Old vs New IRBA qualification path
This is an infographic I created to simplify the new path to qualification as an RA. I’ve also written an article with more detail.
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Exam Technique: Do you battle with communication in Auditing?
As an Accounting student, the communication levels required in Auditing WAS NOT what you signed up for! Numbers, formulae, disclosures, calculations… that’s what this was all supposed to be about. Then Auditing sneaks up on you and laughs at your discomfort! This is especially frustrating for students who are not studying in their first language.…
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Exam Technique – Risk Assessment at Overall Financial Statement Level
What do exams expect of you? Whether you’re writing Auditing for your degree, CTA, or ACCA (Audit and Assurance, F8 and P7), you need to be able to identify risks from a case study, and explain how they affect you as an auditor. It’s always applied. You’re not learning Risk in order to define it,…
DetailsCode of Professional Conduct – Fundamental Principles
Here’s some help to visualise the intentions of the Fundamental Principles of the Code of Professional Conduct… but might be a nice quick revision for third year and CTA 🙂 I’ve created this for our online course: AUE2601 Tabaldi Online Course
DetailsKing III – Board Committees: Functions and Composition
When students are studying the King III Code, they mostly study the functions and compositions off by heart. Here’s an explanation of why each requirement is in place for the compulsory committees.
How do you choose a tuition provider?
A lot of UNISA students seek help with their studies. Thus, there is now a large supply of people and organisations who offer services to UNISA students. Question is… what is the right solution for you?! What are your options? Here are some different types of assistance available to you: Face-to-Face classes on a campus (Full-time;…
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Why do you study the Companies Act for Auditing?
A lot of students are unsure as to why the Companies Act is included in their Auditing studies. I’ve often heard them propose that it must be because it doesn’t really fit into any other subject, so it was just dumped into Auditing! This isn’t true, of course, but why is it so important then,…
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5 things to mentally prepare for your next Accounting studies
Your results are out! Now what?! Your academic year ends when your results are finally released, but that doesn’t mean your focus on your studies should stop completely! So what should you do / think about to mentally prepare for your next set of studies? How much time do you REALLY have for your Accounting…
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I failed CTA – Should I change Universities?
I have fielded this question a lot over the years, from students who wonder whether their choice of academic institution may be the reason they haven’t been successful, or who just want some kind of reassurance that the next year won’t be the same as the last. This is a question no one but yourself…
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Your CTA results – The bigger picture
We’ve all been there. Holding your breath for days, weeks (feels like forever!) until you see those results on the screen. You want them, you don’t want them. You don’t want anyone else to see them first, but you don’t want to be the first to see them either! Dilemma! Tough as this is, I’d…
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Exam Technique – Auditing
Let’s talk exam technique for Auditing! You’ve worked through the theory, you’re working on perfecting your knowledge, now you need to give some thought to how you’ll present the information in the exam. Communication is key Firstly, remember that Auditing is a communication subject. As much as you may not like to hear this, your…
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What to do while you’re waiting for results?
Your Accounting exams are a thing of the past (for now anyway!) and you’re anxiously awaiting the outcome of your efforts. It’s yet another stressful time to add to the already stressful year! In this time of suspense and debating over whether you did enough to make it through successfully, there are a few things…
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Exam Technique – The dreaded discussion questions!
These questions are quite a challenge for most students. A balance between theory and application that creates a lot of frustration… here’s some help! Imagine that you’re a consultant, an expert on the topic. A client has come to you and asked you to help them with something. (eg: they’ve bought or built something and…
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5 Reasons why perfectionists struggle with Accounting studies
Are you a perfectionist? Many Accounting students tell me they’re DEFINITELY not perfectionists, because they don’t get great marks. They don’t get distinctions for all their Accounting studies, so clearly they can’t be perfectionists! That’s not what a perfectionist really is. Even if you land up getting bad marks, your underlying personality can still be…
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Exam Technique – Study theory through questions
“Focussing on studying theory for exams is like playing cricket to prepare for a soccer match!” This is a statement I make to most of my students when I discuss how to prepare for exams. Yes, the theory of your subject is important, however, making summaries, highlighting notes and texts don’t tell you HOW to…
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Exam Technique – Reading the case study
Reading the case study in an exam can take up valuable time, so it’s crucial that you get the maximum value from this process. Every minute that you spend on this must be worth marks to you, otherwise you’re wasting your time!! To begin with, you have to make sure that you read the information…
DetailsExam Technique – The importance of peer marking
An important component of your studies, that is often overlooked, is the need to assess your own work and your weaknesses. Although we don’t want to focus on the negative points, we do need to be aware of them in order to improve our work and our knowledge. Simply identifying that you got something wrong…
DetailsMonday motivation
Most of us are bombarded with motivational posters, quotes and pictures through various forms of social media, e-mail and well-meaning family and friends. By the time we’ve seen the hundredth poster, it does tend to lose it’s ability to move us. Motivation needs to come from the inside. No amount of inspiring quotes can replace…
DetailsQuick thoughts before CTA Test 1 tomorrow…
A lot of people will wish you good luck before tomorrow… I don’t want to wish you good luck, I wish you good preparation. I hope that your hard work pays off. I hope that you feel a sense of progress, a decreased sense of fear and a little more understanding of what you’ve signed up…
DetailsCan you pass this? Is your fear getting the better of you?
You’re looking at the work you have to cover. It looks vaguely familiar. The words are definitely English. Mostly. At least, people tell you they are English, though they sometimes do look like a foreign language scrawled on the page in front of you. You may have attended a class, where the lecturer showed you…
DetailsWhy do students dislike Auditing?
Every semester I look around the classes I lecture and see the faces of the students sitting in front of me. I see pretty much the same thing every year, from most students. The faces may change, but the expressions are fairly similar. The expressions generally say the following: “I REALLY don’t want to be…
DetailsHow can you get the most out of your reference books in your open-book exams? (Tagging and highlighting)
Every year, I see CTA students dragging their precious SAICA books around with them. Their car could be stolen, they could lose their wallet… but as long as those books are safe, the world can still go on! Those SAICA books become the most valuable thing you own, because they’re the books you can take…
DetailsWhat will the new second Board Exam (APC) look like, and how is it different from the current PPE?
Just as you thought you were coming to grips with your qualification journey and what it requires from you in the future, a change is about to be implemented that will change some of the steps in that journey! From 2014, the second Board Exam to qualify as a CA will be changing. This will…
DetailsIs it time to reassess your goals? Will it be ‘giving up’?
I’m willing to bet that a lot of students will cringe just reading the heading of this article. There is a distinct negative connotation attached to ‘giving up’ that none of us want to be associated with, and for this reason, we may end up making decisions that aren’t necessarily in our best interests. What…
DetailsYou didn’t pass CTA, now what?
The year has been tough. You’re exhausted from studying, tired of the emotional stress of waiting for results and wondering whether all the sacrifices and effort you’ve put into this will be worthwhile. Then the results come out. Your worst fears are confirmed, and even though you were partly expecting and dreading it, there’s still…
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Does it matter where you study for CTA 2021?
CTA Class of 2021! Where are you going to study? Congratulations if you’re planning to study CTA in 2021. It’s a major achievement to get this far, don’t underestimate that. “Does it matter where I study my CTA? Will it matter which university I studied through?” is a question I get asked all the time.…
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