Guidelines for writing your DipFM Project

The following information is taken from Issue 53 of the ACCA Magazine “finance matters” 2002, Tackling DipFM projects. 

Project format :

No project will have more than eight questions in total. Unless a question requires a particular format – for example, a report or a memo – projects may be presented in whichever format appears to be most suitable. The main concern should be to choose a format which is most helpful in supporting your analysis, arguments and conclusions. Projects must be written in English.

Word count :

The maximum word count for each project is 5,000 words (2,500 for each assignment) including appendices and tables but excluding references and bibliography. All appendices should be cross-referenced to the main body of the project. The word count for each particular question should be shown clearly at the end of that question.  

Candidates must be aware that any project in excess of 5,000 words will be deemed to have failed.

Presentation guidelines :

Projects should be submitted on A4 paper, with your student number, project name, date and page number at the top of each page – for example, 0123456, Module A project, May 2002, page 1. 

Projects must be typed in black ink, one-sided, double-spaced using a minimum 12 point font size and one inch margins. Handwritten submissions will not be accepted.  

Candidates must complete a Project Submission Form for each project submitted. This should be attached to the front of project. Care should be taken that the correct pre-printed student registration number is displayed on the Project Submission Form, together with the total word count for the project. Candidates are also required to state the total number of pages being submitted. This will act as a cross check when the projects are received by ACCA to ensure that all pages have been received. The project document should be held together by a single staple placed in the top left hand corner. The submission sheet should be placed separately on top.  

A hard copy of the completed project should be submitted to ACCA, Department Ex, 64 Finnieston Square, Glasgow G3 8DT, United Kingdom for marking. The envelope should clearly state DIPFM PROJECT.

Candidates must retain a copy of each project submitted for reference and security purposes. Candidates should also note that projects must not be submitted electronically.  

References and bibliography :

In the course of writing each project, it may be necessary to refer to course material, websites and other publications in order to cite references to support the answers being given. Such citations should be made in a uniform style, with the author’s name and the date of the publication in your text, and an alphabetic list of references at the end of the project.  For example;

• In the text: (Monks and Minow, 2001)
• In the list of references: Monks, R A G & Minow, N (2001) Corporate governance (2nd Edition), Blackwell.  

How are Projects marked ?

The pass mark for the project is 50%. It is not necessary to have achieved a pass mark in each assignment individually – a candidate is deemed to have passed the project element if the total mark for both assignments is 50 or above.  

If a candidate fails a project overall, then (s)he must submit another project from the same module using valid topics that have been issued.  

When projects are being marked, six key areas are assessed : 

1. Presentation 

The project should be logically organised and clearly expressed. It should be accurate in terms of spelling, grammar and punctuation. 

2. Knowledge

Candidates should demonstrate a comprehensive knowledge of the areas being tested.

3. Numerical analysis

The study of Annual Reports or financial appraisals will inevitably require numerical analysis. If required to perform ratio analysis, for example, candidates should clearly state the ratios they are using, with the relevant formulae. The main emphasis in most cases will however be on the candidates’ ability to interpret and analyse results rather than on ability to perform a large number of calculations. 

At least one question in each project usually requires some form of arithmetic calculation. Although, as mentioned above, emphasis will often be placed on the ability to interpret and analyse results, candidates should show competence in calculations, avoiding errors due to inaccurate rounding or mis-specification of equations (for example, putting brackets in the wrong place). 

Marks will not be awarded for careless arithmetic or inappropriate analysis and interpretation. However, marks will be given for feasible assumptions and explanations.  Candidates should take care not to simply include numbers without allowing the marker to see where the numbers came from.  Candidates should avoid leaving numbers with an unnecessary number of decimal places.  

4. Critical evaluation

Candidates should be able to analyse situations using appropriate techniques, models and frameworks. Candidates should demonstrate the ability to take raw data and synthesise these to support the decisions and recommendations within the project.  

5. Real-life examples

Where appropriate, credit will be given to candidates who cite real-life examples which are relevant to the areas being tested.  This may reflect the candidate’s own experiences or be found in the financial press, relevant publications and websites.  

6. Conclusions

Conclusions should follow logically the evidence contained in the main body of the question.  They should be stated clearly and concisely.  

The marks attached to each of these areas will vary for each project. 

Cheating and Plagiarism 

Cheating is a deliberate and intended action, using trickery, practising deceit, or violating rules dishonestly. For the Diploma in Financial Management, ACCA requires the projects are a reflection of the candidate’s own work, own ideas and own words.  Any of the following acts would lead to a candidate failing a project and the likely removal of the candidate from the programme.

• Impersonation – this means to undertake a piece of assessed work on behalf of, or to pretend to be, another student, or allowing another person to undertake as assessment on your behalf, or to pretend to be you.
• Substitution – this means submitting other people’s work as though it were your own – either with, or without, their knowledge.
• Duplication – this means submitting work for assessment that is the same as, or broadly similar to, work submitted earlier for academic credit, without acknowledgement of the previous submission.
• Falsification – this includes the invention of data, their alteration, copying data from any other source, or otherwise obtaining them by unfair means, or inventing quotations and / or references.
• Collusion – this is a secret agreement or co-operation with others, especially for a deceitful purpose, and includes copying or sharing another candidate’s work, with his / her secret agreement that you can do so, or lending your work to another candidate in the reasonable knowledge that some or all of it will be copied, or secretly working with others jointly to produce a piece of work that is supposed to be your own work.
• Plagiarism – this means taking or using another person’s thoughts, writings or inventions and presenting them as though they were your own.

To acknowledge the work of others is more than a matter of good academic practice – it is the foundation stone of all academic practice. This is why so much attention is placed on correct referencing, and why candidates may find themselves unwittingly guilty of plagiarism because they have failed to follow the correct referencing procedures. Ignorance, however is no excuse and plagiarism will be heavily penalised as it is viewed as a serious matter of cheating.  

Plagiarism is not a complicated issue – if you quote / use the actual words of another author, or if you express the thoughts of an author in your own words, and you do not indicate that you have done so or where those words or thoughts can be found in published form, then you have plagiarised.  

You can find more information and advice about how to avoid plagiarism at the following web sites :

http://cibs.tamu.edu/eden/plagiarism.html

http://sja.ucdavis.edu/avoid.html