ACCA exam preparation and the ACCA revision required.

ACCA revision time

August sees the start of a new semester, and as the term proceeds and the December ACCA exams loom ever near many a student will fear - as a sudden sense of doubt and worry sets in the student’s mind - the one over-ruling question – “Have I done enough revision to pass my ACCA exams?”

Exam time is never easy, and as educational professionals in the industry, we are constantly asked by students the same question – “How much time should I spend on my ACCA revision?” And every time we must reply the same response – it differs from student to student, with no real set answer. Unlike registering for a new subject where there are a set number of hours you should study in order to fully absorb the information (usually 40 hours), revision for your ACCA exams is slightly harder to gauge.

Revision is always subjective, depending on the student’s quick learning ability, if they have an existing aptitude for the topics in that subject (e.g. if the ACCA Paper involves more calculations and is orientated around figures, or whether it is a discursive paper) and also most importantly, if they already have prior knowledge of the subject. Some students may be taking a re-sit, and know the subject better than others, or if the subject is an advanced paper and the student already has a solid understanding of the foundation level that preceded it. All these factors will play a part in their ACCA revision.

However, as a benchmark we would always advise to try for 18 hours revision per subject. If they are taking multiple ACCA exams at the same sitting, with time dwindling away, it’s down to the ACCA student’s ability to manage their time efficiently and prioritise where the bulk of their time should be spent.
For more advise and ACCA study guides for ACCA revision, see the TonySurridge.co.uk website.

Are you a ‘Know It All’ or ‘Targent-erer’? Which ACCA student are you?

Over the years I have listened to many grumbles about exam syllabuses and exam pass rates but few about how students prepare themselves for the exam. I have been teaching for some time now and I have a few grumbles which I wish to share with you so that you may reflect on your own style of learning. Dare I hope that my observations may help a few students to study more effectively and pass their exams?

The average student is a ‘coat of many colours’. So which type of student are YOU?
Could this be you ….?

The Know It All is the ACCA student who has successfully studied for another related qualification (but surprisingly without gaining exemption in the subject now to be examined!) and therefore wrongly perceives the subject as simplistic and not warranting further and more detailed examination and study. This ACCA student does not seem to appreciate that similar topics and techniques have different applications. In the exam the 'Know It All' is often revealed as the Tangent-erer who seems to be at pains to answer question in stereotyped, inflexible and inappropriate ways.

So there it is. Here is one student caricature (and another one just as valid will be posted soon) which is somewhat common and dare I say may even be a version of your own behaviour. Quid rides? Mutato nomine de te fabula narratur. (Why do you laugh? With change of name the story is about you).

Prevent yourself from becoming simply a ‘Know It All’ or ‘Targent-erer’ by taking advantage of the tony.surridge.co.uk ACCA e-books. The series of Tony Surridge +AddVance E-books are specially designed for the ACCA exam syllabuses (Association of Chartered Certified Accountants). Our high quality ACCA study guide is structured around the core study text, with additional mnemonics and charts, supported by activities, as well as exam-status questions and answers for you to practice. Our comprehensive +AddVance electronic study tools provides an essential route-map through the ACCA syllabus and provides an expert interpretation of the subject and the ACCA exam requirements.

Download our free ACCA samples now (using the above link), to see just how helpful these study tools will be for your ACCA studies.

Which ACCA titles should we publish next?

So... we’ve been thinking about which ACCA subjects we should next publish for. And we’ve decided to put it out to our ACCA student audience to see what your thoughts were. We’ve already had some initial input, and general feedback, and it looks like ACCA P5 is quite popular. A couple of you have asked for the P5 materials to help connect the F5 and P3 ACCA study guides we currently produce. But we’ll not likely to pounce just on some initial discussions... so we would like to hear from more of you out there.

Let us know which ACCA subjects you want to see us publish and tell us why. Our ACCA authors are always willing to listen and they proactively take on all feedback with positive attitude. Head over to our ACCA study website: TonySurridge.co.uk