PLEASE HELP KEEP OUR FORUMS TIDY!!!!

Yes you are right, surely we should keep it clean, and I will keep your words in mind Stop look search and then post..

Hi Trephena Hope you are well. could you please answer my following queries as i am going to submit my RAP in coming month. 1) If i use Carrolls model for T20 do i need to have a balance between the words between each domains of the pyramid?eg.if i use 800 words for economic responsibility and 400 words for legal responsibility.will it be a problem? 2) Can i use the page numbers in reference list when ever i need to be specific rather than near to in text citation ? Thank you.

dewan -we have a T20 topic forum so I'll repost you query and this answer there in a couple of days but many thanks for NOT opening a new forum topic :-) 1) you need to cover the 4 dimensions adequately but there should be no requirement to use a set number of words for it 2) if you only use the document once then you may put page numbers in the ref list instead of the text, however if the document is referred to several times then the page numbers have to go in the text as you should only show the same document once and only once in the ref list.

Thanks for your reply.so basically if i have used Annual reports of a particular year several times than i would only need to reference it only once.am i right or am i missing something Trephena.And sorry for not mentioning my queries in T20 forum again.

And i am doing my reference list following serial numbers not in an Alphabatical way.so should not i supposed to be reference a document every time i use it in the RAP.

As this is not Harvard you will need to show the numbers in the text and then you may list the documents against these numbers providing the same amount of information as required by Harvard

I did not get You Trephena.For Neumeric referencing do i need to show the give numbers like 1,2 by intext citation or only in the reference list i need to show numbers.Thank you.

Hi, I want to appreciate your help for students and pray that God will continue to empower you with divine wisdom. Please I am writing on Topic 15 for my RAP: Analysis of Working Capital and impact on Funding Strategies and I intend to submit in the November 2016 period. I need nothing less than B Grade and therefore need your advice and guidance on how to go about my project. I am also uncertain about the appropriate model to be used. My company is a pharmaceutical company with global presence. I have got the company's financial reports for past 3 years. Will I still need to use secondary data? I need your guidance please.

Sorry only just seen your query. Unless you work for the company or have close connections with it you will need to use secondary data. This can be a tough topic. If done well you can get a decent grade but you will need to look at funding strategies in detail to help you achieve that. In that respect try researching the R & D strategies and how they are funded. Pay particular attention to gearing, long term loans and share issues to raise capital. Although working capital obviously precludes long term loans, R&D is essential for long-term survival and would never realistically be be planned to just be funded out of current assets. So the first part of your report is working capital and funding day to day operations, the second is about how the company financially plans for the medium to long-term. We have a Topic 15 forum so take a look there about models. You probably could do Porter's 5 Forces if you want if nothing else appeals If you want a softer option with a better chance of getting a B then read our T17 forum and go for Corporate Governance

Many thanks for the advice.

@ Olaniyi . I am also submitting in November 2016. Hope you have a good mentor to assist you and will give you good attention ( I can recommend my mentor) . Or you go for Topic 17 as Trephena offered which is an easier topic. Cheers

Hi i live in Pakistan please help me that can i choose GSK Pakistan and Abbot Pakistan for OBU RAP..is that any issue for choosing the local company?

hi Trephena first of all do apologise for opening a new thread, as after i already did i read all your instructions about this forum so do accept my apology in this regard as im a newcomer. :) my question. hi just a few questions. 1.where should i send my english language proficiency certificate as a proof? i have an IELTS so am i supposed to email to oxford brooks or ACCA? 2. i have passed 11 acca papers so do i actually need to show proficiency certificate or something? 3.what is the last date to show english language proof for period 34? 4.i have passed f4 on the december 2014 session so would that be ok as a proof. as im confused if its FROM december 2014 session it wont be valid or thats the LAST session. sorry if im asking these questions again if you have already answered this any where before. best regards

Hi @trephena, I'm trying to look for the Aerospace Thread please. Can you please direct me to the Page # for this .I am doing Airbus versus Boeing. Thanks

Hi OT and @trephena, @Ehsan, Please can someone direct me to the discussion for "AEROSPACE". I am doing Airbus so wanted to follow the right Thread/Link/page. Please can someone tell me where to find the Collective discussion for Airbus Versus Boeing. Thanks

Hi Unlike with airlines, unfortunately we did not feel that we had the expertise to have one thread dedicated solely to the Aerospace industry so we just keep the one forum Topic 8 Period 35 ( which I should edit to read Period 35 onwards to make it clearer) I don't know how much collective discussion there was however this is a reasonable choice of comparator and you are advised to try to find articles in the business press that will help fill you in on a lot of the background to the operating environments of the two companies (Flight Magazine and Jane's Defence Weekly used to be the important ones for example but there will be others if you search) Also the leading airshows they will exhibit at would be Paris and Farnborough (UK) - these are very important trade shows aimed at promoting a lot of their defence sales to military customers more than customers from commercial airlines.

Hi trephena, Thank you for the guidance. Based on the discussion at OT, I figured out that I must not do basic annual comparison of the profit and loss but instead must find a trend that I can analyse. The challenge is that this is a very vast industry, and sometimes I feel lost figuring how which one to Focus on.So many moving pieces in this industry. Like commercial, defense, space and technology; and all of which cannot be looked into. I have chosen to analyse a trend that may exist in the past 3 years and probably going to overlook specific Aircrafts programmes that are too detailed to study? correct. Looking into larger topics, I narrowed down indicators like Customer Financial , Free cash flows liquidity ratios; is that a better approach ? Its confusing to determine which is the best element to study and how much to study it , given the word limit. I will begin following the Period 35 onwards thread, but please if you could me streamline my study a bit more. Thanks so much trephena.

Sorry but I think you have misunderstood my advice a little bit. You will need to look at the trends in gross and net operating profit and make comparisons, looking also at liquidity and gearing as well as some investor ratios. However the way to approach it all is to consider the trends over the 3 years (and not doing a year by year comparison). Read through the directors' and CEO Reports for the last few years and see what strategic decisions they have made based on the business environmental decisions. (See my article on Evaluation on our homepage www.opentuition.com/obu ) Begin the Findings section with the application of models and then you might recognise how the factors from these have guided the management strategies. With aerospace you could also look to do some segmental analysis -the different market shares for civil aircraft, military aircraft etc. It is difficult with 7,500 words but that means with things like the Quick ratio and current ratio you only do one, not both, and you don't waste words going on and on about different data sources. The marker wants you to demonstrate that you have a grasp of the industry sector and are presenting meaningful comments that analyse the company's results and main focus over the last 3 years - and not some routine ratios that just state results in isolation to any thing else.

@trephena Can you please tell me if i can use LAST UPDATED DATE of the article instead of published date,? Some websites do only have 'LAST UPDATED DATE'. Thanks.

This is not a problem and you may use the last updated date for articles (it is like using the latest edition of a book). The important thing for online articles is to reference them correctly both in the text and in the list (as explained in the article on referencing your RAP on our homepage). Also include the link /URL in the list so that the article can be found.

Dear Sir, I am from India and finding difficulty to find Mentor. Secondly, I have gone through Information Pack for RAP. I have few questions. For May 2018 submission 1) Which 3 Years should we use latest financial statements (2017,16,15 Or 2016,15,14) 2) I am thinking of taking up Aerospace as the sector-specific, so is it possible to take the RAP on companies such as Airbus, Boeing? Which other companies can I consider? Looking forward to hear from you soon. Kindly guide me in this cases

@rajeevgiri - choosing a mentor can be a difficult but critical choice for success. On Wednesday 21 March the P35 results are released and students often post both their results and testimonials for the mentors on our Results forum thread so you might like to wait until then. We try to check out claims made by mentors (as some are exaggerated and untrue) but we cannot vouch for all of the posts. However we do have a permanent thread for our recommended mentors- The Learning Luminarium and absolute mentoring as these are exceptional mentors and we know that their results have been verified. Additionally we believe the following may offer a good standard of mentorship and integrity Bhavani Shanmugabalan - operating as OBU Mentorship, Hammad Ahmed Qureshi of the virtual mentoring network and Anna Lishman. (You should be aware that OBU is monitoring mentors who are not operating within the student regulations and ethical requirements and their students could be subjected to disciplinary proceedings if their submission has been tainted by these - so be wary of anyone offering to supply you with templates and detailed 'samples') 1. choose your main company, take their latest financial statements and work backwards so that you have 3 consecutive sets. Technically you can take as the latest financial statements the last one published before 1 February 2018 (although you may choose a more recent set e.g. published after that date if you wish, though this is not mandatory) 2. Many students have used Boeing and Airbus as comparators or Bombardier and Embraer (do NOT translate currencies)

Good evening, My plan is to choose project subject 15: an analysis and evaluation of the management of an organisation's working capital over a three year period and its impact on the organisation's funding strategies. I was thinking to use 4533: Healthcare providers. I am trying to find a suitable company through the internet... I am leaving in Ireland so I thought to choose some local hospitals such as St Vincents or Mater Hospital but their statements are not published.... Might be my approach is wrong? I am hitting the wall and now I am very worried.... If you could please kindly advise how to find a suitable company with the necessary information available I would be very grateful and probably I would be able to sleep better.... Thanking you in advance. Kind regards, Katalin

i have fresh n nothing to know about the OBU RAP. Can anyone advise me about - how to start, for example, what information should be know in first? - how to choice a topics? and where can i find the topic lists? - where to find a eligible mentor, as i need a better grade for better class. i am highly appreciate for your reply.

You need to download the latest Information Pack from ACCA Global -this will provide both some information to get you started and give you the list of topics. To find a mentor you can either get a list from Oxford Brookes (if you are unable to log into the mentoring website), or if you want a better grade try one of the Open Tuition recommended mentors. No one can guarantee a pass or a higher grade but we are sure that statistically using one of the recommended mentors offers you your best chance as they have proven track records.

appreciate to your advice ^^

“For all topics other than 8 and 15, please also note the requirement to base your project on recent organisational activity or processes rather than historical events. (For this purpose ‘historical’ refers to activity that took place more than the three full calendar years preceding the start of the current submission period.) For example if you were proposing to submit a project in May 2020 for topic 19 the merger or acquisition would have to have taken place AFTER 1 JANUARY 2017” this is written on information pack of OBU, my question is if a scandal ocurred in 2014 can i use this for May 2020 submission? I need guidence on this, please help me.

Please note that the specific titles for Topic 17 and 20 include the following respectively: "Select an organisation that has been identified as having weak governance structures OR having weak social responsibility practices WITHIN the last 5 years". However with your query "if a scandal occurred in 2014 can i use this for May 2020 submission?" -you are asking if you can use this. The answer is no - as the title indicates - you must choose a company that exhibited the week practices at most from 2015 onwards (i.e. within the last 5 years). It is fine if the practices started in 2014 and have continued though throughout other subsequent years. Regarding time limits - for all other topics the data used or occurrance of the event must be within a 3 year period (with specific rules showing how this applies to Topic 8 & 15 regarding annual reports).