First level 4 exam coming up

thelowendtheory18
thelowendtheory18 Registered Posts: 298 Dedicated contributor šŸ¦‰
i feel like nerves maybe more of a factor in level 4 for me,

I started my AAT studies at level 2 and every exam apart from the level 3 synoptic i'v been extremely confident during and after the exam that i've done well

I've noticed since started my FSLC unit that for me personally my memory is being tested big time ,I don't think what you have to remember is ridiculously difficult (but its still far from easy) but its the sheer quantity thats the problem..... and thats not even factoring in the written elements

i can imagine that if you have a brain fad moment due to nerves during the exam ( which i kinda had in the level 3 synoptic, but luckily i still passed) you could be in big trouble

I really hope the FSLC is one of the harder units... and it gets easier from this point on..lol
AAT

Level 2 Foundation Certificate in Accounting - 30 Nov 18
Level 3 Advanced Diploma in Accounting - 16 Oct 19
Level 4 Professional Diploma in Accounting - 22 Jul 21

Comments

  • Parki82
    Parki82 Registered Posts: 50
    I have this unit and the synoptic left to do.
    By tin terms of volume for the units the budgeting decision and control felt mammoth.
    As with what you have found it wasnā€™t that it was difficult but the volume seemed epic...
    I too felt confident throughout all the exams but level 4 has questions where I go from here.
    My hope was to carry on my studies with cima or Acca but it definitely knocks your confidence too.
    The wait Witt each unit is difficult too.
    I was keen to ditch the books and move straight on to the next module and not pick them up again until the synoptic but I havenā€™t felt confident at all in the decision and control exam so havenā€™t started the financial statements....
    Will see..
    Have you booked your exam?
  • thelowendtheory18
    thelowendtheory18 Registered Posts: 298 Dedicated contributor šŸ¦‰
    keep going with your CIMA/ACCA !!! it will be even more satisfying when you become fully AAT qualified...i guess level 4 was never going to be comfortable..

    looking at pass rates for level 4 i believe the decision and control exam is only around 50% Pass rate which is pretty low if you ask me.. clearly a difficult exam

    my FSLC exam is booked for the 17/12
    AAT

    Level 2 Foundation Certificate in Accounting - 30 Nov 18
    Level 3 Advanced Diploma in Accounting - 16 Oct 19
    Level 4 Professional Diploma in Accounting - 22 Jul 21
  • KoopaCooper
    KoopaCooper Registered Posts: 224
    I wish you all the best of luck with your remaining level 4 exams!

    Me, well I have my ACCA F8 exam tomorrow - Audit and Assurance! xD And then F6 Taxation the next day, too! xD
    Accounts Executive, Ņ“ÉŖį“€Ź™ į“į“€į“€į“›
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    AAT
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    Level 3 Diploma in Accounting - 22 Jan 2016
    Level 4 Diploma in Accounting - 19 Dec 2017
    MAAT - 27 Mar 2018

    ACCA
    Advanced Diploma in Accounting and Business...
    F4 Corporate and Business Law - 4 Jun 2019
    F5 Performance Management - 15 July 2019
    F6 Taxation (United Kingdom) - 3 Dec 2019
    F8 Audit and Assurance - 2 Mar 2020
  • thelowendtheory18
    thelowendtheory18 Registered Posts: 298 Dedicated contributor šŸ¦‰
    Best of Luck Koopa!

    What's the difficultly of ACCA compared to AAT Level 4?
    AAT

    Level 2 Foundation Certificate in Accounting - 30 Nov 18
    Level 3 Advanced Diploma in Accounting - 16 Oct 19
    Level 4 Professional Diploma in Accounting - 22 Jul 21
  • KoopaCooper
    KoopaCooper Registered Posts: 224
    Thanks, Thelowendtheory! :D

    I'd say the difficulty jump from Level 4 to ACCA's F-papers is about the same as the jump from Level 3 to Level 4. And then I believe there's another similar jump to the P-papers later on. :)

    ACCA F-papers are said to be roughly equal to a Bachelor's degree; and the P-papers are roughly equal to a Master's.
    Accounts Executive, Ņ“ÉŖį“€Ź™ į“į“€į“€į“›
    QBO & Xero certified advisor

    AAT
    Level 2 Certificate in Accounting - 17 Jun 2015
    Level 3 Diploma in Accounting - 22 Jan 2016
    Level 4 Diploma in Accounting - 19 Dec 2017
    MAAT - 27 Mar 2018

    ACCA
    Advanced Diploma in Accounting and Business...
    F4 Corporate and Business Law - 4 Jun 2019
    F5 Performance Management - 15 July 2019
    F6 Taxation (United Kingdom) - 3 Dec 2019
    F8 Audit and Assurance - 2 Mar 2020
  • Gallium
    Gallium Registered Posts: 12
    I'm starting FSLC this week. I've not studied level 2 or 3 for the AAT, so no idea if I will struggle with FSLC. I breezed through MABU and MDCL, which I was quite surprised at as people report MDCL to be the hardest of the exams, I'm sure you'll be fine with those 2 exams @thelowendtheory18



    @KoopaCooper as someone that has completed level 2-4, do you think I have a chance at passing FSLC without any prior knowledge? how would you go about it?

  • Pian32
    Pian32 Registered Posts: 474 Dedicated contributor šŸ¦‰
    @thelowendtheory18 Nerves will be the biggest part but the style of the exam is different when compared to the previous levels so getting one under your belt so to speak will probably make it easier. I think it's also less about memorizing information and more about been able to explain what you do/are doing and why. (Yes there are bits to remember but been able to explain it will get you more marks.)

    @Gallium If you've done the budgeting modules fairly smoothly then I think you should be okay as I'm guessing you've had some background with accounting. You have ratios from MDCL again so that's easy, you have basic principles and defintitions which you'll want to learn in long form and then the various statements which might be new if you've not done anything related but aren't that bad to learn.

    @KoopaCooper Good luck with those. I'm hoping to start my ACCA early in the new year.
    AAT Level 4, MAAT
    ACCA in progress
    F4- Passed Aug 2020
    F5- Passed Dec 2020
    F6- Passed Sep 2020
    F7- Passed June 2021
    F8 - Passed Sep 2021
    F9 - Passed June 2021

    SBL -
    SBR - Passed Mar 22
    ATX - Passed Dec 21
    APM - Passed June 22
  • Gallium
    Gallium Registered Posts: 12
    Pian32 said:



    @Gallium If you've done the budgeting modules fairly smoothly then I think you should be okay as I'm guessing you've had some background with accounting. You have ratios from MDCL again so that's easy, you have basic principles and defintitions which you'll want to learn in long form and then the various statements which might be new if you've not done anything related but aren't that bad to learn.

    .

    my background is as a data analyst and some years in tax advice.
    However we didn't really deal with financial statements was more so legislation and knowing tax rules.
    so financial statements is a new area for me. I'm anticipating that FSLC and the Synoptic will be the most difficult for me. in summary you think I should be okay with giving FSCL a go without having to go back and study advanced book-keeping or preparing accounts for sole traders and partnerships

  • Pian32
    Pian32 Registered Posts: 474 Dedicated contributor šŸ¦‰
    @Gallium There's a lot of text involved and there is a lot of remembering formats if you're new to it. Compared to the other modules there's a lot more writing and rules involved, so can feel overwhelming, but if you've done the others first you'll have experienced the writing segments already.

    If you have easy access to the earlier levels it might be worth a skim through them.

    The synoptic is mainly difficult due to the style change but is mostly based around the budgeting modules.
    AAT Level 4, MAAT
    ACCA in progress
    F4- Passed Aug 2020
    F5- Passed Dec 2020
    F6- Passed Sep 2020
    F7- Passed June 2021
    F8 - Passed Sep 2021
    F9 - Passed June 2021

    SBL -
    SBR - Passed Mar 22
    ATX - Passed Dec 21
    APM - Passed June 22
  • thelowendtheory18
    thelowendtheory18 Registered Posts: 298 Dedicated contributor šŸ¦‰
    @Pian32 the only AAT content that i've struggled to get my head around to date is ABC costing, that was in the management accounting unit in level 3, but as there wasn't many questions on it in the exam it had very little impact on my results.

    i'm assuming ABC is used in more detail in one or both of the management accounting units in level 4

    Can you confirm which unit includes ABC costing?
    AAT

    Level 2 Foundation Certificate in Accounting - 30 Nov 18
    Level 3 Advanced Diploma in Accounting - 16 Oct 19
    Level 4 Professional Diploma in Accounting - 22 Jul 21
  • KoopaCooper
    KoopaCooper Registered Posts: 224
    @thelowendtheory18

    In level 4, ABC costing shows up in Management Accounting Budgeting, iirc.

    It also shows up again if you go on to ACCA, in Performance Management (paper F5), and optional paper Advanced Performance Management.
    Accounts Executive, Ņ“ÉŖį“€Ź™ į“į“€į“€į“›
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    AAT
    Level 2 Certificate in Accounting - 17 Jun 2015
    Level 3 Diploma in Accounting - 22 Jan 2016
    Level 4 Diploma in Accounting - 19 Dec 2017
    MAAT - 27 Mar 2018

    ACCA
    Advanced Diploma in Accounting and Business...
    F4 Corporate and Business Law - 4 Jun 2019
    F5 Performance Management - 15 July 2019
    F6 Taxation (United Kingdom) - 3 Dec 2019
    F8 Audit and Assurance - 2 Mar 2020
  • thelowendtheory18
    thelowendtheory18 Registered Posts: 298 Dedicated contributor šŸ¦‰
    iirc?
    AAT

    Level 2 Foundation Certificate in Accounting - 30 Nov 18
    Level 3 Advanced Diploma in Accounting - 16 Oct 19
    Level 4 Professional Diploma in Accounting - 22 Jul 21
  • KoopaCooper
    KoopaCooper Registered Posts: 224

    iirc?

    If I Recall Correctly. :)
    Accounts Executive, Ņ“ÉŖį“€Ź™ į“į“€į“€į“›
    QBO & Xero certified advisor

    AAT
    Level 2 Certificate in Accounting - 17 Jun 2015
    Level 3 Diploma in Accounting - 22 Jan 2016
    Level 4 Diploma in Accounting - 19 Dec 2017
    MAAT - 27 Mar 2018

    ACCA
    Advanced Diploma in Accounting and Business...
    F4 Corporate and Business Law - 4 Jun 2019
    F5 Performance Management - 15 July 2019
    F6 Taxation (United Kingdom) - 3 Dec 2019
    F8 Audit and Assurance - 2 Mar 2020
  • thelowendtheory18
    thelowendtheory18 Registered Posts: 298 Dedicated contributor šŸ¦‰
    you learn something new every day...lol
    AAT

    Level 2 Foundation Certificate in Accounting - 30 Nov 18
    Level 3 Advanced Diploma in Accounting - 16 Oct 19
    Level 4 Professional Diploma in Accounting - 22 Jul 21
  • thelowendtheory18
    thelowendtheory18 Registered Posts: 298 Dedicated contributor šŸ¦‰
    edited December 2019
    so looking at marks of the FSLC exam:

    if you can get 90+% marks on the tasks 1 & 2 (SPL/SOFP/changes in equity/Statement of cash flows)

    Nail the consolidated SOFP/SPL AND ratios questions

    and then the other none written questions you pretty much up to the 70% requirement to pass the exam.

    That leaves the written tasks 3/4/8 to pick up the remaining marks to pass.


    that going to be my plan anyway....lol ( but clearly need to put in the work for the written elements)

    AAT

    Level 2 Foundation Certificate in Accounting - 30 Nov 18
    Level 3 Advanced Diploma in Accounting - 16 Oct 19
    Level 4 Professional Diploma in Accounting - 22 Jul 21
  • thelowendtheory18
    thelowendtheory18 Registered Posts: 298 Dedicated contributor šŸ¦‰
    i sat my FSLC exam this afternoon!

    After a slow start i got in the swing of this and i'm happy how it went... the slow start was my SOFP not balancing after spending quite a bit on the SPL.... i had to move on as i felt i was spending too much time on it....but i completed my first pass with 40 mins left so went back & spotted the mistake and corrected it, then i could then balance the changes in equity

    in the back of my mind im thinking it doesnt mean that im right even if it all balances... but whatever...lol

    the ratio's and consolidated statement i'm very comfortable with

    written questions were ok.... I'll have to wait and see now

    on to the budgeting unit
    AAT

    Level 2 Foundation Certificate in Accounting - 30 Nov 18
    Level 3 Advanced Diploma in Accounting - 16 Oct 19
    Level 4 Professional Diploma in Accounting - 22 Jul 21
  • KoopaCooper
    KoopaCooper Registered Posts: 224

    i sat my FSLC exam this afternoon!
    ...
    on to the budgeting unit

    Hey, good job! Here's hoping it turned out well for you!

    When will you get your result?

    Onward and upward, as they say! ;)
    Accounts Executive, Ņ“ÉŖį“€Ź™ į“į“€į“€į“›
    QBO & Xero certified advisor

    AAT
    Level 2 Certificate in Accounting - 17 Jun 2015
    Level 3 Diploma in Accounting - 22 Jan 2016
    Level 4 Diploma in Accounting - 19 Dec 2017
    MAAT - 27 Mar 2018

    ACCA
    Advanced Diploma in Accounting and Business...
    F4 Corporate and Business Law - 4 Jun 2019
    F5 Performance Management - 15 July 2019
    F6 Taxation (United Kingdom) - 3 Dec 2019
    F8 Audit and Assurance - 2 Mar 2020
  • thelowendtheory18
    thelowendtheory18 Registered Posts: 298 Dedicated contributor šŸ¦‰

    i sat my FSLC exam this afternoon!
    ...
    on to the budgeting unit

    Hey, good job! Here's hoping it turned out well for you!

    When will you get your result?

    Onward and upward, as they say! ;)
    Cheers

    looking at the results calendar the result is due on the 23/01/20 (not sure if that will be delayed due to the Christmas break)

    looking at the stats it looks like MABU is one of the less harder and shorter units..... lets hope so...lol
    AAT

    Level 2 Foundation Certificate in Accounting - 30 Nov 18
    Level 3 Advanced Diploma in Accounting - 16 Oct 19
    Level 4 Professional Diploma in Accounting - 22 Jul 21
  • Gallium
    Gallium Registered Posts: 12

    i sat my FSLC exam this afternoon!
    ...
    on to the budgeting unit

    Hey, good job! Here's hoping it turned out well for you!

    When will you get your result?

    Onward and upward, as they say! ;)
    Cheers

    looking at the results calendar the result is due on the 23/01/20 (not sure if that will be delayed due to the Christmas break)

    looking at the stats it looks like MABU is one of the less harder and shorter units..... lets hope so...lol


    MABU is a breeze and MDCL has huge overlap! I managed to do both in 10-12 weeks. I think the only real hurdle for you will be the synoptic.

    Just started going through Level 3 advanced bookkeeping and final accounts prep in order to have the knowledge to do FSLC. how many hours do you think you put into total for FSLC?
  • thelowendtheory18
    thelowendtheory18 Registered Posts: 298 Dedicated contributor šŸ¦‰
    edited December 2019
    Mabu was a breeze for you maybe... not so sure that it be theb case for me..lol

    regarding FSLC hard to say in terms of hours.... but the knowledge I gained from Level 3 advanced bookkeeping and final accounts prep helped alot, so you're defo doing the right thing reading up on those units

    Just because of the sheer volumeb of FSLC.. it's a lot of knowledge to remember.. like always you're not tested on everything in the exam but you need to learn all the content to cover all bases
    AAT

    Level 2 Foundation Certificate in Accounting - 30 Nov 18
    Level 3 Advanced Diploma in Accounting - 16 Oct 19
    Level 4 Professional Diploma in Accounting - 22 Jul 21
  • thelowendtheory18
    thelowendtheory18 Registered Posts: 298 Dedicated contributor šŸ¦‰
    I started study FSLC around 20/10 and took then exam on 17/12 to give you a handle of time .. i can't say regarding actual hrs.... but i was probably ready to sit the exam around a week or so before the 17th
    AAT

    Level 2 Foundation Certificate in Accounting - 30 Nov 18
    Level 3 Advanced Diploma in Accounting - 16 Oct 19
    Level 4 Professional Diploma in Accounting - 22 Jul 21
  • thelowendtheory18
    thelowendtheory18 Registered Posts: 298 Dedicated contributor šŸ¦‰
    Passed the FSLC exam thank goodness

    Budgeting exam on Monday!
    AAT

    Level 2 Foundation Certificate in Accounting - 30 Nov 18
    Level 3 Advanced Diploma in Accounting - 16 Oct 19
    Level 4 Professional Diploma in Accounting - 22 Jul 21
  • Gallium
    Gallium Registered Posts: 12

    Passed the FSLC exam thank goodness

    Budgeting exam on Monday!

    Congrats!, you're flying through the content!
    when do you estimate you'll finish level 4 by?
  • thelowendtheory18
    thelowendtheory18 Registered Posts: 298 Dedicated contributor šŸ¦‰
    not sure. all being well
    Gallium said:

    Passed the FSLC exam thank goodness

    Budgeting exam on Monday!

    Congrats!, you're flying through the content!
    when do you estimate you'll finish level 4 by?
    Thanks!

    not sure.I've pre booked by MDCL exam for the end of March, so if i pass that exam (A big If) i'll look to sit the synoptic at the end of June sitting. then i'll have my optional units to complete.

    How far through are you, or have you already completed level 4?
    AAT

    Level 2 Foundation Certificate in Accounting - 30 Nov 18
    Level 3 Advanced Diploma in Accounting - 16 Oct 19
    Level 4 Professional Diploma in Accounting - 22 Jul 21
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