ACCA Exams: Top Tips from the Expert Tutors!

AA Erin Morton

1. Ignore Section A at your peril - Take time to understand the question and the possible answers and practice as many as you can in the final weeks.

2. Explain every point you make - the marker needs to know why you included your point to be able to give you the marks.

3. Keep an eye on the time - break down time allocation for every requirement so you have time to get the nice marks in the exam.

AFM Andrew Mower

1. Time management is key - don't get lost in calculations

2. Structure your answers well - make it easy to mark

3. Just keep swimming - if you get stuck, guess and move on!

AAA Ben Wilson

1. Planning is a MUST. Students who don't plan....they fail AAA. If you're thinking "whatever, I didn't plan for the other ACCA exams".....you're missing a key fact. AAA is really different to the other ACCA exams.

2. Rote learning past exam answers is pointless. The scenario information drives the required answer. Every scenario is very different......so is the required answer.

3. SBR knowledge is more important that auditing knowledge. What?! I know, ridiculous right? There are 10-15 marks in the AAA exam that rely on your knowledge of financial reporting standards. And max 5 marks for your knowledge of auditing.

ATX Aileen Edgar

1. Ensure your understanding from TX is really solid. There will be lots of easier marks from the TX syllabus in your exam

2. Ensure you have revised the typical scenarios that come up for ethics (eg unexpected refund, taking on a new client, tax evasion etc) as these should be the easiest 5 marks to get in the exam - remember to think from the tax advisor’s point of view not the client - it is the advisor who has the ethical difficulty not the client generally

3. If you are asked to explain make sure you don’t just jump straight to the advice or conclusion; there are easy marks for stating why a relief applies or doesn’t, or what type of taxpayer someone is

SBR Tom Clendon

1. Practice questions TO TIME

2. Sign up for ACCA’s free InFocus webinar - Thursday 15th May at 1pm (UK)

3. JMO - Just Move On!

SBL Sean Purcell

1. Manage you time strictly so you can get at least 50% on all the tasks.

2. Read requirements carefully and make sure your amswer reflects the marking scheme.

3. No marks for theory and important to contextualise you answer to the case - if stuck think what you would do in the workplace - its a practical exam!