ACCA: Technical articles

The syllabus for Paper F1, Accountant in Business includes the theory of organisations and related topics. Candidates must be familiar with the different organisational structures that can be adopted, as well as related concepts such as departmentalisation, divisionalisation, centralisation and decentralisation, span of control, scalar chain and tall and flat organisations. In addition to these topics, candidates should also study some of the more contemporary organisational models. These include ‘boundaryless’ organisations and shared services organisations, both of which are examinable for the first time in 2014. This podcast provides an overview of some of these concepts.

With at least one requirement relating to forensic accounting in three out of five Paper P7 exams between December 2011 and December 2013, this is an area of the syllabus that students cannot afford to overlook. This podcast explores some of the issues relevant to forensic accounting.

CEOs and senior managers are increasingly judged on the success of their companies’ business strategies. Yet, despite the existence of complex strategy formulation processes in many organisations, many corporate strategies fail to actually get implemented. This podcast explores the main pitfalls of successful strategy implementation.

The emergence in the 1990s of low-cost airlines and the expansion of the European travel market has shown how competition can significantly affect the structure of an industry. This podcast examines how the balanced scorecard might be used to maintain the low-cost carriers' competitive edge.

Talent and knowledge are an organisation’s capabilities and abilities. The management of knowledge requires focus if it is to be the basis of market success or failure. This podcast explores ways of enhancing and supporting the concept of knowledge management as a strategic contributor to an organisation.

TAP into Paper P7: a very common theme in Paper P7 questions is to present you with information that embodies an accounting issue. Sometimes the information is presented as a standalone requirement but is often, for instance, included in a set of notes of a conversation with an audit client’s finance director. This podcast explores some topical examples.

The issue of auditor’s liability is included in the syllabus for Paper P7, Advanced Audit and Assurance. Candidates need to understand and apply the principles of establishing liability in a particular situation, as well as being able to discuss the ways in which liability may be limited. This podcast considers the current legal position of auditors in the UK. It also discusses the impact on the competitiveness of the audit market and some of the methods available to limit exposure to expensive litigation.

It is important that when studying Paper P7, Advanced Audit and Assurance, candidates remember that current issues is part of the syllabus. One of the particular topics of current issues specifically mentioned in the syllabus is that of IFAC developments. In the context of auditing, this means that candidates should be aware of important projects that are being undertaken by the IAASB. This podcast aims to provide an overview of the more significant currently active IAASB projects.

This podcast critically evaluates the two main methods for preparing budgets - the incremental approach and the zero-based approach.

This podcast discusses the challenges of people when considering business strategy. Areas covered include strategic human resource management, recruitment, job design, transactional and transformational leaders and business process re-engineering.