一位资深ACCA考官教你如何解决ACCA考试科目P1带来的烦恼

　　众所周知，ACCA P1是P阶段的第一门考试科目，很多ACCA学员从F阶段跨度到P阶段的时候，往往专业知识的深入要求，而显得有些不适应、力不从心，再加上其大量的英文案例题型，导致对于ACCA P1这门考试科目有着很大的担忧。为了帮助大家解决ACCA考试科目P1《公司治理、风险控制&职业道德》带来的困扰，中国ACCA考试网为大家精心准备了ACCA考官艾伦·列文对于ACCA P1的建议。

　　ACCA：能先简单介绍下ACCA P1么？

　　A.L：Sure，ACCA P1 is about Governance,Risk and Ethics,from a business- level perspective.By that I mean,students will focus on how the business operates,business ethics and the risks to the business.P7 is about the people in practice,but ACCA P1 is all about the business itself.

　　Governance is how the company is run:how the ship is steered.Risk refers to the risks that might stop a business from meeting their objectives…

　　ACCA：业务目标是不是盈利和道德?

　　A.L:Yes,if you’re looking at a for- profit.A not- for- profit will have other objectives.But yes,unless otherwise specified,your business objective is to operate profitably and ethically,so you can pay your shareholders and so on.

　　The risks are things that might stop you from doing that.For example,those risks might come in the supply chain,from a lack of cash,from poor internal systems,etc.

　　That’s what I mean by business perspective–you’re not just looking at accounting level risks.It’s not just about the numbers,but about the broader business as a whole.

　　ACCA P1 takes a broad,business- level perspective

　　Imagine Starbucks wants to expand into a new market.A business risk might be that there isn’t the demand in that market,so they won’t be profitable.

　　Another could be that they have a complex supply chain.If they source coffee beans from Guatemala,for example,that could be a business risk.Complications could mean you don’t get the coffee beans you need on time to sell coffee,which will stop you being as profitable.You get the idea!

　　ACCA：伦理融入在哪里？

　　A.L:The classic example recently is Volkswagen,with the emissions scandal.Business ethics is about whether you’re making the right,ethical,decisions throughout the business.Are your products to the right standards?Do you have the business structures to produce products to those standards?

　　ACCA：ACCA P1大纲分为三个部分？

　　A.L:If you look at the relational diagram of the syllabus[below],you’ll see it’s actually split into four parts.

　　Governance is part A,then you’ve got Internal Control and Review as part B.Then Risk is broken into parts C and D,and Ethics is E.

　　ACCA：内部控制和审查是什么呢？

　　A.L:This is about applying internal controls to mitigate and manage risk.The company recognises that things might go wrong,and puts a control system in place to try and stop that from happening.

　　ACCA：我们最近写了F8审计和保证,风险和控制也出现很多，这是不一样的嘛？

　　A.L:Yes.If you’re at audit,the internal control will be a detailed financial control system–that’s where F8 comes in.But ACCA P1 is more wide- ranging;it’s not purely financial.It covers everything that might go wrong.

　　To pass ACCA P1 students need to know the material in ACCA F8,and then more about the things that might go wrong in the wider context of the business

　　Let’s use the same example,with coffee beans in Guatemala.The company might recognise that there is a risk inherent in their supply chain,and they might have delays.

　　An internal control could be having additional stock stored somewhere else.If delays happen in Guatemala they can then turn elsewhere and avoid the delay.

　　ACCA：谢谢，这很有意义！每个部分的教学大纲都很重要，需要学生去浏览。那学生需要了解每一部分么，为什么呢？

　　A.L:Let’s start with section A.To pass ACCA P1 Governance,students have to know the principles of good corporate governance.This is an international paper,but it takes the UK governance code as the baseline.

　　You’ll be expected to assess a company within those guidelines,to see if they are operating in line with the rules.

　　There’s a lot of learning involved here.Students have to know what all the corporate governance codes are,and be able to assess if companies are sticking to them.

　　You also have to know what the impact is on the company if they’re not sticking to the rules,and recommend relevant changes.That’s business common sense really.

　　The VW scandal is a classic example of poor corporate governance.

　　For example,look at the VW scandal.If the directors know there is a problem with one of their products and chose not to do anything about it,they’re not acting in accordance with the codes,and they’re not acting ethically.

　　The impact on the business is that this information will likely come out eventually,as it did.Consumer trust is broken,VW’s reputation is damaged and ultimately VW lose money.The recommendation is to disclose the problem and be transparent about trying to fix it.

　　Your answers should follow this same format:make your point,explain the consequence,and then make a recommendation.

　　Although ACCA P1 is a narrative paper,your answers can be a little formulaic.There are normally about 2 marks available for each point.If you stick to the formula and make your point fully,and you have enough points to make because you know the syllabus well,you’ll pass ACCA P1.

　　ACCA：很好,谢谢。我们看了B部分,所以让我们进入C部分和D的风险。那学生们需要知道些什么?

　　A.L:Sections B,C and D are all closely related.You have to be able to identify the risk in order to recommend appropriate internal controls.

　　First you need to be able to identify risks,from bigger picture strategic risks down to smaller operational risks.

　　Take Tesco,for example.Strategic risks might be store location or store size,whether they’re selling the right products in the right areas.Operational risks could be…not having enough stock of burgers and charcoal on a sunny weekend,when lots of people might want to BBQ.

　　Then you’ll categorise risks–what type of risk is it?What does it mean?Risk mapping is an important part of ACCA P1.How do you prioritise the risks in terms of likelihood and impact?

　　For example,an earthquake might have a huge impact but low likelihood,depending where you are.On the other hand,supply chain disruption might have a moderate likelihood and a moderate impact.Risk mapping is about determining how bad things really are–then you can recommend controls accordingly.

　　As with section A,your answers will follow a clear structure.You’ll be given a scenario and you’ll be called on to identify risks,map them,and recommend controls to mitigate them.

　　ACCA：最后，道德部分。

　　A.L:Ethics.Yes.Ethics can feel quite strange to a lot of students.It’s very different from other elements of the ACCA.

　　The way I normally explain ethics to students is this.Imagine you’re driving a car and stopped at a red traffic light.An ambulance comes up behind you and needs to get by.The law says you can’t cut the red,but ethics say you should act.It’s that grey area.You’re teaching people a set of guidelines on how you should act in certain situations,but there is no right and wrong.

　　Ethics is about teaching people how to make an ethical judgement call.There aren’t right and wrong answers,because ethics depend on the individual situation.

　　You can’t say‘you should always do X’because there are infinite situations;you have to judge each situation as it arises.That’s what ethics does–it teaches people how to think.It teaches you the thought process when making an ethical decision;it doesn’t teach you what the right ethical decision is.

　　This section of ACCA P1 is almost like a philosophy paper,not an accounting paper.You’ll learn ethical theories–such as Kant and Kohlberg.You have to know that different situations have different rules that apply to it.

　　ACCA：我可以看到很多学生觉得学习这方面困难，这是P1通不过去的最大原因么？

　　A.L:This is the first written paper many students will have done.It can be quite a shock.You have to be able to write in long- form,but many students don’t know how to do that.

　　Students often don’t structure their answer well,which makes the answer difficult to read.Most people don’t write much now anyway,so suddenly sitting a long paper where you’re writing for hours and hours is difficult.Your hand hurts,you aren’t used to it.You aren’t good at writing to a time limit.

　　ACCA：学生们需要更多地练习吧！

　　A.L:Exactly.Get as much practice as you can.You’re unlikely to pass ACCA P1 if you haven’t practised writing,under time- pressure too.Or you could wait until the exams go completely computerised…it will eventually!

　　ACCA：学生们难以通过ACCA P1的原因是？

　　A.L:One of the biggest problems with ACCA P1 is that it’s a huge syllabus.You need to know a lot.Many students won’t pass ACCA P1 because they just don’t know everything on the syllabus.There’s a lot of learning.

　　ACCA：应用有那么重要么？

　　A.L:Yes,that’s what I was going to add.You need to know a lot of facts to pass ACCA P1,but you also need to use your judgement to apply that knowledge to the scenarios.

　　You need to know a lot of facts to pass ACCA P1,but you also need to use your judgement to apply that knowledge.

　　It’s really important to be able to understand what the question is about,and understand which area of knowledge you’re being questioned on.You have to have a lot of knowledge,and you have to be able to pick out which bits are helpful in each instance.

　　To pass ACCA P1,you have to learn the syllabus really well and then practice it as much as possible.That’s really the only way you can ensure you pass.

　　ACCA：最后一个问题？

　　A.L:I’d just like to add one more thing.One of the best ways to help yourself pass ACCA P1 is to enjoy it!

　　Find something you enjoy about ACCA P1,because if you can make it interesting you’ll be more likely to pass.

　　ACCA P1 has a reputation for being boring,but if you have that attitude you won’t fully embrace the course.Find ways to make it interesting;find something you enjoy about it.If you can do that,you’ll be much more likely to pass!

　 * 艾伦·列文是一位资深的ACCA注册会计师，拥有几十年的ACCA考官经验，同时也是业内知名的作者、导师、教练。