ACCA Dip-IFRS Exam Structure & Time Management Tips

 The ACCA Diploma in International Financial Reporting (Dip-IFRS) is a globally recognized qualification, where the syllabus is rich and practical, however, many students find the mode of examination (Computer Based Examination – CBE) and time pressure to be challenging hurdles. Further, per the examiners’ report over past many years, it is an observation of examination team that frequently students lack in understanding the question or what is expected in the answer. Also, students do not explain their numeric answers adequately.

 

To overcome the above hurdles or challenges, first important step is to understand the exam structure or structure of the question paper. Second step is to understand how the examination utility looks on a computer machine and how to navigate through the various exhibits in question scenario and how to answer without losing time in navigation. The third most important and last step is to practice on such platform in order to reduce time required to solve the question paper. In this blog, we’ll focus on the first step to overcome the hurdles i.e. understanding structure of the exam.

 

Let us break down and analyse the exam paper pattern and try to understand what ACCA on a broad level expects from the students of Diploma IFRS examination. This will help students to plan their revision based on the expectations of examiner and more importantly to plan 3 hours of examination. Student has 3 hours and 15 minutes at his disposal. Student can use it as per his own convenience for reading questions and writing answers. However, our suggestion is to keep total 15 minutes for reading and planning the question paper and another 10 minutes as a buffer. Thus, out of 195 minutes, remaining 170 minutes can be utilised to solve the question paper. Thus, 1.7 minutes per mark can be used as a very broad level guideline for the time management. However, considering the level of difficulty of a particular question, this time may be revised.

 

Exam consists of 100 marks with 4 questions, each attracting 25 marks. All questions are compulsory and no alternative is available for any question.

 

Question one:

This question will involve the preparation of a consolidated financial statement, as examinable within the syllabus. This question will often include issues that will need to be addressed prior to performing the consolidation procedures for e.g. procedures mentioned in IFRS 3 – Business Combinations viz. calculation of purchase consideration, NCI, goodwill etc. Generally, these issues will relate to the financial statements of the parent entities prior to their consolidation. A key purpose of this question is to assess technical consolidation skills. However, the question may also require candidates to adjust for transactions that have been incorrectly or incompletely accounted for in the financial statements of group entities (usually the parent entity). In order to make these adjustments candidates will need to apply the provisions of relevant IFRS Standards. In Question one, the focus will primarily on application rather than explanation. No explanations are expected in the question number 1.

 

Question two:

This question will often be related to a scenario in which questions arise regarding the appropriate accounting treatment and/or disclosure of a range of issues. In this question candidates may be asked to comment on management’s chosen accounting treatment and determine a more appropriate one, based on circumstances described in the question. This question will also contain an ethical and professional component related to the accounting treatment that is being examined.

 

Question three:  

This question will usually deal with one or two IFRS Standards in some detail. Such a question would require candidates to describe key features of the IFRS Standard and apply it to two or more situations that the question describes. In contrast with Question 1, there will be a limited number of marks available for technical preparation of financial statements extracts and the majority of marks are available for identifying and quantifying the appropriate adjustments. However, it is expected that students can explain how these adjustments will affect line items in the financial statements.

 

Question four:

This question will often present candidates with a scenario or a range of scenarios for which the correct financial reporting treatment is complex or uncertain. Often the question will place the candidate in a ‘real-life’ role, for example chief accountant reporting to the chief executive officer or senior accountant supervising an assistant. The question frequently requires candidates to address a series of questions that have been posed by the other party in the scenario. The question will often ask candidates to present a reply or report that deals with the appropriate financial reporting of the issues raised in the scenario. The primary skill in this question is identifying and describing the issues, rather than the detailed computation of numbers. 

 

Questions 2, 3 and 4 will be more about identification and explanation of financial reporting issues rather than of financial statements preparation. Practicing these questions from the past exam questions is very good exam preparation as generally candidates find the narrative style questions more challenging than the numerical style of question one. These past papers continue to be relevant, but students should bear in mind that sometimes additional query or explanation of an additional IFRS Standard can be demanded.

 

We hope knowing the ACCA Dip-IFRS exam structure will help you approach the exam with a clear plan. Understanding the types of questions, marks distribution, and how the paper is set
will make it easier for you to focus on your study and manage your time during the exam.

Best wishes from Team FinPro!

Thank you for reading our blog, stay tuned for such insightful tips.

Thank you for reading our blog. Stay tuned for more such insightful tips. If you have any questions or need assistance, feel free to contact us.