Areas to focus:
a. Referencing is of utmost importance. (see note c in next section)
b. When analysing a financial statement, they don’t just want this increased by a % or a reduction. They want u to investigate why such occurre. NOTE:They also do not want maybes, probably and could be, they want u to give definitive reasons while referencing your conclusions.
c. use of IT skills must be demonstrated. Can be easily done with excel sheet.
Reasons of failure:
a. Students just describe the changes in ratios, rather than do research to find out the reasons for changes.
b. Using out of date information.
c. Insufficent referencing; this includes all graphs/charts/business models/ratio analysis, general information, comparator company information. Make sure that you provie more information than what the examiner can derive just by reading the annual reports. Read broker reports and press releases. Give 45 references at least. Reference every firgure, every fact you give.
d. Not reading the information pack thoroughly. As simple as it may sound, but yes, mostly the reasons for failure can be avoided by just reading the information pack thoroughly.
e. 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. 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