EXAMINER’S COMMENTS

Reasons for fail and advice for improvement:

“You have made improvements to your SLS however the Oxford Brookes exemplars
are for guidance and should not be presented as your own work. You need to write
about your own personal experience, what worked well for you; the challenges
you faced and how you overcame them.”

Question One: Reflect on what you have learnt from the meetings with your project
mentor, including the presentation that you have to your project mentor?

Mentor Meeting 1:

The foremost requirement in submission of this research project was the appointment of a mentor
to provide help and assistance in writing this project. Opinions were obtained from friends and
colleagues who had completed the research project and after a few trial meetings, a mentor was
selected.The mentor selection process was the first challenge as I had to find someone meeting the
requirements preferably with relevant experience in the industry I was doing the research project
on. I found myself talking to a few candidates and those discussions helped me in identifying a
profound and insightful person.

We met formally at an agreed close-by venue and straight away he started off with the guidelines
regarding the structure and layout of the report. I felt relieved finding out that he had the ability to
change my mind set. Initially I was hesitant, but however as the meeting progressed, I gained
confidence and after discussing the general guidance from the information pack, we were talking
real business. I learned how to utilize short time by effective questioning. My mentor talked about
the pPros and cons of different topic areas and upon after listening some further thoughts to on
that, topic 8 was selected. . My mentorHe assured me that he’ll be available at all-times and will
be following up on the status of my report every week.

Based on my mentor’s experience and availability of relevant information and financials, Shell
Pakistan limited, the 2nd most prominent company in the sector in terms of market share was
selected for the research organization.As the meeting progressed, I started to see the challenge in
selecting a relevant organization. I learned that I would have to ensure adequate information is
available and I had access to it. My Mentor insisted on a stock exchange listed company as well
as a listed competitor to ensure publically available data. I figured that along with the companies’
own websites, some helpful information would also be available capital market websites.

I was then asked about theAs we went into the discussion about report structure that I had in my
mind based on the review of the information pack, and when we discussed about it, I realized
there were several many pointsareas which where i my interpretation was flaweddid not interpreted
correctly. I did feel a bit overwhelmed however My my mentor then told calmed me by about the
offering some easy but valuable suggestions in my approach towards the report, . and I
realized,This made me realize that by actually listening carefully to my mentorhis
recommendations, many confusions that I had, were responded well regarding the layout and the
structure, were actually not that difficult to address. Advices were givenHe advised further and
noted down regarding the expectations of the examiner, referencing style, word count and most
importantly, the common mistakes that students make. I learned how listening and questioning
productively helped me focus on all the relevant analysis that needed to be included in my report.
They were many thingsmany aspects that I hadn’t even heard of before had not contemplated
before e.g.specially regarding the referencing style, but, now, I was excited as I knew that I would
be learning something new and something that would help me in the future.

Towards the end, all the points discussed were skimmed through quickly and the meeting
concluded with the date of the next meeting agreed upon along-with the objective of that meeting.I
felt the project had already started to have an impact on my skills to question myself and ponder
to suggestions which may have felt counter intuitive at first. I was already looking forward to the
next meeting.

Mentor Meeting 2:

My draft report was ready and as per our discussion a day before the 2nd meeting, I had already
emailed my report to my mentor as we couldn’t meet due to some protests that were being held
out throughout the city. The meeting was conducted via a video conference. I felt some discomfort
in expressing myself lack of physical presence. However, that feeling subsided as I started to go
into the specifics.

My mentor reviewed my report and while reviewing, he alsostarted was commenting on every
single element that I needed to improve on . such asThis included, but was not limited to, the
relevancy relevance of the data, word count, referencing, reasoning, vocabulary etc. I was learned
that making notes at my end would help me recall his comments later. and Although they there
were a lot of minorute errors but most of them could be rectified and not huge changeswithout
major changes in terms theof structure were needed. I was expecting more errors to be pointed out
in terms of structure and the layout but to my surprise, my mentor had positive comments towards
that. I realized and learnt that if efforts and hard-work are put in, it is noticed and appreciated.

This discussion though pointed out many mistakes in my report but I enjoyed it as the purpose was
to make sure that at-least it achieves all the research objectives set and the structure and the layout
of the report is such that it fulfills the essential above mentioned purposerequirements. Not only
this, but also II also learned how to present something that is still in its completion initial stage and
how to take criticism or pointingation of errors in a positive way.

I was now positiveoptimistic and confident and even more eager eager to get this report completed
as early as possible. Apart from few blemishes I was on the right track and with few amendments,
as advised by my mentor, my the report could would be in good shape. All the advicesopinions
were recapitulated in the end by my mentorhim and the date was set for next and the final meeting
whenre I would present my final report.

Mentor Meeting 3 and Presentation of findings:

For the past three monthsmonths, I had been working on this research report and till now, all the
research, ratios, reasoning were on my fingertips and now had a deep understanding of the
company, a relevant understanding of the industry and what particular policies and factors affects
the industry as a whole. I summarized all of that in a presentation and presented it to my mentor.

Undoubtedly it was one of the most nervous day of my lifeI had to deal with nerves as this project
was a major milestone in my career. We had decided to meet at an institute where my mentor
taught evening classes. I thought he will be the only one to whom I’ll be giving my presentation
to but, to my surprisesurprise, a couple of colleagues from his institute had also joined him for the
lunch break. Though this increased my nervousness but I was confident enough, based on my
thorough research that I’ll deliver a positive presentationI had never presented to more than one
person before however my in-depth knowledge started to lead to a confident and effective
presentation.

It was a decent presentation, no non-value adding art, therey were charts, tables, no detailed
explanation, to the point summary of all the reasoning and analysis , and was presented in a clear
and concise waymanner. There were a few questions, asked by my mentor, whichbut I was able to
answer the questions quite comfortably. One of my mentor’s colleague, who had a past experience
of working in the oil and marketing sector, also commented on my knowledge regarding the
particular industry. I learnt how adding only relevant details keeps your audience engaged with
what you have to present.

They were certain findings where I was informed that I need to analyze further and was ending my
research a step earlier, and also, more referencing needs to be done wherever information from 3rd
party sources had been obtained from. It was a good feeling to realize that I now know about an
industry and am able to talk and discuss about it and realized what this project has done for me.

I learned that some assignments or projects are not so difficult to execute even if someone has no
such similar prior experience. Focus, hard-work, dedication, persistence, and curiosity to learn are
key to achieving any milestone.

Question Two: To what extent do you think you have achieved the RAP research objectives
you set?

The research objectives and the questions that were set initially have all been answered to a large
extent. The objectives could have been better answered had there been a cushion for word
limitHowever, the rules of the report regarding word count did pose a hurdle in respect of analyzing
the organization with a few more perspectives.

Financial analysis was done using ratio analysis. To make the analysis more effective, graphs and
charts were used which in itself was a new and a learning experience, something that I was not
taught in classroom training and instilled in me the confidence in presenting an analysis. It helped
me in drawing effective conclusions and answer all the questions which were part of the objectives
set. Though the differentiation between relevant and irrelevant data was cumbersome but with the
help of my mentor and the guidelines set in the information pack, it helpedI managed me not to
stray away from the path.

SWOT analysis was used to conduct the business analysis. I believe the tool used helped in
effectively analyzing the risk and opportunities that the company faced both internally and
externally. This tool required extensive research outside the financial reports but linking the factors
with the service offering and the business of the company was a challenging task, which was dealt
with including only those factors which had a certainty that could have a material effect on the
company’s financials. It was realized that to present several rationales, knowledge of the industry
was required. Policies, procedures , and regulations, guidelines etc. many were reviewed
thoroughly in order to present reasoning and observations.

Other issues included managing my work life balance while devoting myself to this project. I also
struggled to find quite environments at the right time to focus clearly on the research.

Despite Notwithstanding the limitations I have identified above, I believe my research objectives
were achieved. However with some more flexibility in terms of report constraints and my personal
time management, I feel could have done even better.I was able to draw convincing conclusions
from my analysis, which helped me answer the questions enabling me to achieve my research
objectives.

Question Three: How have you demonstrated your interpersonal and communication skills
during the project work?

When I started my RAP, I realized that I may have lacked certain interpersonal skills. These are a
set of skills that includes listening and questioning abilities, communicating with others and
moreover, influencing and convincing others.

The above listedese skills were used more often throughout and were further developed throughout
the projectin the course of the project. During the first meeting, listening calmly what my mentor
had to say answered cleared many doubts, . many Many queries that I had in my mind were
resolved by sharing ideas. By way of questioning him only those questions that were productive
savings ined our time were achieved. and This helped me in achieving a proper structure and layout
of the report along-with including inclusion of only the relevant information that had a material
impact. I learnt how listening to one’s opinion, suggestion and guidance can help out in a positive
way. Also respecting the difference of opinion could lead to a whole new world of findings.

Another important aspect that I learned was the significance of non-verbal communication, my
body language, my expressions and my gestures. During In my meeting three, when I had to
present my report, I was nervous. The presentation did not start off well, but as soon as the
adrenaline rush was goneover, it got better. I was using my body language and , my expressions
to convey my analysis. I was moving around the room with confidence. I learned that perfecting
your presentation does not only require a deep understanding of the topic your presenting, but also
how your body conveys the message. is also important..

Question Four: Reflect on how undertaking the RAP helped you in your accountancy
studies and/or current employment role?

Having worked in the accountancy industry, writing this report has helped me develop in terms of
communications and meeting deadlines, . this This has already paid dividends in my work as a
Treasury and Insurance Officer at GlaxoSmithKline Pakistan Limited.

This report has also helped me to develop my report writing skills, analyzing and reporting is a
key part of my current job, having written this report it has further increase my confidence and
helped me develop the skills to analyze and incorporate only the relevant points in my reports
that’ll have material impact on our treasury operations.

The extent of the research that I have undertaken has enabled me to prepare myself very well
before any sort of meetings, this is a key part of my role where I present a summary of our
department’s performance over quarterly basis. Also, by keeping myself updated with the
economics and government policies, which I’ve learnt are crucial external factors while conducting
business analysis, I’ve also improved on weekly and monthly cash forecasting and projections.

Conducting analysis and critically assessing the impact of relevant factors, has helped my critical
thinking within my job, which has affected my approach towards time management by setting
priorities and also add in contingency for any unforeseen circumstances.