in
BSc(Hons) in Applied Accounting awarded by Oxford Brookes University. –by
Winnie.lb.Toh
Why choose Oxford Brookes University Degree?
Oxford Brookes University was rated top new University for the eighth consecutive year by The Times Good University Guide in
2003. According to ACCA Student accountant Jan 2002 issue, over 52,000 students,57% of those eligible for the degree are currently registered on the OBU Research & Analysis Project. More than 500 students worldwide have successfully completed the degree since August 2000- 82 with first class honours according to an article in Student Accountant Nov/Dec 2002. Holding the Oxford Brookes
University BSC(Hons) would mean that
you are someone who is competent in research, analysis, communication and IT
skill. It is a valuable degree for
someone who does not possess a degree in Accounting.
About myself.
I am a publisher and a freelance English teacher under Ernesco Language Centre. Besides, I am a Course Director of my Spoken English workshops. Previously, I worked as an English lecturer at ITP college.I am also an independent trainer for professionals in spoken English for specific field. E.g. telephone conversations, media interviews,serving clients, etc. I am also a director of Caffe 1920, The Curve.
I have been in the U.K. for 8 years and
during each vacation I came back to Malaysia to obtain summer job experience.
My previous job experience included manufacturing industry, retail chain
industry, audit firms, tax technical and research assistant, interior design
industry etc. My most recent work experiences were at the supervisory level. My
latest development includes running Pre Career Training courses,training
students in presentation skill, job interviews, writing
company’s minutes, introduction to work environment and further education and communication skill. I am also an author cum publisher.Check out for my book "Mastering Spoken English & Communication Skills". www.angelfire.com/co4/spokenenglish.com
(BA(Hons),ACCA affiliate, TESL cert.)
How will this programme work for you?
I will be acting as your mentor throughout this project. Your work would be reported to a qualified accountant from time to time. Upon the completion of the project, your work will be signed by the qualified accountant before sending to Oxford Brookes University.
My role is equally important as the qualified mentor as it is supervised by the qualified accountant who will ensure that the students attend 3 meetings with me and necessary guidelines are given to them.
-experienced mentor
Full details of the project Study
guide, Transitional eligibility, R+A Project, submission form and submission
period could be accessed at http://www.accaglobal.com/
.
·
Produce a related Research and Analysis Report consists
of 5000 words
·
Reflect on your meeting with your mentor and write a
key skills statement (up to 1500 words)
·
Participate in three meetings with your mentor, which will
involve you in writing a progress update and delivering an oral presentation
1st
meeting- PLANNING(1st week after the payment has been made)
Decide
on what topic are you going to write about in your report
Plan on how to produce the 5000 dissertation
Methods on your approach
Problems solving session/ discussion on the
relevance of material used
Students
normally face problems on fumbling about and do not know where to start with. After
this meeting, you should be having a clear direction on how do go about. Once
you know your direction and putting everything down on pen and paper, you are
on your way there.
2nd
meeting- PROGRESS UPDATE(3 weeks after the 1st meeting)
Confront
with any difficulties you face
Discussion
on how to solve the problems
What
is the next step
schedule
for the next meeting
At
this level of progress, I am expecting to see the work printed out as a
draft to be used as a framework for the discussion. You must be able to
demonstrate your skill in IT eg. Word processor / Spreadsheet. Amendment of the
work might need to be made after this meeting.
The progress would be reported to a qualified mentor to whom you are
assigned.
3rd
meeting – REVIEW (3 weeks after the 2nd meeting)
Presentation on report
Question and
Answer session
The
presentation will last for 15 minutes.
You should use appropriate presentation skill in conjunction with your
talk. ACCA allows the arrangement of a peer group presentation session where
you will be delivering your presentation to other students and receive feedback
or critical review. Note that the
presentation must be individual presentation and not a group presentation(group
work).
My plan for the duration of your
coursework: you should be able to complete
the programme within 2 months from the date you finish your exams until the
date when the results are published. If, for any reason you are unable to
complete the Research work due to time constraint, you can always wait for the
next submission date.
Guideline:
Where to find the Material?
ACCA recommended the best approved
text Success in your Research and Analysis Project. London, BPP. The whole list of other recommended
reading would be provided to you should you need my assistant. You can also
check the website for suitable information related to your research work. I can provide you materials on
globalisation, E-business , IT system
etc. as a guideline. As ACCA emphasizes there should not be plagiarism in the
work produced, students are advised to produce their own work in the research.
Recommended Topics for your Report
1.An analysis of the efficiency
and/or effectiveness of a management accounting technique in an organizational
setting
2.An analysis of how the
application of technology can contribute to an organisation’s efficiency and/or
effectiveness
3.An examination of the impact
of an aspect of existing or impending legislation on an organization
4.An analysis of the impact of
e-business on an industry or organization of your choice
5.The
identification of the effects of globalisation on an industry of your choice
6.The identification of key factors
or indicators in the motivation of employees in an organization of your choice
7.An analysis of the tax and
profit implications of different company entities, changes in status or
acquisitions or disposals of company assets
8. An analysis
of the financial situation of your choice of organization
9.An examination of how to
plan, develop and implement an appropriate information system in an
organization
10.An analysis of how
management accounting techniques are used to support decision-making in organizations
11.An analysis of the costs and
benefits of the internal audit/internal review activities within an
organization of your choice
12.An analysis of the effect of
any IAS on the accounts of any organization in terms of profitability or
financial stability or balance sheet value
13.An analysis of future personnel requirements under conditions
of change (including employee development)
14.An investigation of recent
investment decisions by an organization of your choice and how the use of
different methods of risk and uncertainty analysis might affect such decisions.
15.An analysis of
the role of working capital on the profitability and/or efficiency of an
organization of your choice
16.An analysis of the effect of
different sources of capital investment decisions possibly including capital
rationing and its effect.
When to submit your work
The Research and Analysis Project
should not be submitted until students have received their examination results
and can prove that they have successfully passed all the papers required for
the award of the degree. The assessment is twice a year ie. June and Dec.
My role
As ACCA emphasizes that the work
submitted should be the original work of the student, I am not here to spoon
feed you on how to do the entire project but rather giving you a clear cut idea
of what I think about your project and necessary guideline if you are lost.
Imagine that the standard plan by ACCA for meeting the mentor is only 3
meetings. However, my extra guideline is provided through the email should you
need a second opinion on your project.
Why choose this programme?
It would be monitored by 2 people,
myself and an assigned qualified accountant. The programme is flexible and the ideas provided by me are exclusive. You don't want to share the same ideas provided by the college lecturers with the whole bunch of students. My ex-mentees passed their projects with me, so could you! If you agree with a peer group review , your
work would be under close scrutiny hence the end product would be a consummate
masterpiece.
Should you have a group of at
least 5 people who are interested in this programme, I could arrange a small
pre-coursework seminar on how to write a perfect thesis, presentation
skill, plan for the 3 meetings.
Cost of the
Programme
A
normal college would charge RM2000-RM3000 for providing you a mentor who can
only afford to spend
a few hours for each student. For
the price of RM1000, you will get:
i) a
flexible planning for your coursework to suit your working schedule
ii)Advice on suitability of materials
iii)the
flexibility to change the topic provided that you can finish the work on time
for the next meeting. If you are
following
the mentor programme from a college, you might not be allowed to change the
topic once you decide on
a
topic.
iii)Arrangement
of 3 meetings to check your work
iv)email/fax
correspondence with me
v) last minute aid -Should you
have any difficulties in typing out your work in the last minute, the last resort
is to
come forward to me as a fast and
accurate typist to assist you to type the rest of your work(provided that the
wording from the materials is
changed by you to your own style)
*Special deal for group in 5. Total price charged: RM4000. Form an esprit
de corps group and extra workshops
could be held whenever needed. *
the price above excludes 50 pounds
assessment fees payable to OBU, binding fees, postage fees and other running
costs. Extra RM 80 p.w. would be
charged for rental of laptop and printer distributed to your door.
The provision of a qualified
accountant to double check and sign your work would cost you RM300.
How the programme works
after the payment is made
You will be receiving a
receipt of the fees received, a free cassette 'Fast track towards obtaining OBU BSc degree',
a diskette/CD and a file of the plan you want
to include in your schedule after the discussion.
Most of the communication is done through the email/
phone apart from the 3 meetings where arrangement has
to be made to meet at a suitable venue. The work would be
signed and
sent
off to Oxford Brookes University for assessment.
Group Work
You can work as a group throughout
the programme but are advised to choose different individual topic because the
chance of working as a group on the same topic would create syndication and
this is against the rules of ACCA.
For further information on this
programme, please email winnie.lb.toh@hotmail.com.
