THE EXTERNAL INTEGRATED SUMMATIVE ASSESSMENT Tax Professional Preparatory Course

Transcription

1 THE EXTERNAL INTEGRATED SUMMATIVE ASSESSMENT Tax Professional Preparatory Course

2 CONTEXT The 2018 External Integrated Summative Assessment (EISA) or final exam will consist of three components, namely foundational, compliance and advisory. The compliance and advisory component endeavour to simulate practice, therefore the exam is set in a simulated and case study format, whilst the foundational component tests underlying knowledge through a series of multiple choice and short answer questions. HOW THE COURSE WORKS We have therefore designed the course and the mock exam in line with the envisioned format. Fundamentals Component: Online July Compliance Simulation component: Blended August Advisory Component: Blended September Mock Exam: Timed October Write final exam (SAIT EISA) November

3 TIMING Registrations commence from the 8th June 2018, and the online material will be made available once successful registration and authorisation has taken place. As it is a blended approach you determine your own pace per component. In order to obtain the most from the face to face session, you need to have worked through all the material before the classroom session. You will need a minimum of 6 weeks to work through all the course material. Therefore, you should commence with the course by no later than 1 August We do however recommend the following timelines, which have been complimented by a blended learning approach. Component 1 (Fundamentals): Component 2 (Compliance Simulations): Component 3 (Advisory): Mock Exam: Knowledge Refresher Completion by end of July Tax Administration and Accounting : 13 th August Completion by end of August Online Completion by the 12 th September, Practical cases (classroom lectures): 6 th October. 13 th and 14 th Ocotber. INTRODUCTION Refer to the introductory video and tailored noted with specific insights about how to prepare for the November 2018 EISA. Component 1: Fundamentals In this component of the exam, trainees will be expected to have an advanced understanding of domestic individual taxation, domestic payroll, domestic company tax relating to operations, recurring basics associated with valueadded tax and tax administration (including penalty and interest calculations). They will also be expected to have a light (i.e. awareness conversational) understanding of trusts, cross-border expatriates, estate duty / donations tax, transfer duty, company-shareholder transactions and international business taxation. The following online topics are available and must be applied in conjunction with Silke and the Tax Act to refresh knowledge:

4 Completion Date 31 st July 13 th August Online Topics - Knowledge refresher: Income Tax. - Knowledge Refresher: Value-Added Tax. - Knowledge Refresher: Employees Tax & Dividends Withholding Tax - Tax administration: Registration. - Tax administration: Non-compliance - Tax Accounting & Financial Statements Component 2: Completing and Reviewing Returns In this component of the exam, trainees will be given compliance simulation formats and requested to supply short answer responses as applied to simulated forms & returns. The trainee will also be expected to respond to a SARS query associated with the return. The Tax Return topics include: Individual income tax returns (including trust income tax returns) Employer payroll Company income tax returns Value-added tax returns You are required to complete the following online topics: Completion Date 22 nd August 29 th August Topics - Practical Guidelines on the Completion & Submission of Income Tax Returns - PAYE audit / review - Drafting a review report / letter of findings. - VAT 201: Common Pitfalls - VAT audit / review. - Income tax audit / review In addition to the online videos, get the opportunity to complete various tax returns (ITR 12, ITR14, VAT201 and Emp 201 returns) in a simulated context. The simulation context will be ed through to you on the Friday prior to the Monday submission date. The following are the due dates for the simulated compliance component:

5 Submission Date Simulated Compliance Component 27 th August ITR 12 & PAYE Compliance Simulation 3 rd September ITR 14 & VAT Simulation Part 3: Advisory 50% (Part 2 and Part 3) of the Final Exam is based on Advisory Junior Specialist. This part is therefore complimented by 3 face to face lectures in conjunction with the online video topics: Completion Date Online Videos Topics Writing tax opinions. 12 th September Mediating tax disputes Corporate Tax Advisory hot topics (loans and shares) Face to Face lectures covering practical cases across the various advisory components will be held as follows: Date Topic 15 th September Corporate Tax advisory incl Mediating tax dispute 29 th September VAT Advisory & International inbound & outbound taxation 6 th October Estate Planning MOCK EXAM You will have the opportunity to write a simulated EISA on 13 th and 14 th October 2018: DAY 1 (Component 1 & 2)- Online: This will be an only one, timed, multiple choice & short answers covering component 1 (foundational skills) and Compliance simulation with short answer responses for Component 2. DAY 2 (Component 3): The case study will be made available via our online platform at 8:00 on 14 October You should send your answer to taxprof@taxfaculty.co.za by no later than 18:00 on 14 October 2018.

6 REMEMBER: To benefit from the simulated exam, it is important that you: Only refer to allowable materials during the exam. Do not exceed the allowable time. Do not consult with colleagues or friends they won t be able to help you during the EISA! Please do not hesitate to contact Vanessa Fox: vfox@taxfaculty.co.za for further information regarding the course.