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.

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.