Archived – Welcome to all newcomers and returners to the OBU Forum

[trephena]

As a moderator of the OBU Forum let me assure anyone who has found us for the first time that you are now within easy access of lots of great, reliable and sound advice about the OBU BSc Degree in Applied Accounting.

Spend a bit of time browsing our home page and see for yourself the FREE advice and service we offer and don’t forget to read our FAQs which I compiled with help from an actual experienced OBU marker :

http://www.opentuition.com/obu

And the news gets even better – our poll of Open Tuition students’ results for submissions regularly shows that our students achieved a pass rate of at least 79% compared with the average OBU pass rate of 57% (we say at least because it is highly likely that many more who had passed did not bother to come back to vote so it was probably over 80%). In addition students who have submitted Topic 17 (Corporate governance) and used our advice on our T17 forum have reported some great results in spite of having little real mentoring guidance (both alfred [P29] and eminathsana [P30] passed at the first attempt and achieved B grades) and confirmed our help was invaluable in their success.

We also provide a specific forum thread with helpful suggestions for tackling the Airline sector for Topic 8 so could be useful if you find yourself having to resubmit a previously failed RAP on this topic.
NOTE prescribed industry sectors are changing and airlines will not be allowed from P35 onwards so no one submitting their first attempt or changing topic or company for P35 may choose an airline – and only previously failed students who submitted between P32 and P34 can use an airline based on their previous work.

To solve problems first look using our search facility -just a few keywords will bring up relevant posts (remember a degree is about finding and researching for yourself!). Please try to select the most appropriate forum topic if you need to ask a question as it helps everyone to find it should they subsequently have a similar query. When you post a query it automatically will bring it to the top of the ‘white’ forum list so it can easily be found by everyone. However if you really can’t find anything about your particular query then please post it on ‘PLEASE HELP KEEP OUR FORUMS TIDY!!!!’ where I will answer it and then post it to the appropriate topic.

Many of our contributors including our Moderator, Ehsan, have done the RAP for themselves so can offer help from their own experience and I have more than 13 years experience of reviewing RAPS and advising students so what we DON’T know about the OBU RAP on this Forum could be written on the back of a postage stamp!!!

Tired of being pushed to do Topic 8 by your mentor? Take a look at the Topic 17 Corporate Governance Forum – you may be surprised at how dynamic and interesting T17 can be! Our students achieved great success with this topic pre P35 often getting at least B grades. (The topic title changed then so it is still early days to judge the current position) but we still offer lots of good advice if you choose this topic (personal favourite of mine)

One word of warning on the subject of mentors: we advise that you do not respond to any posts from individuals plugging their ‘mentoring’ services as from P31 all mentors must be OBU registered mentors so you must select one from the OBU list. (There is provision for any ACCA members to do the online mentoring course and become registered and this also counts towards CPD so you may be able to persuade a potential mentor such as a supervisor to become a listed mentor). We also advise all students to register on the OBU Mentoring website EVEN if you already have a mentor as OBU is putting a lot of useful resources on this site to help students like you!

It is vital you do your work yourself and resist any mentor who offers you samples. OBU is actively targeting both mentors and students engaged in this practice. Several students have been stripped of the degree for this, mentors banned and at best you can be given at least GBP 600 penalty resubmission fee (it is set at double the normal fee) and at worst excluded completely from getting the degree and your case referred to ACCA for potential disciplinary proceedings. And do your spreadsheet yourself – again using one given out by the mentor can lead to misconduct issues if a marker detects you have based your work on a common spreadsheet.

.. and on this subject please do not solicit actual work from another student -this is not just against OBU rules but could end up in ACCA disciplinary proceedings being brought against you too – besides there us no need to as the OBU Information Pack and Mentoring website and this Forum can provide you with much better advice.

If you can’t decide on a mentor (the OBU site merely lists mentors but does NOT recommend anyone in particular), then take a look at ‘Advancing the Quality of the OpenTuition-OBU Experience’ as we are able to approve one organisation that offers mentoring services based on their track record (details of them and comments made by their students can be found on that Forum). So if you are struggling to find a reputable mentor take a look- but you are under no obligation to use their services -we just offer it as an endorsement of assured quality.

One final piece of advice – as well as many students choosng Topic 8 because they mistakenly believe they do not have many options, many more who don’t have a local suitable company often go for Topic 6 on Motivation. The problem with this choice is it depends on a survey and the surveys are often very badly done (T6 consequently has a very low pass rate and very few students actually pass at the first attempt). If you have internet access then you may choose ANY company wherever they are in the world subject to the current RAP rules so T8 may be viable (as well as T17 of course) provided you
select a company from the prescribed industry sector. My advice is: don’t rush into doing any topic think carefully about it and other topics and the various requirements needed to pass. Also remember if you really want to do T6 you MUST spend a lot of time in preparing your questionnaire and planning your work otherwise your efforts will be misdirected and time wasted. However on the plus side we do have at least one contributor, Batala, who himself did Topic 6 successfully so between us he and I will try to help where we can if you do want to choose this topic.

The OT team, our moderators and contributors welcome you to the OBU Forum and we wish you every success with your Research and Analysis Project

Trephena – OT OBU Forum Moderator

PS Although Open Tuition is completely free to use at point of use it does depend for survival on advertising revenue -we would therefore ask that you do NOT use an ad blocker. If you do but still want to benefit from our advice it would be good if instead you made a donation so that we can be around to continue helping future students just like we hope we have helped you! Thanks.

[pinkmonkey]

Dear Trephena or someone can help me

I am the one failed to be ready for p29 and that is why I wanted to complete this project this time.

Anyway, I have a question regarding the mentor although I understand that like Trephena kindly put the warning the mentor has to be on the list.

My potential mentor for p29 was my old lecturer who is working a ACCA tuition provider but I do believe that he is not on the list and have not experienced as a mentor and I am awakward to ask him to become a listed mentor just only for me because I know that he accepted to be a mentor for a big favour but not most of students. My question is what the process he should follow to be a listed member , is it quite bothersome and take time to do it? If you do not mind , could you tell me exactly each process to follow?

Thank you very much for your assistance in advance.

[trephena]

@pinkmonkey – The details relating to listed mentors is to be found here:

https://www.accaglobal.com/gb/en/student/acca-qual-student-journey/bsc-degree/role-project-mentor.html

and here:
https://www.oxfordbrookesmentoring.co.uk/

and here:
https://www.oxfordbrookesmentoring.co.uk/about

There are few further links to other details. I think the course costs GBP 85 and a certificate is awarded on completion. It counts towards 6 hours of continuing Professional Development. Maybe your old lecturer might like to do the course as they can then mentor other students?

In the meantime you can pick up and go on with your RAP but you will not be able to submit for P31 in November unless you have registered as a mentee with OBU and have a mentor from their list which includes everyone who has successfully passed the course (having met the eligibility requirements). Don’t forget that whenever you choose to submit you must use the latest financial statements available for T8 & T15, otherwise it is an automatic fail.

[pinkmonkey]

Dear Trephena

Thank you so much for your quick reply and advice.

In terms of the latest financial statement (FS), the company I am doing seems issued FS in the public in the middle of May. if that is the case, if I want to submit 1 May 15, then I should use 2014 FS or because quarterly BS ( not PL) is available so I should use latest as at Dec 2014 then adjust for 3 months (Jan-Mar 2015 using estimate say average of Mar Dec 14)?

Or I believe that the latest submitting date is 20th May 15, so even if the company issue the 2015 FS on 15th May ,I should wait until then and use it to submit just before 20th May? Whichever I choose , I feel a it risky because if I use 2014 when OBU assess my project report, by the date they assess it, FS 2015 has already been issued, then they may not happy for me to use 2014 FS, on the other hand, if I wait until they issue the latest one, then I need some time to work on it and may not be able to to make it.

How do you think about that? How do you recommend this issue?

Thank you .

[trephena]

@pinkmonkey – the rules related to the latest financial statements that must be used is on p.39 of the current OBU Informaton pack. Therefore the cut-off for the latest financial statements is those published on or before 1 February 2015 ( the date of publication is normally taken as the first day after the auditors have signed off the financial statements).

Normally no adjustments are necessary unless there have been significant events since the last set of accounts were published. Currently for example someone submitting on Tesco (whose next set of accounts will probably not be published until after 1 Feb 2015) would most likely be able to use the FS from 2014 (issued approximately Jan 2014). However as there is now a criminal investigation into the company and its officers by the UK Serious Fraud Office and the Financial Reporting Council is also investigating the whole basis of the last few years accounts if these facts are ignored then the work would be deemed ‘not current or appropriate’ and is therefore likely to be failed. This is because unless the student demonstrated the significance of these events on the analysis they have done and the conclusions drawn then the analysis will be invalid and fairly useless.

[Anonymous]

hi everyone…can any one guide me that if I start my project from march ..will I be able complete my work in time?..i mean comfortably?

[Abi]

hello guys i am new and would like to do my OBU this year(p 30)..firstly,can i do my OBU in less than 3months?

[trephena]

@alysyyed and @Abi – I have answered this and many other FAQs on our home page- see

https://opentuition.com/obu/obu-faq-frequently-asked-questions

As you will see I always advise that the longer you can allocate to your RAP usually the better the quality, as it tends then not to be rushed at the end as you are under less pressure. This also means you normally have the time to stand back from your work when it nears completion (say a week or so when you leave it completely and then go back to it a few weeks before submission) and review your RAP objectively.

Depending on how much free time you have 3 months is about right in my opinion. It is possible to achieve a pass in less time but better grades are work normally done in a greater depth and show the student has really thought about the project and planned their time well, so starting now for P30 in May is ideal.

Remember: There is a lot of information and article on many aspects of the RAP on our home page:

http://www.opentuition.con/obu

So everyone who is new or is not familiar with our home page is advised to take a look to see the amenities there. It is designed to help supplement what I call ‘the mentor gap’. Some mentors either only offer a basic service to students and some do not have the experience to advise on approaches to the RAP (evidenced by the fact that the pass rate for first time submissions is <50%)

[Abdul Rafay]

Can anyone tell me how much time should a RAP take?

I have selected the company and I just have to pick a mentor…

P.S: What I want to know is if I start now which is the 1st of April 2015, will I be able to finish it on time for Period 30 submission?

[sameed]

you certainly can, one of my friends completed this rap in 10 days but I would say there should be at least 40 days

[ahmad1984]

You can start working on your project now as there will be no major changes in November 2015 session. I stated this based on my experience with OBU from last 7-8 years. Thanks.

[ahmad1984]

Yes you can easily complete your project as an average student normally take 25-30 days. Thanks.

[trephena]

@mafuta – There should be no problem with preparing your work for P31 provided as Anna says that you use the most current statements available applicable at the time you submit – see p.39 of the Information Pack for details. The P31 Information Pack (2015/2016) has not yet been produced but it is unlikely to be very different from the current one apart from dates and fees.

However I understand from my contacts at OBU that MAJOR changes are planned in the future. These certainly will not come in before P32 (and most probably more likely P33 or even 34), as the RAP is being overhauled. So I would advise that you do try to ensure that you submit in P31 (as usually the changes in the past have introduced more strenuous requirements!)

[trephena]

See our homepage http://www.opentuition.com/obu RAP information and FAQs as how long you should spend doing the RAP has been dealt with there (and discussed many times previously)

[debade80]

Hi

I am hopefully going to be able to submit a RAP for November,subject to my passing F8, but while i wait for result i want start preparing by choosing topics and companies i intend to use, so my question is, can i use a company in Nigeria, although i am in the UK, because i worked with this company for years.

[trephena]

@debade80 – There is no restriction on using any company provided up to date information is available on it and you will be able to fulfil the topic and assessment criteria requirements. This includes supplying extracts from the financial statements which are available publicly.

[Anonymous]

Is it possible to pass the RAP after only studying up to paper F9? If i chose Topic 8, would the marker think the financial analysis would be sufficiently ‘in depth’ to grant a pass?

[trephena]

@jayne – Passing the RAP depends on how well you demonstrate research and analysis skills in relation to the topic and company you have chosen. Topic 8 is not about ratio analysis – it is about using various sources including some ratio analysis to produce a sensible business evaluation as well as financial analysis of how the company and its comparator have performed over the 3 years.

It is important to understand the requirements so read what research and evaluation entails from the sections written in the Information Pack by the moderators (OBU senior markers), Professor Phil Clarke and John Playle . The marker will judge whether they think you have used sufficient sources, made appropriate comments in line with the sources and the PEST / SWOT analysis to show that you done some ‘critical thinking’. (In this respect taking a text book approach and making general comments that are statements of the obvious are not going to get a pass). Use a decent mentor who will be interested in you as a person and has the all round business experience to guide you. Whether or not passing F9 is essential to a successful pass in the RAP is not really the crucial issue as writing an academic piece of work is different from studying and sitting an exam. It is for you to decide whether you have the right skills once you have read up on the full requirements.

[Anonymous]

Thank you for your reply. I shall do as you suggest and read the requirements again in the information pack

[leon6392]

i would like to submit my RAP in November-2015. I really do not have any idea about what to do first? I haven’t chosen any topic yet and also haven’t found any mentor yet. Could anyone please tell me what should I do first? Should I find a mentor first? Is it mandatory to have a mentor? It would be difficult for me to afford a mentor. Does anyone can give me any link of well scored sample RAP so that I can read those to get some ideas? Is there any specified minimum time period to be associated with a mentor for the RAP? do I have to notify OBU about my mentor?

i would be glad if anyone takes the trouble to answer my questions.

thanks in advance.

[trephena]

@leon6392 – I am sorry but the OBU rules are that you have to have a mentor and I would add that you really need one at the outset. So please read the Information Pack about the requirements for one. Whereas I can assist with some of the issues that arise during research and the problems with analysis, my advice cannot replace the services of a mentor as you have to have a LISTED mentor to certify your work, something I cannot do. You should fully familiarise yourself with the Information Pack before you begin your work. (You will probably find the second part of the Info Pack most useful as the first 20 or so pages mostly contain background information).

In cases of EXTREME hardship then contact OBU as there is some provision for assistance with the RAP but I stress this is only offered to those who are genuinely suffering from poverty and requires corroboration that the student’s position is one of real hardship.

PLEASE DO NOT ASK FOR SAMPLE WORK – THIS IS AGAINST BOTH OUR FORUM RULES AND THE OBU RULES. Students who have successfully completed the RAP are warned against sharing their work as the degree can be withdrawn if work is found to be replicated and also OBU can and does report cases of collusion on work to ACCA. (Turnitin, the electronic checking system flags up work that is similar and even if names are removed on work posted to the internet, the electronic checking system will identify the names and registration numbers of those who have attempted to submit this work as their own previously). Some employers and government bodies as well as requesting to see the degree certificate actually contact OBU to verify that the student does hold the degree. Therefore if such a check is requested where a student who has been awarded the degree but it has been withdrawn, the OBU office would report back that the student no longer qualifies for the degree.

[Anonymous]

@trephena, i am doing T17 and would like to submit in P32, i hope this is fine according to you?

[trephena]

@tshepo123456 – There is nothing wrong in principle with this but you WILL have to go through and possibly update. CG is dynamic and things can change dramatically and quickly as we have seen with the Volkswagen car scandal this week

[Anonymous]

noted Trephena

[britanychiong]

Hi there,
I m from malaysia. As per my mentor said, OBU is not recognized in my country. I have no confident to complete my ACCA so i feel wan to stop ACCA. Should i take OBU? or continue my ACCA?
OBU is it very difficult to pass? Please help me.

[Author]

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