What am I letting myself in for?
An opportunity to prove your worth and demonstrate your in depth financial planning skills related to personal tax and trusts. A 3 hour question paper based on a case study approach with a whopping 30 credits available and a total of 160 marks there for the taking!
How can I increase my chances?
Hopefully you will already have the knowledge gained from a study of units R03 Personal taxation, J02 Trusts, and elements of R05 or equivalent. Many people make the mistake of not sitting the JO2 exam – having good trust knowledge is essential for the AF1 exam – so if you haven’t ticked JO2 off on your ‘to do list’ make this a priority by sitting it before you jump in or even alongside your AF1 studies to reinforce your learning!
Should I panic on exam day?
Absolutely not! If you have studied well and followed the structured study plan then you should be well on your way to AF1 in the bag heaven. Follow our study tips and you can walk into your exam like a superhero pumped up on banana cake and caffeine:
• Take 10 minutes reading over the whole of the paper first, jot down some notes along the way and highlight any key word prompts in the questions.
• Be careful how you interpret the question – Look for the ‘way’ in which the examiner wants you to demonstrate your answer. Are they asking for a calculation or an explanation? If they are asking for a calculation are they looking for a weekly, monthly or annual calculation? Remember, you only get marks for answering the question asked, so make sure you’re clear in your head what that question is. Read it. Check it.
• Leave the examiner in no doubt that you know your stuff and you aren’t afraid to show it! Expand your answer to include those little details that might just grab you that extra mark. For example stating tax in an answer just won’t cut it we need to know which tax you are talking about – ie Inheritance tax, corporation tax or capital gains tax.
• Let the marks guide you in your answer. If a question is worth 5 marks then make sure you have made between 5-7 valid bullet point answers.
• Manage your time – the clock is ticking and unfortunately we can’t turn back time! Practice those mock papers and put yourself under exam style conditions. Preparation is the key.
• You have to demonstrate your depth of knowledge so explain and expand and leave no stone unturned. If the question isn’t calculation based then bullet point your answers in order to gain marks.
• If you can, spend at least 10 minutes at the end of your exam looking over your answers and making sure you haven’t missed any important marks.
Is there anything else I should know?
No, it’s all outlined above and now it’s all down to you (with a little bit of help from us).
Delivering training is what drives us and seeing the results is what makes us all very happy.
Happy Studying!
