I can hardly believe this term is over already! A lot of people have already headed back home to celebrate the holidays with their friends and family. If you’re in the part II stage of your degree, the increased load of work, heightened difficulty and back to back deadlines may have resulted in a very intense 10 weeks. It is definitely necessary to allow yourself a well-deserved break, your brain needs to recharge.

However, you can’t afford to completely abandon your studies for the entirety of the holiday period. Time flies and indeed waits for no one. Although it can seem overwhelming when you feel like things are moving too fast, it is important to be proactive and not let it get to you. It can seem impossible to catch up with everything you have to do, but planning is the key to accomplishing this.

Procrastination!

For most students, final exams are in the summer; but you can’t leave it to weeks before exams to revise Michaelmas term modules. It would be ideal to revise Michaelmas modules during this break so you have less work at the end of lent term, you could then use the Easter break as time to revise for lent term modules and go over Michaelmas term modules. Breaking your revision down into these time frames can reduce your stress level for the summer exams and ensure you are fully prepared; as you have given each module appropriate attention.

Procrastination is the action of delaying or postponing something. Procrastination is a big problem we all deal with; no one is exempt. If revision is not going to plan or you are not motivated at that time, rather than doing nothing at all, you could make good use of your time by completing those internship applications that have fast approaching deadlines or practising those psychometric test questions.

Be honest with yourself!

Just like we all make new year’s resolutions we don’t do, we as students also always promise to do better next term or to stop procrastinating. It is well and good to have these goals but you need to also have practical steps to fulfilling them. We all have good intentions but it’s easy to get carried away with the holidays.

I’m sure we’ve all had times when we regretted that we did so little with our break, don’t waste your holiday. It is important to have balance in life, allocating time to different aspects of your life will help you stay levelled. There are times to prioritise your studies and times to prioritise quality time with your loved ones, because at the end of the day there is life outside of university.

If you know you have too many distractions back home and you are likely to not be as productive as you are when you are at university; take the initiative to not spend the entire holiday break away. Learn from your mistakes, if your strategy or attitude towards the holiday hasn’t worked in previous years or hasn’t been as effective then change is needed. If it didn’t work last time why would it now unless you’ve made adjustments.

To ensure you don’t waste too much time being idle, you could buy a return ticket rather than a one way or an open return. This allows you to have some sort of structure to your holiday and enables you to efficiently allocate your time. Make use of the university website to know what’s open during the holidays. You can find Library and Learning Zone opening hours on the Library website.

Part II is the most important stage of your degree, this is when your grades and results actually count towards your final degree qualification so it is vital to take it seriously. Make a pragmatic revision timetable and put controls in place to ensure you follow it; you could for example make yourself accountable to someone that you trust, someone you know is reliable and responsible.

Sometimes something might have to give, you can’t do everything, be strategic with your revision, even though all modules are worth the same amount of credits, you know which ones you’re stronger in so revise accordingly.

Last but not least, it is also important to not overwork yourself, take the necessary time to relax and enjoy your break; you want to come back in lent term feeling energised and ready to tackle the brand new modules you would be starting.

Happy Holidays!!

We are in the last week now. Week 10, this term has flown by, this time last year we were all being evacuated due to the floods. I’m really glad that didn’t happen this year it was a scary experience. Lancaster set up a Christmas market last week and there was a Santa’s grotto. I hope you all had chance to check it out or see some pictures of it. It truly was spectacular, there were real life reindeer!

As it’s coming close to Christmas spare a thought for others who don’t celebrate Christmas or look out for your friends who might not be going home this holiday. As it’s getting to the end of term many people may start to feel more homesick and just having a friend there for them will brighten their term. As that’s what Lancaster is about, helping each other, we are all one big family. My flat mate isn’t going home for Christmas so we decorated the house with Christmas lights and decorations that we all put towards to make it feel more Christmassy for him. We have also done a secret santa, we did this last year and it’s a really nice way to show that you are thinking about each other at this time.

I also had a Christmas meal last Friday which was lovely, just spending time with my flat mates was really nice and uplifting. I know there are still exams and still coursework’s due but just remember to try and spend some time with others as there is a danger of burning yourself out revising alone in the library or sat in your room. You could always revise with friends, book a study pod and study together.

Power through!! We are nearly finished!! We all need a well-deserved break so let’s push ourselves over these last through hurdles. I handed in my ACF 211 Information systems and Auditing coursework this morning, we had to look at a case study and write a report covering the issues with internal controls and the process of stock purchasing for a convenience store. I am really enjoying my auditing lectures and tutorials, actually looking at the case studies and thinking about possible points really adds to the subject due to this interactive way of working. I have noticed that many people are almost ‘scared’ to answer questions in my tutorials but I have tried to answer at least one every tutorial. Even though I am naturally quite shy, I still try to answer questions as it means you really get the most of tutorials. It also helps your understanding so do try to answer questions, it’s the best way to check your understanding rather than the tutor just telling you the answer. It also gets rid of the awkward silence of the tutor staring at everyone for 5 minutes waiting for an answer.

Good luck for those who still have coursework or exams due in the next week and enjoy your Christmas holiday! A good tip is to go over/read your notes over the holiday when you have a free moment just to keep your memory intact for the summer exams. It will make it easier for next term as the content may crop in other modules so you will be expected to know this.

Merry Christmas Everyone!

‘Find something you love to do and you’ll never have to work a day in your life.’

– Harvey McKay

I’m sure we’re all familiar with this popular adage about career choice but we normally associate it with artistic professions such as musicians. In actual fact, this saying can be applied to everyone no matter what profession you’re looking into. As university students there’s a lot of pressure to know exactly what you want to do and how to get there; this is understandable as time waits for no one. It’s important to be proactive in terms of setting up your future career and it’s never too early.  However, it is also important not to rush, don’t feel pressured because everybody else already knows what they want to do or have already secured an internship, everyone is running a different race and you shouldn’t compare yourself to others.

Where to Start?

As the saying suggests, when it comes to picking a career it is important to pick something that you’re not only good at but that you also have a passion for. Take time to reflect on your strengths and weaknesses; for example, what are you naturally gifted in. You don’t want to be one of those people that hate their 9 to 5 jobs and dread Mondays, hence the title of the blogpost, if you love your job you’ll look forward to Mondays. If you genuinely have a passion for something it won’t be like work, so it’s important when picking your career path that income is not your fixation, as quality of life is also important.

For Accounting and Finance students looking into the right accounting jobs, it is vital for you to do your research. This isn’t just limited to online research, go down to careers and enquire about your options.  If you have family members or relatives already working in the business area you are interested in, it is a good idea to ask them questions about their day to day affairs. You could even see if they can help get you some sort of wok experience in their place of work, make use of the relationships you have and develop professional connections, so can build your network; as they say your network is your net worth!

Below I will give a general and brief insight into two accounting job roles; also suggesting types of people that would be ideal for the roles.

Consulting

Accounting consultants help the business or relevant person understand what the various reports mean, and how the data affects the company. Accounting consultants help with a number of tasks including: financial forecasting, analysing financial statements, determining the profitability of your business etc. To decide if consultancy is for you, ask yourself if you have the following qualities and skills: professionalism, time management, good judgement, good communication skills and good listening skills.

Consultants need to maintain a level of professionalism; they need to keep in mind that they are a representation of their company as they are working for a client. As a Consultant you are required to have good judgement when confronted with a problem. You need to be someone that would take time to consider the facts and to get feedback from management before reaching a decision, rather than jumping to conclusions or acting abruptly. Also, as with any profession time management is very important, consultants regularly need to adjust their work style to accommodate their schedule and overall requirements of the project.

Auditing Clerk

Auditors perform (internal) financial and risk management audits and independent statutory financial audits of commercial and public sector organisations (external). Auditors are specialists who review the accounts of companies and organisations to ensure the validity and legality of their financial records. They can also act in an advisory role to recommend possible risk aversion measures and cost savings that could be made. Auditors are responsible for: updating and maintaining accounting records, verifying records posted by other workers, checking figures and documents to ensure they are accurate and coded properly and making notations of error for future corrections.

To decide if auditing is for you, ask yourself if you have the following qualities and skills: are you inquisitive, innovative and a problem solver. As an auditor you need to have a thirst for knowledge, strive to cultivate a deep understanding of the situation. For example, understanding the culture of the company you are working for and the competitive environment. You also need to have a natural affinity for problem solving.

Personality tests

The following link will take you to the Guardian website where you can take their online personality test; https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2014/nov/11/-sp-questionnaire-what-job-would-make-you-happiest. The aim of the test is to help you figure out what kind of job would make you happiest, based on the activities and subjects that most interest you. There are many more tests and quizzes available online that are free but most follow the same format. Many people doubt the accuracy of these tests or even whether their aim are possible, but there is no harm in trying.

Overall there are many different types of accounting jobs available, I have only covered two briefly. In your spare time explore the others available to see which one would be ideal for you.

After the hecticity of fresher’s week, I’ve experienced 6 weeks of university so far. With them, have come many lectures, courseworks, and a few tests. Leaving academics aside, there’s also all the social events happening, whether it’d be societies, parties with people you study with, or live with. After experiencing quite a bit of it all, I think I’ve narrowed down a list of things, everyone can do, to maximise their utilisation of time, and get the most out of your university’s educational, and social experience. I think I’ve come up with a good balance of work and social life, and some other things that I should have done myself but didn’t (and you definitely should!)

Starting off with the academics, getting used to the style of education at university, is the first step. You have a lot more of self-study time, and it’s important that you make good use of this. If possible, you can even try scheduling your workshops/tutorials in such a way that you have a free day outside the weekend, where you can fully focus on getting work done on your own. Since there are fewer contact hours with your lecturers than you’ve probably experienced in the past, working on your own is very important.

In terms of making sure you know what’s going on in your course it’s important that you go to most of your lectures and all your workshops. I cannot stress enough, how much attending a workshop, might help you in the long run. Workshops, especially for ECON102 (which is a compulsory module, if you’re studying Accounting and Finance) help you to link the theoretical concepts, with practical applications. This not only helps in terms of understanding, but also makes sure you can do the types of questions that show up in the tests. The workshops are also made up of smaller groups of students. This helps you clarify your doubts on a one to one basis, rather than as a person in a crowd of 200+ people in a lecture. It also makes sure that the tutor solves your doubt before moving to the next issue.

One thing I feel also helps you maximise your chances of doing well in tests, is making friends on your course. Now you might think, how does this help? We all might be learning the same things, but different people understand and retain different things as well. So, if you know a few others on your course, it means you can always go ask them a quick doubt, when you can’t ask your lecturer/tutor. It also helps just before tests, especially if you learn better in a group, because then you already know people you can revise with.

If you plan to do well at university, (which you should!) I highly recommend that you don’t miss lectures because you went out to party during the week. Fair enough if you become ill, and can’t make it, but parties should not be an excuse. It’s a better idea to keep parties away for the weekend, and focus on work during the week.

In terms of socialising, if you are a party person, and you become good friends with the people you live with, and go out with them it’s all perfect, but this isn’t always the case. It might be that you aren’t a party person? In that case joining societies which focus on your interests is a really good idea. If you are career oriented, maybe joining societies which will help you with that might be a good idea! This also helps you build up your contacts outside of your lectures. University isn’t just about building up your knowledge. It’s also about getting as far ahead of everyone else as you can, when you get out of university, and contacts help you do that. See a posting for a dream job? Maybe you will get to know someone from a society who ends up working there, you can get a quick and easy recommendation.

These were just some of the things I’ve figured out to utilise my time the best I can,  in my first 6 weeks of university. What are some of the tips you follow to make the most out of your time?

‘The answers are all out there, we just need to ask the right questions’- Oscar Wilde : Revising for upcoming exams

 

I am currently revising for my ACF 214 Principles of Finance exam that is coming up in the next few weeks. I’m a little nervous as I find finance quite difficult. However, as I said in my first blog, ‘Hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard’. I may not have the natural talent when it comes to finance but I definitely have the drive to achieve and succeed. I have the hard work element upper hand so to speak so I’m going to try my best to ace it. In terms of revising tips, I feel redoing tutorial questions is very helpful as I can see where I went wrong in the past and get the gist of the structure of the questions I will be asked during the exam.

 

Exams are definitely nerve wracking. The worst thing to do is panic as long as you start revising early and try your hardest you’ll do fine. I recently watched a video about procrastination. It was a very enlightening video by Tai Lopez who went from just $47 in his bank account to being given a billionaire title. In his video he said something along the lines of life isn’t short, we make it short. Don’t be stingy with your money be stingy with your time. Basically don’t waste a lot of your time on things such as social media or video games. Your time is valuable. Your time at Lancaster university is valuable, so make the most of it. Get the best degree that you can do by working hard and revising to the best of your ability. Go into the exam thinking I couldn’t have worked any harder and you’ll never be disappointed in yourself.

 

Some tips on how to revise:

 

• Find a quiet space with little distractions, you need 100% concentration, University isn’t a place for a poor attempt.

• Give it your best! Exams are just a chance to show off your knowledge, skill and it all comes down to the amount of effort you put in. If you want a great outcome you need to put in the same amount of effort to match this.

 

Top Tip: Go over tutorials as these are usually the same structure as the exam questions

 

• Try to establish what you’re weak at. There’s no point going over topics you are good at and neglecting the ones you find most challenging as this defeats the object of revising and it will trip you up in the exam.

 

• Think positively – you can ace this exam; you can do well as long as you try hard

 

• Prepare! if you go into the exam thinking you couldn’t have done anything else then you have mastered the art of exam revision

 

• Have a timetable, many revision classes I have been to have mentioned having a revision timetable. However, if I make one of these I spend little time on it as I feel there’s a danger to overthink the timetable and spend too much time planning it for example I’ve known people to colour it in and draw little pictures. This is a waste of valuable time you could’ve used to spend studying.

 

There are many more amazing techniques to revise, there’s too many to list but Lancaster university does offer many classes and workshops in mastering revision so if you’re still unsure on how to revise, attending these are probably your best option.

 

I am going to mention one last technique which I feel is the most important of all.

 

• DONT BE AFRAID TO ASK.

 

In my ACF 211 workshop, my tutor said there are no stupid questions, the stupid thing is to not ask. The tutors, your lecturer and academic staff are there to help so do seek their help if you need it! Ask if you’re unsure, we are at university to learn so you aren’t expected to know everything so it’s okay to not understand. It’s not okay however to sit in silence when you’re confused. A question you never ask will never be answered.

 

‘Don’t be afraid to ask for help when you need it…. asking for help isn’t a sign of weakness it’s a sign of strength’- Barack Obama

 

‘I am neither clever nor especially gifted, I am only very very curious…. the important thing is never to stop questioning’ -Albert Einstein

 

‘The answers are all out there, we just need to ask the right questions’- Oscar Wilde

 

Thank you for reading. Good luck with your upcoming exams.

Jade

I have recently been trying to create an Accounting and Finance society and I am pleased to say it has had LUSUs approval! This is an amazing opportunity and as acting founder and soon to be president, I am very exciting to start creating and promoting it. I feel it will be a vital part of LUMS and hopefully it will be as successful as other academic societies. It will make it easier for people to meet other students studying Accounting and Finance.

In order to create the society, me and my team of fellow accountant enthusiasts had to give a presentation in front of LUSU. This was interesting as it developed our skills in talking to large groups of people and proposing our ideas in a professional manner. They were all very nice which made it run smoothly and we felt more comfortable presenting to them. We had to create a budget and an event plan which we put forward to LUSU. These are things that I have never had to do before so it was quite interesting to work together and almost forecast how much money we were going to achieve etc. Through this experience I developed new skills and improved upon my public speaking.

On a not so happy note, we got our ACF 350 reports back on Friday, I was unhappy with my grade because I worked so hard on it but that wasn’t reflected in the grade. However, the feedback I got was invaluable and I can use this to improve upon my report writing skills improving future report grades. Try not to let grades that you aren’t pleased with get you down, try harder next time and learn from your mistakes. You are intelligent especially if you’re at Lancaster studying, it is a top university. As long as you’re willing to try again and not agonize over a single bad grade, you will do well. Even though it wasn’t the grade I wanted at least I know where I went wrong to improve next time, University is a learning curve, you aren’t expected to get 100% every time but you are expected to give 100%. If you tried your best, then that’s all that counts. Don’t beat yourself up over one grade, just pick yourself up and try even harder in the next one. Learn from your mistakes in order to make the next grade, a grade you deserve and desire.

On a positive note, I have been putting up Christmas decorations at my Uni house (I live in town), I’m feeling all Christmassy. The library Christmas decorations are looking lovely too and the lights on the trees in Alex Square are spectacular at night. All of these are making me look forward to the Christmas holiday and there’s only 2 weeks left of the term but try not to start relaxing and slowing down leading up to Christmas. Keep pushing yourself and keep working hard. Go to all your lectures as even though these lectures may not be tested on in this term, they definitely will come up in the summer exam so make sure you’re still trying your best! You don’t want to miss out on any crucial information that you’ll be kicking yourself about in the summer exam.

Try and get involved with Christmas events! Last year Lancaster University had a Christmas market in the learning zone and outside Bowland bar, they put up a massive snow globe that you could go inside of and there was a santa’s grotto set up too, it was amazing. This is really worth checking out so as a revision or work break go and have a quick look. You could even decorate your flat/ house up a little for Christmas with your flatmates or do a secret santa among friends.

Christmas is coming! Keep working hard !