Focused Game Plan to pass ACCA’s Advanced Audit Assurance (AAA)

In my years of teaching AAA, I have come across many students who ask questions like:

• ?Is it normal for students to fail AAA a number of times before succeeding?
• Why is it that I fail AAA in spite of practicing so many past papers?
• What should I be doing differently so that I don't fail for the umpteenth time?

It is an unfortunate fact that failing AAA is indeed common. Just look at the pass rates. It is about 30+% in each sitting. This means that for every 10 students who sit for AAA, only 3 or 4 get through. Students then continue to re-sit AAA with only the "hope" that "ACCA will have to give me a pass because I am re-sitting" and without an inkling of what caused them to fail in the first place. This article provides the FIRST crucial step - Having a GAME PLAN. This is essential for any student who plans to pass AAA, whether sitting for the first time or re-sitting.

The Knowledge Needed

In order to achieve a clear pass in AAA, the student must have adequate knowledge and understanding of the relevant auditing standards (34 ISAs) and financial reporting standards (IFRS) listed in ACCA's AAA "examinable documents". Much of this knowledge (but not all) will already have been covered in Audit & Assurance (AA) and Financial Reporting (FR) at the skills level.

However, it is CRUCIAL to note that the level of accounting knowledge for AAA is aligned with the content of the Strategic Business Reporting (SBR) syllabus. Therefore, students are encouraged to?sit and pass SBR prior to?attempting AAA (or, at the very least, prepare to sit SBR alongside AAA).

What the AAA paper seeks to test

The exam question scenarios will present more complex challenges that the auditor is likely to face in their professional life. The aim of the exam is to place the student in “real world” situations where they are required to deal with different auditing issues. The AAA exam will test the candidates' ability to analyze, evaluate, and conclude on the assurance engagement while complying with the relevant ISAs and IFRSs.

The Game Plan

Having assessed the paper requirements, I realize that a student who is holding a fulltime job (most students are indeed working) and possibly even caring for a young family and having other personal commitments will struggle to get through the paper without a calculated plan that is focused. The AAA syllabus is wide and there is a lot of ground to cover. This has caused me to look for an easier path for the student to get through the paper.

Hence a game plan was formed,

There are FOUR key types of questions or areas in AAA. The EXAMINER has highlighted that these AREAS will be examined in every sitting.

These FOUR areas contribute approximately 65% of the marks. As such, the student who aims to secure a pass should take a strategic approach to prioritize and focusing on mastering the topics in these FOUR areas. This will ensure the student gets the minimum of a pass.

The FOUR areas are:

AUDIT RISK / ROMM questions. These may carry 20 marks or more;

COMPLETION and REPORTING topics …….. 25 marks

ETHICS and PROFESSIONAL ISSUES …. a minimum of 10 marks

AUDIT PROCEDURES…a minimum of 10 marks (These can be "design audit procedures...", "sufficiency of evidence", "matters and evidence" type of questions.)

The above topics carry BIG MARKS.

To this end, I have designed an online AAA course that I do under Ardent Learning Hub to help students focus and prepare for this completely doable paper. Together with the online course, I provide regular online support (through live streams) & immediate access (through WhatsApp) to help students with their problems in AAA.

If you have questions or would like more details of this online course you can WhatsApp me at https://wa.me/+60162016114?or email me at [email protected]. I would love to hear from you.

You can also visit www.passaccaudit.com to view some of my videos and download my free e-book.

Upcoming articles

Look out for upcoming articles where I will cover the following topics:-

• Importance of understanding what you study - Studying & memorizing will not suffice;
• How to study -making your own using mind maps, notes, acronyms, etc.;
• Past year Questions -the correct way to use them and how to use them effectively in your practice;
• Writing out exam answers -What to do to practice and improve your writing;
• Time Management - another critical element that needs practice and mastery;
• Mock exams - a tool to get you battle ready for the exams.