Forum

• # 77951
• Mon 02 Jan 2012 04:20 PM

Hi there

Can anyone tell me how the Woods and Sangster iss 12 book relates to the exams?  I am doing a course but they advise you also do the Woods book.  I have started doing this but it seems to be laid out differently to my course which is confusing me.  I was planning to see how far I could get before I did my Level 1 exam so I had the best amount of work under my belt.

I have asked my tutor for guidance but I am interested in hearing from other people.

Thanks

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• # 78052
• Thu 05 Jan 2012 06:34 PM

Well, I have now been told not to rely on this book as it does not relate to what I need to pass the ICB exams... I am now really confused.. do I continue with it or not?

Has anyone taken the ICB exams just by working through this book... as the start of the book implies that you can do this!

Please help :o/

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• # 78053
• Thu 05 Jan 2012 06:39 PM

Hi Evurr,
It sounds like your tutor has confused you! I haven't personally tried the Woods book, although I know plenty of people have and swear by it.
I would recommend whole heartedly the Kaplan study books available through the ICB shop (or Amazon).
I found that the explanations were much clearer than the study text I was using, and a different explanation is often all that is required to make the penny drop.
Let us know how you get on,
Best of luck
Ann

Edited at 05 Jan 2012 06:43 PM GMT

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• # 78055
• Thu 05 Jan 2012 07:31 PM

just re-read what she said and that is that I should use the Woods book to reinforce my understanding... but they appear different in places and it is in a different order.  I was only asking how to use the book to it's best potential in connection to the course work.

#sigh I don't know.  I'll wait for her response I think.

Hi Ann, thanks for your support.  I am getting quite confused.  Not so much in the actual bookkeeping stuff, but more how to learn it.  I want practice, the course doesn't give any.  The book gives lots but it is slightly different to the course.

I think I'll do my next assignment, see how I get on.  Do a mock of my level 1 and again see how I get on.  If I do badly then I'll go back to the woods book for more practice.  If I do well then I'll plug away with the course material alone.

It would be interesting though to hear from the ICB what they recommend regarding their exams.. I'll maybe look into getting a more direct answer to this...

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• # 78058
• Thu 05 Jan 2012 09:21 PM

Hi Evurr,

I am at exactly the same stage as you are. I see you have been given some information which has been confusing, so perhaps I can help.

Don't worry, most of the accounting books by Frank Wood will help you with this course. I am using Bookkeeping and Accounting by Woods and Robinson, but it looks like it covers a lot of the same stuff thats in Business Accounting 1 by Wood and Sangster. So I think your tutor was right to recommend it.

But I also think that you cannot use Wood as your main source. The material provided by your tutor/ distance learning provider should be what you study first, in my opinion.  Then each time you have studied a section or chapter in your course materials then have a look at the exact same topic/ section in Wood. Sometimes you will find that Wood has explained things in a way that you find easier to understand. As Ann said "a different explanation is often all that is required to make the penny drop".  That was certainly my experience. I think that is what your tutor meant when they said that one will reinforce the other.

Its important that you use the course material as your main source because its likely that there are topics in Wood that you don't need to know (yet!).

I hope that helps a bit,

Regards,

Ray

• ICB Student
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• # 78089
• Fri 06 Jan 2012 03:40 PM

Hi Ray

Thanks for your reply.

My tutor has now come back and clarified it, similar to what you have said.  I think where the problems started was that there is no opportunity to practice in the course and so I was getting all my practicing from the Woods book.  This meant that I was getting the Woods way of laying stuff out firmer in my head than the course material.

I am going to try and use the practice in the Woods book but lay it out as per my course.

But, it still doesn't address that it is in a different order... but I'm going to have another look.  I get the impression you can't pick and choose from the book, that you need to work through it... I'll make sense of it somehow tho.

I just want to learn this as well as possible without confusing myself with learning different styles from different places :o(

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