ICAS Project

Emorris15403

Hi,

I gave in my first draft last week, I have just had it back with only one comp point! I am working off a Case Study from AAT.
For 1.1 Describe the purpose, structure and organisation of the accounting function and it relationships with other functions within the organisation....
I have done an organisation chart.. I have described the company, and i have also done a line of communications chart..

Can somebody advise what I am missing?

Thanks in advance! x

CeeJaySix

Sounds like you're missing the 'purpose' part. Google 'purpose of the accounting function' for ideas (eg. record keeping, forecasting and budget-setting, costing, customer credit control, controlling cashflow, etc etc).

Also is your organisation chart for the business as a whole, or have you got one just of the accounts department with names, roles, responsibilities etc.

Emorris15403

I have put the business as a whole. The accounts department has more detail. I put everybody who was detailed in the information. Does this sound ok?

The purpose of the accounting system is to keep the track of transactions and recording revenue and expenses of the company. It helps in recording, analysing and retrieving the financial data. On the basis of financial status and financial reports important decisions of the company are made. The basic purpose of accounting system is the identification of all the activities which may impact the companies financially. These activities include purchases, sales, investments made and loan lending etc. The accounting system also provides a way for the companies to monitoring and handle financial data, all data is arranged in journal entries and the main ledgers.

Thank you xx

CeeJaySix

If that's all in there then I'm afraid I don't know what they're after. Did your tutor not give you any hints in their feedback?

Emorris15403

I missed out the purpose, so I have put in the above, do you think this will be ok?

CeeJaySix

I wouldn't like to say, but it seems okay, maybe relate it to specific examples from the company. I only had a couple of minor points after my first draft and inserting a couple of sentences fixed them, so give it a whirl!

Emorris15403

Can anybody help with
1.4 Explain how the accounting systems are affected by the organisational structure, systems, procedures and business transactions?

Thanks x

stacee31

Hi Cee-Jaysix

That good that you got your feedback so quickly, can I ask who your training provider is? I submitted my first draft yesterday to first intuition and as the deadline is 31.12.14 I am hoping for a quick turnaround!
Do you mean they only asked you to expand further on one point or was only competent in one point?

CeeJaySix

I was with Premier, the tutor feedback was only a few days after submission, made second submission same day and passed as competent within a week (usual wait after that for AAT verification, but you don't need to worry about that for your submission deadline). Hopefully FI will be just as quick for you!

stacee31

Just an update - My project has been marked competent by a tutor (i think, I am distance learning so not 100% who she was) anyway it was a really quick turnaround which is great. She has just emailed me to say that she has finalised the process on the secureAccess system and forwarded to the internal verifier.

Is it the internal verifier who has the final say and are they AAT verifiers?

I am just wondering how many more stages it has to go through before its official, bearing in mind I have less than 5 weeks before the deadline!?

Does anyone know?

Thank You

CeeJaySix

Yes it's AAT verifiers, and that's the last hoop to jump through. I've never heard of a verifier returning a project that's been passed as competent by your provider, has anyone else?

I'd say as you've submitted you don't have to worry about deadlines, though I'm not certain. Mine only took 3-4 weeks to come back from memory.

stacee31

Thank You, I hope thats the case as I think it would be unfair for me to lose level 4 because they haven't looked at it.

Should i just keep checking my statement of achievement? I cant see it pending anywhere yet x

stacee31

Hi, I just thought I would update you - I just logged on and my project is now competent on my record of achievement phew! I am really impressed at the quick turnaround, literally 5 days!

So now that level 4 is done can I apply to be MAAT? Bearing in mind that I don't have level 3..

Emorris15403

Well done! I have only currently got 4 comp on my mapping.. Just need to get my head back into it and crack on.. Its just hard to know what they want.

SeanLassman

Just reading all the above is making me mad, my project has been a complete nightmare and i started mine in feb 14 and final interview was 6th oct and mines still not finished....status goes from awaiting assessment outcome to submitted waiting over 8 weeks to find out i have to change something after its been passed from tutor to internal verifier.

Miss_Hussain

Hi all, does anyone know how to upload the ICAS Project on the AAT?. Tried phoning AAT for help and guidance but due to holidays they don't open until Friday.

ValKingston

Hi there,

Apparently you have to get a key code from your training provider then access 'Secure access' to upload.

I think I know how to do that, but need some advice as to whether mine is OK. The training provider told me didn't have time to look before xmas!

Any advice appreciated

Gardnerg

Hello there,

I am new to AAT as of this year, and have been entered into Level 4. I have just taken my Personal Tax and Financial Performance exams and now awaiting results. In the meantime I am trying to start my Project Report but would really appreciate a little guidance from either those also doing theirs now or those who have already completed theirs.

I have read through the guidance notes and the assessment criteria on the AAT site, as well as my case study but I am mostly struggling with how to choose the focus for my report. Does anyone have any tips on how to decide this - I understand it's supposed to be a specific system of the business, but what do people suggest as the best way to narrow it down to fewer options?

I also have an idea of the layout of the report thanks to a booklet provided by my training provider, however, it's broken it down into Contents, Executive Summary, Methodology, Analysis and Evalutation sections etc, so the further breakdown of 1 Understand the role of accounting within the organisation, 1.1, 1.2 etc, is that supposed to be the whole of one of these sections or included across a few of the main sections? Just a little confused on that layout!

Thanks in advance for any help,

G

ValKingston

Hello

Yeh I'm not clear on this either. I was wondering if there was a sample anywhere to view??

Regards

welshwizard

Hi Gardnerg & Valkingston

If you buy the BPP Book for ISYS (as this is now the only assessable unit as ICAs has been retired) you will find a very good example of a model answer complete with a compelted mapping document.

Ultimately, you should make the decision on what to write about based on what you feel you can write most about and write competently about.

Do you have any personal experience that you can bring to the case study (e.g. experience working in sales ledger, payroll or cash book)? You could use this experience to help you identify what is good and bad about the case study.

Having worked with students as they navigate their way through this project, I can assure you that everyone finds the hardest part is deciding what you're going to cover whilst the getting started on the writing itself is also a problem. Usually, once they've decided on a function to review, they find it much easier to get started on the writing.
Why not try to start it all by conducting up a SWOT analysis of the current accounting system (concentrate on the Strengths and Weaknesses), as this can be a very good way for you to decide on the function you want to write about as you'll quickly see teh area with the most problems and opportunities for solutions

An example of a strength could be that the business has some form of a computerised accounting system but, equally, the fact that the system is not running on a network could be a weakness. Just identifying these issues can open doors for other strengths and weaknesses.

One tip to take away is not to leave it all until the last minute. Try to write a little bit every day and let your mentor/tutor advise you as much as possible. If you write 31 words every day, you'll have nearly 5,000 words by the end of 4 months.

Make use of support forums like this one and e-learning resources. Look up Kaplan's Knowledge Bank for some really good background reading on internal controls, ethics and sustainability.

Usually, students look back on the project with a definite sense of relief and achievement. You are the only person stopping yourself from achieving here - go for it, enjoy it and be proud of what you submit later on.

Good luck!

Gardnerg

Hello welshwizard

Thank you very much for your reply - I have indeed completed a SWOT analysis at the start of the project, and have managed to start writing some of the sections, however, looking back, I think I may have taken the wrong approach!

I still haven't really focused or chosen one main part to review and have instead started writing the sections that are more general, i.e. causes of fraud, types of fraud, external regulations etc, but now I'm worried i've tackled them all wrong and done them too general - are these all supposed to be focused to the business in the case study or are they meant to be tackled as a general knowledge thing?

Thank you

Gina

Gardnerg

(also sorry to have ignored your one question - I completely missed it! - I'm afraid I don't really have any specific experience in one section. I've joined as a trainee 3 months ago at my firm and have completed sole trader accounts and 2 limited company accounts, but nothing specific to one area.

Thanks

Gina

stace

help!!! icas project 1.1 need to expand to cover the relationships with other departments and also saying who they provide information for....
Can anyone advise?
Thankyou

stace

Emorris15403 said:

I have put the business as a whole. The accounts department has more detail. I put everybody who was detailed in the information. Does this sound ok?

The purpose of the accounting system is to keep the track of transactions and recording revenue and expenses of the company. It helps in recording, analysing and retrieving the financial data. On the basis of financial status and financial reports important decisions of the company are made. The basic purpose of accounting system is the identification of all the activities which may impact the companies financially. These activities include purchases, sales, investments made and loan lending etc. The accounting system also provides a way for the companies to monitoring and handle financial data, all data is arranged in journal entries and the main ledgers.

Thank you xx

How did you get on, im having the same trouble. i have to expand my answer and having definate writers block

Tracey