Alex Case on ICFE

Alex Case lists available ICFE exam resources and I would like to say that I found the Cambridge resources invaluable. Some comments that my group made about the course were that there were only a limited amount of practice tests available. In the future I hope that CUP will publish practice test books as they do for their other exams.
.http://www.tefl.net/alexcase/tefl/cambridge-icfe-description-and-links/#comments

ICFE end of preparation course Statistics

I just checked the audience figures for this blog and there have been around 850 page views from over 24 countries since the blog started three months ago.
I would like to wish everyone the very best of luck in the ICFE exam this week and I hope that the blog has been useful. Thank you for your comments and feedback.
 I wish you every good fortune in the future with  Financial English.
A new ICFE preparation group will be starting in January 2011, so keep checking  this blog for more Financial English.
Until then, Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all the ICFE blog viewers.

Testimonials/ End of ICFE preparation course review

In the final class you will be asked to give an evaluation of the ICFE preparation course.
 I would like you to read the ICFE exam testimonials, especially the ones written by students.
This is good practice for skimming and scanning for key words.
http://www.financialenglish.org/icfe/testimonials.html
You will also be asked to review the progress that you have made and to think about your objectives for the future.
I welcome any feedback on the usefulness of this blog.

Revision: ICFE Speaking test

I suggest very strongly that you look closely at Splendid Speaking's Tips on the ICFE Speaking Test and also on how you are assessed.

Follow the links from previous postings by clicking on the label at the bottom of this posting.

From Splendid Speaking:

If you're studying for the International Certificate in Financial English exam, welcome to our guide to the ICFE Speaking test. This page offers an overview of the oral paper (Paper 4) and advice to help you approach the exam with confidence. The tips supplied will be of particular interest to students at advanced level. (Council of Europe Common European Framework of Reference Level C1)

Forensic Accounting

Read these articles and identify some of the dangers that forensic accountants face.
Note the use of idioms in relation to risks.
Numbercrunching can be a dangerous business - 02 Dec 2010 - Accountancy Age

http://www.accountancyage.com/aa/analysis/1929536/profession-unexpected-dangers-globe

Unit 10 Insolvency

Liabilities - firms worry about what they owe

Vocabulary:  Check the words that partner debt.

From tutor2u accounting and finance blog:

by Jim Riley

An interesting piece of research from R3, the association of business insolvency practitioners, on the problems of corporate debt.  R3 have found that one in five businesses (19%) are worried about the amount of debt they currently owe to their creditors.
The research, which explores the financial position of businesses in the UK, reveals that smaller businesses owe on average around £110,000 to the bank, £82,000 to trade creditors and £27,000 to the Crown (e.g. HMRC for VAT,.Income Tax Corporation Tax).
Yet it is debts owed to trade creditors that in fact cause the most concern. A third of all businesses (32%) say they are worried about the amount they currently owe in trade debts; while 24% are worried about finance, overdraft and banks loans; and 18% are concerned about Crown debts.
Why is the relationship with trade creditors is so important? Why are business people worried about owing suppliers too much and less concerned about the tax man?

Unit 10 Bankruptcy

A timely article from the Guardian:
Check the vocabulary that we looked at from unit 10 and identify any phrasal verbs.
In class we will be looking at noun combinations. See how many different noun compounds you can find in this article
http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2010/dec/01/viewpoint-kpmg/print
How long, and much does it cost, to wind up a collapsed chain of 1,400 off-licences (wine/liquor stores) and salvage something for creditors?

Revision : Sample Reading Exam

I have labelled all the posts, so now you can click on the label at the bottom of the posting and see all the relevant posts related to ICFE Reading on one page.
To prepare for the sample test in the next class:
Set a time limit of 10 minutes and  quickly skim the posts and choose one post to scan for detailed information. Ask yourself lots of Wh-Q's and make notes/paraphrase 3 key concepts from the post that you choose. This type of speed reading  will help you to perform effectively in the exam.
Remember the key to maximizing your performance is to go into the exam with a clear strategy on how you are going to tackle the test.

Banking glossary

I recently subscribed to your blog; here's a site you could put on a future post:

http://www.investopedia.com/categories/banking.asp

Just Stumbled on it :)