When I was studying business and accounting, my tutors told my class to read the Financial Times and The Economist, in order to immerse ourselves in business understanding. Many of us gave it a go, but we struggled to know which articles were relevant, and how they linked to our studies. Of course, that was because the FT and The Economist are not written for a student audience.
Around 15 years ago I published my own newspaper for my students, taking the news and retelling it with a focus on the link to their studies. Now, finally, the newspaper has become a podcast. Enjoy!
An Analysis of the Manchester City situation, looking at the accounting and audit aspects, in particular those relevant to professional exams including ACCA Audit * Assurance, and Advanced Audit & Assurance
1 Mar 2026
ACCA AA - How to Pass
The conversation emphasizes the importance of technique in preparing for the ACCA audit and assurance exam. It highlights the significance of focusing on the big three topics to improve exam performance.
Takeaways
Technique is key
Focus on the big three topics
Chapters
00:00 Importance of Technique in the AA Exam Preparation
1 Jun 2024
Exam World Meets Substantive procedures
A run through how to use good exam technique to help master the challenging audit area of substantive procedures, useful for all audit exams but especially the ACCA's AA paper.
31 May 2024
Exam World Meets ... Internal Controls
How students should approach internal controls questions on their audit exams, especially the ACCA's AA paper.
19 Apr 2024
ACCA AA Audit Exam - Audit Risk and Response
A concise run through what you need to know, and exam question answering technique, for audit students sitting audit risk questions. Especially relevant for ACCA AA exam.
17 Mar 2024
Exam World meets Wirecard
In 2020, as Covid raged, a top 30 German listed company worth around $28bn called Wirecard suddenly went bust. It has now been concluded by most that half its revenues never happened. What happened? And what can students of accountancy or business learn from it to help progress their studies?
Listen as Paul Merison breaks down the reasons Wirecard failed, the clues that should have been spotted, and the failings of the auditors and of corporate governance - assisted by Dan McCrum, the Financial Times journalist who was at the centre of exposing the massive fraud.
2 Jun 2023
Exam World meets Advanced Audit & Assurance (Part 2 - Final Part)
Following on from Part 1, in this episode I cover the other main core technique issues to pass ACCA's AAA exam, namely audit procedures questions, matters and evidence questions, ethical and professional issues questions and the other assignment (non-FS audit) questions. I also take a look at the best method to navigate the difficult (and often very large!) 50-mark Q1.
Essential listening for all AAA students who want to improve their chance of success on the paper with the joint worst pass rate globally.
31 May 2023
Exam World Meets Advanced Audit & Assurance (Part 1)
A special episode aimed at those sitting audit exams, and specifically the ACCA's Advanced Audit & Assurance paper.
This exam has a terrible pass rate, so in this episode I go through the key exam technique and understanding needed for 3 highly examinable question areas - Risk (all 3 types), Audit reports, and Quality management.
16 May 2023
Exam World Meets FTX
In November 2022, a company many will not have heard of called FTX went bankrupt, despite having recently been valued at $32billion. Throw in the words crypto, fraud, tech geeks and the Bahamas ... and it starts to get people's interest up.
But this story is about some really important professional business exam areas, such as corporate governance, audit, accounting, risk management, internal controls, business law - so it provides a fabulous opportunity to improve business understanding for those sitting business and accounting qualifications.
In this episode I get under the skin of the story, ignore the mop-haired tech genius (ahem) at the centre of things, and look for the exam world story students need.
18 Apr 2023
Exam World meets ... Carillion
When Carillion collapsed in 2018 it was Britain's biggest ever corporate failure. In this episode we look at why any of this story matters to your exams, exploring areas including ethics, audit quality and risk.
27 Mar 2023
Exam World Review of the Financial Times
All around the world, business school professors tell their students to read the Financial Times, The Economist, and other such business publications, in order to gain a better understanding of the business world. Great advice ... except for two little problems.
The financial press does not write the news for students. As a result, it can often be hard to work out which stories are relevant to your studies, and what that relevance might be.
In this episode, I take one single day's edition of the Financial Times, and talk through what sort of stories are worth looking out for and which are best to ignore, picking out around half a dozen stories of relevance to your accountancy and business studies.
With two of the Big 4 Accounting firms getting a mention, one of the World's biggest car companies, a major bank, and a recent massive fraud, there is plenty for everyone in this episode.
Reach and audience
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Spotify
5.0 / 5
6 ratings
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