I took AFM back in March 2019 and failed miserably because I just didn’t study enough for it. I then retook it in June having studied a bit more but still failed. Long story short, I am overworked in my current job and suffering from serious burn out and I have realised that I am either going to leave my job or cut down my hours so I can focus on putting enough time to do both AFM (third attempt) and SBR (first attempt) in the December sitting. I decided to give myself a break in September because I need to change my mindset and allow myself some time to get back up and get on it again. I have never failed an exam until now so it is a little difficult to stomach.
I just wanted to know whether it is a good idea to take both papers together in December as they are both pretty different?? I want to start preparing now and ease the pressure of time. I have started taking the necessary steps to allow myself enough time to study both papers without getting stressed or burnt out from work etc. I am meeting with my manager next week. to discuss my options and see what they promise.
Hi Nikita, SBR is very different from AFM. SBR requires you to learn all the IFRS's and IAS's Standard, which means lots of time investment in reading and understanding the principles etc.
I would advice you to give yourself time to recover from the burnout and focus on clearing only the AFM at the December sitting.
Try to make use of the examiners approach as well as the Acca retake guides to ensure that you keep to your study schedule.
The Afm syllabus and Technical articles will also come in handy as you prepare for your exams. Good Luck!
Hey Nikita,
SBR is very demanding and not as easy it looks. There are loads of topics to learn and the exam requires you to learn the IFRS's and IAS's properly.
I failed it earlier this year and looking to retake it in September 2019.
I'm taking it with P7 so it's going to be difficult, sorry can't comment on AFM as I haven't attempted that yet.
However some of the SBR topics do relate to P7.
Good Luck!
Hi Nikita,
Really sorry to hear you have been struggling. Hope you have sorted out something with your manager to ease the burden from your workload. I think Debbie is right, you should give yourself time to recover and focus only on passing AFM for the December sitting. I just about passed it in June and it was hard! I felt very exhausted after that exam. I am now preparing for SBR for September, which is really different with a lot of theory to cover, but I feel a bit burnt out as well. These last professional exams are hard, and by now we have all been studying for quite a long time. Having to combine this with a busy full time job as I do as well, is difficult. I have decided to skip the December sitting to give myself a break as I realise I just need that. If it takes just a little bit longer to get qualified, so be it. I wish you all the best and don't be too hard on yourself, as you have come this far which is already a fantastic achievement!
Hi Nikita, I gave AFM in march and SBR in June, both exams are extremely different to one another and i believe you should give AFM itself whenever you sit next.
SBR in June had a lot of theortical aspect to the exam (not very difficult but too much information to process) so you'd have to go through the book completely. (Videos on Opentuition are amazing and helped me score 71 in it)
AFM is complex and should only be given with full concentration on it. In AFM number of topics are limited but are covered in depth and under time pressure it simply feels too much.
