Introduction to Assurance exam

Ravi Trivedi - Kaplan Financial

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 Today’s presentation
• Introduction to Assurance

• The exam

• Materials and resources

• How to study for Assurance

• Exam technique

• Preparing to re-sit a failed exam

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 Introduction to Assurance

BUSINESS WITH CONFIDENCE © ICAEW 2015 icaew.com

 Introduction to Assurance
• The Assurance exam is designed to ensure that students
understand
– The assurance process
– The fundamentals of professional ethics

Syllabus area Weighting

The concept, process and need for 20%
assurance
Internal controls 25%
Gathering evidence on an assurance 35%
engagement
Professional ethics 20%

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 Introduction to Assurance
• Assurance is one of the six ICAEW CFAB exams and also one
of the introductory, certificate level papers in the ACA

Assurance

BUSINESS WITH CONFIDENCE © ICAEW 2015 icaew.com

 Introduction to Assurance
• Assurance is one of the six introductory, certificate level papers
in the ACA

Audit &
Assurance

Assurance

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 Introduction to Assurance
1. Acceptance
• Ethics
• Risk

2. Planning
• Understanding entity
• Analytical procedures

3. Evidence
• Sufficient and appropriate

4. Conclusion and Reporting

• Developed within AA

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 Introduction to Assurance
Acceptance

1. Elements of Assurance
• Three-party involvement

2. Risks relating to project

• Pre-acceptance considerations

3. Level of Assurance

4. Process of obtaining an engagement

5. Ethics
• IFAC Code of Ethics
• Threats to independence/objectivity

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 Introduction to Assurance
Planning
1. Audit strategy vs Audit plan

2. Understanding the entity

3. Materiality
• Identifying materiality ‘True and Fair view’
• Applying materiality

4. Risk
• Inherent risk
• Control risk
• Detection risk

5. Analytical procedures
• Forming initial expectation using plausible relationships

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 Introduction to Assurance
Evidence
1. Obtaining evidence
1. Tests of control
2. Substantive testing

2. Internal control
1. Purpose and limitation
2. Control environment

3. Revenue and purchase cycles

1. Tests of control
2. Control objectives and activities

4. Sampling

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 The exam

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 The exam
• 1.5 hr computer-based assessment

• 50 questions worth 2 marks each

• 1.8 minutes per question

• Topics examined in line with syllabus weighting

• Pass mark = 55% (28 questions answered correctly)

• Narrative / ‘wordy’ questions – very few calculations

• All multiple choice, multi-part multiple choice, or multiple

response

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 The exam
Multiple choice questions

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 The exam
Multiple response questions

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 The exam
Multi-part multiple choice questions

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 Materials and resources

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 Materials and resources
• Study manual
• Question bank
• ICAEW website
• ACA students – icaew.com/examresources or icaew.com/dashboard
• ICAEW CFAB students – icaew.com/cfabstudyresources

 Study guide
 Study webinars (like this one)
 Errata sheets (any errors found in the learning materials)
 Sample paper
 Sample e-assessment

• ICAEW student community – icaew.com/studentcommunity

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 Materials and resources
- Study manual and question bank
Study manual
• Key text book
• Lots of detail
• Summaries and self-tests at the end of each chapter
Question bank
• Example exam questions
• Work through it at least twice
• Don’t write in it
• Answers at the back are very useful

Materials updated every year: use the correct edition

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 Materials and resources
- ICAEW website
Study guide
• Detailed overview of the syllabus
• Objectives and key learning outcomes
• Study tips
• Context-setting and key aims for each chapter

Study webinars (one for each module like this one)

• Context of the module
• Tricky areas of the syllabus
• Tutor hints and tips

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 Materials and resources
- ICAEW website
Errata sheet
• Corrections of errors in the study manual / question bank
• Check for an errata sheet before starting a new module

Sample paper
• Mock exam paper
• 50 questions, covering the whole syllabus
• Essential practice before sitting the exam

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 Materials and resources
- ICAEW website
Sample assessment
• Practice using the software you’ll see in the real exam

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 Materials and resources
Student community - icaew.com/studentcommunity

• Student-to-student support
– Password access (your student ID number + password)
– Not visible / accessible by employers
• Study buddies
• Help with questions
• Ask other student for advice and guidance

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 How to study for Assurance

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 How to study for Assurance
Take a systematic approach to tackling each chapter:

Study Study Question Summary

guide manual bank and notes

Read the Work through Complete the Make a brief

chapter the chapter in questions for summary of
overview and the study the chapter the key facts,
suggested manual, from the theories and
approach in including any question models from
the study examples. bank. the chapter.
guide. Do the self- Mark them.
test Read the Be guided by
questions. answers. the questions

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 How to study for Assurance
• Don’t fall behind – may be difficult to catch up

• Attempt every question on in the ICAEW question bank

• Anything can be examined in the syllabus so you need an

understanding of everything

• Practice groups of questions to time to replicate the exam

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 How to study for Assurance
After you’ve worked through all the material:

• Question practice, question practice, question practice!

 Work through the question bank a second time
 Time yourself
 Mark yourself – why did you get questions wrong?
 Read the answers – this is valuable revision
 If you struggle with a particular section, revise it
 Consider doing the questions in random order – in the exam,
they will not come up chapter by chapter

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 How to study for Assurance
After you’ve worked through all the material:

• Revision
 If you need to, to memorise key facts
 From your summary notes
 Go back to the study manual as a last resort

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 How to study for Assurance
Before the real exam:

• Do the sample paper:

ACA students = icaew.com/examresources
ICAEW CFAB students = icaew.com/cfabstudyresources
 Time yourself
 Review your answers
 Mark your work
 Understand why you got questions wrong
 Read the answers – this is valuable revision

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 Exam tips

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 Exam tips
 All about knowing facts, understanding the assurance process,
when lost in detail take a step back!
 Questions, questions (and more questions!)

 Read the questions very carefully

 Manage your time – max 1.8 minutes per question

 If you have time at the end – review all your answers

 Expect some ‘picky’ questions

 If you don’t know answer – mark it for review and come back to
it. Don’t leave anything unanswered

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 Exam tips
Why do people fail?

• Concentrate on other more technical subjects

• Under-estimate Assurance, and don’t put in enough time
• Not enough question practice
• Think they can guess answers – often some answers are
difficult to differentiate between, carefully read the question!

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 Preparing for a re-sit

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 Preparing for a re-sit
What should you do differently?
• Not enough question practice last time?
 Attempt ALL questions at least twice
• Not knowing key areas of the syllabus?
 Learn the key facts, theories and models in detail

What should you focus on?

• Don’t rewrite notes, or spend all your time learning notes
• More question practice!

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 Good luck with your studies

Keep calm, and practice, practice,

practice the questions!

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