Posted by The Team at Brand Financial Training on August 13, 2024 in Newsletter
13 August 2024
In the thick of it
We’re in the thick of tax year updates this August, but the end is in sight! The CII’s examinable tax year changes in September, so we’re working through all the necessary updates to make sure that our resources reflect the CII’s syllabus changes from September. So watch this space – if you’re still studying for an exam pre 1st September, then you can push on through. If you’re studying for an exam after 1st September, you need to be aware that small parts of the syllabus may change before you sit your exam – it’s usually things like changes in tax rates and allowances, or things like the removal of the lifetime allowance.
Here’s also your reminder that if you were planning on sitting any of the CII’s written exams in September, your deadline to register is looming, so don’t leave it too late!
Featured Article
In this article, we look at the options available to those whose fixed mortgage rates are coming to an end at a time when standard variable rates, and indeed new fixes, are likely to be higher than their previous fixes. This is useful reading if you are preparing for any of the CII CF6, R07, R06, or AF5 exams.
To help you prepare for your CII R05 exam, this Brand Bitesize video explains gift inter vivos policies ’ what are they and what are they used for. If you’re studying towards your CII R05 exam, this might be helpful for you, if you’re working towards R06, it might be a useful reminder!
The change in examinable tax year is just around the corner!
The CII update their syllabus every September to reflect most recent changes, so this is things like rates of tax and allowances, updated figures for state benefits, and any changes in regulation since the previous year’s edition. So, we go through the same process here at Brand Financial Training, and we also update our resources to make sure they are fully reflective of any changes that the CII has made within their examinable syllabus.
However, please do note that we only make changes to update our resources to be applicable to the next examinable tax year, and to change any question styles as specified within the exam guide from the CII – we don’t rewrite our resources from scratch each year.
For most of our resources, if you made a purchase as the current 23/24 examinable tax year was coming to an end, you can request the next examinable tax year’s version - once they become available. As we release updated resources, we will email our contacts with details on how to request the free updates.
Focus On...
AF1 Personal Tax and Trust Planning
We offer a range of resources that will help you to feel fully prepared on exam day:
Mock Exam Papers – essential AF1 mock exam questions practice – includes 3 full sets of 3 multi-part questions and answers in PDF format, plus cross-references to the relevant CII study text.
Calculation Workbook – helps you decipher and extract the necessary information from a calculation question and provides calculation questions with full step-by-step answers, detailed explanations, and cross-references to the relevant CII study text.
Revision Notes – for use when you are further along with your exam studies and are now ready to focus on a streamlined version of the AF1 exam content, they include self-test questions to meet the requirements of the CII AF1 learning outcomes and exam syllabus.
Workbook – helping you master the trusts part of the AF1 exam syllabus, including their set-up and administration, taxation, and how they relate to financial planning. This workbook aids knowledge retention and understanding of the CII AF1 material with a variety of short exercises.
The above resources can be bought as part of a study kit, so you can save 10% off the cost of buying them individually.
Still not sure? Why not try before you buy? Free tasters are available for all of the resources listed above. Click the button below to access all our AF1 resource tasters.
Here’s a reminder that the CII update their study texts throughout the examinable year to either incorporate new legislations, correct errors, or clarify information. Many candidates aren’t aware of this, which can result in candidates studying out-of-date information.
To find out if you have the most up-to-date information, visit the CII website, navigate to your chosen exam and click on ‘learning solutions update’ in the ‘Unit updates’ section in the sidebar.
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