Frontline ACCA

Hi, I'm Muhammad Wasim Surti. I'm a Chartered Certified Accountant from ACCA UK, a graduate of Oxford Brookes University, UK and University of Karachi, Pakistan. I have been awarded equivalency to Pakistani Masters degree and UK National Qualification Framework Level 7. I have vast and diversified working experience in two large multinationals. I have expertise in the areas of Finance, Internal Audit & Controls, and Business Risk Assessment. I also enjoy good command over IFRS / IAS, SOX 404 / COSO, System and Application Product (SAP), PricewaterhouseCoopers Teammate, state-of-the-art Project Management Processes, Risk Assessment and Project Costing Tools. I have attended seminars at Berlin, Germany and Dubai, UAE. I'm a Member of ‘Integrated Reporting’ – a Subcommittee of ACCA Pakistan’s Members Network Panel, which urges disclosure of governance, sustainability and strategy in the annual reports besides the traditional financial statements. I've been teaching and counseling ACCA students and professionals for a number of years. Students and professionals are encouraged to ask questions on this platform. I can be reached at:

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How to pass ACCA exams / ACCA exam tips - Phase 5.

The day has arrived for which you have put all your efforts in the last 4-5 months. It’s a do or die situation; so you have to keep all your senses open and put every effort till the last minute to ensure your success. Go through the tips for execution phase given below:

5. During exams i.e. Execution Phase: A. Make EFFICIENT USE of 15 minutes Reading and Planning Time (RAPT): I. Read question paper at least twice II. Don’t panic III. Plan and allocate sufficient time for each question (benchmark -> 1.8 minutes per mark, i.e. 36 minutes for a 20 marks question). You may have to spend a little more time in the beginning IV. Highlight questions which you think you can do well. Attempt these questions in the start. This way, you will gain confidence, and will do much better in the questions in which you are not too confident.  B. Stay RELEVANT in answering your question. A lengthy but irrelevant answer will earn nothing, instead will cost you a lot of time. C. ANSWER ALL QUESTIONS – Attempt does not necessarily mean to finish (successfully), even copying a formula will earn you 1 mark. D. Don’t worry if you consider that ONE FIGURE / FORMULA MAY BE WRONG – if so, you will lose mark for that figure / formula only, keep going with the remaining calculations. E. Utilize available PROFESSIONAL MARKS. If you have any questions whether specific to this topic or not, please feel free to ask.  Remember even a 50% result is not considered bad in ACCA exam, so work hard and work smart and don’t get frustrated or demotivated. BEST OF LUCK!   

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How to pass ACCA exams / ACCA exam tips - Phase 4.

Now it’s time to attack and conquer; so make sure you are [mentally and physically] ready for it and have all necessary armaments available with yourself. Below are few tips for pre-execution phase (a day before exam till you reach the exam center). 

4. Before exam i.e. Pre-Execution Phase: A. Make yourself READY and everything AVAILABLE (dockets, pen, pencils, calculator etc.) a day before exam so that you don’t get panic on exam day. B. ON THE DAY BEFORE EXAM, take a good night sleep, talk to your loved ones and don’t do anything which can stick to your mind in a negative way. C. REACH at the exam center well before the paper starts, DON’T discuss anything regarding paper with any one before the exam and outside exam center, and take a deep breath to relax.

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How to pass ACCA exams / ACCA exam tips - Phase 3.

In the last article, we discussed tips for Phase 2 – Preparation Phase (during studies). Since only a week [or two] is left before exams, today we will be discussing tips for Phase 3 – Finalization Phase (during revision).

3. During revision i.e. Finalization Phase: This phase is short in terms of time, but very very critical for your success. Your effort in this phase will prove to be a ‘make-or-break’ deal for your exams.  If you will be able to utilize this phase efficiently and effectively; the efforts already put in by you during preparation phase will pay off. As already discussed above, in the last week before exam, your target should be to RELAX and REVISE. Here are some tips for finalization phase, to relax and revise: REVISE  

Your hand written SUMMARIES and MIND MAPS will help you to recall and recap what you have studied in lesser time

Do only such practice questions, which you have highlighted as important during preparation phase, which cover MOST OF THE THINGS [concepts / formulae / requirements / scenarios] from each topic

Take MOCK EXAMS under exam conditions daily

RELAX 

DON'T study long hours

DO physical exercises, take good sleep and eat fresh vegetables more often

Make PLANS to enjoy after exams; just to a. make yourself realize that only few days are left for you to put in efforts, and b. to release stress

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How to pass ACCA exams / ACCA exam tips - Phase 2.

In the last article, we have discussed tips for Phase 1 – Planning Phase (before starting studies). In this article, we will discuss tips for Phase 2 – Preparation Phase (during studies).

2. During studies i.e. Preparation Phase:

By the time I’m sure you will be working hard either studying by yourself or by tutor in class. This phase requires most of your time and efforts. If you have worked hard and smart in this phase, your chances for success are bright.

Cover ENTIRE syllabus – i.e. no topic spotting.

In ACCA, there are no such techniques / tips which can help you in guessing which topic / question is important for exams.  If any topic / question has appeared in last session, it doesn’t mean that it will not appear in coming session. Examiner often confuse student by asking unexpected questions.

SUMMARIZE what you read in your own words.  Prepare MIND MAPS (e.g. flow charts / diagrams etc.):

I. Remember it is far much easier to remember hand written content than the printed content.

II. In your last week of revision you don’t need to refer back to your books, just refer those hand written notes.

After you have read the theoretical content from study text, solve PRACTICE QUESTIONS of that relevant topic immediately from revision kit.

Do at least one practice question under EXAM CONDITION i.e. as per defined / allowed time limit and format.

HIGHLIGHT such practice questions which covers most of the (important) things from the topic. You will do such question during revision, so that you can revise most of the things in lesser time.

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How to pass ACCA exams / ACCA exam tips - Phase 1.

I firmly believe that passing ACCA exams does not only require hard work; rather it requires determination, consistency and more importantly the use of appropriate study and exam techniques.

Through this blog, I will be providing you tips on regular basis, which if followed, will ensure your success with flying colors in ACCA exams.  For students’ convenience and ease of understanding, I have broken down tips on the basis of phases which a student comes across from deciding which paper to attempt till taking examination: 1. Before starting studies i.e. Planning Phase 2. During studies i.e. Preparation Phase 3. During revision i.e. Finalization Phase 4. Before exam i.e. Pre-Execution Phase 5. During exam i.e. Execution Phase I am sure most of the ACCA students are currently in the Planning Phase for June 2012 attempt. Some might have been entered in Preparation Phase as well. Therefore for this week, I will be focusing on tips for Phase 1 – Planning Phase.

1. Before starting ACCA exam studies i.e. Planning Phase:

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Introduction

I have been teaching and counseling ACCA students and professionals for a number of years now.

During my entire association with ACCA students, I found out that many students,  even after starting their ACCA studies, remain uncertain about their career direction. They are either not sure of whether they have made the right decision about their profession, or are not aware of the value ACCA qualification brings for them.

To begin with, I will reinforce to those who have chosen ACCA, that you have made the right decision about your career (may be the best decision of your entire professional life). I’m sure you will recognize this once you will achieve your career goal in the near future.

Secondly, despite the hard work, a lot of ACCA students find it difficult to pass their ACCA exams. I would like to endorse that passing ACCA exams not only requires hard work; rather it requires determination, consistency and more importantly the use of appropriate study and exam techniques.

In this blog, I intend to serve ACCA students by providing help and advice on matters relating to studies and exams. I will provide you the study techniques and exam tips from time to time, which will ensure your success in ACCA exams.

Moreover, I would also like to guide ACCA professionals by providing career counseling. Most of the ACCA professionals are not sure whether their career is progressing in the right direction. They become frustrated, and start thinking about taking some extra qualifications / certifications, or switch their jobs.

Please appreciate that ACCA qualification and membership opens to you a lot of career choices. ACCA does not restrict your career to accounting or auditing only. I firmly believe and have witnessed at a number of occasion that ACCA helps individuals to progress and excel in their career in diversified areas. I’m of the opinion that you can pursue your career in whichever area you are working in and most of the time you may not require having expertise / specialized qualification or certification in addition to ACCA. However, if you do so, it may help you further.

I will also keep you updated on choices of career available to you through this blog.

Students and professionals are encouraged to ask questions, whether specific or general, on the aforementioned topics.