4AC011 - Professional Skills for Accounting and Finance Assignment

Tasks 

1. Self Development Action Plan

In the light of the other tasks, you are required to review and assess your own skills, and design an action plan for your personal future improvement. You are encouraged to include evidence of your competency – e.g. skills survey results from Task 1 and formative weekly quizzes are provided to help.

• Minimum of 4 detailed “SMART” goals to be given – at least 3 goals for learning skills from Task 1 and at least 1 goal for career progression from Task 3 – but can include more.

• Goals should be short-term to medium term .
• Can add to plan over course of semester. 
• Include evidence of achievement in appendices.

2. Career Action Plan

Produce your career action plan incorporating the following elements:

• Current situation
• Ideal situation
• SWOT analysis
• Short-term actions to take to maximize your chances of success in your chosen career.

3. Enterprise or Employability Skill Recording 

Choose an example situation where you have demonstrated the use of an enterprise or employability skill. Prepare your answer using the STAR method (Situation, Task, Actions, Results), and make a video recording of yourself presenting your answer, just as you would in an online recruitment exercise. Upload your recording to Canvas.

4. Ethical Awareness 

Discuss your understanding of key ethical considerations for accountants. Why are these principles important?

5. Review of current skills and abilities 

In this task I will be assessing my skills and abilities, this will give me an idea of what my strengths and weaknesses are, so I can focus on my weaker side more. As speaking before I take the test, I’d say my good points are reading and researching as I always research the most about a specific topic before I start to write down an essay about it, also, I’d say my IT skills are quite good as a part of my course in college I had a chance to use variety of apps, such as word, excel and other software. One of the main areas I would say I need to focus on is time management and numeracy skills, talking about numeracy skills I forget sometimes to insert the zeros at the end, while writing a large number. 

6. Career Action Plan 

• Current Situation: currently I’m an accounting and finance student, who is trying their best to keep passing their exams and looking employment, as being employed will keep me distracted from exam stress.
• Ideal Situation: my ideal situation would be working as a qualified accountant, who will be dealing with everyday finances, also, I would like to keep up with my hobbies so I can keep an interest in my professional and personal life, rather than making it all about accountancy.
• Short-term actions: one of the actions I would like to set for myself to gain success in accountancy and finance would be to revise more and get things done on time as it will allow me to focus on my semesters on time. 

7. Ethical Awareness 
 

There are 5 ethical principles in accountancy, under the conceptual framework, which includes integrity, confidentiality, objectivity, professional behaviour, professional competence and due care. These principles are important in the accountancy firms as it needs to deliver its work at high standards. Ethics are more of moral values. It is important for accountants to behave ethically, this is due to their reputation, law and regulations and even for public interest. Financial Reporting Council (FRC) looks after the accountancy professions.

Integrity means being straightforward and honest with all the work you do and not being threatened by any sort of thing that would make you dishonest with your work. It allows accountants to ‘prevents them from using clients' financial information for personal gain’ (Career Guide). Objectivity means being uncompromised by bias. The work being provided should be independent without it relying on other people and actual evidence should be provided in order to prove that the work that has been completed is all independent work based on ‘accounting information must be based on research and facts.