The Secrets to Passing ICAN PE1 Exams (Part 1)

INTRODUCTION

For the average Nigerian Accounting Graduate, the next part to career advancement is the ICAN exam. This is particularly useful especially with the rate of unemployment in the country. They (the graduate) believe getting the ICAN qualification will enhance their employability. This is also TRUE because most job vacancies today require the qualification.

The road to getting this qualification is not an easy one I must tell you but following some secrets that I'll be sharing here is going to make the process less tedious and the qualification quicker to obtain.
Before I go on with the secrets, you must have at the back of your mind that the purpose of the exam is not just to land you your dream job but also to make you a thoroughly breed professional.

The ICAN PE1 exam is the first stage to write as an accounting graduate from an ICAN accredited institution and this stage comprises of four subjects, including Financial Accounting (FA), Management Accounting (MA), Advance Audit & Assurance (AAA) and lastly Information Technology (IT). I will take them one after the other.

FIRST SECRET - ATTEND LECTURES

The first secret after making up your mind to write the exam is ATTENDING LECTURES. Remember the terrain you're venturing into is a 'fresh' one. You need people who are familiar with the part to guide you. You might have graduated as the best student in your class or even with a first class degree, please attend lectures. The tutors most times have both theoretical and practical experience as professionals. Some of them are examiners with several years of experience and they know how and where to teach. I know a few people who didn't attend lectures and still passed. The truth is; they will not be as good as the ones that attended lectures (professionalism). Other advantages of attending lectures is that you have the opportunity of tapping from combined knowledge and also NETWORKING. You'll meet the future ICAN president in your class!

SECRET TWO - READING PLAN

Planning your personal reading timetable is the second secret. You should already know that attendance of lectures is not enough, you need to strategically plan your reading. The exams are held twice every year; May and November, so you've a minimum of four months to prepare for the next exam after the results are released. If you can consistently read and understand (you can always ask questions in class even if you don't understand) minimum of 2hrs everyday or 10hrs every week, you're sure to pass the exams. The plan is to alternate the subjects. The 'difficult' ones should be read early in the mornings or late at night (depending on your peak period). Break the months into weeks, weeks into days and days into hours. Make sure your four months is totally booked. Each day has its allotted hours.

SECRET THREE - MATERIALS

The first material is the ICAN pack. Forget about what you've heard about the packs, you need it. From experience, some examples from the packs have been lifted as exam questions. Moreso, each subject has a list of recommended textbooks. These textbooks are not for 'decoration'! They are to be bought (borrow/steal-to be returned later) and read. You can get this list inside the syllabus. 
Another valuable material that you cannot do without is the ICAN PATHFINDERS. One of my tutors used to put it like this, "it's a sin not to see past questions before you write any exam". To commit this sin is to limit your chances of passing the exam. Go over the pathfinder again and again.

...to be continued.