PowerPoint Presentation

[Audio] Are you ready for the exams? Let us look at some important exam techniques.

[Audio] Exam preparation action plan This is a general action plan for all your exams This can also be applied to each module separately Looking at your notes, these should already be up-to-date and only added onto if required while studying for your exams Next, know which topics are required for a module's exam Keep to the timetable you set up prior to the exams – this will give you focus Practise doing questions under exam conditions, in other words, don't do a question with the solution next to you – this is called the "Oh, yes" method Remember to keep to the time allowed – the time is clearly indicated in a question paper Write as fast as you can, but still write legibly – if the marker cannot read your writing, you will lose marks.

[Audio] Before your exam Confirm the date, time and the venue where you should write your exam Make sure that you have all the materials you will need – pens, calculator, ruler, student card – remember, you may not borrow anything from somebody else – also, no tippex is allowed and you may not write your exam in pencil Arrive at least 30 minutes before your exam to give yourself time to relax – arriving late only places unnecessary stress on yourself At the exam venue, don't let anyone else place stress on you either.

[Audio] In the exam venue itself When you receive your exam script, write all your details correctly on the cover page – check them when you have completed everything An attendance slip will be at the back of your script – make sure you complete that correctly as well – tear it out along the dotted lines and put it on one side of your table – even if you use 2 or more scripts, you only need to complete one attendance slip When you receive the exam script, read the instructions on the front page carefully – there is important information there on how to answer questions – not knowing these instructions may result in you losing marks unnecessarily Next step is to read through the WHOLE paper so that you have an idea of what questions have been asked and what is required for each one You can then decide which question you want to answer first – remember to answer the question you know best, first – this will save you time for the questions that you may not know as well Very important – keep to the time allocated for each question – this is indicated on your question paper – if you have not finished a question in the allocated time, move onto the next one If you hit a blank, take a few deep breaths to get the oxygen moving to your brain so that you can think more clearly – if you find you are still unsure of how to answer the question, move onto the next one and come back to that question later.

[Audio] Exam techniques for each question READ the question through carefully (even twice) before starting to write down your answer – you need to know EXACTLY what is required and what information has been provided to assist you in answering the question Highlight or underline key points Remember to answer ONLY what is asked – doing anything more will only waste time and you will then not finish the exam.

[Audio] Let us now look at how to answer accounting-specific questions.

[Audio] First some general techniques When reading through a question, take note of the financial period or periods that is required for your answer Check if value added tax is applicable to the question – if so, remember that value added tax is now 15[break]% You must know the layout of the financial statements very well, including the main heading and column headings – not doing these correctly will result in losing marks unnecessarily As already mentioned, do EXACTLY what is required – nothing more, nothing less and nothing else If journal entries are required, remember to do them in chronological order and to indicate the relevant financial statement for every debit and every credit entry.

[Audio] When a property, plant and equipment question is asked, first check which model is applicable, that is, the cost model and/or the revaluation model There are some basic principles that you need to know for property, plant and equipment What may be included in the cost price of an asset What the cost of an asset is if it is exchanged for another asset, in other words, the exchange rules When depreciation may start To check if impairment is part of the question, look for related words or phrases, such as tested for impairment or recoverable amount or fair value less costs to sell or value in use When as asset has been impaired, remember that depreciation is the written off over the REMAINING useful life When you start answering a property, plant and equipment question, first do the calculations – these will provide you with 95% of the information you will need to answer the question If you noticed any of the phrases related to impairment, use the historical carrying amount and actual carrying amount columns in your calculation – you will need the historical carrying amount for a possible reversal of impairment because this is limited to the historical carrying amount In the property, plant and equipment note, remember that there should be a column for each class of asset, for example, vehicles, machinery, land, buildings, plant – if an asset, such as vehicles, has more than one component, you must do a separate calculation showing columns for each component as well as a total column – then only the amounts in the total column are shown under the asset class column, for example, vehicles, in the property, plant and equipment note itself.

[Audio] If the question says the revaluation model for property, plant and equipment is used, check if the question also states that the net replacement value method is used If this is the case, then remember to do the elimination journal entry before each revaluation – if journal entries are asked When an asset has been revalued, remember that depreciation is the written off over the REMAINING useful life Once again, first do the calculations – these will provide you with 95% of the information you will need to answer the question You need to know where the historical carrying amount lies because this will determine whether a revaluation has one or two movements – in this case, use the historical carrying amount and actual carrying amount columns in your calculation You also need to know that any movements above the historical carrying amount affect the revaluation surplus account and any movements below the historical carrying amount affect either the revaluation income or the revaluation expense accounts You must also take note of what the question says about the realisation of a revaluation surplus – if it says annually, then you need to add the revaluation surplus and retained earnings columns to your calculation If a revaluation surplus is realised annually, then this must be done every time depreciation is written off, over the same remaining useful life used for the depreciation calculation If a revaluation is done at the end of a year, there will be no accumulated depreciation balance at the end of the year because it was eliminated just prior to the revaluation.

[Audio] As with property, plant and equipment, do the calculations first – this will give you 95% of the information you need to answer the question Check to see if the question says an investment property's fair value cannot be determined on a continuing basis – this property is then measured according to the cost model under investment property, with no residual value Other investment properties will usually be measured according to the fair value model – check what the question says Investment property under the cost model works the same as the cost model for property, plant and equipment Remember that there is NO depreciation for investment property under the fair value model The only columns allowed in the investment property note are for investment property at cost and investment property at fair value – if there is more than one investment property carried at cost or at fair value, do the calculations for these in a separate calculation and then transfer the total column to the investment property note.

[Audio] When doing a cash flow question, check which method must be followed – either the direct or the indirect method The ONLY difference between direct and indirect is the first part of cash flow from operating activities When calculating cash flows, work from the income or expense amount to how much cash was received or paid during the current financial year for an item – the cash received or paid may be for any financial year You may use either normal calculations or T-accounts You must know which items are non-cash items – these are not included in the cash flow statement, for example, the profit or loss on disposal of an asset does NOT represent the actual cash amount received for that asset The statement of cash flows MUST balance with the closing cash balance or balances in the statement of financial position.

[Audio] The calculations for incomplete records work the opposite to the calculations for the cash flow statement For incomplete records, work from the cash amount received or paid to the income or expense amount for the current financial year – cash amounts may include income or expense amounts for other financial years as well and you need to calculate what the income and expense amounts are, only for the current financial year You may use either normal calculations or T-accounts.

[Audio] Check exactly what is being asked If the question indicates clearly which element is applicable, then discuss only that element, otherwise: If the item could be either an asset or an expense, discuss the asset first If the item could be either a liability or an income, discuss the liability first Remember to use the proper layout – depending on what is required: Give each point under the definition and then apply each point if the definition to the question Conclude on whether the definition was met or not – if not, the recognition criteria are not applicable – you must then discuss the next possible element Give each point under the recognition criteria and then apply each point of the recognition criteria to the question Give the final conclusion as to whether the item must be recognised, as what must it be recognised, for what amount, in which financial statement and for which financial period.

[Audio] This concludes the exam techniques presentation – I hope this provides you with some value for the exam Good luck for your accounting exam on 9 June Please complete the compulsory quiz based on this presentation now – it is available under tests and quizzes.