Lies, Damn Lies and Statistics

It’s Sunday night and week 4 starts tomorrow. For a number of reasons, some work, some domestic, some just plain stupid, for me this term isn’t going as well as I’d liked. I’ve taken on two units as I want that piece of paper early next year that proclaims Graduate Certificate on it, as this gives me options in 2020. However given the nature of the units, this is feeling like a big ask.

Law, remaining reasonably comfortable with this. Law is law and the structure is similar to the undergrad unit I did in term 1. The expectations are different though, a different text book, hard copy only, no e-book, which is much harder to follow as it only sights case numbers meaning I need to get on the web with every case mentioned to find out what was going down. This will make the exam prep very challenging to get the most relevant cases ready for the day. Not impossible though planning and more effort required.

The challenge is Statistics.

statistics

I last did statistics 25 years ago and when I went into this term full of confidence, I’m not so sure now. At the end of week 3, we’re now covering topics I’ve never experienced before which need to be presented by hand in the exam and by Excel in the assignment. So not only do I have to learn a new concept, I’ve got to learn new ways of using Excel. I’ve probably spent far too much time than is healthy trying to find a YouTube video to enable me to work it out.

It also took me an age (and the support of my wife) to realize that the reason I couldn’t work out the Geometric Mean Rate of Return was because my cheap Kmart calculator didn’t have the correct function button to allow me to do so. So it’s off to Office Works in the morning for a new one.

So far this weekend I’ve spent about 12 hours in the CQU library and most of that time has been spent doing two assignment questions (which are not yet finished) and watching this weeks lecture. Not the greatest of learning experiences so far. It’s now gone 8pm and I’ve had enough, I think I’ve figured out some of what I need and will start again in the morning.

It’s at this time I reflect that, as there are thousands, maybe millions of accountants around the world, they can’t all be cleverer than me therefore this stuff really can’t be that hard. So challenge accepted and we will continue in the morning.

Why didn’t I do this sooner?

Here we are again, at the end of week 1 of term 3 and back on the books. Despite my concerns I did rather well last term with a distinction in the Economics and Accounting in Australia units. Fortunately my wife is in the UK at the moment, I say fortunately as she wants to give me a good slap for daring to be concerned about the exams. She has far more faith in me than I have. Which is even more surprising considering we met at university in 1992 and I was definitely less than a model student.

Term 3 brings with it Australian Commercial Law and Statistics for Managerial Decisions. Both have started well. With Law, apart from a different text book and higher expectations (it is a Masters course after all) there doesn’t appear to be many differences to the the Law unit I took in term 1. Lots of reading and making sure I’ve good notes in preparation for the exam. No worries here.

Statistics is a bit different. Lots of reading and lots of working through examples, both on the computer and by hand. This one will just take practice. It’s been 25 years since I last did stats, having read the first chapters of the text book, I’m not overly concerned. Practice, practice, practice. Then in 11 short weeks I can walk away with a Grad Cert in Professional Accounting!! A bona fide qualification that I can do something with. That’s something to aim for. All this is great, unfortunately outside of Uni stuff it’s been a pretty tough week, which prompted some thinking.

Which brings me to the question, why didn’t I do this sooner? I’m really enjoying the learning experiance, I’m meeting great people and rising to teh challenges of teh course. so why didn’t I do this earlier? This is what I’ve been thinking.

In 2014 I was made redundant, in a very nasty way when the Bluetongue Brewery in NSW was closed down. As part of the government support package I was given the opportunity to do an Advanced Management Diploma, which I started and enjoyed, but didn’t finish. This was a mistake.

Due to the nature of the closure, missing out on a job in California and some other corporate nastiness that caused significant stress, with hindsight I believe I was not in the best place to make decisions and as a result we packed up and went back to the UK. If I had been thinking straight and beyond the career that had defined me to that point, a Master Brewer with an international career, perhaps I would’ve realized that there are other opportunities out there.

I think as I was so used to being the “big man”, at home, as the primary wage earner and at work as the leader and expert, suddenly not being in that position was a shock. So my aim at the time was to get back into that position. Which I have done sort of.

I’ve spent over 20 years as a brewer so I know a lot of stuff about my particular field. I can walk through Dan Murphy’s and see dozens of beers that I’ve brewed. Some of which were first perfected in Australia due to my skills. Now I make soft drinks and rarely drink beer, I’ve come to the conclusion I’m really not that interested in the beer culture anymore.

This is part of my mindset change that started me down the accounting path. Move out of what I know and can do with my eyes closed into something new that I can do for a very long time to come and do anywhere in the country.

If I’d realized this in 2014 I could’ve done this course in NSW, my wife would’ve remained teaching at a school she loved and I wouldn’t have paid out thousands from my redundancy to move from NSW to Northamptonshire in the UK and back to QLD. However the move did provide new experiences for the family, so it wasn’t all bad. As they say hindsight is 20/20 and I can see it all clearly from the lofty heights of 2019.

I’ve just read through this post and it’s taken a completely different tone to what I had planned, what it has done is remind me that experiences bad and good all help define the direction we take and the person we are or wish to be. If I had done this in 2014, life would not be the same, but then I would’ve had different experiences in the last 5 years which may not have given the same result. So I’m quite happy where I’ve ended up.

Throughout these first two terms and into this one I am continually glad that I have taken this opportunity to study and aim for a new career. I hope those of you reading this feel the same.

Happy studies

What do you do before an exam?

Just looked and my last blog entry was in week 3. Been a bit busy in the meantime.

calm exam

We’re now in week 12 and it’s exam time. Over the last 9 weeks I’ve made some new friends and worked as a team on the accounting assignments, where we did rather well. I’ve done the online tests for both accounting and economics and submitted an economics assignment. I’ve read every page in the text books and done loads of practice questions. For accounting I’ve done all of last years past papers multiple times. And now what?

I haven’t taken a closed book exam for 15 years. I can’t recall what I’m supposed to be doing? Should I desperately read all my notes? Should I redo all the test questions? Should I write out all the ratios that I think I might need? These are possible good things. What I’ve actually done is drink tea, go on Twitter and the washing up. And write this. Procrastination and avoidance appear to be the go at the moment.

These exams are odd. I was under the impression that to pass the unit I needed to pass the assignments and pass the exam, which I thought needed at least 50%. Turns out I’m mistaken I only need to pass the unit. So I need 15/60 on accounting today and 20/60 from Wednesday’s economics and they’re passed.

Does this take the pressure off? Yes, it does. Does it make me more anxious as it seems too easy? Yes, it does that too. My wife and my accountant friend (doing her MBA with no exams this week) seem to believe that I’ve got this in the bag. I probably have, but until I take a deep breath and see the paper I have no idea.

A long time ago as part of my Food Tech degree we had a business unit. The night before the exam I was coaching my housemates on the subject, full of confidence. In the exam, disaster, I had nothing. I do not want a repeat of that. I feel it’s unlikely, but until I get to see that paper at 2pm, it’s going to niggle at me.

I’ve 3 1/2 hours before I leave for the uni. That’s a lot of time I can spend doing something. Not sure what that’s going to be though.

The other odd thing is that #1 child, who is at the Rockhampton CQU campus (I’m distance with CQU at Bundaberg) is also taking exams today. If you’d said to me over the last 20 years that there would be a day where one of my children and I would be taking exams at the same time, I would’ve called you out as being ridiculous. Yet, this is where I find myself. Funny how things work out.

I’m going to sign off with this gem from REM. This was my pre-exam song throughout the early ’90’s at uni and when I did my brewing exams.

It’s not the end of the world and I feel fine!

For those of you also doing exams this week and next, good luck, you got this.

If it was easy…..

Week 3, not fun. I’ll be honest, it’s been a challenge this week. In accounting it’s been more journaling entries and adjustment of accounts. In economics, supply and demand elasticity and markets.

I understand the concept of accrual accounting and the need to adjust entries at month end to avoid overstatement or understatement on the financial reports, but can I successfully transfer this understanding into my workbook? Not consistently. I’ve found that I think I know what I’m doing then I find I’ve over complicated it or missed something simple. I am fortunate that the lecturer has been very quick to respond to my questions.

Economics continues to be a whole lot of words and graphs to complicate what should be quite simple. Consequently a lot of it remains a mystery. I had a win in a Zoom meeting with one to the lecturers where I was the only one to dial in. This did mean we could focus on what I wanted instead of what he’d planned to share. At the time it all made sense, the next day, not so much. He was impressed that I was on track, as many of his Sydney on campus students don’t appear to have opened the book yet, that does make me feel a tiny bit better.

It’s been a frustrating week as I should be getting this stuff nailed down, but then it is a lot more challenging in terms of volume of information to absorb and the output required each week. I suppose if it was easy everyone would do it and it isn’t easy for that very reason. It’s not called a Master Degree for nothing. On that note this blogs loosely related song is Something for Nothing – The Reverend Preston’s Big Damn Band. If I want this degree I’ve got to work for it.

What’s working well is the study group with Lucy and Suzy, between us we’ve the first assignment for ACCT20070 practically completed, which is a positive for us all. It’s a good support network.

This is the end of the first quarter of the term, even though this week has been a struggle I’m still enjoying the challenge and remain confident in that positive outcome after the exam block. Roll on week 4.

Happy Studies

Making the grade

Term 1 is officially closed with the release of grades today. I am astounded to say that I did rather well. A HD in both ACCT11059 and LAWS11030. I am really pleased to hear from a number of my fellows that they have achieved good grades as well.

Going to put in here a thank you to Martin Turner, Maria Tyler and Ronald Farran (Law) who have been most excellent in their support, feedback and incredible marking speed this term.

What I am more pleased about is that my daughter Alice, who has just completed her first term at CQU Rockhampton, has achieved three HD’s and a distinction in her Bachelor of Oral Health Therapy degree. She’s done this while being a Resident Associate and dealing with other peoples drama’s. My daughter is amazing. Must take after her mother, who is also amazing.

As for me I have never in any study ever achieved this well. Quite possibly due to a number of factors that are different to my original student days

I’m 45 years old and don’t have the stamina to spend all day in the pub
I’m paying for my education (no course fees in ’90’s UK universities)
I’m “slightly” more mature in my approach to learning
I have an example to set to my children
I want to learn and put the effort in. (I was very lazy the first time)
I LISTENED TO MY WIFE WHEN SHE SAID MY WORK WAS NOT GOOD ENOUGH!! and took her advice and made the appropriate changes, (she did say the same thing at Uni the first time, I should’ve listened then too)

If you speak to my Uni friends they will tell you that back then I was a terrible student and I really shouldn’t have achieved. It is surprising how things change as you get older. What this term has taught me is that I can manage all of my commitments, I can learn new things and I enjoy learning, sharing what I know and helping others (though I do a lot of that at work anyway). I’ve really enjoyed the interactions with my fellow wannabe accountants through the Facebook page, through the PASS sessions and made some friends along the way.

The only thing I haven’t enjoyed is that as I run less, I’ve actually put on a kilo and a half in weight over the last three months. Need to work on building in more activity into the study plan.

Term 2 has effectively started and fortunately for me I have two weeks off work of uninterrupted study as I recover from a hernia op. I’m sad to say goodbye to the Bachelor of Accounting and my fellow students on that course, though I’m looking forward to the continued challenge on the Master of Professional Accounting. All being well, we all come out on top at the end of it with everything we want and expect.

Let the studying commence.

New Term, New Beginning

I started this blog as a task for my first accounting unit. It seemed an odd thing to do at the start, but as the unit progressed I could see the point. As I’m no stranger to blog writing it wasn’t a particularly arduous task to keep it both updated and meet the unit requirements and I quite enjoyed doing. Pretty certain it helped a number of my fellow students along the way as well. Now that particular unit is over, what to do with this blog?

Term 2 starts officially in 8 days. A new term and a pair of new units and a new course. I have really enjoyed my first term as a mature student, both accounting and law units were really interesting and I’ve made some friends along the way. The friends, I hope will remain as I step up to a new course. As this week I start on the Master of Professional Accounting post grad degree course.

The first part of the Bachelor was fun, a good introduction into the planning and focus required to balance life, work, study and everything in between. All good things to take into the Masters degree, a degree course that suits me better. I’ve gone from a 24 unit course over 4 years to a 14 unit course over 2 years. The added benefit is that the MPA offers interim awards, so if I want to step away into another career I can do it sooner than waiting the four years to get the Bachelor qualification.

As for the blog it doesn’t form part of the MPA. I think I’m going to keep it up as it’s fun and might help someone along the way.

Today’s loosely connected song is Asian Dub Foundation, “New Way, New Life”. I used to live in Slough, a very mixed race area West of London. When we were there we were privileged to be invited to a number of Sikh and Hindu weddings, they had great music and food, which led me to be a fan of Asian Dub Foundation and this my favorite song, which is reflecting how I feel at the moment.

Good luck everyone in Term 2 and beyond. Happy studies.

Exam Time

My first exam for 16 years is rapidly approaching. It’s a three hour open book exam on the Introduction to Business Law. I should be really concerned, but I’m actually feeling pretty calm at this stage.

I’ve not taken an open book exam since my last Master Brewer exam. That one was pretty easy, I simply rebuilt the London Guinness Brewery into the brewery that I wanted, changed a few figures, adjusted the manning levels and job done, with a credible B grade pass. This Law exam is a bit different. Brewing is my core skill, I have lots of experience and it’s easy to write about. This is the first time I’ve studied law and I’ve enjoyed it, it’s been a challenge in places though.

The studying process has been to read, a lot, which I have. The tutorials have been a god send, without those I would not have had a clue about the assignment or the scope of the exam. As it happens if it hadn’t been for my wife, my assignment would’ve been a dogs breakfast as well. Fortunately after a poor start in listening to her, I did do what she said and polished that turd to get one of the highest marks I’ve experienced. So all I need to do in the exam is pass to complete the unit.

It’s an open book, so I can take in as much paper as I wish. We’ve been advised to mark the text book and index against slides etc. That has proven to be a challenge as my handwriting is rubbish and it’ll be more of a hindrance than a benefit. So I’ve typed up a load of notes and put my case examples with them. I think I’ve got enough info to get me over the line. My biggest worry is my rubbish handwriting, will Ron be able to decipher what I’ve written and will I have the stamina in my right hand to last it out. We’ll see Wednesday morning.

dilber test

Onward and upward

The end of week 12 and I’m happy to say I’m now done with ACCT11059 and the final assignment of this unit is submitted. There really are only so many times you can read and polish a document. If you want to see the final submission it is here. ASS#2 Step 7 to 10 Paul Feasey GALLIFORDTRY Company Spreadsheet FEASEY

Thank you to those who gave me feedback, your eagle eyes in spotting bits I missed was most welcome.

It’s been an interesting 12 weeks in my return to Uni as a mature student and I have thoroughly enjoyed myself. With this final accounting blog for this particular unit I thought I’d put down some of the things I’ve learnt about learning and about myself during this time.

When I first saw I had a UK construction company to focus on I was “meh” and not overly enthused about the prospect. I would have put in the same amount of work and research into any company, but on reflection I actually think that GallifordTry was to my advantage. Only a couple of years ago I’d been living back in the UK for 18 months and was well aware of the state of the UK, price of housing, the political situation and various other impacts in that once great nation. This did make understanding the financials and the company operating climate easy to understand and research. I’m calling that a win, I was able to learn the process of accounting, ratios etc, and relate that to an environment I understood.

KCQ’s and the study guide. I’m still not convinced about KCQ’s, though I appear to be reasonably proficient at them. I’ve enjoyed the study guide, though I do wish Martin would get to the point sooner and I did pine for a text book on occasion. Saying that I have been fortunate to have had two very constructive conversations with him recently and I can understand where he’s coming from and the intent of the process. I really appreciated his insights and support from these conversations. With regard to the unit, I can say though, that it did work, I have learned and my learning style has been challenged. So, thank you Martin.

This blog, I already write a blog for fun, I wasn’t certain how much value this one would have. Well I’ve enjoyed writing it and 65 other people, including people outside of the unit, are looking at it. I’m going to assume that it’s adding value to them as well.

dilbert blog

I’ve provided support (far too much according to my wife) and helped a lot of people through Facebook and through checking over spreadsheets and calculations. While this has been very time consuming, what it has done is secured my knowledge of the subject, so it is a win for me. Even though I tell my wife I’ll do less in the future I’ll still help where I can, just remember to say thank you. Through the Facebook group I’ve met some wonderful people and got some solid friendships out of it. That’s what uni is also all about.

PASS! How good are PASS sessions, I really enjoyed all of them, shared a lot and gained a lot as well. Danielle is a most excellent facilitator and will no doubt end up with a high distinction when she finishes her degree and will go far in her chosen field. I am most grateful for her support in these sessions.

When I started out with this unit I was concerned about the time required to get everything complete and manage life, the universe and everything. I am unbelievably grateful to the support of my wife and children who have given me the space to get stuff done. Though by the children leaving me alone I’m not onto them to do their chores or their gym work between their swimming training sessions. A cunning plan on their part.

The final thing and probably the most important thing I have learned and it’s what I shouldn’t have had to learn (and its not in relation to this unit either) is this. I should never, ever doubt my wife!

A true story. A week out from the due date for Laws11030, 40% assignment, I thought I’d done a really good job, I gave it a quick read and thought it was good to go. I asked Mrs F to take a look. She didn’t make it past the first paragraph, before telling me how bad it was! She was asking all sorts of questions, what’s the word count, what references are you using? I was horrified, I thought it was brilliant, how dare she! I know she’s a teacher who did her second degree by distance, but really! Long story short I got a bit cross. Fortunately for me, as we met at Uni in 1991, Mrs F has known me for a very long time and knows that while I am an idiot, I am not totally stupid and I will see sense. And sense I did see, I listened and learned, edited and re-edited and polished that turd before hitting the submit button.

Thanks to my wonderful wife I received 37/40, 92.5%! This type of result is unheard of, I’ve never got grades like that before and I couldn’t have done that without her. It really makes me wonder, not only what she sees in me and why she puts up with it, but what I would’ve got in my first degree if I’d spent less time in the pub and listened to her more then.

Moral of the story, listen to your wife, she knows more than you do, especially when she’s a teacher!

This term isn’t quite over as I’ve the Law11030 exam on the 19th. I originally had it as the 17th so I’m glad I checked again. It’s an open book so I’ve a bit over a week to get all my notes ready for the day. Thanks again to Danielle for the insight to preparing for my first open book in 15 years.

In honor of Law here’s this blogs musical interlude, Anthrax singing about one of the iconic comic book characters of the 20th Century Judge Dredd. Unfortunately the video has footage from the 1995 film staring Sylvester Stallone, not the best interpretation. The 2012 Judge Dredd staring Karl Urban is so much better.

So that’s what I’ve learned so far. Once the exam is done its onward and upward with the next two units, whatever they may be as I haven’t decided. For those of you who’ve stayed with me this far, I’m going to continue this blog and my running blog and see where it all goes.

Happy Studies folks.

The last word

That’s it, I’m done!

Here we have the final installment of the ACCT11059. Feedback is welcomed

GALLIFORDTRY Company Spreadsheet FEASEY

ASS#2 Step 7 Contribution Margin

ASS# Step 8 What I know about ratios

ASS# 2 Step 9 Capital Investment Decisions

This is the end….?

Or maybe it isn’t? Actually it’s not all quite done, my write up on Step 9 has run out of steam, so what we have here is a first cut.

Really if it’s the end or not is all going to depend on what feedback I get and if someone spots something odd that needs fixing.

If you, dear reader, would care to participate in the Step 10 feedback process you can find all the details below. And while you are reading please enjoy this musical masterpiece from The Doors.