September 2024
Cath Littler explains practising your writing skills is key to passing INAC. So, why are Mindful Education’s pass rates so high?
Ihave been seeing statements and articles about the INAC assessment recently that have surprised me, as the pass rates for Mindful Education (ME) learners have been high. Reviewing AAT’s published pass rates, ME’s results are about 25% higher than the AAT average – so how do we do it, and what do I think is going wrong elsewhere?
Evolution of systems/controls units
To understand the problem with INAC, we need to consider its evolution. Originally the unit was assessed through a workplace project or a simulated scenario. Students were supported by an assessor who then submitted results to AAT. The unit was rarely taught; textbooks were simply reference material.
However, before readers get excited and say, ‘let’s go back to that system!’, they should consider two things. Firstly, what accountancy student really wants to write a 2,000-3,000- word report? Secondly, historically about 50% of students completed the project, less than are passing INAC now; let’s not go back to report writing.
Assessment of the unit was incorporated into the PDSY exam for AQ2016, yet I know from my quality assurance work that, initially, some training providers still did not teach the unit; they assumed that learners had sufficient knowledge of topics like the PO system for the exam.
Much failure took place and the unit started to be taught for the first time in its history.
Nevertheless, the focus of PDSY was always on the accounting scenarios required for the management and financial accounting elements of the exam.
Fast forward to Q22 and now we have the first-ever stand-alone exam for the systems and controls unit and, perhaps predictably, some learners and providers are having issues.
How does ME deliver the unit?
ME delivers the unit through four online lessons which cover all the topics in the standard. The learners also attend classroom-based sessions where themes are discussed and reviewed.
The online lessons not only discuss subjects like fraud, risk, SWOT analysis, etc., they go through each of the different control systems (like the PO system) in detail. These systems are analysed with reference to potential systemic weaknesses and the controls required to prevent the opportunity for fraud.
I firmly believe that robust processes that foil fraud protect staff in the same way that health and safety guidance does. This is partly because, when at a previous employment, an otherwise good, established staff member succumbed to the temptation to steal a small amount of alcohol daily from the bar. If better physical controls had been in place she would not have been tempted to take her daily short, consequently gaining a police record and losing her job and self-respect.
Key to ME’s success is, however, not in the delivery of information, but in the range of activities that learners undertake. As with PDSY, it is important that learners are exposed to a range of situations and scenarios to build experience and practice applying the required controls. Across the unit, learners are exposed to more than 30 scenarios they can analyse and write about. The aim is to make learners think.
For each scenario there are detailed answers that students can use to develop their application of knowledge. Additionally, there are assessment style questions covering all the assessable topics to aid exam preparation.
How can you prepare yourself for INAC?
To prepare yourself as a learner, identify scenarios and practise writing about how controls should be applied to different situations.
Look at enough situations and you start to see similarities.
Try to spot the systems and controls around you. Once you are alerted to the elements of SOAPSPAM you see them in practice all around you – even if those applying the controls don’t know why they are doing it. Apply professional scepticism to situations and consider how an organisation might be defrauded – how high is the risk, what is the impact? For example, self-checkout tills have a high risk of shoppers deliberately committing fraud by identifying an expensive type of fruit or vegetable as, say, onions, so paying less than the correct price.
However, the impact of that risk is lower than the cost of manned checkouts, so supermarkets feel that the risk is worth taking. What other risk factors affect shops? Look around you at all your local businesses: what are their risks, impacts and potential mitigations?
Just keep writing!
Finally, keep practising writing about controls. As I have said many times, if you go into an exam and have to write about something that you have never written about before, you will struggle to do it well.
- Catherine Littler is an education consultant, and head of learning and development at Mindful Education
