Friday, 24 August 2012
ICB Level 2 Examination
The ICB introduced a requirement that all tutors should experience taking the ICB examination this year and this blog is my experience of taking the examination. This may put your mind at rest about the examination and the process you will be going through in general terms.
I say in general terms because having spoken to a number of students who have taken the examination at Pearson Vue Centres and now tackled the examination myself there are clearly differences between Centres and indeed between everyone's experience in taking the examination.
It may assist you by sharing my experience if this is your first examination at a Pearson Vue Centre. However, in reality things may go differently for you. My earlier comments on the mock examinations for Levels 2 and 3 online hold true also for the actual examination I experienced and I reitterate my comments and thoughts on exam approach and examination contents.
So let me just look at the examination sitting process.
I booked the examination online. The tools online offer a list of 5 Centres, 10 Centres and 20 Centres. My local Centre was full and other Centres were a minimum of 30 odd miles away so I selected a London Centre which was further away but more convenient for me. I booked the examination on Wednesday and took the examination midday on Thursday.
The booking information explained that I could take a calculator with me but that paper to write on would be provided at the Centre. It was silent about pens so I took a couple with me as well as the calculator. In the event I had to empty my pockets completely at the Centre (even coins, keys and tissues) and was directed to some lockers. After leaving everything in the locker the only things I was permitted to carry with me were a photo-ID and the locker key.
I was provided with a calculator which I was asked to approve, a pen and two plastic boards on which to write notes. I gave the calculator a peremptory test but I would recommend giving the one you are offered a more stringent check so that you feel comfortable with it and are happy that it works correctly.
I was directed to one of two or three rooms for testing. I was then escorted, after showning my photo-identity, into a square, quite dark and warm room where a number of other people were sitting different examinations at booths around the outside of the room. Each booth was about a couple of metres wide and separated by hardboard. In front of me was a desktop computer, a keyboard, mouse and mousemat. I had a normal office chair on which to sit. My attendant logged me into the system and said if I wanted any assistance I was to raise my hand. She indicated that I and everyone else were being videod throughout the process.
I was then left to read a disclaimer at the front of the examination on screen and then through some information about the examination itself. This was similar to that you have or will see on the online mock examination. At each stage there is a timer on the pages advising you of how much time you have left which is useful as you are not permitted a watch or clock in the examination room.
The examination was very similar to the online mock examination. The disclaimer I signed prevents me mentioning specific points about the examination itself. However, I feel I should stress that it is very important to read everything on the examination carefully as some items need to be keyed into the system in a specific way.
In my case a few people entered and left the room but in general there was little noise within the room except clicking of mice and keyboards. I could hear some talking and laughing from outside the room but it was not particularly intrusive. I have heard other students complain that their Centres were noisy and if that is what it is like in your case, I would suggest asking for quiet.
I completed the examination and, as with the mock exam, there was ample time and the opportunity to check through at the end.
Before I left the Centre I was provided with a printout indicating whether the result was a Pass or Fail. There is no indication of grading on this printout. I did not have to wait for the printout. It was prepared while I picked up my belongings from the locker. The following morning (Friday) I received full details of the grade and percentage earned by email from ICB. There was a link on the email where a report on the examination performance could be found. Apparently the Certificate will follow within 28 days.
So overall I felt the experience of taking the examination was one of going through an 'examination sitting factory'. It was quite efficient and workmanlike and a little bureaucratic. If you are nervous about taking the exam you might find the atmosphere less human than you might like. However, if you prefer anonymity the experience I had might suit you.
Good luck and I hope your examination goes well.
Thursday, 26 August 2010
ICB Level 3 Mock Online Examination
It is useful, as preparation for the Level 3 examination, to tackle the online mock examination. If you have tackled one or more manual past examinations as part of your revision, you will be aware that they are concerned primarily with the presentation of final accounts and balance sheets of various types of organisation. I worked my way through the mock examination to see if this was similar in approach or differed. It proved, with some differences to be much the same in approach as the previous manual examination.
Having worked through the mock examination, which presumably will be typical of the actual examination, I thought I would share my experiences and thoughts. Hopefully there will be something you find useful. If, as you work through the mock or your actual examination, you feel there is something you have learned which will be helpful to other students please add your comments below.
I have covered some of the following in my blog on the earlier levels and am repeating it here in case you have not read them or you read them some time ago.
The mock examinations for all levels are available at the ICB shop on the ICB website http://www.bookkeepers.org.uk/
Purchasing the examinations is straightforward and you should, within a couple of minutes, be provided with the information of how to take the mock examinations. When I took the mock I was told it was valid for use for 28 days from the date of purchase. The time allocated from start to finish in which to complete the mock examination was 2 hours. For reasons I will explain below, I found that much of the time was needed to complete the mock. Time management is important.
I am not sure if you could buy the mock, book the actual examination and then attempt both on the same day. But as this occurred to me I tackled the Level 3 mock within an hour of completing the Level 2 mock. Having done so, I would not recommend this approach. It would be sensible to have more of a break between the mock and the examination.
As you will be taking the actual examination in a Pearson Vue Centre it is easier to put the time aside but for best use of the mock examination at home I would suggest replicating examination conditions. My advice is the same as for Levels 1 and 2. Make sure you have:
- a clear 2 hours on the computer without interruption, including phone calls
- a pad of blank paper
- pens and pencils
- a calculator
You will need to make calculations and draw up financial statements on your pad. It is advisable to take your time in preparing the statements clearly so you can refer back to them easily. During the mock examination, and probably actual examination, you will need either to refer back a screen or two. Or, if you have your answer on your pad, it will be easier to refer to it. Please write clearly and double check all the figures you take from pad to screen because some options are very similar in the answers given.
Turning now to the practicalities of the mock examination (and, I assume the actual examination). As with Levels 1 and 2 you are provided with details the pass mark, how long you have to complete the examination and very important information about the FINISH button. Once you press that you cannot return to the mock so it is important to be completely happy with your work before pressing it. You are reminded at the end to check your work. Please do so!
There is also a START button on this page. Once you have pressed it you are then into your mock examination time and to the next page which lists a number of questions down the left hand side (5 questions, some having one, two or three parts in my case) with the word finish at the end. There was probably less of a feeling of time pressure than in the Level 1 and 2 examination and mock that I completed. In hindsight, there was a need not to waste time. Completing the mock online will help you better manage your time in the examination.
As I mentioned for Levels 1 and 2, you can flick through the pages to see what is involved in each of the tasks if you wish before starting and you will see some tasks are shorter than others. You are advised to complete the tasks in order but most appeared to be discrete so if you have a ‘favourite topic’ it is probably possible to tackle that first. I would certainly recommend reading through all the tasks quickly and then each task in turn fully before starting because there are more interrelationships between parts of tasks at earlier Levels.
The question style differs from Levels 1 and 2. There are a few radio buttons but, primarily fill-in boxes are used in the format of statements such as trading accounts, profit and loss accounts, income and expenditure accounts, balance sheets and so on.
There were a variety of tasks in the mock examination. Some followed a full or partially full set of final accounts and others were more selective. For instance, one question started with an appropriation account (so the trial balance provided was after the profit and loss account had been completed). The first task was then to calculate figures and insert them in a pro-forma appropriation account. A similar approach was taken with the balance sheet. This means that some items can be cut and paste from the information and placed into fill-in boxes. Other fill-in boxes may need some work (e.g. working out depreciation and just putting the net book value of fixed assets into the fill-in boxes). In a question like this is would probably not be a good use of time writing out your answer first. There are opportunities to calculate figures for total fixed assets, total current assets and so on, on the pro-forma. And if your balance sheet balances, there is a good likelihood that your answer is correct or you have only made one or two compensating errors.
In another question I was provided with, effectively, the receipts and payments account of a club and was asked to calculate various figures and then complete the balance sheet.
There was sufficient information to produce an income and expenditure account too but it was not required within the examination. I was tempted into writing an income and expenditure account out on paper so that I could see the full set of accounts and, thereby, check my work on the information I had to produce. I feel that this was a mistake. Although I was able to do this, the time taken put me under time pressure. Hence, I would suggest completing just what you are required to do in the examination and check your work carefully first, before trying anything more extensive as a double-check.
Some questions were relatively straightforward but of Level 3 standard. Others required a little more thought. For instance, one question called for the restatement of a balance sheet extract after changes in share capital. This is one of those questions in which it can be easy to miss something under pressure and I used a strategy I used in the past on manual papers to deal with the situation. I drew up three columns on my pad.
In the first column I wrote the initial figure given, in the second column the changes with plus and minus and the final figure in the third column.
e.g. Net assets 50,000 Bank + 22,000 = 72,000
Share capital 40,000 + 20,000 = Sh cap 60,000
Share premium 2,000 + 2,000 = Sh pr 2,000
In the above an issue of shares means that assets increase (because the shares bring cash into the business) and share capital and premium increase. I found the use of columns provided clarity and I was able to see I had dealt with all aspects of the calculation. As this was working which no one would see except me I used recognisable abbreviations.
You may find it useful in the less recognisable type of questions to think about your strategy for answering the question before tackling it. Time thinking may save time overall.
I noticed that the terms capital employed and shareholders’ equity were used in the mock examination. There are different ways of interpreting these terms in reality. The following approach was used in the mock examination and I presume that is a signal for how they will be calculated in the actual examinations in future. You might like to commit these to memory.
Capital employed = share capital + reserves + long-term liabilities
Shareholders’ equity = share capital + reserves
Gearing, which is also measured in various ways, was also tested and this was calculated as: long-term liabilities divided by share capital + reserves + long-term liabilities measured as a percentage.
I tried different measures/interpretations of capital employed, shareholders’ equity and gearing. Some were regarded as right, some not. Hence, it is important that you use the above formulae.
Please aim for accuracy in all your calculations. In manual examinations you are often given credit for the correct approach for later calculations even if earlier ones are incorrect. It was not clear that this was the same approach taken in the online paper.
Finally, after completing the examination, almost instantly after pressing finish you are taken to a page which provides the mark earned and a question by question breakdown of the answers given and the correct answers. So you can clearly see what was correct and any mistakes made.
My key lessons from taking this mock examination though were to manage time carefully and not to introduce additional work even if it would confirm the figures in statements completed. A Level 3 examination requires full attention to the topics tested and appropriate time devoted to concentrate on them.
Having worked through the mock examination, which presumably will be typical of the actual examination, I thought I would share my experiences and thoughts. Hopefully there will be something you find useful. If, as you work through the mock or your actual examination, you feel there is something you have learned which will be helpful to other students please add your comments below.
I have covered some of the following in my blog on the earlier levels and am repeating it here in case you have not read them or you read them some time ago.
The mock examinations for all levels are available at the ICB shop on the ICB website http://www.bookkeepers.org.uk/
Purchasing the examinations is straightforward and you should, within a couple of minutes, be provided with the information of how to take the mock examinations. When I took the mock I was told it was valid for use for 28 days from the date of purchase. The time allocated from start to finish in which to complete the mock examination was 2 hours. For reasons I will explain below, I found that much of the time was needed to complete the mock. Time management is important.
I am not sure if you could buy the mock, book the actual examination and then attempt both on the same day. But as this occurred to me I tackled the Level 3 mock within an hour of completing the Level 2 mock. Having done so, I would not recommend this approach. It would be sensible to have more of a break between the mock and the examination.
As you will be taking the actual examination in a Pearson Vue Centre it is easier to put the time aside but for best use of the mock examination at home I would suggest replicating examination conditions. My advice is the same as for Levels 1 and 2. Make sure you have:
- a clear 2 hours on the computer without interruption, including phone calls
- a pad of blank paper
- pens and pencils
- a calculator
You will need to make calculations and draw up financial statements on your pad. It is advisable to take your time in preparing the statements clearly so you can refer back to them easily. During the mock examination, and probably actual examination, you will need either to refer back a screen or two. Or, if you have your answer on your pad, it will be easier to refer to it. Please write clearly and double check all the figures you take from pad to screen because some options are very similar in the answers given.
Turning now to the practicalities of the mock examination (and, I assume the actual examination). As with Levels 1 and 2 you are provided with details the pass mark, how long you have to complete the examination and very important information about the FINISH button. Once you press that you cannot return to the mock so it is important to be completely happy with your work before pressing it. You are reminded at the end to check your work. Please do so!
There is also a START button on this page. Once you have pressed it you are then into your mock examination time and to the next page which lists a number of questions down the left hand side (5 questions, some having one, two or three parts in my case) with the word finish at the end. There was probably less of a feeling of time pressure than in the Level 1 and 2 examination and mock that I completed. In hindsight, there was a need not to waste time. Completing the mock online will help you better manage your time in the examination.
As I mentioned for Levels 1 and 2, you can flick through the pages to see what is involved in each of the tasks if you wish before starting and you will see some tasks are shorter than others. You are advised to complete the tasks in order but most appeared to be discrete so if you have a ‘favourite topic’ it is probably possible to tackle that first. I would certainly recommend reading through all the tasks quickly and then each task in turn fully before starting because there are more interrelationships between parts of tasks at earlier Levels.
The question style differs from Levels 1 and 2. There are a few radio buttons but, primarily fill-in boxes are used in the format of statements such as trading accounts, profit and loss accounts, income and expenditure accounts, balance sheets and so on.
There were a variety of tasks in the mock examination. Some followed a full or partially full set of final accounts and others were more selective. For instance, one question started with an appropriation account (so the trial balance provided was after the profit and loss account had been completed). The first task was then to calculate figures and insert them in a pro-forma appropriation account. A similar approach was taken with the balance sheet. This means that some items can be cut and paste from the information and placed into fill-in boxes. Other fill-in boxes may need some work (e.g. working out depreciation and just putting the net book value of fixed assets into the fill-in boxes). In a question like this is would probably not be a good use of time writing out your answer first. There are opportunities to calculate figures for total fixed assets, total current assets and so on, on the pro-forma. And if your balance sheet balances, there is a good likelihood that your answer is correct or you have only made one or two compensating errors.
In another question I was provided with, effectively, the receipts and payments account of a club and was asked to calculate various figures and then complete the balance sheet.
There was sufficient information to produce an income and expenditure account too but it was not required within the examination. I was tempted into writing an income and expenditure account out on paper so that I could see the full set of accounts and, thereby, check my work on the information I had to produce. I feel that this was a mistake. Although I was able to do this, the time taken put me under time pressure. Hence, I would suggest completing just what you are required to do in the examination and check your work carefully first, before trying anything more extensive as a double-check.
Some questions were relatively straightforward but of Level 3 standard. Others required a little more thought. For instance, one question called for the restatement of a balance sheet extract after changes in share capital. This is one of those questions in which it can be easy to miss something under pressure and I used a strategy I used in the past on manual papers to deal with the situation. I drew up three columns on my pad.
In the first column I wrote the initial figure given, in the second column the changes with plus and minus and the final figure in the third column.
e.g. Net assets 50,000 Bank + 22,000 = 72,000
Share capital 40,000 + 20,000 = Sh cap 60,000
Share premium 2,000 + 2,000 = Sh pr 2,000
In the above an issue of shares means that assets increase (because the shares bring cash into the business) and share capital and premium increase. I found the use of columns provided clarity and I was able to see I had dealt with all aspects of the calculation. As this was working which no one would see except me I used recognisable abbreviations.
You may find it useful in the less recognisable type of questions to think about your strategy for answering the question before tackling it. Time thinking may save time overall.
I noticed that the terms capital employed and shareholders’ equity were used in the mock examination. There are different ways of interpreting these terms in reality. The following approach was used in the mock examination and I presume that is a signal for how they will be calculated in the actual examinations in future. You might like to commit these to memory.
Capital employed = share capital + reserves + long-term liabilities
Shareholders’ equity = share capital + reserves
Gearing, which is also measured in various ways, was also tested and this was calculated as: long-term liabilities divided by share capital + reserves + long-term liabilities measured as a percentage.
I tried different measures/interpretations of capital employed, shareholders’ equity and gearing. Some were regarded as right, some not. Hence, it is important that you use the above formulae.
Please aim for accuracy in all your calculations. In manual examinations you are often given credit for the correct approach for later calculations even if earlier ones are incorrect. It was not clear that this was the same approach taken in the online paper.
Finally, after completing the examination, almost instantly after pressing finish you are taken to a page which provides the mark earned and a question by question breakdown of the answers given and the correct answers. So you can clearly see what was correct and any mistakes made.
My key lessons from taking this mock examination though were to manage time carefully and not to introduce additional work even if it would confirm the figures in statements completed. A Level 3 examination requires full attention to the topics tested and appropriate time devoted to concentrate on them.
ICB Level 2 Mock Online Examination
As you prepare for the Level 2 examination it is a good idea to tackle the online mock examination as relevant practice for the actual examination. I worked my way through the mock examination and below share my experiences and thoughts in case you find them helpful. Please do feel free to add any comments on the mock or your actual examination if you feel they will be helpful to other students. It would be much appreciated.
The mock examinations for all levels are available at the ICB shop on the ICB website (http://www.bookkeepers.org.uk/)
Purchasing the examinations is straightforward and you should, within a couple of minutes, be provided with the information of how to take the mock examinations. When I took the mock I was told it was valid for use for 28 days from the date of purchase. The time allocated from start to finish in which to complete the mock examination was 2 hours. This should be ample time.
I am not sure if you could buy the mock, book the actual examination and then attempt both on the same day. But as this occurred to me I tackled the Level 3 mock within an hour of completing the Level 2 mock. Having done so, I would not recommend this approach. It would be sensible to have more of a break between the mock and the examination.
As you will be taking the actual examination in a Pearson Vue Centre it is easier to put the time aside but for best use of the mock examination at home I would suggest replicating examination conditions. My advice is the same as for Level 1. Make sure you have:
- a clear 2 hours on the computer without interruption, including phone calls
- a pad of blank paper
- a calculator.
You will certainly need to make calculations and probably draw up financial statements on your pad. And it is advisable to take your time in preparing the statements clearly so you can refer back to them easily. You will find that sometimes you click on a page in the mock examination and will need either to refer back by clicking back on screen or looking down at your answer on your pad. Please write clearly and double check all the figures you take from pad to screen because some options are very similar in the answers given. It can be easy to mistake, for example, 2700 and 2900 if you are part thinking about the technology and part book-keeping. It is just as easy to transcribe figures as well, e.g 450 for 540 for the same reason.
The manual examinations of the past are still good practice for the online examination. But the online approach, at least if the mock examination is a good indicator of the actual examination, tends to require less writing and more thinking. For instance, rather than writing up a control account you could be asked ‘where will ‘x’ appear in the control account and sales ledger, for example.
So long as you have had plenty of practice in writing up relevant statements, thinking about how they are compiled should not cause too many difficulties. But you will need to be very clear about the various accounts and how they interrelate.
Turning now to the practicalities of the mock examination (and, I assume the actual examination). As with Level 1 you are provided with details the pass mark, how long you have to complete the examination and very important information about the FINISH button. Once you press that you cannot return to the mock so it is important to be completely happy with your work before pressing it. You are reminded at the end to check your work. Please do so!
There is also a START button on this page. Once you have pressed it you are then into your mock examination time and to the next page which lists a number of tasks down the left hand side (13 in my case) with the word finish at the end. There is instantly a feeling of time pressure but I found, in hindsight, that there was ample time. Completing the mock online will help you better manage your time in the examination.
As I mentioned for Level 1, you can flick through the pages to see what is involved in each of the tasks if you wish before starting and you will see some tasks are shorter than others. You are advised to complete the tasks in order but most appeared to be discrete so if you have a ‘favourite topic’ it is probably possible to tackle that first. I would certainly recommend reading through all the tasks quickly and then each task in turn fully before starting because there are more interrelationships between parts of tasks at Level 2 than Level 1.
The question style remains the same as with Level 1 – radio buttons, fill-in boxes, drop down menus and so on.
If you took Level 1 online you will recognise some tasks as being very similar:
- identifying debit and credit entries for transactions
- calculating totals for a trial balance and calculating capital. (You will probably have to clearly identify assets and liabilities and so on at Level 2 and they will be more mixed-up than at Level 1.)
Your Level 2 studies cover more that ledger accounts and trial balance of course. So you could well be expected to make calculations for depreciation, accruals, prepayments and other end of year adjustments in the mock examination. I certainly faced such questions.
There were also some more complex tasks:
- completing a bank reconciliation statement in a given pro-forma
- completing a trading, profit and loss account and balance sheet in a pro-forma.
I must admit it was comforting for the cash book to reconcile with the bank statement balance and for the balance sheet to balance. I did initially miss part of an adjustment in the balance sheet but once I had taken one balance sheet total away from the other the difference was a single figure which I could spot easily.
I am sure you would be more careful. But if the statements do not balance, there should be time to find and correct any error. However, watch the time if looking for errors. It is a better strategy to come back to the question after having completed them all rather than possibly spending time aiming for a perfect answer on one question and not answering another.
As I was working through the mock examination I could see that there were possibly different ways to write answers so with the risk of getting something wrong I included variations. For instance, the final question on the mock examination was the completion of a VAT Return. In fact the task was to complete boxes and there was a link to a VAT Return which had been scanned. The scan on the mock examination was not as clear as I assume it will be on the actual examination so you may find it useful to remind yourself of the contents and layout of a VAT Return before the mock/actual examination. However, the examiner has commented in past examinations that ‘NONE’ is the only correct terminology to use for ‘0.00’ in the boxes. I tried NONE, NIL, and 0 and they were all accepted as correct. So, clearly some variation is accepted. I did not leave a box blank but I would imagine that would be treated as an incomplete answer.
Just to finish on some other ‘testing’ of the system which I tried and points I met along the way:
- I entered thousands with commas and without commas and both were accepted. One ‘trick’ I found was that if you click on or back a page and then come back to the page you are working on the hundreds or thousands can sometimes sprout a pence column as well so the system automatically turns the figures into its default setting. Be careful not to press a full stop instead of a comma. I did and my intended £2,140 became £2.14.
- I focussed on one part of a question at a time and found that I needed to keep a more open mind. Occasionally a part of a question referred back to information given slightly earlier and did not make sense on its own.
- Bank which can have a debit or credit balance in reality seems to be used as a default for a debit balance (asset). Balance at bank was also used which would certainly be an asset.
- There were one or two minor typographical errors. Do not be put off by these.
- One question was asked on depreciation which is probably something you would know if you worked as a book-keeper but might not know as a student. If you do meet something like this it is only likely to relate to a mark or two so select and option and move on. Do not agonise about it.
Please aim for accuracy in all your calculations. In manual examinations you are often given credit for the correct approach for later calculations even if earlier ones are incorrect. It was not clear that this was the same approach taken in the online paper.
Finally, after completing the examination, almost instantly after pressing finish you are taken to a page which provides the mark earned and a question by question breakdown of the answers given and the correct answers. So you can clearly see what was correct and any mistakes made.
The mock examinations for all levels are available at the ICB shop on the ICB website (http://www.bookkeepers.org.uk/)
Purchasing the examinations is straightforward and you should, within a couple of minutes, be provided with the information of how to take the mock examinations. When I took the mock I was told it was valid for use for 28 days from the date of purchase. The time allocated from start to finish in which to complete the mock examination was 2 hours. This should be ample time.
I am not sure if you could buy the mock, book the actual examination and then attempt both on the same day. But as this occurred to me I tackled the Level 3 mock within an hour of completing the Level 2 mock. Having done so, I would not recommend this approach. It would be sensible to have more of a break between the mock and the examination.
As you will be taking the actual examination in a Pearson Vue Centre it is easier to put the time aside but for best use of the mock examination at home I would suggest replicating examination conditions. My advice is the same as for Level 1. Make sure you have:
- a clear 2 hours on the computer without interruption, including phone calls
- a pad of blank paper
- a calculator.
You will certainly need to make calculations and probably draw up financial statements on your pad. And it is advisable to take your time in preparing the statements clearly so you can refer back to them easily. You will find that sometimes you click on a page in the mock examination and will need either to refer back by clicking back on screen or looking down at your answer on your pad. Please write clearly and double check all the figures you take from pad to screen because some options are very similar in the answers given. It can be easy to mistake, for example, 2700 and 2900 if you are part thinking about the technology and part book-keeping. It is just as easy to transcribe figures as well, e.g 450 for 540 for the same reason.
The manual examinations of the past are still good practice for the online examination. But the online approach, at least if the mock examination is a good indicator of the actual examination, tends to require less writing and more thinking. For instance, rather than writing up a control account you could be asked ‘where will ‘x’ appear in the control account and sales ledger, for example.
So long as you have had plenty of practice in writing up relevant statements, thinking about how they are compiled should not cause too many difficulties. But you will need to be very clear about the various accounts and how they interrelate.
Turning now to the practicalities of the mock examination (and, I assume the actual examination). As with Level 1 you are provided with details the pass mark, how long you have to complete the examination and very important information about the FINISH button. Once you press that you cannot return to the mock so it is important to be completely happy with your work before pressing it. You are reminded at the end to check your work. Please do so!
There is also a START button on this page. Once you have pressed it you are then into your mock examination time and to the next page which lists a number of tasks down the left hand side (13 in my case) with the word finish at the end. There is instantly a feeling of time pressure but I found, in hindsight, that there was ample time. Completing the mock online will help you better manage your time in the examination.
As I mentioned for Level 1, you can flick through the pages to see what is involved in each of the tasks if you wish before starting and you will see some tasks are shorter than others. You are advised to complete the tasks in order but most appeared to be discrete so if you have a ‘favourite topic’ it is probably possible to tackle that first. I would certainly recommend reading through all the tasks quickly and then each task in turn fully before starting because there are more interrelationships between parts of tasks at Level 2 than Level 1.
The question style remains the same as with Level 1 – radio buttons, fill-in boxes, drop down menus and so on.
If you took Level 1 online you will recognise some tasks as being very similar:
- identifying debit and credit entries for transactions
- calculating totals for a trial balance and calculating capital. (You will probably have to clearly identify assets and liabilities and so on at Level 2 and they will be more mixed-up than at Level 1.)
Your Level 2 studies cover more that ledger accounts and trial balance of course. So you could well be expected to make calculations for depreciation, accruals, prepayments and other end of year adjustments in the mock examination. I certainly faced such questions.
There were also some more complex tasks:
- completing a bank reconciliation statement in a given pro-forma
- completing a trading, profit and loss account and balance sheet in a pro-forma.
I must admit it was comforting for the cash book to reconcile with the bank statement balance and for the balance sheet to balance. I did initially miss part of an adjustment in the balance sheet but once I had taken one balance sheet total away from the other the difference was a single figure which I could spot easily.
I am sure you would be more careful. But if the statements do not balance, there should be time to find and correct any error. However, watch the time if looking for errors. It is a better strategy to come back to the question after having completed them all rather than possibly spending time aiming for a perfect answer on one question and not answering another.
As I was working through the mock examination I could see that there were possibly different ways to write answers so with the risk of getting something wrong I included variations. For instance, the final question on the mock examination was the completion of a VAT Return. In fact the task was to complete boxes and there was a link to a VAT Return which had been scanned. The scan on the mock examination was not as clear as I assume it will be on the actual examination so you may find it useful to remind yourself of the contents and layout of a VAT Return before the mock/actual examination. However, the examiner has commented in past examinations that ‘NONE’ is the only correct terminology to use for ‘0.00’ in the boxes. I tried NONE, NIL, and 0 and they were all accepted as correct. So, clearly some variation is accepted. I did not leave a box blank but I would imagine that would be treated as an incomplete answer.
Just to finish on some other ‘testing’ of the system which I tried and points I met along the way:
- I entered thousands with commas and without commas and both were accepted. One ‘trick’ I found was that if you click on or back a page and then come back to the page you are working on the hundreds or thousands can sometimes sprout a pence column as well so the system automatically turns the figures into its default setting. Be careful not to press a full stop instead of a comma. I did and my intended £2,140 became £2.14.
- I focussed on one part of a question at a time and found that I needed to keep a more open mind. Occasionally a part of a question referred back to information given slightly earlier and did not make sense on its own.
- Bank which can have a debit or credit balance in reality seems to be used as a default for a debit balance (asset). Balance at bank was also used which would certainly be an asset.
- There were one or two minor typographical errors. Do not be put off by these.
- One question was asked on depreciation which is probably something you would know if you worked as a book-keeper but might not know as a student. If you do meet something like this it is only likely to relate to a mark or two so select and option and move on. Do not agonise about it.
Please aim for accuracy in all your calculations. In manual examinations you are often given credit for the correct approach for later calculations even if earlier ones are incorrect. It was not clear that this was the same approach taken in the online paper.
Finally, after completing the examination, almost instantly after pressing finish you are taken to a page which provides the mark earned and a question by question breakdown of the answers given and the correct answers. So you can clearly see what was correct and any mistakes made.
Wednesday, 21 April 2010
Taking The ICB Online Examination (Level 1)
If you have not taken an online examination before, it can be a little concerning. I know because I had never taken one myself. However, I tried it, and found it quite straightforward. So I thought I would share my experiences to give you an idea of what you are likely to face and hopefully some useful tips too.
Initially I was given logon information and a website address, found the website and was presented with a welcome page in which to input my email address and password. At this stage I had no real idea what I was going to be facing so I had not made any preparation. But in hindsight, I would have made sure I had:
So, assuming I had been prepared with all of the above, entering the login details moves on to a page detailing the qualification for which you have entered, the time allowed for the exam and when the exam expires. Once you have started the examination you have two hours from start until finish. But you can choose those two hours within a period of a couple of weeks which is why there is an expiry date.
The next page is like the rubric page of an examination paper. It details the pass mark, how long you have to complete the examination and very important information about the FINISH button. Once you press that you cannot return to the examination so it is important to be completely happy with your work before pressing it.
There is also a START button on this page. Once you have pressed it you are then into your examination time and you are taken to the next page which lists what appear to be a huge number of tasks down the left hand side (16 in my case) with the word finish at the end. At that stage I felt the pressure of time. But in hindsight I had plenty of time to complete the examination, check through it at my leisure and make up for my lack of preparation which I mentioned earlier.
You can flick through the pages to see what is involved in each of the tasks if you wish before starting (do not press the Finish button, of course). Some are very short and some are longer.
Throughout the examination you will information at the top of each task showing:
The answering of the question takes place with something like a button or a box to select, very similar to that illustrated at - http://www.bized.co.uk/learn/business/qbank/accounting1.htm
On my examination I had a list of balances from ledger accounts, the test being to select which of the balances would be debit and which credit. Most were straightforward as assets and expenses have debit balances and liabilities and income accounts have credit balances. However, as an account like bank can have either a debit or credit balance I found it useful to draw up the trial balance on paper first before answering the question. The bank balance went on the side that made the total of debits equal the total of credits. This also gives useful information such as the totals of the two columns which was also required. There is ample time to do this.
fill-in boxes (similar to that illustrated at http://www.bankrate.com/calculators/business/quick-ratio.aspx)
For instance I was given a paying in slip and a number of notes and coins which were to be paid into the bank. So I worked out that, say, that 7 x £5 = £35.00 and placed 35.00 in the box.
At this stage I was not sure whether to enter £35.00, 35.00 or 35. So I tried a variation in my examination and they all seemed to work. It is better to use best practice and on a paying in slip that would be to use 35.00.
You certainly should not use 35.0 because in the case of any currency using the decimal system there are 100 pence to the £, not 10.
You will need a calculator to work out some of the figures for fill in boxes or to make the right selection from a multiple choice. For instance you could be given the total amount of an invoice and be asked to select which accounts will be debited and credited and by how much. That will mean working out the VAT too.
drop down menus which you will be familiar with from many websites such as http://www.amazon.co.uk/ If you click on the downward arrow beside ‘search’ on the Amazon page you will see a list of departments. In the examination this is replace with say four items from which to chose containing information such as:
In the examination I took there were no actual ledger accounts to be written out on the examination itself although there is no reason why that could not be a possibility in future using fill-in boxes.
The drop-down menu was also used with questions such as: Which of the following is not a current asset? This was then followed with four examples.
A style of question which was popular in the examination to test ledger accounts was to give information such as:
Jane bought stationery costing £23.50. Process this payment through the relevant accounts.
Following this would be fill-in boxes or drop down menus:
The total amount of the expense including VAT would be posted to:
------------------------------------
The net amount of the expense (gross less VAT ) would be posted to:
------------------------------------
The amount of VAT on the expense would be posted to:
------------------------------------
It is useful to use ledger accounts written down on the pad to work this through.
Once you have worked through all the tasks I would recommend taking a brief five minute break and then to check through all your work. You can do this task by task. Watch out for accidentally selecting the incorrect option in the drop-down menu, transposing figures in the fill-in boxes and so on. Such things are easy to do in the pressure of an examination.
You will have the opportunity to complete a mock examination before your actual examination in any case. But hopefully, my experiences and thoughts above will alleviate any concerns you might have. And then I am sure you will think of other points as you work through the mock examination and ways of dealing with it which suit you specifically.
At the end of the examination, it is a case of pressing FINISH. And then within a minute or two you are taken to a screen which tells you your result. This is also confirmed by a separate email.
Did I pass? YES!!!
A recent successful student at Level 2 made the additional extremely helpful comment in respect of the examinations too which will be relevant at all Levels- I did take the mock exam also the day before and I think that helped prepare me for the style of questioning. As I suspected the exam consists of multiple choice through drop down menus and a lot of box filling. 2 hours was plenty of time (too much I think). One thing that did strike me was in a number of multiple choice questions the answer choices seemed to read the same. But upon closer inspection the figures given were slightly different, 98p rather than 95p at the end of the sum for example. Testing ones ability to read through a question carefully as well as knowing whether debits or credits are involved I think!
Initially I was given logon information and a website address, found the website and was presented with a welcome page in which to input my email address and password. At this stage I had no real idea what I was going to be facing so I had not made any preparation. But in hindsight, I would have made sure I had:
- a clear 2 hours on the computer without interruption, including phone calls
- a pad of blank paper
- pens and pencils
- a calculator
So, assuming I had been prepared with all of the above, entering the login details moves on to a page detailing the qualification for which you have entered, the time allowed for the exam and when the exam expires. Once you have started the examination you have two hours from start until finish. But you can choose those two hours within a period of a couple of weeks which is why there is an expiry date.
The next page is like the rubric page of an examination paper. It details the pass mark, how long you have to complete the examination and very important information about the FINISH button. Once you press that you cannot return to the examination so it is important to be completely happy with your work before pressing it.
There is also a START button on this page. Once you have pressed it you are then into your examination time and you are taken to the next page which lists what appear to be a huge number of tasks down the left hand side (16 in my case) with the word finish at the end. At that stage I felt the pressure of time. But in hindsight I had plenty of time to complete the examination, check through it at my leisure and make up for my lack of preparation which I mentioned earlier.
You can flick through the pages to see what is involved in each of the tasks if you wish before starting (do not press the Finish button, of course). Some are very short and some are longer.
Throughout the examination you will information at the top of each task showing:
- which task you are working on
- the time remaining for the examination as a whole
- the number of marks for the task you are currently completing.
The answering of the question takes place with something like a button or a box to select, very similar to that illustrated at - http://www.bized.co.uk/learn/business/qbank/accounting1.htm
On my examination I had a list of balances from ledger accounts, the test being to select which of the balances would be debit and which credit. Most were straightforward as assets and expenses have debit balances and liabilities and income accounts have credit balances. However, as an account like bank can have either a debit or credit balance I found it useful to draw up the trial balance on paper first before answering the question. The bank balance went on the side that made the total of debits equal the total of credits. This also gives useful information such as the totals of the two columns which was also required. There is ample time to do this.
fill-in boxes (similar to that illustrated at http://www.bankrate.com/calculators/business/quick-ratio.aspx)
For instance I was given a paying in slip and a number of notes and coins which were to be paid into the bank. So I worked out that, say, that 7 x £5 = £35.00 and placed 35.00 in the box.
At this stage I was not sure whether to enter £35.00, 35.00 or 35. So I tried a variation in my examination and they all seemed to work. It is better to use best practice and on a paying in slip that would be to use 35.00.
You certainly should not use 35.0 because in the case of any currency using the decimal system there are 100 pence to the £, not 10.
You will need a calculator to work out some of the figures for fill in boxes or to make the right selection from a multiple choice. For instance you could be given the total amount of an invoice and be asked to select which accounts will be debited and credited and by how much. That will mean working out the VAT too.
drop down menus which you will be familiar with from many websites such as http://www.amazon.co.uk/ If you click on the downward arrow beside ‘search’ on the Amazon page you will see a list of departments. In the examination this is replace with say four items from which to chose containing information such as:
- Dr Cash Cr Bank
- Dr Purchases Cr Bank
- Dr Bank Cr Purchases
- Dr Purchases Cr Cash
In the examination I took there were no actual ledger accounts to be written out on the examination itself although there is no reason why that could not be a possibility in future using fill-in boxes.
The drop-down menu was also used with questions such as: Which of the following is not a current asset? This was then followed with four examples.
A style of question which was popular in the examination to test ledger accounts was to give information such as:
Jane bought stationery costing £23.50. Process this payment through the relevant accounts.
Following this would be fill-in boxes or drop down menus:
The total amount of the expense including VAT would be posted to:
------------------------------------
The net amount of the expense (gross less VAT ) would be posted to:
------------------------------------
The amount of VAT on the expense would be posted to:
------------------------------------
It is useful to use ledger accounts written down on the pad to work this through.
Once you have worked through all the tasks I would recommend taking a brief five minute break and then to check through all your work. You can do this task by task. Watch out for accidentally selecting the incorrect option in the drop-down menu, transposing figures in the fill-in boxes and so on. Such things are easy to do in the pressure of an examination.
You will have the opportunity to complete a mock examination before your actual examination in any case. But hopefully, my experiences and thoughts above will alleviate any concerns you might have. And then I am sure you will think of other points as you work through the mock examination and ways of dealing with it which suit you specifically.
At the end of the examination, it is a case of pressing FINISH. And then within a minute or two you are taken to a screen which tells you your result. This is also confirmed by a separate email.
Did I pass? YES!!!
A recent successful student at Level 2 made the additional extremely helpful comment in respect of the examinations too which will be relevant at all Levels- I did take the mock exam also the day before and I think that helped prepare me for the style of questioning. As I suspected the exam consists of multiple choice through drop down menus and a lot of box filling. 2 hours was plenty of time (too much I think). One thing that did strike me was in a number of multiple choice questions the answer choices seemed to read the same. But upon closer inspection the figures given were slightly different, 98p rather than 95p at the end of the sum for example. Testing ones ability to read through a question carefully as well as knowing whether debits or credits are involved I think!
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