STANDARD OF THE PAPER The paper was good because the spread was in order and did not elicit only recall answers but required candidates to demonstrate practical knowledge and provide innovative answers and interpretation of answers. The pattern that the Institute of Chartered Accountants has adopted, Ghana should be kept and maintained because the pattern appears practically-oriented and positions the candidates for much more challenging roles. The paper is a mirror image of what happens in the world of practice. It exacted candidates' knowledge, skill, and practical application to get the pass mark. The spread of the questions across the entire syllabus was quite remarkable. This placed every candidate on equal footing. No candidate would complain of undue advantage in the conduct of the examination. In effect, the selection of the questions was appropriate. The questions reflected the difficulty level appropriate for a final level examination paper. By all standards, this is comparable to any paper administered at the final level in the professional milieu. The paper quality was equally good, with clarity in the questions. There was no trace of ambiguity in any of the questions. The mark allocation was fair as it considered the requirement of the question and other nuances the candidates needed to bring to bear in their solution. One notable feature about each question was that it elicited some analysis and comments from the computation to fully complement the answers. Those types of questions would compel candidates to appreciate the principle behind every computation. The paper could be handled by an average candidate within three hours. But for the ill-prepared candidate, the three hours would naturally not be enough. On the whole, the paper was worth the 3-hour duration.

PERFORMANCE OF CANDIDATES The performance of candidates generally was impressive in fairness. The impressive performance of candidates could be attributable to the fact that the Institute of Chartered Accountants, Ghana has printed manuals for use by candidates and has consistently released the examiners' report together with marking schemes timely. This, to all intents and purposes, has contributed significantly to the positive performance. Many of the candidates are beginning to appreciate the trend of the Institute’s examination. The examination continues to follow the syllabus grid as contained in the syllabus making it easier for candidates to understand and follow it strictly.Page 2 of 26 Notwithstanding the above, some of the past mistakes which were highlighted in past examiners’ reports continue to be exhibited by candidates. This means some candidates do not read the examiners’ report and do not understand the import of the report and how it impacts on their examination. It is also worth noting that some of the candidates concentrated only on limited scope and it reflected in the marks they had. Some candidates were seen scoring 17 out of 20 marks and in others scored 2 out of 20. This tells a story that candidates in preparing for examination do selective learning. Each candidate's answers appeared original and different in terms of approach. This is a feat worth commending all stakeholders for the good work done to eliminate examination malpractices