Topic 1 guide and pointers

@eller I share your enthusiasm for costing as that and management accounting used to be one of my specialisms however when it comes to the RAP you need to go for one that will give you the best result.

Unless you work in an organisation or have access to really good information sources in the context of an organisation you may find the evaluation part of ‘Topic 1 An analysis and evaluation of an organisation’s budgetary control system and its links with performance management and decision making’ fairly insurmountable when it comes to the RAP requirements….

You cannot just set out budgetary techniques, you need to be able to assess them, critique them and for a good grade, really delve deeply into the analysis side and this is no easy task unless you are working as a management accountant in the organisation you are investigating. If you just describe budgetary control systems without really assessing its effect on performance management and decision making objectively you will not meet the assessment criteria sufficiently well for a pass.

@eller I don’t think you should write-off Topic 1 just yet as you have some good data sources and given your background, however you do need to think about how you can do some objective original analysis and evaluation. (BTW I share your passion for research and have a Masters in Forensic Accounting so as well as the management accounting we have some things in common here!)

To pass the RAP you must do something with your data and information – put your own ‘ stamp’ on it by adding some original input and linking the budgetary control system etc to some form of objective analysis of whether it is effectively being used to improve decision-making and performance management or not. Are there National Audit Office or other public accounts committee reports available? You have to make something meaningful out of your research by analysing it and assessing it to form an opinion (The Conclusion Section) and making any relevant recommendations. What you can’t do is just research and accept everything as ‘read’ without demonstrating the evaluation side.

Like you I find Topic 8 ‘so vanilla’ I yawn at the thought of reading yet another T8 RAP… 🙁 My ideal topic choice personally would be T16, (but as I did quite well when I did a marketing course many years ago I might also have been tempted to give T18 a whirl) otherwise the one Topic that seems to deliver the best grades currently is T17.

Have a bit more of a think about T1 evaluation but if this is going to prove difficult take a look at the T 17 forum. I have been talking students through the approach to this and although if I am totally honest although at first sight Corporate Governance isn’t exactly the most dynamic and exciting subject if you chose the right company it could be. I would definitely go for one of the banks* and play devil’s advocate and tear their CG reports to shreds. But that’s me I hate to be conventional in spite of the impression I may give as Forum Moderator! 😀
*my hardest part would be finding the worst offender!!!

@eller Well whatever you choose your sources sound great! You sound pretty fired up and that’s good as you will probably enjoy doing your degree. Without trying to sound too patronising that’s the right attitude, as that + your enthusiasm for research and the CFE on board as well (he should be able to make some constructive suggestions I would have thought with the evaluation element for any of the 3 topics under consideration)….so it all augers very well indeed….

Look forward to hearing what you decide and having updates on your progress 🙂

@andyndombo You have to be a take a slightly more ‘creative’ approach with budgeting models. It probably is essential that you include a diagram that includes a feeback loop. Take a look at this (Fig 2) and you will know what I mean

https://library.tmu.edu.tw/news/sample-BSC..pdf

Adapt and apply this for your purpose and to your organisation (you may be able to include time scales in your version) – use a search to find someone who has done an article on the importance of feedback loops and put a bit in about how important a feedback loop is in any budgeting model! (to demonstrate understanding of the model)

You may also briefly consider the different types of budgeting (zero based) and participative budgets or whatever but always bear in mind the second part of your topic title “its links with performance management and decision making” as this will form the basis of your evaluation section – and this for the most part will dictate your grade.

Essentially in this respect you must not just assume that the budgetary system delivers, you need to review the process as objectively as possible perhaps suggesting areas where it isn’t effective and any improvements required. How you do this evaluation is up to you. Some students do questionnaires (but I am never a great fan of student questionnaires – if you look at the T17 forum you will see why) – but should you happen to be good at operational research and statistics in your particular case then a questionnaire would be an excellent evaluative tool for you to use of course as you will know what you are doing and understand the research protocols involved.

I can only generalise because it depends what the organisation does. However I would suggest that you review how well variance reporting is acted on and how effective management reports are in this respect (perhaps looking at trends to see if the variances / costs reduce or increase) and whether there is evidence that better decisions are being made as a consequence of the budgeting (make or buy decisions or whether to discontinue an operation for example). Can you demonstrate that there is a definite relationship between variance reporting and increases in profit that is correlated and can be linked to the budget process? It doesn’t matter if your organisation isn’t using budgeting effectively – what counts is your evaluation of it and your subsequent conclusions and recommendations.

Just for good measure on the subject of models throw in a SWOT or PESTLE as one RAP I reviewed that I thought was worth a B was actually failed and the marker told them to do a SWOT…. I was gobsmacked… but there you are – ever since I’ve told students to chuck one in just to keep the marker happy!

Hi guys I am doing my RAP using topic 1 budgetary control system, so can any one help me whether it can be done with UN agencies. I currently work with UNHCR and wanted to make it as my subject organization.

Thank you

Hey guys i choose this topic and i am doing retail company which i am also employed with this company that means information i will be able to get it. Basically i need assistance on how i can do it as in guidelines. Thank you for you assistance.

Thanks boss my question was a bit vague sorry for that. I am now on part 3 and my issue is how i can start it. I facing challenges on how best i can do it such as applying the models, do i state the objective and answer it. If you can just guide me on how best i can write my part 3

(Your post has been edited – Sorry it is against our forum rules to allow any sharing of actual work as it is against the OBU student regulations and could result in a referral to the Academic Conduct Office for ALL parties involved. So PLEASE DO NOT ASK OTHER STUDENTS TO EMAIL THEIR WORK -Trephena).

This can be a difficult topic to pass according to my marker contact unless you have access to the company’s budget information and variance reports and can do a good analysis of them.

(I always advise that where you do not have direct access to primary data or up to date company info then you should attempt Topic 17 as the information is more readily available …and T17 has a much higher pass rate than T1).

We already have a forum topic for T1 so I will merge your post with that as if you still want to do T1 as you may find some of the posts on it useful.

Hi Everyone,

I am thinking of doing Topic 1 for the RAP, however I am a bit confused as to how to approach it. I work as a management accountant and have access to all the information needed, but is that enough, how do I choose a benchmark for my research and do I need to chose one for this topic as it is all internal information.Also preparing the management accounts it is mostly internal reporting and so managers are not so interested when the numbers are good but I cannot say in the report ”well our numbers are always good so no actions are taken at all”.

Also the company I work for is part of a bigger entity and we are just the cost side of the hole entity meaning we do not budget or forecast sales as all our sales are internal. Will it be appropriate to talk about the overall strategy and how our budget links that strategy and how it support it through meeting our target which is effectively part of the our performance management and decision making as well.

I will really appreciate any advice as I am a bit confused how should structure the analysis.

awesome

Well done to you in attempting to choose an interesting topic and company for your RAP. However I would suggest that you possibly abandon Topic 1 as you really need to have good access to primary data to be able to do this well (and the same applies to Topic 10). If you can get this (i.e. you need up to date budget data and costing information including variance reports) then fine but trying to do either of these with just secondary data is almost impossible.

As for Topic 8 – I wish OBU would scrap it completely as the only reason so many students end up doing it, is because for most mentors it is the easy option for them and they have no concern that it is boring for both the student and apparently for the markers too!

I fear the pass rate for P35 for Topic 8 is really going to plummet as the sectors are fairly difficult to do a good RAP on (I would be hard pressed myself!) and most students are going to end up both disappointed and disillusioned, so perhaps for P36 many may be forced to reconsider their choice (and review in whose interest the mentor is really operating).

Personally I would go for Topic 17 – the new idea of examining scandals and failures in CG really appeals to me as there is scope to do some good research and produce an interesting report around a particular company (most of the banks have skeletons in their cupboards so some comparisons can be made with each other for example) and although banking regulation has been tightened, few improvements within the banks themselves seem to have been made in reality. Just on the basis of these 2 articles you can see some of the issues still believed to be prevalent at HSBC (cited just as an example – it is not the only bank flouting ethical principles and failing to implement best practice):

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2017/02/21/hsbc-profits-slump-volatile-year/

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2016/jul/11/hsbc-us-money-laundering-george-osborne-report

Topic 20 can also be interesting if you choose the right company and also the same applies to Topic 18. In fact there are many very suitable alternatives to Topic 8 which offer the student the chance to achieve a high grade (something that few Topic 8s manage).

Alternatively if you understand operational research you could consider Topic 6 on Motivation. However you really need to gain a good appreciation of motivation theories first and be able to draw up a sensible questionnaire and sample. It is one of those topics that if the survey is poor it will fail. However on the plus side if you understand statistics, it is relatively easy (the issue being that most students don’t!). I think the better Topics 6 also consider some modern aspects of motivation such as work-life balance, flexible working arrangements and job related stress and bringing in these approaches too can lead to A or B grades.

If you have a mentor in Pakistan they will almost all inevitably direct you towards Topic 8 however if you have a UK mentor or one in Singapore or Malaysia they will respect and cater better to your choice of a different topic. The key to success is interest + information – you need both to do well – Good luck! 😀

… although you are right @Ehsan that with KPIs it can be a bit more interesting – the sad fact is in most student and mentor’s hands it is routine and uninteresting – and the current sectors are not very inspiring either, although aerospace and defence probably is the most exciting of the lot.

….and there are topics that are more stimulating. However again you are right: it is what interests you (rather than what the mentor tries to impose on you!) that should ultimately influence your choice.