Yes I’m really getting quite bored waiting for the doc. Hopefully he’ll like my idea to end obesity in Britain: use salt instead of sugar for everything.

Still better than the endless hours of taxation revision that I have to do. Why do people still asking me for advice?

Posted by Wordmobi

My one rule for this blog is: if my manager won’t like it, then don’t publish it. For that reason, I never talk about work, except to say that my job is fantastic and it’s the best place to work. If you don’t believe me, please check the official sources.

Now that my boss is placated. I can finally talk about the work I’ve been doing: absolutely none. I’ve been in college studying for (yet) more exams. The days are shorter, but very intense. Still, the weather was quite beautiful, which made for relaxing lunch breaks in the park.

I have three exams in September. These are not walk in the park exams (economics degree) but reinforced concrete exams (GCSE English Literature).

• Financial Accounting – further use of the double entry dark arts in conjunction with the Accountant’s Bible (i.e. the International Financial Reporting Standards manual).
• Audit and Assurance – it’s not about bean-counting, it’s about checking if the beans have been counted correctly within a margin of error of 5% or 475 beans (whichever is larger). Drop in these random words to ensure that you pass the exam:
• Segregation of duties – you can’t count the beans and eat the beans
• Going concern – not enough beans
• Authorisation – who said you could count the beans?
• Corroborate – checking for further evidence that the beans have been eaten. Involves a rubber glove.
• Taxation  – when filling out your tax return, if it feels wrong then it’s probably immoral and definitely taxable.

Taxation is the hardest of the three. The syllabus is huge and there are a million little rules to learn. But it’s the subject that I find most interesting and useful. I can work if Mr Taxman is taking more of my money than he should. I can help friends avoid the wrath of Mr Taxman. I can also tell everyone that Mr Taxman is actually a fashionable, friendly and fun guy, who wants to help rather than hurt.

Not a photo of Mr Taxman, but an artist’s impression of how I will look in 12 month’s time.

Yesterday, I sat the taxation exam. I had spent about four weeks revising for it, which turned out to be 20 hours longer than necessary. I passed comfortably*. My plan-well-ahead-in-advance and think-of-a-number-and-double-it strategy hasn’t failed me yet. Though, it doesn’t leave much time for blogging, or running, or fun.

Fun stuff I did apart from revising:

• Badminton

I picked it up again a finding a decent badminton court nearby. Believe me, South-East London is a badminton court desert. The only downside is the low ceiling with wide gaping holes where panels should be. I expect to lose one shuttlecock a week.

I haven’t lost any of my old skills. However, I range randomly from the sublime (running cross court smashes) to the incompetent (missing open courts and hitting my partner). Unfortunately, I still bias towards the latter. 

• Weekend away with church group

Great fun (wasn’t auditing). Delicious (eating the girls’ food). Humiliating (getting told off by an old lady for hitting her car with a ball). Disturbing (there’s a pheasant-killer in the church). Illuminating (you can’t rugby tackle in rounders).

• Ran a lot

I’m actually getting slower, but I still have my knees (unlike Graham {Graham is my running challenge [silly bet to run 100 miles (link)]competitor}).

So, 5 down and 10 to go. The next three are in September. The Exam Cycle Ends Only To Begin Again.

*Hoi Fung pointed out that I never mentioned if I passed or not. This is a late addition!