http://41.66.247.10:8080/xmlui/handle/123456789/266 NOVEMBER 2019 PAST QUESTIONS AND SOLUTIONS 2026-04-30T20:23:44Z http://41.66.247.10:8080/xmlui/handle/123456789/505 STRATEGIC CASE STUDY (PAPER 3.4) INSTITUTE OF CHARTERED ACCOUNTANT GHANA, ICAG EXAMINER’S GENERAL COMMENTS The November 2019 Strategic Case Study (Paper 3.4) examination was the first of the examinations marking the beginning of the new syllabus, which has been adopted by the Institute of Chartered Accountants (Ghana). The paper, being the final paper of the professional examinations for one to fully qualify, was meant to be very challenging. The paper aimed at testing candidates’ ability to integrate and synthesize the various knowledge acquired in the other courses to solve business problems. Key highlights of the Paper 3.4 which departed significantly from earlier regimes included a pre-seen information that preceded the day of the examination by two weeks as well as an emphasis on financial or quantitative analysis for organisational decision making. In my estimation, there was a general disappointment from candidates since the general performance fell woefully below what was expected. The paper was not overly challenging, as was expected, to warrant the poor performance that candidates exhibited. NOVEMBER 2019 PROFESSIONAL EXAMINATION STRATEGIC CASE STUDY (PAPER 3.4) CHIEF EXAMINER’S REPORT, QUESTIONS & MARKING SCHEME 2019-11-01T00:00:00Z INSTITUTE OF CHARTERED ACCOUNTANT GHANA, ICAG EXAMINER’S GENERAL COMMENTS The November 2019 Strategic Case Study (Paper 3.4) examination was the first of the examinations marking the beginning of the new syllabus, which has been adopted by the Institute of Chartered Accountants (Ghana). The paper, being the final paper of the professional examinations for one to fully qualify, was meant to be very challenging. The paper aimed at testing candidates’ ability to integrate and synthesize the various knowledge acquired in the other courses to solve business problems. Key highlights of the Paper 3.4 which departed significantly from earlier regimes included a pre-seen information that preceded the day of the examination by two weeks as well as an emphasis on financial or quantitative analysis for organisational decision making. In my estimation, there was a general disappointment from candidates since the general performance fell woefully below what was expected. The paper was not overly challenging, as was expected, to warrant the poor performance that candidates exhibited. http://41.66.247.10:8080/xmlui/handle/123456789/504 CORPORATE REPORTING (PAPER 3.1) INSTITUTE OF CHARTERED ACCOUNTANT GHANA, ICAG EXAMINER’S GENERAL COMMENTS Generally, candidates recorded average performance for the November, 2019 sitting, partly because the marking scheme was made flexible. STANDARD OF THE PAPER The standard of the questions was appropriate for the level being assessed. The difficulty level of the paper is standard and within expectation. Questions were evenly weighted, the paper followed the pattern of the previous sittings and is generally consistent in standard with the previous sitting’s paper. The questions required critical thinking and a good mastery of the relevant areas of the syllabus. The mark allocations generally followed the weightings in the syllabus grid. Marks were fairly allocated to questions and sub questions. The marks allocated to questions were commensurate with the amount of time and effort required to answer the questions. 2019-11-01T00:00:00Z INSTITUTE OF CHARTERED ACCOUNTANT GHANA, ICAG EXAMINER’S GENERAL COMMENTS Generally, candidates recorded average performance for the November, 2019 sitting, partly because the marking scheme was made flexible. http://41.66.247.10:8080/xmlui/handle/123456789/503 ADVANCED TAXATION (PAPER 3.3) INSTITUTE OF CHARTERED ACCOUNTANT GHANA, ICAG EXAMINERS’ GENERAL COMMENTS The Taxation and Fiscal Policy paper has been designed and structured to help students in their tax practice in future and/or add value to their organisation when they find themselves working in areas where tax knowledge will be required after their qualification. This paper is the first of its kind after the review of the syllabus. The paper therefore seeks to test the skill, knowledge and application of candidates. STANDARD OF THE PAPER The questions took the same nature as the past and also assumed final level character as some of them required candidates to comment on the questions or apply real life situation to the questions. Given that the principles of taxation is examined at the part 2 level, the final level tested students’ ability to apply the knowledge to the questions which in our view was impressive. The marks allocated were quite appropriate and the questions were of a final level standard too. The questions were all within the syllabus coverage. The questions were not of the recall nature too. The clarity of the questions was not in doubt and of a high standard. This made students who really studied seriously for the exam have a smooth sailing. 2019-11-01T00:00:00Z INSTITUTE OF CHARTERED ACCOUNTANT GHANA, ICAG EXAMINERS’ GENERAL COMMENTS The Taxation and Fiscal Policy paper has been designed and structured to help students in their tax practice in future and/or add value to their organisation when they find themselves working in areas where tax knowledge will be required after their qualification. This paper is the first of its kind after the review of the syllabus. The paper therefore seeks to test the skill, knowledge and application of candidates. http://41.66.247.10:8080/xmlui/handle/123456789/502 ADVANCED AUDIT & ASSURANCE (PAPER 3.2) INSTITUTE OF CHARTERED ACCOUNTANT GHANA, ICAG STANDARD OF THE PAPER The standard of the paper is fairly high. The verbs used in setting the questions include appraise, recommend, prepare a checklist, discuss, analyse and evaluate. Candidates were tasked to use analytical and practical applications to skills to answer the questions. The paper covered a substantial aspect of the syllabus. However area such as quality control, corporate governance, should have been examined. The solutions adequately responded to the requirements of the questions. The marking scheme based on the solutions was structured with fairness to the candidates in mind. PERFORMANCE OF CANDIDATES Looking at level of difficulty of the questions candidates were expected to have performed very poor but that was not the case. It appeared some candidates did take their time to understand the requirements of the questions. Questions were practically oriented which is excellent. This time candidates did not stray with the columns reserved for examiners and moderators in the answer booklets. However some candidates continue to put page numbers in the space for question numbers which confused examiners. The practical nature of the questions resulted in higher performance by candidates. Performance this session was better than the performance in the previous sessions. This is evident from the percentage passes achieved in the three sessions – November 2018 pass rate was 37%, May 2019 pass rate was 42%, whilst the current pass rate for November 2019 was 67%. It was evident that many candidates have the knowledge but lack the ability or skill to apply the knowledge to solve problems. 2019-11-01T00:00:00Z INSTITUTE OF CHARTERED ACCOUNTANT GHANA, ICAG STANDARD OF THE PAPER The standard of the paper is fairly high. The verbs used in setting the questions include appraise, recommend, prepare a checklist, discuss, analyse and evaluate. Candidates were tasked to use analytical and practical applications to skills to answer the questions. The paper covered a substantial aspect of the syllabus. However area such as quality control, corporate governance, should have been examined. The solutions adequately responded to the requirements of the questions. The marking scheme based on the solutions was structured with fairness to the candidates in mind.