Feedback is a gift

I was once told by a Technical Director that feedback is a gift. And he was right!

The best feedback is given willingly, honestly and adds value for the recipient.

Poor feedback is rushed, not focused and given without care.

I prefer to give the former and receive the former.

I’ve given one person the full feedback service and it took a while. I’m happy to do more and have offered my services to two more people. One of them has had very focused feedback on their draft #1 and we’ll see if more is requested.

We have to have feedback on three students completed and in by 5pm Thursday Week 4. Not a lot of time to get this done, I’m happy to put the time in and I’d appreciate three of my followers willing to do the same.

Happy Studies (and Feedback)

The best laid plans of mice and students*

The end of week 3, though I feel that I’ve been doing this for longer than that. Must be enjoying myself.

Your correspondent is coming to you live from gate lounge number 5 at Brisbane airport. And it’s bloody grim. This really is the cupboard under the stairs of gate lounges.

It is in fact under lounges 7 to 21 and accessible only by some easily missed stairs. This lounge appears to be for those nuisance passengers who want to get to rural Australia and must be segregated from the classy folk going to the big smoke. It has no redeeming features.

And as my plane has a mechanical fault I’m here for another hour at least. The only minor benefit is for some inexplicable reason the announcer of flights is French and her accent is quite delightful and calming.

gate5

This week I have spent far too long on ACCT11059, probably as I was enjoying my research and writing about my firm. In doing so I neglected my LAWS11030 and have some catching up to do. Which I intended to do last night. Didn’t quite happen, let me tell you why and what it means.

As Helmuth von Moltke the Elder famously said “no plan of operations extends with any certainty beyond the first contact with the main hostile force” or more simply no plan survives contact with the enemy.

I wasn’t in contact with the enemy I was in contact with my company sales team and at the Treasury Hotel in Brisbane for Queensland Brewed and Batched.

The sales team had requested I play a role in the proceedings and talk about the company, Ginger Beer and Brewing to the assembled guests. Not a problem. I’m always happy to act as ambassador for the brands that I’m associated with. I also have no issues with being behind a microphone or in front of a camera or the public (though I do consider I have more of a face for radio).

As I know we’ve got lots to do on in our studies my plan was simple. I had every intention of saying my piece, eating the (very nice) food and doing the Harold Holt to get some study in. Yeah, nah!

The as well as the sales team the other folk on my table were great company and the alcohol was free! There was Bundy Rum to be mixed with Bundaberg Brewed Drinks and Eumundi beer available. I also got to catch up with the Eumundi head brewer, Chris. Chris used to work for me at the Swan Brewery in Perth 10 years ago and it was great to catch up and compliment him on his career and his brewing skills. I also met the team from Bundy Rum and though we hadn’t met before, we know the same people. The brewing industry is small and incestuous.

I also happened to meet a footy legend Trevor Gillmeister. A very entertaining chap indeed. I have terrible selfie skills, sorry.

Brewed and Batched

I didn’t drink much as I’m well out of practice, but obviously enough to say that when it wrapped up about 9:30, further study was not happening. I should feel bad about this, but I don’t and here’s for why.

There is a point to this blog, not just for me to name drop and show you what a glamorous career I have, though I might share my pic of me and Jennifer Hawkins, former Miss World in the future, and here it ~~is.~~

The point is this and it is for all of us; for young students still in year 12, or just started at Uni or for the more mature, juggling careers and family and trying something different or the ones who don’t quite know what they want in the future and see this as a means to wherever, here’s the point of this blog (finally you cry, we thought you’d never get there!)

The point is that no matter what plans we make or how we think it’s going to turn out reality always comes along and has it’s say in those plans. It’s what we make of it and the circumstances that counts.

I’d planned to do my piece and leave early last night, on reflection that might not have been a good look. In changing my plan and staying on I had a really good night, did a great job for the company and reinforced a positive relationship with the sales team. That relationship build with my colleagues and the guests at the dinner is priceless and worth an evening off. I didn’t get my studies done, but I had a great time and added value.

The message is don’t be afraid to make plans, just be prepared to adapt those plans. Don’t be afraid to try new things or get out there and just see what happens. You’ll probably surprise yourself when you do.

And do try to have some fun while you do it!

Oh, and the other odd thing I did this week was be part of an interview panel for the position of high school principle. It took all day from 8 to 4 before we could agree on an outcome. Never thought I’d be doing that, but I did it anyway.

Now I really must do some LAWS11030!

Happy Studies

*apologies to Robert Bruce “To a mouse”

Between the sheets…..

Who knew a company annual report could be so much fun? Not I that’s for sure.

After much writing, editing, internet searches and scribbles I hereby declare my draft of ASS#1 Steps 2 through to 6 ready for reading. May god have mercy on your souls.

To be honest I feel it’s a bit of an epic at 13 pages and I apologize in advance to any of you brave souls who want to have a look and give me some feedback.

I suggest you get a warm (or cold, not judging) beverage of your choice, a comfy chair and get settled before attempting to read it.

The spreadsheet is also embedded in the document. This I found harder than I should’ve done. Mainly as I only printed the financial reports from the 2018 report and had to hand write on all the earlier numbers, which was a bit of a nuisance. The other bit that slowed me down was watching the tutorial video. This could do with some editing as I found myself pausing it, adding some bits to my sheet, then having to wait for the next bit of guidance to be reveled.

I did draw some parallels though in the fact that I’m sure my children at that age would not have been happily gurgling in the background. May be that was the clever editing?

What I haven’t done is chosen my top 3 blogs. I’ve put my contenders in the draft, it’s still an open race and of course I am open to bribes. As for feedback I’ve provided bits and pieces to people on their blogs and stuff, I’ll start on the drafts tomorrow.

Enough of my ramblings and let’s skip to the good bit.

Ass#1 Steps 3 to 6 Draft is here Paul Feasey ASS# 1 Steps 2 – 6 and in case the embedded spreadsheet does not work the company spreadsheet is here GALLIFORDTRY Company Spreadsheet FEASEY

Happy Studies!

Top of the Blogs!

How’s the weekend been folks? Did we spend it locked behind closed doors frantically typing numbers into a spreadsheet while watching a YouTube instructional video, wading through the glossy brochures that are our company reports or did we get outside and get some fresh air?

If you are like me the answer is all of the above. I’ve had a splendid weekend. 10k run on Friday night after work, 8k run on Saturday morning as the sun came up over Bargara, followed by volunteering at parkrun.

Then I followed the very comprehensive YouTube video and plugged all my figures into the spreadsheet. Took longer than I anticipated, though pretty confident that I’ve nailed it. Then I started to read the annual reports in some detail.

After all these years of getting annual reports as a shareholder in some of the world biggest brewers I finally set down to read a report. The mad thing is I’m not getting any dividends off GallifordTry, yet I’m putting the most effort in to understand it.

Sunday has been a complicated day. My middle two children were awarded age champion in their age group at surf lifesaving. Completely irrelevant I know, but I don’t care. They train bloody hard and it’s great that they were recognized for their achievements. Further study of both LAWS11030 and ACCT11059 ensued at the beach this afternoon. Fantastic spot, conducive to study? Maybe not.

While I was taking a break from trying to understand statutory interpretation of legal texts (still don’t understand it BTW) I checked my student email. In there I find an email alert from Accounting With Georgia. Georgia has read the ASSIGNMENT STAGE 1 (ASS#1): GETTING STARTED, a bit more closely than I, and has posted about her top three blogs.

Which then brings me to the point of this blog, what are my top three? I actually don’t know yet. Georgia is in contention as she’s ahead of the curve and said nice things about my blog. But who else and how to work it out?

I looked on WordPress and I’ve followed over 40 blogs. To be fair I’ve been and looked at each and every one of them this evening. There’s a definite mix throughout and some of our fellows are more active than others. I’m actually thinking that we may have a few casualties who have decided that accounting, at this moment, may not be for them as they’ve been very quite since their first post.

Monday 25/03/19 08:43. A quick addition on that above paragraph. As I was swimming this morning it did dawn on me that it’s only the start of week 3. I’ve cracked on and got a bit ahead of the curve. Not everyone is like me. I really do hope there are no casualties so far and the reason for the lack of blog activity is due to the pressures of life, the universe and everything and these folk are all on track with blog posts ready to be published. My apologies for any assumptions I have made that may be considered disrespectful. Definitely not my intent.

There are some very good initial descriptors on companies and I would recommend looking at Susie Luck, Chris Apps, Lisa O’Neill, Emily Bagnall and Georgia’s blog for some pointers.

Do these make the cut into the top 3? I’m going to give it a few more days before deciding. There’s a lot of good stuff in the Accounting Blogosphere and I’ve learnt new things about companies I’ve never heard of before, which is a real benefit.

It’s now late Sunday night, #2 swimmer child needs to be up at 4:45 for training in the morning and I’m in charge, so it’s bedtime.

Have a great week. Happy studies!

Maybe 10 minutes on PeerWise first though

Don’t forget you!

I like to run, I run for fun in the hot, hot sun. And now I like to study and that study time now takes up the time I would be dedicating to running.

This is a good and bad thing. Good in that I have the discipline to get up early and focus on the task and not make excuses. Bad in that I’m following my study plan and can’t run as much as I like. What’s also good is study isn’t a chore it’s an extension of my work day and as it’s very different from work, it’s something I look forward to

Tonight I went for a run, a lazy 10k down the Bargara coastline. While I was running I was reflecting on how important it is to make time to step away from the books.

We all have busy lives and a large number of us are making all sorts of sacrifices and compromises to get on with our degree and enable the next chapter in our lives. This is amazing. Remember if it was easy, everyone would do it! But they are not and we are!

But in order to sustain this level of study we can’t neglect family, friends and our health. It is very important to make time for the reasons we are here; the family and friends that are supporting us and to get outside once in a while and get some fresh air .

There are heaps of studies done on the benefits of exercise on mental health. Take a few minutes each day to refresh and you’ll notice the difference. I like to run, though running isn’t for everyone, but a walk round the block can be done and will only do you good

I’ve locked in my runs in my study plan and two are with my friend who’s doing an MBA. She only started running in January and she can’t tell you enough about how it’s helped her study. Try it, you might love it.

Almost the last word. When things get challenging I always fall back on this quote from JFK.

jfk

Now the last word(s) study hard, but don’t forget the reasons you are here, more importantly don’t forget about YOU!

Studiosity did not kill the cat!

A quick Friday lunchtime blog on the joys of Studiosity

The plus points

Free!
Easy to use
Rapid turnaround
Good feedback and advice
Well worth using

The not so plus points

Need to specify the type of report being submitted to ensure it’s reviewed in the right context.

I’m no stranger to writing reports and communication. I can write for the audience and I change my style as required.

As this is an informal piece the comments I received back for my Step 3 were what I would expect and in line with what I was trying to convey in the work. You can see the Step 3 for yourself in a previous blog.

It did find a few spelling and grammar errors that had sneaked through. So no concerns on the process and appreciation that this is a service that adds value.

If you’re new to writing for a reason I would definitely suggest you use this tool. It’s no effort and no charge, what’s not to like?

Happy Studies folks.

ASS#1 One Step Beyond….

It’s still week 2 and the study madness continues. I don’t recall putting anywhere near this much effort when I was a full time student.

As I’m currently spending most of my work day arguing with a spreadsheet I’m not doing Step 4 until the weekend.

I’m at work and it’s lunchtime so I’ve taken the opportunity to smash out some KCQ’s and comments on Chapters 2 and Chapter 3 (sections 3.1 and 3.2). This would be Step 5 of the requirements of ASS#1. I wanted to get this out of the way and move on to Step 4, stuff about GallifordTry and further reading at the weekend.

The draft is below and I’d appreciate some comments. Fair warning it’s 2.5 pages so get a beverage and get comfy first.

Paul Feasey ASS#1 Step 3 Onwards

madness

Who’s asking the questions?

In the introduction Martin puts a lot of emphasis on KCQ’s. Key Concepts and Questions. It took me a while to get my head around what the point of the KCQ’s were. They’re definitely a learning tool and do add value.

I went back to my Step 1 document and really struggled to get KCQ’s down on paper as I was pretty comfortable with the concepts being shown in the Intro and Chapter 1. I probably didn’t do as good as I could in using the KCQ’s to explain to Martin that I actually understand the content. I did make a point of highlighting that as we move on in the unit I will be using KCQ’s in more depth. Can’t have been that bad as the mark was acceptable.

At yesterdays PASS session we did talk about KCQ’s. For those still unsure in a nutshell the KCQ’s are this:

identify the concept under discussion
describe what it means to you (in your own words)
use an example that is you can relate to
ask any questions that you have after steps 1 to 3.

While I had this in my head, having written it down is rather helpful. Which is good as with Chapter 3 and 4 I’m learning new things. What I’ve also found is reading these chapters with the financial statements from GallifordTry has also made it clearer.

Step 1 & 2 of ASS#1 was all fairly straightforward. Steps 3 to 6 are a bit more involved and will not only require looking at out companies and our own KCQ’s but giving feedback on others blogs and ASS#1 drafts as well.

Interaction is the way forward on this one. To aid this I’ve put the word out on the Facebook page to bring together my fellow students who have a similar company to myself. All being well having similar companies will improve everyone’s understanding of the financial statements and provide effective feedback and cooperation. I would suggest this approach to the rest of the group.

At the middle of week 2, things are still looking good and the aim is for that to continue.

Happy Studies folks

Why do you build me up…

Welcome to week 2. My study at the weekend was disjointed to say the least. Have you ever tried to study in the rain at a swimming carnival? I do not recommend it. Fortunately there’s always early mornings and late nights. So less sleep, more reading, more PeerWise and more KCQ’s to come.

Along with everyone else on Friday I did get my company. To be totally honest initially I wasn’t that happy. Of all the companies in the world, I get a UK construction firm, GallifordTry.

Now I’ve got over the weekend and had a chance to have a closer look I’m beginning to think this is an interesting company to deal with. I’ve downloaded all the annual reports but at over 190 pages each I’ve not been bold enough to take a look yet. While I build up the nerve to do that, what I have done is look at the company website and done a bit of a Google search.

So to give you the foundations of this company, GallifordTry.

GallifordTry is a UK construction company formed in 2000 from the merger of Try Group and Galliford Plc. Both of these companies have a long established heritage with Try being formed in 1908 and Galliford in 1916.

Try Group was initially a general contracting firm until moving into house building in the early ’70’s where Try Homes were formed. A relatively small concern in house building, at their peak they were building 200 homes per year.

Galliford, originally a civil engineering firm, became a PLC in 1965. Through acquisition they branched into home building in 1973 (a good year, coincidentally the year of my birth) and through further acquisition of two more firms was building over 500 homes per year by 1998.

In between all this house building, both companies were involved in quite major activities. In the early ’70’s Try Group were responsible for building the Wimbledon Broadcast Studio at the All England Lawn Tennis Club. In 1989 Galliford Plc acquired the pilling company Rock and Alluvium.

In 2019 under the GallifordTry banner there are the associated “brands”. GallifordTry, Linden Homes, GallifordTry Partnerships, Morrison Construction, Oak Dry Lining, Rock and Alluvium and Drew Smith Limited. All combing to be one of the UK’s leading housebuilding, regeneration and construction groups, with revenues of £2.7 billion. So they’re not a shy buttercup in the construction world.

While I was looking around Google I hit up the UK’s Financial Times for some info. What I first learnt was with the FT website is if you don’t copy what you were looking at straight away and leave the page, you can’t view it again. Also the FT gets a bit snippy when you copy text straight from their website.

More importantly I learnt that in 2017 GallifordTry was hit with exceptional costs of £98m from delays in a fixed price contract projects in Scotland on the Forth Bridge and 100k of Aberdeen roads. This caused a significant hit to profit and the share price.

380px-Scotland-2016-Aerial-Edinburgh-Forth_Bridge

The Heritage Listed Forth Bridge

In February 2018 GallifordTry had an interesting year. Following the collapse of a major partner in the Scottish projects, they were required to raise £150m and salvage a 20% drop in share price. The group had a reversal of fortune and reported a final year 2018 pretax profit of £143.7m. Which is a staggering turn around considering the issues encountered and from a final year profit of £58.7m the previous year.

All I’ve seen so far is the press reports. I’m now looking forward to digging into the financial reports and seeing how this was reported over the period in the form of the marketing and how it was presented in financial analysis.

Bonus points for anyone who reads this and identifies the song and the band hidden in this blog.

Third one’s a charm

Thank you to those who took the time to read my first draft of ASS#1. I took the feedback on board and did some editing and some revision. I’m now up to version 3, which I’m calling as the final one.

If you’d like to see it before it’s submitted please follow the link. Feedback is always welcomed.

Paul Feasey ASS#1 Step 1 V3

falstaff

By the way, I quiet like Shakespeare, though I don’t consider myself a scholar of the bard. This quote is from The Merry Wives of Windsor