Choose a paper
Every exercise is a real case study. Take the test first, then we re-read the line you missed and teach the concept behind it.
Business & Technology (F1)
How businesses are organised and governed: structure, culture, stakeholders, the business environment, and the role of the accountant. Read a case, answer the questions, then we walk through anything you missed.
Organisational structure: functional, divisional and matrix
Read the case about how BrightWave is organised, then answer the questions on the right. Each one asks which structural idea is at work. Guessing is fine — anything you miss, we will read the line again together.
Start →Stakeholders and Mendelow’s power-interest matrix
Read the case about the Riverside retail park, then answer the questions on the right. Each asks about a stakeholder idea or where a group sits on Mendelow’s matrix. Guessing is fine — we will re-read anything you miss.
Start →The business environment: PESTEL and Porter’s five forces
Read the case about GreenGrocer’s market review, then answer the questions on the right. Each asks which PESTEL factor or Porter force applies. Guessing is fine — we will re-read any line you miss.
Start →The macroeconomic environment
Read the case about the economy of Eastland and how it affects Harbour Joinery, then answer the questions on the right. Some ask you to name an economic idea; two ask you to type a number. Guessing is fine, and anything you miss we will read again together.
Start →Legal forms of business: sole trader, partnership and company
Read the case about Mai’s bakery as it grows from a sole trader into a company, then answer the questions on the right. Each asks about a legal form of business or the idea of limited liability. Guessing is fine, and anything you miss we will read again together.
Start →The finance function and its relationships
Read the case about the finance function at Northwind Ltd, then answer the questions on the right. Each asks what finance does or how it differs from and links to other parts of the business. Guessing is fine, and anything you miss we will read again together.
Start →Information technology and information systems
Read the case about how Northwind Logistics uses information, then answer the questions on the right. Each asks which idea about data, information systems or IT controls is at work. Guessing is fine — anything you miss, we will read the line again together.
Start →The role of management: Fayol and Mintzberg
Read the case about Maria learning to manage at Vantage Insurance, then answer the questions on the right. Each asks about a classic idea of what managers do. Guessing is fine — anything you miss, we will read the line again together.
Start →Leadership theories: trait, style and contingency
Read the case about how Orbit Software debated leadership, then answer the questions on the right. Each asks which theory of leadership is at work. Guessing is fine — anything you miss, we will read the line again together.
Start →Building teams: Belbin roles and Tuckman stages
Read the case about Nova Software building a project team, then answer the questions on the right. Each one asks which team idea is at work - a Belbin role, a Tuckman stage, or a feature of an effective team. Guessing is fine - anything you miss, we will read the line again together.
Start →Motivation: Maslow, Herzberg and McGregor
Read the case about Harborview Hotel motivating its staff, then answer the questions on the right. Each one asks which motivation theory or idea is at work - Maslow, Herzberg or McGregor. Guessing is fine - anything you miss, we will read the line again together.
Start →Recruitment, selection, training and appraisal
Read the case about Meridian Logistics hiring and developing a new supervisor, then answer the questions on the right. Each one asks about a step in recruitment, selection, training or appraisal. Guessing is fine - anything you miss, we will read the line again together.
Start →Professional ethics: the fundamental principles
Read the case about Daniel, a management accountant put under pressure by his boss, then answer the questions on the right. Each one asks about a fundamental principle, a threat to it, a safeguard, or the difference between a rules-based and a principles-based approach. Guessing is fine — anything you miss, we will read the line again together.
Start →Corporate governance
Read the case about Harborview plc and its annual governance review, then answer the questions on the right. Each one asks about what corporate governance is, the agency problem, the role of non-executive directors, the board committees, or a feature of good governance. Guessing is fine — anything you miss, we will read the line again together.
Start →Internal control, fraud and money laundering
Read the case about Coastline Traders and a weakness that opened the door to fraud, then answer the questions on the right. Each one asks about the purpose of internal control, a type of control, the conditions that let fraud happen, the difference between fraud and error, or the stages of money laundering. Guessing is fine — anything you miss, we will read the line again together.
Start →Management Accounting (F2)
Costing and decision-making: cost behaviour, absorption vs marginal costing, break-even analysis, budgeting and variances. Work the numbers first, then we explain the ones you missed.
Cost classification and the high-low method
Read the short costing case, then answer the questions on the right. Each one asks you to classify a cost or to split a total cost into its fixed and variable parts. Guessing is fine; anything you miss we will read again together.
Start →Break-even and cost-volume-profit analysis
Read the case, then answer the questions on the right. They cover contribution, break-even, margin of safety and the sales needed for a target profit. Have a go even if you are unsure; we will revisit anything you miss.
Start →Absorption vs marginal costing and overhead absorption
Read the case, then answer the questions on the right. They cover the overhead absorption rate, over/under absorption and how absorption and marginal costing profits differ. Have a go; we will re-read anything you miss.
Start →Materials: economic order quantity and inventory control
Read the short stores case, then answer the questions on the right. Some ask you to explain how inventory control works; others ask you to compute the economic order quantity, the reorder level and the number of orders a year. Have a go even if you are unsure; anything you miss we will read again together.
Start →Accounting for labour: idle time, turnover and remuneration
Read the short workshop case, then answer the questions on the right. Some ask you to classify a labour cost or explain a term; others ask you to compute a labour turnover rate, an idle time cost and gross pay under piecework and a bonus scheme. Have a go even if you are unsure; anything you miss we will read again together.
Start →Overheads: allocation, apportionment and reapportionment
Read the short overhead case, then answer the questions on the right. Some ask you to tell allocation from apportionment or to pick the right basis; others ask you to apportion a cost and to work out a production department total after reapportionment. Have a go even if you are unsure; anything you miss we will read again together.
Start →Overhead absorption rates and over/under absorption
Read the short costing case, then answer the questions on the right. They ask you to work out an overhead absorption rate, apply it to actual activity, and decide whether overhead has been over- or under-absorbed. Have a go even if you are unsure; anything you miss we will read again together.
Start →Job and batch costing
Read the short costing case, then answer the questions on the right. They ask you to build up the total cost of a job, add a mark-up to reach a price, and spread a batch cost over the units in the batch. Have a go even if you are unsure; anything you miss we will read again together.
Start →Process costing: normal and abnormal losses
Read the short costing case, then answer the questions on the right. They ask you to work out the expected good output, the normal loss, and the cost per unit when part of the input is lost in a process. Have a go even if you are unsure; anything you miss we will read again together.
Start →Budgeting and flexible budgets
Read the short budgeting case, then answer the questions on the right. They cover why we budget, the difference between a fixed budget and a flexible budget, how to flex a budget to the activity that actually happened, and how a flexed-budget variance differs from a fixed-budget variance. Have a go even if you are unsure; anything you miss we will read again together.
Start →Standard costing: material price and usage variances
Read the short standard costing case, then answer the questions on the right. They cover what a standard cost is, how the total material cost variance splits into a price variance and a usage variance, the formulas for each, and whether each variance is favourable or adverse. Have a go even if you are unsure; anything you miss we will read again together.
Start →Labour and variable overhead variances
Read the short standard costing case, then answer the questions on the right. They cover the labour rate variance, the labour efficiency variance, the variable overhead expenditure and efficiency variances, and whether each is favourable or adverse. Have a go even if you are unsure; anything you miss we will read again together.
Start →Fixed overhead and sales variances
Read the standard-costing case, then answer the questions on the right. They cover the fixed overhead expenditure and volume variances and the sales price and volume variances, including whether each is favourable or adverse. Have a go even if you are unsure; anything you miss we will read again together.
Start →Relevant costing and limiting factor analysis
Read the decision-making case, then answer the questions on the right. They cover which costs are relevant to a decision, opportunity cost, and how to rank products when a resource is scarce. Have a go even if you are unsure; anything you miss we will read again together.
Start →The time value of money: NPV and IRR
Read the investment-appraisal case, then answer the questions on the right. They cover simple and compound interest, discounting a future amount to a present value, net present value, the internal rate of return and perpetuities. Have a go even if you are unsure; anything you miss we will read again together.
Start →Financial Accounting (F3)
The foundation paper: double entry, the accounting concepts, and preparing basic financial statements. Read a case, answer the questions, then we walk through anything you missed.
Accounting concepts and qualitative characteristics
Read the case study, then answer the questions on the right. Each one asks which accounting concept or quality is at work. It is fine to guess. Anything you miss, we will read the line again together and check you understood it.
Start →Inventory valuation and accruals
Read the short case about a furniture retailer, then answer the questions on the right. Each one tests how inventory is valued and how accruals and prepayments are handled. Anything you miss, we will re-read the line and check you followed it.
Start →Non-current assets, depreciation and disposals
Read the case about a delivery company, then answer the questions. Each one tests depreciation methods, carrying amount and the profit or loss on disposal. We will re-read the relevant line for anything you miss.
Start →Double entry, debits and credits, and the accounting equation
Read the short case about a new stationery shop, then answer the questions on the right. Each one tests the accounting equation, the rules of debit and credit, and how everyday transactions affect both sides at once. Anything you miss, we will re-read the line and check you followed it.
Start →Sales tax (VAT): input tax, output tax and the net position
Read the short case about an interiors business registered for sales tax, then answer the questions on the right. Each one tests output tax, input tax, the net amount owed to the tax authority, and how to move between tax-inclusive and tax-exclusive figures. Anything you miss, we will re-read the line and check you followed it.
Start →Irrecoverable debts and the allowance for receivables
Read the short case about a trading company, then answer the questions on the right. Each one tests how an irrecoverable debt is written off, how an allowance for receivables works, and how receivables end up in the accounts. Anything you miss, we will re-read the line and check you followed it.
Start →Intangible non-current assets, research and development, and amortisation
Read the short case about a technology company, then answer the questions on the right. Each one tests what an intangible asset is, how research and development spending is treated, how development costs are amortised, and how goodwill is handled. Anything you miss, we will re-read the line and check you followed it.
Start →Provisions, contingent liabilities and contingent assets (IAS 37)
Read the short case about an engineering company facing several uncertain items, then answer the questions on the right. Each one tests when IAS 37 makes you recognise a provision, when you only disclose a contingent liability, and how prudently a contingent asset is treated. Anything you miss, we will re-read the line and check you followed it.
Start →The trial balance, types of error and suspense accounts
Read the short case about a bookkeeper extracting a trial balance, then answer the questions on the right. Each one tests what a trial balance checks, which errors it fails to reveal, which errors force you to open a suspense account, and how a transposition error is spotted. Anything you miss, we will re-read the line and check you followed it.
Start →Receivables and payables control accounts and reconciliations
Read the short case about a wholesaler, then answer the questions on the right. Each one tests how a control account works, what goes into a receivables control account, and how to reconcile it to the list of individual balances. Anything you miss, we will re-read the line and check you followed it.
Start →Bank reconciliation
Read the short case about a cafe, then answer the questions on the right. Each one tests why the cash book and the bank statement differ, how timing differences work, and how to prepare the reconciliation from the corrected cash book. Anything you miss, we will re-read the line and check you followed it.
Start →Preparing the statement of profit or loss and statement of financial position
Read the short case about a sole trader, then answer the questions on the right. Each one tests how the statement of profit or loss and the statement of financial position are built up. Anything you miss, we will re-read the line and check you followed it.
Start →The statement of cash flows (IAS 7)
Read the short case about a trading company, then answer the questions on the right. Each one tests the purpose of the statement of cash flows and how the indirect method turns profit into cash. Anything you miss, we will re-read the line and check you followed it.
Start →Events after the reporting period (IAS 10)
Read the short case about a company finalising its accounts, then answer the questions on the right. Each one tests how events after the reporting period are treated under IAS 10. Anything you miss, we will re-read the line and check you followed it.
Start →Incomplete records: margins, mark-ups and missing figures
Read the short case about a shop rebuilding its accounts after a break-in, then answer the questions on the right. Each one tests how missing figures are found using the accounting equation, control accounts and the difference between mark-up and margin. Anything you miss, we will re-read the line and check you followed it.
Start →Consolidated statement of financial position: goodwill and non-controlling interest
Read the short case about a parent company and its subsidiary, then answer the questions on the right. Each one tests how a group is consolidated: goodwill on acquisition, non-controlling interest, adding across in full, and group retained earnings. Anything you miss, we will re-read the line and check you followed it.
Start →Associates and the equity method
Read the short case about an investor with a stake in another company, then answer the questions on the right. Each one tests what an associate is, how it differs from a subsidiary, and how the equity method carries it as a single line. Anything you miss, we will re-read the line and check you followed it.
Start →Interpretation of financial statements and ratio analysis
Read the short case about a company reviewing its results with ratios, then answer the questions on the right. Each one tests profitability, liquidity, working-capital and gearing ratios. Anything you miss, we will re-read the line and check you followed it.
Start →More papers on the way — F4 Corporate & Business Law, F5 Performance Management, F6 Taxation.