DFS Exam - General Comments

System
System Posts: 100,534 🤖 Admin 🤖
edited June 18 in AAT student discussion
I thought that on the whole the exam was fairly straightforward. In fact, I thought I'd accidentally wandered into an intermediate exam at one point. A lot of the questions seemed to revolve around stuff that I covered at intermediate level. Hardly any of the SSAPs and FRSs studied at technician level came up in the exam.

I found section 2 the hardest but only because my interpretation skills are weak. I'm fairly confident that I proved reasonable competency though so fingers crossed for February.

How did everyone else find the paper?

Comments

  • System
    System Posts: 100,534 🤖 Admin 🤖
    Re:DFS Exam - General Comments

    I found it ok. My consolidated balance sheet didn't balance, but I think I only messed up 1 thing on it which will explain it. No big deal. I'm also glad we only had to do a reconciliation of operating profit to net cash inflows instead of the actual cashflow.

    I found the second half fairly easy as those ratio's are quite well linked to one another. Way too much writing though!

    All in all, a fairly decent paper I thought.
  • System
    System Posts: 100,534 🤖 Admin 🤖
    Re:DFS Exam - General Comments

    The exam was a lot easier then I was expecting it to be. Dont get me wrong, it wasnt easy, just easier then I thought.
    I'm pretty sure I did all the number crunching ok. Got the same answers as someone else on a different thread on here, so feel pretty confident.

    Didnt do so well on the Goodwill treatment in Task 1.2 though. Menioned that an impairment review needed to be done, and notes to the accounts if it was being written off over the 20 years (although I put 10 D'oh!)

    Re FRS 18, wrote about the True and Fair thing, stated what the accruals and going concern concepts were, but still didnt feel v confident about that question.

    Think I commented ok on the Cash Flow. Just stated what had happened, where cash came from, where it went etc.

    Section 2 was a pain! Havent had to write that much in a long time! Hand was killing after that question! Got most of the ratio calcs right, apart from Stock Turnover - Said it was calculated as Stock/COS rather then the other way round.

    Hopefully I've done enough to scrape through!
  • System
    System Posts: 100,534 🤖 Admin 🤖
    DFS Exam - General Comments

    Hi everyone,

    What can i say.......it wasnt the hardest exam but who got the amortisation right on the goodwill calculation!! I amortised over 10 years no wonder the goodwill figuere looked weird.

    I did mention FRS 10 and the maxium amortisation is 20 years....so thats 1 mark

    How did everyone else find it???
  • System
    System Posts: 100,534 🤖 Admin 🤖
    Re:DFS Exam - General Comments

    there was a mistake in the paper in the alignment of the capital and reserves in the balance sheets in Task 1.1.

    As I was using a ruler this meant that I was double checking that I was using the correct figures but the mistake meant that I couldn't find the share capital for about 10 minutes which really threw me!
    Other than that it was a fair paper and I might just pass, but only just!
  • System
    System Posts: 100,534 🤖 Admin 🤖
    Re:DFS Exam - General Comments

    double posted as the forum is playing up!
  • System
    System Posts: 100,534 🤖 Admin 🤖
    Re:DFS Exam - General Comments

    Yes there was a miss alignment in the revenue and reserve on the concolodated BS. Threw me too and watsed alot of time correcting my figures! Naughty AAT!!

    I didnt amortise the goodwill as it was deemed to have infinite life, so i just waffled on about frs 11 and impairment reviews.

    Over all i was pleased with the paper, there was a lot of writing involved! As someone else mentioned it was a bit like an intermediate paper what with asset disposal and FRS18!
  • System
    System Posts: 100,534 🤖 Admin 🤖
    Re:DFS Exam - General Comments

    I cant belive the Cash Flow question!! I took the last week to revise this and we only have to do a rec!! How bad is that!!

    So generally everyone feels good! thats the main thing.....any one know the average pass rate for this paper?
  • System
    System Posts: 100,534 🤖 Admin 🤖
    Re:DFS Exam - General Comments

    All in all a good exam, feeling quietly confident :-D

    Regards

    Dean
  • System
    System Posts: 100,534 🤖 Admin 🤖
    Re:DFS Exam - General Comments

    Having looked at the past papers I don't think there were any big surprises on this paper which I was relieved about. The June 05 paper looks like it had more surprises at the time, making it more difficult.

    Although it does mean i spent time revising topics that never came up, such as investor/associates P&L, investor/associates balance sheet, STRGL, Reconcilliation of Shareholders Movements, Note of Historical Cost Profits, unrealised profits, and many FRSs and SSAPs.
  • System
    System Posts: 100,534 🤖 Admin 🤖
    Re:DFS Exam - General Comments

    I agree... I spent ages revising the FRSs and SSAPs, STRGLs, movement in shareholders funds... all to no avail!!

    got tax exam on Friday.. but as for tonight i am not even touching a book.... more like a bottle....!

  • System
    System Posts: 100,534 🤖 Admin 🤖
    Re:DFS Exam - General Comments

    I agree... I spent ages revising the FRSs and SSAPs, STRGLs, movement in shareholders funds... all to no avail!!

    got tax exam on Friday.. but as for tonight i am not even touching a book.... more like a bottle....!

  • System
    System Posts: 100,534 🤖 Admin 🤖
    Re:DFS Exam - General Comments
    michelleAAT wrote:
    but as for tonight i am not even touching a book.... more like a bottle....!
    Michelle, you read my mind!
  • System
    System Posts: 100,534 🤖 Admin 🤖
    Re:DFS Exam - General Comments
    TonyB wrote:

    Section 2 was a pain! Havent had to write that much in a long time! Hand was killing after that question! Got most of the ratio calcs right, apart from Stock Turnover - Said it was calculated as Stock/COS rather then the other way round.

    Hopefully I've done enough to scrape through!

    It was stock turnover in days, which means you got it right, providing you multiplied by 365!
  • System
    System Posts: 100,534 🤖 Admin 🤖
    Re:DFS Exam - General Comments

    I thought the exam looked good, but only if you've really got a grasp on the unit, which I don't reckon I have! There were no nasty surprises and the additional notes didn't seem to have too much information.
    That was probably the easiest question on cashflow, but mine didn't balance as I forgot to put in depreciation. I was about £975,000 out.
    I was glad about section 2 as I've been revising ratio formulaes lots and making up mnemonics for them, I think I got them all apart from expenses ratio, which I didn't see in the book?
    If I'm lucky, the things I got right will scrape me through!
  • System
    System Posts: 100,534 🤖 Admin 🤖
    Re:DFS Exam - General Comments

    Also, we had such a rubbish room to sit it in, it was next to a classroom in use and there was so much noise from people going past, down the corridor.
    At one point, there was loud music not far away.
    The invigilator is going to complain to the college, but I don't know if it will do any good.
  • System
    System Posts: 100,534 🤖 Admin 🤖
    Re:DFS Exam - General Comments
    purplegirl wrote:
    I thought the exam looked good, but only if you've really got a grasp on the unit, which I don't reckon I have! There were no nasty surprises and the additional notes didn't seem to have too much information.
    That was probably the easiest question on cashflow, but mine didn't balance as I forgot to put in depreciation. I was about £975,000 out.
    I was glad about section 2 as I've been revising ratio formulaes lots and making up mnemonics for them, I think I got them all apart from expenses ratio, which I didn't see in the book?
    If I'm lucky, the things I got right will scrape me through!

    I didnt see expence in the book either! I just had a wild stab in the dark at operating & admin exp/turnover.
    anyone know what it was?
  • System
    System Posts: 100,534 🤖 Admin 🤖
    Re:DFS Exam - General Comments

    double post!
  • System
    System Posts: 100,534 🤖 Admin 🤖
    Re:DFS Exam - General Comments

    Gross Profit ratio is gross profit/sales

    Net Profit ratio is net profit/sales

    Therefore Expenses ratio is Expenses/sales. It is also the difference between the Gross Profit ratio and Net Profit ratio as gross profit less expenses is net profit.

    If the Gross Profit ratio increases yet the Net Profit ratio decreases the most likely explanation is that the expenses ratio has increased and a company should look into its expenses situation. A quick way to calculate the Expenses Ratio is to find the difference between the Gross Profit ratio and Net Profit ratio.

    I found ratios to be very logical yet couldn't learn more than 5 FRS's. :-)
  • System
    System Posts: 100,534 🤖 Admin 🤖
    Re:DFS Exam - General Comments

    I have a small question: i accidentaly left out the explanation for the expenses ratio, i wrote the formula but i just sumhow forgot as i was running out of time. also the last question, part (b) the bit about the two groups of people interested in financial statements, i didnt get time to write an explanation, i just about wrote down lenders and potential investors.

    the question is: have i failed????? :(
  • System
    System Posts: 100,534 🤖 Admin 🤖
    Re:DFS Exam - General Comments

    I have a small question: i accidentaly left out the explanation for the expenses ratio, i wrote the formula but i just sumhow forgot as i was running out of time. also the last question, part (b) the bit about the two groups of people interested in financial statements, i didnt get time to write an explanation, i just about wrote down lenders and potential investors.

    the question is: have i failed????? :(
  • System
    System Posts: 100,534 🤖 Admin 🤖
    Re:DFS Exam - General Comments

    I was also thrown by the miss-alignment on the consolidated BS!! I spent ages re-calculating everything because it didn't balance - only to find it didn't balance because I'd selected the incorrect loan figure as a result of the miss-alignment!!

  • System
    System Posts: 100,534 🤖 Admin 🤖
    Re:DFS Exam - General Comments

    I could not get the first balance sheet to balance either.

    With it saying the goodwill was neverending that really threw me! could i remember what the max level was! no! so i did not amortise it at all and just pay a note at the bottom of the BS saying 'it does not balance as i have not amortise the goodwill'

    Do you think they might be kind and give me a point for this anyway? heres hoping.

    Dreading fridays tax exam my brain is just mush after yesterday
  • System
    System Posts: 100,534 🤖 Admin 🤖
    Re:DFS Exam - General Comments

    Well you weren't mean't to amortise goodwill :p So I'm guessing you would get the mark for that but you obviously went from somewhere else? Did you add the goodwill into the fixed assets?
  • System
    System Posts: 100,534 🤖 Admin 🤖
    Re:DFS Exam - General Comments

    yeah i wrote the figs seperatly then totalled them under fixed assets, oh god what i thought that was my problem, wonder why i couldnt get it to balance then *panick*
  • System
    System Posts: 100,534 🤖 Admin 🤖
    Re:DFS Exam - General Comments

    No point panicking, just wait and chill :)

    Not many people would have done the whole balance sheet without making an error somewhere, and usually you only are going to lose 1 or 2 marks on it if you have made a mistake anyway. You can pass the exam without getting a single question right as long as you pick up all the easy ones.
  • System
    System Posts: 100,534 🤖 Admin 🤖
    Re:DFS Exam - General Comments

    (Lynzerella)
    I found it ok. My consolidated balance sheet didn't balance,

    Hi everyone, my balance sheet didn't balance either, but mine never do, i think i did ok but my FRSs are a bit weak, but i assume that as long as you get about least 50% of each task correct you should be ok as this is to examine that you understand what is being asked of you and not a math test.

    Please correct me if im wrong.

    Sade

  • System
    System Posts: 100,534 🤖 Admin 🤖
    Re:DFS Exam - General Comments

    yeah your right nothing i can do about it now thanks, will think calming thoughts! :-)

Categories

Privacy Policy