OXFORD BROOKES UNIVERSITY

SKILLS AND LEARNING STATEMENT

By Blessing umoette

Acca no. 1496234

Word count: 2000

1. What I learnt from the meetings with my project Mentor including the
Presentation that I gave to my project Mentor.

1st meeting

Before the first meeting, I had started reading the Research and Analysis Project
guide from the ACCA student website and the Kaplan guide to get a list of the
approved topics and how to go about the research process. Eventually, I chose the
consequences of acquisitions and mergers as my project topic as it was the most
appealing to me, after choosing it I still went to meet my project mentor with an open
mind, in case he had some reservations about the topic, and suggest that I choose a
different topic.

On the day of the first meeting, I made sure I was prepared by having a notepad
to jot down notes and be there on time and also met my other colleagues who were
meant to be also in the meeting, my mentor started by asking us what doing the
research analysis really meant to us, each of us gave an answer, at that point I
reflected on the question and learnt that, although having a B.sc degree was one of
the main motives, there were still other incentives behind my writing the research
analysis report such as experiencing the research part of my studies, since all I did
was mainly taking the professional exams which gave me knowledge of
accountancy and business, but my practical skills such as self-reflection and
communication skills which are the key graduate skills had not been fully utilized.

My mentor also went on to tell explain what the research was all about and what
was required of us at each stage of our research, he also talked about the skills and
learning statement, at that point I realised I did not understand what the skills and
learning statement was all about, but after he gave an explanation, it was no more
abstract to me like it was before and I had a clear understanding of what I needed to
do. My mentor then went on to ask what my research topic was, he also talked
about our research objectives and questions and the importance of answering the
research question, I found it quite useful because from that I learnt that my research
questions and objectives were going to act as a guide to my research findings,
analysis and conclusions. My mentor also went on to tell us a date for the second
meeting and what we have to achieve by the next meeting, I found that really helpful
knowing I was accountable to someone and had to work towards the next meeting
date. All through the meeting I realised that I was asked questions that required
thinking and reflection before answering a question, this was a bit new to me since it
is not something that I did quite often.

2ND MEETING

I was a bit nervous going for the second meeting, because I did not know if I had
done the right thing or not, all the same I went with a printout of my work, my mentor
went through my work and pointed out areas that I needed to review such as my
research objectives and some fragmentation in my work which I took note of to
correct, the second meeting was very important to me because of the constructive
criticism I received from my mentor, also having the assurance that I was heading
toward the right path, lastly I was told of the last meeting date which was going to be
my presentation day, and also what I needed to bring along that day, overall the
second meeting provided a focus and perspective.

3rd meeting
The presentation

I had prepared my slide sheets, read through them and also made some printouts to
give to my mentor, I was ready for the presentation but I was so anxious since I was
the first person to do the presentation, the presentation was made to my mentor and
my colleagues who were also presenting, I started by introducing myself and giving
an overview of what I was going to talk about, then went on to the introductions
talked briefly on the reason I chose the topic and why I chose the Royal Bank of
Scotland, I also talked about the data gathering, the sources of the information I had
used, the limitations I had faced during the information gathering, the business
models I had used and also the limitations of the models.

lastly I went on to talk about the analysis of the information I had gotten using the
SWOT analysis and the Financial ratio and other performance indicators to analyse
the financial and operational performance of the Royal bank of Scotland on its
acquisition of NatWest bank finally I touched on the conclusion and the
recommendation, and asked if anyone had a question and my mentor asked me
some questions like what did I think I didn’t really do well in the project? And what
have I also learnt from doing the project? Which I gave answers to.

By the time I had finished I realised that all the nerves I had at the start of the
presentation had gone, my mentor went on to read a printout of my RAP and told me
areas I needed to work on and also talked about my Referencing, all these I found
really helpful. Overall the second meeting had taught me about making presentations
which will be of great benefit in my future role as an accountant.

2. How well I think the research questions was answered

Having been drawn to the topic on merger and acquisition, I was keen to find out
if Royal Bank of Scotland acquisition of NatWest Bank delivered its target results.
During this research I found out about the motive behind Royal bank of Scotland
acquisition of NatWest bank, the expected cost savings, perceived synergies and
successful integration in order to enhance shareholder’s wealth, also I was able
to analyse this planned synergies with the actual cost savings, synergies that was
made.

Also having carried out a ratio analysis and a SWOT analysis on the Royal
bank of Scotland group with regards to its acquisition of NatWest bank I found out
 that the bank had become one of the largest bank in the world as at 2003, and
also its share price had gone up, it’s dividend per share price had gone up,
overall it had increased the shareholder’s wealth, even when 18,000 staff had to
be made redundant to achieve the company’s cost saving target, with all these I
was able to answer my research question by concluding that these particular
merger was a success and had delivered even more than was expected, and
also that no two merger deal are the same as evidenced by the failure of
subsequent merger deals like the unsuccessful merger between Royal bank of
Scotland group and ABN AMRO Dutch bank which is believed to have
contributed to the downfall of the Royal Bank of Scotland.

3. How I demonstrated my interpersonal and communication skills

During the course of writing this Research analysis project I have developed my
interpersonal and communication skills through the meetings and interactions I had
with my mentor through actively listening to the constructive criticisms and
suggestions he gave and taking down notes and not getting confrontational, also I
made sure I did not interrupt his speech but always allowed him to finish before
voicing out my opinions. I gave appropriate and clear answers to the questions he
asked, using the appropriate voice tone and choice of word by not being
argumentative but making sure my opinions were conveyed adequately and
understood.
Throughout the course of this Research writing I have learnt about the essential
skills for communication which are Presenting my ideas in a clear manner by giving
my mentor a copy of the work I had done, listening to my mentor’s opinions by taking
note of the suggestions he made and not interrupting him and also learnt about the
effective way of asking and answering questions by asking open questions to open
up a conversation.
I made sure that the barriers to an effective communication such physical
tiredness, preoccupation with other issues was reduced when coming for a meeting
with my mentor, which was usually after a long day in class in which I would have
been tired and exhausted.
Writing this research Analysis had been very stressful, due to the fact that I am also
preparing for ACCA exams as well, there were times I really got frustrated and tense,
since I’m someone who gets worried a lot, but I tried to stay calm, positive, made eye
contact and had a cheerful disposition toward my mentor and colleagues during the
meetings. While dealing with library staffs I tried not to take out the frustration of not
finding the necessary information needed on them but tried to lower the stress levels
so that it didn’t have a bad effect on my relationship with others.
During the presentation of my research Analysis Project I made sure I had used
the appropriate presentation materials like the power points slides, I made sure I had
a good connection with the audience by maintaining good eye contact and also
made sure I had a feedback by welcoming questions that was asked.

4. How undertaking the RAP has helped in my accountancy studies/

Writing this research analysis has been a great challenge for me but It has helped
me to see my capabilities and weaknesses, by helping me make the right decisions,
by making me go through a thought process and not just making quick decisions like
deciding on what ideas to include in the research which also has a great impact on
my studies, as I am able to critically analyse and evaluate the various case studies
and materials learnt, it has also helped in problem solving which is also of great use
in my studies since I am someone who gives up easily on difficult problems, having
undertaken this RAP with a very unclear outcome at the start, and see it become
more clearer and defined as time went on, I have been very motivated towards my
studies not give up on difficult questions anymore knowing that if I apply the same
positive attitude and persistence towards my studies that it will pay off.

This RAP has made me realize that when I become a practising accountant that I
will be able to take up and tackle challenges and problems that will come my way,
and also plan and manage my workload effectively without being so stressed out. I
have also improved on my interpersonal and communication skills during the
interaction with my mentor, colleagues and library staffs which will be of great use to
me when I work as a professional accountant these people’s skills will help in my
relationship and communication with work colleagues and help prevent unnecessary
conflicts from arising.

I have also learnt how to take constructive criticism and make adequate
corrections without feeling put down, which I know will be of great use to me in a
work environment since I will likely face constructive criticisms from my senior
colleagues. Writing these Skills and learning statement has taught me much on self-
reflection, which is important to reflect on any project one has undertaken and be
able to assess one’s strengths and weaknesses and areas to be improved on be it in
my future career or my present studies.

Finally doing the presentation of my Research analysis project has given me