Saturday, May 5, 2007

World Bank joins ACCA's Approved Employer Scheme

This status acknowledges the high standards of training and development which the World Bank provides for its employees, whether they are qualified accountants, who are already ACCA members, or as students or affiliates who are aiming to become qualified.

The World Bank joins nearly 8,500 companies around the world who are Approved Employers, including ABN AMRO, BP, HSBC, KPMG, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC), Inland Revenue of Singapore and GlaxoSmithKline.

Tony Hegarty, Chief Financial Management Officer of the World Bank, said: “The knowledge required to function effectively as a financial management specialist in today’s world continues to grow at an unprecedented rate. The continuing development of professional competence and lifelong learning for our staff are critical if they are to meet these increasing knowledge and skills expectations.”

Hegarty added that in addition to enhancing technical competence, continuous skills improvement promotes confidence and pride in one’s work and enhances effectiveness.

“Ongoing professional development is a strategic priority of the World Bank’s Financial Management Sector as we strive to equip our staff to support the improvement of public and private financial management practices in partner countries,” said Hegarty.

Tony Osude, Head of Learning And Development at ACCA , said: “As an ACCA Approved Employer, the World Bank has demonstrated that it meets global best practice in the provision of learning and development opportunities, and we welcome them to ACCA’s expanding global family of Approved Employers.

The award gives the World Bank well-deserved international recognition for the quality of support and training they invest in their employees.”

To become an Approved Employer, ACCA assesses organisational training statements and undertakes a performance review which ensures that ACCA’s global training and development standards are met throughout the organistion.

ACCA’s Approved Employer programme complements ACCA’s global continuing professional development (CPD) scheme ACCA Realise. Under this flexible scheme, relevant workplace learning, mentoring, e-learning, writing and presenting business articles are all recognised as CPD activities in addition to traditional activities such as attendance at courses and seminars. CPD allows accountants to keep their skills and knowledge continuously updated after qualifying.

Tuesday, May 1, 2007

FTC Exam Tips Core Papers

FTC Exam tips June 2007 Core Papers

Paper 3.5

Key Areas:
A fundamental appreciation of the key activities associated with strategic analysis, choice and implementation will always be required in interpreting the scenario.
The relevance of ethics and corporate governance to strategic decision making
Issues related to globalization and international business management
Marketing and how it may be influenced by ethics and globalisation
Be able to comment in general on how things like HR and IT can help underpin a strategic plan

Paper 3.6 ACR (IAS & GBR)

Section A
This compulsory question will be on the preparation of consolidated accounts and the twist that is due is that it will have a foreign subsidiary.
Section B
Mixed scenario based questions involving some of the following standards
Impairment
Share based payments
Deferred tax
Financial instruments.
Reirement benfits
Discussion question on accounting theory in repect of recognition and measurement issues

Paper 3.7

Section A:
1) OverseasNPV:ThistopicwaslastexaminedinDecember2003andthereforewillbeoneverybody’stiplist.Thespecificitemsthatyouneedtobefamiliarwithare:theapplicationofdoubletaxagreements,remittancesfromsubsidiaries,useofpurchasingpowerparitytheoryandtheoverallstructureofanOverseasNPV.ExcellentquestionsareAxmine(Pilot94)andAVTO(Dec03).HehasalsowrittenaslightlydifferentstyleofquestionWickern(Dec01)wherehegivesyouallthePVcalculationsinthequestionandasks you to analysis the numbers. This is worth reviewing. Basic awareness of political and economic risk is essential.
2) Risk management:
CurrencyRisk:ScottwroteawonderfulquestioncalledLammer(Q2Jun06)whichyoushouldreviewindetailasitincludeshismaintricksonallthemajortechniquestohedgetransactionrisk.ItisalsoworthreviewingVertid(Jun95)inwhichScotttakesamoretheoretical approach to currency risk.
Interestraterisk:Thistopicappearedasacasestudyinthelastexam.However,beawarethatyourexaminerhasalreadywrittenacasestudythatcombinedCurrencyRiskandInterestraterisk(Autocrat-December2002).Playitsateandreviewthistopic.Excellent questions are HYK Communications Dec (99) and Interest Rate Hedge (Jun 05).
3) Huntingdownthediscountrate:WACC-RiskadjustedWACC–APVcalculationswithinthecontextofastandardinvestmentappraisalquestion.HoweverriskadjustedWACCcouldalsobeexaminedwithinthecontextoftraditionalgearing.WACC-Jetter(c)(Jun02)andSemer(a)(Dec05).RiskAdjustedWACC–RomageJun(00).TraditionalGearing-Bentras(Dec01).APV–Strayer(Jun 02).
4) MergerandAcquisitions:AFCFcalculationpossiblywithinthecontextofGoingPrivate.Alsoreviewtheshareforshareexchange style questions Raywood( Dec 92).
Section B:
1) Economic Value Added – EVA This is a topically area and you should review Toutplut (Jun 02) and Remuneration (Dec 04).
2)PortfolioTheoryandCAPMHasder(Jun03)isanexcellentquestionasitcoversbothPortfolioTheoryandCAPMcalculationsandthetopicofinternationaldiversification.ThePortfolioTheorysectionistechnicallydemandingasyouaregiventhecovarianceasopposedtothenormalcorrelationcoefficient.ItisalsointerestingtonotethatinScott’sanswerhecalculatedthecoefficientofvariation for the first time. This will now be a standard requirement in all portfolio theory questions.
3) Term Structure of Interest rate - review Bond Prices (Jun 03) and BNG (Dec 00)
4) Internationaleconomics–I.M.F-(Dec96),Currentaccountdeficit(Pilot01),Foreigntraderisks(Jun01)andPoliticalrisk(Dec01).

FTC Exam tips Optional Papers

Paper 3.1
Q1 Risk appraisal, risk management and audit strategy
Q2 Assurance services - reporting on narrative statements egg environmental reports
Q3 Matters and evidence when reviewing files before signing audit reports
Q4 Audit reporting - application of ISA 700
Q5 Professional conduct and ethics
Q6 Current issues

Paper 3.2 – ADVANCED TAXATION PAPER

1 - IHT including lifetime and death gifts and the extended definition of domicile for IHT.DTR BPR and gift with reservation. Death Estate including valuation rules.
2 - CGT – Chattel rules, part disposals, principal private residence relief, gift relief, Incorporation relief.
3 - Income tax computation including property business profits, employment income Calculation of benefits – salary versus company car or mileage allowance versus company car. Share options and share incentive plans. Overseas aspects (including overseas aspects definitions of residency and ordinary residency) and DTR.
4 - National Insurance
5 - Financial planning – sources of finance, lease versus buy, investments including ISAs the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000. Pensions
7 - Close companies maybe a letter on this.
8 -Corporation tax including IBA, loss relief (S393A) and group and consortium relief. Overseas aspects of corporation tax including controlled foreign companies and transfer pricing.
9 - VAT – cash accounting scheme, annual accounting scheme, due date for registration.
10 - Stamp duty land tax

Paper 3.3
* Contribution based decision-making – possibly involving expected values, maximax, maximin & minimax regret.
* Practical aspects of pricing policy
* Performance evaluation - NFPIs
* The strategic framework – specifically a question based around the examiner’s article on “Business Strategy and Performance Models” (Student Accountant – April 2006). This is likely to focus on Porter’s 5 Forces

Paper 3.4

• Value of information systems
• Groupware
• Data warehousing and data mining
• Outsourcing
• SWOT
• Earls three legs
• Earls Grid
• Information strategy
• Virtual company
• Business and IT strategies

FTC Exam Tips June 2007 PArt 2 Papers (b)

FTC Exam Tips June 2007 PArt 2 Papers (b)

Paper 2.4 FMC
• Investment Appraisal; to include NPV, IRR, tax, relevant costs, risk & sensitivity and lease or buy
• Sources of Finance; to include gearing, ratios, rights issues and other methods of issue and the problems of SME’s
• Working Capital Management; to include cash and/or stock
• Budgeting; to include budgetary systems and cash budgets
• Variance calculations
• Organisational objectives

Paper 2.5
Group balance sheet with an associate undertaking and fair value adjustments.
Cash Flow
Key accounting standards include: impairment, leases, segmental reporting.
Accounting theory based on the information needs of users.


Paper 2.6

Regular Tips
ETHICS - Objectivity Threats, Conflict of Interest (see below)
PLANNING - Practical Audit Risk Scenarios
CONTROLS - Suggesting control objectives and procedures
SUBSTANTIVE TESTS - Inventory, Receivables
REVIEW/COMPLETION - Going Concern audit work
REPORTS - Practical Scenarios
INTERNAL AUDIT / CORPORATE GOVERNANCE - Business Risk, Comparison of External v Internal Audit, Audit Committees