Hi. I am new to this forum and am just setting up as a freelance bookkeeper. I have a fair bit of experience but no qualifications!!
I am looking to do the ICB level 1 basic and level 2 computerised exams but without actually taking the courses as I am hoping my experience will be sufficient. But, it would be nice to see some past papers to make sure I am competent enough before I register for the exams. I tried to buy them from the ICB website but you have to have applied to be a student member first and I was wanting to hold off doing that until I know I will be ok at the exams! Chicken and egg situation......
Anyway, if anyone can help then I'm more than wiling to pay for them plus postage and I'd be very grateful!
If you get a copy of Mastering Computerised Bookkeeping or Mastering Spreadsheet Bookkeeping by Peter Marshall from your library there are mock ICB exams at the back. A word of warning they are the old syllabus but should be adequate for your needs.
Charlie
PS Mastering Bookkeeping has the mock manual exams and I think there are mocks for other professional bodies depending on which book you get.
There's a twist here but a couple of points about those books first.
If you buy the books make sure that you buy the 2010 version of the Mastering Book-keeping one which has IAB, AAT and OCR exams as well as the ICB one's. (Note however that the old papers are simply reprints rather than having been brought up to date so still have the old 17.5% VAT rate).
For the Mastering Computerised bookkeeping it gives the question paper for the ICB level II but no suggested answers to that. However, the book does include the IAB computerised exams for levels I, II and III with the model answers.
Now the twist...
ntombekhaya is in Soweto, South Africa.
ICB South Africa is not linked to ICB UK, it's simply a coincidence of name which causes some confussion.
ICB South Africa is actually affiliated with the IAB in the UK (and IFA and IAAP). And there are UK exemptions available to ICB SA members that are not available to ICB UK members due to the close links (I do not imagine that its down to any major variance in syllabus as bookkeeping is bookkeeping no matter what flavour you buy it in).
I do not believe considering the above that UK ICB papers would be of a great deal of practical practice use to you ntombekhaya (#1) but the IAB one's from the books suggested by Charlie may be (although things like VAT may mean that you really need old ICB SA papers).
As a complete aside I (sadly) find it interesting that those two official ICB texts both use the IAB (& BKN) version of the word Book-Keeping (with the hyphen).
kind regards,
Shaun.
#1 although on the grounds that anything that does not kill us makes us stronger (Friedrich Nietzsche) we should all study the exams of all professional bodies as we learn our trade. Those books suggested by Charlie follow that philosophy of using old papers from ICB, IAB, AAT and OCR in order for readers to be as good accross the board as they can be. (100 brownie points to doctor Peter Marshall for that).
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Shaun
Responses are not meant as a substitute for professional advice. Answers are intended as outline only the advice of a qualified professional with access to all relevant information should be sought before acting on any response given.
