Presentation and Slides (OBU Degree)

This article is relevant to students attempting the Oxford Brookes University BSc (Hons) in Applied Accounting. 

The BSc (Hons) in Applied Accounting offered by Oxford Brookes University in partnership with ACCA requires the completion of a Research and Analysis (RAP). This consists of a research report (RR) and a skills and learning statement (SLS). The SLS is also made up of two parts, one being a reflective statement covering four specific questions and the other a requirement to give a 15-minutes presentation to the student's mentor and provide evidence of this presentation. 

First of all, I would like to clarify two areas where students appear to be unclear regarding the presentation. 

• It is not a presentation of at least 15 minutes. Students are required to complete the presentation within 15 minutes. 
• It is not a presentation about how the student went about the process of writing the report; it is a presentation on the topic of the report, for example: 'The business and financial performance of Tesco plc for the years 2010 to 2012'. 

The mentor will be asked to confirm that the presentation has taken place effectively and Oxford Brookes University will also require evidence to be submitted with the RAP. This evidence will consist of copies of slides used in the presentation. Usually, these slides use PowerPoint but they can also be copies of slides using some other medium. 

Contents of the Slides

The slides should be designed to support the verbal presentation given by the student. They should also be designed to appeal to an audience, which means that they must be clear and easy to read. Graphs, pictures and charts are always good ways of conveying information provided that it is clear what they are trying to portray. Slides that contain lots of words, perhaps taken straight from the research report are not very appealing and usually difficult to read. 

The markers and moderators at Oxford Brookes see a whole range of slides from ones that appear to be trying to set a new world record for how many words can be fitted in one slides to very animated ones that are almost an entertainment package on their own!

So here are a few guidelines:

• Always start with a clear opening slide with the title of the presentation and the student's name and ACCA number to identify the presenter. 
• It can often be helpful if the next slide lists the areas to be covered by the presentation
• Remember that the presentation is not about how the topic was decided upon or how the research was carried out - that is part of the RAP. This is a presentation on the topic. 
• Include relevant findings from the analysis carried out. This could be graphical (with explanations) or in chart or tabular form where key numbers are concerned. 
• The analysis and findings will have led to conclusions being drawn by the student and recommendations being made. These conclusions and recommendations are a key part of the presentation so should be shown on the slides. 

How many slides?

Whenever we deliver workshops on the degree, we are always asked the same two questions among others. Those questions are:

1. The word limit for the RR is 6,500 but what is the maximum tolerance allowed?
2. How many slides should be included?

The answer to Question 1 is always to remind students that the work limit is 6,500 and that if we were prepared to accept 7,000 we would say so but then a student would ask if 7,500 would be OK and so on. It would not be long before we were asked to accept 10,000 words and yes we do receive reports that long and yes, they will fail. So, stick to a word limit of 6,500. 

The answer to Question 2 is always that we cannot answer as it depends on the way the presentation is delivered. I have seen a range from one, which was just a title slide, to almost 90 slides which would be impossible to present in 15 minutes, requiring an average of six slides every minute or one every 10 seconds! That would not leave enough time for the slide to read or for the presenter to talk and present. 

The markers and moderators are very experienced at being the recipients of presentations and so can easily make a judgement as to the likelihood of the slides being presented during a 15-minute presentation. It is not just the number of slides, it is also the content. 

So remember:

• The presentation should be no more than 15 minutes
• It should be about your topic not the process of writing the report 
• The slides should support your presentation 
• The slides should be interesting and clearly understandable 
• The presentation and slides should contain the results of your analysis, your conclusions and recommendations 

John Playle, chief moderator and academic conduct officer of Oxford Brookes University BSc (Hons) Applied Accounting 

Links 

http://www.accaglobal.com/gb/en/student/acca-qual-student-journey/qual-resource/acca-qualification/p1/technical-articles/presentation-and-slides.html

BSc (Hons) in Applied Accounting

ACCA and Oxford Brookes University have worked together to develop a BSc (Hons) in Applied Accounting, which is available exclusively to ACCA students who wish to obtain a degree while studying towards the ACCA Qualification.

Who can do it? 

Basically all ACCA students.
To be awarded the BSc (Hons) in Applied Accounting, you must:

• Be eligible for the degree. This means you must be registered with Oxford Brookes University i.e. opted-in to the BSc degree scheme before passing any of the ACCA Fundamentals papers,  F7, F8 and F9 
• Pass the three ACCA Fundamentals papers F7, F8 and F9 and pass other papers as required to successfully complete all nine Fundamentals level papers 
• Complete the ACCA Professional Ethics module before submitting a Research and Analysis Project to Oxford Brookes University 
• Complete and pass the Oxford Brookes University Research and Analysis Project 

The degree must be completed within 10 years of your start date onto the ACCA's professional qualification otherwise your eligibility will be withdrawn.

Assessment 

The Research and Analysis Project (RAP) is the final component of the BSc degree and consists of two separate documents; a 7,500 Research Report (RR) and a 2,000 word Skills and Learning Statement (SLS). The Research Report was previously at 6,500 words but this did not include words included in tables. As from the November 2013 submission (Period 27) this word count has been increased to an allowance of 7,500 words for everything from the start of the title page, to the end of the conclusions. The 7,500 word count for the Research Report does not include appendices or lists of references.

You are also required to give a presentation on the project to your project mentor.

You have three attempts to pass the RAP. Unfortunately, if you fail the RAP on three separate occasions you will no longer be eligible to complete the BSc degree. Please note that you can either submit the same project topic three times or three different RAPs.

To pass the RAP you must pass both the Research Report (RR) and the Skills and Learning Statement (SLS). If you do not pass both components separately within the same RAP submission you will be awarded a Fail grade for the RAP. 

You will be given one of three Pass grades (A, B or C) or a Fail grade (F) for the performance in the RR. You will be given either a Pass grade or a Fail grade for the performance in the SLS. 

If you achieve one of the three Pass grades for the RR and the Pass grade for the SLS, then a pass in the RAP will be awarded. The grade awarded to you for the performance in the RAP will be that awarded to you for the RR i.e. A, B or C. Once you have been awarded one of the three Pass grades for the RAP, then you cannot make any further RAP submissions.

If you are awarded either a Fail grade in the RR or a Fail grade in the SLS, then you will be awarded a Fail grade for the RAP. If you are awarded a Fail grade on the first RAP submission you will be allowed up to two further RAP submissions. 

Determination of class of degree

The class of BSc degree will be based on both:

• The ACCA average mark determined from the exam marks in the Fundamentals Skills papers (F4–F9) 
• The grade achieved for the Research and Analysis Project.

The ACCA average mark will be calculated by taking the numerical average of the marks achieved in the Fundamentals Skills papers (F4–F9) that you have sat and passed.

Where the calculated average mark is not a whole number, the calculated average will be rounded up or down accordingly. If you have been given an exemption from any of the three papers F4–F6, no mark is available and so will not be included in the calculation of the ACCA average mark. 

The class of degree for each combination of ACCA average mark and Research and

Analysis Project grade is shown below.

Project topic areas and titles

If you intend to submit a Research and Analysis Project (RAP) to Oxford Brookes University, Oxford Brookes University strongly recommends that you should choose one of the following twenty approved project topic areas as the basis for your RAP.

1. An analysis and evaluation of an organisation’s budgetary control system and its links with performance management and decision making.
2. An evaluation of how the introduction of a new technology can assist an organisation in achieving its business objectives.
3. An assessment of the potential impact of an aspect of impending legislation on the operations and financial position of an organisation.
4. A review of the business management and accounting issues of environmental costs of an organisation.
5. An evaluation of the use of short term and long term Islamic financial instruments and their impact on the financial statements of an organisation. 
6. A critical review of key factors or indicators in the motivation of employees in an organisation.
7. A critical evaluation of the restructuring of an organisation’s operational activities and the effect on the organisation’s financial performance.
8. An analysis and evaluation of the business and financial performance of an organisation over a three year period. 
9. A critical evaluation of the planning and implementation of an information system in an organisation.
10. A review of the effectiveness of the use of costing techniques within an organisation. 
11. An investigation into the financial and operational costs and benefits of the internal audit / internal review activities within an organisation.
12. An investigation into the possible effects of a proposed accounting standard on the financial statements and business activities of an organisation. 
13. An evaluation of the contribution made by human resource activities to the attainment of business and financial objectives.
14. An appraisal of the business and financial objectives of a strategic investment decision made by an organisation and its impact on key stakeholders.
15. An analysis and evaluation of the management of an organisation’s working capital over a three year period and its impact on the organisation’s funding strategies.
16. A critical evaluation of the financial and operational risk management within an organisation.
17. An assessment of the quality of the corporate governance within an organisation and the impact on an organisation’s key stakeholders.
18. A review of the marketing strategy of an organisation and its effectiveness.
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.
20. An assessment of an organisation's corporate social responsibility policies, including business ethics, and their impact on business practice and key stakeholders.

Sources of Information:

Website: http://www.accaglobal.com/en/student/acca-qual-student-journey/bsc-degree.html

PDF: http://www.accaglobal.com/content/dam/acca/global/PDF-students/2012b/bscpack2012_13.pdf