MSc in Professional Accountancy

1 MSc in" rel="nofollow">in Professional Accountancy (MPAcc) Module: Strategic Fin" rel="nofollow">inancial Project [PAM006] Coursework 1 (August 2016) Released: Friday 26th August 2016 Submission deadlin" rel="nofollow">ine: Monday 26th September 2016 by 1pm (1300 hours) UTC 1. Introduction This coursework assignment carries 30% of the total of 100% for this Module. It comprises one requirement with one task. It is an in" rel="nofollow">individual not a group-based assignment. The task/requirement is detailed in" rel="nofollow">in poin" rel="nofollow">int 5 below. Please take careful note of the flowin" rel="nofollow">ing poin" rel="nofollow">ints: • The focus of this assignment is: o The identification and supportin" rel="nofollow">ing justification of an area of research. o The design of an approach to researchin" rel="nofollow">ing that area. o A justification of the approach selected. • The word count is between 3,000 and 3,500 words. You may use less than 3,000 words but in" rel="nofollow">in so doin" rel="nofollow">ing you may be penalizin" rel="nofollow">ing yourself as it is likely to be challengin" rel="nofollow">ing to respond to the requirement in" rel="nofollow">in less than 3,000 words. • The upper limit of the word count should not be exceeded – see poin" rel="nofollow">int 3 below. • You MUST state an accurate word count (excludin" rel="nofollow">ing the list of references) on the front page of your submission. • Note that ALL words/numbers, excludin" rel="nofollow">ing the references list, will count towards to the total word count. You may use foot notes, illustrations, charts, diagrams, tables but they will all count towards the total word count. • The submission deadlin" rel="nofollow">ine is Monday 26th September 2016 by 1pm (1300 hours) UTC. • Any work received after the submission deadlin" rel="nofollow">ine will receive a recorded mark of zero. • It is recommended that that you cite references usin" rel="nofollow">ing the Harvard referencin" rel="nofollow">ing system (https://accountancy.elearnin" rel="nofollow">ing.london.ac.uk/mod/lesson/view.php?id=3808). If you use another referencin" rel="nofollow">ing system state the name of that other system on the front page of your submission and be consistent in" rel="nofollow">in its usage across all of your references. • No appendices (other than the list of references) are allowed. • Submitted coursework assignments are subject to a range of quality control and scrutin" rel="nofollow">iny checks in" rel="nofollow">includin" rel="nofollow">ing, as appropriate, double markin" rel="nofollow">ing and/or moderation and/or scrutin" rel="nofollow">iny by the module’s Internal and/or External Examin" rel="nofollow">iners. All submitted coursework assignments are subject to Turnitin" rel="nofollow">in checkin" rel="nofollow">ing for plagiarism (see poin" rel="nofollow">int 2 below). All results when first published are provisional until confirmed by the Examin" rel="nofollow">ination Board (to be held in" rel="nofollow">in January 2017). • Assessment criteria are referred to in" rel="nofollow">in poin" rel="nofollow">int 4/Appendix A. 2 2. Plagiarism This is cheatin" rel="nofollow">ing. Do not be tempted and certain" rel="nofollow">inly do not succumb to temptation. Plagiarised copies are in" rel="nofollow">invariably rooted out and severe penalties apply. All assignment submissions are electronically tested for plagiarism. More in" rel="nofollow">information may be accessed via: https://accountancy.elearnin" rel="nofollow">ing.london.ac.uk/mod/lesson/view.php?id=3809 3. Penalties for exceedin" rel="nofollow">ing the word count 1. There are penalties for exceedin" rel="nofollow">ing the specified word count. 2. Your submission should be between 3,000 and 3,500 words. You may use less than 3,000 words but in" rel="nofollow">in so doin" rel="nofollow">ing you may be penalizin" rel="nofollow">ing yourself as it is likely to be challengin" rel="nofollow">ing to respond to the requirement in" rel="nofollow">in less than 3,000 words. 3. You MUST state an accurate word count (excludin" rel="nofollow">ing the list of references) at the end on the front page of your submission. 4. If you submit more than 3,500 words for this assignment, the followin" rel="nofollow">ing penalties apply: - up to 10% more than 3,500 words your mark will be reduced by 5 marks; - for more than 10% in" rel="nofollow">in excess of 3,500 words you will receive zero marks for this coursework. 4. Guidelin" rel="nofollow">ines regardin" rel="nofollow">ing criteria for achievin" rel="nofollow">ing particular grade boundaries Appendix A details the criteria for achievin" rel="nofollow">ing particular grades of marks, criteria bein" rel="nofollow">ing based on the University of London’s MPAcc Programme Regulations 2016–17 for Professional Accountancy Pathway 2 (MSc). The grade standards represented by the mark ranges are: Mark range Grade standard 85 - 100 Outstandin" rel="nofollow">ing Distin" rel="nofollow">inction 70 - 84 Distin" rel="nofollow">inction 60 - 69 Merit 50 - 59 Pass 40 - 49 Fail standard 0 - 39 Bad fail standard 3 5. Tasks and requirements To be submitted by Monday 26th September 2016 by 1pm (1300 hours) UTC This coursework assignment contributes a maximum of 30% of the total marks available for this module. Required There is one requirement in" rel="nofollow">in this section. The focus is the design of a research study. Your response to the requirement must be between 3,000 and 3,500 words. Penalties apply for exceedin" rel="nofollow">ing the word count. No formal penalties apply for usin" rel="nofollow">ing fewer than 3,000 words but in" rel="nofollow">in so doin" rel="nofollow">ing you may be penalizin" rel="nofollow">ing yourself as it is likely to be challengin" rel="nofollow">ing to respond to the requirement in" rel="nofollow">in less than 3,000 words. Each page should display a page number in" rel="nofollow">in the bottom right-hand corner. Note that ALL words/numbers, excludin" rel="nofollow">ing the references list, will count towards to the total word count. You may use foot notes, illustrations, charts, diagrams, tables but they will all count towards the total word count. Context This assignment focuses on your own personal area of in" rel="nofollow">interest. This area is likely to be work related but the choice of another area of focus is not excluded but should be justified in" rel="nofollow">in your assignment. If you decide to select an area not work-related ensure that the area is of substance and is not ‘light-weight’. The task is to design a research study appropriate for your chosen topic area and write it up in" rel="nofollow">in the form of a comprehensive research proposal. Thus far in" rel="nofollow">in this module’s materials you have been in" rel="nofollow">introduced to and considered the methodological underpin" rel="nofollow">innin" rel="nofollow">ing of a number of aspects of the nature and logistics of, amongst others: • The nature of research: ‘what research is’. • Research objectives, hypotheses, and questions. • Research paradigms. • Literature reviews. • Research designs. • The nature of and approaches to qualitative research. • The nature of and approaches to quantitative research • The nature of and approaches to mixed methods research. Task You are required to construct a research proposal which captures and articulates a research design for your chosen area of in" rel="nofollow">interest. You should have already started to thin" rel="nofollow">ink about research areas as part of the activities in" rel="nofollow">in the earlier weeks/topics of the module, some of which you may have shared with your peers. You may use your in" rel="nofollow">initial considerations and develop them for this coursework. Alternatively, you may choose a different research area if you have decided that your in" rel="nofollow">initial considerations are not suitable/feasible in" rel="nofollow">in light of further considerations of module materials and activities. It should in" rel="nofollow">include: 1. An in" rel="nofollow">introduction which sets out a concise account of the background to and rationale for the research proposal, which: o draws on relevant literature to show why your study is important, and o articulates the relevance and significance of existin" rel="nofollow">ing research in" rel="nofollow">in the field. 2. Your research aims and objectives, and associated hypotheses or questions. 3. The selection of a methodological approach, supported by discussion and justification of your selection of approach, with reference to the research methods literature. 4. The selection of an appropriate research design, with an accompanyin" rel="nofollow">ing description, supported by a justification. In this part of the proposal you should set out and justify: o the case(s) and/or settin" rel="nofollow">ing(s) and/or population(s) that will be the focus for data collection; 4 o the nature of the data you will be collectin" rel="nofollow">ing; o how you will, if necessary, negotiate access to data from in" rel="nofollow">institutions and/or in" rel="nofollow">individuals; o your samplin" rel="nofollow">ing strategy; o the methods you will use to collect and analyse your data. 5. A consideration of any ethical issues that might arise in" rel="nofollow">in the course of the research and how you will address them. 6. A relevant reference list There is no formal guidance relatin" rel="nofollow">ing to the word count for in" rel="nofollow">individual sections of your proposal. Any one proposal may vary from another. You must decide how to allocate the 3,000 to 3,500 words yourself. 5 Appendix A