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Project Report

ACCA Level 7 Apprenticeship End Point Assessment

END POINT ASSESSMENT PROJECT REPORT 2

EXAMPLE 1

It is well structured – this apprentice has used the challenge questions to create the contents and identified the key points from each challenge question to give further sub-headings.

It was not generic – the Project Report was personal to the apprentice, their role and organisation. This made it more interesting and engaging to read for the Independent Assessors.

Appendices – all were relevant and appropriate and added value to the Project Report. This gave the narrative context.

Cross-referencing – appendices were clearly cross referenced.

References to skill and behaviours – this apprentice ensured that throughout the Project Report they identified clearly the skill or behaviour they were discussing. For example looking at Part 4 ‘Professionally, I have benefited most greatly from my improved ability to build relationships.’ This allows the Independent assessor to identify easily every skill and behaviour has been adequately covered by the apprentice and assess competence.

The Project Report was reflective and honest – the apprentice not only acknowledged strengths and positive experiences but also weaknesses, challenges and lessons learned.

EXAMPLE 2

Mapping Document – this apprentice attached a mapping document which maps the performance objectives (PO) to the challenge questions and summarises how they achieved competence. This is not required by ACCA but was extremely helpful for both the Independent Assessors and the apprentice to ensure they have adequately addressed each PO.

It is well structured – this apprentice has used the challenge questions to create the contents and identified the key points from each challenge question to give further sub-headings. This is well signposted in the contents page.

It was engaging and tailored – the Project Report was personal to the apprentice, their role and organisation. This made it more appealing and engaging to read for the Independent Assessors (IA) – the Project Report is human marked so ensure the IA’s will be interested and want to read on.

Appendices – all were relevant and appropriate and added value to the Project Report. This gave the narrative context. All confidential information was suitably redacted to ensure it complied with the ACCA Code of Ethics and Conduct and the Employers requirements with regards confidentiality.

Cross-referencing – appendices were clearly cross referenced.

References to skill and behaviours – this apprentice ensured that throughout the Project Report they identified clearly the skill or behaviour they were discussing. For example looking at the section Important Behaviours for Myself, My Organisation and Stakeholders we can clearly identify discussion on Continual Improvement, Adding Value, Professional scepticism and Flexibility.

This allows the Independent assessor to identify easily every skill and behaviour has been adequately covered by the apprentice and assess competence.

What we liked about the Project Report examples


Example 1

PERSONAL REFLECTION:

An evaluation of the ways in which this apprenticeship programme has encouraged me to improve my potential to thrive in my role and contribute to the wider organisational goals in the face of changing business needs.

Contents

PART 1: ORGANISATIONAL BACKGROUND AND BUSINESS CHALLENGES 4

PART 2: ROLE SPECIFIC PROFESSIONAL SKILLS AND BEHAVIOURS 6

PART 3: CONTINUING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND CAREER PROGRESSION 7

PART 4: ORGANISATIONAL BEHAVIOURS FROM A STAKEHOLDER PERSPECTIVE 8

PART 5: APPENDICES 9


Part 1: Organisational background and business challenges

BUSINESS MODEL

I am employed by XXX Limited (XXX), an insurance company operating in the non-life sector whose products include personal lines insurance (motor, household, travel, personal injury etc.) and commercial insurance. While the majority of our sales to customers occur through a broker intermediary, we also sell to customers through both aggregator sites and our own branded website and via partnerships. The majority of company income is achieved via insurance premium from customers, with the main expenses being customer claims. Our profit is largely generated through an investment income portfolio of bonds and property fund investment and, to a smaller extent, insurance premiums.

XXX aims to differentiate itself from the rest of the marketplace by delivering higher levels of customer service and has been accredited with the Gold standard ServiceMark by the Institute of Customer Service as voted for by customers, brokers and industry experts. To ensure this ethos remains central to business practice, one of the key XXX strategic values is ‘close to the customer’ (Appendix 5.1 – Business and strategy).

CHALLENGES TO THE BUSINESS

Our biggest challenge is remaining competitive in an industry that consistently operates with low profit margins, and to remain relevant to our customers to enable us to grow our market share. Many of our competitors operate at a combined operating ratio (COR) of below 95%. XXX, however, has historically had a COR of above 100%, meaning the insurance part of the business was loss-making with more money being paid out through claims, settlements and expenses than was generated through insurance premium received from customers (Appendix 5.1 – How we make money). In response to this, in 2018 XXX’s parent company set us an objective of reducing our COR to 97%.

With consumers becoming increasingly tech-savvy and shifting to comparison websites to locate the best prices, or contacting insurers directly to bypass middle-man costs, the broker market has fallen into decline, which has impacted upon XXX’s primary source of income. Consequently, XXX has been forced to review its business methods, and, in response to the changing industry environment, has invested in an online platform to allow customers to purchase from XXX rather than through a third party, as well as a number of new products that look to capture the needs of the changing market. These products have had varying degrees of success, and while several have been largely profitable, others have proven to be costly ventures.

The difficulty when writing new business is achieving a balance between price and risk, which is always at its most challenging when the risks are largely unknown. In the case of a new product, for example, we may be selling to a new type of customer and have less information available as to potential claim values. The main reason behind the relative failure of one of our new products was that customers could take out a short-term policy for a low premium, but could claim on a high value item, resulting in elevated expenses and the increased opportunity for fraudulent claims.

In order to maintain our position as one of the largest insurers in the UK, XXX must respond promptly and effectively to the changing marketplace. By losing our competitive edge in our pricing and accepting less risky business, our top line has fallen over the last forty-eight months. However, significant resource has been invested in our pricing strategy, as well as the development of new products and branching out into different channels, and consequently the company has reduced its expenditure and written more profitable business, which resulted the achievement of our COR target at 2018 year-end. Increasing our top line with profitable business is a key objective in 2019 and we have already seen improvements in our Q1 results.


MY JOB ROLE AND IMPACT WITHIN THE ORGANISATION

As a Tax Compliance Accountant within the Financial Reporting and Tax team at XXX, I am generally far-removed from the strategical decisions of the company. However, my main responsibilities are instead to prepare and submit the monthly, quarterly and annual tax returns to HMRC, ensuring that returns are filed by the fixed due date so as not to incur fines and cause reputational damage to the company. Reduction of company expenditure has been a universal aim for the company and, as a result of my work which includes timely payment of tax liabilities, I helped us achieve our target COR by ensuring interest is not charged on overdue payments.

I also assist with year-end tax reporting which form part of the companies’ financial statements, which are audited externally. As a large group, we must comply with the Senior Accounting Officer (SAO) regulation, and, as part of this review process, I meet with various senior personnel from across the business, reviewing our procedures and controls to ensure we are taking reasonable steps to maintain appropriate tax accounting arrangements. Not only does this process ensure compliance with legislation, it highlights where our own processes and controls can be tightened to improve efficiency in working practises across the business. As a result of the SAO review, frequent correspondence with HMRC and the submission of voluntary disclosures where appropriate, XXX’s integrity has been recognised by HMRC and the business has been granted Low Risk status, with no reason for investigation.

As part of the Tax team, I advise the business on tax matters and consider the tax implications of business activities. It is vital that I remain up-to-date with the latest legislation to ensure our tax processes remain relevant and that I am able to keep the business informed. To achieve this I have, among other things, attended a number of tax conferences, briefings, “Big Four” professional accountancy firms tax updates and HMRC webinars over the last twelve months, and have conveyed what I have learnt to the business. In doing so, I also help to avoid penalties that may increase our expense, and contribute further to maintaining the target COR (Appendix 5.2).


Part 2: Role specific professional skills and behaviours

BENEFITS OF ACQUIRING KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND BEHAVIOURS

Accountancy is a highly complex profession that requires knowledge and experience to deliver well; professional competence and due care is one of ACCA’s five core elements in its code of ethics. As such, the continual acquisition of knowledge and experience is crucial to success in a financial role in terms of delivering a high standard of service to both the company itself and the external customer and also to allow personal progression through the profession as an employee.

As a driven individual that thrives on challenges and learning new skills, I have sought to get the most out of the knowledge I have gained over the last three years and the opportunity it has created to work in a number of areas across the business, which has allowed me to engage with the wider company through several different roles. This movement has encouraged me to continue to develop my understanding and prevent me from becoming complacent in a role I become overly familiar with. At the start of the course my role in management accounting focused on month-end reporting, from which I moved to a joint Tax and Financial Reporting role around two years later. More recently I have transitioned to an exclusively Tax role on the back of my growing knowledge in the field. My professional studies have provided me with the foundation that has allowed me to advance to these new roles with a fundamental understanding upon which I can build through job-specific training.

RELEVANCE IN MY CURRENT JOB ROLE

A large proportion of my studies have proven to be directly relevant to my current role within the company. Tax touches every area of business, requiring me to be confident in

communicating with a variety of different people from diverse backgrounds both internal and external to XXX. When communicating with others who have experience in Finance, it is appropriate and advantageous to use technical language. However, for communications outside of Finance it is often necessary to tailor my language to the audience, making it more accessible to those who may not understand the professional terms. Much of my communication is in a written format, often through emails or Best Practice Guides (Appendix 5.4), with which I have always been comfortable. Recently, however, I have been involved more frequently in face-to-face meetings. As several of these have been with senior figures within XXX, I have consequently found my profile within the company to have been raised. In particular, I now lead quarterly review meetings with the Director of Financial Operations to discuss the Insurance Premium Tax return.

It is common for me to communicate with colleagues who have minimal background or interest in Finance to gain information for our tax returns. This could be, for example, when analysing income to determine whether or not it is subject to VAT for the purpose of a VAT return. In these situations I find it useful to provide an element of background to the recipient to help them understand my reasons for asking questions. I believe that if I am able to educate others on the importance of Tax and its implications in a way that support their requirements, they are more likely to reach out to me with future Tax queries (Appendix 5.3). At times it can be challenging to persuade people of the importance of applying the correct tax treatment, especially when the value concerned is nominal and far below any materiality level (though tax isn’t subject to materiality). To overcome this, I have established relationships with key senior personnel, explaining my reasoning and taking on board their priorities and concerns in order to reach an agreed outcome, which they can cascade down to their teams. One such example is that because of my discussions with the Supplier Development Lead, the claims teams are now checking the tax status of

any sub-contractors before engaging them for repair work, which greatly reduces XXX’s risk of making payments that do not comply with the Construction Industry Scheme.

In our general ledger we have specific account codes for input and output VAT. When compiling the quarterly VAT return, I could simply declare the values from our ledger to HMRC. However, as there are numerous individuals with the ability to post journals, there are occasions when miscoding occurs or a lack of knowledge results in the application of inappropriate tax treatments. There have even been cases where invoices scanned by automatic recognition software have been read incorrectly. Therefore, despite the time benefit, it would not be professional to accept the values within the ledger as true without question. Instead, I use professional scepticism to scrutinise the existing contents of the VAT accounts and search for items that may be missing. Where unusual transactions occur, I gather as much information as possible to ascertain whether the correct tax treatment has been applied. As and when issues are identified, I clearly communicate to both those responsible and those affected, and ensure that the ledger is corrected and the VAT return adjusted to reflect the true position. This diligent and investigative attitude is a new skill that I have developed as a result of shifting from a process-based role to one that is more analytical, and it was a while before I became comfortable with the new approach, particularly in learning the necessary questions to consider. Whilst I’m aware that I am still developing in this regard, I have noticed a considerable increase in my confidence in this aspect of my role, and will continue to expand on this as I gain further experience.

Although not every aspect of my studies has a direct impact on my daily responsibilities, they are still valuable for providing a broader appreciation of business and Finance, allowing me to understand the wider company and industry, and helping me to apply these skills when working alongside colleagues from different areas across XXX.


Part 3: Continuing professional development and career progression

PROFESSIONAL SKILLS AND BEHAVIOURS GAINED

One key point that I have learnt about working in business is the importance of flexibility. In the Tax team, our busiest period is quarter-end and many of our returns require information to be provided by other departments. Often our busier periods conflict with those of other departments, which has historically caused issues in ensuring that the necessary information is received at the appropriate time and, as such, I have had to adapt my methods to accommodate the schedules of those upon whom I rely for information at these times.

Originally I began compiling my VAT returns at the beginning of the month following quarter-end, and would often query items in the accounts at this point, asking colleagues to respond in a relatively short timeframe. I discovered that this simply added to their existing workload at times where this was not beneficial, causing frustration and often resulting in my requests being overlooked or answers delayed. Having become aware of the impact of this through observation and listening to feedback from others, I saw this as an area upon which I could improve. Now more familiar with my role, I have learned which items to address in the accounts and am able to begin my analysis two weeks earlier, assessing the first ten weeks of entries and submitting any queries during a period when other departments are considerably less busy, thus allowing them longer to investigate and respond in a less pressured environment. Once quarter-end has been reached, there are only two weeks’ worth of accounts to review, resulting in fewer questions to other departments. In consequence, I have noticed a significantly improved response time which has greatly assisted in compiling the returns within deadline.

FUTURE CONTINUING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND CAREER PROGRESSION

My studies towards ACCA qualification have led me to a broad understanding of accounting principles and standards, as well as more specialised knowledge in areas such as Tax and Audit. Alongside this, I have also acquired a number of transferable professional skills and behaviours that will continue to help me through the changing roles of my future career.

I am keen to ensure that I continue to develop both these and new skills once my apprenticeship programme is complete through internally and externally-provided training. XXX offers ‘Take a Break to Educate’ monthly seminars that cover a wide variety of subjects across the workings of the business, which I have now attended on several occasions and find highly insightful. Previous seminars have included IT Change Management Process and Actuarial Pricing and Reserving, and have broadened by understanding of the business by helping me to view it holistically.

I have also attended a number of Tax conferences and briefings over the last twelve months

(Appendix 5.5), from which I have gained specific tax knowledge and seen real life examples of when the rules are in effect. From this, I have been able to offer advice in various situations, including to our joint-venture customers on the tax implications of employee benefits. I have also learned of the importance of Transfer Pricing, which has provided context to the Transfer Pricing local file I drafted last year for 2017, and will do so again for 2018. I plan to attend further relevant external courses as they are announced, and have already confirmed attendance at the half-yearly SESCA Tax Update for Accountants in Business

in June 2019 which will cover the latest Tax Regulations update resulting from the Chancellor’s Spring Statement. From this I hope to learn of any new regulations which may impact upon XXX, to inform any necessary liaison with personnel in other areas of the company and ensure that we are ready for implementation in each of the relevant teams.

One of my new tasks is to assist with the Research and Development claim for the prior year, which is submitted as part of the Corporation Tax return. This involves meeting with IT specialists to assess which work undertaken throughout the year may qualify for the R&D tax deduction. In order for a project or piece of work to be considered R&D, it must meet a strict set of criteria, and as such I will be required to gather as much information as possible about the work and from the specialists themselves to critically assess whether the criteria have been met. This will include challenging advancements made and any uncertainties encountered to ensure that each project has been thoroughly examined. This will particularly draw upon my professional scepticism in determining which, if any, claims made by XXX are reasonable.


Part 4: Organisational behaviours from a stakeholder perspective

SKILLS AND BEHAVIOURS MOST IMPORTANT TO ME

Whilst all of the skills I have acquired from this course have proven valuable, I have found that some in particular have a more significant role to play in various aspects of my aspects of my professional and personal life.

Professionally, I have benefited most greatly from my improved ability to build relationships. As a large proportion of my work is dependent on data and information from others, it significantly helps when others consider me a helpful and friendly person, and therefore seek to be helpful in return. One of my priorities throughout each of my roles has been to respond to queries promptly and be as insightful as possible (appendix 5.6), and consequently I often see this attitude reflected when I have questions of my own. If I am unable to respond quickly due to the time or resource requirement to do so, such as during quarter-end or when I do not hold the information myself, I aim instead to keep the enquirer informed of my progress. I also endeavour to meet others face-to-face where appropriate, both to make myself known in a more personable way, and to avoid any misinterpretation through written communication that could cause problems in the long run. For example, I have met with the …………….. Underwriting Finance team (our joint venture customer) on a number of occasions to talk through the Corporation Tax return, SAO and Making Tax Digital for VAT.

As a result of the network of contacts I have established throughout my time at XXX, my willingness to get involved and my desire to develop, I have been granted numerous additional opportunities outside of my working position. After an in-depth application and testing period involving both interviews and an assessment day, I was accepted onto the Career Catalyst Talent Programme at XXX, which aims to identify and develop individuals with future Line

Manager potential. Throughout the two-year development programme I attended a number of courses focusing on skills such as communication, assertiveness and affective leadership, and was involved in a range of teambuilding tasks. Despite having had little opportunity to apply these skills in my job roles to date, I have sought occasions to do so outside my position. For example, I have been a member of the Communication Committee, am currently a member of the Sports and Social Committee, and have organised the annual cross-campus XXX walking challenge. These ‘extra-curricular’ activities have allowed me to plan and organise events, supported by teams of other employees, and put my leadership skills into practice.

SKILLS AND BEHAVIOURS MOST IMPORTANT TO XXX

XXX is a limited company parented by a listed company that is owned by shareholders. As such, as with all profit-making entities, its main priority is to increase shareholder wealth. Recently there has been a huge shift in strategic focus towards increasing profit in a way that remains fair for customers, like expense reduction over increasing premiums. Consequently, efficiency has become a key focus: process improvement through problem-solving is paramount to moving forwards.

One of my current projects is preparing XXX for Making Tax Digital (MTD), which is a government initiative aiming to make VAT accounting a wholly-digital process that consist of two phases to come into force over the next eighteen months. Phase One is to begin supplying data for the nine-box VAT return to HMRC through an application programming interface (API) rather than manually, with Phase Two looking to establish a continuous link of flowing digital information that negates the need for manual intervention.

Whilst working on the project I have utilised my leadership skills to collaborate with colleagues and provide timescales and requirement outlines, as well employ problem-solving skills to find an effective digital solution to Phase Two. While the initiative is a government requirement and therefore compulsory, I have taken the opportunity to review the entire internal process and evaluate where efficiency can be increased instead of simply delivering the minimum legal requirement.

One of my solutions for Phase Two that I have now implemented was to use IBM‘s data reporting tool, TM1, with which I was familiar from a previous role, in the Tax working papers. This had not been used previously by the Tax team, and as such I decided to thoroughly investigate its viability through a parallel run of the process to ensure that the information pulled directly from the ledger was consistent and accurate. I have also trained others in the team to use the tool, and its use has saved a significant amount of time when completing quarterly tax returns in a way that is MTD compliant, thus also future-proofing the Tax working papers (appendix 5.7).


Part 5: Appendices

5.2. UPDATE DISTRIBUTED TO THE MTD PROJECT TEAM AFTER ATTENDING A BIG 4 MTD WEBINAR

5.3. EXAMPLE EMAIL TO NON-FINANCE COLLEAGUE EXPLAIN TAX IMPLICATIONS OF RECHARGES

5.4. BUSINESS GUIDANCE ON CT61 FORM AND EXAMPLE R185 FORM, DISTRIBUTED TO CLAIMS TEAM

5.5. TRAINING HOURS LOG

5.6. FEEDBACK ON STAKEHOLDER MANAGEMENT

5.7. EMAIL ADVISING OF MTD CHANGES TO VAT WORKING PAPERS

SKILLS AND BEHAVIOURS MOST IMPORTANT TO XXX’S STAKEHOLDERS

Stakeholders are any individuals or groups that can affect or are affected by the business, and therefore have an interest in the company. Consequently, the range of people that a business can affect is much larger than simply those with whom it has direct relationships, and conflicts of interest can often arise between these groups. XXX’s stakeholders include its customers, suppliers, employees, directors, shareholders, regulators and the government, as well as the general public, who all have different wants, needs and interests in the company, though they each share the common desire for XXX to operate ethically and with integrity. As an employee of XXX and a student of ACCA, I, too, have a responsibility to act in this way, and this value fundamentally underpins every aspect of my role within the company. As I have begun to appreciate the larger workings of the company, I have become increasingly aware of the importance of this.

Overall, I believe I am a more effective employee as a result of the knowledge, skills and behaviours learned on the apprenticeship programme.


Example 2 Contents

QUESTION ONE – BUDGETING

QUESTION TWO – FORECASTING

QUESTION THREE – REPORTING

QUESTION FOUR – NEW COST CENTRES AND TASKS


Question one – Budgeting

MY ORGANISATION, ITS BUSINESS MODEL AND ITS CHALLENGES

I work for a global software development company and service provider for the education sector. We offer student management systems for various types of institutions, such as higher education or work-based learning. We support these institutions by allowing them to focus on providing quality education to ensure that their students have a positive, successful experience throughout their studies.

As quality education is important to us, we tailor our products to suit each institution and do not provide services where they are not needed. Unfortunately, this currently limits our customer base as there are only so many suitable institutions. We are currently the number 1 provider of student information systems in Australia, New Zealand and the UK. Maintaining this customer base and ensuring their satisfaction is key to success, but we also need to grow our business, maintain a competitive advantage and ensure we are investing efficiently and effectively.

In the long term, we intend to grow through acquisition, but only when the right companies come into play. In the meantime, we have been placing our focus on improving our profit margin year on year by continually improving the management of our resources. This will keep investors investing, make us more efficient, and give us more leverage when we do find a suitable company to acquire.

MY ROLE AND IMPACT

In quarter three of 2018, we started to look at how we would achieve an increased profit margin in 2019. Due to the limited customer base in our key demographic, we thought we may struggle to increase our revenue significantly, so it was necessary to find ways to reduce costs, but of course, without reducing quality.

In my current role, my focus is on accounting for my company’s overheads. This was a key area where costs could be reduced, so it was my responsibility to work with the cost centre owners to identify where reductions could be made and to produce a reliable budget for 2019 in line with the goal set by the CFO. This was the first time I had been involved in a budgeting process, and it was also the first time for some of the owners too.

My first task was to create an initial budget, collating all the knowledge that I had gained so far. I used my business insight skills to fully understand the challenge and to identify areas where we may be able to reduce costs without jeopardising quality of service.

Once I had pulled together a good starting point, I then worked with the budget holders to improve completeness. As this was a new process to some, I used my leadership skills to ensure the holders didn’t revert to having minimal input into the budget by guiding them through this process and keeping them motivated through communicating the benefits of their involvement. I took ownership of the project to achieve high quality results within a set deadline. To achieve my goal, I solved problems quickly and accurately, making good decisions that are in line with the business’s values. I ensured that we collaborated effectively to pull our knowledge and skills together to create a reliable budget with relevant information that allowed appropriate decisions to be made.

I communicated clear direction for the project, and I built strong relationships with each of the budget holders (See appendix 5, point 4 for 2018 appraisal). I provided support by addressing concerns effectively via clear, concise communications. As the budget holders are closer to the ground, they were more aware of smaller changes happening and any projects that were being considered in each of their areas. The strong relationships that I built allowed me to take advantage of the holders increased knowledge to improve the budget’s completeness and reliability.

I had to act ethically when identifying areas to reduce costs to find honest, achievable ways to do this. This ensured that the budget presented to the board was reliable and could be approved to allow investors to make an informed decision based on reasonable projections, whilst enabling us to overcome our challenges.

Towards the end of 2018, we identified a possible acquisition in a new, but still relevant, market sector –education focused customer relationship management solutions, with a focus on improving student recruitment and business engagement. We started to incur costs to help us evaluate the decision. It was my responsibility to track costs and ensure that they were correctly exceptionalised. I used decision making skills to evaluate and identify relevant costs and I provided reports on these items that aided my company in overcoming the challenges associated with an acquisition.

After 2019 half year, we have started to incorporate the acquisition into the business, and I have begun reporting on their costs separately. Shortly, I will prepare 2020’s budget and use the skills and knowledge I have gained from this process to tackle the challenge of absorbing and incorporating these new costs.


LEARNINGS – HELPING MY COMPANY TO TACKLE ITS CHALLENGES

I was pleased with the end results as I had been adequately prudent and produced a reliable, honest budget. I took leadership of the project, although this was quite new to me. I also improved my decision making, relationship building and communication skills, using my business insight and integrity. However, I found that I assumed knowledge that isn’t commonly known in other sectors, mostly surrounding accruals and prepayments. This resulted in the timings of projects in the budget being off and variances arising due to phasing. If I were to do it again, I would be sure to make initial enquiries and prepare for lower levels of financial knowledge before starting the body of the project. Overall, I am pleased with the outcome and how I developed my skills throughout the task.

(See appendix 1 for Line Manager Witness Statement)


Question two – Forecasting

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND BEHAVIOURS

As a management accountant, I am continually reviewing our figures. No matter how informed and reliable the budget was initially, there are always deviations in actuals due to changes arising that were unforeseen, both positive and negative. Part of my role is to consider these changes and to adjust the forecast to show the most accurate and reliable view for the future. I use my company’s history and my accumulated knowledge to identify trends and project future progress.

Looking at each cost centre in isolation, it is relatively simple to identify current changes and trends. However, being able to consider wider changes, the interactions between them and their effects on multiple cost centres, is where I really add value to my company. The knowledge, skills and behaviours I have gained throughout the apprenticeship have enabled me to have a broader understanding of the business’s changes and to work more effectively with budget holders. This resulted in me providing a more insightful forecast for management to base their decisions on.

MY ROLE AND IMPACT

The knowledge that I have gained on the apprenticeship gave me the ability to see ‘the bigger picture’ at my company. I have grasped the business’ strategy, objectives and management style towards risks and decision making, so that I have a better understanding of the direction, expectations and needs of my company. It has helped me to gauge potential changes that may arise and know how best to act.

My company offers webinars called ‘All Hands’ to ensure we are continually working with the same strategy towards the same goals. This is essentially a presentation and Q&A session from the CEO and other key members of staff that is streamed live companywide to keep everyone updated on the company’s direction and any important changes. Attending the ‘All Hands’ webinars is one way that I have continually advanced my business insight. It has ensured that I am clear on our objectives and it has given me a wider view of the business. On top of that, I have also attended the presentations of employees from various areas of the business that give further insight into the goals and issues facing Tribal internally. I used both the internal and external information that I gained to consider future changes in other areas of the business, and how they would impact areas that I am responsible for forecasting.

For example, I learnt that one of our objectives in aiming to reduce costs company-wide, is to reduce our reliance on agencies for recruiting, as they are more expensive than in-house recruiting. When recruiting via an agency, the cost sits directly in the vacancy’s financial dimensions. However, in-house recruiting costs sit within a cost centre that I manage, HR, as they often can’t be directly attributed to a specific vacancy. I used my business insight to foresee that greater analysis would be needed surrounding company-wide recruitment costs. I now provide relevant analysis of the wider business, separated into actual spend year-to-date and forecasted and committed spend for the rest of the year vs budget. I broke down the costs by both department and supplier to assess the effect it was having on the HR department and to identify where we were still incurring agency costs (See appendix 2 for breakdown).

The skills that I gained on my apprenticeship, have enabled me to successfully apply my knowledge to various situations. For example, I have used my skills to improve the completeness and reliability of the forecast by bringing budget holders into a more involved role via regular meetings. I have built good relationships with each of them that encourage us to share our knowledge, support and

advise each other on the effects of potential changes, and solve problems that arise to make good decisions that are in line with the business’s goals. These meetings have been most beneficial when forecasting for IT due to the high value and complexity of the projects that they carry out. Regular meetings enabled us to communicate effectively to raise concerns and gain knowledge that allowed forecast changes that required an in-depth understanding of both IT and finance (See appendix 3 for meeting notes).

The behaviours that I have focused on during the apprenticeship have supported me in progressing further, pushing my boundaries and developing myself in both my role and my personal life. They have given me the mindset I need to be a valuable employee. I have gained, and offered, more in my role and I have become a more integrated part of the business. I have been continually seeking ways to improve the forecasting process, such as more involvement from the budget holders, which required me to be flexible as the process changes. It has deepened my knowledge of the business and I have created a more reliable forecast that really added value to the task. I have been able to make more informed decisions, which help the business increase profitability and achieve its goals.

LEARNINGS – USEFULNESS OF KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND BEHAVIOURS

I have learnt how to work collaboratively with colleagues from all levels of management and all areas of the business to achieve the best results. Forecasting is a useful tool, and when I applied the knowledge, skills and behaviours to my role in this task, I brought even greater benefits to the business. I have deepened my relationships with the budget holders and developed my communication skills further to add value to my role. I have been continually seeking improvements to myself and what I can offer, through flexibility and perseverance.


Question three – Reporting

BEING AN EFFECTIVE EMPLOYEE

An effective employee works with the business, helping them to achieve their goals and acting as best they can for all stakeholders. Being able to make good decisions, whilst aware of the impact that they have on both the internal and external environments of the company. A truly effective employee is not only mindful of this, but also actively influences others to follow suit. This encourages consistency, efficiencies, and cooperation, therefore enhancing the likelihood of success.

As an effective accountant, I have been able to foresee the businesses needs and act accordingly. I collated and analysed data, both financial and non-financial, to compare our position with our expectations, and identify useful trends to help us achieve our goals. I interpret it in a way that is understandable and relevant to my audiences and their needs, which are forever changing. I have developed my skills to enable me to provide deeper analysis of transactions, tailored reports and high-level, relevant summaries of variances, to become a more effective employee.

MY ROLE AND IMPACT

As my knowledge about the business progressed, I used my business insight skills to really understand the implications of my findings and identify which pieces of information would be of interest to which audiences and the decisions they face. I started to identify trends and consider the future impact that they would have on the wider business and various stakeholders. This is an appealing quality to employers and advancement of this skill will aid my career progression.

The analysis that I provide gives a good view of our financial performance levels as the year progresses. This allows us to solve problems early and make decisions that minimise the effect they have or prohibit them from materialising at all. The reports that I provide must be relevant, accurate and comprehensive to enable us to successfully achieve our goals. For example, analysis of property costs has become increasingly important due to the focus on minimising costs. However, due to recent changes in accounting standards, combined with internal changes in the finance department, analysing and reporting on our property costs has become much more difficult. I used my problem-solving skills to create reports that worked with the recent changes. I summarised the data into relevant categories to enable me to analyse which locations were not working to budget and where we needed to improve to reach our cost saving goals. Being able to help the business achieve its goals will make me more valuable to the business as I will be a more effective employee.

Once I have developed my understanding of each cost centre, I started to create tailored reports to replace the standard, pre-made ones I started out with. Seeking continual improvement will help me with my future development by creating a positive habit that is embedded within the activities I carry out. To advance this behaviour,

I took responsibility for my own development by emailing the budget holders with areas of the report that I proposed to improve on and to ask for their feedback on both the reports and my suggestions for improvement (See appendix 4 for email). This was well received and enabled me to build new reports that fitted each person’s individual needs. By maintaining flexibility, I was able to adapt these reports to show the information from an alternative angle and deliver prompt analysis for other members of the company. For instance, I adapted my property report that I mentioned previously, to show regional allocations based on headcount as this was of interest to the regional finance director. Flexibility allowed me to offer deeper analysis in a timelier manner.

I have added value to the business by anticipating the information that each audience will want and need. This is a hugely attractive behaviour to employers as it gives the business a competitive advantage. I am now able to provide high level commentary that is of greater interest to each audience than the low-level information I was providing at the start of my apprenticeship. The style of my writing has progressed to convey the selected information more effectively, allowing more room to focus on addressing concerns and discussing opportunities in a timelier manner. I have developed my communication skills, resulting in who I report the figures to changing. Initially, I would relay my findings to my manager, make bit-by-bit notes and then this would be fed back to the CFO by more experienced members of the team. However, I have developed my communication skills to now present my findings to the CFO myself, as well as to my manager and the budget holders. Each has an interest in different areas of my work and has varying levels of financial knowledge. Therefore, I use different communication styles and ensure that I use relevant terms and phrasings to a correct level of detail based on my audience.


LEARNINGS – HELPING TO PLAN MY FUTURE CAREER AND DEVELOPMENT

The skills and behaviours that I have gained have enabled me to provide more relevant analysis and effectively convey my findings to my audience. Throughout my career these audiences will change, and it will be crucial for me to adapt to each of their needs. The apprenticeship has enabled me to offer greater insight into this and add more value to a wider variety of stakeholders through clear communications. Seeking continual improvement will help me in my future development as it has become engrained within my work. It has made me more aware of opportunities to advance my skill set and the advantages of doing so. The apprenticeship has enabled me to achieve high quality results, solve problems quickly and make good decisions, which will give me a competitive advantage for desired roles as it will make me a more effective employee with a wider range of capabilities. Developing my skills and behaviours throughout my future will make me more appealing to employers and aid me in my career progression.


Question four – New cost centres and tasks

PROGRESS DURING MY APPRENTICESHIP

The apprenticeship has taught me key behaviours that are beneficial to myself, my organisation and to stakeholders. When I started the apprenticeship, I was the accountant for 5 cost centres and 1 allocation process. By the end of my first year, I had become the accountant for all direct and indirect overheads, which totals 15 cost centres and 4 allocation processes whilst maintaining the quality of my work and meeting deadlines. However, I was still lacking confidence and would often seek advice on tasks that I had produced perfectly sound solutions to by myself (See appendix 5, point three and seven for 2018 appraisal). As I gained new behaviours, I was able to realise the value I added to the business and carry out my responsibilities more efficiently, adapting my processes accordingly to give me the confidence to take on new challenges and grow further.

IMPORTANT BEHAVIOURS FOR MYSELF, MY ORGANISATION AND STAKEHOLDERS

For me personally, continual improvement is the most important behaviour I have gained. I have seen the improvement I have made over the apprenticeship to take on greater cost centres and tasks, whilst maintaining the quality of my results. It has given me a good sense of achievement and something to be proud of. Seeking out new challenges and gaining new skills allowed me to grow in both my personal and professional life. I have developed new ways of thinking, which has enabled me to approach a wider variety of tasks and gain a greater sense of accomplishment. Acting with a continuous improvement mentality has widened my comfort zone and grown my confidence. I have been able to take on more exciting tasks and tackle more interesting challenges.

For my company, adding value is the most important behaviour that I have demonstrated. Companies have a duty to shareholders to increase profitability, which allows the company to keep investing, be invested in and maintain a competitive advantage that enables them to grow. I increased the range of tasks that I carried out, and the efficiency with which I delivered results to a high standard. It helped to increase profitability by reducing costs and increasing returns. Taking on new cost centres and tasks minimises the amount of staff needed, which reduces employee costs and some overheads. It has also allowed me to spend more time on analysis, which is where I really added value. I have provided insights greater than a computer would be able to, by considering the wider business and linking external factors into the analysis. Providing this to management enabled more beneficial decisions to be made regarding both cost savings and investments, therefore adding value.

As an accountant, it is important that I act with professional scepticism to retain the public’s trust in the accountancy profession. It allows stakeholders to comfortably make decisions based on the reports that we provide and protects the public from the negative effects of error or fraud, such as the Enron collapse. I maintained professional scepticism when taking on new cost centres and processes to ensure that I identified, at a minimum, material errors, to reduce the risk of inconsistencies in the data and the generation of unreliable financial statements. I did not take previous conclusions at face value, drawing my own opinions from the data to base my analysis on accurate conclusions.

Flexibility is a key behaviour for myself, my employer and our stakeholders. I was able to accommodate completion of new tasks, with varying levels of importance, within the relevant time frame. It allowed me to try new challenges and meet my businesses needs by flexing my routine and adjusting to the ever-changing environment. It aided my company in delivering good results, increasing shareholder returns and enabling adequate time to be spent on decision making and consideration of our effects on the wider community.

LEARNINGS – USEFUL BEHAVIOURS

When I first started on the apprenticeship, I was nervous to take on more tasks as I was unsure of myself and my skills, even after effectively widening my responsibilities. This prohibited me from seeking new challenges and delayed my development. I would seek unnecessary approval for tasks, which created inefficiencies in my work. However, the apprenticeship has supported me in widening my comfort zone and growing my confidence to enable me to tackle new challenges, both professionally and personally. It has allowed me to add value to my business and provide a reliable service in the public’s best interests. I have learnt when, where and how to seek advice and I have used alternative methods to approach new tasks and overcome the challenges that I face.


Appendices

APPENDIX 1 – WITNESS TESTIMONY FROM LINE MANAGER

APPENDIX 2 – RECRUITMENT TRACKER

APPENDIX 3 – IT MEETING NOTES

APPENDIX 4 – EMAIL TO HR DIRECTOR

APPENDIX 5 – MY 2018 REVIEW WITH MY LINE MANAGER


Performance objectives

Description Elements (competence) SBL syllabus section

Project report

Challenge Q1 Challenge Q2 Challenge Q3 Challenge Q4

Building relationships

Build trusted and sustainable relationships with individuals and organisations. Consistently support individuals and collaborate to achieve results as part of a team.

A Show insight and understanding of work-related and organisational issues to support staff within your teams.

l2, A2 Collaborated with budget holders throughout the budgeting process to produce a high-quality, reliable budget by supporting each other to overcome the challenges we faced.

Regular meetings encouraged knowledge sharing, supporting and advising each other and solving problems to make good decisions in line with the businesses goals.

N/A N/A

B Critically evaluate your effectiveness at developing and enhancing ethical professional relationships with your team, your wider organisation and external stakeholders that contribute to the organisational objectives.

Business insight Influence the impact of business decisions on relevant and affected communities based on an appreciation of different organisations and the environments in which they operate.

A Critically evaluates the environment to a business, external and internal, and the trends in technology in order to make beneficial decisions and strategic choices.

C2, C3, C4 and E1, E2, E3 and I2

Used knowledge of the business and its environment to produce a budget that would help my company reduce its costs, while maintaining quality.

Prepared analysis of costs and forecasted spend for company-wide recruitment based on our objective to bring the activity more in-house.

Identifying relevant information for various audiences by understanding the implications of the data and trends in the reports.

N/A

Communication Communicate in a clear, articulate and appropriate manner. Adapt communications to suit different situations, individuals or teams.

A Ability to inform, persuade and provide clarity to different stakeholders internal and external as appropriate including appropriate forms and tone of communication to individuals or teams.

I1, B4, F3 Clearly communicated the direction of the project and the benefits of the collaboration to produce an informed budget.

Effective communication reduced the risk of adjustments being missed by increasing inter-departmental knowledge.

Adapted my communication style to effectively convey my findings to various audiences from the CFO to the IT manager.

N/A




Project report


Ethics and integrity

Identify ethical dilemmas, understand the implications and behave appropriately. Understand their legal responsibilities, both within the letter and the spirit of the law, as well as be aware of the procedures for reporting concerns over potentially unethical activities.

A Demonstrating professionalism and ethical behaviour including knowledge of governance issues.

A3, B1, B2 and B3

With a target to reduce costs in the budget, it was essential to select alterations that were honestly achievable to provide a reliable projection for investors to base their decisions on.

N/A N/A N/A

Leadership Take ownership of allocated projects and effectively manage their own time and the time of others. Demonstrate good project management skills to deliver high quality work within the appropriate timeline. Act as a role model and motivate others to deliver results.

A Demonstrate application of the key leadership traits effective in the successful formulation and implementation of strategy and change management.

H7 Kept budget holders motivated and addressed concerns throughout a process that was new to them. Successfully delivered the project to a high standard within the given timeframe.

N/A N/A N/A

B Apply in the context of organisation governance and leadership qualities, the key ethical and professional values underpinning governance.




Project report


Problem solving and decision making

Evaluate information quickly and draw accurate conclusions. Assess a problem from multiple angles to ensure all relevant issues are considered. Gather the appropriate facts and evidence in order to make decisions effectively.

A Ability to asses, estimate and appraise findings and using finance and management accounting techniques to provide sustainable solutions.

I5, I3, G2 and G3

Promptly assessed problems that arose and made quick and accurate decisions using the evidence we’d collated to ensure the deadline was met and the budget was reliable.

Evaluated adjustments to balance the effects of changes to give a reliable forecast that maintained the goal budget figure as closely as possible.

Reporting on property costs became more valuable, but also more difficult. I implemented an alternative way to analyse the data and identify where efficiencies were needed.

N/A

Adds value Anticipate and individual’s / organisation’s future needs and requirements. Identify opportunities that can add value for the individual / organisation.

A Listen to others to understand their priorities and concerns.

C5, H1-H4, I5

N/A Pulled together various information to carry out a deeper analysis of future costs and projected forecast.

Anticipation of each audience’s needs allowed more time to be spent on in-depth discussions surrounding concerns and solutions.

Identified efficiencies in processes to take on more tasks and spend more time on deeper analysis of variances and future trends.

Continuous improvement

Take responsibility for their own professional development by seeking out opportunities that enhance their knowledge, skills and experience.

A Engage with stakeholders across the organisation, improving understanding and cooperation.

I2 N/A Brought budget holders into a more involved forecasting role to deepen my knowledge of each department and the encourage cooperation.

Pro-actively suggested ways to improve the reports I provide and gain feedback on the usefulness of them to each individual.

Took on new tasks to challenge myself and widen my comfort zone. This grew my confidence and advanced my experience.




Project report


Flexibility Adapt approach to assist organisations and individuals to manage their conflicting priorities as circumstances change.

A Ability to investigate, enquire and consider all facts in resolving problems and conflicting ideas.

I1, I3, H1, H5, H6

N/A The improvements made to the forecasting process required flexibility to adapt to new scenarios.

Adapted planning and reports to offer analysis in a wider range of scenarios to suit the business.

I was able to accommodate new tasks of varying levels of importance to successfully deliver results in a timely manner.

Professional scepticism

Apply a questioning mind to conditions which may indicate a possible misstatement of financial information due to error or fraud.

A Being sceptical by questioning, probing and challenging facts before making decisions.

A3, F1 and F2, I4

N/A N/A N/A Questioned the accuracy of data and processes that I took over to identify misstatement with the aim of minimising risk to stakeholders and the public.

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