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ACCA FR (Financial Reporting) is one of papers in Applied Skills Module. The syllabus states its aim is to develop knowledge and skills in understanding and applying accounting standards and the theoretical framework in the preparation of financial statements of entities, including groups and how to analyse and interpret those financial statements.
There is no significant change in the syllabus except some changes in accounting standards. Past paper questions seen in last year are still very good in preparing the exam.
It is important to stress that the knowledge and skills in Financial Reporting are partly from Financial Accounting. The areas such as conceptual framework for financial reporting, recording transactions and preparing financial statements.
On top of these fundamental knowledge and skills, you are required to apply to financial reporting for single companies and for groups in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles and relevant accounting standards. In addition, you are required to do analysis and interpret financial information from financial reports. This area leads directly to Strategic Business Reporting (SBR).
All questions are compulsory. The 3-hour (see below) exam will assess all parts of the syllabus and will test knowledge and some comprehensive or application of this knowledge.
For paper-based exams, an extra 15 minutes is given to you to reflect the manual effort required as compared to the time needed for CBE. Total exam time is therefore 3 hours and 15 minutes.
Section A includes 15 two-mark objective test questions covering all areas in the syllabus.
Section B comprises 3 ten-mark questions each containing five objective test questions.
Section C comprises two 20 marks constructed response questions. The questions will examine the interpretation and preparation of financial statements for either a single entity or a group.
To know more about Computer-based Examination (CBE), please click HERE.
ACCA FR is one of the Applied Skills Level papers in your ACCA professional qualification journey.
The syllabus begins with the conceptual framework for financial reporting with reference to the qualitative characteristics of useful information and the fundamental bases of accounting introduced in the Financial Accounting (FA) syllabus within the Knowledge module. It then moves into a detailed examination of the regulatory framework of accounting and how this informs the standard setting process.
The main areas of the syllabus cover the reporting of financial information for single companies and for groups in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles and relevant accounting standards.
Finally, the syllabus covers the analysis and interpretation of information from financial reports.
There are 5 sections in the syllabus, which are –
Discuss and apply a conceptual and regulatory frameworks for financial reporting
Account for transactions in accordance with IFRS Accounting Standards
Analyse and interpret financial statements
Prepare and present financial statements for single entities and business combinations in accordance with IFRS Accounting Standards
Demonstrate employability and technology skills
In the exam, you will see questions from every section in the summary above. There is no one area you can ignore as all of them will be in your exam. Perhaps you find the topics above are separated, however, they are linked together in real business world as well as the syllabus design.
The general principle in ACCA Performance Management Paper exam is 1 mark per 1.8 minute which means you have 100 marks to complete an exam within 180 minutes.
It is observed that many good attempts in Section A and Section B but not in Section C. You should be careful that the time spent on Section C questions of the exam. Examiners suggest you should allocate 72 minutes (or 40%), the minimum, of your total time in attempting Section C. It is probably more than what you need to work on objective test questions.
It is wise for you to practice mock exam to train your time management skills before you need to attempt the paper.
It is a section sharing with you on ACCA Financial Reporting (FR) technical articles to help you understanding of complex concepts in simple way. In addition, you can find exam tips in our examiner review report on ACCA Financial Reporting exam.