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

[trephena]

@britanychiong – this is impossible for me to answer for you as only you can make decisions about your life choices however I can make the following observations:

The pass rate for OBU first time submissions is on average about 50%. HOWEVER this does vary enormously over topics. Topic 6 (Motivation) probably averages only 35% because students conduct poor surveys whereas Topic 17 (Corporate governance) probably is nearer 70%. Students find our Forums offer them a lot of guidance and proper direction, and understanding of the requirements is key to passing. Jenique has recently written a post on our T6 forum to say she achieved a grade B and both alfred and eminathsana on T17 also passed with a B grade at the first attempt. Only about 12% of the total submissions for the last period P30 got B grades – so you can see for yourself how useful the advice on Open Tuition is when it comes to passing and not failing and the difference Open Tuition can make.

This is probably also true for your ACCA exams. So if you are finding it tough going then use our Forums, tutors notes and articles to help I have written many articles on our homepage http://www.opentuition.com/obu in respect of the OBU degree but the ACCA homepage also has links to exam features

In Malaysia I believe Sunway has a great reputation for mentoring for the OBU degree. Whether you choose to do the degree or not, I wish you good luck with your exams!

(Thank you @joseph for the help and guidance you give on Topic 6)

[Anonymous]

I want to confirm if primary research is mandatory for topic 20 or we can pass without it?

[trephena]

@aishaghaffar – it is absolutely not necessary and you are better off without any primary research and using good secondary research instead

We have a T20 forum so look there for help and further advice. ( It possibly is now on the 2nd or 3rd page of our list as I don’t think anyone has asked a question on it for a few weeks).

[the shean]

Hi guys,
I would like to know if I can take my obu together with F6 and P2 next semester?

I’m currently taking F 7,8,9 for Dec2015 exam sitting. I have already opted in for the obu and registered with my tuition provider.
I have passed F 4,5 but failed F6 the previous semester.

Thanks in advance

[faheem54321]

Hi,

There have been some recent changes to the OBU project. I was confused with this statement in the latest information pack for May & Nov 2016 submission periods.The statement is:

“Topics 8 and 15 new requirements: May 2016 (Period 32) and November 2016 (Period 33)

All students submitting a project on topic 8 or topic 15 in either May 2016 or November 2016 MUST use sector specific organisations, based on the Industry Classification Benchmark (ICB). These sectors are:

Airlines, Pharmaceuticals and Biotechnology Mobile telecommunications

These sectors will apply to students submitting for the first time or for students changing topic in both the May 2016 (Period 32) and November 2016 (Period 33). Sectors for future periods will be released on 1st December each year and will cover the following two submission periods. The main focus of your project research must be an analysis / evaluation of the project topic area issues in the context of your chosen organisation”

I was working on my project and choose topic 8, the company that I choose falls in the automotive sector. I couldn’t complete the project in time for the Nov 15 submission, now I want to complete the project and submit it during May 16 period. But I’m confused with the above statement if OBU has limited the sectors or what? Can I continue my thesis with the current company or do I have to start over with a new company from the above sectors only.

Kindly advise. Thanks…

[trephena]

@faheem54321 -As you will be submitting for the first time in May 2016 you are subject to the new rules, so you must choose a company from one if the 3 stated categories if you want to do topic 8 or 15. Only those students who failed prior to P32 will be allowed to resubmit on their original company. If they decide not to continue with the company they previously submitted on then they too must choose from the 3 industry segments.

No such company restrictions apply to other topics so if you really want to do a RAP on an automobile company then you can select any of the remaining topics such as T18, T17 or T20 which do not require primary data. It is unfortunate for you but OBU has acted on the assumption that very few students take more than 6 months to prepare their RAP and therefore very few students will have been adversely affected.

[shuraim]

Hi trephena, Following the results of this session I am now eligible for OBU project. I have very little knowledge about how and where to begin so can you please direct me to a page where I can find step by step guide to where I should begin.
Thanks

[trephena]

@shuraim – start by reading all of section 7 of the OBU information pack (this is available on accaglobal and the oxford brookes websites) and also on our homepage http://www.opentuition.com/obu. Think about what topic you may like to do and who you will have as your mentor. You have to use a mentor so you may as well start with one as they should be able to point you in the right direction. There are now specific rules about which types of industries you are permitted to use for P32 and P33 submissions IF you choose Topic 8 or Topic 15 for your report. I can’t repeat all the details here but if you look at the topic forum ‘Topic 8 and Topic 15 – new rules’ you will be able to read about them there.

The RAP is very different from exam work so you will need to develop report writing skills and focusing on how to research, analyse and evaluate information. It is impossible here to go into much detail but once you get going we have lots of advice on our various forum topics and there are some useful articles particularly on Evaluation & Analysis and how to approach this correctly and how to address Referencing in our Open Tuition Ultimate Guide to Referencing – all on our homepage http://www.opentuition.com/obu

[shuraim]

Thanks a lot it was very helpful I’ve downloaded the information pack and going through it.

[fathima]

Hi
I have certain doubts in harvard referencing method as listed below

In text citation

1)( https://xxx.xxx.xxx.com, date) – I am not sure whether the date which should be mentioned here is the access date or the published date of the article, and if it is the published date and no date is available is it apt to mention n.d
2)Page number referencing – ( Name of the book, year of publication, p.4) In here if i have cited page number 4 and 9 in the same book is it correct to cite it in text referncing as (Name of the book, year of publication,pp.4 & 9)
3) In case of topic 8 , any two competitors would be sufficient for competitor analysis?

Please be kind enough to guide me in this regard

[trephena]

Hi Fathima

Have you looked at our Ultimate Guide to Referencing your RAP on our homepage http://www.opentuition.com/obu ? In particular take a look at the ‘Golden Rules’ as that may cover problems you have

1. Yes you may use n.d. for web articles where there is no date. Access date should be the latest date you accessed the site

2. Page numbers usually go in the text if different pages are used or just in the list if you only used one particular page (or the same pages) for all your citations e.g. pages 4-6. See rule no. 8 as I think that covers this.

3. It is better to pick one relevant comparator and do good detailed comparisons for 3 years with that than weak comparisons with several companies – unless there is some significant reason for using more than one comparator. Industry averages may be used as a bench mark as an alternative to one comparator

[fathima]

Thank you trephena!! I read the golden rules in referencing 🙂

1) Just making it clear one again regarding the incite referencing of website, my confusion is the date which accompanies it or the year, it’s clear that in the reference list we must include the date accessed;
E.g.; https://corporate.marksandspencer.com/investors/153855a7b7b24038920758283d6986fa
In order to cite this I will use M&S, 2015, my doubt is this 2015 should be the date the article is published or the date I accessed the website. As per my understanding it should be the date published and incase of no date I can n.d instead. Just wanted to re check to get a better understanding.

2) Second concern is when I write a paragraph for my RAP and I use central bank annual report for my reference. It is advised to paraphrase the work. So in that case I gather data from page 62, then page 54 and all over the book to make up a paragraph. In that case how is my referencing going to be? I have included a made up paragraph for more clarity;
The Sri Lankan economy grew at a healthy rate of 6.4% in 2012 and 7.2% in 2013 (CBSL-Annual Report, 2014, p. 01). Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL), as a head of all financial institutions, followed a stringent monetary policy stance to move forward banking sector to contribute for economic growth. (CBSL-Annual Report, 2014, p. 51). The total assets of the major financial institutions in 2012 compromised of LKR 9,035.6bn, out of which 70.6% constitutes of banking sector. CBSL-Annual Report, 2014, p. 67.-69
Is the above method of referencing apt or is there any other means I can reference? At the end of each sentence where I picked the information I have included the reference with page number after writing in my own words. But my concern is if I do it this way my word count is would be occupied with my referencing?

3) Third concern is certain information such as charts; statistics are published at the end of the books without page numbers, more like appendices or chapter named as “Statistics”. If I used those as statistic to dram my graphs how do I reference it?

4) While doing my competitor analysis for topic 8, I need to extract figures and statistics from multiple pages of the annual reports for my competitors and my organization.
In that case can I say below the graph as my referencing as Source: (Respective annual reports, 2012-2014)

5) For topic 8, listing out the type of ratios we need to use for analysis, putting up the overall research approach in a diagrammatic format, how do I reference them? However on the other hand, if I use appendix as my reference in text, how do I reference the appendix, can it be Source: (Respective annual reports, 2012-2014), Source: (ABC Co annual reports, 2012-2014) and (BCF Co annual reports, 2012-2014), my fear is will be it be wrong to stack all the references to put up the graph at the end would cause any violation…

6) For topic 8, my 3 years analysis should ideally be 2013-2015, but since my organization year ends on December, the annual report would be published with in the period April – May. In that case can I continue with 2012, 2013, and 2014 due to lack of time to update figures. If so do I have to mention it in the limitations section in part 2?

7) My organization is group, and it has few subsidiaries as the annual report gives the figure of the company alone and the group, what do you think is most apt? My concern is the principal activities and the services the organization renders listed in the annual report is for the group and I cannot find what the company alones does. What is the likely expectation of the examiner? In case I go with the company alone do I have mention it in the scope of the study in part1? I am afraid it will hinder my analysis.

8)Finally, the information pack suggests that part 1 be approx. 1000 word , part 2- 2000 and part 3 – 4500; do we have to stick to this count, can slight alterations I count take place for part 1 and 2 .
E.g.: part 1- 1300, part 2 – 1700, part 3 -4500

I am sorry my concerns are too lengthy..i actually don’t have a guide…kindly help me out!!!!Please?

[trephena]

@Fathima – no big ask here then! 🙂 here goes!

1. If the website article has no date then you use n.d. but after the link put the date you last accessed it

2. That method seems to be correct. Referencing inevitably takes up word count. Edit sections 1 & 2 is my advice

3. Reference to the book/ article in the normal way

4. Graphs and charts can be cross- referenced to the appendices but make sure it is obvious there where the info has come from in that appendix

5. Does (4) above solve this problem?

6. The rules on using latest statements are in the Info Pack. Limitations are discussed in Part2 of the RAP and where relevant in the context of a particular ratio in Part 3

7. Not sure what the exact problem is here – again cover any limitations as mentioned in (6)

8. Those are merely guidelines – part 3 in my opinion ( for what it is worth) would be at least 4,500

[yorkey]

Hi guys. Just wanna ask few questions regarding RAP..

1. Is it possible to start working on rap before taking and passing F7,F8,F9 in order to save time, lets say preparing for upper mentioned papers and RAP at the same time? But leaving the submission to the end.
2. Are we given topics either we create them by ourselves? To be honest i’ve never done any rap before and got no idea of how it looks like and how it should be done.
3. Are there any specific time limits as an allowable date of start and end throughout the year?
4.What if the mentor haven’t been found or is someone taught the scheme via internet.
5. What are the specific requirements for the mentor?
6.Are there any web sites with rap sampe available?

Thanks in advance

[trephena]

I suggest that you read the OBU information Pack available on accaglobal.com or our homepage http://www.opentuition.com/OBU

Our homepage also contains useful articles and you may find our FAQs helpful

You must have a mentor to verify your work is your own and s/he MUST be on the official OBU mentor list.

NOTE: OBU has exemplars on its website – DO NOT use material from other students or you could get into serious trouble.

[alifarooq35]

@yorkey

Dear, please find the answers to your questions below.

1. Is it possible to start working on rap before taking and passing F7,F8,F9 in order to save time, lets say preparing for upper mentioned papers and RAP at the same time? But leaving the submission to the end.

Answer: Yes It depends on you if you can manage your time and get ready your project before submission. I recommend you to select topic 8 and make sure both companies have the same accounting period/ fiscal year and Accounting period starts 1 January ending on 31 December i.e 1st Jan 2013 to to 31st Dec 2015.

2. Are we given topics either we create them by ourselves? To be honest i’ve never done any rap before and got no idea of how it looks like and how it should be done.

Answer: You will have to chose one topic amongst 20 topic and get proper guidance from Project Mentor, He/she can keep you in the right direction.

3. Are there any specific time limits as an allowable date of start and end throughout the year?

Answer: Pass the three ACCA Fundamentals papers F7, F8 and F9 and pass other
papers as required to successfully complete all nine Fundamentals level
papers at least two months prior to the start of the submission period in which
the student is seeking to submit . You must follow the deadline of submission and submit your project before one week of last date

4.What if the mentor haven’t been found or is someone taught the scheme via internet.
Answer: you can select registered mentor from anywhere in the world and kindly visit below mentioned website to get your mentor
https://www.oxfordbrookesmentoring.co.uk/mentors/view/list

5. What are the specific requirements for the mentor?
Answer: He / She must be registered and name must be appeared on the OBU Mentor list.

6.Are there any web sites with rap sampe available?
Answer: Mentor can guide you better about overall structure of the project and develop your mind how to start and where to start. Everything you will discuss with Mentor to achieve your project objectives

Hope the answer of the question.

Regards,
Ali Farooq
OBU Registered Mentor

[jawadbaig]

I have a question regarding competitor…
My Pharmaceutical company has published its consolidated Financial statements in swiss francs currency and its competitor has published in US dollars although they are both from same country,so i am having a problem doing ratio analysis and horizontal analysis..
what should i do

[trephena]

Different currencies is not a major problem – please see my reply where I dealt with this issue previously

https://opentuition.com/topic/mentor-advice-needed-for-obu-rap-topic-selection/

(currently on the 2nd page of our topic list)

[Anonymous]

Dears, I have done my last exam paper for the fundamental last month’s March and wanted to do the RAP so my question is can I submit it in closest submission, which I think is May? or I should wait till Nov this year.

My expectation to pass the F9 is high.

[trephena]

In my opinion you have left it a bit late for P31. Personally I recommend spending 3 months (part-time but with concerted effort) to do a decent RAP. The marker requirements (e.g. standard of referencing) seem to be getting tougher and a higher quality of evaluation expected. There are some out there who get a C having spent just a month on it but I suspect most students who only allocate that amount of time probably fail and few if any get more than a C grade.

[Anonymous]

Thanks Trephena, I will try next submission, on the other hand, I wanted to choose topic one out the 20 and thought to write on the budgetary system of UNHCR since i work there therefore, can this be okey for this? I mean, Can I take a not for profit business for my RAP.

[alindu]

Hi,
Forgive me if I posted this on the wrong place.
Can’t thank this forum enough for the knowledge gained so far. Special thanks to the moderators.I have tried several times to log in but failed.Hope others who had been trying like myself finally join this wonderful family

[trephena]

Your difficulties in logging in probably relate to spamming attacks the site has recently experienced. Botnets, scammers (anyone who received personal messages from strangers wanting to become ‘trusted friends’ and seeking you to contact them via outside email beware – these ‘people’ are scamming networks not the gorgeous blonde ladies they pretend to be!) and spammers have forced OT to suspend the Personal Message facility.

[blamoses]

HI,
I am doing topic 8 on a banking company but am getting difficutities in dealing with ratio analysis.what are some ratios to calculate here and ways of analysing them since banking sector is completely diferent from other sectors.

please help.

[trephena]

Is this a resubmission as banks are only permitted for students who are resubmitting in P32 & P33 whose previous attempt was based on a bank? All other students MUST choose from one of the prescribed industries e.g. airlines, pharmaceutical companies or telecommunications sectors

[Author]

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