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Incorporating NQ magazine
May 2023 pqmagazine/www.pqjobs.co.uk
GETTING AAT ASSESSMENTS RIGHT NOW TOP PRIORITY
Sorting out the AAT Q assessment issues is now CEO Sarah Beale’s number-one priority. In an exclusive interview with PQ magazine, she admitted that it has taken time to address the technical issues, but promised the AAT is now getting there. New fixes took place on 27 March and more ‘happened’ in the week beginning 3 April. That will leave an outstanding problem though, around the MATS (Management Accounting Techniques) assessment at Level 3. AAT are working hard to get this right, but Beale says it needs to be done right rather than quickly! Some 45,000 Q2022 assessment have now taken place and 3% of sitters have experienced technical
problems – that’s 1,350 students. Beale said AAT needs to do better, and it will. She stressed that AAT is trying to be as open and transparent as they can with students and training providers. Those affected will now receive a free assessment, regardless of their mark. That means if they failed and believe
they could have done better they can sit again. Students have also been given a 2% ‘uplift’ in their marks, when an incident report is filed. Students can of course still appeal the result. PQ magazine was told that, as a gesture of goodwill, all students directly affected will receive a £50 payment. Beale said she
was a student of AAT herself and understands the pressures and stresses of being a student trying to ‘get qualified’. She explained: “We want to build back trust in the AAT brand and the voucher is a small way of acknowledging the work our students are putting in.” Beale also said the AAT will be working harder to listen to students, rather than just talk to them. She stressed: “Students are a part of our community the minute they sign up with us and we need to learn from their experiences.” Finally, she wanted to thank all the training providers for their understanding and said AAT appreciated all the support they have given to students through this period of disruption.
ALL-NEW ACCA STUDY HUB
LAUNCHES THIS SUMMER
ACCA is launching a new digital platform for all its students from 5 July – the ACCA Study Hub. It has been designed to provide even more support for students and tutors, and will give free access to ACCA approved study materials. That means from July every ACCA PQ will be able to download study chapters, flashcards, quizzes, and practice questions, all in one place. ACCA says this “streamlines revision, helping students to increase their understanding and be perfectly prepared for exams”. In truth, the ACCA Study Hub has been up and running for some time. It was piloted in Africa from December 2020, where Strategic Professional students were able to access digital study material, with enhanced e-book functionality. The pilot was then expanded in December 2021 to bring in new ACCA
AWARDS SHORTLIST
INSIDE
Continued on page 4
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Get your free MDCL revision session here First Intuition’s free AQ16 Level 4 Management Accounting Decision and Control (MDCL) revision sessions are back by popular demand. These sessions will be running on 17, 20, 24, 27 April 2023 at 7pm. Each session is standalone. If you are unable to attend one of the sessions it does not stop you from
attending another one. Register at https://bit. ly/3K0ev2P
Equality issues at the World Accounting Congress Following our story last month about women attending the World Accounting Congress having to deal with harassment and sexist behaviour from male delegates, we have
now been reliably informed that some delegates staged a ‘walk-out’ at one event when women delegates were told to sit at the back of the hall. Apparently, during a main hall session an Indian minister was in attendance. Female delegates were asked to move to the back, and our witness said the Dutch contingent got up and left en masse, followed by many other European delegates. All this was broadcast on big screens outside the hall.
SNP auditor quits Johnston Carmichael has resigned as the Scottish National Party’s auditor. The Scottish-based accountancy firm has worked with the national party for over 10 years, and said the decision was taken “after a review of its client’s portfolio”. A spokesperson for the firms said: “As a regulated organisation we adhere to our obligations on client confidentiality and do not discuss client business.”
In brief
CIMA on the case
CIMA case study sitters this May will know everything there is to know about tractors, package holidays and supply chain logistics following the release of the new CIMA pre-seens. But what is the best way of passing these exams? Students say that sitting marked mocks exams can really help. You also
have to go through all the past papers and compare them with the ideal answer. Those who have just sat and passed OCS said you must sit the mocks in the time that is allowed in the exams – to make it real. In the exam it is important to plan your answer and work out timings on each sub-task. Another great piece of advice was “not to waffle”. Check out our take on the pre- seens on page32.
As you're reading this, I hope you are giving it your full attention; to help do this you need to remove anything that might be a distrac- tion. The room should be quiet, with no one else there, and your mobile phone switched off. There is a common miscon- ception that it’s possible to give your attention to two activities at once, effectively multi-tasking. However, there is little evidence to support this. What people are actually doing is swapping between one task and another, just very quickly. As an analogy, think of attention as a beam of light that can only shine on one spot at a time. Engagement is different to attention and refers to the degree to which an individual is actively involved, interested and invested. It’s also more complicated, because there are three type:, firstly behavioural, physically being in class; secondly emotion- al, where you find the subject interesting and enjoyable; and, lastly, cognitive, evidenced by deep concentration, going beyond the requirements and rel- ishing challenge. But why does this matter? Because, in order to be good at learning and avoid wasting time studying for hours and finding “nothing is going in” you need to create an environment where it’s easy to give your full attention and do more than just show up. If you do this, not only will the two hours spent studying feel more like five minutes, you will also be learning.
LISA
NELSON
Why it’s vital you pay attention!
Lisa Nelson is Dir ector of Learnin g at Kaplan
Who made the shortlist?
Proud on London’s Embankment is rolling out the red carpet for the 20th PQ magazine awards on 24 April. But who made the shortlist, we hear you shout! All is revealed on page 17. The shortlist has some familiar, and not so familiar, faces on it this year. One of the most keenly contested categories was our newly introduced ‘Podcast of the Year’. In this one we have Azets’ Bang the
Drum up against Tom Clendon’s SBR Podcast, the Price of Football podcast from Kieran Maguire, Kaplan’s Learn Better podcast and The Bookkeepers Podcast. The Student Body of the Year category is being contested by students from Newcastle, Leeds, Lancaster, Reading and London. We have also found some fantastic personalities to contest Accountancy Personality of the Year. A special night is planned and we are hoping to showcase ‘accountants with talent’, too.
markets – the Caribbean, Vietnam, Australia and New Zealand. Finally, the Ukraine and Afghanistan were added to the pilot in January 2023. ACCA’s Council has now given the Study Hub the green light and the official launch takes place this summer. Any ACCA student studying anywhere in the world will have free access to the hub as part of their normal subscription from July. When PQ magazine spoke to ACCA some 30,000 students had accessed the pilot along with
100 learning providers. ACCA is expecting the hub to have a positive impact on exam pass rates too, with September 2023’s sitting the first big test. The trials have already shown an increase in student pass rates where the hub is available, and ACCA is hoping the trend continues. Emma Kerr, ACCA head of content and publications, told PQ magazine in an exclusive interview that the Study Hub is not a stand- alone product and should be used in conjunction with all the other ACCA resources, including the Practice Platform.
She stressed the Study Hub is also not an immersive experience
- there are no live classes, and she said you still need to sign up to an approved learning provider if you want to ensure success. However, she feels the Study Hub will give students a strong base to start their studies. A big question now surrounds the approved publishers – BPP and Kaplan. Kerr explained ACCA is in discussion with them, although PQ magazine is not sure how it will all work going forward. Both paid large sums to be approved.
Continued from page 1
ALL-NEW ACCA STUDY HUB
LAUNCHES THIS SUMMER
PQ
5
PQ
PQ Magazine May 2023 5
PQ
ACCA new member ceremonies are back with a bang: Katerina Evangelou recently attended one and she said: “The ceremony was a wonderful opportunity to celebrate our accomplishment and connect with other ACCA members. It was inspiring to hear the stories of those who have achieved so much in their careers and to learn from their experiences.” She told her fellow accountants that their journey had only just begun and to stay curious. She also said that ACCA gives you ‘opportunity’.
news
Time to save the planet?
We have another great new face- to-face seminar lined up for you in the Queen Mary University seminar series, on Wednesday 7 June. This time the theme is ‘The Future of Net Zero – can accountants help to save the planet?’. Well, can you? The series has been so good it is up for a PQ magazine award – for ‘Innovation in Accountancy’. The awards take place on 24 April. It is a totally free event and you can sign up at tinyurl/3d3ts5eu
Our top columnist, David Rothera from Net Zero Now, will be on the panel and we will be announcing more top speakers soon. Remember, as Professor Ian Thomson said on a recent PQ magazine front cover, accountants are currently incentivising climate change, and that has to stop. You can now check out the Future of Tax seminar, the first in the series on the PQ magazine YouTube channel at https://tinyurl. com/2ptwd5sh
ICAEW CEO announces retirement ICAEW has announced that Michael Izza is to retire as its chief executive by the end of 2023. Izza trained as a chartered accountant with Coopers & Lybrand and qualified in 1986. He joined the Institute in 2002 as executive director of finance and operations, becoming CEO two years later. During his time leading ICAEW Izza has overseen significant expansion of its global membership. He has also been a leading advocate for the reform of
audit and corporate governance. He said: “I trained as a chartered accountant almost
40 years ago, and it has been an honour to be Chief Executive of ICAEW and to represent our profession across the world. “As Chief Executive I have taken every opportunity to champion sustainability, and I believe that chartered accountants have a vital role in helping society and the economy achieve net zero. Our 2030 strategy positions ICAEW well for the future and I am confident that the best is yet to come.”
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PQ Magazine May 2023
UK needs to move quickly on green agenda The updated Green Finance Strategy brings welcome clarity on the Government’s intentions on the UK Green Taxonomy and the mandating of transition plan disclosures, according to PwC’s sustainability partner, David Crocker. He said: “These measures have the potential to drive better data availability for financial market participants and help channel capital to support the transition to a low carbon economy.” However, he is worried that the announcement suggests that the timetable for embedding the ISSB standards into UK
regulation will be ‘protracted’. Crocker believes it is vital that the UK moves quickly in driving progress on these initiatives, both to support net zero goals and to maintain the UK’s position as a leading hub for green finance.
Attempts to save energy failed! New research from KPMG in the UK, as part of its Consumer Pulse survey, shows that nine out of 10 bill payers made changes to reduce energy use between October 2022 and February 2023. However, despite the attempts to cut back, over two-thirds (69%) said that their bills were higher than expected over that period, and for a third (34%) they were significantly so. While almost all respondents said they made
some attempts to reduce the energy they used, over half (56%) of billpayers said they also made upgrades to their homes, and the same amount (56%) purchased energy efficient gadgets to keep energy costs down this winter.
EY gets German ban The German audit watchdog has banned EY from taking on new audit clients for two years over failures in its work on Wirecard. Apas (the watchdog) also fined EY €500,000. Apas said it “considered the violations of professional duties during the audits of Wirecard and Wirecard Bank from 2016 to 2018 as proven”. EY Germany said it would examine the decision ‘carefully’ but had not yet received the detailed legal conclusion.
PQ news
Oxford Brookes closes ACCA degree
ACCA has announced that the BSc (Hons) in Applied Accounting from Oxford Brookes University is closing in 2026. However, students currently working towards the BSc still have time to complete the programme. Students will need to complete the following by May 2026:
- All Applied Knowledge and Applied Skills exams, including passing Financial Reporting (FR), Audit and Assurance (AA) and Financial Management (FM) exams.
- The ACCA Ethics and Professional Skills module.
- Submission of OBU Research and Analysis Project (RAP). Full details of the final completion deadlines, including final opportunities to submit your
Research and Analysis Project, are:
- May 2026: Final opportunity to register and submit the RAP. Also the final opportunity for RAP resubmission for RAPs submitted prior to May 2026.
- November 2026: Any individual who fail the RAP at the May 2026 submission will have one opportunity for a resubmission in November 2026.
- December 2026: Closure of the BSc programme; anyone registered on the programme
who has yet to meet the assessment criteria will no longer be able to achieve the BSc. ACCA is reminding students it will still offer two other opportunities to obtain a Masters’ degree which are available globally: Once you’re an affiliate, you could consider the University of London MSc in Professional Accountancy. Once you’re a member it offers an Oxford Brookes Global MBA.
Happy in your work?
How happy are you being an accountant? Well, Reboot Online surveyed thousands of professionals to discover accountants aren’t number one in the happiness charts! Using an ‘Overall Job Happiness’ index score per industry accountancy came in at number
six, on 73. That was way behind the 91 scored by those working in science and pharmaceuticals
- who were by far the happiest workers. Even those who worked in advertising and PR were happier than accountants (76). The only solace you might be able to take away from the survey is the fact that the legal profession is unhappier. Those working in law scored 69 on the index. You may have to be nicer to recruitment consultants, too. They scored just 37 on Reboot Online’s list.
FRC issues FRED 83
The FRC has issued FRED 83 Draft amendments to FRS 102 The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland – International tax
reform – Pillar Two model rules, which proposes to introduce a temporary exception to the accounting for deferred taxes arising from the implementation of the OECD’s Pillar Two model rules, alongside targeted disclosure requirements. The OECD’s Pillar Two model rules introduce a global system of interlocking top-up taxes that aim to ensure that large multinational
groups pay a minimum amount of income tax. FRED 83 is based on similar proposals issued by the IASB. To make similar accounting relief and disclosure requirements available in the FRC’s financial reporting standards to a consistent timeframe the FRC is consulting now, rather than waiting for the IASB’s final amendments. To support the FRC’s intention to finalise any amendments in summer 2023, comments on FRED 83 are requested by 24 May 2023.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, the richest person in Parliament, has released a summary of his taxes. This was intended to soothe public concerns about wealthy elites pay- ing their taxes. However, the release has also raised questions about unfairness of the UK tax sys- tem. For the three years to 2021/ Sunak had taxable capital gains of £3,760,588. On this he paid £744,797 in capital gains tax (CGT), an effective tax rate of around 20%. This will seem odd to the average person whose pay is taxed at rates of 20%–45%. The reasons for Sunak’s low CGT is that gains from the sale of second homes, stocks and shares, artworks, antiques and speculation are taxed at lower rates. Since 2010, CGT rates have varied and currently the rate is 10%–28%. In addition, recipients of capital gains use the National Health Service and social care, but do not pay any national insurance contributions (NIC) on their gains. There are no logical reasons for taxing return from investment of human capital (e. wages) at a higher rate than return on financial capital. Both give identical purchas- ing power. In 1988, both were taxed at the same rates. Since then gov- ernments have bowed to the busi- ness lobby. By taxing capital gains at the same rates as earned income and charging NIC on the same, the gov- ernment could raise additional annual tax revenues of £25bn. Imagine what that could do for public services.
PREM
SIKKA
Time to change the CGT regime
Prem Sikka is Em eritus Professor of Accountin g at the University of Essex
10
PQ the
PQ Magazine May 2023
tax news
New Finance Bill means 24 new taxes The new Finance Bill introduces three new taxes, taking the total number of taxes introduced this century to 24. Apart from two one- off levies, and the Health and Social Care Levy (which was repealed before it came into effect, and is not included in the total above), none of these or any other taxes have been abolished over this period. Two of the three new taxes in the new Finance Bill are to implement the G20-OECD Pillar 2 framework in the UK, putting in place a global minimum rate of corporation tax:
- A multinational top-up tax, which will require large UK-headquartered multinational
groups to pay additional tax where their operations in a foreign jurisdiction have an effective tax rate of less than 15%.
- A supplementary domestic top-up tax which will require large groups, including those operating exclusively in the UK,
to pay a top-up tax where their UK operations have an effective tax rate of less than 15%. At 478 pages, the Bill is the longest Finance Bill since 2017. The lengthiest measures in the Bill are the two new ‘top-up taxes’ ( pages between them) and the new alcohol duty regime (66 pages).
We want the Office of Tax Simplification back! The UK government needs to reverse its ‘ill-conceived’ decision to axe the Office of Tax Simplification (OTS), says top 10 accountancy firm Azets. Associate Director John Hiddleston (pictured) has written to the Chancellor Jeremy Hunt MP and Financial Secretary to the Treasury Victoria Atkins MP to call for a rethink.
The OTS was abolished by the then Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng in his ill-fated mini-Budget last September, with its mandate instead delegated to the Treasury and HMRC. Hiddleston warned that a new independent body is vital to tackle an ever-increasing
paperwork burden – especially for entrepreneurs. He wants to see the creation of a ‘beefed up’ OTS and rules where every time a new tax law is introduced at least one old tax rule must be repealed. Basic tax should also be taught in schools, he said.
Prison time doubled for ‘most wanted’ tax criminal
One of the UK’s most wanted tax fugitives, who was caught and jailed for eight years in March, has had her sentence more than doubled for failing to repay the
money she stole. Sarah Panitzke, originally from York, played a leading role in a vast multi-million-pound VAT fraud and became one of the UK’s most
wanted criminals after absconding during her trial in 2013. The 48-year-old spent nine years on the run and was returned to the UK by HMRC in June 2022 and jailed for eight years a month later. She was sentenced to another nine years in prison for failing to repay a £2 confiscation order. She now faces 17 years in prison and will still owe the money plus interest. The total amount outstanding, including interest, which continues to accrue at a rate of £538 a day, and has reached £3,782,779 as at February 2023.
Italy has banned the advanced AI chatbot ChatGPT, and the UK is considering following suit. Meanwhile, the US is on the brink of banning the short video sharing app TikTok. This is a concerning trend worthy of our scrutiny. There must be a balance between protecting the public and assuring our collect- ive freedoms. Regulation, especially in the realm of information sharing, may quickly veer towards censorship if we do not hold the powers that be to account. The case for banning TikTok is quite convincing. The US govern- ment has identified the app as a threat to citizens’ privacy and to national security. As TikTok is owned by Chinese company ByteDance, the Chinese govern- ment may gain access to location and private user data through the country’s authoritarian laws. Others feel that some of the impetus behind this move may be strategic in nature. TikTok has 100 million users in the US and has stated concerns about Chinese misinformation. But critics have highlighted that TikTok is on par with other social media platforms in the amount of data it collects from users. The reasoning behind the ban of ChatGPT in Italy is data protection, and it may work with the regulator to ensure compliance and get back online. Many institutions see such technology as a threat to jobs and a potential proliferator of misinfor- mation. We must continue to mon- itor to ensure a balance between protection and freedom is achieved.
ANNA KATE
PHELAN
Social media and the free speech debate
Ann a Kat e Phelan is Head of Produ ct at Eintech
Record Inheritance tax take Inheritance tax (IHT) brought £531m into the UK Treasury in February alone, according to new stats. That brings the total for the 2022/23 tax year to a record £6 and counting. IHT raised £6 for the 2021/22 financial year, so this year’s total it is already ahead of last year. The Office of Budget Responsibility is predicting that the IHT take will jump to £45bn by 2027/28. This is because
6% of deaths will trigger an inheritance charge – up from 4% in 2020/21. That is nigh on 50, extra deaths.
Yes to carbon border tax A proposed carbon border tax could play a crucial role in achieving net zero emissions but will only be effective if it complements effective carbon pricing within the UK, the Chartered Institute of Taxation (CIOT) and Association of Taxation Technicians (ATT) have warned.
The Government recently launched a consultation on a range of measures designed to protect UK manufacturers from being undercut by countries with softer environmental rules, including a carbon border adjustment mechanism (CBAM), which would effectively impose a charge on some imports from those countries. The proposed tax is likely to target energy-intensive products such as iron and steel, cement, aluminium and fertilisers, at first,
and echoes a similar policy in the EU.
No one charged under evasion laws HMRC has not charged any UK firm with the ‘failure to prevent tax evasion’ offence since it was introduced six years ago. Since 2017 British companies can be criminally prosecuted if it is found they have failed to put in adequate checks and systems to prevent its staff from facilitating tax evasion.
Taxwatch
Our popular face-to-face seminar series is back by popular demand. This time we are
looking at how accountants can save the world from climate change!
We are also hoping to getting a visit from PwC’s sustainability hub.
PQ magazine recently reported on its front cover that accountancy and the way it is
taught and practised could be inadvertently fuelling climate change. In fact, Professor Ian
Thomson claimed accountants right now are incentivising climate change.
This has to stop, and accounting for the environment can no longer be seen as a
marginalised issue.
So, how can accountancy and the environment work in harmony, and how carbon
competent are you?
By joining us on 7 June you could be taking another step in the right direction!
Click here to sign up.
Our panel on the night will be chaired by Queen Mary’s very-own Ishani Chandraskara
Among the panellists already signed up is David Rothera, climate project manager at
Net Zero Now.
The Future is Net Zero – can accountants help to save the planet?
Date: Wednesday 7 June 2023
Venue: Arts 2, Queen Mary University of London,
Mile End Road, Bethnal Green, London E1 4NS
Time: 18 – 20 BST, but doors will open for 17 for networking
Supported by
THE FUTURE IS NET ZERO
- CAN ACCOUNTANTS
HELP TO SAVE THE
PLANET?
A Queen Mary University of London seminar,
bought to you in association with PQ magazine
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Our ‘Graduates don’t want a career in accountancy!’ cover story certainly got a big reaction on social media. Prabin Jha said: “Mr. Graham Hambly, I partially agree with you here. Accountancy can’t be seen as standalone profession anymore.” Rupal Panchal explained: “It also has to do with increasing and complex compliance burden and deadlines.” Marie Speakman added: “So true Graham. It’s pointless to train and study for a qualification and never get to use any of it. Too many accountants doing mundane and repetitive work. I think the salaries haven’t kept
up; they seem quite low.” Geoff Nightingale agreed: “Good article. Interesting and engaging work is the only way to attract and retain employees in most industries.” We got some great advice back too when we posted CIMA’s feature on how to pass the OTs. Lucille said you need to start early, check your understanding and do as many mocks/tests before you sit your exam. She went on: “OTs are intimidating as they are not absolute in nature and require a solid knowledge of the subject matter.” Finally, take a look at all the great April Fool’s jokes on our fun page. Sunil Bhandari got in on the act and claimed he was swapping roles with his wife. While Sunil is a top ACCA AFM tutor his wife Rita is an ‘art of living’ teacher. This includes meditation and yoga. Let’s just say I haven’t seen Rita’s securitisation vs sukuk finance recording yet!
PQ Magazin e PO Box 75983, London E11 9GS | Phone : 07765 386489 | Em ail: graham@pqmagazine Website: pqmagazine | Editor/publisher: Graham Hamb ly graham@pqmagazine | Associate editor: Adam Riches | Art editor: Tim Parker Contributors: Robert Br uce, Prem Sikka, Lisa Nelson, Ann a Kat e Phelan, Tony Kelly, Phil Gamm on, Edward Neth erton | Subscriptions: subscriptions@pqmagazine | Origination services by Classified Central Media If you have any problems with delivery, or if you want to change your delivery address, please email admin@pqm agazin e
Published by PQ Publishing Ltd © PQ Publishing 2023
My AAT woes I am really unhappy about the ongoing and severe problems with AAT’s new AQ2022 syllabus, which launched on 1 September 2022, at the same time as their new assessment platform Atlas Cloud. As you pointed out in your last issue what we have is a very unreliable assessment platform, which eight months on still contains various widespread glitches. I also understand that students’ results have also been very poor, with pass rates nowhere near the previous AQ2016 syllabus levels. It is going to be very interesting when AAT finally gets around to publishing pass rates for the AQ2022 units.
These problems are serious, especially at a time when AAT has increased the student membership cost by 100%+, with their lifetime qualification
membership fee rates. It takes me back to the launch of AQ2010 syllabus, when the AAT first started using CBA. Regrettably, there was a lot of ‘denial’ shown from the AAT back then, and it seems to be being replicated this time around. Can PQ magazine please investigate these issues with the AAT, and perhaps provide an article in the magazine that can reveal the AAT’s formal response? Hopefully this will reassure students that they are not alone in dealing with these issues. Name and address supplied
The Editor says: We are on the case, and will certainly keep our readers updated on any developments in this story.
Are Londoners the happiest? As a Londoner studying in the North West, I find it hard to believe your story in last month’s issue that claims students in London are the happiest (PQ, April ’23). It is so expensive for students there, it is one of the main reasons I now study and live in wonderful Manchester. I did notice that the study was a Living and Learning in London report by London Higher, and although I would not say they are biased it did raise an eyebrow. You also say it is about expectations, and perhaps people expect the capital to be crowded and expensive. That’s not to say the cost-of-living crisis has escaped students up here too, it is very tough at the moment. I have had to take on paid work and have missed classes because of the way the shifts work. Name and email address supplied
Shortages can be good Am I being naïve in saying a skills shortage (lead story, PQ, April ’23) is a good thing for us part qualified accountants?
If the demand is there but fewer people come into the profession then salaries will rise. The fact that some of the mundane tasks are no longer seen as a rite of passage also has to be a good thing. Technology is changing every profession and it is going to be the accountants who embrace it that will get ahead. I am ready to learn! Name and email address supplied
What shortages? You have a story talking about shortages on page one (PQ, April ’23), but then on pages 8 and 9 you write about firms taking on record numbers of trainees. Surely the market is readjusting itself after the Covid years and any shortages were just because firms found it difficult to recruit during the pandemic? Name and email address supplied
email graham@pqmagazine
Our star lett er wri ter wins a fantastic ‘I love PQ’ mug!
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PQ
17
PQ
PQ Magazine May 2023
PQ awards 2023
THE 2023 SHORTLIST
We are celebrating 10 years of the PQ magazine awards, so who
made this year’s shortlist? Here it is the list hot off the press:
PQ OF THE YEAR Katarina Collins Charlie Lowe Joseph Marsh Evie Todd Sunny Yang
NQ OF THE YEAR Grace Bayton Noah Davis Laurence De Ste Croix Sarah Lucas Danny Sutton
ACCOUNTANCY GRADUATE OF THE YEAR Menna Bafaqih Xhulja Duka Sophie Huggins Colin Omorodion Abigail Wilkinson
DISTANCE LEARNING STUDENT OF THE YEAR Daniel Blake Salman Dahir Siobhan Ife Lillian Okolie Daniel Salas
ACCOUNTANCY APPRENTICE OF THE YEAR Anastasia Byard Jasmine Kemp Paige O’Neill Shannon McClenaghan Kimberley Mowatt
ACCOUNTANCY BODY OF THE YEAR (announced on the night)
STUDENT BODY OF THE YEAR Chartered Accountant Students’ Society of London (CASSL) Lancaster University Accounting Society Henley Business School – University of Reading Leeds Chartered Accountants Student Society (LCASS) BAF Social Committee, Newcastle University
ACCOUNTANCY COLLEGE OF THE YEAR PRIVATE SECTOR Accountancy Learning Limited First Intuition Future Connect Training & Recruitment Open Tuition VIVA Financial Tuition PUBLIC SECTOR Cardiff and Vale College Newcastle University Business School University of South Wales (USW) University of Liverpool University of Winchester
ONLINE COLLEGE OF THE YEAR e-Careers First Intuition Future Connect Training & Recruitment HTFT Premier Training
STUDY RESOURCE OF THE YEAR AAT’s Student Conference: Accelerate CIPFA Learning First Intuition Distance Learnings Free Revision Sessions Mindful Education: AAT Level 2 My Exam Performance from ACCA
ACCOUNTANCY LECTURER OF THE YEAR PRIVATE SECTOR Ben Campbell Matt Dean Karen Groves Penelope Merison Jo Tuffill
PUBLIC SECTOR Chris Barlow Usha Mistry Jennifer Rose Lim Keong Teoh Dinusha Weerawardane
INNOVATION IN ACCOUNTANCY CIMA FLP Skills Premium Project by Kaplan IFA’s New Apprenticeship Standard – Integrated Degree Apprenticeship – Accounting and Finance Management Mindful Education: AAT Q Courses More Than Bookkeeping Queen Mary University of London Seminar Series
TRAINING MANAGER/ MENTOR OF THE YEAR Brunilda Aliaj Tabitha Appleyard Laura Day-Henderson Jagruti Patel Andy Williams
ACCOUNTANCY TEAM OF THE YEAR Kate West & Steve Wynne Neil Maguire & Jessica Harvey- Olayemi Mindful Education Tuition Team
ACCOUNTANCY PERSONALITY OF THE YEAR Neil da Costa Rachel Harris Nick Craggs Libby Walklett Karen Young
BEST USE OF SOCIAL MEDIA ACCA Instagram Reels Dominic Buttery (@DominicButtery) GENCFO – LinkedIn Page LSBF’s Big Pre-exam technique reveal countdown Study Fun Group (Facebook Group)
GRADUATE/ APPRENTICE TRAINING PROGRAMME OF THE YEAR (announced on the night)
PODCAST OF THE YEAR Bang the Drum Podcast by Azets Kaplan Lean Better Podcast Series Price of Football Podcast, Kieran Maguire, University of Liverpool The Bookkeepers’ Podcast Tom Clendon’s SBR Podcast
EDITOR’S SPECIAL AWARDS (announced on the night)
PQ
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PQ
PQ Magazine May 2023
ACCA Study Hub
Supercharge your
exam success
Get ready for the latest innovation from
ACCA – it could be the secret ingredient for
your exam success, says the association’s
Emma Kerr
I
n July we’re launching our new digital platform, the ACCA Study Hub. Designed to provide extra support for students and tutors, it gives exclusive access to ACCA approved study materials on web and mobile – and we’re pretty excited about it! You’ll be able to study anytime, anywhere with practice questions, study text chapters, flashcards and quizzes. It streamlines revision, helping you to increase your understanding and be perfectly prepared for exams. The Study Hub content has been successfully trialled and proven to show an increase in student pass rates – meaning stronger exam
performance and faster progress to qualification for you. And did we mention that it’s accessible to all? Here's what some of the students who’ve had early access to the Study Hub had to say: Suhyma Imitiali Aboo, Kenya: “I was the national top in the SBL exam. Shall I tell you my secret? The ACCA Study Hub. It’s a wonderfully abundant platform that has all the resources at the click of a button.” Albert Abaka, Ghana: “Wow, this is a goldmine! It has a list of all the SP exam papers. The contents are so concise, easy to understand and with real world
examples.” John Fatoki, Nigeria: “I knew I’d need the best materials to help me ace the exams. I formed a study group with three friends and two of them introduced us to the Study Hub. This was the most important decision we took leading up to the exams.” Geoffry Ndhlovu, Zimbabwe: “I think the best thing about the SH is the ability to go to straight to the exact section you want – and the quizzes of course.”
Source of support Reza Ali, director of learning and commercial at ACCA, is confident of the benefits it will bring: “The ACCA Study Hub is going to be a great source of support for all our students globally in their journey towards ACCA membership. This marks ACCA’s ongoing commitment to our future
members’ success.” The ACCA Study Hub is the latest addition to ACCA’s portfolio of support available to students and tutors, it promises to have a tangible impact to student outcomes when used together with approved tuition and other ACCA learning resources, like the ACCA Practice Platform, which helps you get familiar with the Computer Based Exam. To maximise your chances of exam success, we recommend using the Study Hub and studying with an ACCA Approved Learning Partner. You can be reassured that our approved content relationship with BPP Learning Media and Kaplan Publishing will continue for the 2023/24 syllabus and we look forward to continue to work closely with both partners. You’ll be able to access the Study Hub through your MyACCA account from 5 July. We’re including this innovative support as part of students’ annual ACCA subscription fee – making it even better value for money. We’ll be in touch with more information ahead of the launch, so look out for more updates..
- Emma Kerr is head of content and publications at ACCA
20
PQ
PQ Magazine May 2023
business environment synoptic
Stay on the right side of the law
Karen Groves explains about contract law, which is covered in the AAT Level 2 Business
Environment Synoptic assessment
####### C
ontract law is a new topic to the Level 2 AAT Q2022 qualifications. It is important as an accounting professional, that you are aware of the main elements of contract law, as they form the basis of most business transactions. The law of contract determines if a promise is enforceable by a court of law (in other words, is it legally binding?). A contract is a legally binding agreement between two parties. The offeror is the party making the offer, and the offeree is the party accepting the offer. For a contract to be valid, it must have the following: Offer and acceptance: An offer is a statement of willingness to be bound on specific terms without any further negotiations. An agreement is then made between two parties and accepted with no further changes required. The offer can be either written, verbal or by conduct. Consideration: Both parties must do something as part of their side of the contract (for example, a decorator (the offeror) must complete the office decorating and the offeree must pay the decorator once the work has been completed. Consideration must have some value; this could be an item or a service and must also be legal. Consideration can be either executed (a promise that has been executed, for example, paying the decorator £1,000 to paint an office), or executory, for example a promise to do something in the future – namely the decorating, in exchange for another promise, namely paying the decorator £1,000 once the work has been completed. Consent to terms: Both parties must be certain of the contract terms and conditions, which should be legal and possible to complete. Intent to create a legal relationship: Both parties must be willing to be bound by the contract terms. In addition to the above, both parties must be able to contract and submit themselves to the contract. For example, children are not allowed to enter into a contract agreement.
Invitation to treat An invitation to treat means that one party has invited the other party to make an offer, and is therefore not an offer as mentioned earlier. An example of this could be a property for sale. At the stage a customer expresses interest in the item for sale, the offer is then made, which can be refused by the seller.
Termination An offer can be terminated as follows: Rejection: The offeree may reject the offer, or a counteroffer could be made. Lapse: The offer may have an expiry limit, or the offeror or offeree may have died, causing the offer to lapse. Revocation: An offer can be revoked by the offeror before acceptance unless a part payment or another act has been performed, indicating acceptance of the offer.
Capacity and legality Void contracts A void contract is a contract that is either illegal or impossible to carry out, and therefore void. This type of contract cannot be enforced by law.
Voidable contracts A voidable contract could include for example, a contract between an adult and a child (under the age of 18). The adult would be bound by the contract; however, a child is not, and therefore the contract would be nullified (made legally null and void)
Discharge of contract A discharge of contract means that the contract is no longer legally binding and has therefore been terminated.
Discharge by performance The discharge of contract by performance occurs when both parties are refused to perform the contract obligations.
Discharge by breach The discharge of contract by breach refers to one of the parties failing to perform the contract obligations, hence being called a breach of contract.
Now have a go at the questions below:
- You are in a car sales room and tell the salesperson you would like to buy the car. This creates a binding contract:
- True
- False
- An advert in your local newspaper selling a car is an invitation to treat:
- True
- False
Answers:
- False
- True
- Karen Groves is an AAT tutor and Faculty Director of Accounting at e-Careers
PQ MAY23 Multi - hello
Module: acca financial reporting (ACCA F7)
University: Association of Chartered Certified Accountants
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