PQ Magazine

28/12/2025

Breaking the silence on women’s health in accountancy
There are still a persistent stigma and silence surrounding women’s health and well-being in the accountancy profession, according to new research from ICAS.
The institute’s 3M report highlights how experiences of menstruation, menopause and miscarriage continue to shape women’s career progression.
While overall trust in the profession remains high, nearly three in four female professionals report experiencing discriminatory or exclusionary behaviour in the workplace.
Women in accountancy said they feel isolated and fearful of being open about the ‘3Ms’. A lack of privacy, inadequate personal breaks, and unsuitable office layouts all increased stress and discomfort.
And, male-dominated leadership teams reinforce silence and slow progress. The report believes more empathetic, people-focused leadership is now essential.
Read the full story in the January issue of PQ magazine, out now: https://issuu.com/pqpublishing/docs/pq_magazine_january_2026
Don’t forget to sign up for your free subscription of PQ magazine at www.pqmagazine.com

28/12/2025

How many times do you need to pass the ACCA PM exam?
An error in the ACCA December 2024 Performance Management exam has meant some students who were told they had failed have now discovered they actually passed!
PQ magazine discovered the error when a student went on social media after an ACCA email explained a review had discovered that he had achieved a mark of 50% in the December PM exam. The problem is the student in question retook the paper and passed it the intervening time, in effect passing the paper twice!
Read the full story in the January issue of PQ magazine, out now: https://issuu.com/pqpublishing/docs/pq_magazine_january_2026
Don’t forget to sign up for your free subscription of PQ magazine at www.pqmagazine.com

19/12/2025

Making women count in accountancy
Don’t fall for the myth that women only entered accountancy in the 20th century, says Dr Victoria Bateman.
She says women have been looking after the books and managing the financial fortunes of companies for centuries.
Bateman believes we must look beyond the fact that it was not until 1999 that the ICAEW elected its first woman President, in the form of Dame Sheila Masters. She explains that female accountants armed with counting sticks and abacuses would have been a common sight in the Roman world.
Women like Mary T. Washington Wyle, Elizabeth Arden, and MacKenzie Scott were the mainstays of the businesses they helped to develop.
You can read her fascinating article and our review of her new book Economica: A Global History of Wealth and Power in the latest PQ magazine, out now: https://issuu.com/pqpublishing/docs/pq_magazine_january_2026

18/12/2025

Your brand-new PQ magazine has arrived!
ICAEW unveils its Tech Hub for students, CIMA tells its PQs to get ready for ‘the upgrade’ (to the syllabus), and ACCA December exam sitters struggle with IT gremlins – yes, a new PQ magazine has hit the streets!
We have got all the news and views from the world of accountancy education in the latest issue, and you can check it out at: https://issuu.com/pqpublishing/docs/pq_magazine_january_2026
This month we lead on the stigma that still exists around women’s health, and Dr Victoria Bateman helps rewrite the history of women in accountancy.
In other news one accountancy firm says PQs need to go down the pub to improve their people skills – that means working behind the bar!
We also have technical features too on IFRS 2 and overhead absorption costing, and Clare Dye puts a spotlight on AAT’s new qualifications.
Finally, a big thank you to our friends at AAT, ACCA, CIMA, CIPFA, ICAEW and ICAS for sponsoring our annual bumper quiz – go on give it a go, there are some great instant cameras up for grabs!
Read all the news first at www.pqmagazine.com. Sign up for your free monthly subscription to the magazine while you are there!

PQ magazine is a free monthly magazine for student accountants, focusing mainly on the ACCA, CIMA, CIPFA, ICAEW and AAT qualifications. It's packed full of study tips, advice and guidance on how to pa

12/12/2025

ACA Advanced results are in…
The ICAEW ACA November Advanced results have been published.
Some 7,264 students sat the exams and the pass rates were:
• Case Study 87.3%.
• Corporate Reporting 80.5%.
• Strategic Business Management 87%.
Women picked up all the top paper prizes too – Sofea Johan (Forvis Mazars), Amber Greaves (S&W Partners), and Alison Bell (KPMG).
The pass rate for students sitting all three exams at the same was 76.4%.
Most sitters opted to sit ALCR and ALSM, with 82.2% passing both.
Some 2,290 PQs also sat just the Case Study. The pass rate for them was 90.9%.
The stats also show that some 899 students failed all the papers they sat!
The ICAEW will also be worried about the discrepancy between the Corporate Reporting exam pass rates. In Europe it was 84.1%, but for the rest of the world it was just 26.4%.
Read all the news first at www.pqmagazine.com. Sign up for your free monthly subscription to the magazine while you are there!

10/12/2025

Recruitment freezes will be the order of the day!
Two thirds of UK finance professionals said they are “less likely to recruit” new staff following the rise in the national minimum wage and freeze on tax thresholds in the Budget, according to a new ACCA Poll.
Investment will also plummet, with 64% of finance professional working with or in SMEs thinking they are now “less likely to invest” in the next year.
Hardly surprising then that 80% of those surveyed believe the Budget will negatively impact the UK’s economic growth.
ACCA’s Strategic Engagement Lead for England, Gemma Gathercole, said: “The combination of increased minimum wage rates, frozen tax thresholds, dividend tax hikes and new NIC charges is destroying incentives to work, train or invest. The Government needs to deliver long term plans with confidence, rather than relying on short termism thinking that results in economic stagnation and reduces trust in the business community.”
Read all the news first at www.pqmagazine.com. Sign up for your free monthly subscription to the magazine while you are there!

08/12/2025

ACCA EXAM FEEDBACK – Day Five
It appears the examiners left it to the last day of exam week to provide the hardest paper – AFM! Here’s the feedback for FM and AFM…

FM
‘OK’ for some, and ‘difficult’ for others! One sitter just called it ‘meh’.
The Baumol model question threw some, and the MCQs seemed harder than the mocks.
Invest appraisal and WACC calculations came up, pleasing one student, at least! However, they struggle on the capital structure question.
Most votes in the Open Tuition Instant Poll went to ‘OK’ with 43%. Then it was ‘hard’ on 38%, and another 12.6% ticked the ‘disaster’ box.

AFM
A ‘disaster’ of an exam for 34% of sitters, according to the Open Tuition Instant Poll. Another 42% said the exam was ‘hard’, and just 22% felt it was all ‘OK’.
Sitters admitted to struggling with Q1 on business valuation. “Just too much data to deal with,” explained one PQ.
Another student reminded everyone the aim was just to make it to 50%!
• Read all our feedback at www.pqmagazine.com, and our story on the IT issues in the next PQ magazine – out on 19 December! Sign up for your free subscription on the website.

28/11/2025

How to smash the December 2025 SBL exam!
PQ magazine has joined forces with top tutor Sean Purcell help ACCA students smash the December SBL exam.
In his YouTube video Purcell takes a look at the pre-seen material, gives insights into what students did wrong in his pre-seen mock, how to unlock an answer, and finally suggests the likely questions to expect.
Check it out at:

What to focus on 1 week before the exam

25/11/2025

The suspense account explained
It a basic principle of bookkeeping, but do you know when you need to use a suspense account?
In her latest feature in PQ magazine, top tutor Karen Groves, explains what to do if the trail balance doesn’t balance, or if you are unsure of one side of a transaction.
Check out page 32 of the December issue: https://issuu.com/pqpublishing/docs/pq_magazine_december_2025
PQ magazine aims to inspire, connect and entertain, so sign up for your free subscription to the monthly magazine at www.pqmagazine.com.

25/11/2025

How to get the balance of work and study right
Juggling work and study can be tough, and there will be times when you doubt whether you have you have made the right decision.
In her latest piece in PQ magazine CIMA’s Nasheen Wuisman show you how to declutter your thoughts and cope with those negative emotions.
Read how to take that one step closer to your dream on page 24:
https://issuu.com/pqpublishing/docs/pq_magazine_december_2025.
Check out the latest CIMA case study pass rates (p4), read multi-award winning CIMA PQ Tim Mickleburgh’s piece on the need for socio-economic reporting (p22), and see what CIMA thinks of the new AML changes (p34).
PQ magazine aims to inspire, connect and entertain, so sign up for your free subscription to the monthly magazine at www.pqmagazine.com.

21/11/2025

Your ACCA Strategic Level exam tips…
The APM examiner has said that structure and time management are common weaknesses among the ACCA students sitting this Strategic level paper.
Stronger candidates plan their answers, use headings/sub-headings, and balance their time across all requirements, rather than writing extensively on one part and rushing the rest.
The examiner stressed that students need to show professional scepticism – so do not accept data in the scenario at face value but comment on its reliability, relevance, and limitations.
Finally, avoid rehearsed or generic answers. Each exam is context-driven, so the ability to tailor your response to the organisation and industry described is critical if you want a pass.
All the exam tips for the Strategic level December exams can be found on the PQ magazine website: www.pqmagazine.com.
Don’t forget to register for your free subscription of the magazine while you are there. In next month’s issue we will have feedback of the exams themselves.
Check out the December issue of the magazine (out now) for all the ACCA Applied Skill paper tips: https://issuu.com/pqpublishing/docs/pq_magazine_december_2025

PQ magazine is a free monthly magazine for student accountants, focusing mainly on the ACCA, CIMA, CIPFA, ICAEW and AAT qualifications. It's packed full of study tips, advice and guidance on how to pa

21/11/2025

IRR – a vital topic for CIPFA students
It is highly likely that Internal Rate of Return (IRR) will be assessed in CIPFA’s Business Planning and Financial Management paper, says head of qualifications Anna Howard.
In the latest PQ magazine she reveals many students struggle with the concept, so sets out clearly how sitters can approach an IRR question in the exam.
Check out Howard’s great advice on page 21 of the December issue, out now at: https://issuu.com/pqpublishing/docs/pq_magazine_december_2025
If you want to keep ahead of the curve then you need to be reading PQ magazine - always first with the news! We aim to inspire, connect and entertain, so sign up for your free subscription to the magazine at www.pqmagazine.com.