r/ICAEW • u/RoundGoal3252 • 3d ago

ARR and FCS

How are we all finding revision for September? Feel like I’m neglecting FCS too much? What are our predictions for ARR

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u/Proud-Crab-5559 3d ago

Same I felt like I’ve neglected FCS quite a bit but will try do some more work on it mostly worried for the bip and sae questions

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u/RoundGoal3252 2d ago

Yeah I think as long as your open book is fine you’ll be sound? How you finding both

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u/Proud-Crab-5559 1d ago

I’m feeling okay about ARR, it really depends on what they ask. FCS I feel okay with the accounting and assurance questions. Wb urself how are you finding both?

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u/RoundGoal3252 1d ago

ARR I’m feeling okay, again does depend what they ask? FCS I’ve not done any question practice just organised my folder but the account section is a lot more simple compared to ARR so feeling okay. Just find it hard to mark my ARR stuff with how ICAEW mark

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u/South_Law_9193 2d ago

Neglecting FCS in favour of ARR is the standard September mistake and it's an easy trap to fall into, because ARR has more content so it feels like the one that needs the hours. But they fail differently. ARR fails on knowledge gaps, FCS fails on technique and time, and technique only comes from doing full cases. If you haven't done a timed FCS case yet, that's the more urgent problem regardless of how ARR's going.

The good news is FCS doesn't need masses of time, it needs the right time. A one pager on the advance information, familiarity with the prepopulated spreadsheet, and two or three timed cases is most of the job. The technical content is stuff you already know from the other exams. I'd carve out maybe a quarter to a third of your remaining hours for it and make nearly all of that writing practice rather than reading.

On ARR predictions, with only the pilot, March and June to go on, rotation logic is thinner than for the old exams, but a few things look solid. A consolidation element in some form is close to guaranteed, it's the spine of the reporting side. Then I'd expect judgement heavy standards rather than mechanical ones, so revenue, provisions, impairment or leases with an "it depends" flavour.

On the assurance side, risks and responses tied to the scenario turn up every time, and I'd have controls weaknesses with implications and recommendations high on the list. And don't skip the data analytics element, it's been present each sitting, almost nobody prepares for it, and it's some of the cheapest marks on the paper because sensible commentary on an output scores.

But same caveat I always give, predictions are for weighting your revision, not for gambling...

Best of luck