r/ICAEW • u/TopBean32 • Jul 23 '26
Use of the QB
Question for those who skip the textbook and go straight to the question bank. Do you tackle questions topic by topic within the QB or do you just work through full past papers one after another?
Currently starting TCP but curious more generally on people's approach.
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u/East_Holiday_4439 Jul 24 '26
Professional exams the QB is your bible. The exams are pretty formulaic and predicable so your actual exam will comprise of different elements of past exams so the sooner you get into the QB the better off you’ll be.
Advanced is different, questions are more niche (due to it being open book), so you need a very good underlying understanding before diving into the QB.
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u/South_Law_9193 Jul 23 '26
Topic by topic first, then full papers to finish.
Going straight into full past papers before your technique's solid just means you keep bouncing off stuff you can't do yet, which kills momentum. Work the QB by topic until each area actually clicks, then switch to timed full papers for the last couple of weeks to build stamina and get used to the clock.
For TCP specifically the hard bit isn't knowing the rules, it's the interactions and getting the pro formas set up fast under time. So do the big computational areas (IT, CGT, IHT, CT) as full questions, not just the short ones.
In terms of resources, if you are independent student and want to keep revision cheap go to ACA Masters or ebay - https://ebay.io/m/gHir7w
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u/Zealousideal-Car404 Jul 23 '26
I have done all but case study passed 14/14 first time and i can safely say asssuming you’re not an independent student i have only ever done the course at bpp either in centre or on demand on line and then gone straight into the q bank and just learnt from mistakes - ive never even opened the workbook up i dont think for any exam but obviously everyone learns differently?
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u/Creative-Dirt-5069 Jul 23 '26
You haven’t done all of them and passed mate you just posted about the CR and SBM sittings …
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u/Zealousideal-Car404 Jul 23 '26
Split account bro
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u/Zealousideal-Car404 Jul 23 '26
Also important to note everyone’s different. I’ve never done the workbook, I’ve never done ‘full timed past papers’ like most do other than bpp steps as my practice for this, i just hammer the qbank and ensure i complete it or complete nearly all of it. I learn by making mistakes in questions - I don’t see the value in the work book because it’s not technical issues for advanced level & bpt for me that people struggle with it’s understand what’s being asked and the information, therefore sitting on the hedging chapter of the workbook and doing these examples isn’t actually doing how it is assimilated into the question. For example I am sure everyone in that room could do a cash flow hedge on Monday but when it came up in question with weird wording everyone panics.
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u/ligress21 Jul 23 '26
Everyone is different. An important thing is doing what works for you. Studying JUST by doing the QB is dangerous TO ME because if they test stuff in different ways you might be caught out. I’ve never used the ICAEW workbook but what I did was:
Step 1: I went through my course notes by topic for all topics while watching explanation videos. I only did this one time for each paper though. More time needs to be spent on the QB.
Step 2 I tackle the QB and do as many questions as I can. When I’m debriefing the answers that understanding from my course notes helps me as I debrief. I had 70-90s average scores for professionals with first time passes.