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A list of articles relevant to P8 Financial Analysis will be available to download below.

Reading widely is an important part of preparing for the exams – so use these articles as part of your study.

You will need Adobe Acrobat software to view the PDF files. If you do not have this installed on your computer you can download it free from the Adobe website.

• US Gaap versus IFRS (PDF 79KB) by the examiner for paper P8 (December/January 2007/2008)
  Candidates have tended to struggle with questions on US Gaap versus IFRS. The examiner for paper P8 offers her guidance on the topic. 
• Cash flow statement (PDF 72KB) by Francis Braganza (October 2007) Francis Braganza explains how to prepare a cash flow statement, using November 2005's question as an example, with dates advanced two years.
• IAS and US Gaap (PDF 203KB) by Tony Sweetman (June 2007)
  A question on the differences between IAS and US Gaap foxed many candidates in November 2005. Tony Sweetman offers his guide to the topic in case it resurfaces.
• Financial performance problems (PDF 86KB) by Paul Prendergast (May 2006)
  Paul Prendergast shows how a 'modified DuPont approach' to ratio analysis can be used to drill down to the true cause of financial performance problems.
• Model approach (PDF 241KB) by Tony Sweetman (March 2006)
  Tony Sweetman offers a model approach to answering a recent exam question that tested the candidate's ability to dissect and decipher financial statements.
• Article (PDF 104KB) by the examiner for Paper P8 (July/August 2005)
  Accounting for changing price levels is a far more interesting and relevant subject than many students expect. The examiner reveals why it's also easily examinable.
• International Financial Reporting Standards (PDF 120KB) by Tony Sweetman (May 2005)
  Paper P8 fully reflects the move from national to international financial reporting standards. Fortunately, the changeover isn't as dramatic as it might at first seem.
• Guidance on how to use your additional 20 minutes reading time (PDF 85KB) by Martin Taylor (May 2005)
• Advice on how reading the business pages of quality newspapers can make your exam answers far more insightful (PDF 366KB) by Graham Pitcher (April 2005).
• Article (PDF 98KB) by the examiner for Paper P8 (February 2005)
  Over a third of the syllabus value of Paper P8 is taken up by the interpretation of financial statements, so questions requiring this skill will be impossible to avoid.

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