acca f5 exam tips september 2017
bpp
as any syllabus area could be tested in sections a&b the best advice is to study all areas of the syllabus.
for section c expect（but not limited to）planning and operational variance,mix yield variances&evaluation of the company performance（either as a whole or on a divisional basis）。
there is no longer any formal reading and panning time at the start of the exam.you are strongly advised to plan answers to section c questions before starting to write.ensure to make reference to the scenario in your answer!
the exam is approx.40�lculation and 60%discussion–so doing the maths won’t be enough to pass this paper.interpretation and application are crucial,especially in section c.
kaplan
mcq’s can come up from any syllabus area so cover the breadth of every topic.
section a:
abc,life cycle costing,target costing and throughput costing are very commonly tested topics while environmental costing is rarely tested.
section b:
usually there are two questions from this area.commonly tested topics are
–relevant costing
–pricing
–cost volume profit analysis
–limiting factor
–make or buy or shutdown decisions and other short term decisions
–dealing with risk and uncertainty
section c:
there are two questions from this area.variances analysis is more commonly tested topics while budgeting is also tested off and on.every exam has some variances in it and could be basic or advanced variances.
section d:
performance evaluations is another area where questions always come up–very hard to learn a set method as each one is different.the important thing is to read the question carefully and make sure you link your analysis to the scenario.commonly tested areas are
transfer pricing
balance scorecard
the examiner does not like students who simply quote from the textbook,writing information that is not relevant to the question.the examiner also likes you to have an opinion–has the company done well or not?clearly state your opinion and reasons why it is so.