Is getting 50% right in a CIMA exam sufficient

to create the competent accountant of the

future? This was a major debating point at the
recent Lecturers Conference, where the institute
unveiled its new 2015 syllabus to the experts.
Tutors believe that if CIMA wants to create
accountants who can take what they have learnt
online and in the classroom straight into the
workplace then the pass rates for the proposed
MCQ papers might have to rise.
There was some heated discussion on this
point, and a new 70% pass rate was suggested
by some leading lecturers to PQ magazine.
The introduction of an on-screen calculator
and whiteboards also worried many tutors, who
have seen students in tears trying to use these
calculators for the entry level exams. They
pointed out that PQs sitting the ICAEW online
exams are provided with a calculator on the
exam desk, and felt that this would be a better
approach to start with.
The lack of calculations in the case studies
that now appear at every level also worried some
educationalists. Will CIMA newly qualfieds be
able to pass the exams without doing a set of
accounts, they asked.
The new syllabus also aims to test the whole
syllabus in each exam. That, said some tutors,
will require more learning time, and could
increase the cost of qualifying for employers and
students alike.
Executive director of education Noel Tagoe
confirmed to PQ magazine that there will be
calculations in the case study. He also said he
was open to suggestions and ideas, although he
felt the online calculator would not be something
to frighten Generation Y students. A 50% pass
rate for the MCQ exams was another area he
was prepared to discuss, he said.
On day two of the conference, CIMA director
of learning Peter Stewart asked for the dialogue
to continue. He stressed that no current student
will be disadvantaged, and all papers earned in
2014 will carry through to the 2015 set-up.
On the plus side, students studying the old
2010 syllabus (there are still three sittings left)
will get their November results early in January
2015. CIMA confirmed to PQ magazine that it is
looking to release the November results in the
first week of January 2015.
Under the new system there will also be fewer
hours at an exam terminal/desk dropping from
21 to 15 for the professional exams. The
transitional arrangements do seem very logical
and there is even a small concession at the
operations level. Here, if PQs have passed two
papers (not exemptions) they will be given the
option to waive the third paper and go straight to
the case study. This is available only in year one
of the new syllabus.
Stewarts advice is for PQs to aim to complete
levels rather than approaching the exams via
pillars. He also warned students against trying to
eat the elephant all in one go. He said: Dont
try to get too much passed like trying to
complete operational and management in what
is left of 2014.
November will be when the big decisions
need to be made. Do you sit exams you are
familiar with (the devil you know) or do you wait
until January and sit an MCQ paper? Before
students have to make that choice CIMA has
promised to make the new-look exams available
online probably in July. Watch this space.
Read our exclusive interview with CIMAs Noel
Tagoe about the new syllabus see page 14.
PQmagazine
April 2014
www.pqmagazine.co.uk / www.pqjobs.co.uk
IFRS: AN
UPDATE
What exactly does the
word policy mean?
Martin Jones explains
INSIDE THIS ISSUE
LETS GET
TECHNICAL
From funding expansion to
time-series analysis, weve got
loads of technical stuff inside!
E-LEARNING:
ACCA UPDATE
We spoke to Clare Minchington
about the associations progress
in developing its e-learning
Stewart: dont eat the elephant all in one go
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comment PQ
News
06ACCA changes New exam
formats will kick in in December
08CIPFA apprenticeships
Scheme is rolled out nationally
10CIMA growth Institute sees
strong growth across the globe
Features, etc
06Mind your Ps and Qs
held over for this month
12Profile We spoke to ICAEW
prize-winner Charlotte Wells
14CIMA syllabus Education
chief Noel Tagoe explains what
the syllabus changes will mean
16CIPFA spotlight More on the
growing apprenticeship scheme
18Say cheese! More fun photos
from accountancys top awards
20ACCA P4 How to get a pass on
this technically tough paper
21ACCA interview E-learning
chief Clare Minchington udates
us on the progress being made
23How to study Make the most of
your brain by taking a holistic
approach to your studies
25International standards How
the word policy can mean
different things to different folk
26Lets get technical Gareth
John tells you all you need to
know about time-series analysis
28Financial management The
final part in our series dealing
with various sources of finance
29Viewpoint Garry Carter of the
ICB explains why legislation on
late payments is a bad idea
31ICAEW conference Update
from the annual get-together of
ICAEW lecturers
32Salary survey Market update;
plus salaries for Wales and NI
33Careers Our PQ of the Year
answers our questions; job
prospects are improving for PQs;
and our Book Club review
38Fun time Our great giveaways
and the lighter side of life
The columnists
Robert Bruce Politicians should
mind their own business 6
Prem Sikka IFRS: there may be
trouble ahead 8
Carl Lygo Taiwan, a small country
with a big reputation 10
Subscribe to PQ magazine
Its FREE go to page 34
www.pqmagazine.co.uk
ABC July 2012June 2013
32,463
Publishers statement: We have a
digital issue of the magazine which
is sent to 9,215 requested readers
Change is the new black
It is always interesting to see how we cope with change.
Tutors at the recent CIMA Lecturers conference could be
seen going through all the emotions. Some were angry, some confused,
and others more resigned to embrace change. All will have to radically
change how they teach CIMA PQs, and many will have to learn new
skills if they want to get involved in the case studies now sitting over
each level. So CIMA has a bright, new 2015 all singing and dancing
syllabus replacing the now defunct 2010 syllabus. The immediate worry
for PQs is whether they will be viewed any differently if an employer
knows they qualified under the old syllabus. The answer is, of course,
no. That is because of the power of your CV, which shows just how
employable you are. This is why all the professional bodies put so
much emphasis on the practical experience requirements before you
can become a fully fledged member of their body.
Gaining a practical professional qualification
without this balance of work experience can make
you almost unemployable. Ask any recruitment
consultant.
Now, if you are interested in forging a career in
accountancy then you must bookmark Reed
Accountancy and Finances brand new PQHub. It is
a great resource for the PQ hungry for career advice
and guidance. See www.reedglobal.com/pqhub.
Finally well done Charlotte Wells, who recently
won a top ICAEW prize. She attended Reed Business School, who
themselves walked off with my first-ever Special Editors Award at this
years PQ awards. Charlotte was rewarded by a lovely bottle of bubbly
by Reeds top man Sir Alec Reed (see photo and page 12). Take a
look at Sir Alecs Wikipedia page to see what you can achieve with your
accountancy career. He really is an inspiration.
Graham Hambly, PQ magazine editor (graham@pqaccountant.com)
CONTENTS
April 2014
L 1he ccntent fcr 5 years feature is based cn ccurses purchased frcm }une 2013. 1his feature dces nct
apply retrcspectively. Ccntent frcm papers purchased previcusly will nct be available fcr a 5 year pericd.
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PQ magazine Fourth floor, Central House, 142 Central Street, London EC1V 8AR | Phone: 020 7216 6444 | Email: graham@pqaccountant.com
Website: www.pqmagazine.co.uk | Editor/publisher: Graham Hambly graham@pqaccountant.com | Advertising manager: Polly Thrasivoulou polly@pqaccountant.com
Associate editor: Adam Riches | Art editor: Tim Parker | Subscriptions: dom@pqaccountant.com | Contributors: Robert Bruce, Prem Sikka,
Tony Kelly, Phil Gammon, Jo Daley, Richard Heaton | Origination and print services by Classified Central Media
Published by PQ Publishing PQ Publishing 2014
If you have any problems with delivery, or if you want to change your delivery address, please email dom@pqaccountant.com
LSBF has opened a new institute in Singapore. This
sees LSBF stepping up its plans to create a hub for
professional education in South East Asia. The new
campus opening ceremony was attended by the
British High Commissioner to Singapore Anthony
John Phillipson. LSBF's Aaron Etingen explained
that over 6,000 students have come through LSBF
Singapore classrooms since 2011 and the new
base at Springleaf Tower will help accommodate
LSBF's fast-growing student base.
One PQhub to
rule them all
Did you know that some 89% of
recruiters check a candidates
social media profiles? Well, you
would if you read a fantastic new
resource that has been launched
for part qualified accountants
looking to access the latest jobs
and news the Reed Accountancy
and Finance PQHub.
The PQHub was launched this
month and includes news from PQ
magazine, along with interactive
salary guides, the latest hot jobs,
social media advice, consultant
chat and a PQ blog. This is much
more than just a website, and over
the coming months should
develop as a must have resource
for all PQs.
Take a look at the PQhub at
www.reedglobal.com/pqhub
The ACCA has begun to implement
some of the changes outlined at
recent conferences and during
consultations with tutors and PQs.
New exam formats in the
Fundamental Skills exams (F5, F7,
F8 and F9) will happen in
December. That means you have
one sitting of the old format left
this June!
The new paper format will have
two sections, one of multiple-
choice questions and one section
of longer, written questions.
Paper F6, due to the different
exam year, will follow in June 2015.
The F4 paper will also undergo
significant changes. The exam will
be reduced to two hours and be
available as a computer-based
exam (English and global papers)
from the end of 2014.
When it comes to fully on-
demand CBEs, the ACCA has said
that it will be working with target
markets to remove paper exams on
a market-by-market basis. The first
target markets are Oman, the
ACCA CHANGES COMING
LSBF looks to the east
There is one thing that seems to
drive politicians insane, and that is
an independent body. And, in
particular, one which refuses to give
ground when the politicians try to
bully it flagrantly and unmercifully.
The politicians then turn nasty they
have the power and use it sneakily.
A case in point is the International
Accounting Standards Board. It has
been firm over the years. If the
politicians tell it to do something
daft it invariably sticks to its guns.
But then the politicians start
inflicting collateral damage on
anyone else associated with it. Take
the shocking saga of the study into
the impact of International Financial
Reporting Standards across Europe.
This was a very sensible idea from
the European Commission. The study,
after an appropriately open, lengthy,
transparent and competitive
tendering process, was awarded to
the ICAEW, which has a long track
record of IFRS studies, and Mazars,
a truly pan-European accounting
firm. It was a sound and impeccable
decision. But the politicians were
furious. It looked to them as though
there was a chance the IASB and
IFRS might be treated fairly. They
werent having that. So they ranted
until the contract was cancelled.
The European Commission
apologised and told the ICAEW its
competency and independence were
not in question. It is time someone
commissioned a study into the
behaviour of politicians.
ROBERT
BRUCE
The curse
of the
meddling
politicians
Robert Bruce is an
award-winning writer on
accountancy for The Times
Czech Republic, Sri Lanka, Hong
Kong and Cambodia. The aim is
that from January 2015 these
countries will offer CBEs for
foundation level exams and F1-F3
assessments.
The ACCA is committed to
adding flexibility into the exam
schedule. First, it wants to
introduce additional paper-based
sessions for those exams not
available by on-demand CBE,
namely F5-F9 and papers P1-P7.
This is likely to be four exam
sessions a year March, June,
September and December. The
current target for this is late
2015/early 2016, but the ACCA
needs to progress the plans further
before it can provide an exact date.
Wheres me stuff?
Deloitte consultant Nilay Shroff
recently arrived home to his New
York pad to find everything gone
except his TV and PS3! His
apartment had been emptied by a
removal man who took his stuff to
the city dump. The consultant called
911. Then Shroff discovered the
removal man should have emptied
2B and not his flat, 2D. He is suing!
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8
PQ Magazine April 2014
PQ news
CIPFA is rolling out its unique and
innovative apprenticeship scheme
across the country. The national
scheme was launched this month
after a successful pilot in the West
Midlands last year.
Designed to attract individuals to
a career in public finance, the one-
year apprenticeship is managed by
CIPFA, allowing employers to focus
on cultivating new talent within
their organisations. The apprentices
on the scheme gain valuable work
experience at the same time as
studying for the AAT Level 4
qualification.
CIPFAs Giles Orr said there was
a need for a more innovative
approach to engaging young people
and tackling youth unemployment.
Students who join the scheme
are, he stressed, part of the delivery
team, not just passengers. They
will end the year with an AAT
qualification and be on their way to
getting the CIPFA qualification, too.
The scheme will now be offered
out of CIPFAs Manchester, London
and Birmingham centres.
The hope is to grow the scheme
from the current 10 to 90 by next
year. Grant Thornton has already
agreed to take on five apprentices
in each centre. Coventry council is
taking on extra apprentices, too.
The GLAs Tom Middleton
confirmed on the launch night that
it will be taking on two or three
apprentices in London. There was
interest from other London public
service organisations.
See page 16 for more on this.
CIPFA goes national
with apprenticeships
There is turbulence ahead for the
IASB. The US Securities and Exchange
Commission is lukewarm about global
convergence around IFRSs as it has to
satisfy local constituencies.
Differences have emerged on the
accounting treatment of insurance
contracts. The US has opted for
additional disclosures, whereas the
IASBs preference is for changes to the
numbers in the financial statements by
discounting future cash flows.
The IASB wants convergence of
accounting around IFRSs, but that is a
long way off. We see modifications of
IFRSs rather than the wholesale
abandonment of local traditions. For
example, Japan supports IFRSs, but
uses last-in, first-out (LIFO) method for
valuing inventories rather than the
first-in, first-out (FIFO) method.
Supporters of convergence say that
numbers based on a single global
accounting standard would improve
comparability. Little supporting
evidence is presented. Comparability,
it may be argued, depends on theories
in our head rather than simply what is
placed in front of us. Everyone will
recognise a cow, but its significance
is contestable. To meat eaters, a cow
is a source of food, but orthodox
Hindus may regard a cow as a deity.
Thus established practices cannot
easily be standardised without doing
violence to some traditions and
values. Accounting is no different and
its meanings will continue to depend
on value systems rather than
accounting standards issued by a
private company based in London.
PREM
SIKKA
IRFS: there
may be
trouble
ahead
Prem Sikka is professor
of accountancy at the
University of Essex
Happy to be a part of it: Ian Barber, Grant Thornton, Tom Middleton, GLA,
and Neil Chamberlain, Coventry City Council at CIPFAs London HQ
Grant Thornton is transforming the way it selects
trainee talent. The firm says it no longer automatically
screens out applicants based on their academic
results. Instead, the firm now looks at this as just one
element among other factors that have been identified
as equally, of not more, importance. The firm has also
streamlined the application process, updated its
assessment tools, and created other tactics to help it
identify and prioritise.
Grant Thorntons Maria Floud explained the firm
wants to make a stand in the market to reflect its
values and culture. Early indicators are that around
10% of the trainees it has found through the new
process would have been excluded before.
The firm takes on around 350 trainees each year via
four main routes graduates, school leavers, its
pipeline programme and via 12-month placements.
Grant Thornton transforms recruitment
Does ACCA want new
seven-year time limit? Something happened to CIMA
students sitting P2 in November
their handwriting got better!
On top of that, there was also a
noticeable improvement in the
presentation of scripts and the
layout of answers. That all helped
push up the pass rate to 72% this
time around in the UK.
That said, the examiner said
PQs needed to understand the
depth of knowledge required for
P2. There is also a plea that
candidates clearly indicate if part
of the answer to a question
appears later in the answer
booklet. A warning also went out
about the knowledge gap in
students scripts exempt from
earlier papers. And no pencils or
red ink please, said the examiner.
At E2, the marks were varied.
Too many PQs were stuck between
42% and 46%. These candidates
did not write good enough
answers to Q6 (b), Q3 and Q2. Q6
(b) was all about McKinseys 7 S
model and worth 15 marks. Q3
covered organisational control.
The wrong focus in Q2 meant
many candidates received low
marks here too the examiner
wanted a discussion of trade-off
strategies.
Getting better
all the time
Is the ACCA looking to change the
current 10-year limit it has on
students completing their exams?
Many ACCA students recently
received an email asking them for
their views on the 10-year limit. The
new proposal is a seven-year time
limit that would only start ticking
once you pass your first P paper.
That means students could take
their time completing the F1-9
papers.
It has been suggested that under
the new seven-year rule an expiry
date would be introduced on PQs
papers. That is something that used
to happen many years ago, and in
effect would mean that students
might have to retake a paper they
have already passed.
One student PQ magazine spoke
to felt that this would be a positive
move. They felt the problem was
that everyone comes in at different
stages. Some students start at F1,
while others could get lots of
exemptions. Both still get the
current 10 years.
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F9 and P3: Thursday 1
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10
PQ Magazine April 2014
So what are you worth?
What are you worth to your
accountancy body? The Financial
Reporting Council (FRC) has
compiled the average income per
member/student for each of the
professional bodies. So who is the
cheapest? Well, it is CIMA, which
generates 223.50 for each
member and student. Next comes
the ACCA at 279.20, followed by
CIPFA, which has income of
377.90 per member/student.
Then there is a big jump to the
ICAEWs 410.30 and the 670.40
for ICAS. But these both pale into
insignificance when you look at the
Irish chartered body (CAI), which
brings in 707.70 per member
and student.
Women need not apply
So how are the firms doing
when it comes to their female
partners? The latest survey from
Accountancy (published by Wolters
Kluwer) shows EY is leading the
way with 20% of its partners being
women. There are, however, still
some practices who seem to
struggle to attract top-flight women
to their firm. In several very big
firms fewer than 10% of their
partners are female. We will have
more on this in next months PQ.

AAT going Down Under
The AAT is partnering the
New Zealand Institute of Chartered
Accountants (NZICA) to offer the
AAT Diploma in Accounting. The
diploma is open to all and has
been designed to suit the New
Zealand market, with four of the
units being tailored for NZICA
students. Home Learning College
has been assigned as the training
provider for this qualification.
In brief
PQ news
Over 33,500 new students joined
CIMA last year, taking the total
member and student population to
just under 250,000, according to
latest figures from the institute.
Interestingly, the UK is among a
number of key countries that saw
record numbers of student
registrations in 2013.
CIMA MD Andrew Harding told
PQ magazine in an exclusive
interview that UK numbers grew by
an impressive 15% to 11,400. This
is a sure sign that businesses are
rebuilding their management
accountancy capacity. Harding
believes the need for good business
data is also driving recruitment of
CIMA PQs. Undergraduates
increasingly want real jobs in real
businesses, and the CIMA
qualification can give them that,
stressed Harding.
CIMA is having big successes in
Africa, India and central Europe.
Even China saw a 40% growth in
new members.
In Africa, Ghana saw a 56%
increase in student numbers. South
Africa also recorded record recruits.
CIMA recently opened a new office
in Nigeria and is hoping that this
will be a new pipeline of PQs.
India is another successful
recruiting area, with new
registrations up by 61%. Harding
admits that India is an extremely
challenging environment and this is
the first time in a number of years
that recruitment has really shot up.
Russia is the final area where the
CIMA qualification has caught more
students eyes. Its number there
rose by 30% in 2013.
CIMA is growing
across the globe
This month I visited Taiwan, Republic
of China, where I found what the locals
describe as the best kept secret in
Asia. The Big 4 firms are all present,
but more interesting is the fact that the
accounting profession is almost 75%
female.
Taiwan is a staging post for those
wanting to gain entry into China now
that rules on trade and travel between
the two have relaxed. Taiwan provides
the second-largest inward investment
into China. With little corruption and a
respect for the rule of law, it certainly
offers an attraction to British firms
wanting to develop in Asia. I was
impressed with the entrepreneurial
spirit, with seemingly every inch of
curb space used by budding
entrepreneurs.
I was awoken at 4am on my first
morning in Taipei by two earthquakes
that rocked my 23rd-floor hotel room.
The quakes, measuring 5.3 and 4.2 on
the Richter scale, did not have the
locals concerned, and as far as I could
see there was no damage caused. It
had me wondering if I had drunk too
much the night before, as the room
seemed to shake for a long time.
Taiwan is the leading manufacturer
of custom computer chips and brands
such as HTC and ACER started in
Taiwan. Walking around Taipei,
Kaohsiung and Taichung, I could see
that British manufacturing is strong,
with brands such as Dyson, Clarks,
Burberry and Hackett London all
having prominent positions. Not only
that, the Union Jack is worn as a
fashion accessory by locals who
welcome the British!
CARL
LYGO
A small
country that
has earned
a big
reputation
Professor Carl Lygo is
chief executive of BPP
CIMA has seen excellent growth worldwide, including in Africa
Write proper!
Computer based exams cannot
come soon enough for many ACCA
examiners and markers. It might
also help more PQs to pass!
Poor handwriting was an
important concern for many F7
markers last December. The
examiner stressed that if markers
cannot read what the candidate has
written no marks can be awarded.
Illegible handwriting and poor
formatting of answers was a key
concern of the F9 examiner as well.
This was also true for F5. The
examiner here explained that it is
an issue at every exam session, but
in December it was a particular
problem. The examiner said:
Markers try as hard as they can to
give any marks due on a paper, but
if they cant read the writing they
simply cannot give the marks.
On top of this the F8 examiner
complained about the poor layout
of answers.
One senior tutor said that the
ACCA should send a warning to
those who could be affecting their
chances of success.
He felt that some students might
think they have done a great job,
but if no one can read their
handwriting then all that hard work
is for nothing.
See next months issue for our
take on the Examiners feedback.
EY to close office
in Nottingham
Nottingham's status as a major
professional services centre has
suffered a big set-back with the
announcement that EY is to close
its office there and move staff to
Birmingham.
EY has said that there may be
redundancies as a result of the
move, which leaves just KPMG
and Deloitte in the city.
In a statement, EY explained
that the move to more flexible
working practices in the Midlands
and the ending of the lease at its
offices in City Gate were the main
drivers to the announcement.
The EY office will close on
1 July 2014.
ACHIEVE MORE. BECOME MORE.
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PQ Magazine April 2014
PQ student profile
What is your background? I have always loved
maths and studied it throughout school and
university. I work for Francis Clark LLP in the
corporate services department.
What made you choose your ICAEW career
path? At university I did an accounting module
in my first year and clicked with the material.
ICAEW appealed due to the range of topics
covered. It just so happened that the firm I
wanted to work for (Francis Clark) offered a
training contract for the ACA qualification.
What is it like to study ICAEW exams at Reed
Business School? All the staff are so friendly
and the tutors are second to none. I ask lots of
questions and they are always available to help.
Reed Business School is just brilliant like a
home away from home!
What were your thoughts on the new syllabus
FAR subject and how did you approach your
studies? I really liked the syllabus I think it
makes sense that FA and FR were merged. I
made sure I knew the syllabus before going to
Reed for the revision courses, so that this time
could be spent practising questions and
perfecting exam technique.
What was the hardest exam you have taken?
Definitely Financial Management (June 2013). It
was always going to be a time-pressured exam. I
took a minute to panic, then I pulled myself
together and got on with it.
What tips could you offer to other students
who are studying ICAEW? ICAEW is a huge
commitment, the exams are designed to test you
and you'll fall short if you don't put the work in.
Do you have any superstitions/lucky charms for
your exams? I was always told that you make
your own luck, I make sure I'm prepared for
every exam I sit.
Reed Business School courses are designed to
allow students to progress through their
studies and exams with the same group of
peers, how have you found working in this
way? I have made some amazing friends
through studying at Reed and I don't think I
would enjoy it as much if I was studying on my
own. When an exam is looming it's nice to chat
to others and be around people who are in the
same boat as you.
Other award winners from the December 2013 sitting
included Ross Bickerton, also of Francis Clark, and Mark
Johnstone (Thomas Westcott), who came in joint 8th place
and 11th place respectively in the 2013 Professional
Annual International Order of Merit.
PQ
Prepare for every paper
Meet Reed Business School PQ Charlotte Wells, first in the UK and
winner of the Spicer & Pegler' prize in the ICAEWs FAR December exam
Quality, Affordability, Employability
LCA Business School London, 19 Charterhouse Street, London EC1N 6RA
Tel: 020 7400 6772 Fax: 020 7400 6799 Email: acca@lca.anglia.ac.uk
Evening Classes commence:
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Revision Classes commence:
SATURDAY 10TH MAY 2014
Speak to a personal
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020 7400 6772
or enrol with us on-line
www.lca.anglia.ac.uk
14
PQ Magazine April 2014
PQ CIMA 2015 syllabus
C
IMAs director
of education,
Noel Tagoe, is
a man on a
mission. He wants to
create a professional qualification where
students know the theory but also learn
practically. In effect, that means you pass
an exam in a subject and can then walk
straight into the workplace and
implement what you have learnt you
can just do it.
His concern is that in the past learning
has been driven by teaching, and he sees
his role as reclaiming that learning. To do
this he needs the help of technology, and
in the past the technology hadnt been up
to the job. That, he believes, has
changed. The possibilities are now there
to re-couple learning and practice.
To achieve this goal, CIMA is focusing
on competences and what is needed at
every new level of the new syllabus
structure to make the PQ employable.
For Tagoe, employability of his PQs is
key and putting the classroom and
workplace together will give them the
boost they need.
What is new? .
Turning to the new syllabus, he said that
there has been some rationalisation of
topics, both across levels and within
papers.
After extensive consultation some key
new syllabus areas have been beefed up.
Transformation of the finance function is
a prime example here. Another is big
data, and what it means. You will see big
data in E1, and it will move through the
strategic areas and E2 and E3. The rest
of the syllabus will also be written with
awareness of big data, emphasised
Tagoe.
Then there is sustainability and
integrated reporting. A lot of work has
been done on that, he said.
Risk is a hot topic, and the economic
crisis only helped to show how the failure
of risk management can affect business.
Tagoe said CIMA PQs will see a more
streamlined view of risk in P3 the
renamed paper also gives a clue here.
However, he wants to stress that risk
needs to look beyond the financials. We
want to investigate enterprise risk as
well, he said. So you will see short-term
risk in P1 and longer-term, mainly
finance related risk in P2. P3 will take it
further. Watch out for it also appearing in
F3.
Cost transformation and cost
management is another key area. To an
extent CIMA is going back to its roots. All
businesses need to understand and
manage costs and do it effectively.
While these are some of the key
subjects, Tagoe is looking at an even
wider picture, and how CIMA PQs cope
with the digitalised world and the masses
of information out there. That means
being able to exercise judgment and look
beyond the mere financial. Internal
information is all well and good, but
businesses want accountants who can
look forward and out!
A learning machine .
Tagoe and his team were given the task
of finding out how an accountancy body
can create NQs who have the ability to
research and obtain information and
develop a perspective about the future. A
key element here will be gaining the
confidence to deal with uncertainty, and
that for him means moulding PQs into
learning machines, not just accounting
machines.
It will be a fight, as he has found
accountants often prefer to be precisely
wrong rather than broadly right. The
sustainability issue is a prime example
here. Finance measures have helped to
bring credibility, but it needed a mind
shift outside the figures alone to increase
the accountants relevance.
Assessment changes .
CIMA is being bold when it comes to
assessment, too. Pen and paper will be
gone after 2014 and everything will be
done at a computer terminal. Pearson
VUE and its 5,100 global centres is
where CIMA students will sit these new
computer-based exams
The nine current papers E1, E2, E3,
P1, P2, P3, F1, F2 and F3 will all
become CBTs, available to sit on
demand. Each will last 90 minutes and
use multiple-choice and other types of
integrated questions. The results will be
instant.
Sitting atop each level, operational,
managerial and strategic, is a case study
exam, which will be available four times a
year. Lasting three hours each, Tagoe
wants the case studies to help break the
silo mentality of learning. Students will
still receive a pre-seen paper, but it wont
be 16 pages long. Instead, it will be a
page-and-a-half and students will have to
do their own searching and shifting of
material just like in the real world.
The case study exam will also be very
different. Students will receive emails
from different people during the exam
and have to cope with their demands
just like a real working day! Tagoe also
envisages that during the four-exam week
windows for the case study students can
opt to sit on any day Monday through
to Friday. In effect, this will give 20
possible sitting days a year for the case
study. The results will be marked by a
real-live person and back with sitters in
just four weeks.
PQ magazine spoke to CIMAs director of
education about the new syllabus, which is
being introduced in 2015, and what the
changes mean to current students
WHAT NOEL WAN
PQmagazine
EXCLUSIVE
Noel Tagoe:
employability
is the key
PQ Magazine April 2014
15
CIMA 2010 syllabus PQ
NTS...
Tagoe is hoping to also use the new
assessment process to help fine-tune
feedback to students, so after they receive
their results they will be given guidance
on their weaker areas. CIMA will also be
using big data to discover the areas where
all students struggle.
Transitional arrangements .
The first CBT exams will start in January
2015, with pilot papers available in July
2014 for every paper.
When it comes to the transitional
arrangement, Tagoe said that the first
principle is that students will not be
disadvantaged. So if you have passed a
current level you will simply move onto
the next.
There will, however, be a choice for
students at the operational level if they
have passed two papers. They can
exercise a waiver and just sit the new
case study exam.
Tagoe felt that the risk of students
failing here is low. But the same waiver
will not apply at managerial level, as
missing a paper would affect the chances
of passing the case study here.
The new syllabus, modes of
assessment and general philosophy puts
CIMA at the forefront of accountancy
education globally. It will make other
bodies sit up and take note. Tagoe has
created a modern, dynamic qualification
for what has become an increasingly
volatile world. He also said CIMA wont
wait another four years to change the
syllabus again it will now be looked at
on a much more regular basis.
PQ
SMART
LEARNING
The CIMA lecturers conference provided real insight into challenges of the
current Strategic Level. See next months PQ for more in-depth analysis
T
here are now just three exam
sessions remaining for the
2010 syllabus. For the
Strategic Level papers it is, of
course, vital that candidates familiarise
themselves with the pre-seen material.
If you want to achieve success in the
exam hall the examiners have stressed
that you must give specific solutions and
not just generic advice. That means
knowing the appropriate application of
models and theories.
FINANCIAL STRATEGY
A quick look at the average marks
achieved by F3 sitters shows many PQs
dont do well on Q2. This question is
often taken from section B and you may
need to focus more time on this area.
There are also some recurring points
made in the post exam guides that
students must take note of if they want to
ensure success at the next diet. The
technical areas where students are
continually weak are WACC, cost of
equity, CAPM and rounding issues.
The examiner continually pleads for
answers that relate to the scenario. Other
problems are the poor use of Excel and
the inability of many candidates to
identify the correct data. Exam sitters also
dont seem to be able to drill down on
associated issues.
There are some positives. CIMA PQs
papers do not indicate problems with
time management, according to the
examiner. NPV is also a popular choice at
exams and done well, and in general
students appear to have a good
understanding of section A.
PERFORMANCE STRATEGY
The average pass rates at P3 seem to
show that sitters have problems with time
management with this paper. This is
leading to lower marks being achieved in
the optional questions. The examiner
pointed out that students struggle with
two key areas of the syllabus:
management of financial risks (35%) and
risk and control in information systems
(15%). That is half the syllabus!
There is also a worry about the lack of
structure in answers. You can add to this
poor time management, a lack of using
the scenario, and just vague answers.
PQs are good at some things, notably
risk and inter controls (25%) and review
of internal controls (15%).
The average marks appear to show
that students are ignoring Q1 and start
with an optional question, perhaps one
they are good at. However, poor time
management means they dont leave
enough time for Q1 when they finally get
around to it!
ENTERPRISE STRATEGY
Areas that E3 students need to improve
on are:
Information technology/information
systems.
Depth of the knowledge of the syllabus.
Bringing in knowledge from other
syllabus areas.
The examiner stressed that candidates
need to know their verbs, and answer the
question set rather than their own set of
questions. There is also evidence of time
pressure and that means students need
to practise exam questions under real
conditions.
PQ
FINANCIAL STRATEGY F3 AVERAGE MARKS
Marks All UK Africa
Question 1 50 49.1% 52.0% 45.9%
Question 2 25 37.0% 37.8% 34.8%
Question 3 25 43.0% 45.2% 38.2%
Question 4 25 48.2% 51.6% 45.0%
PERFORMANCE STRATEGY P3 AVERAGE MARKS
Marks All UK Africa
Question 1 50 44% 46.0% 42.0%
Question 2 25 54% 55.6% 51.0%
Question 3 25 40% 43.0% 38.6%
Question 4 25 41% 45.4% 39.6%
ENTERPRISE STRATEGY E3 AVERAGE MARKS
Marks All UK Africa
Question 1 50 40.2% 42.8% 36.6%
Question 2 25 40.0% 40.0% 38.4%
Question 3 25 43.6% 47.0% 47.4%
Question 4 25 42.4% 45.2% 39.8%
PQ CIPFA spotlight
I
n September 2013, CIPFA launched a pilot
in the West Midlands for its Finance
Apprenticeship scheme. The one-year
apprenticeship offers employers the opportunity
to nurture new talent within their organisations,
enabling their young apprentices to gain valuable
work experience while studying for the AAT Level
4 qualification.
Employers supporting the pilot included Grant
Thornton, Birmingham City Council, Coventry
City Council, Birmingham Womens NHS
Foundation Trust and Nuneaton & Bedworth
Borough Council.
Fast-forward six months to National
Apprenticeship Week (3 7 March 2014) and
CIPFA hosted a launch event at its London head
office. Following the huge success of the West
Midlands apprenticeship pilot, CIPFA is now
launching the scheme across England, focusing
on London, Manchester and Birmingham. Over
60 people from across the public sector
attended the events including representatives
from the careers industry and employers. This
unique recruitment and training solution has
certainly caught the industrys attention.
Sourcing future finance leaders
The recent figure for NEETs (young people Not
in Employment, Education or Training) remains
above one million. Half of those classified as
NEETs are actively looking for employment, and
through no fault of their own these young people
find themselves unable to start their career. This
is a massive call to action for CIPFA to do
something to address the issue and help launch
the careers of the finance leaders of tomorrow.
There has been a big push by the government
to raise awareness among young people (and
their parents) about the benefits of
apprenticeships. They give young people the
chance to learn and develop skills in the context
of the workplace and enable employers to grow
their own workforce and recruit from a more
diverse pool of talent.
Although many young people report that they
have had very little or no guidance at all about
apprenticeships, CIPFA has been working with
organisations such as Total Professions to try
and spread the word about the scheme and
encourage young people to consider an
alternative route to a professional career. The
message is this: you dont have to go to
university to start a vibrant career in public
financial management.
So what makes the CIPFA Finance
Apprenticeship scheme different?
Under the scheme, young people are employed
and trained by CIPFA while in post with partner
organisations. Unlike traditional government
funded apprenticeships, the CIPFA Finance
Apprenticeship is open to anyone who meets the
required entry criteria. Applicants need to have
good level 3 qualifications such as two relevant A
levels in business, finance, etc, or AAT Level 3
with minimum retakes, plus GCSE maths and
English at grade C or above.
The one-year apprenticeship is managed by
CIPFA. This includes all recruitment, selection,
payroll and training, allowing employers to focus
on nurturing new talent within their organisations
and apprentices on gaining valuable work
experience while studying for the AAT Level 4
qualification.
AGE OF THE
APPRENTICE
CIFPA to roll out its Finance Apprenticeship scheme after successful trials
As a minimum, apprentices will receive the
National Minimum Wage for their age (starting
from 5.03 per hour), with some of our
employer partners offering a higher rate of up to
7.45 per hour. At the end of the 12-month
contract the apprentice will be AAT Level 4
qualified and part CIPFA qualified.
At this time, CIPFA will encourage partner
employers to consider hiring apprentices who
have successfully completed the scheme. If
successful, the trainees would be expected to
continue their studies with CIPFA, becoming
qualified CPFAs with two more years of
successful study.
However, if the employer partner chooses not
to hire the apprentice, the apprentices will have
benefited from having gained a professional
accountancy qualification and having had work
experience, leaving them in a fantastic position
to continue their career path in accountancy, if
they wish.
Speaking at the launch event, CIPFAs CEO
Rob Whiteman said that apprentices were
essential to the economy. Grant Thorntons
James Cook commented on the quality and
calibre of apprentices within the firm saying
clients found it difficult to tell the difference
between their apprentices and graduates.
Next steps
If you know a young person who is looking to
start a fantastic career in public financial
management, then get them to apply to become
a CIPFA Finance Apprentice. For details visit
www.cipfa.org/apprenticeships, email
apprenticeships@cipfa.org, or call the Employer
Relations team on 020 7543 5757.
PQ
Sorted, thanks to
pqjobs.co.uk
PQ Awards 2014
The photo-booth at the PQ Awards proved a huge hit and gave our guests the chance to
behave in a very silly way. So did you make our final cut? If so, be afraid. Very afraid
SAY CHEESE!
THANKS AGAIN TO OUR FABULOUS SPONSORS
Success Stories
Nick Craggs - Premier Training Tutor
Premier Training Wins
Prestigious PQ Awards
Its been a great start to the year for Premier Training! Weve scooped up prestigious PQ magazine
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PQ Study Resource of the Year Award 2014 for our online My Premier Training Account
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PQ Distance Learning Student of the Year 2014 for Donna Smith.
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Phillip Cyhan
AAT Levels 2, 3 & 4
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Donna Smith
Winner of PQ magazine
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Completed levels 2,
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Kathryn Holden
PQ Distance Learning
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Rachel De Bose
London VQ Award
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WINNER
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2014
PQmagazine
Pass Promise
Pass Promise
Online Assignments Interactive Video Tutorials Printed & Online Books Mobile App
The Ofce
FOR ACCOUNTING TECHNICIANS
2nd EDITION
Study Manual
Alan Dawson
Pass rate: 42% (Dec 2013)
Technical difficulty: 10/10 (in common
with all the Professional level optional
papers this is the final level of a
prestigious professional qualification
after all!)
Weighting of calculations: discursive
elements is approximately 50:50
(although because there is a choice of
questions in Section B, it is possible to
choose questions to change this slightly
one way or the other).
Importance of exam technique: 10/10
(critically important!)
The syllabus . .
The ACCA P4 syllabus builds upon the core
financial management knowledge and skills
covered in F9 (Financial Management) at the
Fundamentals level. It prepares students to
advise management and/or clients on complex
strategic financial management issues facing an
organisation. P4 has seven syllabus sections:
A
Role and responsibility towards
stakeholders: This section of the syllabus
includes a number of relatively familiar areas,
such as conflicting stakeholder interests and
ethics. These discursive topics were introduced
earlier in the ACCA syllabus, and now have to be
applied in a financial management context.
B
Economic environment for multinational
organisations: This section of the syllabus
sets the tone for much of what is to follow.
Increasingly financial managers need to be
aware of the factors affecting their businesses in
a globalised economy. In common with syllabus
section A (above) the topics here are discursive
(rather than numerical) and most students cope
well with them.
C/D
Advanced investment appraisal (C)
and acquisitions and mergers (D):
These two syllabus areas are tested in great
detail in every exam, so it is vital that you get to
grips with the detailed numerical topics (such as
NPV, IRR, MIRR, business valuation).
However, given the likely split in exam
questions between calculations and discursive
elements, it is also important that you can
understand and describe the circumstances in
which each method should be used. Discussion
of strategic considerations is also often tested
alongside the calculations.
E
Corporate reconstruction and
re-organisation: The P4 exam looks at
financial management issues in a contemporary
way. Therefore, this syllabus section is
particularly important at the moment, as many
companies have had to reorganise to survive in
the deep recession following the credit crunch.
F
Treasury and advanced risk management
techniques: Many students find this section
to be the hardest in P4. It covers the topic of
hedging against the risk of currency rate and
interest rate changes. Youll have to practise lots
of past exam questions to ensure that you can
prepare the complex calculations accurately and
then comment on your methods.
G
Emerging issues in finance and financial
management: As mentioned above, the
examiners are always keen to test contemporary
(or emerging) financial management issues. This
is a very interesting and relevant syllabus area. It
has recently been expanded to incorporate the
increasingly important topic of Islamic financing.
Choosing the P4 exam .
P4 is an optional paper. Students who performed
well in the ACCA F9 paper, who have a strong
mathematical background and who have an
interest in working in a financial management
role tend to enjoy the P4 paper and perform well
at it. If maths is not one of your strengths, and if
you struggled with the F9 paper, then P4 is
definitely not for you.
Sitting the P4 exam .
The P4 exam is made up of two sections.
Section A comprises a single, compulsory
50-mark question. Section B contains three
25-mark questions of which students must
attempt two.
Exam technique is critical to success in P4. In
particular:
Use the 15 minutes of reading time
productively, to choose which section B
questions to attempt and to identify the parts in
each question that are likely to cause most
problems.
Allocate time carefully to the questions (90
minutes to section A and 45 minutes each to
section B) and stick to your allocations.
Within each question, dont necessarily start at
part (a) and work through sequentially. If one of
the later parts to the question looks easier than
part (a), start with that.
In section A there will be four professional
marks awarded for the format, structure and
presentation of your report. These are the easiest
marks on the whole exam, so make sure you get
them.
Although P4 has historically had a low pass
rate, and it is perceived as a problem paper by
many students, it is by no mean impossible to
pass. To maximise your chances of success,
practise plenty of past exam questions and look
out for new articles on the ACCA website. As well
as reading your textbooks to learn the key
syllabus topics, read good quality newspapers
and blogs too, in order to help you to understand
how the theoretical topics apply in a real world
context.
Andrew Howarth is a P4 Content Specialist
at Kaplan Financial
PQ
20
PQ ACCA P4 paper
PQ Magazine April 2014
FIGURE IT OUT
In the third article of its new series,
Kaplans Andrew Howarth tackles
the technically tough P4 paper
PQ magazine editor Graham
Hambly is updated on the progress
being made by ACCA e-learning
chief Clare Minchington
A
CCAs director of e-learning, Clare
Minchington, told PQ magazine
recently that the association is on
track with its plans to introduce extra
exam sessions, both paper-based and CBEs.
She stressed that the ACCA has always been
aiming to bring these in post-2014. So we are
talking 2015 and maybe even 2016 before PQs
get to sit ACCA exams four times a year.
Admittedly, Minchington says, she was not as
clear as she should have been on this point last
year.
The aim is to introduce additional paper-based
exam sessions first for those exams not available
via on-demand CBE F5F9 and P1P7 and
this is likely to be four exam sessions a year
(March, June, September and December).
She stressed that introducing paper-based
extra sessions required substantial changes to
ACCA processes and systems and will take it
some time to implement. So while the target is
late 2015/early 2016 she will need to progress
the plans further before an exact date is given. It
will be interesting to see if CIMAs
announcements mean the ACCA move faster.
The changes will have a significant impact on
learning providers, and Minchington feels that it
is incredibly important that it takes time to work
with its partners to ensure they can manage the
change. As we spoke, the ACCA was conducting
further consultations with providers, in addition
to detailed planning and analysis, to better firm
up dates as to when these new sessions will be
introduced. She promised to keep PQ magazine
readers well informed as she
progresses.
The format of the F1, F2 and
F3 exams will be the first to feel
the effect of the changes that
are coming.
The introduction of F4 as a CBE has been
moved back to November (from September).
This will ensure students have time to fully
prepare for the new exam format. The majority of
support materials will be published in August
2014 to avoid confusion with the June exams.
That has to be a good move. Minchington
explained: As this will be a change for students
we want to ensure they have time to adequately
prepare.
December 2014 is going to be a big time, as a
new exam format will be introduced. Exam
papers F4F9 (not F6) will
change in December 2014. Paper specimens for
the new format exams were made available for
students on the ACCA website in late January.
Minchington admits that the plan originally
was to only offer the extra exam sessions
March and September as CBEs. Having
consulted with employers and students this will
change. These stakeholders told the ACCA that
added flexibility was their number-one priority, so
the association wants to focus on getting four
paper-based exam sessions launched first
(F5F9 and P1P7) before moving to the next
phase of the vision of CBEs for F5F9. She
emphasised that this gradual change was
requested by providers, so they can continue to
offer quality tuition.
The ACCA new format for December
Acowtancy.coms Richard Clarke broke the news
that, come December 2014, F4F9 (except F6)
will be 40% multiple choice, with the remainder
10-15 mark questions. There was some concern
that this would be seen as a dumbing down of
the exams. Most PQs, though, seem more than
happy to embrace the change.
PQ
21
ACCA update PQ
PQ Magazine April 2014
ACCA: WHERE
ARE WE NOW?
PQmagazine
EXCLUSIVE
Minchington: wants to ensure students have time to prepare for change
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Whole body experience
The point of all this is awareness. Homo
sapiens have defined a new generation in their
existence; the generation of awareness. Massive
leaps in technology have enabled us to make
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us the time and resources to consider those that
involve imagination.
The same is true of education and learning.
Many of you reading this will be contemplating
sitting exams, or recovering from them, and
know (using some part of the available conscious
brain) that this process involves great chunks of
memory. It used to be considered that memory
was a structure, a single unit that existed
somewhere, which could be called upon when
necessary to answer questions such as what was
the name of the lead singer of Slade? What is
Latin for helicopter? Now it is widely regarded as
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What the team at Neil Taylor Insolvency most
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Taking all the constituent parts of an exam
candidate and making a whole that can take
exams head-on with confidence and a sense of
empowerment.
Thanks to Neil Taylor Insolvency for this
article
PQ
23
PQ Magazine April 2014
how to study PQ
I
t was Emo Philips who said that he used to
think the brain was the most impressive
organ in the body, before realising what it
was that was telling him this. Since he first
deliberated this on British TV in the early 1980s
scientists have learnt a great deal more about
the human species most northerly organ.
For example, we now know that the average
human brain is made up of 1.4 kilos of the most
complex material discovered in the universe (says
the species who have made it as far as an orbiting
ball of rock 239,000 miles away). It consists of
hundreds of billions of cells, called neurons and
glia. Neuro-scientists use some of theirs to
postulate that each neuron is as complex as a city,
furiously busy making tens of thousands of inter-
connections every second by way of electrical
impulses to neighbouring neurons.
The average 19 to 24 year old uses about five
glia texting 63 times a day while slipping,
conscience free, into the 95% demographic who
do not pay for music downloads. They have
access (language permitting) to the one million
books published each year and to the one
thousand billion pages on the web. But for all
those interesting facts my absolute favourite is that
if you were to remove all of the empty space from
the atoms that make up every human on earth,
the entire world population could fit into an apple.
You must take a holistic approach
to study if you want to enhance
your chances of exam hall success

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25
PQ Magazine April 2014
international standards PQ
I
m in the mood to deliver a sermon. The
subject will be the same word can mean
different things to different people. The
word I am going to use to illustrate the point is
policy. The particular problem with the word
policy shows itself in stark relief when a student
asks this deceptively tricky question: I have
changed my depreciation policy from straight
line to reducing balance. Why does the text say
this is not a change in policy? It obviously is a
change in policy! Goodness, I can feel myself
quake. It is a horrible question with an even
more horrible answer.
The word policy comes to us from the mists of
time long before anyone had the bold idea of
inventing accounting standards and trying to
impose consistency. Back then, accountants
had a wide range of choices for their financial
reporting and the choices they made became
known as policies. For example, in the context
of leasing, there was a choice between ignoring
all finance resulting in pure operating lease
accounting and accommodating some finance
resulting in the mixed model of operating and
finance lease accounting like we do today. Back
before standards most companies chose pure
operating lease accounting and that was their
lease policy. But others chose the mixed model
and that was their lease policy.
Then, one-by-one, standards were issued and
choices were closed. To continue the leases
example, after IAS 17 a company previously
applying pure operating leases had to swap to
the mixed model and the policy choice
disappeared. As each standard was issued the
choice disappeared and companies had to align
their policies with the standard. The idea of a
policy as a choice has effectively gone. Policy
choice has disappeared.
But as this was going on, a new and different
meaning of policy sprang into use. This
meaning is nowhere in the standards and
everywhere in real life, and this conflict is the
root of the confusion.
This very different animal is all about volume,
compromise and materiality. It is true to say that
IAS 16 on depreciation contains no policy
choice. You must depreciate an asset on an
individual asset-by-asset basis over its life to
match the cost with use. And many companies
do just that. They simply look at each asset on
an individual basis and estimate its use, and
thereby derive depreciation for each asset. But
in big companies with lots of similar assets, a
little trick called a formula is used. Say there
are hundreds of machines that are similar and
all last roughly five years (some more and some
less). In that company the accountant might say:
I shall depreciate all of them over five years.
Now this is in direct contradiction to IAS 16,
which says that depreciation must be on an
asset-by-asset basis. But here is the trick. The
accountant comes back and says: I know that,
but if I do as I propose, the error will be
immaterial and therefore I can. Neat trick. Now
this becomes the big company formula. So the
big company policy is to match cost with use
and the formula is the five-year life compromise
used to deliver that policy.
Now say that same big company realises that
reducing balance would better reflect the
matching of cost with use. Well, then that
company will keep its policy of matching cost to
use and change its formula to reducing
balance.
Obviously, that is a change of formula and not
a change of policy. But, as you know,
accountants who routinely use these formula in
their accounting do not call them formula. They
call them policies. You can now see this
meaning is in direct contradiction to the
standards. But these formula are still called
policies just the same.
Hence the problem. The original meaning of
policies is in the context of choice. The newer
meaning of policies is in the context of
formula. So the standards have one meaning
and people in the real world have another
meaning for the same word. This is common. So
when someone uses a word and the context
seems skewed, then ask them to explain a little
more and you might find they are using that
word to mean something quite different to what
you understand by that word. You can now
understand them and save yourself a whole load
of heartache. Here endeth the lesson.
Martin Jones lectures at LSBF
PQ
WORD BLIND
Martin Jones brings
you his latest quarterly
update from the
IASBs headquarters
I N
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O
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A
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F
I
N
A
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IALR
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P
O
R
T
I
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G
S
T
A
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D
A
R
D
S
Check it out now the all-new NQ!
NQ magazine is an e-mag for newly
qualifieds who want to get ahead
It's packed with articles from industry experts that will help you do your job better
Sign up today via the PQ magazine website www.pqmagazine.co.uk
26
PQ Magazine April 2014
PQ time-series analysis
In the latest in his technical series, Gareth John tells you all you need to know about time-series analysis
LETS GET TECHNICAL
I
f I could correctly guess this weekends lottery numbers then the next
of these articles would be written in the Cayman Islands (I would still
write the article as not only am I a man of integrity, but I have
absolutely no doubt that Graham Hambly would hunt me down to my
beach-side villa).
The problem is that its virtually impossible to accurately predict the
future, so I suppose that I will have to make do with writing on my sofa in
Cambridge. In your studies you see a variety of numerical techniques that
allow us to improve our predictions, including linear regression, index
numbers, the high-low method and the one that I am interested in for this
article, time-series analysis.
Time-series analysis .
Time-series analysis involves looking at what has happened in the recent
past to help predict what will happen in the near future. A time-series is a
series of results over a period of time. Lets say that the monthly sales
made by a business over a period of are:
Seasonal variation .
A seasonal variation (SV) is a regularly repeating pattern over a fixed
number of months. If you look at our time-series you might notice that
sales rise from month 1 to month 3, and then similarly from month 4 to
month 6. There appears to be a SV repeating over a three-month period
where sales get higher each month for three months. We could expect this
pattern to repeat in the future so sales are likely to rise from month 7 to
month 9.
Trend .
A trend (T) is a long-term movement in a consistent direction. Trends can
be hard to spot because of the confusing impact of the SV. The easiest
way to spot the Trend is to look at the months that hold the same position
in each set of three periods. For example month 1 is the first month in the
pattern, as is month 4. The sales in month 4 are higher than in month 1,
indicating a trend of rising sales.
Identifying the trend .
To identify the T we need to smooth out the impact of the SV. We do this
by calculating what are known as three-period moving averages. This
involves averaging the sales for three months at a time and then moving
down to the next three months.
Identifying the seasonal variation .
Now that we know the trend we can identify the specific impact of the SV.
We do this by comparing the time-series to the trend to see whether it is
above or below what we would expect. In month 2, the time series of 80 is
20 below the trend giving a SV of -20. In month 3, 150 is 30 above the
trend giving a SV of +30.
Month Sales (the Three-period moving Seasonal variation
time-series) average (the trend)
1 70
2 80 100 -20
3 150 120 +30
4 130 140 -10
5 140 160 -20
6 210
Predicting the future .
We can now use our knowledge of T and SV to make a prediction of what
sales will be in month 7.
Extrapolating T: We would expect T to continue to rise by 20 each month
(remember it is a long-term movement in a consistent direction!). This
means that T in month 6 would rise to 180, and then in month 7 it will rise
to 200. This doesnt mean that we expect to sell 200 in month 7 as the
seasonal variations mean that any given month will be above or below T.
Incorporating SV: Given our repeating three-period SV month 7 will be the
first month of a new pattern of three months. This means that month 7s
SV can be expected to be the same as month 1 (for which we have no
figure) and month 4 where we have -10. This tells us that the result in
month 7 can be expected to be 10 below trend.
Our prediction for month 7 will therefore be 200 10 = 190! Bear in
mind that this is still ultimately an estimate and sales in month 7 are highly
unlikely to be exactly 190.
Now try this one .
Sales for months 1 to 6 were 105, 140, 190, 135, 170 and 200
respectively. Assuming a three-period seasonal variation identify the trend,
the seasonal variations and then predict sales for months 7 and 8.
Once you have had a go watch me work my answers at
www.firstintuition.co.uk/blog.html.
For plenty of other tips and advice, including links to useful study
resources follow @aattoptutor on Twitter.
Gareth John is a tutor/director with First Intuition and helps to
manage their AAT online learning programme. He was PQ Magazine
Accountancy Lecturer of the Year in 2011
PQ
Month Sales
(the time-series)
1 70
2 80
3 150
4 130
5 140
6 210
A time series will consist of distinct
patterns and if we can identify these it
makes it far easier to predict what might
happen in the future. The two main
patterns you need to understand are:
1. Seasonal variations
2. Trends
Month Sales (the Three-period
time-series) moving average
(or Trend)
1 70
2 80 300/3 = 100
3 150 360/3 = 120
4 130 420/3 = 140
5 140 480/3 = 160
6 210
You can see that compared to the
original time-series, the three-
period moving average figures
show a much more consistent
increase; in fact it is increasing by
20 each month. We would expect
this trend to continue in the future.
(Notice that you cant work out
figures for the first or last month).
Gareth Johns luxury ocean-side villa possibly
}
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H
aving taken a view on how business and financial risk are important
in financing decisions, it is necessary for a successful candidate to
take the discussion further by assessing the impact that financing
decisions have on the key ratios (as identified in my previous two articles
see PQ magazine, February and March 2014).
A reminder of the scenario . .
Smith and Co are seeking to raise 50m to finance a potential overseas
expansion project. The board is undecided as to how to raise the finance.
The choices being discussed around the table are a one-for-four rights
issue at an issue price of 2 per share or a 50m 8% five-year loan stock.
The most recent financial statements are below:
Income Statement:
000
Revenue 79,000
Variable costs (12,000)
Gross Profit 67,000
Fixed costs (47,000)
PBIT 20,000
Finance charges (5,000)
PBT 15,000
Tax (3,000)
PAT 12,000
SOFP:
Assets: 000
Non-current 200,000
Current 57,000
Total 257,000
Liabilities:
Share capital (50p shares) 50,000
Retained reserves 116,000
Long term liabilities 45,000
Current liabilities 46,000
Total 257,000
Impact on ratios . .
RAISING 50M DEBT FINANCE AS LOAN STOCK
Operational gearing: No effect; financing decision does not impact upon
operational gearing.
Financial Gearing: (Existing debt + new debt)/equity funds
(45m + 50m)/(50m + 116m) x 100 = 57.2%
A substantial increase over the current gearing of 27.1%. This will increase
financial risk faced by the shareholders of the business. The risk appetite
of the shareholders must be considered but also consistency with any
published risk management policy is essential. As always, comparison to
suitable benchmarks will provide additional evidence.
Interest Cover: PBIT/(existing finance charges + finance charges
with new debt)
20m/(5m + 4m) = 2.2 times
The interest cover has almost halved, indicating further the increase to
financial risk. The headroom compared to any interest cover covenant
should be considered, as it may now be too small to be acceptable to
investors, especially considering the high operational gearing of this
business and the volatility of PBIT this creates. Clearly, the cash flow of the
business needs careful planning, as 4m of extra interest will need to be
paid per annum.
NOTE: the calculations are very simplistic, keeping retained reserves the
same as well as PBIT not attempting to roll the calculation forward a
year. This simplistic approach will allow you to do some easy calculations
and derive judgement on the outcome in the time the exam allows (only
roll the numbers forward a year if the question specifically requires you to).
RAISING 50M AS NEW EQUITY
Operational gearing: As above, no effect.
Financial gearing: Existing debt/(existing equity + new equity)
(45m/(116 + 50m + 50m) * 100 = 20.8%
A reduction to financial gearing and financial risk.
Interest cover: No additional interest, therefore no change to the current
interest cover of four times (20m/5m).
The new equity reduces the financial risk faced by the investors. This
business has high business risk and so the reduction to overall risk is
probably the most sensible (but then I am a risk-averse tutor!). There are
other considerations, however:
Risk appetite of investors.
Potential return from the project.
Accuracy of any forecasts (profit and cash flow, especially with additional
interest charges).
Sensitivity analysis.
The boards experience with overseas projects.
The conclusion is rarely clear but reaching a conclusion based upon
your own analysis is important. Dont be afraid to have an opinion!
You could also mention capital structure theory; traditional view, M&M,
etc, and tax shield but that is for another day.
Matt Holden, Reed Business School
PQ
28
PQ financial management
PQ Magazine April 2014
Sources of finance: part 3
Matt Holden assesses the impact the choice of finance has upon the ratios we calculated in last months issue
Business risk
Financial risk
Interest cover the link
]
]
]
A penalty own-goal
Garry Carter explains why more
legislation on late payments
penalties would be a bad idea
W
hen the Late Payment of
Commercial Debt (Interest) Act was
introduced in 1998 it was heralded
by some as the end to unfair delayed payment
practices operated by some companies that were
starving micro, small and medium-sided
enterprises (MSMEs) of their lifeblood
cashflow. Under the legislation, suppliers are
enabled to charge interest at 8% over Bank rate,
currently 0.5%, on any debt that is paid beyond
the agreed terms (normally 30 days). They can
also charge a small fee per invoice based on the
value.
But in reality the politicians who supported the
introduction of the legislation were doubtless
listening to lobbyists rather than the MSMEs that
were supposed to benefit from this new panacea
to all their ills: they misunderstood the basic
relationship between businesses and their clients
and how interdependent they are on each other.
The success of the penalty regime within
HMRC was sited as proof that it could work.
Unfortunately, this is no real example on which
to base such an important piece of legislation
because HMRC is a monopoly. However much
they upset us, we cant take our business
elsewhere.
In reality, the interest and penalties that could
be charged by MSMEs are often simply not even
considered because it could potentially lead to
the loss of important clients. Not fair perhaps,
but the reality nonetheless.
The problem now is that there is a movement
within Europe to make this all compulsory and to
penalise those businesses that do not apply the
interest to overdue invoices. I therefore question
again whether politicians have really understood
the often complex relationship between client
and supplier and, surely, to consider penalising
businesses for not applying the interest is
harming the exact same businesses that this
29
PQ Magazine April 2014
viewpoint PQ
Delivering results
Reed Business School
The Manor, Little Compton,
Nr Moreton-in-Marsh, Glos GL56 ORZ
Tel 01608 674224 Email rbs.reed@reed.co.uk
Web www.reedbusinessschool.co.uk
* FAR, TAX, FM, BS December 2013 are based on rst time students attending full link courses. ** T4 September 13, F1 & P3 November 13 Based on students attending tuition, revision & QBD days per paper.

F4, F6 & F8 December 2013 Based on students attending tuition, revision and QBD day. Bursaries available for ACCA and CIMA fees for employees of UK charities.
All prots are covenanted up to Reed Educational Trust Limited which is a registered charity. Reg. No. 328347
Results matter
and were proud of ours ...
contact us to be proud of yours
Optional full board residential facilities provided at
very competitive rates. Free lunch and parking
for ALL students. ALL exam results published on our
website. Download our course brochures.
Discounts apply, see website for details
ICAEW
93% pass rates and above FAR, TAX, FM, BS *
CIMA
100% pass rates T4, F1, P3 **
ACCA
ACCA 100% Pass rates in F4, F6 & F8

Call us for further information:

01608 674224
legislation was originally set up to protect and
support.
At the recent annual Bookkeepers Summit in
London, it was agreed unanimously by the more
than 400 bookkeepers and accountants who
attended that imposing penalties would, in most
cases, be commercial suicide for the majority of
their clients. It was the overwhelming feeling of
summit delegates that introducing better
financial management and proper credit controls
were by far the most important first steps
towards eradicating late payment, not more
legislation and that evidence showed that this
could best be achieved by encouraging MSMEs
to use professional bookkeepers and
accountants.
The MSME sector represents a staggering
99.7% of all businesses in the UK and Europe.
As professionals, bookkeepers and accountants
owe it to this vital sector to ensure that they play
their part in making more of them a success.
After all, its what theyre trained for.
Garry Carter is CEO of the Institute of
Certified Bookkeepers Would
PQ
Carter: do politicians really understand the
relationship between client and supplier?
WE ARE LOOKING FOR CONTRIBUTORS
FOR OUR VIEWPOINT COLUMN, SO IF
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HAVE SPECIALIST KNOWLEDGE YOUD
LIKE TO SHARE EMAIL THE PQ EDITOR
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31
PQ Magazine April 2014
ICAEW tutor conference PQ
M
ore than 140 tutors travelled from as
far afield as Malaysia, Botswana and
Mauritius to talk to the examiners at
the recent ICAEW annual tutor conference.
The hot topic for the day was ethics. The
opening session saw a presentation about how
ethics is integrated throughout all aspects of the
ACA qualification, and where students should
focus to improve their chances. Tutors attended
subject workshops with each examining team,
who discussed how ethics is approached and
how marks are awarded to scripts for skills and
knowledge. Some tutors were pleasantly surprised
at how generous the examiners can be one
(remaining nameless) even suggested they would
be tougher on the students than the examiners.
When asked for their view, one ACA examiner
explained how they take a positive approach to
marking: We try to award marks for correct
workings and presentation, which is why we
encourage students to present all of their
workings. We dont penalise students for getting
things incorrect. We try to write clear and
structured questions and requirements so that
students will gain as many marks as possible.
Our overall aim is to have a paper which is
achievable by a well-prepared student; ultimately
we want students to pass.
The good news for those of you studying hard
for the June exams is that the examiners want
you to pass as much as you do. Duncan Frost,
Head of ACA training at Kaplan Financial,
supported the examiners position. He said: The
annual conference was extremely useful. The
examiners as always were very open and
conveyed clearly that their aim is to reward good
performance, and they really want to see the
students passing these exams.
Other top tips from the examiners include:
Audit and Assurance: Use the open book
the standards are allowed into the exam hall for
a reason. Use page tabs to find relevant
standards quickly and reference them in your
answers.
Financial Accounting and Reporting: Mind
the GAAP differences between IFRS and UK
GAAP are important and are tested. Know the
differences and consider the implications on the
scenario.
Financial Management: Make numbers talk
students generally perform well on NPV and
numerical sections of exams, but need to
improve on written sections and ensure that they
link their answers to the requirements.
Business Strategy: Dont knowledge dump
make sure that you have applied appropriate
numerical analysis and use that analysis to
provide balanced, reasoned recommendations
and conclusions.
Tax Compliance: Make sure you explain
like Financial Management, students tend to
fare better on requirements that ask them to
calculate, state and identify, but weaker
students forget to explain. If you are asked to
do this dont avoid it and focus on what the
requirement is asking of you.
Business Planning Taxation: Watch your
ethics ethical issues may be embedded within
the scenario and might not be obvious. Exercise
your professional scepticism and apply a
balanced approach to dealing with the issue.
Ask yourself: what is the ethical issue? Is there
an ethical issue? Who is impacted? What are the
courses of action available? Who will these
actions affect?
Corporate Reporting: Dont miss the point
the requirements are presented in the order that
they are for a reason. By skipping requirements
or answering them out of order, valuable
gateway marks are missed. These are marks
attached to points that are embedded in the
scenario and usually quite subtle. Once you
have identified the point you can go on to
discuss and consider the implications leading
to further marks becoming available. This point
applies to all subjects.
Strategic Business Management: Question
your sources consider who the information is
supplied by, why it has been supplied and the
nature of the information in the exhibits. What is
the motivation of the supplier? Can the quality of
the information be relied upon? Be realistic in
your responses and do not simply follow one
particular line.
Case Study: Do your homework you should
know the financial story of the case in detail and
be able to summarise the case in your own
words before the exam. This will help you to
react to the exam scenario and plan your
answer, thus making the most of the time
available.
PQ
PQ caught up with events at the
ICAEW annual tutor conference
The only way is ethics
Chartered Accountants Hall was packed with tutors from across the globe
32
PQ Magazine April 2014
PQ salary survey
W
ithout doubt, the return to
economic growth is having a
strong influence on hiring trends
across the accountancy and finance
profession. As businesses feel more confident
about the outlook, they are gearing up for
growth, and beginning to
look at resourcing and
performance in a different
way. Organisations want
skilled finance professionals
who can interpret data,
manage cash flow and work
effectively with operations
teams, while still ensuring that
they meet their tax and
compliance obligations. This is
why the trend towards hiring
business partners that we
commented on in last years
report is even more pertinent
today.
We have seen the most
noticeable increase in demand
for finance professionals in the financial
services sector in London, where banks are
recruiting qualified accountants in large
numbers for the first time in years. While
movement in other sectors is more modest,
this is likely to change as the positive
momentum spills out into the wider economy.
As turnover and profit growth have picked up
across the UK, particularly over the last
quarter of 2013, industry sectors including
property, production, business services,
transport, and also some retail and wholesale,
have begun to invest in finance professionals
to help understand and drive results.
Typically, much of the recruitment demand
has come from medium to large businesses;
however, there are positive signs from small
businesses who are seeking to invest and grow
in 2014.
During the downturn, employees shouldered
larger workloads and worked longer hours
because companies were not
generally increasing
headcount in finance and
looked to re-deploy workload
where possible, even if there
were leavers. As the
economy moves into better
times, employers that want
to hold on to their top
performers will need to
reward their loyalty or risk
losing them. One obvious
way to do this is to invest
in the educational
qualifications provided by
the leading professional
bodies in the finance
sector, who offer their
own insight in this guide.
At Hays, we are proud of the relationships
we build within the finance community and we
value the expertise and insights from all of our
customers across the UK. This sector expertise
helped us to produce our 2013 report DNA of
a Finance Director that offers unique insight
into what makes a successful finance leader.
Look out for our new DNA of a Partner report,
which will be available later in 2014. You can
keep in touch with all our latest reports and
insights via our online expert insights hub go
to hays.co.uk/finance-insights.
Mark Sheldon, Managing Director of Hays
Accountancy & Finance
See www.hays.co.uk/salary-guides
PQ
Northern Ireland
Salary range Typical
ACCA PQ 20,000-23,000 22,000
ACCA Finalist 24,000-29,000 26,000
CIMA PQ 20,500-25,000 22,000
CIMA Finalist 24,000-29,000 26,000
CIPFA PQ 18,000-23,000 20,500
CIPFA Finalist 23,000-31,000 26,000
ACA PQ 17,000-21,000 18,000
ACA Finalist 18,000-25,000 23,000
Wales
Salary range Typical
ACCA PQ 20,000-25,000 22,000
ACCA Finalist 24,000-29,000 26,000
CIMA PQ 20,000-25,000 22,000
CIMA Finalist 24,000-29,000 26,000
CIPFA PQ 18,000-23,000 20,500
CIPFA Finalist 23,000-31,000 26,000
ACA PQ 20,000-25,000 22,000
ACA Finalist 25,000-29,000 27,000
Positive trends
to advertise call 020 7216 6444
on the
PQjobs.co.uk
www.pqjobs.co.uk
A jobs board just for you! We
know how busy your lives are and
we want to give you easy access
to the jobs market. With
pqjobs.co.uk you will be able to
match your CV with the job of
your dreams.
Isnt it time to advance your
career? Then pqjobs.co.uk will
help you plan your next job move.
Our site offers real jobs right
here, right now, taking the stress
out of finding your ideal position.
Reed Accountancy
www.reedglobal.com
Reed Accountancy are
the UKs leading
specialist recruiter for all
accountancy roles up to
and including part-
qualified accountants,
with Reed.co.uk being
the UKs leading
recruitment site, offering
more than twice the
number of jobs of any
other UK job site.
For your next accountancy role go to www.reed.co.uk/accountancy.
Robert Walters
www.robertwalters.co.uk
Robert Walters is one of
the worlds leading
global, specialist
professional recruitment
consultancies.
We specialise in finding
jobs for part qualified
accountants in leading
commercial companies,
financial services and
the public sector. Our consultants offer expert advice and will
work hard to help you find your ideal job. Download our Salary
Checker App from the business section of itunes.apple.com
Mark Sheldons market update, plus your salary checker for Wales and N. Ireland
PQ Magazine April 2014
careers PQ
ACCA final level student James Field, 45, of Lewes, East Sussex, is finance manager at
Cheesmur Building Contractors. He has been there for five years. He has a 2:1 in
accountancy from Brighton University and won the top prize in our January awards
Life at: our PQ of the Year
The workplace: power to the people
Worker bees, vital cogs in the machine, the people
that keep the economy working; whatever your
analogy, for a company to be successful it needs the
best people in all parts of
the business, including at
entry or graduate level. And
as the economy continues to
recover, the power is shifting
towards workers.
The recent REED 2014
Salary Guide and Market
Insight Report found that the tide is once again
turning in favour of the employee, with job
opportunities in the UK increasing up 28% in 2013
and therefore the bartering power of talented PQ
accountants is increasing, too.
The research also found that almost half (43%) of
businesses are worried about losing talented
individuals. So, with the increasingly secure economy
and only just over a third (38%) of all businesses
having a clear strategy to retain talent, employees are
more inclined to look for new opportunities. In fact,
40% of accountants have told us that they are
already, or will be, looking for a new job in the next
12 months.
But you cant just walk into your
dream job. Where theres a great
career on offer, with excellent pay
(53% of part qualified professionals
received a pay rise in 2013) that is
highly secure (88% of finance
professionals feel secure in their roles)
and rewarding (84% of part qualified professionals
are satisfied in their jobs) you can bet that
competition will be fierce for the most attractive roles.
Nonetheless, this is all great news for those taking
their first steps in the profession. For outstanding
candidates, forward-thinking companies will be
putting together attractive and creative packages, so
its employees can make sure they get the right
balance between salary, training and job satisfaction.
The REED 2014 Salary and Market Insight and
Talent Management reports were produced by REED
and can be found on REEDGlobal.com/salaryguide
33
What time does your alarm
clock go off on a working day?
6.30am, to walk our dog Henry on
the Sussex Downs.
Whats the first thing you do
when you get to your desk?
Turn on my PC then start a heated
debate over whos turn it is to
make the tea!
Whats on your desk? A photo
of my family.
Whats the best thing about
where you work? My colleagues.
Working with builders means you
need a sense of humour and be
able to take as good as you give.
Wheres your favourite place
to go for lunch?As a treat there
are some nice country pubs nearby
at Glynde and Firle.
What can you see from your
desk? A cowshed and the sky
through a velux window.
Which websites are your
favourites and why? BBC News
and Sport, Facebook, YouTube
Music, Linked In, Brighton & Hove
Albions website and PQ
magazine, of course!
Which websites do you use for
work? HMRC, Cheesmurs (I
maintain it), ACCA, IFRS, local
authority sites and various
construction industry ones.
How many hours a week do
you spend in meetings? Two to
three.
What time do you leave the
office? Around 6pm.
How do you relax? Watching my
football team, family walks with the
dog, reading, TV and my Xbox.
Whats your favourite tipple?
Ringwood Brewery beers, which
remind me of my boozy student
days living in Portsmouth.
How often do you take work
home with you? I try not to. If I
have a deadline to hit Ill stay late
or go into work over the weekend
as I live only five minutes away.
What is your favourite TV
show? Breaking Bad and Game
of Thrones.
Summer or winter? Either, so
long as its not raining!
Pub or club? Pub.
Who is your hero? Every person
who has fought for this country.
If you had a time machine,
where would you go? To a time
when mankind has discovered
deep space travel and began to
unravel the secrets of the universe.
If you hadnt chosen
accountancy, where might you
be right now? I changed to
accountancy at 38. If I hadnt Id
still be working in retail.
The PQ Book Club
EVERY MONTH WE REVIEW THE
BOOKS YOU SHOULD BE READING
The Witch Bikers Ride Through the
Balance Sheet by Richard France
(WisdomFiction, 18.50 Kindle
price 8.03)
This is an accountancy textbook with
a difference. Author Dick Frances
beginners guide to accountancy is
written as a novel, with the hero and
protagonist Jack Whackhead learning
the rudiments as he embarks on the
adventure of
starting his own
business. He is
lucky enough to
have Ashna as his
accountant; she
explains the
concepts and
practicalities as
his business
grows and develops. Along the way
Jack encounters a Slovenian drug
dealer who is laundering money, a
police sting and various other
outlandish (often slapstick)
situations. It really is a novel and fun
way of learning.
On a practical level, the book is
crammed with examples, questions
(and answers) to explain each topic.
PQ rating: 4/5 France deserves great
credit for making a potentially dry
subject so entertaining.
Pass Inspiration Study and Life
Guide, published by Neil Taylor
Insolvency
Students who are just starting to
study for insolvency
exams with Neil
Taylor Insolvency get
given this excellent
book on day one. It
takes a holistic
approach to the job
in hand, with a day-
by-day, task-by-task
explanation of what
is expected of you,
and how you can achieve your goals.
It includes modules on how to
build memorable and creative notes
and summaries, dovetailing into
imaginative and useful tips on how to
construct a long-term memory. It also
introduces the studier to key exam
techniques specifically for Joint
Insolvency Examinations Board
exams, and is packed with advice on
how to develop (and keep) a positive
mind-set, nutrition (its even got
recipes!), exercise and much more.
Each chapter is crammed with
exercises to reinforce the learning
experience.
WE HAVE COPIES OF THIS BOOK
TO GIVE AWAY SEE NEXT
MONTHS ISSUE FOR DETAILS

Is college worth it?
A quarter of all graduates
are earning less than workers
who have completed an
apprenticeship. Research shows
they were paid less than the
average 11.50 earned by non-
graduates after a successful
apprenticeship. However, there is
a counter to this. Graduates are
still more likely to be in work,
although as EY pointed out
recently they will be graduating
with 53,000 worth of debt.
Many accountancy firms,
particularly the Big 4, have
changed their recruitment
patterns to take on more and
more apprentices to reflect these
concerns.
Been online recently?
High flyers with good jobs
are have a greater risk of
becoming addicted to the
internet than unemployed and
young people, says research
from Henley
Business School.
Having 24-hour
access to email
and the company
website means that over-
achievers can now work for as
long as they like from any
location! Companies need to be
careful, as their top people can
suffer mood swings and anxiety
when they are forced to log off.
The researchers found that some
addicts wake up three times a
night to check emails, disrupt
their eating patterns and have
relationships that suffer
as a consequence. In
the end it leads to loss
of judgment, mistakes
and burnout.
In brief
About you
Title......................................................
First name............................................
Surname..............................................
Company name ..................................
............................................................
Department..........................................
Full postal address Home Work
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Postcode ............................................
Phone..................................................
* Email ................................................
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Study please tick a box in 1A or 1B
1A Please indicate accountancy body you belong to and tick the box of the next set of exams
you are hoping to sit
ACCA CAT F1-3 F4-F9 P Papers
CIMA Certificate Operations Management Strategic T4
CIPFA Certificate Diploma Strategic
ICAEW CFAB Professional Advanced
ICAS TC TPS TPE
Tax ATT CTA
AAT Level 2 Level 3 Level 4 Member
1B Studying for an accountancy degree/MBA/MSc Year 1 Year 2 Year 3
Do you work in accountancy and finance Yes No
If yes, what is your job title? ..........................................................................................................
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PQ magazine reserves the right to refuse a free copy of the magazine if the applicant does not comply with the terms and
conditions of circulation.We will use your details to send you a copy of the magazine and any further information we feel
would be of use.
PQmagazine
The easiest way to get your free monthly copy is to go online at
www.pqmagazine.co.uk, or you can fill in the form below and send it to:
PQ Magazine, 4th Floor, Central House, 142 Central Street, London, EC1V 8AR
Sorted, thanks to
pqjobs.co.uk
PQjobs pqjobs.co.uk
PART-QUALIFIED ACCOUNTANT
DRIVE EXCEPTIONAL RESULTS
Newcastle upon Tyne
dependant upon exper|ence + benefts

P&G is recognised as a leading Global FMCG and services company with
consumer-preferred brands that are used by 4.8 billion consumers three
billion times a day.

A successful candidate would be placed in one of the service areas within
our Finance & Accounting Services Organisation, which includes General
Accounting, Cost and Product Accounting, Forecasting Services, Payment
& Banking Services and Accounts Receivables.
Your experience demonstrating strong leadership, team work and problem
so|v|ng |n a s|m||ar ro|e w||| enab|e you to make a d|erence by prov|d|ng
outstanding support to the business across Europe, ensuring timely and
accurate fnanc|a| account|ng and bus|ness & process transformat|on v|a
project work reaching across 20 countries.

Fluency in a European language would be a distinct advantage.
To apply, contact Laura Wilson
Reed Accountancy Newcastle
01912 551 760
laura.wilson@reedglobal.com
reedglobal.com/accountancyjobs Reed Specialist Recruitment @ReedAccountancy Reed Accountancy
Keep up to date with the latest
Accountancy news
Gain insightful CV and interview tips
Join the discussion on our blog
Get ahead in your career with advice
from the experts
Search for Part-Qualied jobs
Discover what you are worth
Resources, hints and tips for Part-Qualied Accountants
BRAND NEW
reedglobal.com/pqhub
MANUFACTURING
MANAGEMENT ACCOUNTANT
Carmarthen, up to 28,000
Dawn Meats is a high quality supplier of
beef and lamb products, which supplies
to large household name retailers across
the UK. Within this challenging role you
will be responsible for investigating
operational issues on yields, labour and
stocks, preparation of weekly accounts and
assisting with the implementation of any
new systems and projects. You will have
strong interpersonal skills, with the ability
to work to tight deadlines.
Ref: 2047671
Contact Alex Robbins on alexandra.
robbins@hays.com, call 01792 642042
or visit hays.co.uk/jobs/dawnmeats
FINANCIAL ANALYST
City of London, 36,000 + benets
A global leader within the insurance
industry is looking for a commercially
astute PQ nancial analyst to partner with
the wider business to ensure commercial
decisions make nancial sense. You
will possess an exceptional academic
background, impeccable communication
skills and be condent in dealing with
senior stakeholders. This is a rewarding role
with a clear career path, industry leading
remuneration and a supportive working
environment which promotes and rewards
exceptional performance. Ref: 2083589
Contact Chetan Patel on
chetan.patel@hays.com, or call
020 3465 0018
GRADUATE TRAINEE
ACCOUNTANT
Brentford, up to 23,000 + study support
A rare opportunity has arisen at one of the
UKs number one advertising companies,
which is a global organisation. You will sit
within the nancial reporting team, based
in the UK head of ce. Responsibilities will
include management accounts, analysing
balance sheets and P&L, as well as liaising
with the operations team. You will be
articulate and looking to study for the
ACCA or CIMA qualication. This is a great
chance to work in a highly supportive
environment. Ref: 2083482
Contact Laura Harmar on
laura.harmar@hays.com or call
020 8940 9386
hays.co.uk/pq
A CAREER THAT DELIVERS MORE
PQ Magazine April 2014
PQ got a story, funny or serious, you want to share? Email graham@pqaccountant.com
W E V E G O T T H E L O T

Terms and conditions: One entry per giveaway please. You must send your name and address to be entered for the draw. All giveaway entries must be
received by Friday 11 April. The main draw will take place on Monday 14 April 2013.
TO ENTER THESE GIVEAWAYS EMAIL GRAHAM@PQACCOUNTANT.COM
WORD UP
Mark Ellis has had over 30,000 downloads
of his Accounting Dictionary App. You can
opt for either the Lite or the Pro v2.0 on
your iPhone or Android. Both have the
same functionality with v2 adding the
ability to work offline no data connection
required. The Lite version is free but will
have discreet ads, or you can go the Pro
version, which is the cost of a cappuccino
and is ad free. The thing to do is install the
free Lite version and if you like it upgrade
to the ad free Pro version simple! So
what are the most popular terms people
are looking up? They are depreciable
amount, input cost, participating
interest, limiting factor and gross loss.
THE WORLD KNOWS
CIPFA is rightly very proud to be the
2014 PQ magazine Accountancy Body of
the Year, but its senior people were
shocked recently at our global reach. At a
high-level meeting with a Nigerian
accountancy body and the first thing the
Nigerians did was to congratulate them
for winning the PQ award!
SECOND
HAND
CAR
SALESMAN
What would you do
to avoid tax? DJ
Chris Moyles
pretended to be a
used-car salesman
in the hope of
avoiding tax on 1m
of earnings. The
aggressive tax
avoidance scheme,
called Working
Wheels, meant he
had to tell HMRC
that he had spent
time engaged in
self-employment as
a used-car trader.
On his tax claim he
explained he had
sold one car for
3,800 but had run
up 1m of losses. A
tax tribunal ruled
that Working Wheels
should be dissolved
and the
450
people
involved
needed
to pay
290m
in tax owed. What
we cant understand
is why HMRC is not
pursuing Moyles
and the others
surely it is a criminal
offence to lie on
your tax forms.
WHERES ME MONEY?
Pop diva Rihanna has been
offered a $10m settlement from
her accountants after she
claimed they had made her
financially vulnerable. She
took her accountants to
court, claiming they
made so many bad
decisions she
effectively became
bankrupt in 2009.
She started that year
with $11m in the bank
and by the end of it
had only $2m left!
Dont worry too much,
shes recovered and
now has $43m in her
coffers. Her accountants,
Berdon LLP, had claimed it was
RiRis own financial actions or
inaction, and those working for
her, that had caused the losses.
They were not, however,
prepared to test the case in the
courtroom.
AWARD
WINNER
Sara Braidwood
and her team at
the NHS North
West Student
Forum didnt win
our Student Body
of the Year award
recently. But she
wont be too
disheartened as
she walked off with
the Unsung
Heroine of
Womens Cycling
at the London Bike
Show. Wow, that
girl is a busy bee!
GOOD LUCK CHARM
Did you know that in Japan
iyokans are being marketed as
good-luck charms for students in
exams? More than one of your
five sides a day (a joke!), the
iyokan is a pentagon-shaped
citrus fruit. PQ isnt sure how easy it is to get this lucky orange-
like food, as it is produced in Yawatahama, Japan.
JAGUAR DRIVERS SEXIEST
Women believe men who drive Jaguars
win the sexy stakes. A poll by Illicit
Encounters put Audi and Mercedes
drivers in second and third place
respectively. So what are the least sexy
car manufacturers? Bottom of the list
came Nissan, followed by Volvo, Renault
and Toyota. We at PQ tweeted this story
but unfortunately got our sexiest and
sexist mixed up, saying Jaguar drivers
were the sexist. Many of our followers
were quick to agree!
A TEDIOUS
DEBATE
Dr Stuart Waiton,
writing in the
Evening Standard,
says the Scottish
independence
debate has been
tedious because
the issue has been
reduced to some-
thing that can be
decided by
accountants rather
than people with
passion and belief.
So accountants
dont have passion
or belief?
38
Three in one
We have three great books by Christopher
Stoakes to giveaway this month. Know the
City 2013/14, Commercial Awareness
2013/14, and his Get to the Point, how to
write well at work. These great books are
indispensible guides for any PQ with career
ambitions. We reviewed Get to the Point in
last months issue and gave it a whopping 5 out of 5!
All you need to do is email graham@pqaccountant.com (headed
Stoakes) and we will do the rest. Send your address too!
A Complete Learning Solution from
Kaplan up for grabs
Kaplan Publishing is giving away a FREE ACCA
Complete Learning Solution to one lucky reader,
worth over 100! This package of ACCA-approved
materials is all you need for effective exam
preparation and includes the Complete Study Text,
Exam Kit, Pocket Notes, Final Assessment and free
online materials.
To be in with a chance of landing this prize, email
graham@pqaccountant.com. Head your email Kaplan and include your address.
MA N C H E S T E R
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CIMA qualication with an
MBA or MA
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