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I am concerned if I choose boeing company for my project then how will I compare it with its competitor airbus as the currency for both companies are different
We are all waiting for the new list of industry sectors for P35 & 36 – I hope to speak to the actual person responsible for issuing this today so hope to have definite news later this afternoon GMT.
However Boeing would not be a valid company unless aircraft production is one of the industry classifications. It would not have been valid either for P34 as the classification was airlines not aircraft manufacturers
Good news everyone – I have received this from the ACCA BSc Office:
The Information Pack was released earlier this week and is available at at https://www.accaglobal.com/uk/en/student/exam-entry-and-administration/oxford-brookes-bsc-hons-in-applied-accounting.html
Could you also advertise to your students that we have a new twitter feed and a Facebook page where they can keep up to date with news?
https://twitter.com/OBU_ACCA_BSc
https://www.facebook.com/OBU.ACCA.BSc.Applied.Accounting/Yes you could as the organisation manufactures as well as sells food. You will need to choose a comparator that also operates on the high street but bakes some of the food they sell.
(Please note this forum will be merged with another that was opened on Topic 8 for P35 – we try to keep similar queries in the same place and ask students not to open a new thread unnecessarily)
Hey trephena,
Can i choose Marriott as a hotel for my RAP??
Can you please suggest a comparator to benchmark against Marriott?Many thanks!
Marriott is a hotel group so you would need to download their annual report and should look at where they tend to operate and their market (tourist or mainly business or generally mixed?) to help choose a similar type of hotel operator (operations and size). Don’t worry about different currencies as using ratios for most comparisons eradicates currency problems.
(Alternatively you could use two major hotel operations in your own country if the financial information is independently available) if they shared similar characteristics.
As with airlines in the ratio analysis some business specific KPIs should be included e.g. room occupancy rates, perhaps revenue per employee (if info is available or can be calculated) and some analysis of revenue/profit split into different categories (hotels would have different mark-ups for accommodation, food & restaurants and bar operations). Just text book ratios and interpretations should be used with caution as you need to think about the how the business operates and tailor your analysis accordingly.
Can i use Hilton hotels and Marriott for RAP??
Both are american based companies,Hilton operates in 80 countries while Marriott operates in 64 countries.Yes, I would think they would be a reasonable match. If you find there are aspects in their operations that may cause variations that may compromise being able to make objective comparisons for some ratios you could note them in the Limitations section. (I am not sure whether Hilton has franchises, partnerships or specific brands for some hotels e.g Doubletree by Hilton, Hilton Club). Remember though there will rarely be an absolutely perfect match).
Hey,
Hilton has 19 brands while Marriott has 30 brand hotels.
Would you suggest me to use these two hotel chains in RAP??I don’t see a big issue with using these two. You could consider how they use brands as part of the business analysis
Good Day
I am about to start preparing for the project, is there any tips on how to get started?Hi , i choose hotel industry and i have faced some questions
Is it possible that a 5-star hotel company is my specific organisation for Topic 8 , but i choose 3-star hotel company as comparator ?
Read the Information Pack. Also read our Top Tps for the RAP (please bear in mind that our Top Tip posts were made before the latest Information Pack so some minor details may have changed. If there is any slight variation between the posts and the Info Pack, then apply the latest rules as per the Info Pack)
The main thing is to think about choosing a mentor and also your topic. Consider a topic that interests you and also a company that you find interesting bearing in mind that for Topics 8, 15, 17 and 20 there are specific rules you must follow in relation to company selection.
@JIAXIN – I presume you are looking at 2 local hotels? This would be OK if so, as their business environments (PEST) would be similar. You could probably do a good business analysis comparing their business strategies and bring in these factors (possibly they have different target markets for example and the 3 star has fewer ‘frills’ that account for some of the variations in both costs and revenues).
However you must ensure that there is evidence of the existence of the both hotels and provide extracts from their financial statements.
(Note: there have been some recent instances apparently of ACO cases where students have made up companies and organisations used. Fabricating data is a very serious misconduct issue under the University student regulations and will result in AT THE VERY LEAST in instant failure and a GBP 550 penalty resubmission fee however it can also lead to expulsion from the degree programme e.g. removal from OBU and referral to ACCA for disciplinary matters)
Hi, I am looking to do topic 8 for the November 17 submission and was hoping to use Hotels as my industry.
My initial thought was to do Premier Inn and use Travelodge as a comparator as they cater to a similar market and are both seen as more ‘value’ chains, however upon initial investigation Premier Inn appears to be made up of loads of separate subsidiaries owned ultimately by Whitbread PLC (who also own Costa and some restaurants including Beefeater etc).
In order to get the bigger picture of performance of Premier Inn as an overall brand I would need to look at the Whitbread PLC accounts, however I’m not sure if this would be appropriate as Costa is included in these figures.
They do summarise segment information for ‘Premier Inn & Restaurants’ and ‘Costa’ within the accounts but as the Premier Inn section includes restaurants I’m not sure if this would be valid to use for the RAP (not sure if this is relevant at all but Food is also an available industry for this submission period?). Unsure if I should just choose another company as the structure is not straight forward or whether there is a way around it.
Any advice appreciated.
Thanks,
@rdeacon – yes you are quite right Premier Inn is owned by Whitbread.
I think you could use this as your main company if you can get revenue and gross profit info for the hotel side to compare and if other KPIs (room occupancy for example ) are available (note: Travel Lodge do offer some basic restaurant services too by the way). Liquidity and gearing might be tricky but you could do it for the group and just explain that there is a serious limitation in comparing these as the figures obviously are only available at group level and obviously with gearing could relate to loans primarily raised to be used in other segments of the business. This inability could possibly restrict comparison of some of Travelodge’s ratios in other areas too but you could perhaps compensate for this by (a) thoroughly covering it in your limitations and (b) doing a more in depth business analysis – looking at their markets and strategies and comparing these.
One interesting snippet for you in relation to this is that I know someone who works for Whitbread in UAE and their role is to develop the hotel side in Dubai (initially). The company is seeking to introduce a more upmarket version of Premier Inn mainly aimed at the business traveller having identified that there is a gap in the UAE market between super luxury hotels and out of date more downmarket establishments. The plan is to develop and tap into this market which could be a real growth area for the Whitbread group.
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Hi Trephena,
As I am planning to go with Food Product industry, I plan to use Cranswick Plc (engaged in the manufacture and supply of food products ranging from pork, gourmet sausages, cooked meats, etc) as my main company and Hilton Food Group Plc (retail meat packing co.) as my comparator.
I think initially that they are comparable as both engaging in meat production. However, I’m not quite sure if they are really that comparable since one emphasise in high quality, authentic food and the other emphasise on meat-packing facility with focus on the cost.
Appreciate your advice.
@azrai – you will appreciate, I hope, that I am not familiar with every company even if they are a plc.
It is often going to be impossible to find an exact comparator as most companies look for gaps in the mark and therefore although in some sectors the product or service will be similar (such as telecoms and airlines that were among the P32-P34 sectors) some of the companies this time will vary in their target market as most will try to find a ‘niche market’ for themselves.
You need to outline the main differences in your limitations section. Focus on your main company and do a good business analysis and apply the models (normally SWOT and PEST) well as these factors will influence management strategic direction and management decisions. Where the findings indicate that the differences may be the result of their different product offerings / markets or other such differences then mention this.
The markers are not looking for absolute perfection but what they do want is a well researched piece of work, that coherently guides them through the analysis and evaluation and puts forward rational and researched reasons (referenced of course!) that account for the differences in the companies’ performances. Elements of marketing may well be relevant in your particular case: brand images and how the companies promote their products and their distribution networks will clearly be important so alongside the usual profitability, liquidity, gearing and investor ratios ensure that you cover aspects of these.
Hi trephena
Would Walkers Crips be ok to choose for a company in the food industry? Seems ok to me only problem is I’m struggling to think of a decent competitor.
Thanks
Hi rdeacon
Thanks, i was thinking more along the lines of Golden Wonder, they were always my favorite crisp !
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