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Overview of all 20 topics for RAP of OBU

maq — Thu, 26 Dec 2019 10:27:17 +0000

Overview of all 20 topics for ACCA students for Research and Analysis Project (RAP) of Oxford Brookes University (OBU)

ACCA eligible students (click here to check eligibility criteria for availing BSc. Hons in Applied Accounting Degree based on ACCA) who wishes to submit a Research and Analysis Project (RAP) to the Oxford Brookes University (OBU) is required to select one of the twenty proposed topics and base the RAP only one topic without changing title of the topic.

Click here for detailed guidance for each topic.

Students should choose topic keeping in consideration of their interest for respective area. Broad categories of all twenty topics are as follows;

Financial Report (topic 3, 4,5,7,8,12)

3. An assessment of the potential impact of an aspect of impending legislation on the operations and financial position of an organisation.

4. Analyse and evaluate the business and financial performance of an organisation which has performed exceptionally poorly over a three-year period with a critical analysis of the reasons for its difficulties.

5. Analyse and evaluate the business and financial performance of an organisation which has performed exceptionally well over a three-year period with a critical analysis of the reasons for its success.

7. A critical evaluation of the restructuring of an organisation’s operational activities and the effect on the organisation’s financial performance.

8. Analyse and evaluate the business and financial performance over a three year period of an organisation operating in a sector that has faced strategic and operational challenges with an emphasis on how management have addressed these challenges.

12. An investigation into the possible effects of a proposed accounting standard on the financial statements and business activities of an organisation.

Data Analystics (topic 15)

15. Analyse and evaluate the business and financial performance over a three year period of an organisation operating in a sector that has faced strategic and operational challenges with an emphasis on how management have addressed these challenges.

Information System (topic 2,9)

2. An evaluation of how the introduction of a new technology can assist an organisation in achieving its business objectives.

9. A critical evaluation of the planning and implementation of an information system in an organisation.

Human Resource (HR) (topic 6,13)

6. A critical review of key factors or indicators in the motivation of employees in an organisation.

13. An evaluation of the contribution made by human resource activities to the attainment of business and financial objectives.

Management Accounting (topic 1, 10)

1. An analysis and evaluation of an organisation’s budgetary control system and its links with performance management and decision making.

10. A review of the effectiveness of the use of costing techniques within an organisation.

Financial Management (topic 14.15,16,19)

14. An appraisal of the business and financial objectives of a strategic investment decision made by an organisation and its impact on key stakeholders.

16. A critical evaluation of the financial and operational risk management within an organisation.

19. An analysis and evaluation of the financial and operational consequences of a merger between two organisations or of the acquisition of one organisation by another.

Marketing (topic 18)

18. A review of the marketing strategy of an organisation and its effectiveness.

Audit (topic 11)

11. An investigation into the financial and operational costs and benefits of the internal audit / internal review activities within an organisation.

Corporate Governance and Law (topic 3, 17,20)

3. An assessment of the potential impact of an aspect of impending legislation on the operations and financial position of an organisation.

17. Select an organisation that has been identified as having weak corporate governance structures within the past 5 years. Critically evaluate their corporate governance practices including an assessment of the origins of the corporate governance issue(s) and the organisation’s response.

20. Select an organisation that has been identified as having weak social responsibility practices within the past 5 years. Critically evaluate their social responsibility practices, including an assessment of the origins of the problem(s) and the organisation’s response and the impact of this on the organisation’s key stakeholders.

If the student selects topic 4,5 or 8, they need to be certain that they use the latest 3 years financial statements available at the start of the submission period (for a first time submission or a re-submission of a RAP on a new topic).

In the case of re-submission, it is not required to use the latest financial statement , only in the case of re-submission within the next four submission periods starting from the original submission date. This applies only in the chance of re-submission of the same topic and company. If the student has selected to change the topic and company, then the latest financial statements need to be used.

For all the other topics , the student needs to base the work on the most recent activities instead of some historical events. (For this purpose, the term “historical” refers to activities that occurred full three calendar years before the start of the current submission period.)

For ensuring the success in RAP, there are two critical aspects:

The RAP needs to be aimed at a single company.
The analysis needs to be a business analysis instead of just a financial analysis.

Click here for detail about complete guidance of Research and Analysis Project

Important Links

Click here to access Registration Form.

The post Overview of all 20 topics for RAP of OBU appeared first on "VM" Virtual Mentoring.

Suggested structure of Research Report

maq — Thu, 22 Aug 2019 14:45:34 +0000

Suggested structure of Research Report for Research and Analysis Project (RAP)

The RAP is the last component necessary for completion of the BSc degree and it consist of two parts: the Research Report (7,500 words) and the Skills and Learning Statement (SLS) (2,000 words). The OBU recommends that the student follow the proposed structure and approximate word distribution for the Research Report. This allows the student to show all of the required technical, professional and graduate skills in a sufficient manner.

The work count includes everything from the title page to the end of the conclusion. Important note: all the words included in the tables, graphs, and pictures in the body of text of the report also fall in the overall word count. The appendices, including the financial statements used, and list of references are not a part of the word count. The Title Page needs to include the student’s ACCA number.

If the Research Report has no more than 7,000 words, it will most likely fail.

The suggested structure for the Research Report is the following:

Title Page

Cover page should at least contain title of the topic e.g. topic 8 “An evaluation of the business and financial performance of ABC (company name) between 01 July 2016 to 30 June 2019″, ACCA registration number, word count, title of the report i.e. Research Report” and it is also better to mention somewhere in cover pg. name of Oxford Brookes University.

Students can use in built cover page options of Ms. word. short cut key is “Alt+N+V”. Students can also take some relevant picture related to your topic from internet but it should relevant to either their selected topic or company.

Important Note: As per OBU requirements (mentioned in Information Pack of OBU as well), student cannot provide his / her name, project mentor name or any other identification in entire project except providing ACCA Reg. number. Kindly adhere this important requirement.

List of abbreviations: Although providing abbreviation at the start of the report is not mandatory but it is good practice for presentation of the report. To get good grades in your RAP, we always suggest our students to provide list of abbreviations at the start of Research Report.

Contents Page / Table of Content

Structure – PART 1 – Project objectives and overall research approach – approx. 1,000 words: The first part of the Research Report ‘sets the scene’. It should include the following (1) Reasons for selecting the project topic and the selection of the particular company that has been the subject of the research work; (2) The aims of the research work, the project goals and objectives, and proposed research questions; (3) Explanation of the overall research approach. This needs to provide an understanding in the overall framework that the student has developed for meeting the project goals and objectives and providing the answers to the research questions.

Structure – PART 2 – Information gathering and accounting / business techniques – approx. 2,000 words: The second part of the Research Report needs to provide more details about (I) the gathered information and (II) the accounting and business techniques the student has chosen to apply to this information. It should include the following (1) Sources of information used for the collection of the important information; (2) Description of the used methods for gathering information, online access included; (3) Discussion on the limitations encountered during the gathering of information; (4) Identifying any potential ethical issues that have arisen during the gathering of information and their resolution; (5) Explanation of the accounting and business techniques that were used, including a discussion of their limitations.

Structure – PART 3 – Results, analysis, conclusions and recommendations – approx. 4,500 words: The third part of the Research Report needs to provide a detailed account of what the student has found from the application of your chosen accounting and business techniques to the gathered information. It should include: (1) Description of the obtained results and any possible limitations; (2) A presentation of the obtained results in an appropriate manner: tables, graphs, pie charts, bar charts; (3) Critical analysis and evaluation of the results that include an explanation of the significant findings; (4) The student’s conclusions about the findings from the research and how well have the project objectives been met and research questions appropriately answered; and (5) If applicable, some recommendations on specific courses of action to individuals within the selected company.

Click here for detail about complete guidance of Research and Analysis Project

Important Links

Click here to access Registration Form.

The post Suggested structure of Research Report appeared first on "VM" Virtual Mentoring.

What should mention on the cover page of Research Report?

maq — Sat, 20 Jul 2019 16:04:14 +0000

What should mention on the cover page of Research Report?

Your cover page should at least contain title of topic e.g. Topic 8 “An Evaluation of the Business and Financial Performance of ABC between 01 July 2016 to 30 June 2019″, ACCA registration number, Word count, title of report e.g. Research Report” and it is also better to mention somewhere on cover page name of Oxford Brookes University.

You can use in built cover page options of Ms. Word. Short cut key is “Alt+N+V”. You can also take some relevant picture related to your topic from internet but it should relevant to either your selected topic or company.

Important Note: As per OBU requirements (mentioned in Information Pack of OBU), student cannot provide his / her name , project mentor name or any other identification in entire project except providing ACCA Reg. Number.

Click here for detail about complete guidance of Research and Analysis Project

Important Links

Click here to access Registration Form.

The post What should mention on the cover page of Research Report? appeared first on "VM" Virtual Mentoring.

Key characteristics of good Research and Analysis Project (RAP)

maq — Sat, 20 Jul 2019 15:58:10 +0000

As more than 38% students fail (as per OBU) their Research and Analysis Project (RAP) in every session and mostly there are common reasons for their failure. By a review of the causes for failing after each submission period, a conclusion has been reached that the students have issues with the research process. The “Research” is seen by students as something done by academics and not practitioners. Research can be a new experience for many student, and it is very different than the standard learning and taking the exams they are used to. It comes as no surprise that many students have difficulty in starting their project work. These problems can be really seen and understood in the comparison of a “good: and “weak” projects.

The good Research and Analysis Project is characterized by (1) Very specific and achievable project objectives; (2) A logical structure of the Research Report, supported and guided by a clearly explained overall research approach; (3) A proper, systematic approach to the process of gathering information that is relevant to the topic issues in the studied company and the report objectives; (4) The analytical and evaluative approach to the process of gathering information based on integrating and applying knowledge of relevant accounting and business theories/concepts/models important for meeting the original research report objectives.

In sharp contrast, reasons for the failed RAPs are (1) Either no objectives are set, or objectives that are too general or unrealistic are proposed; (2) The absence of a clear statement of the overall research approach and a very inappropriate report structure and content is in place; (3) The gathering if information is unplanned and is not appropriate to the issues in the studied company or relevant to the Research Report objectives; (4) The gathered information, including information derived from relevant academic theories/models etc. is described instead of analysed and evaluated same with the issues in the studied company, and no conclusions and relevant recommendations are made to the Research Report objectives.

Click here for detail about complete guidance of Research and Analysis Project

Important Links

Click here to access Registration Form.

The post Key characteristics of good Research and Analysis Project (RAP) appeared first on "VM" Virtual Mentoring.

What is the word count of Research Report?

maq — Sat, 20 Jul 2019 11:23:25 +0000

The student needs to stay within the specified word count. Oxford Brookes University (OBU) reserves the right to fail any project that contains more than the maximum 7,500 prescribed words. The total word count needs to be declared on the title page of the Research and Analysis Project (RAP).

The 7,500 word count contains everything starting from the title page, table of contents to the end of the conclusion. This does not include the list of references and the appendices. It includes all the words in the tables, graphs and pictures along the text.

If the student selects Topic 8 “’The business and financial performance of an organisation over a three year period”, they are most likely to use published financial statements of the selected company as a source of information. This means that the appendix needs to include appropriate extracts from the company’s financial statements, which is not included in the total word count.

The appendices need to be used as a supporting data and information. There should not be any written text that has to belong in the main body of the Research Report. The number of appendices needs to be as low as possible, and no more than 8 sides, excluding the extracts from a potential financial statement.

Click here for detail about complete guidance of Research and Analysis Project

Important Links

Click here to access Registration Form.

The post What is the word count of Research Report? appeared first on "VM" Virtual Mentoring.