Examiner’s report
F1 Accounting in Business
June 2011

General Comments
Thecandidates were generally well prepared and most questions had passrates in excess of 50%. Only seven questions had pass rate lower thanthis.
The areas on which candidates performedexceptionally well included Macgregor’s Theory X and Y, roles within theaccounting department, computerised v. manual systems and remunerationsystems.
Questions with lower pass rates includedthose on the differences between a team and a group, SWOT analysis, PEST(environmental) factors, Kolb’s theory of learning, non-executivedirectors, team briefing, and the role of external auditors in reducingthe risks of fraud. It was surprising that candidates performedrelatively poorly on SWOT and PEST analyses, as such questions hadcaused less difficulty in the past. Likewise, only just over half thecandidates selected the correct answers for questions on IFAC and theACCA Code of Ethics.
Candidates continued to dowell on questions relating to the accounting function, which has been acommon observation since inception of the paper. There was a goodawareness of the role of internal auditors, the role of externalauditors, the purposes of an aged receivables listing and the roles ofthe managers of specific areas of accounting within a company’s financedepartment. This did not apply across the whole paper, however, as over40% of candidates chose incorrect answers for questions on the role ofan audit committee, management of working capital and recordingtransactions.
It was encouraging to note thatthere seems no longer to be major problems with questions on humanresources management or management theories in general. In particular,the pass rates on questions relating to Tuckman’s theory of teamdevelopment, the separation of management and ownership, certain aspectsof corporate governance and organisational culture were verysatisfactory.
Both economics and marketing featured lessprominently on this paper than in previous examination sessions, but thepass rates on these questions were reasonable.
Marginalcandidates may have compromised their results by failing to answer therequired number of questions. Even if the candidate has little grasp of atopic, it is worth making some attempt at the question when there is a25%, 33% or 50% probability of getting the question right.
Candidatesperformed quite well on scenario questions, suggesting that even ifthese take longer to answer, they are no more difficult than brieferquestions, if considered carefully.
Of the 10single mark questions on the paper, only two of these saw very high passrates, which seems to indicate that candidates do not find them easierthan two mark questions.
Sample Questions for Discussion
Question 2 required an understanding of how the characteristics of a team differ from those of a group.
Which of the following is a characteristic of a team but not of a group?
A The sense of identity brought about by common objectives
B The bonding and loyalty of the members to one another
C The emergence of one particular individual as a leader
D The organisation of work through strictly formal processes
This topic is covered quite well in approved teaching materials, but only 34% of candidates selected the correct answer.
The correct answer is D.
Asense of identity can be brought about by common objectives in both ateam and a group. Likewise, bonding and loyalty can apply to both.Distractor C is more tricky, in that a working team usually has anappointed leader, but it is not impossible for leaders to emerge,especially when working groups are loosely configurated.
Example 2:
Question28 required knowledge of Kolb’s theory of learning. This is one of twotheories that candidates need to learn, the other being that of Honeyand Mumford.
Kolb’s learning cycle comprises active experimentation, experience, observation and reflection, and which other element?
A Assimilation
B Application
C Abstract conceptualisation
D Positive reinforcement
The correct answer is C. Only 34% of candidates selected the correct answer.
Thequestion is a good example of the necessity to remember stages of thevarious models encountered in the course of study for paper F1. To someextent, tackling this type of question is dependent on a good memory, asit is quite clearly impossible to remember every stage of every modelstudied for the paper. The best way to deal with such theoretical modelsis to look at their practical significance by using real examples todemonstrate how to apply them.
Example 3:
Question 38 required an knowledgeof the PEST (or PESTEL) factors that must be considered by thoseresponsible for strategic planning in an organisation.
Eatkleenis a pressure group that seeks to encourage food producers to eliminateharmful preservatives from food and make the public aware of thepotential dangers of these additives. Frustrated with the government’sexplicit policy not to act on this in the near future, Eatkleen iscampaigning for consumers to boycott certain products.
What combination of environmental factors is Eatkleen bringing to bear on food producers?
A Political and social
B Social and economic
C Political and technological
D Economic and technological
The correct answer is B, which was selected by 38% of candidates.
Makingthe public more aware of the potential dangers of additives is anattempt to affect social trends. A boycott of certain products, ifeffective, will lead to lower sales revenues and therefore lowerprofits, bringing pressure to bear on the companies concerned. This isclearly an economic influence.
Distractors C and D should havebeen ruled out quite quickly, as there was nothing in the question tosuggest that technological factors were relevant.
Conclusions:
Theperformance in June 2011 continues the trend suggesting that candidateshave been taking an appropriately broad approach to their studies. Noneof the individual sections of the syllabus caused significantly greaterdifficulty than others, though perhaps understandably there are higherpass rates on questions directly relating to accounting and finance.
Theoriesapplicable to ‘softer’ management and human resources topics are oftenmore difficult to grasp, but this reflects in pass rates for onlycertain questions. Generally, theories that are more easily remembereddue to the words used (for example, Tuckman’s theory includes forming,storming, performing and so on) are more straightforward, and candidatescan remember the words used, the order in which they appear in thetheory, and apply them to scenarios. By contrast, the theories ofwriters such as Belbin and Kolb often present greater difficulty, theformer because there are nine typologies to remember and the latterbecause the terminology is difficult. This suggests that perhaps alittle more time should be spent on these in order to make the conceptsclearer.
Scenario questions take longer becausethere are more words to read, and it is sometimes necessary to read thescenario several times in order to understand the issues involved. Asmentioned above, however, these questions seem not to prove any moredifficult to candidates, demonstrating that most candidates are readingthem thoroughly before selecting their answers. By contrast, some singlemark questions have lower pass rates that expected, and this may bebecause candidates afford them too little time. It should be noted thatthe F1 syllabus has been amended and is a shared syllabus with FAB aspart of the Foundations in Accounting suite of papers with effect fromDecember 2011. The structure of the paper has also changed slightly assingle marks questions will not appear on at least the next two papers.
Thisexamination session produced some surprises, in that this was the firstexamination in which questions on environmental factors and SWOTanalysis created any significant difficulties for some candidates. It istherefore important to assume that these subjects will not always yield‘easy’ marks.
There was no evidence that the examination was time pressured.