ICAEW ACA FAR study plan
ICAEW ACA FAR · Give each week a clear focus.
8 weeks · About 6 hours per week
Business combinations, consolidations and group accounts
Map the full consolidation process from source data to published group statements, writing the sequence of steps in your own words
Prepare a consolidated statement of financial position for a parent with one wholly owned subsidiary, including fair value adjustments at acquisition and goodwill
Calculate and explain pre- and post-acquisition reserves and the treatment of intra-group balances
Draft a one-page formula sheet covering goodwill, non-controlling interest and group retained earnings
Your checkpoint
A complete consolidated statement of financial position for a two-company group (parent plus one subsidiary) with workings for goodwill, group retained earnings and NCI, self-marked against a checklist of at least 12 technical points
Business combinations, consolidations and group accounts
Compute goodwill and non-controlling interest under both the proportionate share and full goodwill methods and explain the difference in group equity
Account for mid-year acquisitions by time-apportioning subsidiary profits and reserves
Eliminate intra-group trading: sales, cost of sales, unrealised profit in inventory and intra-group receivables and payables
Adjust for fair value depreciation on acquisition and for impairment of goodwill allocated between group and NCI
Your checkpoint
A written solution pack to three multi-part consolidation scenarios (mid-year acquisition, intra-group inventory profit, goodwill impairment) with every adjustment justified in one sentence
Business combinations, consolidations and group accounts & Accounting standards and conceptual framework application
Prepare a consolidated statement of profit or loss and statement of changes in equity for a group, including the NCI share of profit
Account for step acquisitions, disposals of subsidiaries and changes in ownership without loss of control
Apply the consolidation requirements of IFRS 10, IFRS 3 and IAS 28 to determine control, significant influence and the equity method
Explain how IFRS 3 measurement principles for consideration, contingent consideration and acquisition costs affect the numbers
Your checkpoint
A timed 45-minute mock question on a consolidated statement of profit or loss plus a 300-word memo explaining the accounting for a loss-of-control disposal
Financial accounting and reporting (preparation and interpretation of financial statements) & Accounting standards and conceptual framework application
Prepare a full set of single-entity financial statements from a trial balance, including adjustments for accruals, prepayments, depreciation and tax
Apply IAS 1 presentation requirements and IAS 8 accounting policies, changes in estimates and prior period errors
Account for revenue under IFRS 15 across multi-element and over-time contracts
Produce the statement of cash flows under IAS 7 using both the direct and indirect methods
Your checkpoint
A complete single-entity financial statement set (statement of profit or loss, statement of financial position, statement of changes in equity and statement of cash flows) built from a trial balance with at least eight adjustments, completed under exam timing
Milestones
Week 4: Score at least 65% on a self-marked 90-minute mock covering consolidation plus single-entity preparation, and be able to reproduce the goodwill and group retained earnings workings from memory without notes
Week 6: Score at least 65% on a 90-minute mixed mock weighted to standards application and financial statement preparation, with no more than two lost marks from misreading requirements
Week 8: Complete a full-length timed mock under exam conditions, score at least 70% overall with no domain below 60%, and submit a one-page list of your three weakest technical areas with the corrective action for each