F4 December 2013

Hi,

F4 is a nice one to start with as it is all theory (even on the application questions, you just write out the theory and then make a conclusion). 10 questions is also nice as you know that it will be a good spread of the whole syllabus but that it won't be too in depth.

1&2) I self studied using the BPP text book and revision kit. I also watched a few of the guidance videos on YouTube to see how the examiner likes the questions answered. The same examiner tends to stay put for a few years so by reading their previous guidance, you soon see how they want the exam structured. I think that knowing what the examiner is looking for is as important as knowing the topic. Personally I wouldn't use a learning provider for this one as it is just a case of remembering the legislation (there are a lot of cases to remember), and nothing too technical to understand, but everyone is different. There is also www.opentuition which has free lectures and course notes but I personally prefer to cover the topic in more depth (lots seem to pass just by using opentuition but I don't know what kind of marks they get).

3) no tips for getting good marks apart from the obvious. I'm also doing the OB degree and am on course for a 1st as my average mark is 86% at the moment (with 2 exams to go). No secret, and I'm not ashamed to say it, I work bloody hard for those marks. I can confidently say that if something is in the text book, then I know it for the exam. I'm just not one of those people who risk question spotting and I wouldn't be happy with just a borderline pass (I'm sure when I get to the P papers, this may change!). Nearer the time, you'll see lots of people trying to figure out what will be in the exam, or how they can pass without actually doing any work (I'm sure some do, but it wouldn't be a strategy I'd recommend). As I said earlier though, knowing how the examiner likes the questions answered can certainly help secure maximum marks, but there's no substitute for just buckling down and learning the stuff. You do see some questions repeated in years so there are usually some easy marks to pick up.

Time management is a biggie in ACCA, not so much F4, but you need to be really strict about how long you spend on each question and move on to the next when time is up.

Lots and lots of practice questions. You could easily learn the study text by heart, but until you've done lots of exam practice to put it into context, you won't get maximum marks in the exam.

4) in the exam hall, you will be 1 of potentially 2000+ people. You go in, find your desk, and can start filling out the front sheet of the answer booklet (it's one of those where you colour in bubbles to show your membership number etc). At 10am, you get 15 mins to read the questions and make notes on the question paper. At 10.15, you are told to open your answer book. You start each question on a new page, and you have to indicate which question is on which page (more bubble colouring). At 1.15 all the papers are collected up (seems to take forever) and then there is a mad rush for the door. You'll need a clear bag for your pens, calculator etc, as well as your exam docket and drivers licence for id. Any water bottles should have the labels removed though I'm not sure how robustly they check this.

In my F4 exam, someone near to me forgot to turn their mobile off and it spent half the exam vibrating (one of those noises that once you've registered, you just can't ignore), and the bloke in front of me had awful wind which I got the full effect of for 3 and a quarter hours!

Hi Andrej

I planned to self study for F4 but then found an offer from BPP so ended up going to their class. I have always used BBP's textbooks and revision kits for the modules I have self studied. I would say it would be possible to self study F4, the fact you are asking the question sounds like you fancy giving it a go. If you are confident in being committed and motivated enough to self study, and didn't struggle too much at AAT, I would give it a go as you won't know until you try. Failing the exam and having to pay to sit it again it still much cheaper than having to pay for tuition that you might not need (that's the view I'm taking with P3!).

As Nps has already said, in the exam move on as soon as your time for each question is up - i.e. for F4 it is split into 10 sections of 18 minutes, the first thing I did in my 15 mins reading time was to make a note of all the 18 minute intervals from 10.15 onwards to know when to move onto the next question.

This is one module where I found it really does help to write everything you know about the topic in question (that is normally strongly advised against). E.g. if you get a question asking if a contract has been formed in a given scenario, state the requirements for a contract to be formed, state what has/hasn't happened in the scenario, and apply this to your stated knowledge to make a conclusion as to whether a contract has been formed or not.

Good luck!

I only have three papers left - P3 and my two options - I can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel, trust me it is there!