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Say i am doing a 3 yr analysis for a company for my submission and the annual year for the company is August 2014;August each year.
Would it then mean that obu expect me to use the 3rd quarter analysis for my report and not the full year? or should i just use three year analysis and ignore the 9 months results in my report?
Another example :Annual report is for year ended dec 2012,2013 and of course 2014 is not finished and i plan to submit my rap in may (or november i dont get ready by midnight today 😀 ).what is the best approach???
thanks
A
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Hello,
The organisation I chose has a diifferent YE to its major competitors( 31 December and 30 June), can i use these organisations for my financial analysis since i can’t access the industry average figures?Hi Unity
Yes you can use two organisations with different year ends. Just state that fact in the limitation part of the RR (Part 2).
Also try and use industry averages as that will give your report more to talk about and it will make more substantial.
Anna
dear anna and trephena,
i took a company which year end 31 December 2013,but the competitor year end is 31 June.
and for my competitor company i also have the quarterly financial statement for 2013.
the main thing is i can not access to the 2010 and 2011 annual report.
i only have 2012-2013 annual report but in 2012-2013 annual report they have all the financial information that i need for the previous 2 years.
is this acceptable to do financial analysis with this information?
thanksThe normal rule is analysis should cover a 3 year period so if you can do that with the information you have then that is fine. If you can’t do the 3 year analysis I would expect a response from the marker to be that you should have chosen a company / comparator for whom 3 years worth of accounts are available and therefore if you have not complied with ‘the rules’ about analysing a 3 year periodl that was a ‘problem’ of your own making. Don’t forget though analysis is not just calculating a ratio and making obvious statements about the movements in the trends – you need to research the factors that have driven increases in profits or strategies that have influenced the performance for example otherwise you will fail on Evaluation. This approach will also help you pass the requirements on demonstrating adequate use of resources ( Information gathering) as you will need to use sources other than the annual reports to do an acceptable analysis.
No OBU would not expect this. Use 2013 for your main company . You could use the latest share prices for both companies as this will be available from the relevant stock exchange website. Good luck 🙂
trephena
“No OBU would not expect this. Use 2013 for your main company . You could use the latest share prices for both companies as this will be available from the relevant stock exchange website. Good luck :-)”What does it mean? Sorry, I can’t understand when it’s necessary or possible to use the latest share prices for both companies? As far as I understood we calculate on the basis of the financial statements or stock exchange website for the previous periods. Thanks in advance for the answer!
@Kukla – yes you use the latest financial statements – the rule is if the financial statements are in the public domain 90 days before the submission period starts then you must you them for both Topic 8 or Topic 15. Otherwise it is an instant failure normally on both Application of accounting models and evaluation and analysis (essentially because you haven’t applied the latest figures and the evaluation is out-of-date)
What I meant by using the current share price is that this available all of the time for listed companies on the relevant stock exchange. So if you WANTED to use a graph to show the trend in share prices as part of your analysis you can extend it to include the very latest share price. Obviously for the EPS you would need to calculate this on the earnings for the year from the annual report.
It very much depends how proactive a student wants to be in their work. The more the student improves the quality of the information they present and their evaluation, the more likely they are to get a better grade. Although OBU does not expect students to use financial information from the latest quarter for the whole analysis period (as this would involve making adjustments), if a student did include some information relating to the current financial period (particularly if something significant had happened since the year end) and had used it correctly, it is more than likely to result in a higher grade if everything else is good as in accordance with the assessment criteria, they would be demonstrating strength in their critical review and a rigorous approach to their evaluation 🙂
For topic 8, two types of analysis can be done:
1. Three years trend analysis of main company and three years cross sectional analysis with competitor. (For this you need to calculate four years ratios and figures because you will compare for example 2010 vs 2011, 2011 vs 2012, 2012 vs 2013 and 2013 vs 2014.
2. Three years trend analysis of main company and current year (For example just 2014 comparison of two competitors with main company) So:
1 year of main company + 1 year of first competitor + 1 year of second competitor = 3 Years.
Thank You.
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I also have a quick question on this…both companies I am doing for now have the latest financial statements available on the Internet…how ever the 2012 results for the company I am doing the rap on having been restated due to changes in accounting policies. Revenue had a positive year from the previous year now the restatement shows a negative change….do I analyze based on the restated one and mention the changes or use the old one how ever that won’t be the figures in the current statements.
The other issue.. …the competitor has a different year end…..march and December….meaning the years are as follows…..main company…2011,2012,2013 dec, comparator 2012, 2013 and 2014 mar. Is this a problem? For the 2013 period ….1jan to dec 13 , 1 march 13 and 30 march 14.
@maggs
Please use the restated figures as they are the corrected and updated ones. You can tell the reason for changes in figures in information gathering part if you have already submitted project on old figures.
For the other issue you need to make comparable figures by adding or deducting respective quarterly accounts figures of competitor. So, you will alter competitor’s figures not main company. If competitor’s figures are not alterable then you will alter main company’s figures but just for cross sectional analysis not inter temporal comparison. So, assuming you will alter competitor’s years. So all year will 1 Jan to 31 Dec.
Thanks..
@maggs
You must use latest available information (restated figures) as it is the requirement of Topic 8 to use most recent financial information.
If both companies have different year end then you should keep important concept “Compare Apple with Apple” and make adjustments in figures of both companies.
Make sure you should mention this aspect in limitation of information gathering section (part 2) that you could not find comparable information and in this section you need to mention that how actually you overcome this issue.
Hope I clarify you… 😀
Hi
I am doing Topic 8 for my RAP project. The company I am analysing has a year end date of 2nd February 2014 and the comparator company I am using to benchmark has a year end date of 15 March 2014, please could you explain whether this is acceptable or do I have to take comparators results at 2nd February which seems a bit complicated.
Regards@Fatema….
You can use this but dont forget to mention this aspect in ” Limitation faced during gathering of information for RAP” section of the report.
Thanks.
@fatima 6 weeks apart? – absolutely no problem! 😀
Hi
Thank you to all the forum mentors who have answered my question, it is really helpful.
There is one more question I would like clarified.
I am worried about plagiarism, and as I research my project it seems that most of the report will be referenced, except of course my financial and business analysis, although even the business analysis may partly be referenced from quotes off the internet.
For part 2 of the project where I would explain business models and financial ratios it seems impossible to do this in my own words.
Is this acceptable, because it seems impossible to write anything in my own words when all the information and data is available on the internet.Kind Regards
Fatema@Fatema About 6,000 RAPs are submitted to OBU each year. Inevitably some students will have chosen the same topic and company as another student (either for the same Period or a previous period) so there will always be some similarities in those circumstances. However work would still show more differences than things that are more or less identical (especially in the analysis section) unless there has been copying and collusion.
So do not worry unnecessarily. Provided you reference well and acknowledge your sources you will avoid one of the difficulties. Another thing to be aware of is making too many direct citations from books, journals and articles (even if they are in quotation marks and referenced) as these do not demonstrate that you have really understood what you are writing. Instead try to paraphrase and summarise the key points.
If you follow these rules it is unlikely that the electronic system will return a high score for plagiarism (however the algorithms are clever enough to detect passages where students think that by changing a few things here and there it will not identify and match it to someone else’s work). Students who have done all of their work themselves and have not used anyone else’s RAP or SLS have nothing to fear. The ACO is not out to penalise innocent students but to catch those who have no integrity and do not deserve the degree.
Good luck and chill @Fatema! 😉
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hi everyone
I have a similar question related to the financial year ends.
I am doing a RAP on topic 8, comparing the results of 3 years for Co A(main) to 3 years results of Co B (competitor).
The year ends for both are:
Co A: March 2014
Co B: June 2014The problem I have is that Co A’s (main) financials have already been published. However, for Co B the financials are yet to be published. The only recent results I have for Co B are the un-audited quarterly results until March 2014, which I believe cannot be used.
The guidance per the information pack (section 7d(iv) page 39) requires to use the latest year end financials as long as they are published 90 days before the starting of the submission period.
Considering the above guideline, I believe it would be essential to use the March 2014 FS for Co. A. However, what should I use as a benchmark to compare them to as the financials for Co B are not expected before mid September.
Regards
Huzaifa@ Huzaifa…
Normally financial result for June period publicly available in 3 months (i.e. 30 September). Better to consult with management of concerned company for expected date of publication of year end result. Based on their feedback you can plan it accordingly.
As per Information Pack section 7 d (iv) pg. 39, you must comply 90 days rule.
PS: Remember if June result publicly available before submission date (i.e. 19 Nov 2014) then you must use it in your RAP. If you are working on Honda Atlas Car (Co A) and Indus Motors (Co B) then Indus Motors results will available in mid September
@huzaifa.abdurrauf Yes you are right you will need to used the latest 2014 accounts for your main company. It is often the case that the comparator accounts are not for the same period. Bearing in mind that your main focus is on Company A you have various options for Company B. These include (a) using the June 2013 financial statements but recognising that there is going to be a timing difference of 9 months (which can make comparisons less obvious and meaningful and acknowledging this in the limitations section and possibly mentioning it a couple of times as appropriate in the analysis – just to remind the marker!); (b) you could make adjustments to Co B’s income statement to bring it in line with Co A (last quarter of 2013 results Apr to June 2013 + cumulative to the 3rd quarter of 2014 effectively Jul 2013 to March 2014) or (c) wait until Sep and use the latest financials for the year end June 2014. I would be inclined to go with (c)(unless you have a problem finding time in Oct to complete your RAP) as it is the simplest and there would only be the 3 month time lag between the companies. (It is not a problem using unaudited results for the comparator – but NOT the main company – if you state this in the limitations). Otherwise I think (b) is a better option than (a) because of the long time lag with (a)
Bear in mind much of your analysis will be focusing on Co A so you could be getting on with your SWOT / PESTLE/ Porter’s and discussing the main trends in its ratios and explaining the factors and strategies that have influenced and impacted on its results. In some respects that could then help you see what you need to concentrate on when you do have Co B figures. Also there may be some relevant press releases when Co B’s results are announced. If listed companies, the share price information for both is available on the stock exchange so you can do trends in these for both companies covering exactly the same period and dates. So really I don’t think in theory you would be held up and it would compromise your work if you waited until Sept / Oct for B’s statements to complete your analysis but the decision in the end is yours
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@Ahmad… Thanks for your prompt response.
@ Trephena…Thanks for your detailed response.
I think I will wait till Septemeber until the FS are issued for Co B. Meanwhile I will do the other areas and aim to finalise my RAP by October hopefully.
Hi Everyone
Hope you can help me.
I am starting my rap( topic 8) , how can I know when this will be ready to be submitted?
For example, I am starting now to work on this research and I would not know when I will be bale to finish this, How can i decide the financial year of the company if I dont know when i finish the reasearch?>
also what are the date for submission?Many thanks
Barbara@barbara2012 You should consult the latest Information Pack for submission dates or see the submission information on our home page via the following links:
https://opentuition.com/obu/rap-submission-assessment-criteria/
https://www.accaglobal.com/content/dam/ACCA_Global/Students/bsc/IP2015-16.pdf
In general terms if submitting Topic 8 or 15 you will need to prepare your work using the latest financial statements but if it is not submitted in Period 29 then you will need to ensure that those statements are still the latest ones in the public domain at the time of submission, and if not, then you will need to update your work for the period when you do submit.
We cannot answer individual question as to whether you have done the evaluation and RAP / SLS etc adequately as this and some of the other questions you are asking are those that your mentor who reads your work should be answering for you. (You are supposed to have 3 meetings with your mentor at various stages of the production of your RAP. A mentor is required to verify that you have done the work and you must do your Presentation to them at the end – see the Information pack section relating to the Role of the Mentor).
On these forums we address and focus on specific technical problems that some mentors cannot answer or give insight into how the assessment criteria are applied and are able to give many helpful hints to assist students regarding aspects of and approaches to particular topics.
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