UOWD | ACCY801 Tips & Experiences
I just completed ACCY801 in Autumn 2021 and this is a post detailing the course and everything you need to know about ACCY801. I scored a 94% for this module and here are my experiences with the subject.
If you have SPECIFIC questions - do contact me on my “About” page.
Study Resources
Strictly speaking, I think ACCY801 is a relatively straightforward course - and I say it partially because there is very little subjectivity about it (except the assignment). For the sake of exams, I think the lectures are comprehensive and cover EVERYTHING you need for exams (and I mean it). If you study the lecture notes and the questions, NOTHING beyond the difficulty of the lecture + questions of the lecture are needed to score full marks.
As usual with these kinds of things, it DOES help understanding to fully grasp concepts with the textbook - I think the Atrill textbook (in the essential resources and study guide for Autumn 2021) can help give a good grasp on concepts on the earlier topics (especially before midterm). Beyond that, the chapters get a bit different from the lecture contents, which is why I would say if you want to save time, just focus solely on the lectures.
Breakdown of Marks
Midterms (Week 5) 25%
Case Analysis Report 25%
Final Exam 50%
High Distinction: 85-100%
Distinction: 75-84%
Credit: 65-74%
Pass: 50-64%
I’m personally still not sure of how the grades work (whether it is for every subject or an average of all your scores).
Before I go further, here’s a reminder to BRING A CALCULATOR (check the allowed calculator list - it’s on SOLSS or MYUOWD or somewhere) for midterms and final exams.
Midterms
My score: 69/70 (98.6%)
Midterms will consist of questions from weeks 1-4. I can’t quite remember precisely how many questions there are but most of them will have subquestions. I would say the only thing that is a bit more alien is the commenting on performance (you have to describe what you found on certain accounts).
In Autumn 2021, we got a formula sheet for the exam. This was provided to us (not our own formula sheets). The silliest part for me was that the 1 mark I lost was an equation given on the formula sheet that I didn’t use because I was doing the exam from memory. Don’t be me. Just use the sheet.
EVERYTHING is basically at the same difficulty/easier than questions provided during lectures, so practice those and you won’t be surprised on exam day.
Assignment
My score 91/100 (91%)
Here are my key tips for the assignment: (Assuming your assignment is the same comparative analysis between 2 companies)
Make sure you choose companies that are eligible (I.e., Financial statements are in the same currency, annual reports consist of the same financial year & they are public companies). For me, I initially selected Under Armour (Main) and Nike (Benchmark).
There were a lot of pain points because after I selected, realized Nike had a financial year ending in May and Under Armour had a financial year ending in December 31st. You can’t compare 2 companies like this. I had to reselect and ended up with Columbia Sportswear as my benchmark because other options (Adidas, Puma, Lululemon) were using different currencies.
There are 2 ways to collate data. My method was using Refintiv/Eikon (available in the library). So what it does is help you collate all the data (including ratios) and present them in a nice table. There is one pain point - that is, that they will give you a lot of rows that are not necessary. You will need to sieve the data and eliminate a lot of unnecessary data.
I still think this method is easier - but I suggest going this route if you understand excel and are quite adept at using computers.
The alternative is to collect all the data from reading 5 years (10 if you count both companies) of annual reports and fill in a lot of tables yourself. Put simply, if you want a high score in this assignment, it can be very time-consuming. If your objective is a pass, it can probably be done quite quickly.
Submit as a PDF if you’re afraid of your tables jumping everywhere.
Learn how to put tables into the Appendix if you’re close to the page limit.
(For Autumn 2021) Horizontal/Vertical analysis of Cash Flow statement is NOT REQUIRED.
I highly recommend not doing this last-minute - this is seriously 20 pages worth of content I’m talking about.
Do take the chance to discuss your progress in consultation hours - it can be helpful to give you direction.
Format it according to the guide - this is pretty important.
Final Exam
94/100 (94%)
Just remember that whilst you need a cumulative score >50% (Assignment + Mid-term + Final Exam), you ALSO NEED to score 50% for the final exam. So don’t let a high mid-term lull you into a sense of security for the final exams.
I can only speak from my personal experience - so don’t treat this as the definitive guide on how to study for ACCY 801 because that might change from semester to semester.
One word of warning: NO FORMULA SHEET. In this exam, you have to rely solely on yourself.
The only real surprise that I found was a definition question (theory). Strangely enough, after the exam, I went and looked over the theory notes and it wasn’t in any of them. I want to clarify that it was something that was taught, just not in the theory sheets we were learning from - so I overlooked that slightly. I can’t quite remember exactly what it was about, but if I’m not mistaken, it was something to do with Capital Structuring.
But strictly speaking, I sincerely think that every other question was a question given (like almost exactly the same) or a variation of the practice questions given over the course of the semester. You really want to be practicing those questions to make sure you do well in the finals.
Definitions-wise, there are a few - and you basically have to follow the theory sheet and memorize (with the addition of some content not in the theory sheet - but I believe it was a small percentage of the total paper anyways).
Final Thoughts
Overall, I really enjoyed ACCY801. Make sure to send any questions over to the lecturer to clarify them, I’m sure he/she is more than willing to answer them for you. Focus on the questions and definitions and you’re going to knock this subject out of the park!