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OBU RAP material for use.

OBU RAP material for use.
Home Forums OBU Forums OBU RAP material for use.
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September 17, 2013 at 3:39 pm

Nimrahjk
Participant

Topics: 0
Replies: 29
Hello Everyone, After failing the OBU RAP on my first attempt due to the misguidance of
my mentor (Sir XXXXXX)*, I had to work very hard on my own to pass it the second
time. I was still able to only score a C as that is the maximum you can get if you have
failed once. Luckily, because of my grades, my degree was still first class. However, I am
aware that not everyone is so lucky. My mentor for the second time was Sir. Abid from
Abeel School of Accountancy, Karachi. He guided me via email and gave a timely
response although I was not paying him. Anyway, to stop future students from failing, I
am willing to give away all my material and the OBU samples I have. just leave your
email address here and I will send them to you. I chose topic 8 and my RAP was related
to Pakistan Pharmaceutical Industry. I do not reside in PAkistan therefore, I was unable
to get a hold of the statistics published by the government ( you can only get it if you
work in the medical industry). However, I wrote that in my limitations of information
gathering and analysis. It would be helpful if you could get a hold of it if you do the
same topic on the same industry. Here are a few tips anyway, (Please note these are my
own notes, so they are not neat and are pasted from various relevant articles/forums)
a Referencing is of utmost importance. Aim to have about 45 sources. reference every
single fact you give! to the point that it seems ridiculous. even accounting concepts.
reference them to study texts. and please dont reference wikipedia. it is highly
unprofessional and gives a terrible impression. do not skip referencing wikipedia if you
need to (or else they will fail you for plagiarism) but go to the references section at the
bottom of the page and go to the original page and reference that.
b if analysing a financial statement, they dont just want this increased by a % or a
reduction they want u to investigate why such occurred they also do not want
maybes, probably and could be.. they want u to give definitive reasons referencing ur
conclusions THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT.
c use of IT skills must be demonstrated. Dont panic. it just means use tables, graphs for
whatever you can. I made about 12.
d.Students just describe the changes in ratios, rather than do research to find out the
reasons for changes. eg. why profit dropped despite the sales increasing?
e.Using out of date information.
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f. Insufficent referencing; this includes all graphs/charts/business models/ratio analysis,

general information, comparator company information. for referencing format, i followed
http://libweb.anglia.ac.uk/referencing/harvard.htm. they have broken it down and made it
very easy.
g.Not reading the information pack thoroughly.
h.Not applying models/theories to analysis, particularly when doing topics 6, 17, 18.
John Woodley, ACCA undergraduate programme director at Oxford Brookes Business
School, discusses some of the important skills that a student has to demonstrate to pass
the Research and Analysis Project.
A key aspect of both the Research and Analysis Project (RAP) and the Key Skills
Statement (KSS) is self-reflection. Although this is not explicitly assessed in the RAP, it is
important for you to recognise that there may be constraints that affect your choice of
project and how you undertake it. ( do not pretend that you are chuck norris and so you
made the best RAP in the world without any problems.)
You need to ask yourself some questions: Which project is most suitable for me? Where
will I get my information? Who will be a good project mentor? Thinking about your own
strengths and weaknesses will help you approach the RAP in the most appropriate way.
Project guidance
An appropriate choice of project is critical to passing the RAP. If you choose a project
that is too wide ranging, too specialist, or too general, then you may be throwing away
your chances of passing. My advice is to first build on your learning from the ACCA
exams and then choose a single organisation to focus on. Remember, you have a
maximum of 5,000 words available for the RAP.
VERY IMPORTANT!Keep a diary to record important events that happen during your time
working on your RAP. In particular, record what happens at the meetings with your
project mentor and how these meetings support the skills development you need to show
in the KSS. even the minutest obstacles, note them down so you have material to write in
your KSS.
The assessment criteria for the RAP are published in the Project Guidelines and you
should read these before starting your RAP. Two essential academic and professional skills
are those of communication and analysis. In your RAP, your communication skills are
partly demonstrated by producing a coherent and structured report focused on the
stated objectives and written in a lucid style this includes four important requirements.
The RAP must have objectives what the RAP is about and what you hope to learn
from undertaking the RAP. The objectives must be the focus for the RAP, in that all the
work you undertake must address these objectives. Although this sounds obvious, many
RAPs state objectives for the project work, and then ignore them throughout the rest of
the report. Such projects do not pass. (I made this mistake the first time. The tone of
your objective should be like a question. For instance an objective may be Evaluate non
financial aspects of ABC by analyzing its strengths, weaknesses as an organization as well
as opportunities and threats it faces from external factors. Remember to ponder over
your objectives in your conclusion kind of answer your objectives questions.)
If you do not focus on the objectives, it is likely that you will not produce a coherent
report one that is logical and orderly. You will also not produce a structured report
since there will be no relationship between the different parts of the project report. You
should read the Project Guidelines to understand the Oxford Brookes recommended
format for your project report. This will help you produce a RAP that is focused,
coherent, and structured.
Many students find it useful to think of undertaking the project as telling a story. What
do I want to find out? (introduction). What information will I need to find? (information
gathering). How will I evaluate this information? (analysis). And what will my analysis tell
me about my objectives? (conclusions). In your RAP, you need to clearly link these
different components together.
Academic skills
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You must demonstrate certain academic skills in your RAP. In particular, you must
reference properly any sources of information that you have taken from other authors.
This has two purposes so that it can be easily established what is your own work, and
so the quality of the other sources of information used to prepare the project can be
evaluated. You must use the Harvard Referencing System, which is explained in the
Project Guidelines.
In addition to good communication skills, you must also demonstrate first-rate analytical
skills in order to pass the RAP. For example, a popular RAP topic is An analysis of the
financial situation of xxx organisation. Most students include the calculation of some
financial ratios in such a project. However, the calculation of financial ratios and
identifying the numerical changes in financial ratios is only the starting point for analysis.
Calculations of financial ratios, by themselves, are not sufficient to pass the project.
A companys financial statements do not exist in isolation; they represent the companys
business activity for a certain period. To understand any changes in, or derived from, the
financial statements you need to understand any changes in business activity. Therefore
you must look outside the financial statements, and the annual report, to the companys
marketplace and perhaps to wider economic factors.
There are many possible factors that may have an impact on a companys business
activity. These include the companys own strategy and investment activity, the actions of
competitors, changes in oil prices and/or interest rates, levels of company or personal
taxation, and so on. You have to demonstrate that you have identified some possible
reasons which explain why your chosen financial ratios have changed over time.
Calculation is not sufficient. You must explain any changes you observe, and to explain
you must explore the companys wider business environment. A good RAP puts the
findings of your analysis in a broader organisational context, which makes it more
valuable to a reader.
Consider this article carefully when thinking about your RAP so that you fully
demonstrate your graduate-level skills and pass your RAP first time. Then celebrate
becoming a graduate of this important learning partnership between ACCA and Oxford
Brookes University
Hope this helps you and you achieve an A!
*This name was removed for legal reasons Trephena Forum Moderator

April 29, 2014 at 9:27 am

trephena
Moderator

Topics: 4
Replies: 186
@Nimrahjk Thank you for sharing your RAP experience with everyone on the Forum.
There is a lot of good advice and information here especially for those who are starting on
their RAP journey.
Perhaps those who have recently completely theirs could help by joining in as contributors?
Many students are distant learners and / or like @Nimrahjk first time around, have a poor
mentor . I know from the feedback that contributor help is urgently needed and is also
usually most appreciated.
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(I am gratified by the positive feedback I have received and would encourage students who
have found postings made by other contributors to make the effort to thank them. This
way it both encourages them to continue to support fellow students and affects the
decision of others to join in and similarly contribute).
Remember: This forum relies on people like @Nimrahjk who go to the time and trouble and
give freely of their own time to help!

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