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The research and analysis project (rap), research report topics.

This is a formal 7,500 word report on one of 20 set subjects selected from the following list:

• An analysis and evaluation of an organisation’s budgetary control system and its links with performance management and decision making
• An evaluation of how the introduction of a new technology can assist an organisation in achieving its business objectives
• An assessment of the potential impact of an aspect of impending legislation on the operations and financial position of an organisation
• 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.
• 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.
• A critical review of key factors or indicators in the motivation of employees in an organisation
• A critical evaluation of the restructuring of an organisation’s operational activities and the effect on the organisation’s financial performance
• 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.
• A critical evaluation of the planning and implementation of an information system in an organisation.
• A review of the effectiveness of the use of costing techniques within an organisation
• An investigation into the financial and operational costs and benefits of the internal audit / internal review activities within an organisation
• An investigation into the possible effects of a proposed accounting standard on the financial statements and business activities of an organisation
• An evaluation of the contribution made by human resource activities to the attainment of business and financial objectives
• An appraisal of the business and financial objectives of a strategic investment decision made by an organisation and its impact on key stakeholders
• Analyse and evaluation how an organisation has managed the use of data to inform business performance and achieve strategic advantage. Consideration must be given to how the ethics of data use is managed.
• A critical evaluation of the financial and operational risk management within an organisation.
• 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.
• A review of the marketing strategy of an organisation and its effectiveness.
• 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.
• 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 theproblem(s) and the organisation’s response and the impact of this on theorganisation’s key stakeholders.

*Please consult the latest ACCA Global Oxford Brookes Information Pack if submitting on these topics as specific industry sectors must be used.

For all topics other than 8 and 15, please also note the requirement to base your project on recent organisational activity or processes rather than historical events. (For this purpose ‘historical’ refers to activity that took place more than the three full calendar years preceding the start of the current submission period.) For example if you were proposing to submit a project in May 2019 for topic 19 the merger or acquisition would have to have taken place AFTER 1 JANUARY 2016

In addition to the Research & Analysis report you must also submit a 2,000 word (approx.) Skills and Learning Statement and Presentation slides (see below) at the same time.

Skills and Learning Statement

There are two elements to this.  You work will not actually be graded for the SLS section but you will be assessed as either ‘competent’ or ‘non-competent.’

Firstly there is the actual written Skills and Learning Statement, a 2,000 word statement, based on answering 4 set questions (see the Information Pack for these) that revolve around how you yourself responded to the challenges of producing the RAP and what you learned from the whole process from start to finish and the skills you acquired.  OBU stress that there are no right or wrong answers to these 4 questions but there are right or wrong approaches.  This assessment criterion is called ‘Self-reflection’ and as the name implies, requires you to so some self-assessment and self-evaluation which if inadequate, would result in you being classified as ‘non-competent’.

The second element is the PowerPoint Presentation which is intended to focus on the main findings of your RAP and be delivered to your mentor in 15 minutes.  The assessment criterion for this is ‘Communication Skills’ – essentially this means that the marker will be assessing whether your Presentation has been designed and used to present the information effectively to an audience within the time allotted.

Consequences of getting a Pass in the RAP and failure in the SLS and/or Presentation or vice versa

The three parts of the submission are independent.  This means that if you pass either the RAP, the written SLS or the Presentation but fail one or more of the other parts then the part passed does not have to be resubmitted and the pass will be carried forward to your next resubmission.  What this in effect means is that if you failed any part of the SLS section (even both parts) but were awarded a pass grade of C or above for your RAP, that actual grade will stand once you have passed the SLS.  However any failure in the RAP part (whether in technical and professional skills or graduate skills) means that you will have to resubmit the whole RAP and you cannot be awarded any grade higher than a C.

Resubmission

Although failing the RAP or SLS (either the written part or the Presentation) first time will obviously be a disappointment, it really is not ‘the end of the world’ for, as mentioned above, you will have 2 further attempts to make good any deficiencies.  Although the pass rates are around 55% currently (for all submissions), most students do go on to achieve a pass, either at their subsequent or third attempt.  You are not obliged to resubmit at the next submission period, (although most students do),  you can postpone your resubmission(s) until you feel ready or it is convenient for you provided that you have not exceeded the 10 year time limit.

More about OBU:

What is obu and eligibility, the research & analysis project (rap), the role of the project mentor and how to choose a mentor, the obu rap information pack, rap submission and assessment criteria, the resubmission statement – how a good one is your key to success on resubmission, the academic conduct office (aco), how open tuition can help you get your obu bsc (hons) degree, visit also  obu forums  for expert advice from contributors who have had years of experience in helping students prepare for their rap submission and in some cases contributors who themselves have gained their degree by going through the obu rap process., reader interactions, leave a reply cancel reply.

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OBU RAP- How to write a successful RAP

Table of Contents (Click to navigate)

Introduction to the OBU RAP

The starting point of a successful research report is choosing the appropriate topic to write on out of the twenty available in the information pack. You need to hold a quality discussion with your mentor, and you should please go through the  information on choosing a topic   so you can make a quality foundational decision.

The focus of this article is to provide quality insight into the five documents in the OBU RAP. These documents are:

The research reports. (Main 7500 words documents)

The skilled and learning statement. (2000 words self-reflection)

The excel model (Appendix)

The list of references (This is a separate document)

The PowerPoint presentation. 

This article provides information on the following:

Choosing a company, industry and financial statement date for your research report, Referencing, Research objectives, research question, and research approach, Research report structure for chapter 1 and 2, Chapter three section of the research report, Conclusion and recommendations, Skilled and learning statement, PowerPoint presentation, Plagiarism check, interpretation, and grammatical error

To come up with a quality Skilled and learning statement for the ACCA Oxford Brookes research analysis project, you should start taking note of the weaknesses you uncounted and specific action you took to overcome them during the various section of the research report. 

To get the most out of this article, the following are essential:

-Read along with the latest   ACCA OBU information pack 

-Have an overview discussion with your mentor on all the steps 

-Agree on the date you intend to complete various sections of the research report. 

 The OBU rap research report criteria are analysed at various sections of this article.

You can contact our mentors for a free consultation and also join our WhatsApp group discussion .

Choosing a company, industry, and financial statement date for OBU RAP.

For OBU RAP  topics with primary information like topic 6, please ensure the company is a listed company, and there are other secondary sources of information to support your analysis of the questionnaire. Similarly, for topics connected to the secondary source of information, you need to do some preliminary search on Google to be sure you can get the required information to support the requirement of the topic. Specifically, for Topic 13 and Topic 14, you need to ensure that the corporate governance and unethical business practices of the company are not more than five years, and there is adequate information on the company to support the analysis. For Topic 8, Topic 4 and Topic 5. choosing an industry related to manufacturing is usually helpful, but you also need to assess if you can easily get the required information about the company online. Specific action required are listed below:

• Irrespective of your OBU RAP topic, relate with your mentor, choose a company, and do a simple Google search. E.g., Corporate governance issue of XYZ Company or Financial analysis of XYZ Company.
• Ensure that your chosen companies are listed and there is other supported analysis available.
• Finalize your decision with your mentor.

OBU RAP Harvard Referencing Guide

The ability to reference appropriate is critical to the overall success of the OBU RAP. References are of two forms, in-text citations, which are the references in the body of your research report, and a list of references, which is a separate document listing all the sources available in the body of the research report.

The following pieces of information are additional tips that will enable quality references.

• Avoid direct quotations, read information, digest the information, write the information in a unique manner or your own words, then reference the source of information.
• Ignore references from Wikipedia, Investopedia, social media, and other extremely weak sources. Instead, use a variety of books, quality, authoritative websites, and analyst write up. Etc.
• Long write up that is obviously from external sources without any references is a bad academic practice
• Generate your information from a broader range of sources, and likely bias sources of information should be of limited use, e.g., Annual report.
• When you use the annual report or other lengthy documents, you should reference the relevant page in your body of your research report.
• Use a,b, or c. to differentiate different articles from the same source or author. Please check all Youtube videos below.
• All your in-text citations must be available on the list of references without any broken links. We advise you use the Microsoft word auto referencing tool for this. Please check all Youtube videos below.
• You should reference graphs and table, i.e., below the chart, Diagram 1 – sources Appendix 1
• One of the OBU RAP assessment criteria for referencing and information gathering is to use a wide range of sources such as textbooks, journal articles, and online source
• You should avoid using too many forms of lazy references such as references with no date and author

Please every student should study the presentation below for sound knowledge on referencing

How to avoid plagiarism and cheating by john playle

Automated Harvard referencing on MS word

OBUTraining’s ACCA OBU RAP Hardvard referencing section 1

OBUTraining’s ACCA OBU RAP Hardvard referencing section 2

OBUTraining’s ACCA OBU RAP Hardvard referencing section 3

OBUTraining’s ACCA OBU RAP Hardvard referencing section 4

OBUTraining’s ACCA OBU RAP Hardvard referencing section 5

You can contact our mentor for a free consultation and also join our WhatsApp group discussion.

OBU RAP   Research objectives, research question, and research approach.

There is a strong connection between your research objectives, questions, and research approach. The research objective expresses the coverage of the research report in chapter 3 section of the ACCA OBU research report. In contrast, the research approach explains what models, techniques, and specific information sources to achieve the stated OBU RAP objectives.

The starting point is the research objectives- The objectives statement must be consistent with the models, techniques, and concepts that the researcher is planning to use to achieve the research report. While these models, methods, and concepts must not deviate from the topic title. For example, for topic eight that focuses on the business and financial analysis of a company, Let’s assume I am using SWOT and PEST as the models to satisfy the business section, and financial ratio analysis techniques for the financial section. It is crucial to agree with your mentor on the proposed models and techniques you intend to use for the requirement of the topic title. You can also check suggested models for some of the top RAP Topic.

With the explanation above, I can have an objective for SWOT, PEST, and Financial ratio analysis.

The objective for SWOT can go like this

To perform a critical analysis of the internal strategies and other external factors that have impacted the performance of XYZ Company within year1 to year 3. (This is just a statement from the model I am applying)

The research question for this objective can go like this

What are the internal strategies and external factors impacting the performance of XYZ Company within year1 to year 3? (This is just a transformation of the objectives to question)

The research approach for this objective can go like this

The researcher intent to used a secondary source of information. The SWOT model will be utilizing to critically analyses the strengths, weaknesses, which are internal factors, opportunities, and threats that are external factors within the period of focus. (Did you observed I specifically mentioned the model and I explained how I intend to apply it in my research report)

ACCA Oxford Brookes research analysis project structure for chapter 1 and 2

You must have concluded the required foundational work; I am sure you are excited to start writing your ACCA Oxford Brookes research analysis project.

The information below will help improve your OBU RAP structure

• Please ensure you use Arial as your front
• font size should be 12 or 11
• Line and paragraph spacing should
• you should arrange your research report appropriately, i.e., a heading or tile in your research report cannot be on a page while all the entire content of the title is on another page.
• You should use a page number for your document.
• Irrespective of the recommended word count, you should plan your world count base on the challenge of the specific topic. For example, for topic 8, it is advisable to have about 2600 word in chapter one and two as against 3000 word due to possibility of needing more words in chapter 3 of the ACCA OBU RAP
• The entire research report word count is 7500 words meaning between 7001 to 7500
• The word count is counted from the very first page (Title page) of the document excluding the list of references and bibliography
• The layout of your chapter three should be consistent with the structure of your research objectives earlier stated.

The research report is marked base on the OBU RAP assessment criteria, which is available in the information pack. Under the understanding of the business and accountancy model criteria, you should perform a quality explanation of the business models and critical descriptions of their limitations — the most crucial section in chapter two; you should prioritize when allocating word count.

There are essential facts you should be aware of here:

• Explain your models and their component with wider ranges of information sources.
• Explain the advantages and limitations of models against listing limitations and advantages.
• Use a broader range of information for the limitations of models.
• Please, you should submit your chapters one and two to your research report mentor for a quality review

Chapter three section of the OBU RAP

The research objectives and approach must have given a direction for this section. Before starting this section, you should present your plan to your mentor on preliminary research, information gathering, analysis, and evaluation. The discussions and other practical materials will be helpful as this section larger determine if the research report will be a success or failure. You should please read the  tips on each popular topic provide .

Here we will analyse some of the section of the OBU RAP Assessment criteria

Application of accountancy/business models

• Apply your models independently.
• It is expected you use a comparator/benchmark for effective analysis.

Evaluation of information, analysis, and conclusions

• Little or no mark is available for the information presented without any form of interpretation, expression of judgment and extensive analysis
• Extensive analysis means doing further research to give practical examples, comparing the information with a benchmark or comparator, applying judgment to the information presented, and presented additional evidence. 
• Use graphs to show the movements and your words to provide detailed reasons and factors that lie behind them rather than just describing the obvious.
• Discuss and explain changes rather than presenting descriptive statements.
• Refer to the broader economic environment, industry effects, and the impact of corporate strategy, as well as an analysis of the numbers behind the graphs presented.
• Avoid words like ‘Could be’ or “maybe” which may indicate guesswork

Presentation of project findings 

• Presentation of the results in an appropriate form, e.g., tables, graphs, charts (This is important irrespective of your topic)
• Good use of appendices (Pointing your RAP document to the relevant section of appendices)
• The structure of your chapter 3 should be consistent with that of your research objective stated. For example, if the objective one is about SWOT, please start with SWOT analysis for chapter 3.

Information technology 

• You should use various excel formulas irrespective of your topic
• It is essential to check the accuracy of your excel formulae as this is a recent failure trend in the feedback sheet.

In conclusion,

• Ensure you use a broader range of information.
• Perform some preliminary research to pen down some points that will be the focus of your research report.
• limit the usage and referencing of the annual report or the company’s website as further research should be carried out.

For students writing Topic 4,5 and 8, the following, the following videos are beneficial.

OBUTraining’s OBU RAP Topic 8 financial analysis 1

OBUTraining’s OBU RAP Topic 8 financial analysis 2

OBUTraining’s OBU RAP Topic 8 financial analysis 3

OBUTraining’s OBU RAP Topic 8 business analysis 1

OBUTraining’s OBU RAP Topic 8 business analysis 2

ACCA Oxford Brookes research analysis project Conclusion and recommendations

Your conclusion should focus on the summary of your findings or your analysis in chapter three section of the ACCA Oxford Brookes research analysis project. Do you remember that chapter three section was structured following the logical structure of the research objectives and questions? Then your conclusion needs to be consistent with the construction of chapter three. You don’t bring new analysis here under the conclusion section, and your conclusion should not be too small, like being less than half a page.Finally draft some set of questions after constructing your conclusion, when you read those questions, the conclusion is automatically providing an answer to those questions

Your recommendation needs to be focus on your main company on areas they need improvement base on the weaknesses identified during your analysis

ACCA OBU Skilled and learning statement (SLS)

I need to clarify here that the ACCA OBU SLS is not what you have in your research report or the various information you have presented in your research report. The RAP assessment criteria available on ACCA OBU SLS available in the information pack focuses on your ability to write down the judgment made or action taken throughout the various section of the research report. There are weaknesses, and there are critical decisions in multiple sections, then what are the weaknesses? What self-development did you do to overcome them? What specific action did you take? Also, expressing some of your strengths is also acceptable.

A personal reflection on OBU RAP skilled and learning statement

• Makes a satisfactory attempt to discourse all two inquiries. (each question is within 800 to 1000 words)
• The entire OBU RAP skilled and learning statement must be in the region of 1800 and 2000 words. (From the beginning of the title page to the end)
• Displays the ability to reflect on judgments made at the time of the project work.
• Reflect on the  process of your research report  rather than the actual content of your research report.
• The concentration should not be on your  mentor’s advice , but how the meeting aided you to surmount your  weaknesses  and make use of your  strength  during the RAP process.
• It can be of help to students to keep a learning diary when starting the RAP; been aware of critical experiences, storing your thoughts or feelings, what was good or bad and why.
• It will be helpful if you keep notes of the meetings arranged with your mentor, and note any definite learning points.
• You need to concentrate on the process, not the research report findings.

OBU RAP skilled and learning statement new information

Skills and Learning Statement – The purpose of the SLS is to demonstrate that you have developed the graduate skill of self-reflection. You are required to answer the following two questions. – Q1 How have you developed, personally and professionally, as a result of undertaking the Research and Analysis Project? Consider  · what new skills you acquired and how you developed them  · the challenges you faced and how you overcame them –  Q2 How will the experience of the RAP help you in the future? Consider how this experience has · made you more employable and capable · might influence your future plans in the short and longer term

OBU RAP skilled and learning statement Examiner’s comments

OBUTRaining’s Video on Skill and learning statement

OBU RAP PowerPoint presentation

The important point to pick out from the OBU RAP PowerPoint presentation

• Often begin with a clear opening slide with the presentation title that includes the student name, the ACCA number to identify the presenter.
• The structure of the slides includes the following; title, table of content, findings, research objectives or inquiries, and lastly, conclusions, and recommendations.
• Observed by the new Information Pack, there should be at least 10 to 20 slides.
• It is not enough to present the graphs and charts without commentary
• Prevent conversing about other aspects in part 1 and 2 of the research report
• Don’t force too much information into the slides.
• Graphs, table, and charts, conclusions and recommendations must be included
• Containment of the results of your analysis and conclusions from the presentation and slides.
• Be consistent with line spacing, color, and font size (between 25 to 30) across all slides
• Ensure a specific slide that doesn’t have more than six bullet points and a bullet point is not prolonged
• You may have to keep the bullet point short as it is not a sentence
• Acquire to be more choosy in what you present, only bring out what is important and do not force the slides with data and words
• Just one image per slide
• The slide should be created to help the student verbal presentation.
• There should not only be concerns with the number of slides, but also the amount of content on them. If the markers appraised that there is much information to present in 15 minutes, the student is at risk of failure. PowerPoint Examiners comments

OBUTraining’s video on presentation

Communication is one of the RAP assessment criteria, so if you desire a higher grade, all expectations must be perfect.

• Your style of communication must be acceptable to the business audience. i.e., bringing any form of religion or expressing yourself in an unprofessional manner won’t be favorable. For example, I have seen feedback that the examiner complained about the use of words like “whooping increase” A significant increase should have been used instead.

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An overview of OBU RAP

This document is created to offer assistance to ACCA students/affiliates who are undertaking the ACCA/OBU BSc Research and Analysis Project (RAP). The RAP is very different to an ACCA written exam. Every project is a separate piece of work. Each student has to identify their own individual project topic, set research objectives, and develop a framework for their project work. Appropriate Models Include; Topic 6 requires the use of more than one motivation model, preferably a ‘content’ model and a ‘process’ model. Topic 8 requires appropriate financial ratios and business models such as SWOT, PESTEL, Porter’s Five Forces, etc. Topics 2, 4,5, 9 require the use of general evaluation models such as cost/benefit analysis, managing change models, systems development lifecycle, etc. Topic 18 requires the use of one or more models for evaluating the marketing environment as well as, for example, the marketing mix for evaluating the marketing strategy of an organisation, and an appropriate model for evaluating its effectiveness.

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Personal Reflection Sample: preparing a Research Report for ACCA

The skill and learning statement includes the implications of interactions with mentor, an analysis of the extent to which research questions have been answered, a brief analysis of interpersonal and communication skills and their relevance to the research, as well as the contribution of the research experience to my professional and personal development.

1.      Experiences of interactions with mentor

I had chances of meeting my project mentor three times and obtained practical support regarding various aspects of the work during these meetings. Our first meeting was mainly dedicated to clarifying our expectations from the research experience and the discussions took place related to the issues of selection of the research approach and formulation of research questions and objectives.

By the time I had a meeting with my mentor for the second time Introduction and Information gathering chapters of the work have been completed and I received detailed feedback for these chapters of the research. Also, discussions were held about data analysis and presentation associated with the project.

During the final meeting with my mentor the overall work has been scrutinised and a set of specific points have been mentioned by my mentor. Specifically, my mentor raised a point that my discussions of research findings lacked depth and scale. Then, these points have been addressed and the final draft of the Research Report was completed.

I found advices given by my mentor very helpful in terms of increasing the quality of my Research Report and equipping me with knowledge of effectively conducting similar studies in the future in general. Moreover, my Project Mentor was not only highlighting the shortages that were associated with my project, but also was giving detailed explanations why these changes were desirable in a passionate manner.

Furthermore, I found these three sessions with my mentor to be highly motivational and informative experience because they have increased the level of my personal interest in conducting businesses studies. Prior to conducting the Research Report and having discussions with my mentor I was assuming conducting analytical business studies to be a rather boring experience.

However, thanks to my mentor I learned to appreciate the importance of analysing a business case in terms of identifying a current strategic and financial position of a business, and formulating the ways of identifying further strategic options available to the business.

2.      The extent to which research questions have been answered

Answering the research questions in my Research Report were directly related to the quality of secondary data, and the choice of methodology. Therefore, these issues were approached effectively by critically assessing the validity of the sources of secondary data and assessing alternative choices of methodology. Moreover, my first meeting with my Project mentor was mainly devoted to the discussion of the same issues.

As a result of comprehensive analysis the most reliable sources of secondary data in order to be used in Research Report were found to include published financial statements and annual reports, textbooks on financial and business analysis, information published in official company website, information available from ACCA website, as well as, various business journals an newspapers.

The choice of methods for conducting the study, on the other hand, was guided by the reliability of the data analysis methods and their relevance to the research issues. After spending additional amount of time for the choice of appropriate methodology and taking into account advises of my mentor, financial ratios and analytic tools have been chosen to be employed in my Research Report.

Purposely, financial and accounting ratios that were used in the study include profitability, liquidity, financial position and investor ratios, whereas, the choice of analytic tools consist of SWOT, PESTLE, and Porter’s five forces analysis.

To summarise this part, it is fair to state that all of the research questions in my Research Report have been effectively addressed, because the secondary data have been obtained from reliable sources, relevant methodology has been used to conduct the study, and the research findings have been critically discussed.

3.      Interpersonal and communication skills and their relevance to the research

I have demonstrated my interpersonal and communication skills at various stages of doing Research Report and preparing for and making the presentation. Moreover, without my interpersonal and communication skills completing the Research Report and doing the presentation would have proved to be highly challenging.

For example, my listening skills have proved to be highly valuable in terms of understanding vital information given by my mentor about increasing the quality of my Research Report, because these advises were fully understood and implemented into the practice.

My interpersonal skills have also played a positive role when I asked some of my trusted colleagues to be an audience when I was rehearsing my presentation. I was making presentations in front of my colleagues and was asking for their opinions about the quality of my presentation. This practice took place many times in different settings and I believe that following this strategy has enhanced the quality of my presentation and my marks.

However, my communication skills have played a crucial role in terms of succeeding in making the presentation effectively. I have learned from my experiences within and outside of academic settings that communication skills play the most crucial role in terms of succeeding in personal and professional lives.

For instance, an individual may possess a deep knowledge about a certain area. However, if the individual lacks competency of communicating his or her ideas, knowledge and feelings in an effective manner, the overall competency of the individual and the level of his or her contribution to the organisation will always remain compromised.

Therefore, in my opinion, regardless of the field, industry or type of organisation, communication skills can be specified as a compulsory attribute for an employee in order to be considered an a competent. In my case in particular, my advanced level of communication skills have enabled me to do my Research Report presentation effectively which has resulted in positive acclaim from my peers and mentor.

4.      The potential contribution of Research Report to the level of professional development

Conducting the Research Report and doing the presentation has increased the level of my professional competency in several ways. First of all, I have to mention the fact that I have developed a critical mindset towards solving business issues as a result of conducting the Research Report.

My mentor made it clear that it was important to critically analyse related issues in Research Report rather than just offering description of the issues and supplying calculations. The mentor had stressed many times that critical analysis and discussions are the elements of the work that increase its value. For the same reason I had to revise my Research Report several times until my mentor was satisfied with the level of critical analysis the work had included.

Although, such an approach to work seemed to be very challenging and confusing during the research process, I appreciated the value of critical analysis once the final work was completed. The skills of critical analysis that I have developed and applied in Research Report can easily be applied when real business issues would need to be resolved by me in the future in my professional capacity.

Completing the Research Report was similar to project management in real businesses environment in terms of strict deadlines, scarcity of resources, organising and planning, scheduling meetings, doing presentations etc. Therefore, the skills I developed during the process of completing Research Report can be used in order to successfully manage business projects in the future.

Moreover, my writing skills have also been greatly improved as a result of engaging in Research Report. Despite the popular opinion that with the increasing importance of information technology the practice of writing letters and reports are being replaced by alternative means of business communications, the importance of writing will always remain significant for business managers.

From this point of view engaging in Research Report was a very beneficial experience for me on a personal level. Specifically, writing the paper of almost ten thousand words in total, including this personal reflection, has made me better prepared to join the full-time workforce once my studies are completed.

Lastly, as a result of preparing the Research Report my professional interest on the issues associated with corporate strategy has been enhanced. Moreover, I am planning to continue studying the issues of corporate strategy and that knowledge would benefit me in the future as a corporate leader.

5.      Gains derived from conducting Research Report experience on a personal level

On a personal level I benefited from conducting the Research Report and doing the presentation in a number of ways. The research experience with Oxford Brookes has increased the level of my motivation for studying, making bold plans for my future career and implements necessary measures and initiatives in order to accomplish these plans. My mentor deserves to be mentioned here specifically for all encouragements and practical tips that can be applied in various alternative settings apart from academic life.

The level of my self-confidence has also been increased because I could complete the Research Report in time. Moreover, the presentation experience has increased the level of my self-confidence dramatically, because I understood that if I could do a successful presentation in front of my mentor and colleagues, doing the presentations of multi-million projects in front of top executives was just a matter of time.

The paramount importance of self-confidence for an individual is an undisputable matter. Self-confidence allows us to set ambitious plans and utilise all the available resources efficiently in order to achieve these plans.

My time-management skills have also been improved by the end of the Research Report. This is because there was a specific deadline for both, the Research Report and presentation and I had to adopt some principles related to time management in order to be able to submit my work on time.

These principles included setting specific deadlines for each chapter of the work, and above all, dramatically cutting the amount of time I used to browse social networking sites on the internet. I can highlight this fact as one of the most substantial gains in a personal level. This is because prior to the research experience I used to spend several hours a day browsing a set of social networking sites with no real benefit whatsoever. However, once the priority was given to the Research Project, this bad habit was dealt with effectively and irreversibly.

6.      Conclusions

To summarise, completing the Research Report and making presentation with Oxford Brookes University following my ACCA course has increased the level of my preparedness to join the full-time workforce and successfully utilise my energy and knowledge. In my opinion the biggest benefit I received from enrolling to this course of study is that the course of study, the Research Report and doing the presentation have made me to believe in my skills and capabilities and they have also awoke my desire to approach studying as a lifelong process.

Moreover, I have obtained a set of professional and personal gains as a result of completing the Research Report and making presentation that include the development of a critical mindset, improvement my writing and time management skills and enhancement of the level of my self-confidence.