General Queries Topic 8

Just a few quick questions! 1) My PDF editor has stopped working. This means that I'm unable to cut the essential pages out of the 65 page financial statement documents. Will I be marked down if I include the entire document? 2) The appendix - I'm assuming you upload each document individually? Should I make a separate appendix document (eg. app1 fs2016 app2 fs2017) etc etc. 3) I have done a survey. Am I right in thinking I need to upload a blank survey, and the results? 4) I wrote a script for my presentation to ensure it was over 15 minutes - should I upload this along with the slides? Because I've not seen the screen for uploads, I'm a bit anxious about it! FYI for other candidates; - my reporting periods are three months apart and I have mentioned that this is a limitation for ratio analysis. - my companies have different reporting currencies, and report under different frameworks. The only figure I translated was EPS, and I listed the rates I used providing a link to the website I found the rates on. They are ratios... they, in theory, should be comparable and this is one of their strengths. It doesn't matter about the currency difference. I've noted the difference frameworks as a limitation, particularly as one was US GAAP and one was the German GAAP. I mentioned my studies, and how I have not looked at them in any depth. - I used PESTEL and SWOT. I integrated words about the ratios throughout these analyses and guided the examiner to them. I did the same in ratio analysis, and integrated information in the analyses that may indicate why the company's ratios have fluctuated. - In my conclusion, I copied and pasted my questions and directly answered them, and finished off with an overall conclusion. This ensures I am clear about my answers and brings it all together. - I only used graphs in my presentation as it demonstrated variances better. In my presentation I made little or no reference to the actions or limitations of my project, only my findings. - I did not analyse the comparator any more than ratio analysis and used this as a limitation for my ratio analysis (the other company may have had significant events I'm unaware of etc etc). - My SLS, I read all of the samples OBU have one their website and structured mine in very much the same way.

Hello tonim, Q1 - I believe you should already have a sheet in your spreadsheet appendix document that contains the financial statements of your company and its comparator, which is just a duplicate of the fs in the annual reports, that u have used to show some formula application. You can export this sheet to a pdf file. Provided you make a reference to the annual reports on the page, this will be fine. Q2 - you only need one spreadsheet document, but arrange your information with multiple sheets, e.g one for ratios used, one for the graphs used in your report, one for financial statements etc. You may compile the financial statements in such a way that you show figures for each year side by side, and the fs of your comparator can come below in the same manner. A balance sheet and income statement should normally be sufficient, but the depth and direction of your analysis could lead you to include critical notes to the fs, or other financial statements. Q3 - I'm not quite sure a survey is appropriate to topic 8 as this is predominantly a secondary research topic. You may however (at your discretion) freely analyse already conducted surveys in your report, or choose ratios from a number of unique or customized key performance indicators (such as industry specific ratios) other than the generic financial ratios. If you intend to make your work stand out. Q4 - your presentation should not be done in more than 15minutes!! and with no more than 20 slides, markers will be able judge this from the bulkiness of the slides, always used less words where possible and let your graphs do the talking, only include the most relevant information in an appropriate structure. The script is not necessary.

Hello, 1- For my ratio analysis I only used extracts for the figures I needed. OBU state that you need to attach the income statement and balance sheet where necessary. 2 - the appendix is one large excel? Hmm... I get the impression from the pack that it can be PDF or excel. 3 - I wanted to gather primary data on the external market for my PESTEL and SWOT. There are no guidelines to suggest it is ‘not appropriate’. My survey allowed me to see variations between information I found online and then from my own sources. I am unable to tell if the information I gathered online is biased. I know my own source. My question was, how do I give this information to the examiner? Is my understanding from the pack corrected. - a blank survey and my results. I’ve integrated the data in to my report already. 4 - the pack says your presentation needs to last for at least 15 minutes, not limited to. When I say ‘over’ I meant at least 15, maybe 17. Never mind.

Please can someone clear my doubt. I don't want to end up messing my word count. My doubt is Where do I have to include the application of SWOT AND PESTEL performed? Should I include it in Part 2 within the 2000 word count or Part 3 within the 4500 word count?

Hello maryam20, In part 2, you explain the models and limitations generally from a textbook perspective. In part 3, you apply the models(the theory from part 2) specifically as it relates to your organisation and achieving your objectives/ research questions ,ofcourse at the same time you are evaluating information, which is what counts for the majority of your overall grade. Points for application come mostly from choosing appropriate models relevant to your topic

Thank you so much for replying @hanne. It is quite shocking for me because I thought that the application of SWOT and PESTEL will go in Part 2 within the 2000 words and I will be having 4500 words for Ratio analysis. So does it mean that now I will have to do both ratio analysis and SWOT and PESTEL analysis within 4500 words? Its going to be difficult. Please give me some tips. I have calculated so many ratios and I thought I will explain all of them. For Profitability itself I calculated 5 ratios

Yes, that is how the structure should be, you will find that a major challenge of the RAP is producing an adequate work that is within the word limit. This means actively making choices to only include the most suitable information and avoiding unnecesary beating about the bush. Try your to stick within the OBU suggested word limit for each part, ofcouse you can deviate by say 100 to 400 words (if you deem it necessary) give or take, but dont do so at the expense of the OBU expected requirements (see information pack) for each part. Yes, your part 3 would include your analysis using pestel, swot and the ratios. Infact a typical part 3 would include, a pestel analysis & swot analysis (Business analysis) , ratios analysis (Financial analysis) , limitations of analysis (if any) and very importantly a conclusion section, which summarises your work by answering your research questions. It is possible to add more sections, depending on each students research direction. I have read of a student passing with 5 ratios, I myself did only 8. Let your research questions guide your choice and number of ratios. It is the suitability and quality of the evaluation of each ratio that is most important.

Thank you hanne 'for chipping in' (as you put it in a previous post) - These forums are designed for everyone to help each other - they are not the preserve of the moderators just to comment and answer - students can often add practical advice So your input is greatly appreciated!

Thank you for replying. Can you please tell me about this a bit more. Like you said that we can include limitations if there are any, in Part 3. But in Part 2 as well we have to include limitations of analysis. Why is that?

I have another question please. When I am explaining PESTEL in Part 2, Do I have to explain each and every element i.e Political, Environmental, Social etc etc?

HI maryam20, Question 1 if you are to follow the RAP research process to a t, it is expected that when you begin writing part 2, you should have collected and narrowed down your information ('information gathering') . Which in the case of topic 8 is done with secondary data such as annual reports of your company and comparator, online news report/articles etc. There are two kinds of limitations you need for part 2 1st---while you were getting these information, think, what where the challenges you faced? did you have to pay for some info? Perhaps a method used to collect said information was not as efficient? etc. This will make up your limitations of information gathering. 2nd---when you explain the models and ratios you plan to use, like i described earlier (in earlier posts), you should also include a general texbook perspective explanation of their limitations. For part 3 If you do a decent RAP you will most certainly encounter some 'limitations in your analysis', this in some part could be attributed to the fact that with topic 8 it is almost impossible to find a perfect comparator, as such certain issues will become apparent. A classic example is a significant difference in accounting policy that affects an Fs item which in turn affects a calculation of a financial ratio , which could affect its interpretation if the policy is not taken into account when a comparison is done. You could also encounter a limitation as a result of the external environment, where perhaps the authorities over your organisations of choice are different in certain crucial areas that one has an economical advantage over the other. Also, critically assess the information you are evaluating in this part, is it biased? to what extent? if so, what is the effect on your analysis, and ultimately your conclusion. (see page 36 of the latest OBU information pack for the structure of the RAP) Question 2 explain the theory of the model in a brief and simple way, such that an average educated reader who is not an accountant or in a similar field, can understand and refer back to it when in doubt, and reasonably follow your evaluation in part 3. Note that PESTEL is a variation of the model PEST. and either is acceptable.

Okay thank you so much for replying. I have another confusion. There are two sections which we have to include in Part 2: 1) The sources of information from which you have obtained relevant data In this one I can tell about each and every source even if I have not included it in the reference list right? for example can I even mention referencing articles from open tuition? 2) A description of the methods used to collect information, including online access Here I have to give an explanation for primary and secondary data right? but what if I have not used primary data. Does that mean that I only give an explanation for secondary data? Thanks in advance

Q1 - The data here mainly refers to what was used to produce the analysis and evaluation, self learning sources about the reseach process can be excluded, Everything in your reference list has to be in your RAP, all information you have cited in your RAP should be traceable to its source through your refrence list. Q2 - yes or no, your choice. you can briefly explain and differentiate them, and move on to focus your explanation on what is relevant to your research.

Actually I am aiming to complete part 2 that is why I want to be sure that I am including the right things. I have a doubt. In Part 2, when I am explaining ratio analysis and then its limitations. Do I have to include the explanation and limitations of all the ratios that I have used for my evaluation and analysis part?

No, a general limitations of finanacial ratios is fine. explain in respect to your relevant ratio where appropraite. make a plan for and stick to your word limits.

@trephena Hi, I am about to finalize my RAP but i have following two questions regarding RAP (Topic 8) submission: 1. In the RAP checklist point 2 mentioned that "All marking is now anonymous so please ensure you have you NOT included any mention of your name in any of the project documentation submitted" Now my question is doest it ask to delete my name and only put the ACCA reg no in RR, SLS and Presentation files ? 2. Is that necessary to submit financial statements in pdf file? Since In my excel working I have inserted the financial statements of both main and comparator which I am going to submit anyway. TIA

I have another question regarding Part 3. So what happened was that at an earlier point in the report, I wrote the reasons for increase in net profit and referenced it to the relevant sources. And then later in the report, I wanted to explain the reasons for increase in earnings so I said that '' earnings increased due to good performance of financial segment and gains from derivatives as explained earlier in the report''. And I didn't put any in-text citation for it. Is that right?

Can anyone please tell me the characteristics of a ''good conclusion''. I have written the conclusion but I am not satisfied with it.

Hello maryam20, good to see you're almost through with your project. A good conclusion simply summarises the findings of your research work, as such, this section would typically not need any external refrences. It may consist of a few concise paragraphs with short clever statements that address each your the project objectives. The findings of your research may be positive, negative, a mix of both or even inconclusive, just briefly state it as it is with a justifiable reasoning. Your consolidated understanding of the models and ratio analysis will help here.

Thank you hanne for replying. I wrote 600 words for my conclusion and my total word count for part 3 right now is 8000. I have been successful at reducing it from 9500 to 8000. Still trying further. I think I have written a lot on the conclusion part. How many words should I aim for the conclusion?

You mean total word count for the whole RAP, right? The deadline fast approaches, Keep trying to reduce your word count, it will be prudent to aim for about 7200 to 7400 words in total , especially if you have Used plenty wordy images as graphs, It is not possible for me to recommend how many words without seeing and understanding your work. However, with topic 8 a conclusion should be pretty straight forward, a decent conclusion can be done with about half the words you have used, less in some cases, it all depends on the researchers objectives.

Hi Everyone, Please I need guidance in the following areas: Do I need to leave my charts in the excel sheet?, Because I deleted them once I copied them to my report. How do I reference the source of the financial statements in the excel sheet? How do I reference the source of the data on the charts I copied to my report word document? In my report, is am using 3 years FS covering 2016 to 2018. However, I had use the FS of 2015 as a base year for my Year -to -Year and Year-to-Date % changes in net sales,...I had also used it in calculating averages, in some ratios. Does this suggest I have extended the period covered to 4 years(period) against the 3 years(period) required.?

Okay thank you so much Hanne. Can you please tell me about how I should be preparing the presentation slides? What I should be including in the ''introduction part''? and also do I need to talk about the findings from Ratio analysis only or do I need to talk about the findings of SWOT and PESTLE as well?

Hello msg4wale, 1. Yes, why not, it is an important source of evidence to show that you have adequately applied formula and functions all the way from the figures in the fs to the graph images. 2. Referencing is essentially just a way to find stuff easily, source: abcd, year(s) source: annual report of abcd, year(s) You can also include the page numbers from the annual report if necessary 3. If you have used figures from an external source like a business article, reference it as you have done to any other citation in your report. You c.an of course used the company’s own figures, but try to do some yourself. If you have computed the figures yourself, reference it to the appropriate appendix in your spreadsheet. e.g for figure 1 , I could use source: Appendix B or see Appendix 2. Where hopefully there is a table that contains the ratios which have been calculated from the fs. At this junction you will appreciate the need for an organised spreadsheet file, you can do this with multiple sheets that are adequately labelled. 4. No

hello maryam20, the slides need to be interesting, they need not be too wordy , you will appreciate use of images here. The idea is that you are expected to explain the slides during the 15 minute presentation. The slides should not be more than 20. The presentation is only about part 3 of your rap It is a good idea to have a structure in the form of a table of contents, you could start by introducing your company and its operations, of course it is crucial that the audience knows your rap objectives. in the absence of any key information, you can then move on to the business performance through the means of the models, and then the financial performance which can be adequately shown as images too. you may include limitations if applicable, but a conclusion is obviously necessary. Calculate your slides properly, don’t crowd each slide with too much information. You can always change the slides with hindsight after presentation to your mentor before you submit.

Okay hanne thank you. What about areas from Part 1 and 2 of report? Do I need to include some of those? From part 1 I have included the following areas: 1) Reasons for choosing this topic. 2) Reasons for choosing this organisation and competitor From part 2 I have included: 1) Sources from which I obtained relevant data 2) Limitations of information gathering and then part 3 I will add. Still working on that Can you please guide if I am adding any irrelevant area? Another problem is that when I was doing the research and writing the report, at that time my mentor said ''NEVER LIMIT YOURSELF''. I know he wanted me to do the best research and write everything but now it has become a problem for me. For part 3 the word count allowed is 4500 and mine was reaching 9500. I have managed to reduce it to 7100 words by rewriting sentences. But now I will have to start removing the important references that I added once. I feel that for competitor also I have written more things then was required. Maybe I should remove some competitor areas.

Your presentation should be about your findings, consult the latest information pack for guidance on this (page 44). Parts 1 and 2 are predominantly about the writing process, and would therefore not be included on that basis. I believe your mentor meant well with that comment, but “never limit yourself” is probably better applied in efforts to increase the depth of your analysis or expand the source and quality of your references. It is and important academic skill to stick to specified word limits in writing and that what obu intends to test. Writing about your competitor would most come in during the ratio analysis as a side by side comparison. If you choose your main company and comparator well, you will find that their PEST external environment would be very similar, although this is rarely(if ever)100% accurate. With swot analysis your focus is mainly on your company, your competitor would not typically come in.

Okay hanne thank you. Hanne I read your above reply to msg4wale. For example you said that if some one used figures from a website and created a graph on excel then that graph was used in the report. So you can reference it by saying Source: AppendixA But what I did is that I referenced the graphs saying Source: Excel Is that fine? So in this way the marker will directly know that I have done the work in my excel file and she can then go and check there.

Hmn, saying ‘source excel’ , doesn’t sound quite polished to me. We know that when we are submitting the rap, we are to accompany it with an appendices file that contains any required and additional information in the form of an xls or xlsx format. Microsoft excel just happens to be the norm for spreadsheet software, the obu guidelines do not require you to strictly use excel. For the project, you will be submitting docx , xlsx, pdf formats etc . It is left to the examiner to open the files with their software of choice. Which is probably a Microsoft office software. I Know the above assertion is true for a fact because I didn’t use any Microsoft office software to do my rap. Bulletproof your work by applying better referencing methodology.

Hanne I am not saying ''Source: Appendix'' and instead using ''Source: Excel'' because in the OBU submission portal there is a section to upload the Excel file and a different section to upload the appendices (for example financial statements and questionnaires). So I feel that my excel is not included within the appendices and so how can I say ''Source: Appendix'' when the graph is in the excel file which was not uploaded in the appendices area in the submission portal. Hope you understood the point. Am I wrong?