to balance the trial balance in section 1 as i completely missed the boat when it came the balance sheet that was provided!

    i put so much revision time in over the last couple of months and feel that when i came to answer the questions today i had no idea! a complete brain freeze.

    did any one else find this paper a bit daunting and different to the many practice exams on this website??

    i defo agree with you, the wording is strange, some takes ages to understand. is defo different to other exams.
  • valentino46
    valentino46 Registered Posts: 124 Dedicated contributor 🦉
    i dont really have any trouble with the wording in the tutorials and skills tests and only contact my tutor with regards to where to put transactions or the such like!

    i feel that maybe i should be doing an english literature degree to understand the context of the task!

    how do you feel you get on today?
  • Lispre
    Lispre Registered Posts: 4 New contributor 🐸
    Hi all, I had an absolute nightmare with my exam today, I've flown through the devolved assessments and didn't think I would have too many problems with FRA. Boy was I wrong, I totally messed it up. I didn't balance my first trial balance but put a suspense in for that. Then couldn't balance my BS in section 2, moved on to the following questions with the intention of going back to try to balance it but ran out of time and couldn't even put a suspense in to balance! I cried for an hour after the exam, don't know if I can face another 2 years, am contemplating not completing to technician level. Is there any way we can resit before the new term starts in September?
  • Carolyn77
    Carolyn77 Registered Posts: 11 New contributor 🐸
    Just not confident. I got alot of the same answers as everyone else, but there are alot that I didn't get. I can only hope that where I've worked everything out that at least the process I used was the correct process and the points will add up enough to pass me.
  • EYMatt
    EYMatt Registered Posts: 13 New contributor 🐸
    I completely ballsed this up too.

    Trial balance didn't balance, my calculations for the disposal were all out because I missed the purchase of new fixtures and fittings, my balance sheet didn't balance and last but not least I forgot about goodwill! Haha!

    I'd prepared for a prepayment or accrual t account, or a lengthy fixed asset disposal/part exchange in the same style they have been in past papers. But alas

    Methinks I'll be doing that one again :(
  • valentino46
    valentino46 Registered Posts: 124 Dedicated contributor 🦉
    hi, me too

    completely ignored the bank account that was provided and loosely looked at the balance sheet when it was sat there right in fro nt of me. arghhhhhhhh

    december sitting here we come!
  • EYMatt
    EYMatt Registered Posts: 13 New contributor 🐸
    Lispre wrote: »
    Hi all, I had an absolute nightmare with my exam today, I've flown through the devolved assessments and didn't think I would have too many problems with FRA. Boy was I wrong, I totally messed it up. I didn't balance my first trial balance but put a suspense in for that. Then couldn't balance my BS in section 2, moved on to the following questions with the intention of going back to try to balance it but ran out of time and couldn't even put a suspense in to balance! I cried for an hour after the exam, don't know if I can face another 2 years, am contemplating not completing to technician level. Is there any way we can resit before the new term starts in September?

    I am with Kaplan and apparently after results are out, they're offering all the fails a 3 day revision course followed by another crack at the exam. After that they're offering attempts at the exam online as and when required. I think it's still being set up so the process will need smoothing out but that's what I was told today. Encouraged me because I'm expecting a resit and I don't want to have to wait because I fast-tracked ECR and FRA together, so would mean that was a waste of time if I had to wait til December to resit. Hopefully it's not just Kaplan doing this :D
  • valentino46
    valentino46 Registered Posts: 124 Dedicated contributor 🦉
    yeah thats what im hoping too, when it came to workings i was thorough enough so i hope that the competency i have shown will fair me better than the actual end results
  • EYMatt
    EYMatt Registered Posts: 13 New contributor 🐸
    Best of luck to you bud, I hope you, like me, won't have to resit!!! hehe
  • kerrybibby77
    kerrybibby77 Registered Posts: 6 New contributor 🐸
    FRA nightmare

    I am at St Helens and they are doing resits hopefully on line the beginning of Sept.
  • idunno
    idunno Registered Posts: 2 New contributor 🐸
    New examiner

    I spoke to one of our tutors before the FRA exam, he said that its a new Chief Examiner this year which is why it was worded so differently in the ECR on Monday - I'm guessing thats the same for the FRA as well.
  • Kezza
    Kezza Registered Posts: 18 New contributor 🐸
    I have done absolutely rubbish at this one, one girl even walked out after 45 minutes! I left in an hour and a half, definitely a re sit for me, I'm so annoyed as I really thought I had prepared for this. I have always struggled with FRA but have studied hard over the last few days/weeks and actually felt competent.......... until I opened that paper. I could kick myself :crying:
  • jewels.p
    jewels.p Registered Posts: 1,774 Beyond epic contributor 🧙‍♂️
    I hated it!:crying: I completed every question but NOTHING balanced and I didn't have time to go back and find my errors. That £30000 Closing Stock Figure totally threw me. I have never seen that before and I spent ages remembering that I had to enter Closing Stock in both P&L and Balance Sheet. I also made the mistake of doing it in Pencil and going over it in Pen that was a total waste of time. My pen wouldnt work over the Pencil. I didnt even have time to go back and try to find some of my mistakes! :crying::crying::crying:
  • AK002
    AK002 Registered Posts: 2,492 Beyond epic contributor 🧙‍♂️
    Paul Bowen wrote: »
    Hi Lispre

    The first thing to say is that, like a lot of people on this thread, you're being way hard on yourself. Noone knows yet that they've failed, and at every sitting we get tons of posts straight after exams saying basically 'Booo!' but most of them are back when results come out saying 'Yaaaay!' So bear that in mind.

    IF you haven't been succesful this time then yes, you can re-sit before September. Computer based exams (CBE) for ECR and FRA launch at the end of July and are available to any AAT training provider with the minimum hardware requirements (that's nearly all of them). Sittings take place whenever a CBE-enabled training provider wishes to run one. IF you need to re-sit you should talk to your training provider about CBE - they could be up and running in a couple of days if they're not already.

    But noone knows anything the until results come out so in the meantime, please, all of you, stop beating yourselves up!

    Best

    Paul Bowen, AAT exams

    Very well said Paul, a lot of people seem to be beating themselves up about it and haven't got the results yet.

    If the TB doesn't balance you don't instantly fail, you get marks for showing workings etc.

    It's best to wait till results are out.
  • flower
    flower Registered Posts: 160 Dedicated contributor 🦉
    I attend college and trust me most of us found it really difficult and convinced we have failed too. I just hope I do not get penalised for too much tippex on first section.
  • angcr
    angcr Registered Posts: 13 New contributor 🐸
    well i cannot put into words the dogs dinner i have made of the exam earlier today!!

    the bits i got correct were the parts that i revised at the last minute over the last couple of days!

    my god i screwed up the first question that was simple and ive done tens of times at home, god knows what attitiude i went into the room with today, i failed to balance the trial balance in section 1 as i completely missed the boat when it came the balance sheet that was provided!

    i put so much revision time in over the last couple of months and feel that when i came to answer the questions today i had no idea! a complete brain freeze.

    did any one else find this paper a bit daunting and different to the many practice exams on this website??
    I found the questions worded differently, the tasks were not what I had prepared for, the first task re assets took a bit of digging around in the bank account balances for all the info, and I didn't balance my trial balance or balance sheet.

    I was so upset when i came out!! Really had a good go at it! Just did what i could, mind totally froze when i saw all those things i couldnt do!!

    I didn't balance my first trial balance but put a suspense in for that. Then couldn't balance my BS in section 2, moved on to the following questions with the intention of going back to try to balance it but ran out of time and couldn't even put a suspense in to balance! I cried all night after the exam,
  • angcr
    angcr Registered Posts: 13 New contributor 🐸
    fra total nightmare

    I found the questions worded differently, the tasks were not what I had prepared for, the first task re assets took a bit of digging around in the bank account balances for all the info, and I didn't balance my trial balance or balance sheet.

    I was so upset when i came out!! Really had a good go at it! Just did what i could, mind totally froze when i saw all those things i couldnt do!!

    I didn't balance my first trial balance but put a suspense in for that. Then couldn't balance my BS in section 2, moved on to the following questions with the intention of going back to try to balance it but ran out of time and couldn't even put a suspense in to balance! I cried all night after the exam,
  • jkc
    jkc Registered Posts: 166 Dedicated contributor 🦉
    hi paul
    I would be interested in taking an exam on line, what are the costs involved per exam and will there be any limits on how many times you can take them? not that I aim take any more than one sitting but you never know thanks.
    reg
    jkc.
  • alanhporter
    alanhporter Registered Posts: 4 New contributor 🐸
    FRA exam

    I found it a bit different to the other papers I practised. Q1 seemed odd as I could not find a closing balance in the PLCA. Other bits went OK, I got stuff to balance especially in section 2.

    I thought the wording was a bit odd, especially the depreciation question, it seemed to ignore the new purchace of fittings for £4200 so that needed £630 depreciation to be added in (4200 X 15%).

    Oh well long wait until August 17th.

    I have passed all the other elements so just this to go.

    Anyway good luck everybody, if a lot screwed up it changes the bell shaped distribution curve & hence the pass mark.

    Enjoy the summer

    Cheers

    Alan
    :cool2:
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