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Important notes that you need to be aware of for the Financial
& Performance Reporting examination for December 2006 are now
available on our
website. Please familiarise yourself with these and take into
consideration when preparing for the December examination.
Interpretation of financial statements comprises 20% of the Financial
and Performance Reporting (FPR) syllabus, and has appeared in various
guises in every FPR exam paper to date. Interpretation questions
are rarely technically complex, yet many students score poorly because
they fail to focus on exactly what the question requires. The purpose
of this article is to set out a good exam technique that can be
used to maximise marks.
www.cipfa.org.uk/students/studylounge/technical.cfm
Please take note that the open learning materials for Financial
and Performance Reporting have been updated, and the updated materials
will be assessed in the December 2006 exams.
If you have already purchased a previous edition of the Financial
and Performance Reporting open learning material you can access
the updates on the student study lounge on the CIPFA website, www.cipfa.org.uk/students/studylounge.
Remember that you have to purchase the open learning material in
order to sit the examinations.
The order form for the materials is available at www.cipfa.org.uk/students/current/olm_forms.cfm.
If you notice any errors within the materials that you study please
email the error to olm@cipfa.org
this is where we can capture the error and post corrections on the
bulletin board, and make sure it is corrected when the materials
are updated in future.
Welcome to CIPFA if you are a new student and hello to existing
students!
If you are an added value student courses will soon begin or if
you are an open learner you should start to think about studying
for the next set of exams in December 2006.
Are you aware that on the CIPFA website, the Study Lounge (www.cipfa.org.uk/students/studylounge)
provides the following services for students, if you do not have
log in details please contact ETIS for this to be set up.
Discussion Forums
This area allows students to discuss academic and administrative
issues relating to the CIPFA qualification, CIPFA monitors the forum
but does not post information on the discussion forum.
PDF copies of Open Learning Materials (OLM)
Electronic copies of the OLM are posted on the study lounge. The
OLM is broken down into smaller sections for ease of use. This may
be helpful when you are studying certain study sessions, you can
print that off instead of carrying the whole book everywhere.
Bulletin boards
The bulletin board shows all the latest information that students
might need to know. This also shows any errors that have been noted
with the open learning materials and any subsequent corrections
needed to be made. (If you do spot an error within the OLM please
send an email to olm@cipfa.org,
this is where the error can be noted and amended in future editions
of the textbook).
Technical Articles
Technical Articles are written by subject experts dealing with specific
academic concerns to prepare students for examinations. These are
also published in the newsletters.
Some of the services mentioned above may be helpful when progressing
through the courses.
If you have any questions or queries please contact ETIS (Education
and Training Information Service) helpline. The helpline is a one-stop
helpline contactable via email (etis@cipfa.org)
or telephone (0207 543 5678). The ETIS helpline is the central point
of contact for all students and deals mainly with administrative
queries.
Thursday 28th September 2006
Stirling Highland Hotel, Spittal Street, Stirling, FK8
1DU
“Fraud – Catching the Bad Guys”
| 10.00 – 10.30 |
Coffee and Welcome |
| 10.30 – 11.30 |
Graham Cochran, Manager, Forensic Audit KPMG
“Forensic
Audit – What’s it all about” |
| 11.30 – 12.30 |
Neil Billing, Head of Service, NHS Scotland – Counter
Fraud Services “Stamping out NHS Fraud” |
| 12.30 – 13.30 |
Buffet Lunch |
| 13.30 – 14.30 |
Detective Sergeant Russell Duncan, Strathclyde Police: Fraud
Squad “Catching the Crooks” |
| 14.30 – 15.30 |
Stephen Harris, Financial Investigator, DWP Organised Fraud
Investigation Service “Getting the Better of Benefit Fraud” |
| 15.30 |
Chairman’s Closing Remarks |
See the
Scotland website for more...
The North East (Northern Division) Student Society's last event
[Exam Focus] was great success. The headline speaker, lecturer and
Excellence in Education Award winner Ian Bowler, was commended for
his useful and interesting presentation on exam preparation and
technique. Ian also welcomed questions from students which many
found extremely beneficial.
"Very helpful session, it has increased
my confidence for the coming exams!"
"The presentation was very useful, especially
the focus on the specific technique required for CIPFA exams, which
are very different to any other exams I have taken!"
"Excellent all round - would definitely
welcome more sessions along similar lines"
Ian was followed by an informative presentation from Lisa Taylor
from Hays Accountancy and Finance, discussing their recent salary
survey and future prospects for accountants in the North East. As
always, the location and refreshments were well received - a reputation
the society is continuing to uphold!
"The location is nice and refreshments
were good, I was not expecting that."
"It was very well organised, nice location,
received well, keep it up."
In response to student requests the society has organised the following
future events;
"Making the right impression"
Sponsored by Hays Accountancy and Finance
Tuesday 12th September 2006. Niche Hotel, Grey Street, Newcastle.
(13:00 - 17:00, Refreshments included)
A workshop to refine your presentation and interview skills.
This workshops is essential if you want to get "that job",
gain greater confidence for your IPDS interview or just "make
the right impression"! This workshop is presented by Hays Accountancy
& Finance, the UK’s leading specialist financial recruitment
consultancy, who will be helping you with key interview skills,
and the image consultancy, Public-i who will cover how to make the
best impression in the business environment with their "Your
Image as Business Tool" workshop.
"Being an Accountancy Professional in the Public Sector"
Tuesday 17th October 2006. Newcastle - see later for exact details
(Afternoon, Refreshments included)
A series of lectures from leading practitioners in the accounting
profession working in the public sector.
"Social Event"
Thursday 11th January 2007
(Evening)
Format and venue yet to be finalised.
To book a place on any of our events or for further details, please
contact Richard Martin at Richard.Martin@nhslts.org.uk.
CIPFA are running a series of Workshops in October and November
to help students prepare for the December 2006 exams... More
here
CIPFA are holding four one day IPDS workshops in September at
locations around the UK... More
here
Once you have returned the data survey you can view and amend your
membership information by using a new module within the CIPFA Learning
Centre called My Membership. This has replaced the Membership Secure
Area.
You are advised to register using your work email address as your
username; your password will be created automatically and emailed
to you. If you have any queries please contact the CPD Section on
020 7543 5774/5668. The CLC is available at http://learning.cipfa.org.uk.
You should all have received a letter from CIPFA asking you to
complete a data audit survey and also a questionnaire on student
support.
If you have not returned these to us, please can you do so immediately.
It really is important that we have your correct details and, if
you want your results to go to your employer, that you have completed
the appropriate parts of the data audit survey and the exam registration
form.
In future, you will be able to update certain of your details via
the CIPFA Learning Centre, in the new My Membership area.
But for now, please get your forms back to us in the envelopes
provided, along with the learning support survey, the results from
which will help us understand better how we can help you!
As part of the CIPFA in Scotland branch centenary celebrations,
Audit Scotland trainee Anne Cairns was given the chance to spend
a day with Lynn Brown, the director of financial services at Glasgow
City Council.
Read about how her day went here...
Two weekends, one challenge: join up with other CIPFA students
from around the country, form teams, solve puzzles, challenge yourself,
be outdoors, but most of all, have fun!
Last year, over 40 students from around the country came to Snowdonia
and had a great time – so this year I’m doing two: one
on October 6-8, in Snowdonia National Park in mid-Wales, and the
other on October 20-22 in Swanage in Dorset.
Details of the activities for the two events are available on www.cipfasoutheast.org/students.cfm
We are very keen to make sure that those of you who are just starting
your studies are fully aware of the support that CIPFA offers directly
to students to complement the open learning materials and the Added
Value courses.
We are therefore implementing a series of induction sessions, that
will introduce you to the Institute, and provide guidance and answer
your questions on the professional qualification, IPDS and where
you can access further help
Open Learning Only students will particularly benefit from the
opportunity to make contact with other CIPFA students and find out
more about all the support that is available – and some of
our plans for the future.
For many of the CIPFA induction sessions we will be joining with
our course providers, who already have their own induction days.
Open Learners will be invited to the relevant elements of these.
And we also hope to hold one in Robert Street, London, in the spring.
More information will be available on the student
website and via email.
As you may have heard, Education and Training has a new Director,
Dr Adrian Pulham, who joined CIPFA on 7 August. He brings to CIPFA
a wealth of relevant experience and an outstanding track record.
At the Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA) Adrian’s responsibilities
included the strategic leadership and management of the Institute’s
examinations. He has also worked with the European Confederation
of Institutes of Internal Auditors and IIA globally in the design
and delivery of services for its 110,000 members worldwide.
At the Royal College of Nursing, Adrian he led the development
and implementation for the electronic nurse education project and
a web-based platform for the delivery of CPD. Previously, he established
and led UNISON Open College, providing open and distance learning
opportunities to UNISON’s 1.2 million members
Adrian says; ‘Since joining the Education and Training
Department at CIPFA, I’ve had the opportunity to get stuck
in to many of the issues concerning students and their employers
with my colleagues. But I want to hear from you, too. I’ll
be visiting the study lounge on the website regularly, and contributing
to the debate there. Of course, you can email me direct with your
ideas too, at adrian.pulham@cipfa.org
The quality of CIPFA’s qualifications and of the learning
experience we provide to you is our bottom line. Studying for a
CIPFA qualification provides you with the foundation you need for
a long and successful working life and is the beginning of a career-long
relationship with your dedicated professional body. We now have
the opportunity to build on CIPFA’s class-leading portfolio
of qualifications to ensure CIPFA continues to be the first choice
of finance professionals and accountants working in the public sector.’
Calling all Students in the South East…
Do you want to meet new students?
Do you want to hear prominent public sector individuals talk about
what makes them tick?
Do you want to learn more about topical issues in your work?
Do you want help on getting through your studies more effectively?
If you’ve answered yes to the above, you need to register
for the CIPFA South East Student Conference.
Date: Friday 3 November 2006
Venue: PA Consulting, 123 Buckingham Palace Road, SW1W 9SR
There is no charge for CIPFA South East students and a buffet lunch
will be provided.
For a booking form or further information, contact Nimet Nathani
at n-nathani@audit-commission.gov.uk.
Book soon as places are limited.
If you are a current student based in Wales you’ll be pleased
to know that CETC Wales will be providing added value courses from
September in Cardiff. With the University of Glamorgan recently
withdrawing from the CIPFA programme the CIPFA Education and Training
Centre (CETC) have stepped in to provide courses on a permanent
basis.
Courses that will be offered from September for the December 2006
sitting are:
- Governance & Public Policy
- Accounting for Decision Making
- Audit & Assurance
To enrol for any of these courses, download the enrolment form
from www.cetc.org.uk or call
020 7403 4300 to obtain a form.
A meeting for students and employers affected by the transition
from University of Glamorgan courses to CETC Wales was held on 26th
July. If you were unable to attend this meeting and would like to
see the notes then click
here.
To find out more about the courses at CETC Wales please contact
Liz Curran at CETC on liz.curran@cetc.org.uk.
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