ACCA F9 Key Examinable Areas for June 2014

Investment appraisal
We can safely assume this topic will be examined at every sitting and carry a
substantial number of marks. The most common technique assessed is NPV with
inflation and taxation although be prepared for a twist, possibly involving some of the
more basic methods of the applications of NPV such as replacement analysis or capital
rationing. Lease v buy was examined in the most recent sitting. It is also worth bearing
in mind that IRR has not been tested for three years so may pop up in some form.
Working Capital Management
Another key topic which is likely to examined every time. Exams to date have covered
much of this topic, in particular receivables management but its been a while since
weve seen the more numerical aspects surrounding cash management. A key
discursive element is to highlight the working capital needs of the company in the
scenario and appropriate funding strategies. Inventory management was tested heavily
in the most recent sitting, along with a discussion on invoice discounting and factoring.
Valuations
This has been examined in virtually every F9 exam to date, but interestingly enough, not
in the most recent sitting. I believe this is a topic worth being on top of for the next
sitting. Cash flow based values have yet to be examined although the PE ratio and
dividend valuation methods still appear to be the more examinable areas. There are
often high scoring discursive elements in this area of the syllabus for being able
to discuss the implications of something on the value of the business or perhaps the
relative methods of the valuation methods.
Business Finance
This topic has been heavily examined recently and in particular the impact of financing
on ratios is an area the examiner likes. It is important to be able to discuss the impact
that different policies may have on a company by being able to both calculate and
interpret financial ratios. It is worth focussing on the relatively new syllabus area of
Islamic Finance as it can carry a fairly generous amount marks for relatively little
knowledge.
Cost of Capital
This topic features in virtually every exam to a greater or lesser extent. Candidates
should feel confident when calculating the overall cost of capital (WACC) and going on
to discussthe impact of the cost of capital on investments. The most recent sitting
required calculation of a project specific cost of equity using asset and equity betas.
Risk Management
Within this section of the syllabus, foreign exchange risk has been examined more often
than interest rate risk. However, both are fairly under-examined areas of the syllabus as
a whole and these topics did not feature in the most recent sitting at all. I believe this is
a topic worth being on top of for the next sitting.
The Financial Management Function and The Financial Management Environment
We can probably expect one specific topic from these syllabus areas to feature as a tag
on discursive element within one question on the exam. This part of the question can
provide some easier knowledge-based marks and therefore is worth some focus. The
examiner repeatedly comments that these topics are not handled by students as well as
he would expect/ like.
ACCA F8 Key Examinable Areas for June 2014
Audit Framework: Confidentiality / conflicts of interest / audit committees
Internal Audit: Outsourcing, VFM
Planning and Risk: Audit risk
Internal Control: Payroll system (including tests of control)
Audit Evidence: Purchases; payroll; inventory, review engagements
Completion & reporting: Going Concern (ISA 580), Evaluation of misstatements (ISA
450) and Auditors reports
Specific standards/topics:
Elements of internal control (ISA 315)
Inherent limitations of internal control
Risk assessment procedures (ISA 315)
Audit planning (ISA 300)
Expectation gap
Sampling (ISA 530)
Auditing accounting estimates (ISA 540)
Please be aware that recent diets for F8 have ranged from those requiring knowledge of
the content of a broad range of standards (some quite peripheral to the syllabus) and
those requiring grounding in the core auditing concepts/techniques. Therefore, students
should be prepared for either possibilities in the June 2014 paper, or a combination of
the two.