ACCA/CAT

AIM

To apply relevant knowledge, skills and exercise professional judgement in carrying out the role of the accountant relating to governance, internal control, compliance and the management of risk within an organisation, in the context of an overall ethical framework.

MAIN CAPABILITIES

On successful completion of this paper, candidates should be able to:

ADefine governance and explain its function in the effective management and control of organisations and of the resources for which they are accountable

BEvaluate the professional accountant’s role in internal control, review and compliance

CExplain the role of the accountant in identifying and assessing risk

DExplain and evaluate the role of the accountant in controlling and mitigating risk

EDemonstrate the application of professional values and judgement through an ethical framework that is in the best interests of society and the profession, in compliance with relevant professional codes, laws and regulations.

RELATIONAL DIAGRAM OF MAIN CAPABILITIES

Exam format

The examination is a three-hour closed book examination, with 15 additional minutes allowed at the start of the exam for reading and planning. The exam will be entirely discursive with questions utilizing various scenarios.

The exam will contain two sections. Section A will contain Question 1, which will be worth a total of 50 marks and which will be compulsory. It will include several distinct tasks (listed as (a), (b), (c), etc) and will sample the syllabus quite broadly. Question 1 might contain elements of governance, risk, internal control, and will include some aspect of ethics.

One of the features of the Professional level exam paper is the awarding of ‘professional marks’. These are marks which certain parts of the answer are presented. / They will usually be awarded in Section A (the compulsory of the exam paper) and will total 4 to 6 marks. / it may be, for example, that one requirement asks you to present your answer in the form of say, a letter, a presentation, a memo, a report, briefing notes, or similar. / Some marks may be awarded for the form of answer in addition to the content of the answer. This might be for the structure, content, style and layout, or the logical floe of arguments in your answer. / You should assume that if the question asks for a specific format of answer in your answer that some marks may be awarded for an effective presentation of that format.

Section B will contain three questions (Question 2, 3 and 4) and students will be invited to attempt two from the three questions set. Each question in Section B will, accordingly, be worth a total of 25 marks. / In contrast to Question 1, it is likely that the questions in Section will explore one part of the syllabus (governance, risk, internal control or ethics) in a little more depth. / Students should not assume, however, that each question in Section 2 will examine only one part of the syllabus. It is more likely that each will contain an emphasis on one part of the syllabus, while including content from other parts as well. / All of the three questions in Section B will be based on a short scenario.

(Examiner’s approach by David Campbell)

Examiner

The examiner is David Campbell. He is a lecturer at Newcastle University.

Exam techniques

1.回答问题的时间控制(Time management)

严格控制考试时回答每道问题的时间。考试时间180分钟，满分100分，应该按照1.8分

钟/分的标准来安排回答问题的时间分布，因此每道问题的回答时间最多不能超过其分值*1.8，例如一道10分的题目，最多花费18分钟来进行回答即可。因为遵循思维和考试的规律，在回答问题最开始的时候总是能将大部分知道的答案都回答出来，越到后面越不熟悉，回答的得分率也将下降。

2.按顺序答题(rules of the exam)

虽然ACCA可以接受不按照先后顺序的答题方式，但仍然建议考生严格遵守顺序答题这样一个潜在的考试规律。首先，如果没有按照顺序答题，先选择自己比较擅长的题目来回答，容易回答太多而浪费时间;其次，不按顺序答题容易显示对题目总体把握的不自信，给考官造成不好的第一印象，影响后面的得分。(如果一开始就回答Q2，仿佛在对考官说：Dear marker, please fail me!)

3.格式安排 (exam format)

回答每个题目时都要注意分段和分点，按照得分标准(1分或2分/Key Point)估计要回答几个Key Point，标明每个Key Point的序号，暗示考官你对题目的把握程度良好。回答完每个段落都空1-2行，回答完整个问题后请到新的页面从新开始下一题的回答。

4.理论联系实际 (apply principle to practice)

从浅层来说，要提及题目中的公司名称，人物名称、职务及相关事件。从深层来说，要注意题目中所给出的案例和理论知识之间的联系和异同。判断按照以下哪种情况回答问题：

(1) 可以完全按照理论知识回答问题，注意回答的全面性

(2) 题目中所述情况与理论知识存在差异或相反情况，注意把握答题的角度和回答的方式(如在发展中国家实施公司治理的方式，是否要严格按照SOX法案的相关要求执行)

(3) 题目中只叙述了理论知识的某一个方面，或者问题中要求你站在某一个单独的立场上回答问题，注意严格遵循题设要求的回答问题的立场。

5.合理安排答题的分点和详略程度 (mark allocation)

分数→时间→答题量(详略程度及分点)

Marks→Time used→Answer

根据分数来判断考官要求的答题量和详略程度，而不是根据你对知识点掌握的情况来决定。基本上考分都是按照1-2分/key point来分布的，比如关于定义和概念的问题，如果得分标准是1分/key point，那么将定义表述出来能得0.5分，对定义进行进一步的解释和说明又能得0.5分，若仅仅将背诵和记忆下来的定义默写在答卷上，而不做任何进一步的解释，不但失去一半的分数，而且容易让考官认为你并没有真正的理解和掌握该知识点，给后面的评分造成不良影响。

6.专业分数 (professional marks)

一般出现在Section A中，占4-6分的分值。要求考生按照一定的格式和语气来写一些专业的公文，其中格式占1-2分，语气和用词等占2-4分，考生在回答该问题时，要注意以下三点：

(1)公文的使用目的。如果是一个会议演讲稿，至少要能顺畅的读出来，并且易于听众能当场明白和理解;如果是报告或信件，要注意发件人和收件人的身份、他们之间的相互关系等，上下级之间、企业管理者与股东及其他利益相关者之间的信息传递流向不同，决定了语气和用词的差异。

(2)要有明确的观点和结论，不能出现模棱两可，正反两方面都以相同的比例进行表述而没有明确的观点态度这种回答方式。报告、信件、演讲稿等专业公文都有较强的目的性，因此回答该类问题时也必须形成确定的观点和结论。但也要把握观点偏向的程度，不能太绝对，一般用7+3、8+2或9+1的观点权重分布来组织公文结构。

(3)注意不同公文的格式要求：

7.完成全部要求的答题，包括一个必答题和两个选答题(survival, do not leave any part blank)

不要在回答中出现完全空白的地方。在选答题的选择过程中必须慎重，完整的浏览全部选答题后，按照分值的分布来衡量你的选择，千万不要因为很小的分值就错选了你并不熟悉的大题，也千万不要三个选答题都回答，考官只会计两道题的分数。在必答题中如果出现完全不会的内容，也要按照自己的理解，结合案例中的情况介绍进行一些表述，只要没有原则性错误，考官都会酌情给分。在涉及计算的题目中，若计算的答案错误，但计算方法和相应的分析正确，考官也会给分。

8.确定问题中词语表述的含义和要求考生对知识点掌握的程度(intellectual levels)

考官要求对你知识点的掌握程度分为以下三个级别：

Level 1: Knowledge and comprehension

Level 2: Application and analysis

Level 3: Synthesis and evaluation

针对问题的询问方式，可以将需要回答的内容作如下分类：