Paper 1.1 Preparing Financial Statements
* Preparation of a balance sheet or P&L account for a sole trader.
* Consolidated balance sheet for a company.
* Calculation of various ratios with a discussion of the pros and cons of ratio anlaysis.
* Incomplete records for a sole trader.
* Discussion of accounting concepts and possibly problems with historic cost accounting.
* Accounting for non current assets.

Paper 1.2 Financial Information  for Management
* Cost classification and behaviour.
* Material, labour, and overhead costs.
* Absorption and marginal costing.
* Process costing.
* Standard costing (includes variances).
* CVP analysis (includes break-even).
* Pricing methods.
* Relevant costing.
* Limiting factors and linear programming.
PQ tip: The vast majority of the marks in this paper will be for calculations.

Paper 1.3 Managing People
* Leadership & motivation.
* Organisational culture.
* Health & safety.
* Delegation.
* Organisational structures.

Paper 2.1 Information Systems
* Business strategy and IS/IT strategy.
* Trends in IT.
* Outsourcing.
* Recharging IS/IT costs.
* Legacy systems.
* Projects: quality plans, slippage.
* Systems development methodologies (see Student Accountant article, August 2005).
* Data flow diagram, business event model.
* External design, data input.
* Software packages v bespoke.
* Security, physical, passwords, validation and encryption.
* Prototyping CASE and 4GL.
* Quality management, quality assurance, quality control, V-model.
* Changeover methods.
* Metrics (Student Accountant article February 2005).
* Maintenance.

Paper 2.2 Corporate & Business Law
* Delegated legislation.
* Doctrine of precedent.
* Impact of the Human Rights Act 1998.
* Offer and acceptance.
* Consideration.
* Exclusion clauses.
* Breach & remedies.
* Powers and duties of agents.
* Limited liability partnerships.
* Duties of employers and employees.
* Discrimination.
* Wrongful and unfair dismissal.
* Veil of incorporation and lifting the veil.
* Content and purpose of memorandum and articles of association.
* Raising and maintenance of share capital.
* Debentures and charges.
* Directors' duties and powers.
* Company insolvency.

Paper 2.3 Business Taxation
* Trading loss relief with capital allowances, industrial buildings allowances and some calculation of chargeable gain.
* Income tax computation with benefits as well as Schedule D case I/II implications leading to income tax and possible gains tax payable.
* Computational and discursive question dealing with registration/return misdeclaration penalty.
* Capital gains tax shares – bonus/rights/ takeover and rollover and gift relief.
* Group losses with gains group implications.
* Partnership with losses.
* Employment v self employment with income and tax and NIC calculations.
* Corporate tax loss relief.
PQ tip: Terminal loss relief for both sole traders and limited companies has not been examined.

Paper 2.4 Financial Management & Control
* Investment appraisal.
* Working capital management – trade credit and cash.
* Performance evaluation.
* Throughput accounting and theory of constraints.
* Budget preparation plus written part on budgeting.

Paper 2.5 Financial Reporting
* Consolidated financial statements is a regular in the compulsory section.
* Published financial statements of a limited company.
* Cash flow statements, in accordance with FRS1/IAS7.
* Interpretation of financial statements ratio analysis and assessing financial performance.
* Tangible and intangible non-current assets.
* Revenue recognition and FRS18.
PQ tip: Watch out for FRS11 & 19 and SSAP21.

Paper 2.6 Audit & Internal Review
* Corporate governance (this has been moved from paper 3.1.).
* Combined code provisions and the rational behind it.
* Functions of an audit committee.
* Internal controls and internal audit.
* Audit procedures, such as planning and testing.

Paper 3.1 Audit & Assurance Services
* Identify business risk, suggesting controls to mitigate the risks.
* Planning, risk assessment, long-term contracts.
* Audit evidence on tangible fixed assets (FRS15), provisions (FRS12) and long-term loans.
* Ethical issues – the fundamental principles of integrity and objectivity.
* Corporate social responsibility reporting.
* Audit reports involving significant uncertainty relating to going concern.
* Emphasis of matters treatments.
* Auditors liability or implications of IFRSs.
Paper 3.2 Advanced Taxation
* IHT with share valuations including life and death tax calculations.
* VAT penalties possibly late registration or default surcharge.
* Corporation tax losses probably in a group including capital gains and rollover relief.
* Comparison of sole trader and company taxation including a discussion of personal service companies (IR35).
PQ tip: Do not ignore the most recent changes in the syllabus, they are invariably examined.

Paper 3.3 Performance Management
* Contribution based decision-making.
* Practical aspects of pricing policy.
* Performance evaluation.
* The strategic framework.
* The learning effect.

Paper 3.4 Business Information  Management
* Strategy models (SWOT, PEST, Porter).
* Nolan's 'Stage Hypothesis'.
* Checkland's 'Soft Systems Methodology'.
* Earl's 'System's Audit Grid' and 'Three Leg' analysis.
* McFarlan's 'Applications Portfolio' and Peppard's adaptation.
* Parson's '6 IS Strategies'.
* Zuboff's 'Automate, Informate, Transformate'.
* The 'Three Stage' change process and 'Unfreeze, Change, Re-freeze'.
* BPR and CSFs.
* Soft and hard approaches.
* Managing change.

* Help with our tips came from BPP, CAMS, FTC, LCA, LondonSam, LVMT and Reed Business School

See the November issue of PQ Magazine for an in-depth look at
* Paper 3.5 Strategic Business Planning

* Paper 3.6 Advanced Corporate Reporting

* Paper 3.7 Strategic Financial Management